Search

Scholars in the humanities have a long tradition in the investigation of spatial theory and methods, as well as on the analysis of space and place within its multiple disciplines. Although technolo...

THE LANDSCAPE CONTEXT of the early 9th-century monument known as the Pillar of Eliseg is interrogated here for the first time with GIS-based analysis and innovative spatial methodologies. Our interpretation aims to move beyond regarding the Pillar as a prominent example of early medieval monument reuse and a probable early medieval assembly site. We argue that the location and topographical context of the cross and mound facilitated the monument’s significance as an early medieval locus of power, faith and commemoration in a contested frontier zone. The specific choice of location is shown to relate to patterns of movement and visibility that may have facilitated and enhanced the ceremonial and commemorative roles of the monument. By shedding new light on the interpretation of the Pillar of Eliseg as a node of social and religious aggregation and ideological power, our study has theoretical and methodological implications for studying the landscape contexts of early medieval stone monuments.

Using a group of medieval romances as a case study and building on Lefebvre’s original proposition, the understanding of space and place changes with time and culture. The objective of this study is to delve into this issue. It proposes a preliminary exploratory methodology that, combining spatial technologies and a linguistic approach, and aims to facilitate the analysis of medieval narratives, accounting for the spatial complexity portrayed, as well as integrating and expediting the exploration of geographical, vague, and imaginary space and place in Humanities-based fields.