ABSTRACT
Thelandscapemaybestudiedasaformofcommunaluseofspace.People investtheirphysicalterritorywithsocialandsymbolicmeaningsparticular tothevaluesoftheirownsociety.Landscapesituationandmanagement wereintegraltothegenderidentitiesofmaleandfemalereligiouscommunities,andresultedfromthedifferentexpectationsplacedonmonastic menandwomen.Monasticlandscapeswereinvestedfrequendywithvery specificreligiousmeanings,sothatmoreausterelandscapeswereassociated withthemoreeremitichermitagesandCistercianmonasteries.Butwhat meaningscanbeperceivedifwetakeasourstarting-pointacomparison betweenmaleandfemalecommunities,theirlandscapes,spatialrelationships toothersetdements,andpatternsofeconomicmanagement?
