WHOLLY – A Holistic Approach to a Monastic Landscape. The Human and Economic Geography of Zograf Monastery

Monastic repositories, particularly the Athonite ones, have fascinated scholars for centuries. Their efforts generated and continue to bring remarkable results: catalogues, editions of sources, and studies elucidating specific issues, historical periods, and regions. However, linguistic limitations, disciplinary boundaries, methodological constraints, and thematic affinities do not favour an integral approach and endanger a growing compartmentalization of research. Focusing on the collections of Zograf Monastery, we reflect on the methods and strategies for moving beyond chronological and linguistic borders and approaching the monastic landscapes from a holistic perspective. Rather than focusing on the landed assets of the monastery but giving preference instead to examining the human and economic geography of the monastic landscape across space and over time, we choose to view Zograf Monastery’s repositories as a laboratory for thinking about wider synchronic and diachronic possibilities for more integral research and publication strategies.