Overview

"For history readers, travelers, and scholars alike, an indispensable behind-the-scenes guide to the great cathedrals of Paris. Over the years, R. Howard Bloch has become renowned for the insider tours of Paris that he gives to students abroad. Long sought after by travelers and history buffs for his near-encyclopedic knowledge of French cathedrals, the eminent scholar finally shares his expertise with a wider audience. In Paris and Her Cathedrals, six of the most sublime cathedrals in the penumbra of Paris--Saint-Denis, Notre-Dame, Chartres, Sainte-Chapelle, Amiens, Reims--are illumined in magnificent detail as Bloch, taking us from the High Middle Ages to the devastating fire that set Notre-Dame ablaze in 2019, traces the evolution of each in turn. Animating the past with lush evocations of architectural splendor, Bloch then contextualizes the cathedrals within the annals of French history. Here thrilling tales of kingly intrigue--as in Saint-Chapelle, where the pious King Louis IX amassed relics, including Christ's crown of thorns--and audacious abbots are interspersed with anecdotes about the meeting of aristocratic and everyday life, culminating in ""a rich, colorful narrative that clearly but expertly explains the history and symbolism of some of the world's most magnificent buildings"" (Ross King)."

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R. Howard Bloch is the Sterling Professor of French and director of the Division of the Humanities at Yale University. He is the author of God's Plagiarist: Being an Account of the Fabulous Industry and Irregular Commerce of the Abbe Jacques-Paul Migne; The Anonymous Marie De France (winner of the MLA's 2005 Scaglione Prize); Etymologies and Genealogies: A Literary Anthropology of the French Middle Ages; and Medieval French Liturature and Law. A recipient of Fulbright and Guggenheim Fellowships, a James Russell Lowell Award, and the Medal of the College de France, he is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and an officier dans l'Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Formerly a collegiate Academic All-American baseball player, bilingual sales rep (Spanish), Federal Reserve intern, and Levi's Denim Fit model, Alex Mortensen brings world experience to each of his roles. Twenty-plus years of athletics taught him discipline and a strong Midwest work ethic. He still enjoys football, baseball, baking, language (Spanish-fluent, French and German-novice), golf, and learning. Matthew Josdal is a voice-over and theater artist originally from a small town in southwest Saskatchewan. Matthew obtained his BFA in drama from the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon, where he currently resides. He has narrated audiobooks in genres ranging from historical nonfiction to contemporary fantasy, along with most things in between. In addition to a fifteen-plus year career in acting for both stage and microphone, he recently completed all of his requirements for his honors degree in psychology.

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