Islamesque The Forgotten Craftsmen Who Built Europe's Medieval Monuments
Who really built Europe’s finest Romanesque monuments? Clergymen presiding over holy sites are credited throughout history, while highly skilled creators remain anonymous. But the buildings speak for themselves.
This groundbreaking book explores the evidence embedded in medieval monasteries, churches and castles, from Mont Saint-Michel and the Leaning Tower of Pisa to Durham Cathedral and the Basilica of Santiago de Compostela. Tracing the origins of key design innovations from this pre-Gothic period—acknowledged as the essential foundation of all future European construction styles—Diana Darke sheds startling new light on the masons, carpenters and sculptors behind these masterpieces.
At a time when Christendom lacked such expertise, Muslim craftsmen had advanced understanding of geometry and complex ornamentation. They dominated high-end construction in Islamic Spain, Sicily and North Africa, spreading knowledge and techniques across Western Europe. Challenging Euro-centric assumptions, Darke uncovers the profound influence of the Islamic world in ‘Christian’ Europe, and argues that ‘Romanesque’ architecture, a nineteenth-century art historians’ fiction, should be recognised for what it truly is: Islamesque.
‘Learned but lively, Islamesque invites us to look again at medieval European architecture, demonstrating beyond doubt that the spirit, techniques and crafts of Islam inspired many of its most glorious expressions.’ — Tim Winter, Lecturer in Islamic Studies, University of Cambridge
‘A guide to some of the most remarkable buildings in Europe, Islamesque persuasively argues that the innovative techniques and motifs of Romanesque architecture can only be explained by wealthy Christian patrons employing architects and craftsmen from formerly Muslim Spain and Sicily.’ — Julia Bray, Emerita Abdulaziz Saud AlBabtain Laudian Professor of Arabic, University of Oxford
‘Magnificently lively, detailed and bold, a real revolution in how we think about the development of medieval art and architecture. But it also does a fine and timely job of unsettling all kinds of assumptions about mutually impenetrable and isolated civilisations.’ — Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury
Who really built Europe’s finest Romanesque monuments? Clergymen presiding over holy sites are credited throughout history, while highly skilled creators remain anonymous. But the buildings speak for themselves.
This groundbreaking book explores the evidence embedded in medieval monasteries, churches and castles, from Mont Saint-Michel and the Leaning Tower of Pisa to Durham Cathedral and the Basilica of Santiago de Compostela. Tracing the origins of key design innovations from this pre-Gothic period—acknowledged as the essential foundation of all future European construction styles—Diana Darke sheds startling new light on the masons, carpenters and sculptors behind these masterpieces.
At a time when Christendom lacked such expertise, Muslim craftsmen had advanced understanding of geometry and complex ornamentation. They dominated high-end construction in Islamic Spain, Sicily and North Africa, spreading knowledge and techniques across Western Europe. Challenging Euro-centric assumptions, Darke uncovers the profound influence of the Islamic world in ‘Christian’ Europe, and argues that ‘Romanesque’ architecture, a nineteenth-century art historians’ fiction, should be recognised for what it truly is: Islamesque.
‘Learned but lively, Islamesque invites us to look again at medieval European architecture, demonstrating beyond doubt that the spirit, techniques and crafts of Islam inspired many of its most glorious expressions.’ — Tim Winter, Lecturer in Islamic Studies, University of Cambridge
‘A guide to some of the most remarkable buildings in Europe, Islamesque persuasively argues that the innovative techniques and motifs of Romanesque architecture can only be explained by wealthy Christian patrons employing architects and craftsmen from formerly Muslim Spain and Sicily.’ — Julia Bray, Emerita Abdulaziz Saud AlBabtain Laudian Professor of Arabic, University of Oxford
‘Magnificently lively, detailed and bold, a real revolution in how we think about the development of medieval art and architecture. But it also does a fine and timely job of unsettling all kinds of assumptions about mutually impenetrable and isolated civilisations.’ — Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury
Who really built Europe’s finest Romanesque monuments? Clergymen presiding over holy sites are credited throughout history, while highly skilled creators remain anonymous. But the buildings speak for themselves.
This groundbreaking book explores the evidence embedded in medieval monasteries, churches and castles, from Mont Saint-Michel and the Leaning Tower of Pisa to Durham Cathedral and the Basilica of Santiago de Compostela. Tracing the origins of key design innovations from this pre-Gothic period—acknowledged as the essential foundation of all future European construction styles—Diana Darke sheds startling new light on the masons, carpenters and sculptors behind these masterpieces.
At a time when Christendom lacked such expertise, Muslim craftsmen had advanced understanding of geometry and complex ornamentation. They dominated high-end construction in Islamic Spain, Sicily and North Africa, spreading knowledge and techniques across Western Europe. Challenging Euro-centric assumptions, Darke uncovers the profound influence of the Islamic world in ‘Christian’ Europe, and argues that ‘Romanesque’ architecture, a nineteenth-century art historians’ fiction, should be recognised for what it truly is: Islamesque.
‘Learned but lively, Islamesque invites us to look again at medieval European architecture, demonstrating beyond doubt that the spirit, techniques and crafts of Islam inspired many of its most glorious expressions.’ — Tim Winter, Lecturer in Islamic Studies, University of Cambridge
‘A guide to some of the most remarkable buildings in Europe, Islamesque persuasively argues that the innovative techniques and motifs of Romanesque architecture can only be explained by wealthy Christian patrons employing architects and craftsmen from formerly Muslim Spain and Sicily.’ — Julia Bray, Emerita Abdulaziz Saud AlBabtain Laudian Professor of Arabic, University of Oxford
‘Magnificently lively, detailed and bold, a real revolution in how we think about the development of medieval art and architecture. But it also does a fine and timely job of unsettling all kinds of assumptions about mutually impenetrable and isolated civilisations.’ — Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury