THE CATHEDRAL BUILDERS by Jean Gimpel,...

THE CATHEDRAL BUILDERS by Jean Gimpel, translated by Teresa Waugh (HarperPerennial: $10., illustrated). During the three centuries that encompass the great era of cathedral building (AD 1050-1350), more stone was quarried in France than at any time in ancient Egypt. The sheer scale of these lofty structures remained unmatched for centuries. The vaulted interior of Beauvais Cathedral rises 48 meters (approximately the height of a 14-story building), while the spire of Strasbourg stands at 142 meters; the entire population of medieval Amiens--about 10,000 people--could fit in the 7,700 square meters the cathedral encompasses. Gimpel’s elegant study disproves the popular legend that the cathedrals were built by crowds of piously anonymous volunteers. He scrupulously documents the political, social, financial impact of their construction, as well as the theological debate that raged over the propriety of using such luxurious edifices as places of worship. The well-chosen illustrations range from the signature marks stonecutters left on individual blocks to the self-portraits architects and artists included in friezes. Scholarly but never pedantic, “Builders” allows the reader to contemplate the heroic labors of a distant age.