Klosterbefestigungen

Monasteries and convents were not only places of contemplation, but also centres of power, often endowed with extensive landholdings, lucrative rights and valuable church treasures and libraries. But how did monasteries protect themselves against attacks, assaults and plundering, what defences were there, who secured the walls and with what weapons, and what connection is there with the fortifications typical of the period?This volume is the first to focus on the international phenomenon of the defensible monastery in the Middle Ages and early modern period beyond the castles of the knightly orders, bishop's castles and fortified churches. Starting with the fundamental question of whether and since when there were defence structures in monasteries at all, as opposed to simple enclosure walls, the focus is on the situation in individual countries. It is not only in (former) border regions that the need to extensively fortify monasteries and convents beyond times of war and crisis becomes apparent. Examples are presented from Germany, France, England, Belgium, Austria, the Iberian Peninsula, Central and South-Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean region. A particular focus of the volume is on Lower Austria, which, with its numerous well-preserved examples, reveals the diverse forms and facets of monastic fortifications from all eras.