Fortress-Churches of Languedoc: Architecture, Religion and Conflict in the High Middle Ages

By Sheila Bonde

Book Overview

Fortress-Churches of Languedoc traces the changing relationship between military and religious realms as expressed in architecture across medieval Europe. The scholarship of medieval architecture has traditionally imposed a division between military and ecclesiastical structures. Often, however, medieval churches were provided with fortified enclosures, crenellations, iron-barred doors and other elements of defence, demonstrating the strong link between Church and state, and the military and religious realms. In her study of fortress-churches, Sheila Bonde focuses on three twelfth-century monuments in southern France - Maguelone, Agde and Saint-Pon-de-Thomi re, which are among the earliest examples of the type. She analyses her archaeological surveys of these structures, and also re-examines their documentation, which is here presented both in the original Latin and in English translations. The book also explores the larger context of fortification and authority in twelfth-century Languedoc and examines the dynamics of architectural exchange and innovation in the Mediterranean at a moment of critical historical importance.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0521052025
• ISBN13: 9780521052023
• Release Date: January 2008
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Length: 292 Pages
• Weight: 1.46 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 8.3" x 11.0"