imago temporis ii 2008 - Grup de Recerca Consolidat en Estudis
Transcripción
imago temporis ii 2008 - Grup de Recerca Consolidat en Estudis
IMAGO TEMPORIS Medium Aevum II 2008 Lleida European Union Anglès.indd 1 08/06/2009 8:24:52 Editor Flocel Sabaté Scientific board David Abulafia, François Avril, Thomas N. Bisson, Marc Boone, Franco Cardini, Claude Carozzi, Enrico Castelnuovo, Giovanni Cherubini, Alan D. Deyermond, Peter Dronke, Paul Freedman, Claude Gauvard, Jean-Philippe Genet, Jacques Grand’Henry, Christian Guilleré, Eleazar Gutwirth, Albert G. Hauf, Hagen Keller, Dieter Kremer, Eberhard König, Peter Linehan, Georges Martin, Valentino Pace, Adeline Rucquoi, Teófilo Ruiz, Gennaro Toscano, Pierre Toubert, André Vauchez, Chris Wickham, Joaquín Yarza, Michel Zimmermann Editorial board Julián Acebrón, Stefano Asperti, Màrius Bernadó, Hugo O. Bizzarri, Maria Bonet, Joan J. Busqueta, Brian Catlos, Josep Antoni Clua, Pietro Corrao, Rita Costa Gomes, Ottavio Di Camillo, Luis Miguel Duarte, Francisco Javier Faci, Francesc Fité, Isabel Grifoll, Ariel Guiance, Amancio Isla, Nikolas Jaspert, Henrik Karge, Peter Klein, Adam Kosto, Matías López, Igor Philippov, Josefina Planas, Olivier Poisson, Philip D. Rasico, Jesús Rodríguez Velasco, Karen Stöber, Xavier Terrado, Marie-Claire Zimmermann Secretariat Ferran Arnó, Jesús Brufal, Laia Messegué, Gemma Ortiz Linguistic correction Chris Boswell Published by ‘Espai, Poder i Cultura’ Consolidated Medieval Studies Research Group (Universities of Lleida and Rovira i Virgili) www.medieval.udl.cat © Edicions de la Universitat de Lleida, 2008 Layout: Edicions i Publicacions de la UdL Cover design: cat & cas Printed in INO Reproducciones, SA ISSN 1888-3931 D L: L-115-2008 Anglès.indd 2 08/06/2009 8:24:52 IMAGO TEMPORIS. MEDIUM AEVUM Aims to contribute to a renewal of medieval studies with particular attention to the different conceptual aspects that made up the medieval civilisation, and especially to the study of the Mediterranean area. Aims to promote reflection about the Middle Ages and the ways to approach it the period —1st part: “the past interrogated and unmasked”—; In-depth discussion of leading research themes —2nd part: “the past studied and measured”—; including the analysis of the ways of diffusion and popularising ideas and cultures —3rd part: “the past explained and recreated”—. Is offered annually as a vehicle for exchanges among medievalists all over the world, in the context of a globalised planet, stimulated by intellectual plurality, open to debate on ideas and faithful to scientific rigour. Will publish in the format of articles those texts that pass a rigorous evaluation with independent and separate analyses by at least two leading experts, who are not part of the editorial board of the journal. Anglès.indd 3 08/06/2009 8:24:54 The articles published in Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum will be indexed in the following data bases: Academic Research Premier Dialnet H.W. Wilson Index Islamicus Indice Histórico Español International Medieval Bibliography Isoc Istituto Datini Mla International Bibliography Regesta Imperii We are working so that articles published in this new Journal could also to be indexed in the following data bases: Arts & Humanities Citation Index Current Contents Francis International Bibliography Of Periodical Literature In The Humanities And Social Sciences (Ibz) Scientific Commons Scopus Imago Temporis Medium Aevum wishes to be evaluated by: Carhus Dice Erih Jcr Latindex Resch Sjr Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum has an internet home page at: www.medieval.udl.cat Anglès.indd 4 08/06/2009 8:24:55 INSTITUTIONAL AFFILIATIONS Editor Flocel Sabaté. Professor in Medieval History. Departament d’Història, Facultat de Lletres, Universitat de Lleida. Plaça Víctor Siurana 1, 25003 Lleida (Spain). Scientific board David Abulafia. Professor in Mediterranean History. History Faculty, Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge. Trinity Street, Cambridge CB2 1TA (United Kingdom). François Avril. Conservator of the Department of Manuscripts. Bibliothèque National de France. 58 rue Richelieu, 75002 Paris (France). Thomas N. Bisson. Professor in Medieval History. Harvard College, Harvard University. 213 Robinson, Cambridge, 02138 Massachussets (USA). Marc Boone. Professor in Urban, Social and Political History. Department of Medieval History, Faculty of Arts and Philosophy, Ghent University. Blandijnberg 2, 9000 Ghent (Belgium). Franco Cardini. Director of Medieval Historical Research. Istituto Italiano de Scienze Umane. Piazza degli Strozzi, 1 (Palazzo Strozzi), 50123 Florence (Italy). Claude Carozzi. Professor in Medieval History. Département d’Histoire, Université de Provence-Aix-Marseille. 29 avenue Robert Schumann, 13621 Aix-en-Provence cedex 01 (France). Enrico Castelnuovo. Emeritus Professor in Medieval Art History. Classe di Lettere, Scuola Normale Superiore di Pisa. Piazza dei Cavalieri 7, 56126 Pisa (Italy). Giovanni Cherubini. Professor in Medieval History. Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia, Università degli Studi di Firenze. Via S. Gallo 10, 50129 Florence. (Italy). Alan D. Deyermond. Professor in Medieval Hispanic Philology. Department of Hispanic Studies and Italian, Queen Mary and Westfield College, University of London. Mile End Road, London E1 4NS (United Kingdom). Peter Dronke. Emeritus Professor of medieval Latin Literature. Faculty of Modern and Medieval Languages, University of Cambridge. Sidgwick Avenue, Cambridge CB3 9DA (United Kingdom). Paul Freedman. Chester D. Tripp Professor in Medieval History. Department of History, Yale University. P.O. Box 208324 New Haven, Connecticut 06520-8324 (USA). Claude Gauvard. Professor in Medieval History. Laboratoire de Médiévistique Occidentale de Paris, Université Panthéo-Sorbonne (Paris I). 17 rue de la Sorbonne, 75005 Paris; Institut Universitaire de France. 103 boulevard Saint-Michel, 75005 Paris (France). Jean-Philippe Genet. Professor in Medieval History. Laboratoire de Médiévistique Occidentale de Paris, Université Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris I). 17 rue de la Sorbonne, 75005 Paris (France). Jacques Grand’Henry. Professor of Islamic History. Institut Orientaliste, Collège Erasme, Catholic University of Louvain. Place Blaise Pascal 1, B-1348, Louvain-laNeuve (Belgium). Anglès.indd 5 08/06/2009 8:24:55 Christian Guilleré. Professor in Medieval History. Département d’Histoire, Université de Savoie. 27 rue Marcoz BP 1104, 73011 Chambéry (France). Eleazar Gutwirth. Professor in Medieval History. Faculty of Humanities, Tel Aviv University. Renat Aviv, 69978 Tel Aviv (Israel). Albert G. Hauf. Professor in Catalan Philology. Departament de Filologia Catalana, Universitat de València. Avinguda Blasco Ibáñez 32, 46010 Valencia (Spain); Emeritus Professor. Departament of Hispanic Studies, University of Wales. 30-36 Newport road, Cardiff (United Kingdom). Hagen Keller. Emeritus Professor in Medieval History. Facultät fur Geschichte, Westfälische Wilhems-Universität Münster. Domplatz 20-22, D-48143 Münster (Germany). Dieter Kremer. Professor in Romanesque Philology. Department of Romanesque Philology, Universität Trier. Universitatsring, 15, D-54286 Trier (Germany). Eberhard König. Professor in Art History. Kunsthistorisches Institut, Freie Universität Berlin. Koserstrasse, 20, 14195 Berlin (Germany). Peter Linehan. Professor in Medieval History. St. John’s College, University of Cambridge. St. John’s Street, Cambridge CB2 1TP (United Kingdom). Georges Martin. Professor in Medieval Hispanic Philology. UFR d’Etudes Ibériques et Latino-Américaines, Université Paris Sorbonne (Paris IV). 1 rue Victor-Cousin, 75230 Paris (France). Valentino Pace. Professor in Art History. Dipartamento di Storia e Tutela dei Beni Culturali, Facoltà di Lettere e Filosofia. Università degli studi di Udine. Vicolo Florio 2/b, 33100 Udine (Italy). Adeline Rucquoi. Director of Research. Centre des Recherches Historiques, Centre Nationale de Recherches Scientifiques. 54 boulevard Raspail, 75006 Paris (France). Teófilo Ruiz. Professor in Medieval History and Early Modern Europe. Department of History, University of California, Los Angeles. 6265 Bunche Hall, P. O. Box 951473, Los Angeles, California 90095-1473 (USA). Gennaro Toscano. Professor in Civilisation and Renaissance Art History. UFR Arts et Culture, Université Charles de Gaulle (Lille III). Rue de Barreau, BP 60149, 59653 Villeneuve d’Ascq (France). Pierre Toubert. Professor in the History of the Western Mediterranean in the Middle Ages. Collège de France. 11 place Marcelin Berthelot, 75231 Paris (France). André Vauchez. Emeritus Professor in Medieval History. Department d’Histoire, Université Paris-Nanterre (Paris X). 200 avenue de la République, 92001 Nanterre (France). Chris Wickham. Professor in Medieval History. All Souls College, Faculty of History, University of Oxford. The Old Boy’s High School, George Street, Oxford 0X1 2RL (United Kingdom). Joaquín Yarza. Emeritus Professor in Art History. Departament d’Art, Facultat de Filosofia i Lletres, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona. Edifici B, Campus de la UAB, 08193 Bellaterra, Cerdanyola del Vallès (Spain). Michel Zimmermann. Professor in Medieval History. UFR des Sciences Sociales et des Humanités, Université de Versailles-Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines. 47 boulevard Vauban, 78047 Guyancourt cedex (France). Anglès.indd 6 08/06/2009 8:24:55 Editorial board Julián Acebrón. Professor titular in Spanish Philology. Departament de Filologia Clàssica, Francesa i Hispànica, Facultat de Lletres, Universitat de Lleida. Plaça Víctor Siurana 1, 25003 Lleida (Spain). Stefano Asperti. Professor in Philology. Dipartimento di studi romanzi, Università degli Studi di Roma “La Sapienza”. Piazzale Aldo Moro 5, 00185 Roma. (Italy). Màrius Bernadó. Professor in History of Music. Departament d’Història de l’Art i Història Social, Facultat de Lletres, Universitat de Lleida. Plaça Víctor Siurana 1, 25003 Lleida (Spain). Hugo O. Bizzarri. Professor in Hispanic Philology. Mediävistisches Institut der Universität Freiburg. Avenue de l’Europe 20, CH-1700 Freiburg (Switzerland). Maria Bonet. Professora titular in Medieval History. Departament d’Història i Història de l’Art, Facultat de Lletres, Universitat Rovira i Virgili. Plaça Imperial Tarraco 1, 43005 Tarragona (Spain). Joan Josep Busqueta. Professor titular in Medieval History. Departament d’Història, Facultat de Lletres, Universitat de Lleida. Plaça Victor Siurana 1, 25003 Lleida (Spain). Brian Catlos. Associate Professor in Medieval History. Department of History, University of California Santa Cruz. 201, Humanities 1, 1156 High St., Santa Cruz CA 95064 California (USA). Josep Antoni Clua. Professor in Greek Philology. Departament de Filologia Clàssica, Francesa i Hispànica, Facultat de Lletres, Universitat de Lleida. Plaça Victor Siurana, 1 25003 Lleida (Spain). Pietro Corrao. Professor in Medieval History. Dipartamento di Studi Storici e Artistici, Università di Palermo. Via G. Pascoli 6, 90144 Palermo (Italy). Rita Costa Gomes. Assistant Professor in Medieval History. Department of History, Towson University. 8000 York Road, Towson, Maryland 21252-0001 (USA). Ottavio Di Camillo. Professor in European Literature and Latin Middle Age. Center for Latin American, Caribbean, and Latino Studies, The Graduate Center, The City University of New York. 365 Fifth Avenue, New York 10016 (USA). Luis Miguel Duarte. Professor in Medieval History. Departamento de História e de Estudios Políticos e Internacionais, Faculdade de Letras, Universidade do Porto. Via Panorâmica s/n, 4150-564 Porto (Portugal). Francisco Javier Faci. Professor in Medieval History. Departament d’Història i Història de l’Art, Facultat de Lletres, Universitat Rovira i Virgili. Plaça Imperial Tarraco 1, 43005 Tarragona (Spain). Francesc Fité. Professor titular in Medieval Art. Departament d’Història de l’Art i Història Social, Facultat de Lletres, Universitat de Lleida. Plaça Víctor Siurana 1, 25003 Lleida (Spain). Isabel Grifoll. Professora titular in Catalan Philology. Departament de Filologia Catalana i Comunicació Audiovisual, Facultat de Lletres, Universitat de Lleida. Plaça Víctor Siurana 1, 25003 Lleida (Spain). Ariel Guiance. Scientific Researcher. Instituto Multidisciplinar de Historia y Ciencias Humanas, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Saavedra 15, 5º, 1083 Buenos Aires (Argentina). Anglès.indd 7 08/06/2009 8:24:55 Amancio Isla. Professor in Medieval History. Departament d’Història i Història de l’Art, Facultat de Lletres, Universitat Rovira i Virgili. Plaça Imperial Tarraco 1, 43005 Tarragona (Spain). Nikolas Jaspert. Professor in Medieval History. Lehrstuhl für die Geschichte des Späten Mittelalters, Rurh-Universität Bochum. Universitätsstrasse 150, Gebäude GA 4131, 44801 Bochum (Germany). Henrik Karge. Professor in Medieval History. Philosophische Fakultät, Institut für Kunst-und Musikwissenschaft. Technische Universität Dresden. 01062 Dresden (Germany). Peter Klein. Professor in Art History. Facultät für Kulturwissenschaften Zentrum für Allgemeine Kulturwissenschaften; Kunsthistorisches Institut, Tübingen Universität. Bursagasse 1, 72070 Tübingen (Germany). Adam Kosto. Associate Professor in Medieval History. Department of History, Columbia University. 501 Fayer weather Hall, 2504, 2960 Broadway, New York (USA). Matías López. Professor titular in Latin Philology. Departament de Filologia Clàssica, Francesa i Hispànica, Facultat de Lletres, Universitat de Lleida. Plaça Víctor Siurana 1, 25003 Lleida (Spain). Igor Phillipov. Professor in Medieval History. Faculty of History, Lomonosov Moscow State University. 117571 Prospekt Vernadskago, Moscow (Russian Federation). Josefina Planas. Professor in Medieval Art History. Departament d’Història de l’Art i Història Social, Facultat de Lletres, Universitat de Lleida. Plaça Víctor Siurana 1, 25003 Lleida (Spain). Olivier Poisson. Inspector General of Historic Monuments. Direction de l’Architecture et du Patrimoine, Ministère de la Culture et de la Communication. 182, rue Saint-Honoré, 75001 Paris (France). Philip D. Rasico. Professor in Spanish and Catalan. Department of Spanish and Portuguese, Vanderbilt University. P. O. box 35-1617 Station B, Nashville, Tennessee 37235-1617 (USA). Jesús Rodríguez Velasco. Professor in Hispanic Literature. Department of Spanish and Portuguese, University of California, Berkeley. 5317 Dwinelle, Berkeley, California (USA). Karen Stöber. Lecturer in Medieval History. Department of History & Welsh History, Aberystwyth University. Hugh Ower Building. Aberystwytch, Ceredigion SY23304 (United Kingdom). Xavier Terrado. Professor in Hispanic Philology. Departament de Filologia Clàssica, Francesa i Hispànica, Facultat de Lletres, Universitat de Lleida. Plaça Víctor Siurana 1, 25003 Lleida (Spain). Marie-Claire Zimmermann. Professor in Catalan Philology. UFR d’Études Ibériques et Latino-Américaines, Université Sorbonne (Paris IV). 2 rue Francis de Croisset, 75018 Paris (France). Anglès.indd 8 08/06/2009 8:24:55 Authors Volume II Frédéric Alchalabi. Maître de Conférences. UFR Histoire, histoire de l’art, archéologie, Département d'histoire de l’art et archéologie, Université de Nantes. Chemin de la Censive du Tertre, 44300 Nantes (France). [email protected]. Main lines of research: The pseudo-historical speech in Castilla in the 15th century, the Crónica Sarracina by Pedro de Corral, the Crónica Troyana of 1490, the Històries e conquestes dels reys d’Aragó e comtes de Barcelona by Pere Tomich. Main publications: L’écriture de l’Histoire dans les «Chroniques» de Pierre Ier et de Pierre III, Lille, 2004; «La fin de l’errance. Le jardin dans les ‘Milagros de Nuestra Señora’ de Gonzalo de Berceo», Le jardin: figures et métamorphoses, Anne-Marie Brevot, Bernard Cottret, dirs. Dijon: PU Dijon, 2005: 38-49; «La plume et le pinceau: la technique de l’autoportrait dans la Chronique de Pierre III (représentation et mise en scène)», Revue d’Etudes Catalanes, VIII- IX (2005- 2006): 7- 35; «Des vertus de personnages du Tirant lo Blanc et de leur appétit: réflexions sur le rôle de la nourriture dans l’œuvre de Joanot Martorell», Les Langues Néo-Latines, CCCXLI/2 (2007): 17-36. Julia Baldó Alcoz. Scientific researcher in Medieval History. Departamento de Historia, Facultad de Filosofía y Letras, Universidad de Navarra. Campus de Pamplona (edificio central), 31080 Pamplona (Spain). [email protected]. Main lines of research: Death in the Middle Ages, Funerary rites, Funerary liturgy, Suicide, Illness, Popular religion, Black Death, Old age, Social History in the Middle Ages, History of Mentalities, Military Orders (Order of Saint John of Jerusalem). Main publications: “Un aspecto de los funerales a través de la legislación civil en la Navarra bajomedieval: el uso de antorchas durante el cortejo”, Grupos sociales en Navarra. Relaciones y derechos a lo largo de la historia, Carmen de Erro Gasca, Iñigo Mugueta Moreno, dirs. Pamplona: Ediciones Eunate, 2002: 197-210; “Registrar la muerte (1381-1512). Un análisis de testamentos y mandas pías contenidos en los Protocolos Notariales Navarros”, Hispania. Revista Española de Historia, LXV/1, 219 (2005): 155226; “Segunt a mi estado fazer pertenesce. Imagen y memoria de los grupos sociales privilegiados en la Navarra bajomedieval: el cortejo funerario”, Navarra: Memoria e Imagen: actas del VI Congreso de Historia de Navarra. Pamplona: Ediciones Eunate, 2006: 385-402; “Las misas post mortem: simbolismos y devociones en torno a la muerte y el más allá en la Navarra bajomedieval”, Zainak. Cuadernos de AntropologíaEtnografía. Formas de religiosidad e identidades, 28 (2006): 353-374. Juan Antonio Barrio Barrio. Professor titular in Medieval History. Departament de Història Medieval i Moderna, Facultat de Filosofia i Lletres, Universidad de Alacant. Carretera Sant Vicent del Raspeig s/n, 03690 Sant Vicent del Raspeig (Spain). [email protected]. Main lines of research: Border, oligarchies, Orihuela, Urban World, cinema. Main publications: ed. (with Vicente Cabezuelo Pliego) La Fortaleza Medieval. Realidad y Símbolo Alicante: Universidad de Alicante, 1997; ed. Los cimientos del Estado en la Edad Media, Alcoy: editorial Marfil, 2005; Gobierno municipal durante el reinado de Alfonso V 1416-1458, Alicante: Universidad de Alicante, 1995; Finanzas municipales y mercado urbano durante el reinado de Alfonso V, 1416-1458, Alicante: Instituto de Cultura Juan Gil-Albert, 1998; “La articulación de una oligarquía fronteriza en el mediodía valenciano. El patriciado de Orihuela. Siglos XIV-XV”. Revista d'Història Medieval, 9 (1999): 105-126. Anglès.indd 9 08/06/2009 11:26:42 Howard B. Clarke. Professor emeritus of Medieval Socio-economic History. School of History and Archives, University College Dublin. Belfied, Dublin, 4 (Ireland). [email protected]; member of Royal Irish Academy. 19, Dawson Street, Dublin, 2. Main lines of research: Comparative urban history, Medieval Dublin, English surveys 900-1200, Evesham Abbey, the Bayeux Tapestry. Main publications: ed. (with Simms, Anngret), The Comparative History of Urban Origins in Non-roman Europe: Ireland, Wales, Denmark, Germany, Poland and Russia from the Ninth to the Thirteenth Century. Oxford: British Archaeological Reports, 1985; Irish cities. Dublin: Mercier Press, 1995; “Proto-towns and towns in Ireland and Britain in the ninth and tenth centuries”, Ireland and Scandinavia in the Early Viking Age, Howard B. Clarke, Máire Ní Mhaonaigh, Raghnall Ó Floinn, eds. Dublin: Four Courts Press, 1998: 331-380; “Decolonization and the dynamics of urban decline in Ireland, 1300-1550”, Towns in Decline, AD 100-1600, Terence R. Slater, ed. Aldershot: Ashgate, 2000: 157-192; (with Dent, Sarah; Johnson, Ruth) Dublinia: The story of Medieval Dublin. Dublin: The O’Brien Press, 2002; Dublin, Part I, to 1610. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy, 2002. Francisco Franco Sánchez. Professor in Arabic and Islamic Studies. Departament de Filologies integrades, Facultat de Filosofia i Lletres, Universitat d’Alacant. Carretera de Sant Vicent del Raspeig s/n, 03080 Alacant (Spain). [email protected]. Main lines of research: Social and religious history of Al-Andalus, Medieval and Modern Arabic Historiography, Ancient and Arabic geography and cartography, Moslem urbanism, Arabic medicine. Main publications: Vías y defensas andalusíes en la Mancha Oriental, Alicante: Instituto de Cultura Juan Gil-Albert, 1995; (with Maria Sol Cabello) Muhammand As-Safra. El médico y su época, Alicante: Universidad de Alicante, 2004; Rábitas islámicas. Alicante-Sant Carles de la Ràpita, Alicante: Universidad de Alicante-Ajuntament de Sant Carles de la Ràpita, 1997; (with Míkel de Epalza) La rábita en el islam. Estudios interdisciplinares, Sant Carles de la RàpitaAlicante: Universidad de Alicante-Ajuntament de Sant Carles de la Ràpita, 2004. Analie Germain. Scientific researcher in Medieval History. Maison Méditerranéennee des Sciences de l’Homme, Département des Sciences de l’Antiquité, Université de Provence. 