Cistercian Europe: Architecture of Contemplation - Tapa dura

Virginia Jansen "Terryl Kinder's superbly illustrated book brings alive a lifetime of research and thought on Cistercian architecture, an 'architecture of silence' that shuns 'visual noise.' Kinder has produced an unrivaled panorama of Cistercian abbeys, of monks and nuns, of their art and architecture, of their history and spiritual existence, and, most of all, of their daily life. Kinder covers not only the order's churches, cloister buildings, and art, but also the activities that took place in the buildings, from 'solemn to common, ' from spirituality and liturgy to clothing and laundry, from sign language to water management and feather mattresses, from sitting to medicine and prisons, from 'bulletin boards' to vines and orchards, beehives, dovecotes, and fishponds ? in shorts, the panoply of the full, rich, cloistered life. This book is accessible, eminently readable, and yet authoritative; it will fascinate and inform not only historians, art historians, and architects, but also environmentalists, students, administrators, theologians, religious, and all other readers who desire a window into another world. If you can have only one book on monastic or medieval Europe, this is the one to get." Benedict Simmonds, O.C.S.O. "This remarkable book is an invaluable contribution to our understanding of Cistercian life." Peter Fergusson "Reliable and highly readable. . . Each chapter is marked by original research and a lifetime of careful observation and recording." Cistercian Studies Quarterly "The nourishment for the mind and eye that [Kinder's] beautifully produced book provides for the scholar and lay reader alike is abundant indeed." National Catholic Reporter "Terryl Kinder's Cistercian Europe offers a lavishly illustrated tour through Europe's wonderful Cistercian abbeys. . . More than 200 full-color and black-and-white photographs of the cloistered walkways, decorated downspouts and interior details show how the construction of these buildings brought together artist and artisan, working with stone, glass and wood to build elaborately beautiful and sturdy shelter for illustrated manuscripts, hymnals and prayer books, statues, fountains and all the other necessary accoutrements of communal living and worship for the men and women who had taken up the contemplative life there." Choice "A refreshing, scholarly study of the relationship between material form and the spiritual journey. . . [Kinder's] discussion is thorough and scholarly, yet accessible and readable. Complementing the text is a rich collection of photographs and plans. . . An essential resource on Cistercian architecture and life."

Cistercian abbeys were places of meditation of simplicity and calm, elements that were reflected in their architecture. This welcome translation from the earlier French tradition is wonderfully illustrated and looks at the relationship between architecture and spiritualism and explores how the former encapsulated and reflected the latter. After a historical overview of 12th and 13th century abbeys and discussion of the everyday life and activities of the monks and nuns, Kinder studies the different parts of the abbey building along with maps, plans and lots of photographs.