Abbot Suger On the Abbey Church of St. Denis and Its Art Treasures

The texts translated in this volume are concerned with the parent monument of all Gothic cathedrals. They were composed be a man who helped to share European history and they abound in concrete in formation as to archaeological facts, the liturgical customs, and the social habits of his time. And they contain some real gems of medieval oratory both in prose and verve.

Suger, abbot of St. Denis from 1122 to 1151, was one of the few patrons of the arts to leave a record of his enterprises in literary form. Mr. Panofsky has edited, annotated, and translated the abbot's reports, presenting them in Latin and in English. They are followed by detailed commentary, implemented by twenty‑seven illustrations and a sketch‑map showing the location of the objects described.

This is the first revision of Suger's text since 1867, and it has never before been translated.