Monastery Landscapes and Monkhood Prosopography: Intersection Points

Abstract

The prospects for the use of prosopographic data for the study of monastery landscapes are discussed. The author’s definition of monastery landscapes that takes into account the specifics of historical research is given. The basic levels of monastery landscapes (local, regional, country) are considered. The most significant changes in the object database of monastery landscapes in the result of the secularizing reforms of 1764, the decree on the separation of Church and state in 1918 and the revival of religious life in Russia since the end of the 20th century are covered. Based on the analysis of contemporary historiography of the Russian monasticism of the Synod period and two author’s database the possibility of using materials for prosopographic studies of landscapes are shown. Perspectivity for their use is mentioned in the study of Church organizational and spiritual links between the monasteries (monastery of regional and country landscapes), the geography of informal contacts of representatives of the monastic society in the world’s periphery, religious practices of the monastic society, the social and cultural environment of formation and functioning of the monasteries (local monastic landscapes), and also in analysis of the transformation of monastery landscapes since 1917. For prosopographic studies of monasticism the landscape approach provides an opportunity to see the visualization of a number of socio-cultural characteristics of collective biography of the monastic society in the complex of natural-cultural objects.

Keywords

• cultural landscapes
• monastery landscapes
• monkhood
• prosopography
• russian orthodox church
• databases
• history of monasticism