We commonly understand the mountain hideaways of medieval and early modern monks, East and West, to be locations of exile, where these sons of piety could dedicate their lives to a cause higher than themselves and away from the filthy hands and peering eyes of the state. But – weren’t these monks also in untapped ground?
Mountains and hills are bastions of natural resources; therein we find coal, lumber, gold, and all the luxuries we covet and early modern states needed. The intersection of religious institutions and natural resources is an important one, and I welcome any comments from more knowledgeable scholars on this topic.
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