5 rue du Château de l’Horge, BP 647 13094 Aix-en Provence (France). [email protected]. Main lines of research: Notion of friendship in the medieval letters on 10th-12th centuries, like Gerbert of Reims, Fulbert of Chartres, and how these relations influence the medieval society. Main publications: “Societas, foedus, amicitia: la société des ’princes’ dans la correspondance de Gerbert d’Aurillac”, Vivre en société au Moyen Age: Occident chrétien, VIe-XVe siècles, C. Carozzi, D. Le Blévec et H. Taviani-Carozzi, eds. Aix-en-Provence: Publications de l’Université de Provence, 2008: 57-78. Catalina Girbea. Senior Lecturer in Medieval French Literature. Department of French Language and Literature, Faculty of Foreing Languages and Literatures, University of Bucharest. Edgar Quinet 5-7 sect I, 70106 Bucharest (Romania); associated member of the Centre d’Études Supérieures de Civilisation Médiévale. 24 rue de la Chaîne, BP-603 86022 Poitiers (France). [email protected]. Main lines of reserche: Arthurianism and religion and the problem of conversion, the individual in the Middle Age, arthurian heraldry. Main publications: La couronne ou Anglès.indd 10 08/06/2009 11:26:42 l’auréole: Royauté terrestre ou chevalerie celestielle dans la légende arthurienne, Turnhout: Brepols, 2007; ed. (with Martin Aurell, Denise Turell, Christine Manigand, Jérôme Grévy, Laurent Hablot), Signes et couleurs des identités politiques. Rennes: Presses Universitaires de Rennes, 2007. José Marín. Professor in Medieval History. Instituto de Historia, Facultad de Filosofía y Educación, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso. Avenida El Bosque 1290, Viña del Mar, Valparaiso (Chile); Scientific researcher in Medieval History, Centro de Estudios Griegos, Bizantinos y Neohelénicos, Facultad de Filosofia y Humanidades, Universidad de Chile. Paseo Valle 396, Viña del Mar (Chile). jmarin@ ucv.cl. Main lines of research: Late Antiquity, Byzantine History. Main publications: Cruzada, Guerra Santa y Jihad. La Edad Media y Nosotros, Valparaíso: ediciones de la Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, 2003; Textos Históricos. Del Imperio Romano al siglo VIII. Santiago: Ril editores, 2003; “Noticias bizantinas en España. El caso de San Isidoro de Sevilla”, Instituçôes, poderes e jurisdiçôes. I Seminario Argentina-Brasil-Chile de Historia Antiga e Medieval, Marcella Lopes Guimaraes, Renan Frighetto, coord. Sao Pablo: Juruà, 2007: 27-50; “Notas para una reconsideración del concepto de guerra santa”, Atas do III Encontro Internacional de Estudos Medievais, María do Amparo Tavares Maleval, ed. Rio de Janeiro: Ed. Àgora da Ilha, 2001: 431-440. Germán Navarro Espinach: Profesor titular in Medieval History. Departamento de Historia Medieval, Ciencias y Técnicas Historiográficas y Estudios Arabes e Islámicos, Facultad de Filosofia y Letras, Universidad de Zaragoza. Calle Pedro Cerbuna 12, 50009 Zaragoza (Spain). [email protected]. Main lines of research: Aragon Medieval, General States, social elites, comparative structures in the Crown of Aragon in the Late Medieval Ages. Main publications: Los orígenes de la sedería valenciana (siglos XV-XVI). Valencia: Ayuntamiento de Valencia, 1999; (with David Igual). La tesorería general y los banqueros de Alfonso V el Magnánimo. Castellón de la Plana: Sociedad Castellonense de Cultura, 2002; (with José Luis Corral; Carmen García Herrero). Taller de Historia. El oficio que amamos. Barcelona: Edhasa, 2006; Cuentas del concejo de Mirambel (1472-1489). Saragossa: Universidad de Zaragoza, 2008; Cortes del Reinado de Martín I, ed., Saragossa: Gobierno de Aragón, Ibercaja, 2008. Maria-Milagros Rivera Garretas. Professor in Medieval History. Departament d’Història Medieval, Paleografia i Diplomàtica, Facultat de Geografia i Història, Universitat de Barcelona. Montalegre 6, 08001 Barcelona (Spain). milagrosrivera@ ub.edu. Main lines of research: Medieval History, Women’s History, Women’s Writting. Main publications: Textos y espacios de mujeres: Europa, siglos IV-XV. Barcelona: Icaria, 1990; Mujeres en relación. Feminismo 1970-2000. Barcelona: Icaria, 2001; Juana de Mendoza (h. 1425-1493). Madrid: Ediciones del Orto, 2004; La diferencia sexual en la historia. Valencia: Universitat de València, 2005; coord., Las relaciones en la historia de la Europa medieval, Valencia: Tirant lo Blanch, 2006. Albert Sierra Reguera. Scientific Researcher in Art History. Direcció General del Patrimoni Cultural. Departament de Cultura i Mitjans de Comunicació de la Generalitat de Catalunya, Portaferrissa 1 (Palau Moja), 08002 Barcelona (Spain). [email protected]. Main lines of research: Museums and Internet, Cultural heritage difussion and new technologies, History of the Architecture and the architectonical restoration, Pinture Renaissance painting on the Pirenean Valleys. Main Anglès.indd 11 08/06/2009 11:26:43 publications: “Una nova figura del davallament de Durro: Nicodem”. Revista d’art, 3 (2003): 125-132; (with Domènec Ferran) “Leer las iglesias de Sant Pere de Terrassa: arqueología, arquitectura y arte”, II Congreso Internacional sobre musealización de yacimientos arqueológicos: nuevos conceptos y estrategias de gestión y comunicación, Julia Beltrán de Heredia, Isabel Fernández del Moral, coords. Barcelona: Museu d'Història de la ciutat, 2003: 61-66. Jill Webster. Professor emeritus in Medieval History. St. Michael’s College, University of Toronto. 81 St. Mary Street, Ontario, M5S1J4, Toronto (Canada). Jill. [email protected]. Main lines of research: Medieval Franciscans, Poor Clares, and Carmelites, especially in Vic. Main publications: Els menorets: the franciscans in the realms of Aragon from St. Francis to the black death. Toronto: Pontificial Institute of Medieval Studies, 1993; Per Déu o fer diners. Els mendicants i el clergat al País Valencià. Catarroja-Barcelona: Afers, 1998; Carmel in Medieval Catalonia. Leiden: Brill 1999; Els Franciscans catalans a l’Edat Mitjana. Lleida: Pagès editors, 2000. Anglès.indd 12 08/06/2009 11:26:43 CONTENTS Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum. Volume 2. Year 2008 I Part. The Past Interrogated and Unmasked 17-25 History that rescues and redeems the present María-Milagros Rivera-Garretas 27-43 Joining the Club: a spanish historic towns atlas? Howard B. Clarke 45-55 “Who is who” in Spanish medieval studies Germán Navarro II Part. The Past Studied and Measured 59-82 Byzantium and the dark ages. A civilization on trial José Marín 83-112 The andalusian economy in the times of Almanzor. Administrative theory and economic reality through juridical and geographic sources Francisco Franco-Sánchez 113-132 loyalty, friendship and love in the letters of fulbert of chartres Analie Germain 133-160 The Christian message in Josep d’Abarimatie and Demanda del Santo Grial: conversion and charity through dialogue Catalina Girbea 161-175 the establishment of a modus vivendi between the franciscans and the clergy: vic - 1280-1357 Jill Webster 177-189 A Chronicler King: Rewriting History and the Quest for Image in the Catalan Chronicle of Peter III (1319- 1336/ 1387) Frédéric Alchalabi 191-225 Quonstituido en estrema vejez. Old age and life expectancy in Late Medieval Navarre Julia Baldó 13 Anglès.indd 13 08/06/2009 8:24:56 III Part. The Past Explained and Recreated 229-260 The Middle Ages in USA Cinema Juan Antonio Barrio 261-287 Medieval internet: research, knowledge and play, the new time travel Albert Sierra Originals of the Texts not Written in English 291-298 La historia que rescata y redime el presente María-Milagros Rivera-Garretas 299-308 ¿Quién es quién en el medievalismo español? Germán Navarro 309-329 Bizancio y la época oscura. Una civilización puesta a prueba José Marín 330-344 La economía andalusí en época de Almanzor. Teoría administrativa y realidad económica a través de las fuentes jurídicas y geográficas Francisco Franco-Sánchez 345-361 Fidelité, amitié et amour dans la correspondance de Fulbert de Chartres Analie Germain 362-386 Le message chretien dans le Josep d’Abarimatie et la Demanda del Santo Grial: conversion et charite a travers le dialogue Catalina Girbea 387-395 Un roi chroniqueur: réécriture de l’Histoire et quête de l’image politique dans la Chronique catalane de Pierre III (1319-1336/1387) Frédéric Alchalabi 396-425 Quonstituido en estrema vejez. Ancianidad y esperanza de vida en la Navarra bajomedieval Julia Baldó 426-452 La Edad Media en el cine de Estados Unidos Juan Antonio Barrio 453-465 Medieval Internet: recerca, coneixement i joc, la nova màquina del temps Albert Sierra 14 Anglès.indd 14 08/06/2009 8:24:56 I PART THE PAST INTERROGATED AND UNMASKED Anglès.indd 15 08/06/2009 8:24:57 Anglès.indd 16 08/06/2009 8:24:57 HISTORY THAT RESCUES AND REDEEMS THE PRESENT María-Milagros Rivera-Garretas Universitat de Barcelona Spain Date of reception: 8th of March, 2007 Final date of acceptance: 18th of December, 2007 Abstract I ask myself if the thinking of experience serves to untie a knot that oppresses and darkens current scientific historiography. The feminist historiography of equality of the sexes or gender has not found a new beginning that gives it its own originality and sense, but rather has adopted as its own that of western masculine historiography, that is the paternal genealogy, which, from the erudite movement of the 17th century, has considered objectivity as its touchstone. Not having found a new beginning has meant that feminist historiography of equality or gender has limited itself to repeating existing interpretations of the past. Because of this, the pain, protest and indignation of the women’s political movement in the 1970s at the absence of women in History is still valid thirty years later, with no greater response than the corroboration of the absence, that is the absence of the meta-narratives and the memory, not the documentation or the history. How can we find a new beginning for the history that is written today? How can we find a beginning that rescues and redeems me from the traumas of the past, such as the Spanish Civil War, the Holocaust, the disappearance of women and men under the dictatorships, the systematic rape of women in many contemporary wars, including those committed by troops from the UN, which my country belongs to? How can we avoid vengeance or political paralysis, while maintaining the historical memory alive? Key words Sexual difference, Philosophy of history, Spanish Civil War, Historical memory, True history. Capitalia verba Sexualis differentia, Historiae philosophia, Hispanicum civile bellum, Memoria historica, Vera historia. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 17-25. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 17 17 08/06/2009 8:24:57 18 María-Milagros Rivera-Garretas 1. The thinking of experience in the writing of history1 In this paper, I ask myself if the practice setting out from the self —in other words, the thinking of experience— can shed some light on the knot which oppresses and obscures current scientific historiography, including feminist historiography whose horizon of meaning is the principle of sexual equality, that is, gender history. Let us not forgetting that feminist historiography and the history of women are not synonymous. The knot of which I am speaking lies in the fact —an undeniable fact, after thirtyfive years of historiographical studies generated by programmes of Women’s Studies or Gender Studies in hundreds of universities all around the world— that feminist historiography regarding equality or gender has not found a new beginnig to express itself in an original way, a voice which could be its source of meaning; rather it has adopted the discourse of Western male historiography, which is patriarchal, and which, since the 17th century, has considered objectivity to be its touchstone, which, with the help of one or several ideologies, has been used to guarantee the veracity of historical accounts. In patriarchal genealogy, historical veracity is established by paternity itself: the legitimacy of the son or daughter depends, not on trust upon their mother, but on methods which are beyond the sentimental relationship of the couple, objective and external methods such as the ordeal by hot iron, which was used in Europe as conclusive legal evidence in charges of female adultery until at least the 11th century, or the DNA test (deoxyribonucleic acid) —that traces the genetic map— of our own time. Perhaps this analogy helps to explain why, in debates about objectivity, female historians have scarcely intervened. The fact that no new beginning has been found has meant that feminist historiography regarding equality or gender has been forced to repeat existing interpretations of the past. Against these interpretations, they have simply contrasted feminine experience, without opening contradictions that could enrich and sharpen the political vocabulary. In other words, without contributing to putting conflicts between the sexes that can be documented nowadays, into words. That is why the cry of pain, protest and indignation from the women’s political movement of the 1970s due to the absence of women from History, thirty years on, is still present in this historical writing, with no answer but the corroboration of this absence, which is the absence of metanarratives and memory, not documentation or history. Let us look at an example. There is an event in Spanish contemporary history that has aroused, and still generates, a great deal of interest, one that is only exceeded by accounts of the discovery of America or the Inquisition.2 That event was the Civil War of 1936-1939. In the last few decades, many feminist historians have published scientifically impeccable research into the participation of women in this 1. I presented a oral of this paper in the XII Symposium of the Internationale Assoziation von Philosophinnen (Rome, 31st August — 3rd September 2006), dedicated to Il pensiero dell’esperienza, in the section Storia e memoria. 2. Dupláa, Christina. Memoria sí, venganza no en Josefina R. Aldecoa: ensayo sociohistórico de su narrativa. Barcelona: Icaria, 2000: 57. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 17-25. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 18 08/06/2009 8:24:58 History that Rescues and Redeems the Present 19 terrible event. However, their interpretations repeat the male model of winners/ losers, fair war/unfair war, in a female way, and the nostalgia for a world which, in fact, never existed because of that war. In other words, women are included in history without finding a new beginning. There is no substantial difference: being a woman is not a source of meaning. Moreover, women’s presence in history books becomes an obstacle, since now we are in history without actually being in history. Teresa de Jesús, a great politician and interpreter of the sexual politics of her time, wrote that: “there’s a big difference between being and being”. What led university feminism to accept objectivity and paternal genealogy when it started to write history? If I narrate my own experience and that of women of my time, I would say that it was because of the hope with which we went to university: the hope of learning to express ourselves. We thought that at university history was made correctly, honestly, without cheating or the bitterness of treachery. And that is why we did not think about the necessity of a new beginning: we did not realise that, without a new beginning, our writing of history would lack originality and origin. However, some of us already sensed this at the time. I remember, at that time, more than twenty-five years ago, the most significant conflict that was discussed in the small feminist historians’ groups that were being founded in universities at that time. It was a conflict relating to practice. Some female historians wanted to separate history writing and political practice. “At university,” they said “we make history, and outside, we do politics”. Others wanted history writing to be a life experience. This conflict ended frequently because the groups split into two, abandoned by a lot of women who were anxious about the double bind. Hence it was the hope at the university such as it was what deprived feminist historiography of equality or gender of its originality. Many years later, I read a poem by Emily Dickinson about how misplaced hope can do much harm to a woman, which runs: Had I presumed to hope — The loss had been to Me A Value — for the Greatness’ Sake — As Giants — gone away — Had I presumed to gain A Favor so remote — The failure but confirm the Grace In further Infinite — ‘Tis failure — not of Hope — But Confident Despair — Advancing on Celestial Lists — With faint — Terrestrial Power — Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 17-25. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 19 08/06/2009 8:24:59 20 María-Milagros Rivera-Garretas ‘Tis Honor — though I die — For That no Man obtain Till He be justified by Death — This — is the Second Gain —.3 “Giants gone away”, “further Infinite”, “Confident Despair”, “Celestial Lists with faint Terrestrial Power”, death as the second gain... The divide between thought and practice has caused the death of history connected with experience at universities. In this way, feminist historiography guided by the principle of equality has become history tamed, with no surprises, without the surprise of the truth. This can be seen, as mentioned previously, in the way their interpretations follow the model of confrontation, of the fair and the unfair war and, therefore, of the winners and the losers, female or male. And it is particularly noticeable in the fact that the present persists in demanding explanations from history which are free from the model of confrontation, explanations which “do not reopen wounds”, as we read occasionally in the press, almost always voiced by a woman. Because the significant events of the past, especially the traumatic ones, interpreted only within this model, often become recurring ghosts, if by ghosts we understand “a piece of detached reality..., a nucleus of it”.4 Even though history does not consist mainly of traumatic events, it is these that the present, at the end of the patriarchy, insists most vehemently on interpreting from a new beginning, other than that based on objectivity and paternal genealogy. Returning to the example of the Spanish Civil War of 1936-1939, when the dictatorship finished at the end of 1975, the ghost of the Civil War and fear of its repetition continued to darken the political life of my country. In order to avoid this and make a peaceful transition to democracy, the political parties of the time signed what was known as “the pact of forgetting”.5 This pact restrained the ghost of the Civil War but created another one: that of the lack of historical memory of this traumatic event which, without the memory of their experience, people cannot redeem nor rescue in order to obtain the “no to revenge, yes to memory”, which novelist Josefina Aldecoa —a “girl of the War”— was still asking for in 1997.6 In 2006, on the seventieth anniversary of the outbreak of the Civil War, many ceremonies were held and a large number of texts were published demanding historical documentation to rectify the consequences of the pact of forgetting. However, these repeated the model of confrontation without finding a new beginning. Examples are the texts by Carmen Zulueta, daughter of a civil servant of the Republic in Rome, who wrote in “El País” on 19th July 2006: 3. Dickinson, Emily. The Poems of Emily Dickinson, ed. Ralph W. Franklin. Cambridge (Mass.): The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1998: nº 669, Johnson 522. 4. Zambrano, María. Algunos lugares de la pintura, ed. Amalia Iglesias. Madrid: Acanto and Espasa Calpe, 1991: 65. 5. Dupláa, Christina. Memoria sí, venganza no…: 9. 6. Aldecoa, Josefina R. La fuerza del destino. Barcelona: Anagrama, 1997; quote in Dupláa, Christina. Memoria sí, venganza no ...: 68. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 17-25. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 20 08/06/2009 8:25:00 History that Rescues and Redeems the Present 21 The Republic did not create a state of disorder or crime. This was created by the military and the completely politicised church which favoured the fascists” (p. 14), or the text by Gregorio Marañón and Beltrán de Lis and Antonio López Vega in the same newspaper, that said, The drama of the Civil War could only be brought to a close forty years later, when those who made the transition achieved national reconciliation and recovered freedom. Those men did not sign a pact of forgetting, on the contrary, they could remember very well and that is why they were convinced that a past when, as Azaña wrote, ‘all Spanish people were sick with hatred’, was not a good foundation for a peaceful future for all concerned.7 Forgetting and remembering are, however, the same thing: there is no free interpretation, free from the given model mechanically repeated over and over again, repeated because, although it is not useful, it helps to remind us of the need for research. It is repeated because nobody has found a new beginning, a beginning that generates reality today, which signifies the political strength of experience in the place where experience finds itself today. A reality that does not follow the winners/ losers model nor looks for synthesis in reconciliation —“national reconciliation”, as they say in Spain (although we do not know how many nations there are) and, in Argentina, “Full Stop Law”, 8 because today this model seems abstract and ideological, distant from experience. People, myself included, feel that this is an interpretation which does not rescue or redeem the burden left by the traumatic historical event: because we are not seeking forgiveness, but meaning and internal change which can open me to a different order of relationships. 