Read more
Gender and Material Culture is the first complete study in the archaeology of gender, exploring the differences between the religious life of men and women. Gender in medieval monasticism influenced landscape contexts and strategies of economic management, the form and development of buildings and their symbolic and iconographic content. Women's religious experience was often poorly documented, but their archaeology indicates a shared tradition which was closely linked with, and valued by local communities. The distinctive patterns observed suggest that gender is essential to archaeological analysis.
List of contents
List of tables and figures, Preface, Acknowledgements, List of Abbreviations, 1 THE HANDMAID'S TALE, 2 MAPPING WOMEN'S RELIGIOUS COMMUNITIES, 3 NUNNERIES IN THE MEDIEVAL LANDSCAPE, 4 IN THE CLOISTER, 5 THE MEANINGS OF NUNNERY ARCHITECTURE, 6 SYMBOLISM AND SECLUSION, 7 AN ARCHAEOLOGY OF ALTERNATIVES, 8 CONCLUSIONS: GENDER AND MEDIEVAL MONASTICISM, Bibliography, Index
About the author
Roberta Gilchrist is a reader in the Department of Archaeology at the University of Reading, and consultant archaeologist to Norwich Cathedral. She has written widely on the topics of gender and church archaeolgy.
Summary
Reveals, through a close comparison of monasteries for men and women, stark contrasts in the social and economic status of these religious foundations. The book provides the first complete case study in the applied archaeology of gender.
