Crossing Religious Boundaries in the Early Medieval Mediterranean: The Case of Southern Italy and Sicily

Recent research by historians working in various parts of the Mediterranean has complicated our understanding of religion and religious identity in the early Middle Ages, and with it our view of interconfessional relations.  Rather than seeing the three Abrahamic religious traditions as separate, hermetically-sealed categories, recent research has identified not only similar developments within the three religious traditions but also the emergence of a common religious culture that included shared holy places and people, convergent devotional practices, and a common ritual and theological language.  In addition, the highly localized nature of religious communities led to a great variety of religious observances and expressions, and at times geography is a better predictor of belief and practice than affiliation to a specific religious tradition.  Moreover, religious identity competed with other forms of identity, and was not always the most important one.  Through an examination of the evidence from Southern Italy and Sicily this paper will delve into the notion of boundary crossing and the creation of a shared religious culture that included practitioners of all three religious traditions.  It will also place the experience of the region within the larger context of the early medieval Mediterranean.