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Stealing from the Saracens : how Islamic architecture shaped Europe / Diana Darke.

By: Material type: TextTextPublisher: London : Hurst & Company, 2020Description: viii, 474 pages : illustrations (colour) ; 22 cmContent type:
  • text
  • still image
Media type:
  • unmediated
Carrier type:
  • volume
ISBN:
  • 1787383059
  • 9781787383050
Subject(s): Genre/Form: DDC classification:
  • 720.94 DAR 23
LOC classification:
  • NA950 .D37 2020
Summary: Europeans are in denial. Against a backdrop of Islamophobia, they are increasingly distancing themselves from their cultural debt to the Muslim world. But while the legacy of Islam and the Middle East is in danger of being airbrushed out of Western history, its traces can still be detected in some of Europe's most recognisable monuments, from Notre-Dame to St Paul's Cathedral.0In this comprehensively illustrated book, Diana Darke sets out to redress the balance, revealing the Arab and Islamic roots of Europe's architectural heritage. She tracks the transmission of key innovations from the great capitals of Islam's early empires, Damascus and Baghdad, via Muslim Spain and Sicily into Europe. Medieval crusaders, pilgrims and merchants from Europe later encountered Arab Muslim culture in journeys to the Holy Land. In more recent centuries, that same route through modern-day Turkey connected Ottoman culture with the West, leading Sir Christopher Wren himself to believe that Gothic architecture should more rightly be called 'the Saracen style', because of its Islamic origins.0Recovering this overlooked story within the West's long history of borrowing from the Islamic world, Darke sheds new light on Europe's buildings and offers rich insights into the possibilities of cultural exchange.
Holdings
Item type Current library Call number Status Date due Barcode
Standard Loan LSAD Library 720.94 DAR (Browse shelf(Opens below)) Available 39002100712117

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Europeans are in denial. Against a backdrop of Islamophobia, they are increasingly distancing themselves from their cultural debt to the Muslim world. But while the legacy of Islam and the Middle East is in danger of being airbrushed out of Western history, its traces can still be detected in some of Europe's most recognizable monuments, from Notre-Dame to St Paul's Cathedral. In this comprehensively illustrated book, Diana Darke sets out to redress the balance, revealing the Arab and Islamic roots of Europe's architectural heritage. She tracks the transmission of key innovations from the great capitals of Islam's early empires, Damascus and Baghdad, via Muslim Spain and Sicily into Europe. Medieval crusaders, pilgrims and merchants from Europe later encountered Arab Muslim culture in journeys to the Holy Land. In more recent centuries, that same route through modern-day Turkey connected Ottoman culture with the West, leading Sir Christopher Wren himself to believe that Gothic architecture should more rightly be called "the Saracen style", because of its Islamic origins. Recovering this overlooked story within the West's long history of borrowing from the Islamic world, Darke sheds new light on Europe's buildings and offers rich insights into the possibilities of cultural exchange.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Europeans are in denial. Against a backdrop of Islamophobia, they are increasingly distancing themselves from their cultural debt to the Muslim world. But while the legacy of Islam and the Middle East is in danger of being airbrushed out of Western history, its traces can still be detected in some of Europe's most recognisable monuments, from Notre-Dame to St Paul's Cathedral.0In this comprehensively illustrated book, Diana Darke sets out to redress the balance, revealing the Arab and Islamic roots of Europe's architectural heritage. She tracks the transmission of key innovations from the great capitals of Islam's early empires, Damascus and Baghdad, via Muslim Spain and Sicily into Europe. Medieval crusaders, pilgrims and merchants from Europe later encountered Arab Muslim culture in journeys to the Holy Land. In more recent centuries, that same route through modern-day Turkey connected Ottoman culture with the West, leading Sir Christopher Wren himself to believe that Gothic architecture should more rightly be called 'the Saracen style', because of its Islamic origins.0Recovering this overlooked story within the West's long history of borrowing from the Islamic world, Darke sheds new light on Europe's buildings and offers rich insights into the possibilities of cultural exchange.

Table of contents provided by Syndetics

  • Preface (p. vii)
  • Introduction (p. 1)
  • 1 Christopher Wren: The Arch-Synthesiser (p. 9)
  • 2 Gothic Architecture: 'The Saracen Style' (p. 31)
  • 3 The Pre-Islamic Inheritance: Pagan and Early Christian Architecture in Syria (p. 61)
  • 4 The First Islamic Empire:The Umayyads in Syria (661-750) (p. 97)
  • 5 Andalusia: The Umayyads in Spain (756-1492) (p. 155)
  • 6 The Abbasid and Fatimid Caliphates (750-1258) (p. 197)
  • 7 Gateways to Europe (800-1400) (p. 225)
  • 8 The Seljuks, the Ottomans and Sinan (1075-1924) (p. 277)
  • 9 The Revivals: Neo-Gothic, Neo-Saracenic, Neo-Moorish (1717-2026) (p. 309)
  • 10 Iconic Buildings of Europe: A Gallery of Images with Key Influences (p. 341)
  • Conclusion (p. 381)
  • Acknowledgements (p. 391)
  • Glossary (p. 395)
  • Notes (p. 403)
  • List of Illustrations and Figures (p. 425)
  • Bibliography (p. 443)
  • Index (p. 451)

Author notes provided by Syndetics

Diana Darke is an Arabist and cultural expert who has lived and worked in the Middle East for over thirty years. She is the author of the acclaimed My House in Damascus and The Merchant of Syria. She tweets as @dianadarke.

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