2. A new beginning that redeems the traumas of the past while keeping the memory alive How can we find a new beginning for the history that is written today? How can we find a beginning for history which rescues and redeems me from the traumas of the past, such as the Spanish Civil War, the Holocaust, the disappearance of women and men under dictatorships, the systematic rape of women in the many current wars, including those committed by UN soldiers,9 an organisation of which my country is a member? How can we avoid revenge or political paralysis while keeping historical memory alive? 7. Marañón y Beltrán de Lis, Gregorio; López Vega, Antonio. “Cartas de la memoria: julio 1936”. El País, 19th July 2006: 13-14, 14. 8. Padoan, Daniela. Le pazze. Un incontro con le Madri di Plaza de Mayo. Milan: Bompiani, 2005: 261-262. 9. See, for example, “Cascos azules y agresiones sexuales”. Boletín de AFESIP. June 2006: 2-3. Asociación Somaly Mam-AFESIP España. 8 February 2007 <http://www.somalyman.org/pdfboletines/ boletinjunio06.pdf>. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 17-25. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 21 08/06/2009 8:25:01 22 María-Milagros Rivera-Garretas Without trying to deny, in any way, that there are winners and losers in traumatic historical events, and having established this, I propose to look for a personal movement which allows the historical memory to be rescued from the dichotomous destiny which has weighed it down from generation to generation, like a recurring ghost, and prevents us from discovering the sense of the conflicts which ended in tragedy when it was no longer possible to use words, relations and the relational conflict. I think that this movement, which is an internal change, can be born out of the experiences of today’s female historians, as an unexpected but necessary movement which does not distance itself from the reality of historical events, which does not result in metanarrative. Thirty years ago, in the political movement of women, many female historians focussed on a sentence by Virginia Woolf in A Room of One’s Own, which said: “All these infinitely obscure lives remain to be recorded, I said”.10 We understood then that the infinitely dark lives were those of common women, especially from the southern hemisphere, lives that nobody had bothered to document, reconstruct and narrate. So we set to work and recovered the history of many female figures and feminine relationship contexts; but we did so through social history and left-wing thinking in general, without finding a beginning that would be a source of meaning and originality for our works. Today I understand that the infinitely dark lives are those of us female historians ourselves: my life when I write history. I discovered this whilst reflecting on a recent book by Marirì Martinengo, a short book that has taken her whole life to write, entitled La voce del silenzio. Memoria e storia di Maria Massone, donna ‘sottratta’.11 The title “The voice of silence” is not new (I would say that most languages have at least one book about the history of women with this title) but the meaning suggested by the title is new. Until now, a title like this meant that the female historian gave a voice to other women who had not had one. Now, however, it means that it is the female historian who is no longer silent, talking about her own history and, thereby and from her own experience, she questions and interprets history. “There is a living history inside every one of us, writes Marirì Martinengo, comprised of memories, emotions and unconscious signals; I do not think that only those things on the outside have historical value, that which someone else has certified, the famous objective history. I narrate a living history which does not reject imagination, an imagination which has its roots in personal experience, a truer history because it does not remove the reasons for love, it does not dismiss the relationships of its cognitive process.”12 I believe that it is the living history inside every female historian that is still infinitely dark when a university woman writes history. Bringing out that history and putting it into words, like demons were released from the body in exorcisms and cathartic therapy, is a very interesting way of writing history setting out from the self. 10. Woolf, Virginia. “A Room of One’s Own”. ebooks@Adelaide. 15 March 2006: ch. 5. The University of Adelaide Library. 8 February 2007 <http://ebooks.adelaide.edu.au/w/woolf/virginia/w91r/chapter5.html>. 11. Martinengo, Marirì. La voce del silenzio. Memoria e storia di Maria Massone, donna “sottratta”. Ricordi, immagini, documenti. Genova: ECIG, 2005. 12. Martinengo, Marirì. La voce del silenzio…: 21 (her italics). Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 17-25. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 22 08/06/2009 8:25:02 History that Rescues and Redeems the Present 23 This opens up some old wounds in me and creates an explicit and fearsome conflict with my closest genealogy, my origins, my mother and father. If politics is born of contradiction and conflict, I think that history is also born there, true history and the symbolic in history writing. This is because I think that the conflict arises from my idealisation of my mother, from not wanting to remember anything else other than the happiness of childhood, without confronting the negative aspect of my relationship with her,13 without facing up to what led me to contribute in the end to the patriarchy, separating myself from her for years. At the same time, I recognise that creation and creativity are born from a link to the sources of childhood —from the adult’s connection with one’s origin. The question about true history is a very female question. It contrasts with the question about objectivity, which, as I have said, is of little interest to us. María Zambrano said about true history, “... apochyphal history —which is no less accurate— [...] hides true history. In this way, apochyphal history almost constantly suffocates true history, that which philosophical reason tries to reveal and establish, and poetic reason tries to rescue”.14 Marirì’s book constantly talks about rescue: rescue not to add to or to fill an existing vacuum in existing history, nor to judge —as she says she was tempted to do at first— but rather to redeem, thinking with love, to dedicate oneself to loving conversation, to bring love into the vocabulary of history, and hence into the vocabulary of politics. I think that in each human life there is a thread which connects us to our first love —the love of a mother giving me body and word— and that this thread can be felt in the gut call. “She has called me ever since; as the dead call, of course”, is how the book La voce del silenzio begins. How can we put into words and narrate the living history hidden inside each of us? Marirì Martinengo proposes that we start from the shortages, negligences and gaps in the interpretation of what already exists (p. 88), without ignoring the silence of her character and the silence around her, amalgamating it all with the mercury of her own relationship with Her, with the gut call that She left. She writes: I base my work on specific and controllable documents: the images which I have, of her and the family, the photography of the places where she lived, the objects she held in her hands, the information from the civil register; in my narration memories and memories of memories converge, both mine and those of others, I assert psychological characteristics hidden in the creases of the portraits, without disdaining the use occasional of imagination anchored in practical knowledge; I collect all the elements, make them come alive with interpretations and reinterpretations, and I melt them in the fire of my relationship with Her (p. 90). Rescuing and redeeming the history that lies in me is not an attempt to revalue a woman or a common past experience, rather it is, or could be, a mediation which 13. On negativity: Diótima. La magica forza del negativo. Naples: Liguori, 2005. 14. Zambrano, María. “La tumba de Antígona”, Senderos. Los intelectuales en el drama de España. La tumba de Antígona. Barcelona: Anthropos, 1986: 199-265; 201. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 17-25. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 23 08/06/2009 8:25:03 24 María-Milagros Rivera-Garretas redeems me and some of my contemporaries from a recurring ghost, from a past crime which still burdens us in the present, from a historical event captive of ideological interpretations. In other words, it is an attempt to absolve myself —to absolve my time— from ghosts and crimes of the past. Or to be absolved from them by the grace of a political relationship. I have learned this from the countess of Barcelona, Dhuoda, a 9th-century writer who wrote in the Liber manualis dedicated to her two sons, who her husband had taken from her: Although I am unworthy and fragile, exiled, sunk in mud and always tending towards the lowest, a trust wortly and friendly female consort is always with me to absolve the sins of your people. (Epigram)15 The crime to be absolved in this fragment is that of her husband and his friends, who were using Dhuoda’s sons as hostages in power struggles between Charlemagne’s grandchildren. But not in order to absolve or forgive them (the offenders), but in order to free herself, to absolve herself, to liberate herself —Dhuoda— from this crime, which would not let her live in peace. And to be able to create. Bringing the history that lies in each of us to light, and doing so with a method which combines critical erudition with thought that can decipher feelings (María Zambrano), can, in my opinion, be a symbolic revolution moment which does not perpetuate hatred and revenge, which draws the attention of male and female readers, lovers of history, back to historical writing. These readers who, since the end of the 80s, have preferred to look to the historical novel for accounts of traumatic events that historical writing based on objectivity and the winners/losers model has been unable to rescue or redeem. If I look at my experience, I find that the history that lies inside me is the necessity to bring to the world a peace, which has as a reference neither war nor the absence of war. Therefore, my irreducible is not “No War”, but rather how to make war unthinkable. I can say that I have been involved in this my whole life, and the origins for this are the stories about the Spanish Civil War heard at home during my childhood, stories of a war which cut off the life plans of my mother and father —who were twenty-three and twenty-two when it broke out— and which cut them off not because they lost the war, but despite the fact that they won it. This history manifested itself in me, firstly, in my incapacity to learn and explain the history of wars in class. Later, this appeared as a symptom of distress and frustration when trying to explain the history of the Shoah or the Holocaust. For several years, I taught the Current Historiographical Trends in my university department. When I came to the historiography of the Holocaust, the participation 15. “Licet sim indignans, fragilis et exul, limo revoluta, trahens ad imma, / est tamen michi consors amica fidaque, de tuis relaxandi crimina”, in Dhuoda. Handbook for her Warrior Son. Liber Manualis, Latin text and trans. Marcelle Thiébaux. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998: 44, letters L and E; (I differ from her translation). Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 17-25. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 24 08/06/2009 8:25:04 History that Rescues and Redeems the Present 25 of the students was extremely intense. They read and commented on all kinds of works, made audiovisual reports, recovered testimony from survivors, etc. But, in the end, I was not satisfied. The degree of interest worried me. I was not satisfied because, behind the scenes, hatred of the German people for the crime committed was always present. That is to say, there was no rescue, no redemption from guilt or from memory, because that is not possible while hatred prevails. And, if there is no redemption, history can repeat itself. There was no rescue or redemption from memory because I did not know how to find the narrow door that would allow love into the interpretation of history. I did not dare —they were large and very politicised classes— to put my personal experience into play, the experience which I had closer at hand and which was that of another crime inherited from history, and inherited specifically from the history of my father and mother: the Spanish Civil War. Bringing out the history inside each one of us, and going beyond —not against— the victim/tyrant model, changes the history of traumatic events because it changes the female historian and, with her, it changes the history which she will write and explain, freeing both from the control of the dominant thought, whose horizon is war or the absence of it. In my opinion, becoming independent from this horizon frees the ghosts of the past, not by forgetting or demanding memory, but by rescuing and redeeming it through an opening of my conscience the other, to another conscience, which, in turn, will allow me to move towards another order of relationships in my present,16 one which has room, however small, for love among the guilty feelings and desire for revenge that are consequences of traumatic events in history. This is a movement of internal change that helps to make thinkable a world without war. I think that to invent mediations in order to be able to say out loud that peace —unmitigated peace without so many rights, peace which goes further than (not against) history itself— is the condition of human life, is the most urgent political problem of our time. 16. The idea (of Cristina Campo) of the move to another order of relationships, in Muraro, Luisa. Il Dio delle donne. Milan: Mondadori, 2003: 63-64. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 17-25. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 25 08/06/2009 8:25:04 Anglès.indd 26 08/06/2009 8:25:04 Joining the Club: a Spanish Historic Towns Atlas? Howard B. Clarke Royal Irish Academy Ireland Date of reception: 20th of March, 2007 Final date of acceptance: 7th of March, 2008 Abstract The background to the historic towns atlas project of the International Commission for the History of Towns is explained briefly. Variations from the standard model laid down in the 1960s are discussed and components of a recommended methodology are suggested. Spain has long been represented on the commission, yet no historic town atlases have been published to date. The country has a distinguished urban past, rich archival resources and well-preserved townscapes. Spanish scholars are urged to re-engage with this international programme in a proactive way. In particular Spain’s medieval past provides a spectacular example, spanning both Atlantic Europe and Mediterranean Europe, of the importance of map making and map usage. Key words Atlases, Comparative urban history, Maps, Topographical information, Urban form. Capitalia verba Atlantes, Historia urbana Collana, Geographicae tabulae, Res topographicae, Ratio urbium. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 27-43. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 27 27 08/06/2009 8:25:05 28 Howard B. Clarke Spanish (and Portuguese) readers may be familiar with the volume published in 1994 entitled Atlas histórico de ciudades europeas.1 This atlas came about as an initiative of the Centre de Cultura Contemporània de Barcelona, in collaboration with the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. It contains essays by various authors, and combinations of authors, and it deals with eleven large towns and cities, two of them in Portugal (Lisbon and Oporto) and the others in Spain, including Madrid.2 The essays are built round major themes, presented in broadly chronological order, and they are sumptuously illustrated by means of numerous maps, photographs and graphs, as well as plans of parts of these places, historical prospects, architectural profiles and other types of image. This is a high-quality publication in largebook format. Two years later a similar work was published on a comparable range of French towns and cities.3 The main difference between this and its Iberian predecessor is that the French atlas devotes more space to the distribution of social groups, particularly in an ‘epilogue’ equipped with special maps and population statistics.4 A third volume, this time for Britain, was prepared but never published and the series appears to have come to a standstill. The organizers of the Atlas histórico de ciudades europeas were fully aware of the existence of another international atlas of historic towns —the one issued under the academic umbrella of the International Commission for the History of Towns (ICHT), which had commenced publication in 1969.5 In their introduction, the editors made a number of criticisms of the ICHT’s project. One was the alleged emphasis on the historical period before c. 1800, in other words, on the pre-industrial town. Another was the slow pace of publication, this being a legitimate criticism in the case of some of the participating countries, though by no means all of them. Thirdly, differences in approach between one country and another were cited as another weakness, again with a good deal of justification and giving rise to a legitimate concern about the utility of these town atlases for strictly comparative purposes. Fourthly, it was implied that, in practice if not in principle, the large towns or cities had for the most part been ignored or at least had not then (c. 1994) seen the light of day.6 Finally it 1. Atlas histórico de ciudades europeas. 1. Península Ibérica, Manuel Guàrdia, Francisco J. Monclús, José L. Oyón, eds. Barcelona: Salvat, 1994. 2. The Spanish towns and cities, in alphabetical order, are as follows: Barcelona, Bilbao, Granada, Madrid, Málaga, Seville, Valencia, Valladolid and Zaragoza. 3. Atlas historique des villes de France, Jean-Luc Pinol, ed. Paris: Hachette, 1996. The selection, again in alphabetical order, is as follows: Bordeaux, Lille, Lyon, Marseille, Montpellier, Nantes, Paris, Rouen, Strasbourg and Toulouse. 4. Atlas historique des villes de France…: 310-318. 5. In those days the chairman of the ICHT was Philippe Wolff of the University of Toulouse. Amongst other things, he was acutely aware of linguistic nuances of the full range of European languages, as is evidenced by his book Wolff, Philippe. Western Languages AD 100–1500, trans. Frances Partridge. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1971. In the ICHT atlas project, various solutions have been adopted in relation to this phenomenon. 6. By that date, atlases of Cologne, London (down to c. 1520) and Vienna had been published; also two parts of an atlas of the city of Rome, in a scheme that bears little relationship to the ICHT’s recommended methodology. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 27-43. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 28 08/06/2009 8:25:05 Joining the Club: A spanish historic towns atlas? 29 was claimed that the ICHT’s atlas expressed little interest in the ‘hidden dimension’ (dimensión oculta) of the urban form, that is to say, the socio-functional one.7 It has to be admitted that there are substantial grounds for at least some of these criticisms. Qualifications, however, are also necessary. The accusation of comparative neglect of the period after c. 1800 may have been influenced to a large extent by the nature of the British atlas itself (the first to be published) and by a review of the ICHT’s project that appeared in 1981.8 The essays in the British atlas do indeed take the story down to the end of the eighteenth century and the principal reconstruction map in each case shows the town c. 1800 together with major features present in the late medieval period. On the other hand, the historical information that is a normal feature of the Rhenish atlas takes in the nineteenth century as a matter of course and continues down to the late twentieth century under some headings.9 The Irish atlas brings its topographical information down to c. 1900 in all 22 sections and for important features even down to the present day.10 In the special case of the Croatian atlas, which admittedly is one of the late starters, a considered decision was made to record each town’s history down to the present for two reasons: first, the radical transformations that took place in many Croatian towns during the socialist period and, secondly, the destruction brought about in the course of the ‘Fatherland War’ of the late twentieth century.11 It is generally true that the ‘hidden dimension’ of socio-functional analysis has not received much emphasis, though a 7. These criticisms occur in Spanish and in French respectively at p. xii. 8. Historic Towns: Maps and Plans of Towns and Cities in the British Isles, with Historical Commentaries, from Earliest Times to 1800, Mary D. Lobel, ed. Baltimore: John Hopkins Press, no date [1969]: vol. I; Borg Wik, Lempi; Hall, Thomas. “Urban history atlases: a survey of recent publications.” Urban History Yearbook, 8 (1981): 66-75, note 6. The towns in the first volume of the British atlas are as follows: Banbury, Caernarvon (in Wales), Glasgow (in Scotland), Gloucester, Hereford, Nottingham, Reading and Salisbury. 