{"product_id":"islamesque-the-forgotten-craftsmen-who-built-europes-medieval-monuments-9781805260974","title":"Islamesque: The Forgotten Craftsmen Who Built Europe's Medieval Monuments","description":"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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThis 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. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eAt 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 recognized for what it truly is: Islamesque.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eDiana Darke has spent four decades in the Middle East. Her books include \u003cem\u003eStealing from the Saracens\u003c\/em\u003e (also available from Oxford University Press), \u003cem\u003eMy House in Damascus\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eThe Ottomans\u003c\/em\u003e. A non-resident scholar at Washington DC's Middle East Institute, she holds degrees in Arabic and in Islamic Art and Architecture.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Hurst \u0026 Co.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50878143987986,"sku":"9781805260974","price":24.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_d81912d1-1129-47da-90b5-b9ba2dfebf6a.jpg?v=1738174220","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/islamesque-the-forgotten-craftsmen-who-built-europes-medieval-monuments-9781805260974","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}