An introduction to some of the most astonishing architectural monuments the world has ever known—Gothic cathedrals. We shall study the art, literature, intellectual life, economics, and new social arrangements that arose in the shadow of the cathedrals and that were such an important part of the revival of cities in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The goal of the course is a better appreciation of the High Middle Ages, a world that is still recognizably our own.
A little heavy on French history, but very interesting. I’m not a fan of peer reviews, and this has plenty of them, but at least the grades were a combination of quizzes and peer reviews.
I learned alot about the Church and architecture. Many of them were new to me. Not only that, but I also learned more about the early Christian life.
This course is engaging through the use of videos depicting glorius cathedrals. The explicit explanations of the stained glass windows in various cathedrals was enthralling.
An excellent and very inspiring introduction to medieval architecture, history and literature. Makes you want to study more and in-depth.
This was a very well prepared course, calmly and thoroughly presented. I truly looked forward to participating. I highly, highly recommend this course. Well done & enjoyable!
A truly sublime course that takes you on a remarkable journey of discovery, in the safe and knowledgeable hands of our eminent guide, Howard Bloch Sterling Professor of French.
This was an excellent course! It used interesting primary sources, the videos were engaging, and the assignments helped reinforce the lesson contents.
I thoroughly enjoyed this course. I learned so much about cathedrals and their history. The professor was engaging, the forums were lively, and the imagery and music was beautiful and inspirational.
little more religion that architechture, but still an amazing course. was relatively easy, I think, I was able to get considerably good grades even though I staerted this in grade 8
A good course! I was hoping for more in-depth information on the actual design and construction of the cathedrals, but a lot was covered in the course and it was well worth it.
An excellent and interesting course with a great teacher. Now I want to visit all the architectural monuments included in the course.
Excellent content , very well structured. The historical value of the course is well presented and provides excellent insights into the evolution from Romanesque to the Gothic style cathédrals.
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Very interesting and well worth my time taking this course. I helped me appreciate not only the significance of the cathedrals, but the thinking and motivation of the medieval people.
This is the fifth Coursera class I have completed. While the topic is fascinating and the lectures good, it did not meet my high expectations based on previous experiences. It was not user friendly as there were wrong answers to quiz questions, writing assignments that did not reflect lecture content, and general lack of response from staff.
The visuals for this course were very good. However, the presentation left a lot to be desired. There was a lot of reading to be done, which wasn't the problem. It supported what was being shown in the videos. However, during the videos the professor would then quote very large passages of what had already been read. This took away from the enjoyment of the topic. His voice was very monotonous, and having already read the information, a brief reference would have been better. Too much time was spent repeating information that had been covered. It was very obvious that the professor was reading off his cue cards. The title is misleading as one expects to learn about the cathedrals of the time period. Only three were ever discussed, and the rest of the lessons were only peripherally related.
Excellent course. I learned much from Prof. Bloch. My gratitude goes to him. He inspires me because of his age and knowledge. I want to become like him very soon, I am already past 60 years of age. Just a couple of comments regarding minor mistakes in the course. It says EMPORER instead of EMPEROR (Charlemagne lesson). SOLOMAN instead of SOLOMON. RONCESVALS instead of RONCESVALLES. At one point Prof. Bloch said "Louis XVI the Sun King". It is Louis XIV. Nothing that cannot be corrected. I am a Canadian professor living here in Sourthern Mexico, and teaching youngsters and adults. I make my occasional mistake too....Again, thank you so much from the bottom of my heart. James R. Portoraro.
An amazing course! Although it only covers the first century and a half of the history of Gothic architecture (will a brief follow-up on the restoration campaign of the 19th century), it does so in a brilliant way, giving not only an overview on the origins and special features of Gothic as a a style, but also a broad historical and cultural context. Professor Bloch is a masterful storyteller, and listening to him was a real pleasure. All in all, this course is an excellent introduction to Gothic, but even if you already know a lot about medieval history and Gothic cathedrals (like myself), you'll surely learn something new from it!
Excellent content , very well structured. The historical value of the course is well presented and provides excellent insights into the evolution from Romanesque to the Gothic style cathédrals.
A truly sublime course that takes you on a remarkable journey of discovery, in the safe and knowledgeable hands of our eminent guide, Howard Bloch Sterling Professor of French.
