Churches and Social Power in Early Medieval Europe: Integrating Archaeological and Historical Approaches

Description

Local churches were an established part of many towns and villages across early medieval Western Europe, and their continued presence make them an invaluable marker for comparing different societies. Up to now, however, the dynamics of power behind church building and the importance of their presence within the landscape have largely been neglected. This book takes a comparative and interdisciplinary approach to the study of early medieval churches, drawing together archaeology, history, architecture, and landscape studies in order to explore the relationship between church foundation, social power, and political organization across Europe. Key subjects addressed here include the role played by local elites and the importance of the church in buttressing authority, as well as the connections between archaeology and ideology, and the importance of individual church buildings in their broader landscape contexts. Bringing together case-studies from diverse regions across Western Europe (Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany, France, the British Isles, Denmark, and Iceland), the seventeen contributions to this volume offer new insights into the relationships between church foundations, social power, and political organization. In doing so, they provide a means to better understand social power in the landscape of early medieval Europe. Front Matter ("Contents", "List of Illustrations"), p. i Free Access Introduction: Churches and Social Power in Early Medieval Europe, p. 1 José C. Sánchez-Pardo, Michael G. Shapland https://doi.org/10.1484/M.SEM-EB.5.108504 Part I. Churches as Channels for Power Relations Founding and Owning Churches in Early Medieval Álava (North Spain): The Creation, Transmission, and Monumentalization of Memory, p. 35 Juan Antonio Quirós, Igor Santos https://doi.org/10.1484/M.SEM-EB.5.108505 Local Churches and Lordship in Late Antique and Early Medieval Northern Italy, p. 69 Alexandra Chavarría https://doi.org/10.1484/M.SEM-EB.5.108506 Local Churches and Social Power in Early Medieval Ireland: A Case Study of the Kingdom of Fir Maige, p. 99 Tomás Ó Carragáin https://doi.org/10.1484/M.SEM-EB.5.108507 Churches and Social Elites in Early Medieval Tuscany: A Quantitative-Statistical Approach to the Episcopal Archive of Lucca, p. 157 Roberto Farinelli https://doi.org/10.1484/M.SEM-EB.5.108508 Part II. Churches and the Transition of Power Patronage in Transition: Lordship, Churches, and Funerary Monuments in Anglo-Norman England, p. 185 Aleksandra McClain https://doi.org/10.1484/M.SEM-EB.5.108509 Power Strategies in the Early Medieval Churches of Galicia (ad 711-910), p. 227 José Carlos Sánchez-Pardo https://doi.org/10.1484/M.SEM-EB.5.108510 Heidenheim and Samos: Monastic Remembrance of the ‘Anglo-Saxon Mission’ in Southern Germany and the ‘Mozarabic Resettlement’ of Northern Spain Compared, p. 269 Christofer Zwanzig https://doi.org/10.1484/M.SEM-EB.5.108511 Churches and Lordship in Western Normandy, ad 800-1200, p. 297 David Petts https://doi.org/10.1484/M.SEM-EB.5.108512 Part III. Churches in Landscapes of Power Early Medieval Religion and Social Power: A Comparative Study of Rural Elites and Church Building in Northern France and Southern Scandinavia, p. 331 Anne Nissen https://doi.org/10.1484/M.SEM-EB.5.108513 The Church and the Land: Settlement, Economy, and Power in Early Medieval England, p. 367 Duncan W. Wright https://doi.org/10.1484/M.SEM-EB.5.108514 Powers, Territories, and Architecture in North-West Portugal: An Approach to the Christian Landscapes of Braga between the Fifth and Eleventh Centuries, p. 387 Luís Fontes https://doi.org/10.1484/M.SEM-EB.5.108515 Local Churches, Settlements, and Social Power in Late Antique and Early Medieval Gaul: New Avenues in the Light of Recent Archaeological Research in South-East France, p. 419 Christine Delaplace https://doi.org/10.1484/M.SEM-EB.5.108516 Part IV. Churches as Centres of Power Architecture and Power at the End of the Lombard Kingdom, p. 451 Gian Pietro Brogiolo https://doi.org/10.1484/M.SEM-EB.5.108517 On the Origins of the Great Carolingian Place of Power: Recent Excavations at Aachen Cathedral, p. 473 Andreas Schaub, Tanja Kohlberger-Schaub https://doi.org/10.1484/M.SEM-EB.5.108518 Palaces, Churches, and the Practice of Anglo-Saxon Kingship, p. 495 Michael Shapland https://doi.org/10.1484/M.SEM-EB.5.108519 The Development of the Church in Iceland in the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries, with Reference to the Reykholt Church, p. 523 Guðrún Sveinbjarnardóttir https://doi.org/10.1484/M.SEM-EB.5.108520 Back Matter ("Index of People, Places and Subjects"), p. 541