• Monastic Landscapes A new approach to Columbanian Monasticism

    Author(s):
    Albrecht Diem (see profile)
    Date:
    2022
    Item Type:
    Article
    Tag(s):
    monasticism, Monastic studies, middle ages, early middle ages
    Permanent URL:
    https://doi.org/10.17613/31a2-xf07
    Abstract:
    This contribution proposes different notions of "monastic landscapes" (geographic, political, textual, economic, spiritual) and discusses whether applying them to the monastic movement allegedly initiated by Columbanus may help us to refine or deconstruct the concept of "Columbanian monasticism." Comparing evidence on monastic life in Gregory of Tours' hagiographic and historiographic works with the depiction of monastic life in Jonas of Bobbio's Vita Columbani shows that we can indeed identify a shift from a "landscape with monasteries" in sixth-century Merovingian Francia to a politically integrated "monastic landscape" in the seventh century. However, this does not mean that the fundamental shift was necessarily the result of the activities of the Irish monk Columbanus. An investigation of Jonas' depiction of the spiritual and physical landscape around Columbanus' main foundation Luxeuil shows the grade of continuity between monastic foundations in Gaul before Columbanus and the alleged center of a new "Columbanian" monastic movement.
    Metadata:
    xml
    Published as:
    Journal article     Show details
    Pub. DOI:
    doi.org/10.1344/Svmma2022.20.6
    Pub. Date:
    2022
    Journal:
    SVMMA. Revista de Cultures Medievals
    Volume:
    20
    Page Range:
    70 - 96
    ISSN:
    2014-7023
    Status:
    Published
    Last Updated:
    4 months ago
    License:
    Attribution-NonCommercial

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