El Dr. Bloch nos ha mostrado un mundo maravilloso a través de la Catedrales, la literatura y la historia. Conocí múltiples aspectos de la Edad Media. Los reyes, incluso santos como Luis IX,, los héroes como Roldán, los filósofos como Abelardo, extraordinarios abades y constructores como Suger o Sully. Esto nos permitió conocer diferentes formas de vida de la Edad Media.
Me parece, sin embargo, que podría mejorar el curso si se estudiaran más algunos conceptos religiosos y teológicos, que no son los adecuados en el curso. Por ejemplo, al único que se adora es a Dios, lo demás, se venera. En la obra de Dionisio Areopagita, la luz viene de Dios, pero no es Dios.
De todas maneras, le agradezco mucho al Dr. Howard Bloch por este regalo extraordinario.
As both an art historian and specialist in the field, I found the "Age of Cathedrals" course to be truly exceptional. Professor Bloch's thoughtfully curated materials and insightful analysis provided a remarkably rich and stimulating deep dive into the world of Gothic architecture. It was a pleasure to refresh my understanding of the period's structural innovations and their profound theological symbolism. The exploration of the spatial context and the complex interplay between the court and Apostolic power structures was particularly illuminating. This course is an invaluable resource for anyone seeking a profound understanding of the Age of Cathedrals and the enduring brilliance of these architectural masterpieces. I highly recommend it!
Realmente, admiro al profesor Edward Blosch en cuanto al conocimiento que posee y la forma tan didáctica en que lo transmite.
El profesor muestra con total claridad los contenidos apoyándose en magníficas imágenes, nos permite que podamos comprender la relación entre estilos e incluso las relaciones entre distintas esferas del accionar humano: la religión, la literatura, la vida cotidiana, la arquitectura, la filosofía, la educación.
Los contenidos fueron provistos al modo de una espiral donde paulatinamente nos introduce en forma natural con los distintos términos específicos.
Mi mayor agradecimiento por la posibilidad de haber podido hacer este curso.
Laura Yannelli
I have gained insight into the complexity of French cathedrals. Despite being an architect having building history knowledge, the course brought me further into the wider context of why cathedrals were built, how they were built and how society, religion, political development and urban development interacted at the time. A very well presented and well taught course.
This is a fascinating course that teaches one to read the architecture of gothic cathedrals in the context of the social and economic changes of the twelfth century in France. The videos are compelling (and set to glorious music!) and the additional primary reading material is well-selected. I couldn't recommend this course more!
Hello!
It was a wonderful experience learning the Cathedrals. However I was not very for for the reading material. It becomes more of a linguistic course then.
I loved the way the professor explained the cathedrals.
I am happy I had joined the course.
Thank you!
I thoroughly enjoyed this course. I learned so much about cathedrals and their history. The professor was engaging, the forums were lively, and the imagery and music was beautiful and inspirational.
Really enjoyed it. The information and way it was presented was very interesting. I would even do it again as it had a lot of information in it...cant wait to visit the cathedrals we studied about.
An excellent and very inspiring introduction to medieval architecture, history and literature. Makes you want to study more and in-depth.
The content of the course is elaborate and the lectures given by the professor is vivid and full of knowledge. From the descriptions of the lecture, I can even just feel I am for now standing inside or outside of the cathedrals, admiring the magnificent flying buttresses, colorful glass windows which narrate each stories happened in the Bible and history. The professor really plunged into the milieu of the sculptures, architectures, interior designs and background histories with his sensation, rather than just narrate them plainly.
Also, from the course I realized what a great loss for the all human being that Notre Dame was burned by the fire, I feel extremely sorry and regret that everyone lost the chance to admire the intact Architecture since then. For me, who never had seen it before, no longer in my life have the chance to see what it was before anymore...
An amazing course I'd recommend to anyone interested in Gothic architecture, medieval art, French history or life in the Middle Ages in general! The course is very complex, providing information not only on Gothic cathedrals, architecture and art, but partly also on French history, literature, the most important characteristics of medieval French state and its saints and kings, and even a few bits of theoretical intellectual principles or philosophy showing us a part of a medieval mentality.
I truly enjoyed all of the course and would recommend it to others 100%. :)
An excellent work, clear, dynamic and well argued and with technical, historical, religious references ... Professor Howard Bloch has taken into account the recipient of the information to understand the essentials of The Age of Cathedrals ... thanks to everyone ... I don't have the money for the certificate today but I appreciate this opportunity to YALE University and Coursera, Thank you very much.
Alejandro Chiodi