Animals and Sacred Bodies in Early Medieval Ireland

Download or read book Animals and Sacred Bodies in Early Medieval Ireland written by John Soderberg and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2022-01-04 with total page 263 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Clonmacnoise was among the busiest, most economically complex, and intensely sacred places in early medieval Ireland. In Animals and Sacred Bodies in Early Medieval Ireland: Religion and Urbanism at Clonmacnoise, John Soderberg argues that animals are the key to understanding Clonmacnoise’s development as a thriving settlement and a sacred space. At this sanctuary city on the River Shannon, animal bodies were an essential source of food and raw materials. They were also depicted extensively on religious objects. Drawing from new theories about the intersections between religion and economics, John Soderberg explores how transformations emerging from animal encounters made Clonmacnoise a sacred settlement and created the sacred bodies of early medieval Ireland.