Project description
Understanding monastic economy in the Mediterranean
Saint John of Patmos offers a framework to analyse the interaction between secular and monastic economies, the role of insularity in institutional development, and the effects of maritime dynamics. With the support of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions programme, the ECOMONY project will connect Eastern and Western European scholarship on monastic economic history through the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian in Patmos. It will combine Greek and Ottoman records, use digital humanities methods to map economic activities, and highlight overlooked figures. The project will also develop a handwritten text recognition model, enhancing understanding of the monastic economy and supporting the UNESCO World Heritage site on the Greek island of Patmos.
Objective
ECOMONY, through the Monastery of Saint John the Theologian on Patmos, bridges two major historiographical divides. It brings Eastern and Western European scholarship on monastic economic history into dialogue by focusing on an institution deeply embedded in the contested space of the Early Modern Mediterranean. By strategically filling gaps in the historiography of monastic institutions in both the Atlantic Archipelago and the Western Mediterranean, St John of Patmos serves as a model for analysing the interplay between secular and monastic economies, the role of insularity in institutional development, and the impact of maritime dynamics. Drawing on an untapped Greek archival corpus alongside Ottoman records, the project integrates St John’s accounting codices with Ottoman sources, addressing the persistent lack of engagement between Ottoman and Greek historiography while providing a comprehensive, spatially aware, and dynamic model for monastic economy. While rooted in traditional economic history, ECOMONY employs Digital Humanities methodologies, GIS and Network Analysis, to map, visualise, and interpret monastic presence across multiple scales. It reconstructs the full spectrum of economic activity, from maritime trade and landholding to agropastoral strategies, while recovering the agency of overlooked actors such as entrepreneurial monks and female donors. By highlighting gendered strategies and lay-monastic intersections, the project opens new perspectives on the social and economic entanglements of religious institutions. A major innovation will be the creation and public release of a Handwritten Text Recognition (HTR) model for automated transcription and data extraction from Greek sources, with broad applications across the Humanities. Ultimately, ECOMONY offers a novel, comparative, and contextualised framework for monastic economic history, while supporting the sustainability of a UNESCO World Heritage site: the Monastery of Saint John of Patmos.
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.
- humanities history and archaeology history
- natural sciences earth and related environmental sciences physical geography cartography geographic information systems
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.1.2 - Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA)
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-TMA-MSCA-PF-EF - HORIZON TMA MSCA Postdoctoral Fellowships - European Fellowships
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) HORIZON-MSCA-2025-PF
See all projects funded under this callCoordinator
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.
1010 WIEN
Austria
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.