medieval-religion: Scholarly discussions of medieval religion and culture
In its lithonormativity [a Greek+Latinate compound modeled, not altogether seriously, on "heteronormativity"] this conjunction between "Anyone" and "stone" is at variance with the reality that in some parts of medieval Europe monasteries were built in brick, with stone either always functioning only as a minor component of the fabric at some sites or else, at others, not used to any great extent until significantly later. It is unlikely, for example, that the transportation of stone was much on the minds of the early surveyors of the Cistercian abbeys of Tiglieto in northern Liguria (founded in the 1120s in a marshy mountain valley), of Staffarda in southwestern Piedmont (founded from Tiglieto in 1135 in a marshy area near the upper Po), of Lucedio in eastern Piedmont (founded in the 1120s in a wooded marshy area near the Po), of Chiaravalle di Milano on the outskirts of Milan (founded in 1135 in a marshy area by the Po), and of Fiastra in the Marche (founded from Chiaravalle di Milano in 1142 in a marshy mountain valley). Though these have all been substantially rebuilt, they are basically still of brick construction and were even more so in their early days: their marshy locales will have furnished the mud for the brick and their early timber was almost certainly either also locally sourced or else transported to the site by boat. Absence of sufficient quantities of usable stone also favored brick construction in much of northern Germany and the Baltic; well known Cistercian examples include Lehnin abbey in Germany, Sorø abbey in Denmark, and Kołbacz abbey in Poland.
Best,
John Dillon
On 03/25/14, Brenda Cook wrote;
> But the E/W orientation of a Christian Church is normal and for
> the reasons cited above. Anyone spying out the land for a new
> foundation either monastic or secular would take this into
> consideration as well as the water supply and the best route for
> transporting timber and stone.
>
> Am I stating the obvious?
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