9. Rheinischer Städteatlas (Bonn), seventeen parts (Lieferungen) to date, starting in 1972. This is especially true of section V, dealing with the economic and social structure of the town in question. There are now in effect five German atlas projects that come under the embrace of the ICHT. Second off the mark was the Deutscher Städteatlas (Münster), starting in 1973 and comprising five completed parts (Lieferungen) and one incomplete one published in the year 2000. Altogether fifty-one towns were included in this series, a few of which were places that are now situated in Lithuania, Poland and Russia: for example, Breslau (= Wrocław), Königsberg (= Kaliningrad) and Memel (= Klaipèda). Next came the Westfälischer Städteatlas (Münster), nine parts (Lieferungen) to date, starting in 1975, followed much later by the Hessischer Städteatlas (Marburg), two completed parts (Lieferungen) plus two individual towns to date, starting in 2005. Most recently of all, a successor to the Deutscher Städteatlas called the Deutscher historischer Städteatlas was begun by the Institut für vergleichende Städtegeschichte (Institute for Comparative Urban History) in Münster, starting with Quedlinburg in 2006. 10. Irish Historic Towns Atlas, twenty fascicles to date, starting in 1986. In addition, ancillary publications are issued from time to time. To date there have been three large-scale historical maps (of Belfast, Dublin and New Ross) and two books, the one dealing with a unique set of annotated plans of Georgian Belfast and the other being a catalogue of maps and views of Derry/Londonderry. 11. Povijesni atlas gradova, four volumes to date, starting in 2003. Thus, for example, Bjelovar was attacked and partly destroyed on 29 September 1991: Slukan Alti, Mirela. Bjevolar. Povijesni atlas gradova. I. Zagreb: Hrvatski državni arhiv, 2003: 204. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 27-43. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 29 08/06/2009 8:25:06 30 Howard B. Clarke conspicuous exception is the Scandinavian atlas, which usually contains impressive numbers of socio-topographical maps and sometimes statistical data as well.12 1. The Stoob model By now it will have become apparent to all readers that considerable variations do exist as between the various national atlases in the ICHT’s project. In practice, and for a wide variety of reasons, many atlases depart from the original model, at least to some degree. Accordingly it will next be necessary to review the basic methodology, a brief outline of which is given in a listing of all ICHT atlas publications issued in 1998.13 This in turn was based on a reaffirmation, by a working group meeting in Münster in 1995, of the original guidelines agreed back in 1968. These guidelines were explained in English quite fully and very clearly by their principal author, Heinz Stoob, in a volume of conference proceedings published over twenty years ago.14 Four key maps were identified as the essential core of the towns atlas project: 1. Map 1, a cadastral map (German Katasterkarte) reproduced in colour at the scale of 1:2,500 and showing the pre-industrial town. Stoob’s ideal date for such a map was c. 1830, though he recognized that some (German) towns, such as Freiburg im Breisgau, do not possess a cadastral map dating from the first half of the nineteenth century. These maps are to some degree constructed by the superimposition of a standard system of colours (generally four) to indicate different categories of building. Stoob further recommended that (modern) contour lines be superimposed on this map. 2. Map 2, a regional map (German Umlandkarte) reproduced at the scale of 1:25,000 or smaller (down to 1:100,000). These maps date generally from the first half of the nineteenth century and are printed more or less as in the original. 3. Map 3, a modern town plan (German Stadtkarte) reproduced at the scale of 1:5,000. Again this is a given product provided by the official mapping agency in each country. 12. Scandinavian Atlas of Historic Towns, ten fascicles to date, starting in 1977. The three Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Norway and Sweden), along with Finland and Iceland, decided to form themselves into a Nordic union for town atlas purposes. So far, four Danish towns, three Finnish towns, three Swedish towns and Reykjavík in Iceland have been published and work is well advanced on an atlas of Helsinki. 13. Simms, Anngret; Opll, Ferdinand. List of the European Atlases of Historic Towns. Brussels: Archief- en Bibliotheekwezen in België/Archives et Bibliothèques de Belgique, 1998: 7. Nowadays an up-to-date internet site is maintained by Ferdinand Opll in Vienna: http://www.wien.gv.at/kultur/archiv/kooperationen/lbi/staedteatlas/bibliographie, which is accessible also in French and in German. 14. Stoob, Heinz. “The historic town atlas: problems and working methods”, The Comparative History of Urban Origins in Non-Roman Europe: Ireland, Wales, Denmark, Germany, Poland and Russia from the Ninth to the Thirteenth Century, Howard B. Clarke, Anngret Simms, eds. Oxford: British Archaeological Reports (International Series, no. 255), 1985: II, 583-615. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 27-43. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 30 08/06/2009 8:25:07 Joining the Club: A spanish historic towns atlas? 31 4. An interpretative map showing phases of growth (German Wachstumsphasenkarte). This should preferably be based on map 1 and be reproduced either at the same scale or at that of map 3 (i.e. 1:2,500 or 1:5,000). These maps are prepared by the author from a wide variety of sources and are most relevant for medium-sized and large towns. This type of map is particularly helpful as a companion to the interpretative essay that Stoob also prescribed as an essential component. In addition Stoob referred to supplementary maps (German Beikarten) together with various types of illustration to complete the predetermined sequence of primary materials. These include socio-topographical maps, distribution maps, period (early) maps, prospects and aerial photographs. Near the beginning of his essay, Stoob says: ‘After [Hektor] Ammann’s death a generally acceptable cartographic scheme for the Historic Town Atlas, produced by myself, was discussed at the 1967 meeting in Switzerland and was finally accepted, following my own report, in 1968 at Oxford’.15 In the light of this statement it is perhaps reasonable to refer to the standard methodology as the Stoob model. Since then, over 400 town atlases have been published in a large number of European countries (Fig. 1). Across the continent the rate of publication has averaged around ten per annum, a not inconsiderable achievement. Stoob himself identified a number of problems, such as how to handle very large towns (cities), how to compensate for gaps in the primary sources, and the length of the interpretative essay. Other difficulties relate to the financial cost of preparing and publishing town atlases, the relatively low sales figures, and the failure of some countries to produce any atlases at all in the ICHT programme. Here we shall ask a different question: how well has the Stoob model stood the test of time? 2. Variations on a theme One weakness in the Stoob model is his apparent belief that the cadastral map represents, almost as a matter of course, a pristine, pre-industrial picture. At one point in his 1985 essay he says: ‘… we insist on emphasizing the importance of original source material, which is normally provided by the undisturbed urban pattern prior to the first exact survey’.16 Yet some towns and cities underwent significant remodelling before the ‘ideal’ date of c. 1830. One example is Novgorod in northern Russia, whose street pattern on both banks of the River Volkhov was radically changed in the late eighteenth century, hence the physical survival of large numbers of medieval streets. Another example is Dublin in Ireland, where a body known as the Wide Streets Commission began quite an extensive programme of 15. Stoob, Heinz. “Historic town atlas”…: 584 (italics mine). Hektor Ammann was one of the founding fathers of the ICHT atlas project and the second president of the commission. 16. Stoob, Heinz. “Historic town atlas”…: 602 (italics mine). Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 27-43. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 31 08/06/2009 8:25:08 32 Howard B. Clarke street widening c. 1760. In cases such as these, therefore, a c. 1830 cadastral map does not represent an ‘undisturbed urban pattern’. A second weakness is the shortness of the interpretative essay, especially in the case of the larger towns. Stoob was very prescriptive about the length of the essay, limiting it to not more than two pages of print on a standard, large-format map sheet or, as he put it for a pre-computer readership, twelve pages of typescript. An experimental comparison of four cities treated in four different national atlases is summarized in the accompanying table17. A meaningful comparative treatment of these cities as they developed in the medieval period, based solely on the ICHT resource, proved to be extremely difficult. One of the main reasons for this was that some of the essays were much too short; the atlas resource was inadequate for this purpose18. Table summarizing the contents of four city atlases Attributes Cologne (Köln) Dublin London Vienna (Wien) Date of publication Deutscher Städte-atlas, part 2, no. 6 (1979) No. 11 (2002) Vol. 3 (1989; 2nd edn, 1991) Part 1, no. 3 (1982) Text/essay (medieval) 3,600+ (1,600+) words; 4pp. 13,000 (11,000) words; 36 pp. 56,000 (28,000) words; 56 pp. 4,300+ (2,200+) words; 4 pp. Text maps None 6 None None Map 1, 1:2,500 1836-7 and later 1846-7 c. 1270 at 1:5,000; c. 1520 at 1:2,500 (4 parts) 1829 Map 2, 1:25,000 c. 1840 1860 (1:50,000) Reconstruction 1809-19 Map 3, 1:5,000 1975 2000 None 1975-9 17. In the second row of the table, the plus signs in the columns for Cologne and Vienna indicate that the compound noun system that is such a strong feature of the German language tends to produce an underestimate of the number of words when compared with a text in English. The figures in brackets in all four columns relate to the medieval part of the essay in each case. All word counts here are rough estimates. 18. For the Irish atlas the length of the essay varies between 8.000 and 12.000 words, depending on the size of the town and a consideration of the available space. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 27-43. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 32 08/06/2009 8:25:09 33 Joining the Club: A spanish historic towns atlas? Other maps Growth map with dates; 2 thematic (1 medieval); map with key, 1752 Medieval map at 1:2500; growth map; period map, 1610; municipal map, 1837; plans London area in pre-Roman times; Roman London; medieval wards; parishes Growth map with dates; cadastral plan at 1:10,000, 181829; boundary changes Other illustrations 1 prospect 2 reconstructions; vignettes; aerial photograph None 3 prospects Referenced topographical information None 22 sections Gazetteer in a single alphabetical list None Bibliography General + footnotes General and specific + footnotes Footnotes + list of abbreviations Footnotes Ancillary publications None Medieval map with introduction and site list None Historical atlas (11 parts); commentaries (5 volumes) In addition to the problems highlighted by Stoob himself and the two weaknesses in the model that he prescribed for Europe outlined above, there have in practice been many departures from the original formula.19 One of these relates to the basic format, for some atlases have been published in book format from the start and with a far smaller print area, thereby effectively precluding the possibility of producing maps at the recommended scales. This applies to the Belgian20 and Croatian atlases, neither of which includes the standard map sequence. Other national atlases that have been issued in the larger format nevertheless lack one or more of the essential cartographical core as envisaged by Stoob. A conspicuous example here is the French atlas, which contains only an historical reconstruction map at the scale of 1:2,500.21 The British atlas is rather similar, for its regional maps are also reconstructions showing the general location and main roads to c. 1800. Neither of these atlases has a modern town plan, this also being an omission from both of the Italian atlases.22 None of the atlases mentioned thus far in this paragraph provides a 19. As noted over a quarter of a century ago by the reviewers cited above, n. 8. 20. Historische stedenatlas van België/Atlas historique des villes de Belgique, three volumes to date, starting in 1990. 21. Atlas historique des villes de France, ten parts to date each containing a number of towns plus six individual towns, starting in 1982. 22. The Atlante storico delle città italiane has been published in two schemes, the one based at Bologna and dealing with northern Italy together with Sardinia, the other based at Rome and dealing with central and southern Italy. In both schemes, which began publication in 1986, towns are grouped by regions such as Emilia-Romagna and Tuscany. The cities of Bologna and Rome are treated in several volumes arranged by period. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 27-43. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 33 08/06/2009 8:25:10 34 Howard B. Clarke growth map. The Czech and Dutch atlases do have growth maps, but lack an up-todate town plan.23 One of the late starters, the Swiss atlas, lacks a classic growth map and its cadastral plan is not (thus far) in full colour.24 What all this means is that only a small number of the national atlases conform sufficiently closely to the Stoob model for meaningful comparisons to be made without the aid of other materials. The most perfect examples from this point of view are the Austrian,25 all five German and the Irish atlases. The Czech, Dutch, Polish,26 Romanian,27 and Swiss atlases come near to the ideal, whereas the Belgian, British, Croatian, French, Italian and Scandinavian productions depart furthest from the model and are the least valuable for strictly comparative purposes across the continent of Europe. Even these, of course, contain a great deal of accurate information and create comparative possibilities within each of these countries. One other significant variation has already been alluded to, though it is one that does not in any way detract from the broader comparative dimension. This is the inclusion of detailed and fully referenced topographical information in the Irish and Rhenish atlases. The former was modelled on the latter to some degree and represents a significant improvement (Fig. 2). First, all sites in sections 11-22 are located by street, by position (in terms of compass direction) on the street where this is known, and by a grid reference if the site is not shown on one of the key maps. Secondly, the necessary abbreviations employed for reference purposes are relatively user-friendly and do not depend excessively on contracted forms. Thirdly, the topographical information is punctuated by black and white vignettes of particular buildings by way of illustration. On the other hand, the Rhenish atlas does not indicate in the topographical information section itself where each site is located, depends on severely contracted abbreviations, and contains no illustrations (Fig. 3). The style of presentation amounts essentially to a long series of historical notes in each of the 23. Historický atlas mst eské republiky, eighteen fascicles to date, starting in 1995; Historische stedenatlas van Nederland, seven fascicles to date, starting in 1982. 24. Historischer Städteatlas der Schweiz/Atlas historique des villes suisses/Atlante storico delle città svizzere, three fascicles to date, starting in 1997. Some technical improvements are planned for this atlas. 25. Österreichischer Städteatlas, ten parts (Lieferungen) to date, starting in 1982. Special provision has been made for the city of Vienna: Banik-Schweitzer, Renate; Czeike, Felix; Meißl, Gerhard; Opll, Ferdinand,.eds. Historischer Atlas von Wien. 11 parts. Vienna and Munich: Jugend und Volk Verlagsgesellschaft mbH and Jugend und Volk, 1981-2002 (Edition Wien: Verlags GmbH, 2003-2007), issued in a large format and using the cartographic conventions of the Österreichischer Städteatlas itself. In addition five volumes of commentary in normal book format have been published. Together these resources make Vienna by far the most comprehensively mapped city, to this exceptionally high standard, in the whole of Europe. 26. Atlas historyczny miast polskich/Historischer Atlas polnischer Städte, thirteen fascicles to date, starting in 1993. In 2001 an atlas of Wroclaw (= Breslau) was published for the second time, the first constituting part 4, no. 5 of the Deutsche Städteatlas in 1989. 27. Atlas istoric al oraselor din România, five fascicles to date, starting in 2000. Like the Italian atlas, this ^ one is arranged by regions, including the Romanian part of Moldova. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 27-43. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 34 08/06/2009 8:25:11 Joining the Club: A spanish historic towns atlas? 35 five main sections and their subdivisions.28 In theory it would be possible to take a selection of Irish and Rhenish towns and to produce an in-depth comparative study, but such an undertaking might well prove to be fairly arduous in practice. An additional reason for so thinking is that, by an extraordinary omission, there is no interpretative essay in the Rhenish atlas; the story has to be pieced together from the topographical information and from the maps and other illustrative material. 3. An agenda for Spain If Spanish scholars are to join the club in a serious manner, they should give the matter a great deal of serious thought beforehand. The ICHT’s atlas project is impressive in many ways, not least in the willingness of representatives of so many European countries to come together in a co-operative spirit. Indeed, from time to time a Spanish representative has appeared on the scene, but without any tangible results29. This great international programme needs reinforcement on the right lines. In particular the Mediterranean part of the continent —the mare nostrum of the ancient Romans— is unevenly represented at the moment, for the Italian atlas is seriously out of step with the Stoob model, the French have neglected totally the south-eastern part of their country and barely adhere to the model in any case, while the Greeks have published nothing so far. We can at least look forward in due course to one or two Croatian town atlases for the northern part of the Adriatic region. It is obviously desirable that a Spanish historic towns atlas should conform to best practice.30 What that amounts to is, to some extent, a matter of personal opinion; on the other hand, the crucial prospects for genuine comparative research should be borne constantly in mind as a means of assessing the correct criteria for a satisfactory methodology. In other words, the best models to follow belong to the first grouping mentioned above (Austria, Germany and Ireland). If that is agreed, a number of technical aspects need to be considered before final decisions are made. The following points are made without any specific knowledge of the precise circumstances in Spain itself. 28. The five main sections relate to settlement; topography; lordship and community; churches, schools, hospitals and cultural groups; and the economic and social structure of each town. The Hessischer Städteatlas contains much smaller amounts of referenced material. By way of exception in the British atlas, medieval London was provided with a gazetteer of the principal sites, arranged in alphabetical order. To treat London, or any other city of comparable size, on either the Irish model or the Rhenish model would amount to a gargantuan task. 29. This is not to say that excellent atlases have not been produced in Spain in recent times. See, for example, Centro de Documentación y Estudios para la Historia de Madrid. Madrid, atlas histórico de la cuidad: siglos IX-XIX. Barcelona: Lunwerg, 1995; Madrid, atlas histórico de la ciudad: 1850-1939. Barcelona: Lunwerg, 2001; Arizaga, Beatriz. Atlas de villas medievales de Vasconia: Bizcaia. Donostia, 2006. 30. Stoob alluded briefly to a pioneering attempt by the German author Jürgens, Oskar. Spanische Städte: ihre bauliche Entwicklung und Ausgestaltung, ed. Wilhelm Giese. Hamburg: Kommissions-verlag L. Friederichsen & Co. (Historic town atlas), 1926: 583. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 27-43. