Insular Monasticism and Ecclesial Complexes between the 5th and 11th Centuries in the Northern Adriatic Archipelago (Kvarner,Croatia): New Archaeological Evidence, Maison Française, Oxford, March 8, 2019, 1:30–4:00 pm

The conference will address the issue of monastic foundations between the Late Antiquity and the 11th century in the Kvarner archipelago in Croatia, between Istria and the bay of Rijeka, islands which marked the maritime boundary between Byzantium and the West in Northern Adriatic. Until recently, the rich monastic vestiges located in these islands have been poorly studied, both because they are often difficult to access, or unassuming at first glance, and because their hybrid archaeological features are difficult to interpret.

The local monastic life is already attested in the 4th century, but after the Gothic Wars, local it was fuelled by refugees from the Dalmatian mainland threatened by the Slavic invasions and new communities occupied former insular military outposts of the Byzantine maritime limes. During the following centuries, the religious identity of these communities fluctuated according to the balance of power between the Latin West, Byzantium, the emerging local Slavic polity and the rising power of Venice. In the 11th century, Saint-Peter of Osor, a monastery built in one of the small insular kastra mentioned by Emperor Constantine VII, exemplifies the rising influence of Benedictine monasticism and the order’s strategy of control over the maritime lanes. Ultimately seat of a bishopric, it came to be considered as the cradle of the Gregorian reform in the area.

The conference will offer a presentation of twelve years of French archaeological research on the monastic communities of the Kvarner archipelago.