Andrew Martindale (1932–1995)

Not bad but too brief.

Read for a class on the art and architecture of the Gothic. I remember studying the photos carefully - for a test we had to identify churches/period of time they were built based on slides shown to us. Tricky test, but an excellent class that I really enjoyed. Which is why I still have the books some 20 years later.

Though the articles in this book are fascinating and cover many aspects of medieval culture, its primary virtue is in the pictures. With 303 illustrations (93 in quality color) we are presented with the middle ages as seen by period people. The book is arranged topically rather than chronologically, but a chronological chart covering 1000-1500 aids in putting things in that context.