Rated 4 out of
5
by
Missy painter from
more to come
I have not finished the whole course... so far so good.
Date published: 2020-11-22
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Marusya from
From pagan temples to the great cathedrals...
I can’t tell you how much my husband and I learned about Gothic architecture around the world from this course. Since we had recently finished a course on Italy, this was a perfect follow up. The Great Courses Plus is getting us through the time of this novel coronavirus.
Date published: 2020-09-09
Rated 4 out of
5
by
Ninjaneer from
Knowledgeable but occasionally dry
Professor Cook is clearly enthusiastic about his subject. He dealt effectively with the genesis of the gothic cathedral and I learnt a lot, but he tended to dwell over long on French Cathedrals when there are many more that would have benefitted from his attention. Three lectures on Chartres alone, whilst Canterbury, Salisbury, Wells and Lincoln were crammed into a single lecture. You might have guessed that I am English, but nonetheless I feel it was slightly unbalanced. In spite of this quibble, it was a largely engaging, and consistently informative course.
Date published: 2020-09-08
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Carolina2620 from
Great Program
My husband and I are extremely pleased with the program. We find the instructor to be informative and entertaining. We have both been interested in cathedrals since our visit to France several years ago. The instructor’s explanations and descriptions are very detailed and only enhance our desire to return the Europe to visit all the cathedrals.
Date published: 2020-08-25
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Dr Mac from
Fantastic Visuals
A very enjoyable and well presented course. Professor Cook was enthusiastic about the subject and provided wonderful pictures of many different cathedrals. This course compares very favorably with a PBS show on English cathedrals.
Date published: 2020-06-22
Rated 5 out of
5
by
History Nut from
The Catheral
We've visited many catherdrals in Europe over the years. I thought I knew a fair amount about catherdrals. Professor Cook goes into great detail on the history of catherdrals. He has a passion and decades of knowledge. I would highly recommend it.
Date published: 2020-06-10
Rated 5 out of
5
by
HSTeacher from
Wonderful Course
This course is excellent! Professor Cook is always entertaining and informative. I love the way he explains the symbolism in the cathedrals. This is the third time I've bought this course. It makes a good gift for anyone interested in Gothic cathedrals and architecture.
Equally informative and interesting is another course by Professor Cook entitled The World's Greatest Churches. I've found that a person can't go wrong when they purchase a course by Professor Cook!
Date published: 2020-06-08
Rated 4 out of
5
by
GillP from
The Cathedral
I enjoyed this course. The speaker was very enthusiastic about his subject, and his photographs were beautiful. Professor Cook has clearly spent a lot of time in France, and loves that country.
At times, Professor Cook delivered his talks at a fast pace, and did not give enough time for me to fully enjoy these amazing buildings, many of which I have visited personally. Although I appreciate that this type of architecture originated and developed in France, I felt that professor Cook spent far too much time on France, giving 2 - 3 lectures to individual cathedrals. After 18 lectures I felt that he was describing the same features in each of the buildings. It was only on the 19th lecture of 24 that he introduced cathedrals outside France, so variations from the classical Romanesque or Gothic in France were rushed and superficially covered, almost as if they were an addendum to make up the remaining lectures. This was a big disappointment for me, as cathedrals elsewhere in Europe, and even in the New World were given very little time, and I felt that he had missed so many, although I do understand that it is a vast subject, and inevitably cannot be covered in so short a time.
Having said all this, I learned a lot from this course, and it has enabled me to view cathedrals in a new light, and pick out details that I have previously missed on my travels.
Date published: 2020-05-30
Rated 5 out of
5
by
jsedlack from
Boy was this great!
I took this course through Great Courses plus. This is just a fantastic program. Professor Cook is a compelling and incredibly knowledgable lecturer, and the graphics and pictures are amazing! Not to be a spoiler, but "I was moved when I was 17, and I am moved now." Just remarkable. It would be interesting to revisit Notre Dame of Paris after the fire.
Date published: 2020-05-12
Rated 5 out of
5
by
smith4000000 from
Educational, after traveling Europe for years it added a lots.
