Exploring the work of writers, illuminators, and craftspeople, this
volume demonstrates the pervasive nature of architecture as a category
of medieval thought. The architectural remnants of the past--from
castles and cathedrals to the lowliest village church--provide many
people with their first point of contact with the medieval period and
its culture. Such concrete survivals provide a direct link to both the
material experience of medieval people and the ideological and
imaginative worldview which framed their lives. The studies collected in
this volume show how attention to architectural representation can
contribute to our understanding of not only the history of architectural
thought but also the history of art, the intersection between textual
and material culture, and the medieval experience of space and place.