Rievaulx Abbey, the Cistercian taskscape and environmental change

Horsfield, Freya

Abstract

Rievaulx Abbey, the Cistercian taskscape and environmental change

The work contributes to the growing body of revisionist research into the Cistercian order by extending the concept of ‘taskscape,’ originally devised by anthropologist Tim Ingold to describe an array of related, interlocking activities. Extending taskscape to Cistercian contexts offers an interpretative framing with potential for nuance, illustrated by the issue of documented Cistercian ‘transformation’ of landscape. The interdisciplinary research reported briefly here used taskscape to analyse documentary and archaeological data alongside a catchment hydrological model. The research found that the first Cistercian monastery in Northern Britain, Rievaulx Abbey, developed in a complex physical and socio-cultural context on which the monastery’s impact was likely to have been correspondingly complex.

Citation

Horsfield, F. (2023). Rievaulx Abbey, the Cistercian taskscape and environmental change. Cîteaux – Commentarii cistercienses, 2022(73), 187-211. https://doi.org/10.2143/CIT.73.1.0000000

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Oct 16, 2023
• Online Publication Date: Nov 13, 2023
• Publication Date: Nov 13, 2023
• Deposit Date: Feb 24, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 14, 2024
• Journal: Cîteaux – Commentarii cistercienses
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 2022
• Issue: 73
• Pages: 187-211
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.2143/CIT.73.1.0000000
• Keywords: Cistercian; Rievaulx; monastic; taskscape; complex; environment; change; system; hydrology; model
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1180959
• Publisher URL: http://www.citeaux.org/en/current-issue/