Chevron Left
Back to Age of Cathedrals

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.

Filter by:

126 - 150 of 175 Reviews for Age of Cathedrals

By oluwaseyi o

Jul 15, 2020

Very beneficial history course

By Karoliina R

Nov 7, 2019

Very interesting material!

By MARIA V S G

Aug 21, 2020

Great Course, loved it!!!

By luisa b

Feb 19, 2021

Thank you very much!!!!

By Ivan V

Jun 12, 2020

Maravilloso curso.

MEX

By Masliakova A

Jun 2, 2019

Thank You very much!

By Omolayole B E

Jul 12, 2020

really great course

By Reynaldo A

May 6, 2022

i like this course

By Fernando T C

May 13, 2020

Excelente curso.

By Carla L E C

Oct 4, 2019

great learning !

By María D D C

Dec 12, 2021

Great course!!

By Ashley M H

Mar 9, 2018

So interesting!

By Adelugba O A

Jul 6, 2020

Amazing course

By MªJesús F M

Mar 8, 2019

Great course.

By Marta Y A R

Jul 2, 2021

Great course

By José E

Jul 17, 2020

Excellent!!

By Emiliano O R

Sep 19, 2021

marvelous!

By Cristina L

Jan 29, 2018

Amazing!

By francisco v r

Sep 6, 2020

nice

By Claudette D

Aug 27, 2019

T

By Leonie K

Jan 14, 2018

.

By V C S

Dec 25, 2021

I liked the class quite a bit, and certainly learned a lot. It has inspired my revisiting some of the French gothic cathedrals armed with my deeper understanding of them. Professor Bloch is deeply knowledgeable and engaging, and the progression of the material is thoughtful.  I particularly appreciated the blend of history, engineering, sociology, theology and literature in presenting the context in which Gothic Cathedrals came to be.

That said, there are a number of relatively minor annoyances in the class, mainly from poor maintenance, and it seems to me they should be addressed since people continue to take this class year after year. * Some of the time estimates for the readings are grossly inaccurate. The most egregious error is estimating that a 197 page (dense) document can be read in 30 minutes.

* Some of the titles of the essay assignments are completely unrelated to the actual assignment. In the forum, some students complain that since they answered the question (rather than the inferred question from the title) they were poorly graded by peers.

* Some of the essay assignments are unrelated to that week’s materials for some reason, such as in week 7. Perhaps this is intentional, but it is confusing.

* The transcriptions of the videos are very helpful, but are riddled with mistakes, often due to the incorrect use of homonyms. Perhaps speech recognition was used, but they should be proofread.

* Perhaps most disappointing to me is the lack of any mention of the tragic fire at Notre Dame in 2019. The course devotes an entire week to Notre Dame, and it feels uncomfortable knowing that the cathedral sustained profound damage without the course even acknowledging the tragedy. I have iterated the areas that need maintenance not as a pedantic complaint, but hopefully as a guide for one of Professor Bloch’s TAs to address them.

By Harry M

Jul 24, 2020

The "Age of Cathedrals" course was a very good introduction to Gothic architecture in general and Gothic cathedrals in particular. The professor obviously knows his subject matter and was mostly able to convey the material in an interesting manner. However, there was less personal interaction than there could have been. These were simply well thought out, well prepared and well delivered lectured but the presentations lacked spark and enthusiasm and humor....Which is not as much a criticism as a statement of fact. Considering that Notre Dame in Paris has been decimated by a fire, the course needs to update the course to at least mention that Notre Dame, as we knew it, is no longer. Even a reference to a well constructed video on the Notre Dame fire on the National Geographic Channel would help bring this course up to the present.

By Alan G

Apr 15, 2021

Although an enjoyable course, it didn't quite live up to what I was expecting. probably more on the architecture and less on the biblical quotations, I know it is about cathedrals, would have been more enjoyable. I also felt that the qiuizzes/peer reviews did not seem to be in sync with the relevant week's lecture.

And as for peer reviews and this is a constant bugbear with me on Coursera courses, why have them?

By Debbie B

May 15, 2020

I enjoyed the material and learned quite a bit about this time period. I am sure the developers of this particular course do not read the reviews. BUT would someone tell the developers, apparently not for the first time, that the essay question for Week 7 does not have anything to do with the course materials for that week. It is a waste of time to write an essay to a question that has already been asked.