Fortress-Churches of Languedoc.pdf

Fortress-Churches of Languedoc traces the changing relationship

between military and religious realms as expressed in the architec-

ture of medieval Europe. The scholarship of medieval architecture

has traditionally imposed a division between military and ecclesias-

tical structures. Often, however, medieval churches were provided

with fortified enclosures, crenellations, iron-barred doors, and

other elements of defense. In her study of fortress-churches, Sheila

Bonde focuses on three twelfth-century monuments located in

southern France—Maguelone, Agde, and Saint-Pons-de-Thomiere,

which are among the earliest examples of the type. She provides

new surveyed plans of these structures, as well as a reexamination

of their documentation, which is here presented both in the original

Latin and in new English translations. Fortress-Churches of

Languedoc 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.

FORTRESS-CHURCHES

OF LANGUEDOC

Architecture, Religion, and Conflict

in the High Middle Ages

FORTRESS-CHURCHES

OF LANGUEDOC

Architecture, Religion, and Conflict

in the High Middle Ages

Sheila Bonde

Brown University

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UNIVERSITY PRESS