Self-Representation of Medieval Religious Communities

This book explores the medieval monastery as symbolic space (locus symbolicus) and looks at forms of self-representation in medieval monastic life. Papers focus on both the transitory nature of organised religious life, which is based on symbols, and the separate identities religious communities developed by using their own specific forms of ritual and symbolisation. Case studies extend from the British Isles to an Europe-wide context. Among the key issues here explored are rituals in internal organisation, the symbolism in the use of space, architecture and art, the symbolism in social interactions, and symbolic constructions of the past.