CEU Electronic Theses and Dissertations, 2014
| Author | Stark, Karen Lynn |
|---|---|
| Title | Saints, Stones, and Springs: Cult Sites and the Sacralization of Landscape in Medieval Central Europe |
| Summary | Space is an integral element of any religious expression. Medieval Central Europe was no exception, and sacred space was essential to devotional practice and a reflection of personal, regional, and religious identity. Central Europe offers a plethora of such holy sites that as of yet are largely unstudied especially in a broad, comparative analysis. In this study I identify those cult sites in medieval Central Europe that have a significant “natural” element, that is, holy wells, mountains, hills, or any such site that is largely defined by its relationship with nature, and secondly answer how and why these natural places became “sacred” while other natural sites and landscapes did not. Finally I analyze how medieval people interacted with and perceived these sites and what role these sacred landscapes played in the bigger picture of medieval religion in Central Europe. I examine a representative sample of eleven sites, located in modern-day Hungary, Slovakia, southern Poland, and eastern Czech Republic and Austria, all within or very near the borders of Hungary at its furthest expansion during the Middle Ages. For this study an interdisciplinary approach is not only helpful, but necessary. Hagiographic texts and historical documents, such as charters and chronicles, will serve as the cornerstone of my research and will be supported by a spatial analysis, in which I make use of historic maps and Geographic Information Systems (GIS). By looking at both the contemporary sources and the spatial aspects and relationships of these places, a more complete and in-depth picture of the sacralization of the Central European landscape can be developed. |
| Supervisor | Klaniczay, Gábor; Laszlovszky, József |
| Department | Medieval Studies MA |
| Full text | https://www.etd.ceu.edu/2014/stark_karen.pdf |
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