Date published: 2020-04-30
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Suma in Stone ask Cook from
Can't wait for the next lecture!
Saw this course several yrs ago when our library acquired it. Checked it out again recently and decided I need this for myself.
Prof.Cooks passion for the topic is amazing and inspiring.I've got to go to France and visit these cathederals.
Date published: 2020-03-21
Rated 5 out of
5
by
An admirer from
Top-Notch Professor and Great Use of Photography
The professor is clearly in love with his subject, and his organization and delivery of the course material is superb. I have not seen a better use of photographs and graphics in a Teaching Company course. Overall an A+.
Date published: 2020-02-03
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Lynn K from
The presentation
Just a quick mention of William Cook’s Teaching method. He has a podium and uses it to keep notes and track of his place in the lecture. I like that he is not wondering around on that rug that is part of so many presentations of the great courses. Those teachers look so beleaguered trying to keep track of the instructions that tell them when to turn to the other side of the rug. Then they need to find their place in the teleprompter. That is all so fake. Dr Cook, in contrast, is very animated and steps beyond the podium to gesticulate and emphasize but returns to it. It grounds him and looks like a real class lecture. He is so interesting and does not distract from what he is saying by getting lost on the rug.
Also, not to neglect the content, great detail and great visual aids. I love the way he appears in a little window while the subject, usually a building or drawing of the structural elements of a building, appear in a larger window. Why do not the other teachers do more of that.
This class is just so good, everyone interested in architecture and engineering should give it a try.
Date published: 2020-01-14
Rated 4 out of
5
by
UncleWoody from
The instructor really knows his cathedrals!
The course is very detailed and explaining showing and demonstrating all of the features of the various Gothic cathedrals. I had expected more coverage of how they were constructed and by who, than was afforded in the course.
Date published: 2019-11-19
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Lothe from
Awesome but Accessible
Have you ever had a friend or acquaintance who went on a tour of Europe and came back saying how great it was, but adding that the parade of churches eventually grew tiresome? “If you’ve seen one cathedral, you’ve seen them all” seems to be the common refrain. Professor William Cook vehemently disagrees, and by the end of this course, you will, too.
Although called simply “The Cathedral,” this course mainly focuses on the sort of building many of us think of when we hear that word: Gothic cathedrals. The course does begin with a glance at precursors to Gothic architecture, and concludes with a brief mention of 21st-century Gothic architecture, but the majority of it is concerned with French medieval cathedrals in the Gothic style. It’s a subject Prof. Cook addresses with gusto, a clear object of passion for him. His discussions cover everything from the earliest Gothic at Saint-Denis (ironically, not a cathedral), to Reims, Amiens, and more, including a sweeping, three-lecture-long look at the tremendous cathedral of Chartres.
These lectures cover not just the history of specific buildings, but where they stand in the Gothic style, including the development of vaulting, arches, columns, sculptural programs both exterior and interior, and of course the magnificent stained glass that so many of us associate with Gothic cathedrals. Far from mind-numbing minutiae or inane trivia, these architectural and artistic details turn out to be the pulsing lifeblood of the Gothic tradition, and learning to pay attention to them is what transforms a visit to one of these churches from a single, wow-that’s-big moment of shock to a dynamic, rewarding, and even spiritually fulfilling encounter with the minds and work of ages past.
This course is rife with photographs that help illustrate the concepts and buildings Prof. Cook is talking about. The camera occasionally sweeps around computer-rendered models of some of the churches, an idea that’s intriguing but ultimately doesn’t amount to much, serving more often as a fancy transition than a real aid to understanding. Prof. Cook himself is, as I mentioned, clearly very passionate about this subject. Yes, he does have a habit of slightly raising his voice: to me, he sounds like a professor who’s used to addressing a plenary room full of students, and imagining myself in a big classroom listening to him speak to a crowd made it feel a bit more natural. In any event, it bothered me for maybe the first two minutes of the first lecture, after which I rarely thought about it again. It is absolutely not a reason to avoid this superlative course.
