Castles of God: Fortified Religious Buildings of the World
This dramatically titled new volume provides what amounts to the first detailed study of the phenomenon of ecclesiastical fortification. From magnificent embattled monasteries to humble parish churches equipped for security rather than outright defence, sites from the highest to lowest status are examined. The book spans the period from the fourth century AD, and the first fortified Christian monasteries of the Middle East, to the nineteenth century. More remarkable still is the enormous canvas of this work, which is truly global in scope. Fortifications associated with three religions - Christianity, Islam and Buddhism - are examined, although greater attention is devoted to the first of these, given the particularly large volume of evidence. Only seven of the book's seventeen chapters deal with Europe, and coverage ranges from the Americas to the Himalayas, taking in its stride little known gems (at least to western readers) such as the fortress-monasteries of Ethiopia and the fortified churches of the Philippine archipelago. In this context the book is invaluable in providing a guide to sites that have virtually no authoritative literature available in English. The enormous geographical coverage and chronological scope ensure (as the author points out) that this cannot be a definitive study, rather a thought-provoking introduction and, indeed, a 'call to arms' for future work.
The subject of fortified religious buildings is one that has been somewhat neglected in the past, perhaps inevitably. On the one hand, the defences of churches and other religious buildings have been given somewhat cursory treatment in castle studies, while, on the other hand, military matters have tended to lies beyond the scope of works on ecclesiastical architecture. Those studies that have been carried out to date are mainly limited in geographical scope - examining, for instance, the fortified churches of Languedoc in southern France and the Anglo-Scottish border - while the great achievement of this book is its broad coverage, which, while not exhaustive, serves to provide insight into both the common threads and divergent traditions of fortification associated with different religions across the globe. The emphasis of this book is on the physical character of ecclesiastical fortifications - in particular their architecture and the technologies used in their construction - rather than their actual military usage (which in cases was relatively limited). Nonetheless, the author is extremely careful to avoid a site-centric approach, and the book benefits immensely from the excellent setting of individual structures within their wider social and political, as well as geographical, contexts. Crucially, the evidence has been treated on its own merits, and ecclesiastical fortification understood as a distinctive tradition worthy of serious scholarship.
The sheer variety of fortified buildings is enormous. The author makes the important distinction, for instance, between those buildings that were fortified from the outset, and others where defences were added as a secondary measure. Perhaps more important, however, is the variety of interest groups which these buildings served. Thus it is perfectly clear that sometimes churches were effectively fortifications built in the interests of the state. In certain contexts networks of such sites were used to control, colonise or pacify volatile regions - the Saxon fortified churches of medieval Transylvania being an obvious case in point. Yet in other cases fortified churches were effectively expressions of the power of individuals; elsewhere they represented the interests of communities with limited horizons; elsewhere they symbolised the status of religious orders. In this way Harrison's book is helping to break down the somewhat unhelpful way in which medieval fortifications have been classified as either 'private' or 'communal'. Indeed, although the book is not concerned solely with the middle ages, it can make contributions to a number of important broader debates. For instance, the eternal question of what exactly constitutes a 'castle' is raised time and again, with the classic Crusader site of Crak de Chevaliers an example of a castle with a monastic community at its core. There are also many other areas of interface between religion and fortification that, doubtless for reasons for space and manageability, could not be treated in this book. For example, in the case of those numerous castles raised by ecclesiastical magnates - in a British context such famous fortifications as Durham, Old Sarum and Rochester, which were all the fortified residences of bishops - we ask whether these buildings were differentiated in any way from the castles of secular lords? What are the architectural parallels between castles and religious institutions founded by their lords? Also begging further study is the religious provision afforded within the domestic planning of castles and other fortifications: the phenomenon of castle chapels has received little attention other than in studies of discrete sites, for instance, and the pan-European phenomenon of chapels and churches found in conjunction with town gates awaits serious study.
In terms of presentation, the book is beautifully produced and ensures that the product has many of the qualities of a 'coffee table' volume, without compromising academic integrity in the least (the scholarly apparatus is evident in footnotes). The author should also be praised for successfully exploiting the rich information provided by antiquarian descriptions and illustrations. In addition, the colour plates are superb, and frequently draw attention not only to the architectural qualities of fortified buildings but their setting within, and impact upon, surrounding landscapes. There are minor quibbles only: the concluding section is rather brief and has the appearance of an afterthought, while the symbolic dimension of ecclesiastical fortification is perhaps slightly underplayed. On another front, the many black and white illustrations are perhaps a little idiosyncratic, though informative.
It can only be hoped that the author carries through his initiative of compiling a gazetteer that builds on this excellent and pioneering study; for the meantime, however, this book ensures that the church-fortresses are restored to their rightful place in studies not only of fortification, but medieval societies and landscapes more generally.