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“Hidden with Christ”: The Visibility and Agency of Seclusion at Mount Grace Priory

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Abstract:
In my thesis, I investigate the architecture and materiality of cloistered life at Mount Grace Priory, the best preserved Carthusian monastery in England. Although scholars have previously analyzed Carthusian architecture and church services, a critical, extended analysis of the medieval monk’s quotidian life in the cell and garden has never before been attempted, so my thesis fills a gap in the literature. Focusing on issues of vision and agency, I argue that the cloistered architecture of the cell both privileged and prohibited particular sights for the medieval Carthusian monk. Despite their seclusion, Carthusian monks demonstrated remarkable agency, co-creating their religious experiences by selecting and producing their own books, images, plants, and other features of their domestic environments. Perhaps the monk’s very hiddenness allowed him to assert a degree of individuality, leaving a visible trace of his everyday experience in the architecture and material culture of Mount Grace.
Notes:
Senior thesis (AB)--Brown University, 2022
Concentration: History of Art and Architecture

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Marchetti, Kristen, "“Hidden with Christ”: The Visibility and Agency of Seclusion at Mount Grace Priory" (2022). History of Art and Architecture Theses and Dissertations. Brown Digital Repository. Brown University Library. https://doi.org/10.26300/6h5m-d557

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