Not only is he engaged, Prof. Cook is engaging, obviously accustomed to introducing this subject to neophyte audiences. He starts with the basics of both the architecture and the history and, as one must with a church, builds up. It doesn’t matter if you don’t know your apse from a hole in the ground: Prof. Cook will give you everything you need to appreciate these great buildings. Although cathedrals of the non-French world unfortunately get somewhat short shrift, by Prof. Cook’s own admission, this is deliberate. By examining a few places in detail, he equips you with the ability to look thoughtfully at any other Gothic structure you might encounter. And by the time you’re done with this course, you’ll want to encounter them. In fact, the only real negative I could mention about this course is that the price might be higher than it appears – because there’s a pretty good chance it’ll inspire you to grab a ticket to Europe and go see some of these churches! And even if you did that, it would still be worth every penny.
~
Date published: 2019-11-11
Rated 5 out of
5
by
kjurgen from
The Cathedral
This excellent course answers many questions on the evolution of gothic design. As a lay student of architecture, the course is a must have in understanding this evolution and the amount of information that we still don't know. Professor William Cook presented this material with wonder and enthusiasm making the student wanting more at each lecture. His 1st hand observations were as if I was there looking at it the particular detail with him. An outstanding delivery of the material. To get the most from the material, I recommend the video course as there are many photos and graphics enhancing the course.
I look forward to someday visiting these wonderful works and before I leave my home, I will be referring back to this course to get the most from my visit.
Date published: 2019-10-07
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Jude67 from
The Cathedral
I am really enjoying this course as I had previously bought World's Greatest Churches with Professor Cook and he is very interesting and easy to watch and listen to.The only complaint I have is this course was packaged in Mexico it said on the box of dvds and all the dvds were crammed in one case. Luckily none were damaged but I thought that was poor packaging.That was the first time I had encountered that. All the other courses I bought were in cases with slots for each dvd.Anyway I would definitely recommend this course for armchair travelers like me.
Date published: 2019-09-12
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Queensie from
Glad I chose this course
I haven't finished the course yet, but I am very pleased with what I have seen so far. The professor is extremely knowledgeable and detailed in his presentation, and the visuals are excellent. I was especially drawn to the lecture on Notre Dame in view of the recent fire.
Date published: 2019-09-04
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Gloster from
An Adventure in Wonder
This course was far more beautiful and informative than I anticipated!
I deeply appreciated not only the in-depth knowledge of Professor Cook, but also the manner and content of his lectures. The abundant photographs, videos, and incredible graphics all gave visual evidence of the incredible architecture and skill of those who constructed and decorated these marvelous buildings.
I was raised Roman Catholic in the '40s and '50s, and the cathedral in my hometown is in the "hall Gothic" style that is apparently typical for Catholic and Episcopal cathedrals in the Americas. As a young man, I had the privilege of touring some of the churches discussed in this course, including Notre Dame in Paris, Notre Dame in Chartres, and Westminster Abbey in London and, although I marveled at their size and intricate sculptures and carvings, I did not understand the "depth" of what I had the privilege to visit.
Dr. Cook's course conveys a welter of different but intertwined areas of knowledge: some of the essential beliefs and practices of the Christians at the time these churches were built, for instance, but also the evolution of cathedrals from the basilica structures modeling the civic buildings of ancient Rome, to the Romanesque and then to several periods of Gothic. I learned how Gothic architecture began -- a development from, rather than a rejection of, Romanesque -- and also how it varied within and between countries. It was also fun to see how its architecture moved from the necessity of function -- how to most successfully up hold up very heavy roofs of stone of stone, which is how the invention of flying buttresses came about -- to the more fanciful and even whimsical creations of late Gothic in which pillars and arches combined function with beauty.
This was one of the most informative and enjoyable of the more than 120 courses I have enjoyed from the Teaching Company. Even if one is not a Christian, but is nonetheless interested in architecture or just wanting to know more about these most "Middle Age representative" structures, I think you will enjoy this course and come away with renewed admiration for the skills, work, and beliefs of our ancestors in faith.
Well done!
