Are any of ya’ll reading The Pillars of the Earth? It’s fantastic… takes place in twelfth century England and has a great plot centered ultimately around cathedral building. This is a fascinating subject on its own. One time I read somewhere that the windows of Chartres were made with alchemy, though I’m not sure how truly plausible that idea is. But the whole spirit behind the formation of the giant cathedrals had at its heart a thought that what was built should last forever, to the glory of God. It was an amazing time for both art and artifice … compared to the cheap prefab stuff that appears to be to the glory of nothing but utility and quick profits.
Pillars of the Earth is a great read, a very nice page turner. It’s fiction, but there is some very interesting stuff on cathedrals and history of architecture in it, as well as a good hard look at class distinctions and the hardships people had to endure. It takes place at the same time as the Brother Cadfael series, and deals with monastery and church life from a different angle. The ruckus between King Stephen and the Empress Maud also has a role in the plot. Highly recommended. If you decide that you also want to watch the miniseries, I would encourage you to read the book first because the tv show changes the way the plot starts and it’s good to know the background first.
I enjoyed the TV series, haven’t yet read the book. Didn’t the author also write a sequel?
The idea behind what they’re building is interesting though, things built to last and in the aspiration to God, you look around today and it’s horrendeous. Today people build skyscrapers, skyscrapers in homage to almighty dollar. Fuckers.