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Abstract:
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This dissertation studies a local manifestation of ecclesiastical reform in the medieval county of Savoy : the twelfth -century transformation of secular canons into Augustinian regular canons at the church of Sts . Peter and Ursus in the alpine town of Aosta (now Italy ) . I argue that textual sources , material culture , and the practice of place together express how the newly reformed canons established their identity , shaped their material environment , and managed their relationship with the unreformed secular canons at the cathedral . The pattern of regularization in Aosta—instigated by a new bishop influenced by ideas of canonical reform—is only one among several models for implementing reform in medieval Savoy . This study asserts the importance of this medieval county as a center for reforming efforts among a regional network of churchmen , laymen , and noblemen , including the count of Savoy , Amadeus III (d . 1148 ) .
After a prologue and introduction , chapter 1 draws on traditional textual evidence to recount the history of reform in medieval Savoy . Chapters 2 through 4 focus on the twelfth -century sculpted capitals in the cloister built to accommodate the common life of the new regular canons . Several of the historiated capitals portray the biblical siblings , Martha and Mary , and Leah and Rachel , as material metaphors that reflect and reinforce the active and contemplative lives of the Augustinian canons . Other capitals represent the regular canons’ assertion of their precedence over the cathedral canons and suggest tensions between the two communities . The final chapter examines thirteenth -century conflicts over bell -ringing and ecclesiastical processions in the urban topography of Aosta to illustrate how the regular and secular canons continued to negotiate their relationship . Appendices include an English translation of a vita of St . Ursus (BHL 8453 ) . The dissertation as a whole reconstructs the places and material culture of medieval Aosta to convey the complexities of religious and institutional life during a time of reform and beyond . |