Early Medieval Architecture (Oxford History of Art)

Very good book, plus it arrived on time.

Solid and well written, covering a fairly short period of builders and building and therefore more focused, comprehensive to the specific subject, and attentive to intricacies than many architectural books. Better than most in the Oxford series.

Very useful for class.

If one is looking for a well-researched overview of early medieval architecture, this is an excellent source. Well-illustrated in addition to being well-written and edited, this was a delight to read.

It is a good book, very interesting and with great pictures that allow to understand better

This is a wonderful overview of early medieval architecture for those who want to delve a little deeper than a basic introduction (without getting thrown in the deep end). Author's style is clear and engaging. Gorgeous photographs throughout.

Again, got it for school, its what the instructor called for and no waiting and no lines. Got the Kindle edition.

Stalley's text does a good job of maintaining a minimal "dry-ness" approach in terms of content, and has gorgeous full-color photos to break up long segments of text.

I often feel little the wiser after reading books about architecture but found this one very helpful. It explains the forms of Romanesque architecture, their origins and development most lucidly. For instance, I now have a much better understanding of what things like basilicas and westworks actually are and how they fit into the development of the typical cross-plan church. I particularly appreciated the focus on practical and aesthetic considerations and the limitations imposed by methods and materials. The author also gives some useful historiographic context. I read it twice straightaway.

Roger Stalley's work provides a useful introduction to Western European architecture c. 300 - 1200. Of necessity, given what survives, mostly it covers churches and monasteries, but there is a single chapter on castles too. It's a largely thematic rather than chronological account, though the first couple of chapters concern themselves with the early form of the Christian basilica and its later transformation under the Carolingians. The rest of the chapters consider symbolism, the roles of patron and builder, art & engineering, the relationship of form to monastic use and visiting pilgrims respectively, architectural language and the diversity of style.The thematic approach means a lot of flicking back and forth right throughout the book to refer to the illustrations. Many photographs are in colour but not all, some filling a whole page but others are on the small side. The language is mostly accessible but there is usage of architectural vocabulary at times which is not explained (there is no glossary). The bibliography is large but consists of specialist publications - it would have been nice to have a less specialist further reading list.Other works suitable for an introductory level are  Romanesque: Architecture, Sculpture, Painting , and  The Romanesque: Cathedrales, Monasteries and Cities . Both are larger format works and thus tend to have larger photographs (and all colour too). The first mentioned as the name suggests also covers sculpture and painting in roughly equal measure to the architecture. The second of these appears to be sadly out of print (I can't obviously see a newer edition anywhere), though second-hand copies are available at the time of writing. Romanesque: Architecture, Sculpture, PaintingThe Romanesque: Cathedrales, Monasteries and Cities

I bought this book as a companion to 'Medieval Architecture', also in the Oxford History of Art series. Both books are a fascinating insight into the subject, both are well written and cover there period thematically. My particular interest lies in interpreting monastic remains and have found both books valuable. Beautifully illustrated, very readable, well recommended and inexpensive!

very good volume

Wonderful introduction to the architecture of the period.