What do you think happened when the medieval European imagination found a new artistic medium?
Above is only a minute part of what the builders of Chartres Cathedral achieved. Come inside and we’ll explore one of the world’s finest artistic achievements. [click to continue…]
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The fire that destroyed all of the old cathedral at Chartres (except the west entrance) was a blessing in disguise.
People could build a new church from scratch, and synthesize features from earlier Gothic cathedrals into something new. They also employed new technologies which allowed them to raise Gothic style to one of the high points of Western culture. Chartres Cathedral became a model for High Gothic architecture all over Europe. It’s easy to see why. [click to continue…]
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When Jayavarman VII broke with Khmer royal traditions by following Buddhism, he chose a form of the faith that allowed many new ideas to permeate Angkor’s society.
Khmer civilization in its heyday synthesized a big range of ideas to integrate itself. You can see these mixtures in Jayavarman’s great temples. But first, we’ll learn a little more about the big man. [click to continue…]
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In the 30 years after Angkor Wat was built, Angkor was plagued by royal succession crises and an invasion by a powerful federation of cities called the Chams (from Vietnam). But Jayavarman VII took the throne in 1181, extended the empire, and built more grandly than any Khmer king did. Many people consider his constructions to represent Angkor in its glory days. They sure wowed me.
Angkor during this time had manycultural currents, as its European contemporaries who built the great Gothic cathedrals did. Both societies together make a very cool comparative study. We’ll compare some of the greatest monuments from both cultures over the next few days, and we’ll make some flights to other lands in between–fasten your seatbelts. But first, we’ll meet the man who spearheaded Angkor’s greatest glories. [click to continue…]
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Who are those dudes with the dreads? Are they an Angkor Wat hip hop group?
They’re actually part of a military procession, but they’re not normal Khmer troops. Their presence reveals a way that the king portrayed himself as the most important guy in the world. And they show how Khmers thought of other ethnic groups. [click to continue…]
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It was the worst disaster imaginable. In 1194 a fire ravaged the city of Chartres, and all of its cathedral except the west facade burned to the ground.
Chartres was the center of the cult of the Virgin Mary. People at first thought that the fire was a sign that she had forsaken her sanctuary because of humanity’s sins. But Chartres in 1194 was a special town in a special time. [click to continue…]
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Suryavarman II, the builder of Angkor Wat, made a walloping Linkedin profile.
Here is one of his key ministers on his mighty elephant, surrounded by parasols. Regal, but I found that Angkor Wat’s style generates mixed feelings. [click to continue…]
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What a beautiful image of peace to see just before the south gate of the Khmer capital, Angkor Thom–a heck of a lot prettier than billboards on the LA freeways.
But his counterpart on the other side of the road sure has a bad attitude. [click to continue…]
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If I can make it there, I’ll make it anywhere. If Frank Sinatra had lived in the 8th century, he would have been strutting around Chang’an, Tang China’s capital.
And it’s easy to imagine what part of town he would have gotten his kicks in. [click to continue…]
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OK, I’m not a great Tang Dynasty poet, and I rarely drink alcohol. But as I explored vestiges of the Tang capital, I developed a bond with the modern city (Xi’an) that will be strong for the rest of my life.
And I felt that people who’ve only been to Shanghai and Hong Kong, or who have only gone to Beijing to do business, haven’t seen the real China. [click to continue…]
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