25.01.2022

ResourceCultures Dialogue am 16.02.2022

Island Monasteries as ResourceCommunities? 16.02.2022, Schloss Hohentübingen, R. 212

In the Early Middle Ages, island monasteries are a common site type. These monasteries are situated in lakes at the foot of the Alps, in major rivers, in the landwater-hybrids of Northern Europe as well as in the Mediterranean, along the Atlantic coast and – as legendary Avalon – hidden in inaccessible swampland. As motivation for the choice of an island situation, monastic tradition emphasises solitude, withdrawal from the world and sometimes also security aspects. From this perspective, monastic communities on islands could be seen as a ResourceCommunity in a double sense: an internally and externally secluded social group in a place restricted as well as separated by water. But is that easy?

Prof. Dr. Thomas Meier is Professor for Pre- and Protohistory at the University of Heidelberg and Director of Apocalyptic and Postapocalyptic Studies.

Recommended reading: Thomas Meier, Das Kloster im See. Überlegungen zu einem mittelalterlichen Lagetyp. Siedlungsforschung 27, 2009, 113–161.