Castles of God: Fortified Religious Buildings of the World PDF
Preview Castles of God: Fortified Religious Buildings of the World
CASTLES OF GOD Fortified Religious Buildings of the World Peter Harrison CASTLES of God Fortified Religious Buildings of the World CASTLES of God Fortified Religious Buildings of the World PETER HARRISON THE BOYDELL PRESS Disclaimer: Some images in the printed version of this book are not available for inclusion in the eBook. © Peter Harrison 2004 All Rights Reserved.Except as permitted under current legislation no part of this work may be photocopied, stored in a retrieval system, published, performed in public, adapted, broadcast, transmitted, recorded or reproduced in any form or by any means, without the prior permission of the copyright owner The right of Peter Harrison to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 First published 2004 The Boydell Press is an imprint of Boydell & Brewer Ltd PO Box 9, Woodbridge, Suffolk IP12 3DF, UK and of Boydell & Brewer Inc. 668 Mt. Hope Avenue, Rochester, NY 14620, USA website: www.boydellandbrewer.com ISBN 1 84383 066 3 A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Harrison, Peter, 1941 Apr. 17– Castles of God: fortified religious buildings of the world / Peter Harrison. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-84383-066-3 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. Fortress-churches. 2. Fortification. 3. Religious institutions. I. Title. NA4800.H34 2004 736'.09'02–dc22 2004000372 This publication is printed on acid-free paper Printed in Great Britain by St Edmundsbury Press, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk Contents Illustrations Figures Acknowledgements Introduction 1 1. Middle Eastern Origins 7 2. Ireland 23 3. The Crusades 38 4. Great Britain 66 5. Scandinavia 88 6. France 97 7. The Eastern Mediterranean and Eastern Europe 121 8. Central Europe 137 9. Italy 148 10. Russia 158 11. America and the Philippines 170 12. The Caucasus Region 191 13. Ethiopia 206 14. Islam I 215 15. Islam II 227 16. Iran and Syria 239 17. The Himalayan Region 250 Conclusion 276 Glossary of Terms 281 Bibliography 285 Index 291 ILLUSTRATIONS Placed between pages 150 and 151 Monastery of St. Simeon, Aswan, Egypt Resafeh, Sergiopolis, Syria Glendalough, Ireland Kells Priory, Co. Kilkenny, Ireland Jerpoint Abbey, Co. Kilkenny, Ireland Rock of Cashel, Co. Tipperary, Ireland Crac des Chevaliers, Syria Malbork (Marienburg), Poland Marienwerder (Kwidzin), Poland Lindisfarne Priory, Holy Island, Northumberland, England Thornton Abbey Gatehouse, Lincolnshire, England Saint-Pierrevillers, Meuse, France Rudelle, Lot, France Hunawihr, Haut-Rhin, France Esqueheries, La Thiérache, France Saint Junien, Nouaillé, Vienne, France The Monastery of Gregoriou, Mount Athos, Greece Sucevita, Moldavia, Romania Putna, Moldavia, Romania Fortified enceinte, Prejmer, Romania Accommodation rooms, Prejmer, Romania Cefalù, Sicily, Italy Novodevichy Convent, Moscow, Russia St Sergius lavra, Zagorsk, Russia Monastery of the Saviour and St. Euthimius, Sudzal, Russia Khor Virap, Armenia Noravank Monastery, Armenia Ananuri, Georgia Alaverdi, Georgia Manuscript illustration, Debra Maryam, Zeghie, Lake Tana, Ethiopia Manuscript painting, Debra Maryam, Zeghie, Lake Tana, Ethiopia Debra Berhan Selassie Church, Gondar, Ethiopia Interval tower, inner curtain wall, Debra Berhan Selassie Church Nador tower of the Ribat, Sousse, Tunisia The fortified mosque, Sousse, Tunisia Monastir, Tunisia The fortified minaret of the great mosque, Kairouan, Tunisia Sultan Han, near Kayseri, Turkey Potala Palace, Lhasa, Tibet The Jampa temple, Samye, Tibet Yumbu Lagang, Tibet Gyantse, Tibet Paro dzong, Bhutan Punakha dzong, Bhutan Ta dzong, Trongsa, Bhutan FIGURES The religious settlements of the Essenes at Qumran, Israel 9 Coptic Egypt – the early fortified