Landscapes of the past : interactions with prehistoric monuments and early medieval conversion practices between Sardinia and the British Isles

Title: Landscapes of the past : interactions with prehistoric monuments and early medieval conversion practices between Sardinia and the British Isles
Variant title:
  • Krajiny minulosti : pravěké monumenty a praktiky konverze mezi Sardinií a Britskými ostrovy v raném středověku
Author: Virdis, Alberto
Source document: Convivium. 2022, vol. 9, iss. 1, pp. [74]-95
Extent
[74]-95
  • ISSN
    2336-3452 (print)
    2336-808X (online)
Type: Article
Language
Summary language
License: Not specified license
Rights access
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Abstract(s)
In some peripheral parts of Europe, prehistoric menhirs, dolmens, henges, and other megalithic constructions made such strong marks on the terrain that they became integral to the landscape. In the Middle Ages, such monuments were often used as landmarks or boundary markers and, indeed, ended up in coeval descriptions of the territory. In some instances, prehistoric monuments were Christianized to promote the conversion of "pagan" populations; in other cases, they stimulated the creation of stone artifacts – stelae, crosses, standing stones – that might have been used as well as instruments of conversion. The investigation in this article revolves around analysis of the landscape of Sardinia, medieval descriptions of Sardinia's terrain, and examination of some early medieval stone artifacts there. Parallels found in similar contexts in the British Isles are also considered.
Note
This article was written within the project MSCAFELLOW4@MUNI (No cz.02.2.69/0.0/0.0/20_079/0017045), supported by the Czech Operational Programme "Research, Development and Education".