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IMC 2018: Sessions

Session 650: Cistercians, II: Exploring the Relationship to the Sun in Cistercian Abbey Churches of the UK and Ireland

Tuesday 3 July 2018, 11.15-12.45

Sponsor:Cîteaux: Commentarii cistercienses
Organisers:Darrelyn Gunzburg, Sophia Centre for the Study of Cosmology in Culture, University of Wales Trinity Saint David
Terryl N. Kinder, _Cîteaux: Commentarii cistercienses_, Pontigny
Moderator/Chair:Terryl N. Kinder, _Cîteaux: Commentarii cistercienses_, Pontigny
Paper 650-aSkyscape: Cultural Astronomy and Its Impact on the Landscape
(Language: English)
Fabio Silva, Sophia Centre for the Study of Cosmology in Culture, University of Wales Trinity Saint David / Institut Català de Paleoecologia Humana i Evolució Social, Tarragona
Index terms: Archaeology - Sites, Architecture - Religious, Monasticism, Religious Life
Paper 650-bCistercian Abbeys, Sky, and Landscape
(Language: English)
Darrelyn Gunzburg, Sophia Centre for the Study of Cosmology in Culture, University of Wales Trinity Saint David
Index terms: Archaeology - Sites, Architecture - Religious, Monasticism, Religious Life
Paper 650-cThe Shifting Expression of the UK/Ireland Cistercian Template
(Language: English)
Bernadette Brady, Sophia Centre for the Study of Cosmology in Culture, University of Wales Trinity Saint David
Index terms: Archaeology - Sites, Architecture - Religious, Monasticism, Religious Life
Abstract

In 2016 the authors used methodologies drawn from cultural astronomy to show that there was an the intentional orientating of the Welsh Cistercian abbey church within its local topography, enabling it to form a relationship to the sun's light on theologically significant days. This session will expand the earlier research and, using the same approach, consider Cistercian abbey churches in the UK and Ireland. By exploring whether these churches also have a relationship between landscape and sun, the authors will examine the nature of such a potential relationship, and whether the Welsh Cistercian were unique or were following a Cistercian template.