"ER...WHERE DO THE FLYING BUTTRESSES GO?"

One of the most interesting experiences "the wife" and I have had is watching "Cathedral," a DVD series of 24 thirty minute lectures on the world's great cathedrals. Produced by The Teaching Company as one of The Great Courses, this one is taught by Dr. William R. Cook of New York State, Geneseo. While I doubt that we go to the "same church", nonetheless here is a brilliant, lovable teacher whose English delivery and diction are impeccable. So is his obvious knowledge of his subject. The course is beautifully illustrated with many drawings, diagrams, and photographs taken by Dr. Wood and his "intrepid" student, under tricky
lighting situations.

In one photo Dr. Wood is shown high up on a facade, about where Charles Laughton hung out and you can barely see him--he is so small and the building so large. From seeing his favorite cathedral at Amiens at age 17, in 1961, he has spent his life studying, visiting, and loving cathedrals.

This writer has always wondered how such buildings could be planned, engineered and constructed during the "primitive" 12th, 13th, 14th and later--centuries, when science, medicine, plumbing, transportation, textiles, and things in general were...as I said, so primitive. How did they keep them square and plumb? And when you are stacking stones upon each other, they can't lean. How do you go higher and higher and lift the spire up there? Where do you find craftsmen who can carve those many, many stone sculptures up under the entrances? There is a word for those porches, but I' m still learning a new set of terminologies.

Years ago I read "The Education of Henry Adams" wherein he stated that in all the world he had never felt (my memory) "the sense of reverence, beauty, unity, and truth" anywhere as much as he had in Chartres and Mont-St. Mihiel Cathedrals. In fact he wrote a book on the subject. Now I have seen these and understand what he was seeing.

According to our teacher, the cathedral at Chartres has the most stained glass; it is the most beautiful stained glass of all and the most original extant, dating from first construction. Here during World War II, incredibly most of the stained glass windows were removed piece by piece and stored safely, to be meticulously restored after the war.

While Chartres is Dr. Cook's favorite example of stained glass, Amiens is his choice for sculpture, particularly the facade and porches. To quote: "The facade at Amiens Cathedral may well be the greatest single sculptural display in all Gothic architecture." This I didn't know: there is an incredible amount of "narrative" sculpture at Amiens, and most of the cathedrals; The stained glass is also narrative. These contain Biblical history, legends, and traditions.

Some faiths are not oriented toward icons, statues, or symbolism, but that does not preclude a deep sense of respect, enjoyment, and appreciation of the beauty one sees. Okay, you have been waiting to hear about the flying buttresses. Let's see if I can put this in layman-speak. They are those weird-beautiful things, shaped funny, on the outside that brace the church walls and the roof, without which everything would fold in and down. Keep in mind, these roofs are made of stone, a lot of them anyway. Heavy, heavy! He does a whole lecture on stone roofs, by the way. Anyway, the genius of these things, the buttresses, is that they are done so aesthetically and fit into the total so well.

We are mesmerized and watch four lectures a night, I with the syllabus and the wife taking notes. Then she says: "Let's watch another one!"

Sadly, we have wasted so many years by not ordering some of the 400 or so of The Great Courses from The Teaching Company (find by Googling). Their brochures and magazines are first class; their professors are very carefully searched-out and selected and then rated and evaluated by their viewers. Their quality control addresses all manner of production safeguards and techniques. They guarantee satisfaction.

We have already watched: "The Art of Reading", 24 lectures by Dr, Timothy Spurgin and "The History of Ancient Egypt," 48 lectures by Dr. Bob Brier. Both of these were EXCELLENT. Our next two will be: "Experiencing Rome: A Visual Exploration," 36 lectures and "An Introduction to Astronomy," 96 lectures by the famous Dr. Fillipenko. After this one, watch for my blog: "WILL I SEE STARS?"

-By Mil-

After word: You know, I really enjoyed writing this one!
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