Making Christian Landscapes in Atlantic Europe: Conversion and Consolidation in the Early Middle Ages

Synopsis

Landscapes Across Europe Were Transformed, Both Physically And Conceptually, During The Early Medieval Period (c Ad 400-1200), And These Changes Were Bound Up With The Conversion To Christianity And The Development Of Ecclesiastical Power Structures. Whilst Christianity Represented A More Or Less Common Set Of Beliefs And Ideas, Early Medieval Societies Were Characterised By Vibrant Diversity: Much Can Potentially Be Learned About These Societies By Comparing And Contrasting How They Adapted Christianity To Suit Local Circumstances. This Is The First Book To Adopt A Comparative Landscape Approach To This Crucial Subject. It Considers The Imprint Of Early Medieval Christianity On Landscapes Along The Continent’s Western Shore From Galicia To Norway, And Across The Northern Islands From Britain And Ireland To Iceland. The Construction Of New Monuments Clearly Led To Some Major Physical Changes, But Landscapes Are Not Just Affected By Tangible, Material Alterations: They Are Also Shaped By New Types Of Knowledge And Changing Perceptions. Christianity Was Associated With Many Such Changes Including New Ways Of Seeing The Land That Directly Affected How Landscapes Were Inhabited And Managed. By Examining How People Chose To Shape Their Landscapes, This Book Provides Fresh Perspectives On The Christianisation Of Atlantic Europe.-- 1. Introduction : Making Christian Landscapes In The Early Medieval Atlantic World / Tomás Ó Carragáin And Sam Turner -- Irelan. 2. Hallowed By Saints, Coveted By Kings : Christianisation And Land Tenure In Rathdown, C. 400-900 / Gill Boazman -- 3. Reconstructing The Territorial Framework For Ecclesiastical And Secular Power Structures : A Case Study Of The Kingdom Of Uí Fáeláin / Paul Maccotter -- 4. Conversion And Consolidation In Leinster's Royal Heartland / Patrick Gleeson And Tomás Ó Carragáin -- 5. Territoriality And The Cult Of Saint Ciarán Of Saigir / Anne Connon -- 6. Early Ecclesiastical Precincts And Landscapes Of Inishowen, County Donegal / Colm O'brien And Max Adams -- Wales And Scotland. 7. Christianising The Landscape In Early Medieval Wales : The Island Of Anglesey / Nancy Edwards -- 8. Feeding The Body And Claiming The Spirit(s) : Early Christian Landscapes In West Wales / Rhiannon Comeau --9. Death And The Formation Of Early Christian Scotland / Adrián Maldonado -- England. 10. The Bones Of The Northumbrian Landscape : Technologies Of Social Change In The Conversion Period / Sam Turner And Chris Fowler -- 11. Streanaeshalch (whitby), Its Satellite Churches And Lands / Thomas Pickles -- 12. Converting The Peak District? Britons, Angles And Christians / John Moreland -- Gaul And Iberia. 13. Funerary Patterns In Towns In France And England Between The Fourth And Tenth Centuries : A Comparative Approach / Elisabeth Lorans -- 14. Christianisation And Parish Formation In Early Medieval France : A Case Study Of The Dioceses Of Rennes, Dol And St Malo / Anne Lunven -- 15. Parish Boundaries And The Illusion Of Territorial Continuity In Landscape Archaeology : The Evidence From The Touraine / Elisabeth Zadora-rio -- 16. The Creation Of Ecclesiastical Landscapes In Early Medieval Galicia (northwest Spain, Fifth To Tenth Centuries) / Jose Carlos Sánchez Pardo -- Germanic And Nordic Lands. 17. From Conversion To Consolidation In Eighth-century Hessia / John Henry Clay -- 18. The Religious Transformation Of A Landscape : Drenthe (the Netherlands), C. Ad 800-1600 / Jan Kolen -- 19. Introducing Christianity To A Challenging Environment : The Example Of Norway / Saebjørg Walaker Nordeide -- 20. Alternative Histories On The Making Of The Early Christian Landscape Of Iceland / Steinunn Kristjánsdóttir. Edited By Tomás Ó Carragáin And Sam Turner. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 544-595) And Index.