Journal article
Monuments, Memories, and Conversion: Commemorating Saint Louis of France in Colonial Carthage
Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, v 82(4), pp 420-448
01 Dec 2023
Abstract
Although scholars have explored the colonialist nature of archaeology and the importance of antiquity in the legitimation of modern empires, accounts of French-occupied North Africa have largely overlooked the place of medievalism in the nineteenth- and twentieth- century French colonial project. Illustrating the strategic importance of references to the crusader-king Louis IX, whose short stay in Tunisia culminated in his death in 1270, this article explores a dynamic ensemble of commemorative structures and spaces built by France and the Catholic Church on the Byrsa Hill, Carthage's ancient acropolis. It considers a Gothic Revival chapel (1841), a scholasticate and antiquities museum (1879), an eclectic cathedral (1894), and an archaeological garden (1950-56) before concluding with a brief account of the site's postcolonial development and current state. The conversion of the Byrsa by Catholic officials demonstrates the multifaceted nature of colonial mythologizing and architecture, where both antiquity and medievalism played critical sociopolitical roles.
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Details
- Title
- Monuments, Memories, and Conversion: Commemorating Saint Louis of France in Colonial Carthage
- Creators
- Daniel E. Coslett - Drexel University
- Publication Details
- Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians, v 82(4), pp 420-448
- Publisher
- Soc Architectural Historians
- Number of pages
- 29
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Architecture, Design, and Urbanism
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:001167406800004
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85183102710
- Other Identifier
- 991021879762204721
InCites Highlights
Data related to this publication, from InCites Benchmarking & Analytics tool:
- Web of Science research areas
- Architecture