monasteries 11 The Coptic monasteries of the Wadi al Natrun, Egypt 13 The Monastery of St Catherine, Egypt 17 The Monastery of St Simeon Stylites, Syria 19 Chastel Blanc, Syria 45 Portugal 54 The Conventual Castle of Ce¯sis, Latvia 59 The fortified ecclesiastical buildings of England’s northern Borderlands 67 The Church of St John the Baptist, Newton Arlosh, Cumbria 69 The Vicar’s Pele, Corbridge, Northumberland 71 Fortified doors 72 Lindisfarne Priory, Holy Island, Northumberland 74 The Gatehouse, Alnwick Abbey, Northumberland 75 The fortified Carmelite Priory of Hulne, Alnwick, Northumberland 76 The medieval tower churches and castles of Gower, South Wales 82 The Church of St Cadoc, Cheriton, Wales 83 The fortified churches of the Baltic 90 The round tower fortress churches of Denmark 95 Beaumont-du-Périgord, France 102 Towers 106 Saint-Avit-Senieur, France 116 The fortified Abbey of Saint-Junien, Nouaillé, France 117 The monasteries of Mount Athos, Greece 122 The sky monasteries of Meteora, Greece 127 The fortified Saxon village church of Prejmer, Romania 132 Ecclesiastical fortresses in Rhineland-Palatinate, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg 140 The fortified Spanish missions of San Antonio, Texas 171 The fortress Monastery of St Paul and St Peter, Tatev, Armenia 193 The fortified churches and monasteries of Georgia 197 The Church and Monastery of Dzvari, Georgia 200 The Cathedral complex at Ninocminda, Georgia 202 The fortress of the Dukes of Aragvi, Ananuri, Georgia 204 Enda Medhane Alem, Adua, Tigre, Ethiopia 213 The ribats of Islam 217 The ribats and fortified mosques of Tunisia 224 The Persian and Syrian castles of the Assassins 241 The monastery complex of Pelkhor Chode, Gyantse, Tibet 259 The Potala Palace, Lhasa, Tibet 262 Fortified dzongs and monasteries of Bhutan 269 Bhutanese dzongs 272 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This book is the result of fifteen years of travel and research following the accidental discovery of the fortified churches of Transylvania in 1988. It would never have been possible without the kindnesses and generosity shown to me by so many people in so many countries and their patience in sharing with me their places of worship. I can never adequately express my gratitude to them in words. I would also like to acknowledge the contributions of those architectural historians and writers who have pointed me in directions not only to travel but also to research. Their contribution has been invaluable and I could not have written this book without having access to their work. I have been greatly helped by a number of people and I would like to thank the following who have made particular contributions: Peter Willey and his colleagues for information on Alamut, the valley of the Assassins, and Peter Presford, who shared, so willingly, his knowledge of ecclesiastical fortifications. Without his help there would have been no chapter on Italy. Similarly Dr Ann Catherine Bonnier provided much information on the fortified churches of Sweden. Dr Clive Tolley was faced with a Herculean task in bringing a sense of order to this far-reaching and disparate subject. He has gone beyond his role as copy-editor, offering direction and advice with great understanding and encouragement. I would like to thank Richard Barber and Caroline Palmer from Boydell and Brewer who have supported me and believed in my project from the outset. Finally I would like to thank my wife Diane, who is not only a very supportive and uncomplaining travelling companion but who, having become adept at recognising remnants of fortification, especially in the churches of France, has also been indispensable in the fieldwork. The opinions and views expressed in the book are my own, as indeed are any errors or mistakes. For Diane
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