Few early medieval documents have been studied as intensively in recent years as the architectural scheme known as the Plan of St. Gall. And few possess the broad imaginative scope of this ancient parchment, drawn between 820 and 830 A.D. to guide Benedictine monastic planning in the age of Charlemagne. In 1979 the University of California Press published a three-volume study, "The Plan of St. Gall". Pro Helvetica decided to introduce the Plan to an even broader audience through an exhibition designed to travel in the United States and Europe. Designed by Ernest Born, this book not only compliments that exhibition but stands independently of it. A succinct text captures the essence of the Plan in its historical, cultural, and spiritual contexts. It is supported by over 100 illustrations, many in color, reproduced from the three volumes of "The Plan of St. Gall" to the same exacting standards of typography, printing, and paper. Also included is a note on architectural models by Price and Born, illustrated with color photographs of the site model of the Plan of St. Gall. -- From publisher's description.