Date published: 2019-08-08
Rated 5 out of
5
by
c e k from
Fascinating material, engaging professor
I'm still watching these lectures, but I already know I will watch them over again. The material is beautifully illustrated and the professor seems to speak directly to you, only occasionally glancing at his notes. You feel like you are actually in a class with this professor.
Date published: 2019-08-02
Rated 2 out of
5
by
SFO BOS from
Misleading title: mainly gothic in France
I found the course disappointing. The title does not reflect the course material. I was expecting an introduction of Cathedrals of the world, but the course mostly covers medieval gothic cathedrals in France. How about other architectural styles, e.g. Roman, Byzantine, Renaissance, Baroque, Victorian, etc., and the vast number of Cathedrals in other countries, such as Italy and Spain? It is like a course with a title, Economics, but only covers the economics in France from 15th-18th century. Why don't just use a title, Gothic Cathedrals in France, intead?
Date published: 2019-07-31
Rated 5 out of
5
by
janna from
Very interesting
Great blending of photographs with CGI. Professor Cook is very dynamic and not only knowledgeable of architechure by but of Catholic theology.
Date published: 2019-07-29
Rated 5 out of
5
by
DebM from
Exactly what I wanted
One of the best on-line courses I've taken. Clear lectures with excellent examples and graphics. The flow is perfect, that is, specific topics with excellent compare-and-contrast examples. I experienced many Aha moments. After this course, I feel ready to explore and identify European gothic architecture.
Date published: 2019-07-21
Rated 5 out of
5
by
German Girl from
Super
I have seen many of the cathedral that Professor Cook talks about, but wish that I had taken his course before I went. Not only is Professor Cook very knowledgeable, but the pictures and visuals are outstanding
Date published: 2019-06-20
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Tom 714 from
I had looked at this before and decided to purchase a copy because of the portion on Notre Dame. Visited Notre Dame several times and want to be able to remember how it looked before the fire.
Date published: 2019-06-13
Rated 4 out of
5
by
Rocks and architecture from
Good lectures
I just returned from Europe and on this trip I visited the 5 main Cathedrals that are talked about in this series of lectures. I have also visited at least 8 other cathedrals in other visits. Unfortunately after Nov1 until spring all of these cathedrals only offer lectures in French so this course covered things that I was unsure of the significance of until I watched it. The crypts under the cathedrals were also Closed during the winter. The professor is knowledgeable and enthusiastic about the subject but he does repeat him self in several of the lectures I would imagine to
emphasize a certain point. He also glosses over the wide spread destruction of the cathedral interiors by the revolutionaries and by later groups such as during the commune period in Paris 1872 and by the lack of restoration work done by the French until recently. Other than those minor point the lectures a well done and the visual aids were really helpful in understanding his lectures. The course is well worth the money
Date published: 2019-05-06
Rated 4 out of
5
by
bmtrip from
A good history of the cathedral
This course provides a good history of the cathedral from its beginnings to the gothic style. As a lover of cathedrals, I found it interesting. It was fun when I visited England after viewing the series to see many of the styles that were discussed (however, the course is mostly focused on mainland Europe and France, in particular). If you enjoy history, architecture, or churches in general, you will probably like this course.
Date published: 2019-03-23
Rated 5 out of
5
by
Steve_C from
Interesting and informative
I have enjoyed the way the professor presents the material. The combination of photos and some computer generated, 3D graphics makes the various cathedrals easy to visualize.
Date published: 2019-03-09
Rated 5 out of
5
by
flyd from
Fine survey
I bought this about a decade ago. It was great. I highly recommend it. They had a title on evolution by an amateur and it got nasty when I complained about it. I sent it back for a refund. By the way, I am a professional evolutionary biologist. I just happen to like cathedrals too.
Date published: 2019-02-24
Rated 4 out of
5
by
SBBob from
Clear
I have had this series for a month and I find the integration of history, architecture and church culture presented in a thorough story. The photos enhance the presentation an since they are the passenger's own photos he brings them alive in a way that engages the audience. It is the fifth topic I have purchased and I have not been disappointed.
Date published: 2019-01-14
