The Creation of Gothic Architecture is a five-part illustrated thesaurus of the Early Gothic churches in the limestone region of northern France known as the Paris Basin. It focuses on the transformation from romanesque to gothic architecture during the years between 1120 and 1250, and when complete it will provide a comprehensive pictorial history of the 1,420 churches of the Paris Basin. Most of these churches, which represent a vital step in the evolution of western European architecture, are barely known outside the region, and have been little recorded. The completed project will:...

A complete collection of all the capitals carved in the Paris Basin before 1130 - over 4,000 - few of which have ever been published before. From this has come a profoundly significant analysis: That these carvers pursued what might be called a Quest for Order, a quest that grew into an obsession over the next two generations. By following each step in this quest in the dateable buildings in the rest of Europe, James has dated nearly every campaign in the Basin to within 5 years - a unique achievement possible only because every one of the 147 remaining works have been included. This holistic...

The 12th- and 13th-century early Gothic churches from the region around Paris which form the basis of this study were large-scale undertakings. Dr James draws on evidence which suggests that work proceeded in a series of projects, when funding, technical problems (for example, slow-setting mortar), and the work of other trades (such as roofing and centring) allowed. Within each project there were generally a number of separately organised phases, or campaigns', and it is from close study of these campaigns that the author proceeds to an identification of the characteristics of the individual...