Project description
Rethinking Christian life in early Islamic al-Andalus
Centuries after Islam entered the Iberian Peninsula, little is known about the adaptation of Christian monastic life in al-Andalus. The monasteries, their architecture, economies, and their contribution to local landscapes, have been largely overlooked by researchers. With this in mind, the ERC-funded project MONZARAB aims to integrate archaeology, history, and geology. Focusing on monastic sites in Portugal and Spain, researchers will trace how these communities constructed, laboured, and bargained for power as subjects of Muslim rulers. By conceptualising the monastery as a set of complex forces operating in al-Andalus, MONZARAB proposes to rewrite the history of Christian monasticism in early Islam.
Objective
In recent decades, the archaeological and written records have been mobilised to update our knowledge of early Islamic al-Andalus and the subsequent transformation that the arrival of Islam brought about in the Iberian Peninsula from 711 onwards. This historiographical renewal has hardly affected however the study of Christian monasticism in al-Andalus after this defining moment during the early Islamic period (8th-11th c.). This project aims at providing a step-change in the way in which this phenomenon has been investigated until now by developing an innovative and unprecedented interdisciplinary approach to it through the integration of state-of the-art historical, archaeological and geological methodologies. The project will follow three levels of analysis (monastic architectures, ensembles and landscapes) applied to diverse selected territories and sites in what is currently Spain (Toledo, Cordoba, Merida, Granada) and Portugal (Mertola).
The purposes are therefore to develop a technological and production understanding of monastic architectures as manufactured products in its social and economic contexts, to provide fresh insights into the spatial organisation and long sequences of monasteries, and to evidence their economic, social and politic roles and strategies in relation to others settlements shaping and reshaping the landscapes. It is intended hence to develop a suitable and updated methodology for the analysis of large multi-period monastic sites and landscapes, by offering a synchronic and diachronic perspective. The overall aim is to generate a broader vision that allows us to move from isolated churches and monastic ensembles to monasticism in al-Andalus, to feature its role in the relations between the Christian population and the Muslim authorities during the period considered and to understand it in the wider context of the dār al-islām.
Fields of science (EuroSciVoc)
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
You need to log in or register to use this function
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
-
HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
MAIN PROGRAMME
See all projects funded under this programme
Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
See all projects funded under this funding scheme
Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2024-ADG
See all projects funded under this callHost institution
Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
28006 Madrid
Spain
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.