The huge cathedrals of the world are unmatched in their variety and the daring of their construction, with their dazzling facades, imposing towers and intricate and often bizarre sculptural detail. Add to this unrivalled beauty the painstaking quality of their craftsmanship in stone, glass and wood, and the result is the finest building in any city, combining in its soaring structure centuries of history with the embodiment of the spirit of the Middle Ages.

          This highly illustrated handbook is a tribute bringing vividly alive these monuments of worship, concentrating on those of western Europe, showing their changing styles and giving a graphic account of the influences which formed them as well as their architecture.