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Learner Reviews & Feedback for Age of Cathedrals by Yale University

4.7
stars
456 ratings

About the Course

An introduction to some of the most astonishing architectural monuments the world has ever known—Gothic cathedrals. We shall study the art, literature, intellectual life, economics, and new social arrangements that arose in the shadow of the cathedrals and that were such an important part of the revival of cities in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The goal of the course is a better appreciation of the High Middle Ages, a world that is still recognizably our own....

Top reviews

CL

Jan 7, 2019

I thoroughly enjoyed this course. I learned so much about cathedrals and their history. The professor was engaging, the forums were lively, and the imagery and music was beautiful and inspirational.

JK

Apr 13, 2021

Really enjoyed it. The information and way it was presented was very interesting. I would even do it again as it had a lot of information in it...cant wait to visit the cathedrals we studied about.

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151 - 175 of 175 Reviews for Age of Cathedrals

By Kate S

Dec 24, 2017

Great course! I really enjoyed the first 3 weeks and the detailed information on the history of cathedrals and how they were built. Instead of so much interpretation of stained glass windows, panel by panel and scene by scene, I would've appreciated a comparison of different cathedrals in different parts of Europe. But over all a good foundation for history-oriented travelers to France!

By João C B

Jul 21, 2020

I liked the course and enjoyed many chapiters of it. But, I think that the Urban Phenomena's week could focus on more interesting topics than Peter Abelard and sexual behavior - why not, for example, St. Thomas Aquinas, or the guild's system? The suggested readings are not very specific too: entire works with hundreds of pages.

By Catherine S

Apr 15, 2018

A little heavy on French history, but very interesting. I’m not a fan of peer reviews, and this has plenty of them, but at least the grades were a combination of quizzes and peer reviews.

By Sharon M

Jan 28, 2021

A good course! I was hoping for more in-depth information on the actual design and construction of the cathedrals, but a lot was covered in the course and it was well worth it.

By Andrés B

Jun 2, 2020

Un curso IDEAL para quien está fascinado por el período gótico y desea conocer más profundamente de la época y de sus construcciones y su vida

By Stanislava F

Nov 29, 2017

Very interesting, but I would prefer more animated lectures and more details about the structure, since it is very important

By Jo N

Feb 23, 2018

A most enjoyable course - I've learned a lot, some of which I never really wanted to know.

By Oleg P

Apr 4, 2021

Great overview on history of a wonderfull piece of medieval culture — gothic cathedrals.

By jordi o j

Apr 22, 2018

learnt a lot of things about medieval cathedrals, specially from saint Louis life.

By Alexandra C

Jun 13, 2018

Lots of peer assessment but a very informative and enjoyable course!

By SJ T

Jan 25, 2018

great crash course on Gothic cathedrals and French history.

By Olofin J P

Jun 29, 2020

LECTURER WAS PHENOMANAL

VIDEO PRESENTATION WAS EXITING

By Joanna S

Jun 28, 2018

I really enjoyed this course. It was so interesting.

By George P

May 2, 2020

Very interesting course and I love the teacher

By Jéssica M

Dec 14, 2020

Very good!

By Ygor K B

Jun 6, 2019

Very good.

By Fatosin J F

Jul 8, 2020

Good

By Merete M

Dec 19, 2017

I have participated in another course at Yale, and there were not the many faults as in this course (wrong answers in quizzes). I find that questions in the essays were very different from the titles, and I find the questions in the four essays were very alike. I would have liked to write about "Biblia Pauperum"! Too many videos were more guide material than university level. Anyway it was interesting and I will look at the cathedrals in another way. Thank you.

By Ilya B

Aug 1, 2023

I expected more focus on architecture and social aspects while the course is primarily focused on the religious aspects and mythology. Too much of a course is the lecturer reading out loud the passages from religious and other contemporary texts. A student who is focused on Christianity may find this course a lot more fulfilling than a secular or otherwise non-Christian student who is generally interested in the Middle Ages or generally in architecture.

By Susan A

Jan 28, 2018

Mostly interesting overview of the building and architecture of a few of the great cathedrals, with a lot of sidebars about the lives of the kings and saints.

By Nathalie S F

Jun 17, 2021

interesting class, but not very varied, and a bit too long ...

By Francisco H

Jul 1, 2020

las entregas de texto no se conducen con los videos

By Linda W

Jun 3, 2019

I started out optimistically, but in the end I was disappointed by this course:

No list for further reading

No interesting discussions on the forums

Very long texts to read that did not really contribute to my understanding of the course

No active mentoring

Many frustrated people because there were not enough essays to review

By Erica G S

Dec 6, 2022

There are written

requirements

that are not mentioned

in the course

advertisement. Don’t

do this course if you are just wanting to learn from the

videos for fun.

By Anne S

Jul 14, 2021

So far, the lectures are monotonous and mostly consist of the reading aloud of quotes, making them pretty hard to get through. Might depend on which angle you're interested in, but for those interested in art history, this course lacks high-quality visuals and interpretation and focuses on contextual details that don't always seem relevant or engaging. You're better off reading a good textbook.