Bounded Wilderness

Land and Reform at the Hermitage of Fonte Avellana, ca. 1035-1072

Kathryn Jasper

• Publisher: Cornell University Press
• Year: 2024
• Print ISBN: 9781501777608
• eBook ISBN: 9781501777622
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: European Medieval History
• Index: History

In Bounded Wilderness, Kathryn Jasper focuses on the innovations undertaken at the hermitage of Fonte Avellana in central Italy during the eleventh century by its prior, Peter Damian (d. 1072). The congregation of Fonte Avellana experimented with reforming practices that led to new ways of managing property and relations among clergy, nobles, and the laity.

Jasper charts how Damian's notion of monastic reform took advantage of the surrounding topography and geography to amplify the sensory aspects of ascetic experiences. By focusing on monastic landscapes and land ownership, Jasper demonstrates that reform extended beyond abstract ideas. Rather, reform circulated locally through monastic networks and addressed practical concerns such as property boundaries and rights over water, orchards, pastures, and mills. Putting new sources, both documentary and archaeological, into conversation with monastic charters and Damian's letters, Bounded Wilderness reveals the interrelationship of economic practices, religious traditions, and the natural environment in the idea and implementation of reform.

Table of contents

• Acknowledgments
• Naming Conventions
• Introduction
• 1. A Monastic Network
• 2. The Economics of Place
• 3. Moral Stewardship
• 4. Landscapes of Sociability and Solitude
• 5. Curated Wilderness
• Conclusion
• Appendix 1. Land Acquisitions and Concessions at Fonte Avellana
• Appendix 2. Land Acquisitions and Concessions at Camaldoli
• Appendix 3. Spatial Data Used to Create the Maps
• Bibliography
• Index