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 35 08/06/2009 8:25:12 36 Howard B. Clarke The essential cartographical core has to be based on the Stoob model, including the map scales and the colour coding for map 1. These maps are the most instantly recognizable tools for a comparative study of urban form since the first half of the nineteenth century, though bearing in mind the possibility of major or even minor remodelling of a townscape before that time. The growth map relates everything back to earlier periods and can be drawn up in a number of different ways. The Austrian and German atlases use a sophisticated combination of lines and shading (sometimes in black and white, sometimes in colour), together with key dates and other textual information. It is important not to make these maps too crowded or complicated, for otherwise they tend to lose some of their potential impact. The Irish growth maps use a system of basic colour shading only, since all of the specific details are embedded in the topographical information section. Another indispensable component is an interpretative essay, preferably written by one person in the case of atlases that have more than one author. The essay should be long enough to deal adequately with each town’s historical development, the prime focus being on morphological evolution. In other words, the aim should not be to write a conventional history of a town, but to concentrate on an interpretation of the cartographical and other illustrative material, together with any detailed topographical information that may also be included. Finally there should be a bibliography of the primary and secondary sources for the town, presented either separately or in a single alphabetical sequence. As Stoob himself observed and as other compilers of town atlases have provided, a range of supplementary illustrations can be added to these minimum requirements for a successful programme. Town prospects, some dating from quite an early period, lend character to a town atlas and provide useful details about defensive works and building profiles with varying degrees of verisimilitude. Maps dating from before the exact surveys that began to be made in many European countries in the first half of the nineteenth century contain invaluable information of many different kinds, sometimes in large amounts, despite the lack of planimetric accuracy. They often have a high aesthetic quality, too, and attract prospective buyers. Socio-topographical maps can be constructed from historical data, mainly for the modern period but sometimes for the late Middle Ages. Stoob’s advocacy of distribution maps (German Verbreitungskarten) has rarely been implemented, despite the utility of the example that he cited.31 A recent aerial photograph can reveal early features in a modern context; the choice here is whether to use a vertical or an oblique image, for both have particular advantages. Carefully selected photographs from up to a century ago can illustrate the earlier character of a town centre, or of individual buildings of special significance. An inexpensive yet highly effective technique is to embed black and white text figures in the interpretative essay. These can clarify difficult topographical issues or even illustrate the stages of growth of the town, or of parts 31. Stoob, Heinz. “Historic town atlas”…: 610 and plate 22. XIII, showing the linen-weaving district of Isny in Baden-Württemberg. As it happens, some of this small town’s products were being exported as far as Spain in the late Middle Ages. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 27-43. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 36 08/06/2009 8:25:13 Joining the Club: A spanish historic towns atlas? 37 thereof, at separate points in a long historical progression through time. Finally a reproduction of the town seal has been a standard feature of the published atlases. Beyond these additions there is the whole question of whether a towns atlas programme should itself provide substantial amounts of purely historical information. Stoob himself envisaged a later, separate edition of textual material for the Deutscher Städteatlas, though this has not so far been realized. Long ago, the ICHT began to sponsor a parallel project, aimed at publishing limited selections of important original documents dating from the beginning of the Middle Ages down to c. 1250. In practice this scheme has had a chequered history and remains substantially incomplete.32 As part of its non-standard programme, the Belgian atlas has included one volume of ‘typological dossiers’.33 The last publication in the Deutscher Städteatlas series, dealing with Weimar, contains maps of five satellite towns or settlements, with historical details in the accompanying texts.34 Some fascicles in the Irish atlas make use of the backs of period maps showing property divisions by listing the details of ownership. The two Italian atlases include a generous selection of extracts from documents in Latin and in Italian, as well as notes on individual buildings and an outline chronology of the principal historical developments. Equally elaborate is the Romanian atlas, where (to cite the example of Suceava/Suczawa published in 2005) the essay is followed by a lengthy outline chronology in both working languages —Romanian and German— together with textual matter dealing with demographic development, morphology, building history and historical monuments; extracts from original documents translated into Romanian and German; a map of archaeological sites with a basic description of the discoveries, again in both languages; and finally a list of street names, tabulated at various dates. Most fundamental of all is the question of whether or not to attempt a fully referenced topographical record of the Irish type. Other practical decisions will have to be made about the format to be adopted for a Spanish towns atlas. To cater for maps of medium-sized and big towns (cities), large-format, loose-leaf fascicles are best. The textual matter can be printed using a smaller format, as in the case of the Hessischer Städteatlas; the disadvantage of so doing is the virtual impossibility of binding groups of town atlases into volumes with hard covers, suitable for library conservation in particular. The question of binding in this sense raises other technical issues. For a successful binding operation it is essential to provide, alongside the loose-leaf format, an adequate ‘tongue’ for stitching purposes, as well as a ‘gutter’ in the centre of double-sheet maps. Any maps that are larger still have to be folded into the bound volume and this has to be 32. Elenchus fontium historiae urbanae, vol. II, part 2, Susan Reynolds, Wietse de Boer, Gearóid Mac Niocaill, eds. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1988: v-vi. A valuable feature of this work is the index of words at pages 176-194. 33. Debaere, Olivier. Vlaanderen – Maaseik. Historische stedenatlas van België: typologische dossiers/Atlas historique des villes de Belgique: dossiers typologiques, vol. I. Brussels: Gemeentekrediet van België/Crédit Communal de Belgique, 1997. 34. Ehbrecht, Wilfried; Johanek, Peter; Lafrenz, Jürgen. Weimar. Deutscher Städteatlas, part 6, no. 1. Altenbeken: GSV Städteatlas Verlag, 2000. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 27-43. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 37 08/06/2009 8:25:14 38 Howard B. Clarke foreseen from the beginning. A combination of loose-leaf fascicles and bound volumes suits both the individual purchaser interested in a single town and the serious collector or library that wishes to have a full set of atlases of this type. A related question is whether or not to group towns within a particular country. The two Italian and the Polish and Romanian atlases are arranged by region within the modern country, while the Scandinavian atlas is shared by the five Nordic countries. By European standards, Spain is a large country with strong regional identities and traditions. A case could be made for ordering a Spanish towns atlas in terms of the historic regions; no doubt this is a sensitive issue that would require very careful consideration.35 A further dimension to this is the linguistic one. The Czech example might suit Spanish circumstances: here three working languages are used — Czech, German and English. Czech, appropriately enough, is the main language but the fascicles contain a summary essay is all three languages in addition to a longer essay in Czech. In a Spanish context, it might be deemed culturally desirable to include, for example, a summary essay in Spanish and in Basque or in Spanish and in Catalan, as the case may be, together with a full treatment in the national language. The answer to such an issue, of course, cannot be prescribed by outsiders and should be left to Spanish scholars to determine. The last major policy issue is the question of financial sponsorship and of institutional affiliation. By their very nature, large-format atlases making extensive use of colour reproduction are not cheap to produce. Some of the existing programmes under the ICHT umbrella have experienced a rather chequered history in terms of funding, resulting in gaps of varying length in the production schedule. An institute of the kind that exists in Münster, devoted entirely to the promotion of comparative urban history, is a fairly rare phenomenon. Most European countries, however, possess some kind of national academy that is assured a permanent existence, is duty-bound to maintain the highest academic standards, and can seek funding for projects deemed to be of national and international importance. Ideally a Spanish historic towns atlas should be located within such a structure.36 One moderately proportioned room normally suffices as the project headquarters and two or three permanent staff trained in cartography and related skills can act as the anchor of the entire scheme. Accustomed as they so often are to the life of the ‘poor scholar’, authors of fascicles and editors or board members do not need to be paid at all (though even token payment is obviously welcome if funding allows for such a luxury).37 35. When completed, a region could be provided with an historical overview and bibliography. 36. To cite a practical example, I am writing as one of three joint-editors of the Irish Historic Towns Atlas and as the academic secretary of the Royal Irish Academy, which has been the principal sponsoring body of the Irish atlas from the beginning. In addition the editors seek extra funding for the publication of individual town atlases from town councils and from local industrial concerns. 37. In the case of the Irish atlas, the greatest cost is that of the time spent in compiling the topographical information. For this reason the authors have never been paid for their efforts, though small-scale funding has been obtained to enable postgraduates and others to conduct basic research on large collections of source materials such as directories, council minute-books and newspapers. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 27-43. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 38 08/06/2009 8:25:15 Joining the Club: A spanish historic towns atlas? 39 These, then, are the main challenges to the initiation and the implementation of an historic towns atlas. The philosophical attitude must be that only the best will do. Spanish scholars should now be in a position to choose the best elements of the best of the existing models. To that end, a small delegation should be sent to Münster in Germany, in order to inspect critically a more or less complete set of all existing atlases in the ICHT’s programme. The core should conform to the Stoob model; beyond that Spaniards should be encouraged to play to their own scholarly strengths. The nature of the primary cartographical sources may place limits on what can be achieved, yet Spain has a reputation for a distinguished urban history, rich archival resources and, in many cases, spectacular architectural survivals. Moreover Spain has an undeniable tradition of map-making going back many centuries and relating to many parts of the world besides the homeland. The time has surely come for Spanish (and Portuguese) scholars to join the ICHT club as full and proactive members. Acknowledgements I wish to thank staff members and fellow students at the Institut für vergleichende Städtegeschichte in Münster for welcoming me so warmly on the occasion of my visit and for assisting with my enquiries. For help with the production of the text figures, I am indebted to Angela Murphy, editorial assistant to the Irish Historic Towns Atlas in Dublin. Fig. 1 was drawn by the latter’s cartographic editor and project manager, Sarah Gearty. Captions 1. Map of Europe showing the distribution of historic towns atlas publications to 2006. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 27-43. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 39 08/06/2009 8:25:16 Reykjavík MAP OF EUROPEAN TOWNS ATLASES 2006 Based on Anngret Simms and Ferdinand Opll, List of the European Atlases of Historic Towns (Brussels, 1998); with updates from web list maintained by Ferdinand Opll (http://www.wien.gv.at/english/history/historictowns/index.htm). Drawn by Sarah Gearty, Irish Historic Towns Atlas © Royal Irish Academy. Rheine Bevergern Inset A Lübbecke Ibbenbüren Ochtrup Burgsteinfurt Vreden Stadtlohn Südlohn mit Oeding Grieth Enger Schöppingen Herford Billerbeck Coesfeld Münster Dülmen mit Hausdülmen Ringenberg Minden Telgte Wolbeck Bielefeld Warendorf Rheda Bad Salzuflen Lemgo Barntrup Detmold Kalkar Drensteinfurt Lüdinghausen Uedem Rietberg Ahlen Xanten Kervenheim Büderich Paderborn Brakel Hamm Lippstadt Sonsbeck Rheinberg Salzkotten Blankenstein Lichtenau Kamen Dringenberg Orsoy Hamborn Geseke Horde Straelen Mülheim Ruhrort mit Störmede Unna Peckelsheim Dortmund Westhofen und Erwitte Kleinenberg Wachtendonk Duisburg an der Ruhr Borgentreich Essen Bochum Uerdingen Schwerte Marsberg Kaldenkirchen Krefeld Werden Arnsberg Langenberg Heiligenhaus Warburg Brilon Süchteln Freienohl Velbert Dülken ViersenLinn Iserlohn Kaiserswerth Neviges Arolsen Wülfrath Brüggen Neersen Meschede Neuenrade Gerresheim Mönchengladbach Ronsdorf Liedberg Wald Rheindahlen Solingen Rheydt Ohligs Wickrath Medebach Zons Höhscheid Dorp Odenkirchen Erkelenz Burg Attendorn Schmallenberg Leichlingen Hülchrath Gangelt Fritzlar Bergneustadt Hallenberg Olpe Geilenkirchen Bergheim Kalk Kerpen Köln Würselen Düren Frechen Siegen Wetter Brühl Aachen Lechenich Nideggen Bonn Blankenberg Zülpich Euskirchen Monschau Homberg/Ohm Gemünd Rheinbach Meckenheim Erpel Schleiden Linz Bad Münstereifel Gelsdorf Sinzig Heimersheim Altenahr Reifferscheid Bad Breisig Wetzlar Blankenheim Königsfeld Neuwied Kronenburg Adenau Limburg Dollendorf Butzbach Glasgow Derry~ Londonderry Carrickfergus Belfast, part I Downpatrick Kells Mullingar Dundalk Athlone Trim Maynooth Dublin, part I Kildare Bray Kilkenny Fethard Caernarvon Bandon Nottingham Coventr Banbury Hereford Gloucester Bristol Salisbury Inset B Zwettl Eferding Wels Retz Laa an der Weitra Thaya Maissau Krems/Stein Korneuburg Klosterneuburg Marchegg Melk Wien St Pölten Tulln Mödling Hainburg Baden Rust Wiener Eisenstadt Neustadt Freistadt Linz Enns Steyr Gmunden Bad Aussee Hall in Tirol Rottenmann Radstadt Schladming Lo to Readin Quimper St Malo St Brieuc Lorient Evre Fougères Vannes Alençon Kapfenberg Hartberg Judenburg Voitsberg Morlaix Brest Graz Limoges Périgueux B Bergera La Réole Marmande Bazas C Villeneuve-sur-Lot Agen Mo Mont-de-Marsan Nérac St Sever Bayonne Auch Pau Tarbes 0 miles 0 km Anglès.indd 40 300 400 08/06/2009 8:25:17 Fo Kokkola-Gamlakarleby º Porvoo-Borgaº Turku-Abo Falun Uppsala Strömstad Glasgow rgus Randers rt I rick Memel Dundalk nooth ublin, part I ay Koge Ribe Stege Friedrichstadt Nottingham Coventry Norwich Banbury Cambridge Gloucester London, Bristol to 1570 Horst Hereford Salisbury Königsberg Schleswig Caernarvon Reading Kampen Haarlem Lingen Zutfen Amersfoort Schoonhoven Bergen op Zoom Venlo Brugge Lier Maaseik Tielt Elblag Malbork Grudziadz Marienwerder Chelmo Bydgoszcz Torun Lübeck Buxtehude Lüneburg Gizycko Salzwedel Brandenburg/Havel Potsdam Küstrin Inset A Goslar Quedlinburg Torgau Bad Frankenhausen Colditz Bautzen Wroclaw/Breslau Weimar Altenburg Decín Goldberg Saalfeld Oppeln Litomerice Herfeld Trutnov Frankenstein laix Kulmbach Gelnhausen Slany Hradec Králové Senlis St Malo Dieburg Evreux Pardubice Chrudim Michelstadt St Brieuc Kaiserslautern Bad Mergentheim Weiden Tábor Jihlava Fougères Saarbrücken Ceské Trebíc Weißenburg Provins Ohringen Budejovice Telc Alençon Nancy Etampes Regensburg Cesky Krumlov Vannes Ulm Breisach Freiberg Burghausen Epinal Donaueschingen Belfort Salzburg Isny Kufstein Bregenz Montbéliard Neunkirch Hallein Frauenfeld Schwaz Feldkirch Innsbruck Lienz Limoges Weesen Friesach Meran Ussel Villach Völkermarkt Périgueux Brive St Martino al Cimino Koprivnica Klagenfurt Bergerac Bassano del Bjelovar La Réole Grappa Marmande Figeac Sisak Bazas Cahors Asolo Rodez lleneuve-sur-Lot Agen Ferrara Montauban t-de-Marsan Nérac Albi Carpi Reggio St Sever Bayonne Auch Bologna Pau Pietrasanta Lastra a Signa Talamone Lucca Tarbes Firenze Foix San Miniato Castelfranco di Sopra/Arezzo San Gimignano Perpignan Castiglion Fiorentino Siena CollioureServigliano Port-Vendres Santa Fiora Manciano Talamone Caprarola Inset B Suceava Cerveteri Alghero Sebes Sighisoara Roma Latina Sabaudia Capri Monreale Anglès.indd 41 08/06/2009 8:25:18 42 Howard B. Clarke 2. Extract from the beginning of the religion section of the topographical information for medieval Dublin. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 27-43. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 42 08/06/2009 8:25:19 Joining the Club: A spanish historic towns atlas? 3. Extract 43 from the beginning of the church section of the topo- graphical information for Bonn. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 27-43. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 43 08/06/2009 8:25:20 Anglès.indd 44 08/06/2009 8:25:20 “Who is who” in Spanish medieval studies Germán Navarro Universidad de Zaragoza Spain Date of receipt: 11th of January 2007 Final date of acceptance: 7th of January 2008 Abstract Based on the author’s experience as a member of the consultative council of “Historia a Debate” and one of the coordinators of the recent experience of the History Workshop at the University of Saragossa, this article offers a provisional balance of the first results obtained in the consecution of a test for research into the tendencies in Spanish academic medievalism at the beginning of the 21st century. The central nucleus of the study is a database with two hundred professors in Spanish universities who have staff in this field of knowledge. This database puts special emphasis on the subject of directing doctoral theses as a primary indicator for detecting such important questions in the analysis of tendencies as the forming of consolidated groups of disciples or the conscious promotion of certain themes over others in the doctorates. This is an ongoing project from which it is hoped to complete results and draw some deeper conclusions in the near future. Key words Historiography, Medievalism, Spain, University, History under Debate, History workshop. Capitalia verba Rerum Scriptura, Studia Mediaeualia, Hispania, Vniversitas, Historia in discrimine posita, Ludus historicus. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 45-55. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 45 45 08/06/2009 8:25:20 46 Germán Navarro 1. Aims and context As a research group, we have recently published a book that summarises our experience in a history workshop held at the university1. One of the chapters of this work tackles a very controversial aspect of the discipline, namely the question of how to recognise historiographical identity. This is an important problem for students of history, who tend to have difficulties with diligent reading, and consequently with the comprehensive reading of bibliographies. How, therefore, can students identify current historiographical trends if their teachers do not make them practice the diligent and comprehensive reading of an author’s work? Furthermore, students need to learn to investigate tendencies and not merely know what these consist of. This question is not as straightforward as it may seem, as it is not a matter of describing existing trends, but rather requires experimenting with the skill to recognise these. In this sense, identifying tendencies, assessing our inherited legacy and evaluating any indication of generational change among historians, are some of the questions that were introduced some years ago in the ‘Manifesto 2001’ via the discussions in History under Debate2. Such approaches lead directly to the analysis of recent Spanish historiography and, within it, to the examination of specific subjects, as in the case examined here, namely medieval history. If I teach the subject of “Current Historiographical Trends” as part of the history degree in any Spanish university, and I want to focus my explanations on the evolution of “Spanish Medievalism”, the first questions I ask myself are, “How many publications exist on this subject? How many doctoral theses have been written and how many of these have been published for the use of students? Does anyone know of any doctoral theses on ‘Current Historiographical Trends in Spanish Medievalism’? Is this type of initiative only being developed by contemporary historians?” If the answers to these questions leave me without points of reference for the successful teaching of my subject, then I will need to consider other possibilities. Nowadays, explaining subjects such as “Current Historiographical Trends” to groups of students studying medieval history necessarily means having access to empirical studies like the one that I will present here, in order to facilitate short-term comparisons with other areas of historical knowledge and, more generally, with the situation in other parts of the world. In fact, this is not the first time that I am proposing this initiative. With this aim, and taking advantage of the most recent international congress of History under Debate in 2004, I coordinated the presentation of a paper in which we had studied a group of 212 specialists in medieval history who then comprised the 1. Corral, José Luis; García, Carmen; Navarro, Germán. Taller de historia. El oficio que amamos. Barcelona: Edhasa, 2006. 