Great Gothic Cathedrals of France guides readers on a tour of twelve French cathedrals that best exemplify one of the greatest glories of Western civilization. From the beautiful facade of Notre-Dame in Paris to the transcendent beauty of the stained glass at Chartres, this book clarifies the significant elements of their architecture by means of its text and images. The cathedrals of Amiens, Paris, Saint Denis, Chartres, Reims, Laon, Noyon, Soissons, Sens, Beauvais, Bourges and Troyes as well as Sainte-Chapelle are all presented to give the reader and visitor to France a clear understanding of these extraordinary buildings. This publication also provides the reader with a chapter on how to "read" a stained glass window. AUTHOR: Stan Parry is a retired public health and cancer research institute executive living in Palo Alto with his wife Melinda, an art historian. Melinda's knowledge of Christian art and particularly medieval and renaissance iconography has been invaluable. They have traveled across France for over thirty years, where they have observed and photographed its grand architecture and beautiful landscape. Stan was educated at UCLA and San Francisco State University.
