Overview

Who really built Europe's finest Romanesque monuments? Clergymen presiding over holy sites are credited throughout history, while highly skilled creators remain anonymous. But the buildings speak for themselves. This groundbreaking book explores the evidence embedded in medieval monasteries, churches, and castles, from Mont Saint-Michel and the Leaning Tower of Pisa to Durham Cathedral and the Basilica of Santiago de Compostela. Tracing the origins of key design innovations from this pre-Gothic period--acknowledged as the essential foundation of all future European construction styles--Diana Darke sheds startling new light on the masons, carpenters, and sculptors behind these masterpieces. At a time when Christendom lacked such expertise, Muslim craftsmen had advanced understanding of geometry and complex ornamentation. They dominated high-end construction in Islamic Spain, Sicily, and North Africa, spreading knowledge and techniques across Western Europe. Challenging Euro-centric assumptions, Darke uncovers the profound influence of the Islamic world in ""Christian"" Europe, and argues that ""Romanesque"" architecture, a nineteenth-century art historians"" fiction, should be recognized for what it truly is: Islamesque.

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Diana Darke has spent four decades in the Middle East. Her books include Stealing from the Saracens, My House in Damascus, and The Ottomans. A non-resident scholar at Washington DC's Middle East Institute, she holds degrees in Arabic and in Islamic Art and Architecture. Anne Flosnik, a seasoned audiobook narrator, has over four hundred titles to her credit and several awards and distinctions, including AudioFile Earphones Awards, a USA Today Recommended Listening selection, an AudioFile ""Best Narration of the Year"" selection in 2009, and the American Library Association's Special Services to Children Award. She has also been a finalist for the prestigious Audie Award for best narration. She is an award-winning British actress with lead credits on stage, on television, and in commercials and voice-overs. Anne Flosnik, a seasoned audiobook narrator, has over four hundred titles to her credit and several awards and distinctions, including AudioFile Earphones Awards, a USA Today Recommended Listening selection, an AudioFile ""Best Narration of the Year"" selection in 2009, and the American Library Association's Special Services to Children Award. She has also been a finalist for the prestigious Audie Award for best narration. She is an award-winning British actress with lead credits on stage, on television, and in commercials and voice-overs.

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