2. Barros, Carlos; Navarro, Germán. “El manifiesto Historia a Debate. Una nueva tendencia historiográfica abierta y global”. Anales de la Universidad de Alicante. Historia Medieval, 13 (2000-2002): 365-378; Barros, Carlos; Igual, David; Navarro, Germán. “Historia a Debate. Manifiesto historiográfico”. Revista d’Història Medieval, 12 (2001-2002): 331-388. See also Barros, Carlos, ed. www.h-debate.com, or History under Debate. International Reflection on the Discipline, Carlos Barros, Lawrence J. McCrank, eds. New York: The Haworth Press, 2004. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 45-55. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 46 08/06/2009 8:25:21 “Who is Who” in Spanish medieval studies 47 tenured teaching staff of Spanish public universities and who therefore constituted, in our view, the institutional vanguard from which any research or educational innovation relating to the subject area in question was disseminated3. At the above-mentioned congress, our work was criticised on two fundamental points. The first was that it was not deemed advisable to separate the study of a specific subject, such as medieval history, from the other areas and fields of study that constitute Spanish historiography. What was recommended was a more general perspective. The second criticism labelled the proposal as elitist on account of its focus on tenured university teaching staff, thereby ignoring not only the contribution of dozens of pre-doctoral and postdoctoral research assistants or the non-permanent teaching staff advancing Spanish medieval history, but it also overlooked the significant group of historians who research into, and contribute to, medieval studies from outside the universities. The response to these objections is obvious. It was never intended to focus exclusively on Spanish academic medievalism outside the general evolution of Spanish, European or world historiography, but it was considered appropriate to specify a very precise first analytical step, which was to be followed by other, further ones. In fact, given the enormous quantity of recent historiographical material generated by over two hundred active people, our paper already contained sufficient material to write a doctoral thesis on the topic, and it was therefore unimaginable what composing in-depth studies of so many authors would have meant. It was thus a strategy to make the study more operative and prevent it from becoming a kind of self-complacent ego-history. I have no doubt that the non-permanent teaching and research personnel in the universities are not only more numerous than the tenured staff but also, given their professional situation, are generating the most recent doctoral theses, as well as quantitatively superior historiographical material. However, the difficulties of coping with this material and, in general, the problems of identifying such personnel became very important obstacles to undertaking such a study. Moreover, as it was evident that we were not unaware of this reality nor did we seek to underrate it, it had to be emphasised that our project was guided first and foremost by the performance and the practicality of the research strategies followed. It would have been impractical to extend our modest analysis to the thousands of people who research medieval history outside the universities, and who often do so with as much consequence and historiographical impact as is done in the academic world, especially if they have access to the main commercial publishers4. A start had to be made somewhere, and this approach was what we chose. We can only take the responsibility for the constraints of this decision and offer the first results for consideration. The question that lay behind this study was of a general nature: what tendencies or propensities were identifiable within the established historiographical confines of 3. Navarro, Germán; Villanueva, Concepción; González, Daniel. “Tendencias historiográficas actuales en el medievalismo académico español”, III Congreso Internacional Historia a Debate, Santiago de Compostela, 1418th July 2004, paper presented at the Round table G: Groups, Networks, Historiographic Movements. 4. As an example see the new Anuario y Directorio de Asociados published by the Spanish Society of Medieval Studies in 2006. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 45-55. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 47 08/06/2009 8:25:22 48 Germán Navarro Spanish academic medieval studies? Of course, a historiographical tendency is not only an ideological abstraction, but is represented and endorsed by the sum of a series of specific personal trajectories substantiated by their publications. The implicit or explicit consensus of certain historians is discernible through the profound disparity of their works and constitutes one of the more evident indicators of the existence of specific trends. If in any other field of historical research it was considered essential to have substantial empirical studies as a basis on which to construct general interpretations from a comparative perspective, it seems incomprehensible that in the immediate history of the current subjects in Spain this approach was not taken, nor was it employed to strengthen the subjects dedicated to scientific evaluation. On the contrary, the most extensive working model available was, and still is, the classic state of the question shaped by general geographic, chronological or thematic reflections, that does not respond to pure research in immediate historiography, but rather derives from individual academic experiences characterised by a subjective bibliographical repertoire, where, of course, habitually nobody dares to talk about specific trends mentioning names and surnames. In fact, it always remains to be seen who is who, that is, who represents the identifiable areas, schools, teams or general tendencies, and by which means. The moment for promoting an initiative of this kind seems very opportune. The conditions in which Spanish historiography found itself were right for making the definitive transition to the new paradigm of the 21st century. The absence of historiographical schools in Spain coincided with ignorance outside Spain about most of what was being done here. Publications by Spanish authors are still fairly unknown beyond our borders, and translations into other languages were still relatively rare. In fact, from the end of the 1980s, Spain experienced a paradoxical situation, a wealth of opportunities within an acute social crisis in its history, contrasted with a strong historiographical revitalization of which History under Debate seemed one of the more obvious phenomena5. The implicit role of Spanish historiography in the international transition towards a new paradigm, the relation between political transition and historiographical renovation in Spain and, especially, the problem of generational change, are all issues which have attracted the attention of several authors6. The first general evaluation of Spanish medieval studies7 in the mid 80s reflected these transformations, emphasising the unwonted increase in new tenured teaching staff at the time of the reconstitution of the university departments and 5. Barros, Carlos. “La inacabada transición de la historiografía española”. Bulletin d’Histoire Contemporaine de l’Espagne, 24 (1996): 469-493. 6. Barros, Carlos. “El retorno del sujeto social en la historiografía española”, Estado, protesta y movimientos sociale: Actas del III Congreso de Historia Social de España (Vitoria-Gasteiz, Julio de 1997), José Mª Ortiz Ortuño, Santiago Castillo, coords. Bilbao: Servicio Editorial Universidad del País Vasco/ Euskal Herriko Unibertsitatea, 1998: 191-214. 7. Ruiz de la Peña, Juan Ignacio. “La investigación medievalista en España en los últimos años”, Introducción al estudio de la Edad Media. Madrid: Siglo Veintiuno, 1984: 232-250. See also Ladero, Miguel Ángel. “Aproximation al medievalismo española (1939-1984)”, La historiografía en Occidente desde 1945: Actitudes, tendencias y problemas metodológicos: Actas de las III Conversaciones internacionales de Historia. Universidad de Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 45-55. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 48 08/06/2009 8:25:23 “Who is Who” in Spanish medieval studies 49 subjects, which occurred at the enactment of the previous University Reform Act of 1985. It was in those circumstances that the old non-tenured professors, who had been unable to join the civil service due to the lack of public entrance exams, entered en masse via a merit examination, and a single biological generation filled the posts then available for the rest of their lives. Moreover, there are currently at least five times more tenured personnel in the area of medieval history than there were in 1970. This means that the retirement of over 60 percent of current teaching staff can be expected between 2010 and 2020, and this will undoubtedly force another generational change of unexpected dimensions, or even a significant reduction of staff, if we anticipate the likely cuts of posts announced by different vice-chancellorships, whose policy of budget cuts is already making itself felt. All considered, one cannot avoid the sensation that research has disintegrated; that we are not faced with the substitution of one paradigm, dominant up to a certain point, by another, as occurred when the so-called “historicising history”, based on relevant events and on the hegemony of the narrative, gave way to structural economic and social history. According to Julio Valdeón8, the real problem is that a considerable proportion of publications on Spanish medieval studies still practise straightforward descriptive local history, lacking any possible integration in a comprehensive framework of general history. Moreover, regarding models of ongoing research, the dependence on exterior models continues, and historiographical reflection is scarce. It is true that the autonomous regions of Spain have oriented historical research towards increasingly regional contexts9. However, this is not necessarily negative, as long as it does not coincide with a tendency towards selfsufficiency that sometimes ignores the work done on parallel themes in other regions. In addition to this we have to consider the phenomenon of the vast increase in publications, especially when many university examinations still value quantity of work over quality. In his contribution to the Medieval Studies Week of Estella in 1998, which was dedicated specifically to taking historiographical stock of Spanish medieval studies, José Ángel García de Cortázar confirmed that the quality of the studies is high but suffers from an excessive abundance of research that, lacking conceptual spirit, is merely repetitive. In this sense, exclusively descriptive publications are still frequent, and researchers who write more than they read are not rare10. Moreover, in the minutes of the same Study Week, a register of public research centres in medieval history was compiled, the first of its kind in Spain, inNavarra (Pamplona, 5-7 abril 1984), Alfredo Floristán Imícoz, Ignacio Olábarri Gortázar, Valentín Vázquez de Prada, coords. Pamplona: Ediciones Universidad de Navarra. EUNSA, 1985: 69-86. 8. Valdeón, Julio. “La historia de España: historia medieval”. Revista de Historia Jerónimo Zurita, 71 (1997): 19-30. 9. Segura, Cristina, ed. Presente y futuro de la historia medieval en España, Actas de las Primeras Jornadas sobre la Investigación Medieval en las Comunidades Autónomas, Universidad Complutense (9-11 noviembre, 1988). Madrid: Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 1990. 10. García de Cortázar, José Ángel. “Glosa de un balance sobre la historiografía medieval española de los últimos treinta años (I)”, La historia medieval en España. Un balance historiográfico (1968-1998). Actas de la XXV Semana de Estudios Medievales de Estella (14-18 julio 1998). Pamplona: Gobierno de Navarra, 1999: 824. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 45-55. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 49 08/06/2009 8:25:24 50 Germán Navarro cluding details of all teaching staff, for which the scientific committee received the collaboration of the university departments. This register was considered a useful tool of knowledge, information and rapprochement among experts11. Despite this, at an international seminar held in Zaragoza in May 2004 on the presence of the Middle Ages on the Internet12, the development of specialised web pages in other European countries became evident in an attempt to promote historiographical efforts with a view to identifying the different communities of researchers with their historiographical repertoires. This is the case with Reti Medievali and its section dedicated to the professional profiles of Italian medievalists, or the Spanienportal of German Hispanic medievalism. Perhaps the new technologies will spur on the systematic classification of historiographical material and the creation of an updated general directory of Spanish medievalists, which would help our task significantly, given the distressing situation in Spain. A portal for Spanish medieval studies on the Internet ought to be promoted, like the one launched on 1 May 199813 by Jorge Maíz at www.medievalismo.org. 2. Sources and methodology The methodological difficulties of this type of research have already become evident with the publication of the first dictionary of contemporary Spanish historians14. This work begins by identifying the limited attention that collective groups of historians attract among Spanish researchers, in a kind of unawareness of the tradition. In contrast, since the beginning of the 1980s, prosopographical studies have become thoroughly accepted in the leading international historiographies, augmenting the publication of all kinds of collective repertoires. However, the selected authors in this dictionary are a small sample of the community of historians at the turn of the 19th to the 20th centuries. It names 526 people, of whom 70 percent are teachers. The main source of information are their publications, serving also to address the question of how historians construct history. It also includes social and 11. “Profesorado universitario de los Cuerpos Docentes. Historia Medieval”, La historia medieval en España. Un balance historiográfico (1968-1998), Actas de la XXV Semana de Estudios Medievales de Estella (14-18 julio 1998). Pamplona: Gobierno de Navarra, 1999: 843-865. 12. Pescar o navegar: la Edad Media en la red, Actas del Seminario Internacional de Doctorado organizado por el Departamento de Historia Medieval, Ciencias y Técnicas Historiográficas, y Estudios Árabes e Islámicos de la Universidad de Zaragoza (6-8 mayo 2004). Saragossa: Universidad, Departamento de Historia Medieval Ciencias y Técnicas Historiográficas y Estudios Arabes e Islámicos, 2005. 13. Maíz, Jorge. “El crepúsculo tecnológico del medievalismo hispánico. Nuevas tecnologías e historia medieval o el ocaso de lo desconocido”, Pescar o navegar: la Edad Media en la red. Actas del Seminario Internacional de Doctorado organizado por el Departamento de Historia Medieval, Ciencias y Técnicas Historiográficas, y Estudios Árabes e Islámicos de la Universidad de Zaragoza (6-8 mayo 2004). Saragossa: Universidad, Departamento de Historia Medieval Ciencias y Técnicas Historiográficas y Estudios Arabes e Islámicos, 2005: 67-83. 14. Pasamar, Gonzalo; Peiró, Ignacio. Diccionario Akal de Historiadores Españoles Contemporáneos (1840-1980). Madrid: Ediciones Akal, 2002. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 45-55. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 50 08/06/2009 8:25:25 “Who is Who” in Spanish medieval studies 51 prosopographic data with the aim of contextualising the people included, especially academically and ideologically. The final objective is to track down the emergence of trends, the appearance of new areas of research and the consolidation of scientific interests. This appears to be a worthy model of study. This process results in a clearly-defined working method: the prosopographical study of a group in order to establish a common portrait of predominant and minor tendencies. However, I believe that the basic personal data (gender, age, class, academic category, etc.), the current conditions of life, or the ideological tendency closest to each person (left, centre or right), are only significant in the real impact which they have had on the contents of the publications in question, which are, after all, the fundamental material upon which research into historiographical trends is based, and not the other way round. In fact, an individual might be politically left-leaning and historiographically conservative, or vice-versa. On this issue the questionnaire is categorical: Do teaching staff express any kind of attitude towards political power in their publications (ignore it, criticise it, demand changes, etc.)? What is their position on ethical, social and political commitments? Do they reject these as a terrain for ideology and not for history? Do they consider it the most important dimension of our profession? To what extent does their condition as citizens affect them? Do they adopt it without abandoning rigor in their work? Do they feel that they have to produce a more humane history? Another set of working hypotheses addressed in the questionnaire allude to the types or forms of sociability that each person shares and how this is reflected in their publications. This relates to groups, departments, institutes, faculties, subjects, national historiography, international projects, academic exchange, personal networks, congresses, journals, workshops, the internet, as well as other alternative contexts for professional relations, such as private companies, cultural management, archives, libraries, museums, etc. All of this, it can be argued, is latent in their publications. This is easy to observe, for instance, if we consider the academic environments in which these publications are produced, that is, the journals, publishers, congresses, be they local, regional, national or international. From these main indicators, the current historiographical tendencies can also be defined by the question of whether there is consistent use of particular types of sources (written sources, material remains, iconography, etc.), which may result in the creation of groups of ‘pure’ document-historians or ‘pure’ archaeologists with a tendency to ignore types of sources other than their own. A similar situation arises when cooperation, or lack thereof, between history and other sciences or disciplines (literature, art, anthropology, sociology, psychology, etc.) is reflected in the publications themselves. It is obvious that the present survey has favoured the study of a confined area over a chronological study (of prehistory, ancient history, medieval history, modern history, contemporary history or current history), but it would be interesting to know what percentage of the teaching staff analysed have published anything relating to chronological areas other than the one that defines the group to which they belong. This indication of ‘super-specialisation’ can also be identified if we consider works which favour studies of single thematic areas (e.g. biography, Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 45-55. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 51 08/06/2009 8:25:26 52 Germán Navarro demography, economic history, social history, political history, history of culture or history of gender). It is also of great importance, where possible, to observe who each author addresses in their writing, and whether they pay attention to the divulgative style of their work (narration, repetition or other teaching resources). In the analysis of current trends, it is also crucial to know which authors have most influenced each other, as indicated by themselves in their publications. However, the national historiographies that serve as references are also important (as in France, Italy, Great Britain, Spain, Castile or Aragon). This raises the question of whether or not we can recognise the existence of some teaching convention, or the affiliation with some historiographical school or tradition. In the case of an affirmative answer, the manifest degree of “group or school spirit” ought to be studied in greater depth, given that this constitutes one of the essential elements in the conscious construction of historiographical identity. In short, it is a complex exercise to try and identify the historiographical tendency which can be considered most closely related to each person, judging by their publications, and it is an exercise where we may be faced with multiple variants from one author to another, and even with different historiographical stages within in a single person’s work, i.e. no explicit tendency, neo-positivism, functionalism, structuralism, historical materialism, etc. With regard to this, it appears to be very important to ascertain whether or not the relation between the ideology expressed by the individual, and the historiographical affiliations within which he or she participates, correspond or are coherent, and whether the author expresses his or her ideological tendencies in a relevant manner in the publication. In this context, it would be interesting to know if someone expresses in their work what they think the purpose of history, or the social function of this subject is, and why. There is a very wide range of possible responses: critical awareness, civic education, national conscience, respect for the other, better living conditions, transforming the world, guiding social action, giving the defeated a voice, or simply knowing about the past, enhancing the curriculum and achieving academic promotion, acquiring culture, as a hobby, for entertainment or as a profession. Thus, the great question, or the pinnacle, is to discern who is contributing to the historiographical renewal through their publications, and in what sense. In short, there is a whole set of questions that owe a great deal to the reflections raised by the international survey on the state of history among over 45,000 historians from all over the world, carried out by History under Debate, the results of which can be consulted at www.h-debate.com. 3. Provisional results For now, the sources used in the database have been limited to the analysis of the three thousand assorted publications that constitute the current work of each and every one of the people studied, although this increases from day to day. On another level of information, internet searches have been carried out in order to ob- Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 45-55. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 52 08/06/2009 8:25:27 “Who is Who” in Spanish medieval studies 53 tain curricular and biographical data available from the web pages of departments, repertoires of medieval studies and other similar resources. In the near future, the typology of sources will be extended, as far as possible, especially through direct interviews with the people concerned. The most important provisional results are the 212 prosopographical files on teachers from an official census from January 2003 from the universities website of the Ministry of Education. With regard to this, we have also checked the data on tenured teaching staff in other subjects, which can be consulted on the ministry’s website. To summarise, the main categories of our prosopographic database are the names of the teachers, their academic field, their university, the subject of their doctoral theses, the thesis supervisors and the year of completion. There are also other numerical fields and subfields for references to books, articles, talks, communications and other texts recorded for each person. There were 46,950 tenured teaching staff in Spanish public universities at the time of the study (January 2003), divided into four categories, that is, 7,932 university professors (17 % of the total), 25,633 university lecturers (54 %), 2,271 higher education college professors (5 %), and 11,114 higher education college lecturers (24 %). The centres with the largest numbers of teachers were the Complutense University of Madrid (3,507 people) and the University of Barcelona (2,411). If we add up the number of teachers from all the universities in Madrid (Complutense, Autonónoma, Carlos III, UNED, Politécnica and Juan Carlos I) and Barcelona (Barcelona, Autónoma, UOC, Politécnica de Catalunya and Pompeu Fabra) we can see that together they contain almost a third of the national total. Of the 199 subjects taught in Spanish public universities, only 10 had over 650 teachers each: Applied Economics (1,440), Applied Mathematics (1,440), Applied Physics (1,200), Financial Economics and Accounting (1,079), English Philology (864), Biochemistry and Molecular Biology (775), Chemical Engineering (758), Nursing (732), Computer Languages and Systems (689), and Business Studies (666). Economics, mathematics and physics were the largest areas, three or four times larger than the areas of history, which were headed by Art History (536), Contemporary History (410), Modern History (255), Medieval History (212), Prehistory (172), American History (98), Archaeology (91) and Historiographical Sciences and Techniques (74). By way of example, the average number of teachers per area in Spanish public universities was around 236. As we have seen, this number is only exceeded by Art History, Contemporary or Modern History. The subject of Medieval History comprised 141 men and 71 women (a third of the total and only 4 of them university professors). The average age was estimated at around fifty. The distribution by academic category was 45 university professors (21 % of the total) and 158 university lecturers (74 %), as well as 4 professors and 5 lecturers of higher education colleges (5 %). It was thus a teaching body assigned according to the nature of the degrees that were taught in the faculties of Philosophy and Arts, History or Humanities and, on very few occasions, in the old teacher training schools, now pre-school and primary education colleges. On the other hand, if we consider the field according to the number of posts, our database once again shows Madrid and Barcelona as the places with the highest concentration of Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 45-55. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 53 08/06/2009 8:25:28 54 Germán Navarro teaching staff, without counting the CSIC research personnel assigned to medieval studies in these cities and who are not included in this database. Apart from the departments in these two cities, among the forty departments with personnel in the assigned area, only Granada, Salamanca, Santiago de Compostela, Seville, Valencia, Valladolid and Saragossa had ten or more teachers. In other words, a quarter of departments contained more than half of all teachers. Concerning the issue of thesis supervisors, we can identify up to three historiographical generations, the oldest of which are no longer active. We refer in first place to theses directed by José María Lacarra de Miguel (1907-1987), Emilio Sáez Sánchez (1917-1988), Álvaro Santamaría Arández (1917-2004), Juan Torres Fontes (1919), Salvador de Moxó Ortiz de Villajos (1921-1980), Eloy Benito Ruano (1921), Antonio Ubieto Arteta (1923-1990), Luis Suárez Fernández (1924), Ángel Juan Martín Duque (1926) or Manuel Riu Riu (1929). They supervised at least a third of the doctoral theses of all teaching staff prior to 1990. At the same time, a second generation of working thesis supervisors emerged, direct disciples of the previous generation, born around 1936-1946. These include José Luis Martín Rodríguez, José Ángel García de Cortázar Ruiz de Aguirre, Julio Valdeón Baruque, Miguel Ángel Ladero Quesada, Manuel González Jiménez and Paulino Iradiel Murugarren, among others. Some of them have supervised over ten theses among the current functionary teaching staff, together adding another third to the total number of theses, the years of reading in this case concentrating on the period between 1980 and 1996. Finally, the third generation of younger supervisors, disciples of the latter constitutes the remaining third. As a general observation, the themes of doctoral theses submitted by Spanish university teachers in medieval history focus mainly on analyses of cathedral chapters, councils and municipalities, noble lineages, monasteries, bishoprics and dioceses, military orders, royal administration, courts, municipal charters and domains. There is evidently a predominance of institutional history and, to a lesser extent, of economic, social or cultural history. Studies of poverty, marginalisation, religious minorities, women’s history, mentalities or daily life have not received quantitatively significant monographic treatment. However, if we turn our attention to the subjects and topics of books, articles, papers, communications and other material, the situation tends to balance itself out. One of the phenomena that stands out when the high degree of historiographical productivity is observed is that of contracted research, consisting of accepting invitations to congresses, seminars or publications that have to be delivered in a relatively short time, which generates a type of accelerated research with rates of production often far from the trajectory of the authors, avid to meet their professional commitments in the short term. As a consequence, a lot, perhaps too much, is published in a very disorganised way, without general research programmes, without attention to the historiographical debates, or even with revisions or critical updates of one’s own material. This type of progress is thus accumulative and extensive, and bibliographical growth tends to diversify interests, and to saturate more in form of chaos than to group together themes and lines of research. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 45-55. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 54 08/06/2009 8:25:29 “Who is Who” in Spanish medieval studies 55 In conclusion, the twelve theses with which Alain Guerreau proclaims the imperatives that should guide the future of French medievalism in the 21st century can perhaps be applied as general reflections also in the Spanish case15. However, the question does not lie only in rethinking the sources that are used in the research, cooperating with other disciplines, or evaluating and arguing about the applicability of current interpretative models, among other questions, but rather, first and foremost, in knowing who is working on what, and how, because historiographical innovation is impossible without collective self-awareness of who we are and where we want to go from our dispersed workplaces. If this first step is not taken and the reflexive tradition persists, which does not identify trends with names and surnames, then it is likely that the flaw in the content will continue to undermine any attempt at change, and the future will continue to be uncertain. In this sense, the contents of that summer course organised by Flocel Sabaté and Joan Farré in Balaguer in 2002 about the new perspectives in Spanish medievalism16 have become an essential starting point for a continuing debate about the future of our subject within the new European setting of teaching and historical research. 15. Guerreau, Alain. L’avenir d’un passé incertain. Quelle histoire du Moyen Âge au XXIe siècle? Paris: éditions du Seuil, 2001. 16. Sabaté, Flocel; Farré, Joan, eds. Medievalisme: noves perspectives. Lleida: Pagès editors, 2003. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 45-55. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 55 08/06/2009 8:25:30 Anglès.indd 56 08/06/2009 8:25:30 II PART THE PAST STUDIED AND MEASURED Anglès.indd 57 08/06/2009 8:25:31 Anglès.indd 58 08/06/2009 8:25:31 Byzantium and the dark ages A civilization on trial José Marín Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile Chile Date of reception: 9th of January, 2007 Final date of acceptance: 18th of December, 2007 Abstract This article presents a reflection about the Byzantine Civilization between the 7th and 9th centuries, a crucial moment for its existence. This period implied deep changes, and it was then when the Byzantine Civilization, sometimes conceived as being immersed in an overwhelming hieratic attitude, demonstrated its dynamism and plasticity to face the problems. This time of crisis, that the Anglo-Saxon historiography qualifies as the dark age and that puts an end to the late ancient epoch, is what D. Zakythinós called the “Great Breach” of Hellenism, concept that we feel is adequate (mutatis mutandis) to refer to the so-called “crisis of the 7th century” in the Eastern Mediterranean. Whether it was a time of crisis, decadence or transformation is an open question, and perhaps we are only facing speculative images crouching behind which —and perhaps forcing an ironic smile— a historical reality faces us with such complexity that it involves all these aspects. Whatever it is, what we can clearly see is that the Byzantine Civilization was not only able to overcome a difficult epoch with the adequate historical responses, but it also invigorated its Hellenic roots, Byzantium knew how to win a prosperous future. Key words Bizantium, Dark age, Great Breach, Balkans, Slavs. Capitalia verba Byzantium, Tenebricosum aeuum, Magna Strages, Haernus, Sclauii. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 59-82. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 59 59 08/06/2009 8:25:31 60 José Marín 1. Introduction1 The periods of change, such as the one that the Byzantine Empire experienced in the so-called “Dark Ages” —and which will be outlined in this article—, allow us to appreciate the vitality of a historical subject and its capacity to face the challenges imposed by historical existence, resist the changes and, if necessary, adapt to these, but without losing its distinctive traits, which, in the end, allows us to ponder its permanence in time while weighing up its strengths and weaknesses. Historical analysis teaches us that it is just as futile to strive to uphold a historically unreal policy of continuity, as it is to force the rhythm of history with the aim of provoking abrupt changes that do no more than attack the essence of the historical subject itself, threatening it with disappearance, only to demonstrate, sooner rather than later, ones equivocation. In the first case, for example, we might consider the so-called “Detained Civilisations”, as explained by A. Toynbee, and among these, the case of the immobility of the Lower Roman Empire; in the second case, we might appeal to all those rebellious anti-establishment movements that have aimed to “go back to basics”, from the first monks to the modern hippies, through the French Revolution. The Greco-Roman Civilization of the Mediterranean, for example, before its final collapse, had to face up to, suffer and overcome many periods of change, sometimes profound, without losing its historical identity. Thus, the Romans of the Empire were the same as those of the Republic, despite the mutations in the political structure, and that is an irrefutable proof of the vitality of Rome. Similar is the case of the Byzantine Civilization, which, between the 7th and 9th centuries, had to face a deep crisis that changed part of its economic, social, demographic structure, etc., but not its historical entity entirely: once the challenge had been overcome, we are faced with a reinforced civilization that continued to be Hellenistic and Christian, that is, Byzantine. The Macedonian dynasty, that governed the Empire between the 9th and 11th centuries well represents the vitality of a society that knew how to transport its culture to remote regions, sowing the seeds of the identity of Eastern Europe orthodox roots. The Slavs, for instance, the barbarians who were potentially dangerous for the Empire, came to constitute “close” nations, altrough autonomous and independent ones. And in fact, when we talk about Byzantium, we talk about the founding pillars of what we commonly call Central or Eastern Europe, concepts argued about (perhaps also arguable) and which have to some extent been contaminated with different ideological visions. To avoid falling into conceptual anachronisms or imprecision, we must ask ourselves, first of all, what we mean by “Eastern Europe” or “Central Europe”, especially in the context of the Middle Ages. Europe can be divided into eastern and western zones divided by a series of imaginary lines according to religious, ethnic or political criteria, among others. From the configuration of the extremes, moreover, we can conceive a third and central part, which complicates the question even more —without mentioning N. 1. The author has presented a version of this work at the Tercer Simposio de ADEISE: Europa, identidad y crisis, Mendoza, Argentina, 2006. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 59-82. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 60 08/06/2009 8:25:32 Byzantium and the dark ages. A civilization on trial 61 Iorga’s notion of South-east Europe, which is a relatively recent concept. When we refer to Eastern or Central Europe, we are using a nomenclature linked to the political history of the region in the 19th and 20th centuries, even when earlier references can be found. In contrast with our treatment of north and south, which are objective geographic references, east and west have been relativised from the observer or protagonist who assumes one or other denomination, which is not only determined by the geographical localization, but also to a large degree by its cultural and ideological “location”. As stated elsewhere, “the expansion of [one or the other] has implied a relativism of the concepts East and West: the relations, whether confrontational or not, between one world and another, could happen in the 10th century in Muslim Spain, when Almanzor (978-1002) sacked the city of Compostela in the Middle East during the age of the Crusades; in Vienna, during the 17th-century Ottoman Turkish siege; or during the Napoleonic conquest of Egypt at the end of the 18th century; and, perhaps, at the beginning of the 21st century in the financial heart of the United States”. Such an idea is perfectly applicable to a more limited reality. this is the cas of Europe, since such denominations are used depending on the political (German or Austrian influences, for example) or ideological circumstances (the presence of Soviet hegemony and the Warsaw Pact). In fact, what we nowadays refer to as the Eastern countries or Eastern Europe, is clearly an invention of the Cold War and thus essentially a geopolitical notion. Thus this classification, based on the identification of various, even antagonistic, political and economic systems, does not necessarily have a clear and symmetrical historical, cultural, ethnic and linguistic basis. In fact, the expansion of the European Union towards the “countries of the east”, demonstrates in practice that such a concept has lost a great deal of its meaning. An easy and ideologically neutral way of conceiving Central and Eastern Europe, is through geography, by dividing the continent into three parts, covering a total area extending from ten degrees longitude west to seventy degrees longitude east. By this method, Western Europe would extend approximately as far east as ten degrees. From there to thirty-five degrees, would be what we would call Central Europe, next to it Eastern Europe, which would end at sixty degrees east. What we normally refer to as Eastern Europe would correspond to a belt that stretches from twelve and a half degrees to forty degrees, covering Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, the former Yugoslavia, Albania, Greece, Rumania and the Baltic Republics, Belarus, the Ukraine and Russia as far as Moscow. To the north, the border would be the Baltic Sea and the Scandinavian Peninsula, while to the south this would be formed by the Balkans. Thus, this ‘Eastern Europe’ that we are attempting to define, has little in common with the old ideological classification, but we can recognise some other relevant elements, such as Slavonic-based ethnic identity and Christian-based religious identity. Understood in this way, this Eastern Europe closely resembles the one defined by T. Masaryk (1850-1937) (“the land between Germany and Russia”), and which historical studies have incorporated since the second decade of the 20th century as a useful concept for talking about the Middle Ages. However, for the present study, this eastern part of Europe also includes Greece, because the last element of Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 59-82. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 61 08/06/2009 8:25:33 62 José Marín identification rests on religion. In fact, in the medieval period nobody thought of Europe in terms of east and west, but rather conceived it as a Christianitas that had a Constantinopolitan and a Roman expression. What we know as Western Europe is, in the medieval reality, the Christianitas Occidentalis of Charlemagne, separated from the Roman Empire (i.e. Byzantium) by a band of barbarian peoples between the Baltic Sea and the north of the Balkans, a zone that was gradually invigorated with the establishment of princedon first and then kingdoms. The Treaty of Aixla-Chapelle (Aachen) in 811 recognised this bipolar reality by assigning “influence areas” to both the Carolingian Empire and the Byzantine Empire in that zone. As the contemporary ruling powers became aware of the growth of new states (Moravia, Bulgaria, Serbia and Croatia, and later Russia, Poland and Hungary), they began to lure them towards their orbit of influence; the Latin-Roman-Germanic west attempted this through conquest, while the Greek-Constantinopolitan east opted for the creation of a cultural community based on spiritual links and on an orthodox religious identity which has been since then shared by a large, mainly Slavonic, population in the centre and east of Europe. * Among the elements that characterised the beginning of a “medieval” period, the Völkerwanderung or migration of peoples occupied an important place —a softer and less compromising expression than “invasions”. During the period discussed here, various peoples entered into universal history, an integration that was dramatic for the central power in its initial phase, but historically fertile in the long term, similar to what happened in the west between the 4th and 5th centuries. Avars, Serbs, Croats and Bulgars from the steppe, Slavs from north of the Danube, Muslims from the south-east, these were the new people with whom Byzantium, after an initial period of clashes, had to learn to coexist, a learning process which, in contrast with the events in the western Roman Empire, guaranteed its future for various centuries. The flexibility of the Empire in the face of adverse historical circumstances was significant: given the impossibility of continuing to sustain the “Latin ecumenism”, the option chosen was to establish ties of friendship between Byzantium and her new neighbours, integrating them into a cultural, religious and political community, a “family” of nations, a real commonwealth, as Dimitri Obolensky2 called it (in fact, the Muslim case was outside this scheme, because although there were diplomatic relations, integration was impossible given that these two worlds were mutually exclusive). This did not mean renouncing the universalistic pretensions inherent in a Christian empire, but only the recognition of a reality: it was equally the accomplishment of the Providential Plan, although by different means, as the inclusion within the Byzantine community required a religious, political and cultural conver- 2. Obolensky, Dimitri. The Byzantine Commonwealth. Eastern Europe 500-1453. London: Cardinal Ed., 1974 (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1971). Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 59-82. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 62 08/06/2009 8:25:34 Byzantium and the dark ages. A civilization on trial 63 sion, so that these peoples joined in a historical task, led by Constantinople, but one that was understood as a commitment involving all Christianity. In the specific case of Balkan Greece, where the Dark Ages were felt especially dramatically, the Empire did not, however, compromise: it obliged the recent arrivals to “Byzantinise” themselves, something it did not attempt with Russians, Bulgars or Serbs. One thing was the extension of Byzantine influence to “barbarian” regions that were never part of the empire, quite another was the recovery of traditionally Hellenic territory. Greece was understood as a province, unjustly seized by the barbarians, which they had settled without imperial consent; thus there was no room for either a Cyril or a Methodius, but rather a full-scale reconquest, as effectively happened. And this was how Byzantium saved Hellenism even in Greece itself, sufficient merit to earn a place in the annals of history. 2. From Latin Empire to Greek Empire The reigns of Justinian I (527-565) and Heraclius (610-641), constituted two poles of the same historical process, characterised by the end of “Roman ecumenism” and the beginning of eastern Byzantine Hellenism, culturally and geographically speaking. While Justinian might be called the “last Roman emperor”, Heraclius might well be considered the “first Byzantine emperor”. The latter, imbibed with the imperial Latin spirit, took on the task of restoring the Universal Empire, embarking on the so-called Reconquest, a task to which all the diplomatic, economic and military resources available to the emperor were committed. The “ecumenical dream” seemed at the time to come true: Byzantium, the Second Rome, was once again the First, the Lord of the Mediterranean, restoring its authority in the north of Africa, eastern Spain and the north of Italy. From a “localist” and narrow perspective, Justinian’s great politcal and military undertaking may have seemed very successful. However, as the time goes by, signs of weakness began to appear, symptoms of a disease whose consequence would, on one hand, be the irremediable and definitive loss of the reconquered provinces. On the other hand, as Justinian’s policy, concentrating on the west, in the long term favoured the Empire’s powerful enemies (Lombards, Slavs, Avars and Persians, among others), the Empire also had to face the loss of other important provinces. Egypt and Syria-Palestine fell first to the Persian assault and later to Muslim Arab expansion, a new politcal and military force fed by a strong mystical feeling that appeared in the Mediterranean in the early decades of the 7th century. Avars and Slavs, on the other hand, took control of the Balkans. Thus, between the 6th and 7th centuries Byzantium bled on two fronts. Heraclius, on his part, contemplated in some occasions the possibility to transfer the capital to the west, specifically to his hometown of Carthage, having encountered a lamentable situation in Constantinople after the disastrous government of the usurper Phocas (602-610); but Constantinopolitan traditionalism and what we might call, albeit prematurely, the Byzantine “national” identity, triumphed. His Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 59-82. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 63 08/06/2009 8:25:35 64 José Marín policy, in short, concentrated on the east. Justinian and Heraclius thus closed the Latin cycle. The Empire contracted territorially to exercise its sovereignty only over Thrace, Constantinople and its hinterland, Armenia and Anatolia. This was a historically Greek zone, so that the material reduction meant, at the same time, a cultural fortress, consolidating the Hellenic character of the Empire. Moreover, traditionally conflictive regions, from a religious point of view, such as Egypt, had been lost, which reinforced a feeling of belonging to orthodoxy, another element of identity. The Greek language, on the other hand, had replaced Latin from the second half of the 6th century, given that, as Justinian himself stated, it was then the “pátrios foné”, the mother language. Roman patriotism gave way to Greek patriotism. If Justinian had been Imperator, Heraclius was Basileus ton Roméon pistós en Christo (“Emperor of the Romans faithful to Christ”), the title he adopted in 629 and which splendidly sums up the Greek and Christian spirit of Roman tradition in the Byzantine Empire. It is important to emphasize what the loss of the Balkans implied, given that the main land routes that linked east and west (such as the Via Egnatia) were interrupted. There was a distancing between Rome and Constantinople, which, with time, became increasingly notorious in the political, religious, linguistic and the cultural spheres in general. The administrative division sanctioned by Theodosius the Great in 395 and consolidated over the following years, was completed and extended two and a half centuries later. The Old Empire had ceded its place to the Medieval Empire. Below, I will briefly review some outstanding events of the epoch that extended from Justinian to Heraclius, and that allow us to ponder how the crisis that affected the Empire so seriously until the rise of the Macedonian dynasty became so deep. 3. Expansion, contention and withdrawal Yet Byzantium was in no condition to face the new dangers that were assaulting its frontiers, finding itself in an extreme situation in which even its own existence was in peril. The Empire could try to remain faithful to an ancestral policy which was not to weaken itself or bleed itself dry fighting on two fronts; however, after Justinian’s aggressive policy —and also with it and from it— the problems multiplied and the emperors could barely manage this very complex situation, which led to the opening of various fronts: the west, with the Justinian reconquest and its heavy, burdensome legacy; the Danubian Limes, even more unstable but, at the same time, more poorly maintained; and the eastern front, with the rebellious and dangerous Sassanids who held out until they were completely crushed by Byzantium, in the 7th century, shortly before being obliterated by the Muslims. Expansion, contention and withdrawal seem to be the three key concepts when weighing up the facts, if we observe the general situation of the Byzantine Empire at the moment when the “Balkan problem” (the Avars and Slavs) made itself felt. Similarly, the relation that Constantinople established with the recent arrivals, was Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 59-82. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 64 08/06/2009 8:25:36 Byzantium and the dark ages. A civilization on trial 65 directly linked to the global policy adopted, illustrated in the three above-mentioned terms. While Justinian the Great clearly represented an expansive phase, from the time of his successor, Justin II (565-578), the conditions became unfavourable, and by the end of the reign of Tiberius II (578-582), a policy of contention could barely be maintained, while the structure of the empire began to creak. Despite the efforts of Maurice (582-602), who scarcely managed to preserve the Empire that he inherited, or with Phocas and his disastrous government, and later with Heraclius, who was at least able to recover part of the eastern provinces, Byzantium finally washed its hands of the western provinces. The stage of withdrawal, which included the Balkans, began to be overcome towards the end of the 8th century and the beginning of the 9th. The graph is a statistical table which schematises the extension of the Byzantine Empire throughout its history. It illustrates clearly that the greatest territorial acquisitions, which were originated in the reign of Justinian, had been lost by around 620, marking a real hiatus in the statistical curve. There was a brief recovery during the reign of Heraclius, but this hardly exceeded, even at its highest point, the area of the eastern part of the Empire in the fourth and fifth centuries. The collapse that followed was telling in terms of the serious situation that the Empire was then experiencing. Graph of the territorial extension of the Byzantine Empire (284-1461) Source: Treadgold, W. A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1997: 8). Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 59-82. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 65 08/06/2009 8:25:37 66 José Marín Justinian I, drew up an ambitious plan whose aim was to recover the greatness of the Roman Empire. This emperor, in whom Roman universalism was still alive, favoured the western front, sending a series of military expeditions with the aim of recovering the old imperial provinces. To ensure sufficient forces, Justinian signed a “peace without limits” (not an “eternal peace” as Procopius’s words have been commonly and mistakenly translated) with Persia, in 532. In fact, the Byzantine Empire had concentrated its forces on the eastern front from the beginning of the 6th century, and the peace of 532 gave them a breath space which, once that front was stabilised, allowed the so-called Justinian Reconquest to go ahead. In the event, this peace only lasted a few years until it was re-established, first in 562 for a few years, and then again in 592. The Justinian project seemed very successful in the short term: between 533 and 555, Italy, Africa and the eastern part of the Iberian Peninsula fell under Byzantine hegemony, as did the islands of the Western Mediterranean. The Mediterranean Sea, as has so often been said, once again became a “Roman lake”. However, the monumental nature of the Justinian project, which, in addition to the territorial aspect, included an enormous administrative reform and an extensive building programme, ended up eroding the Empire economically. In the medium term, the weaknesses of the imperial policy came to light, and not only did his successors inherit a critical economic situation, but they also inherited the instability on the eastern front, as well as a possible third front in the Danube region, which materialised after 550, with the impact of the Avars and the movements of the Slavs. With regard to the latter, Byzantium in fact recruited many as frontier settlers or mercenaries, in the conviction that if they felt part of the Empire they would defend it, which provides more evidence of the impact of tradition on imperial policies. Occupied with the wars of the Reconquest in the west, and the war against Persia in the east, the emperor could not send large military forces to a region where the problem seemed “minor”. It is known that groups of Slavs fought for Byzantium in the war against Persia, including examples such as Dabragazas, who became commander of the Crimean fleet, or the case of Sovarouna, a soldier of Slavonic origin stationed in the Caucasus. This initial period of penetration, during which the Slavs still showed no interest in settling permanently in the Balkans, was characterised by peaceful contacts that began a gradual Hellenisation of the recently arrived barbarians. The Danubian Limes, the most dangerous and vulnerable frontier, had been left relatively unprotected since the time of Justine I (518-527). Although his successor reinforced the fortifications on the Danube from Sirmium to Constantinople, thereby completing the work of Anastasius I (491-518), while reorganising the army and using diplomacy if possible, to pit some tribes against others. the forces stationed there were insufficient to stem the barbarian tide, and between 580 and 620 Byzantine resistance finally gave way. In fact, Justinian’s successors did not concern themselves sufficiently with the maintenance of the fortified Limes and so the Slavs had almost total freedom to roam the Balkans as they wished. Divided between east and west, and especially worried about the Reconquest, Justinian I neglected the Danubian frontier, where a purely defensive strategy was Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 59-82. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 66 08/06/2009 8:25:38 Byzantium and the dark ages. A civilization on trial 67 applied, which was revealed to be completely useless. In any case, Justinian’s building activity and the fortification works of the Danubian Limes should not be underestimated. The testimony of Procopius, very often distrusted because of its apologetic character, but nowadays archaeologically supported, shows that in the middle of the 6th century, the zone was protected in a hitherto unknown way. In the region a complex network of three interlocking defensive lines were built and organised in an overlapping pattern, which shows that the Sclavenes were perceived as a real threat. Justinian also tried to protect the Peloponnese from invasions by having a great wall built across the isthmus of Corinth, as the above-mentioned Byzantine historian also recorded, where forts and garrisons were built, so that all the cities in the peninsula remained inaccessible to the enemy, even if the defences of Thermopylae were forced. However, the construction did not stand up to the blows of nature and was demolished by an earthquake in 551, or perhaps by another one in 580, so that on the arrival of the Slavs there was nothing there but ruins. It is paradoxical that some Slavs apparently reached the Peloponnese crossing the Gulf of Corinth with their monoxyls, and not by land across the isthmus, as the emperor had anticipated. In comparative terms, the reign of Justin II was undoubtedly more opaque than that of his predecessor. However, this can be explained to a great extent by the latter’s legacy to the former: a powerful imperial conception, that it is true, led Justin to struggle to maintain Justinian I’s territorial legacy, but he also inherited a very extensive and scattered empire, threatened on all fronts and economically ruined. An austere and tight fiscal policy allowed the imperial coffers to recover temporarily towards the end of his rule, but by then his foreign policy had been shown to be completely misguided. Justinian had maintained a precarious balance with Persia through the payment of tributes, and he had done the same with the Avars on the Danubian frontier, although clearly at a lesser cost. Justin II, however, true to his regime of austerity, but with notable short-sightedness, suspended both payments, which in practice meant and open provocation of two dangerous enemies, although it is true that the tribute handed over to the Avars was considered by many Byzantines as a humiliation. In turn, the western part of the empire was becoming increasingly unstable. On one hand the Lombards rapidly entered Italy from 568 and seized a large part of it, while on the other hand the Visigoths began a counterattack that would finally lead them to oust the Byzantine troops stationed in the Iberian peninsula. Lastly, although the empire maintained its possessions in Africa, the Berber rebellions made the situation more precarious by the day, so much that even the prefect Theodore was assassinated, creating an unprecedented and totally outrageous situation. The disaster could have been worse if the emperor had not decided to withdraw and finally re-establish the payment of tribute to the Avars. Without being able to avoid the loss of Italy, and with the sensitive Danubian frontier in the hands of the ambitious Bayan, Khan of the Avars —controlled thanks to the gold— Justine committed a final error: he activated the eastern front against Persia, which, under Chosroes I (531-579), inflicted serious defeats on the Byzantine empire. Once again Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 59-82. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 67 08/06/2009 8:25:39 68 José Marín it has to be noted that the disaster could have been worse if the emperor had not fallen seriously ill, thereby in practice becoming unfit to govern, so that the regent empress Sophia was obliged to sign a peace treaty with Persia. The universalistic Justinian project that had seemed a dream come true, was reduced to an illusion. Tiberius II and Maurice ended the period of containment, and during their reigns the withdrawal began as a result of two constant and serious problems: multiplication of the fronts and the scarcity of human and economic resources to stabilise them. On the Balkan front —always “in the middle” and affected by the actions on the western or eastern fronts—, the case of Tiberius is telling: Although he was able to pacify Africa and recover the port of Classe di Ravenna, while also celebrating victories, —despite having to lament reversals on the Persian front—, his biggest headache was in the Danubian Limes. The intensification of Avar pressure and the occupation of Sirmium in 582 forced him to cede the city and pay tributes in arrears because of the conflict. Maurice, on his part, had to worry about the western front, which he stabilised by founding the exarchates, with a marked militarisation of the administration, a process that became more marked over the following decades. However, in the Iberian Peninsula he suffered irreversible territorial losses. The Persian front was a prime concern for his government, and in 592 he could manage to end to two decades of war, thanks to the peace treaty signed after the civil war that had afflicted the Sassanids in the years 590-591, and that resulted in the accession to the throne of Chosroes II (590-628), thanks to Byzantine help. Once the truce was signed, Maurice turned his gaze to the Balkans, which had been neglected and where the Avar-Slav penetration was advancing without any restrictions, so much so that they had occupied various cities and, confident in their power, demanded that the emperor increase the tribute agreed years before. The dispatch of troops under General Prisco succeeded in reducing the pressure of the barbarians on the empire. However, the serious economic situation led Maurice to take decisions that he would later regret. Part of his austerity policy meant reducing the army’s troop strength, which had already seriously affected morale. The final straw was the order that was given to stay on the other side of the Danube, in Avar territory, during the winter of the 602-603. Indignant, the army marched on Constantinople led by general Phocas who, after assassinating Maurice and those close to him, proclaimed himself emperor. The rebellion by general Phocas (602-610), whose government was a complete disaster, has often been considered to be the moment when the Danubian frontier was practically left to its own devices. However, as Florin Curta3 has recently demonstrated, there is no evidence that the Limes was completely abandoned nor is there any record of incursions by Avars or Slavs between 602 and 610. In fact, the collapse of the frontier came about during the rule of Heraclius (610-641), who from 620 had to transfer his troops and concentrate his forces in the east, where the 3. Curta, Florin. The Making of the Slavs. History and Archéology of the Lower Danube Region, c. 500-700 A.D. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006; Curta, Florin. Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages. 5001250. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 59-82. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 68 08/06/2009 8:25:40 Byzantium and the dark ages. A civilization on trial 69 war had worsened alarmingly. The transfer of troops to the Persian front coincided precisely with the increase in the Slav incursions south of the Danube, which, as shown by the archaeology, went ever deeper. As might be appreciated, the Balkan problem was always a secondary preoccupation for the emperors, who favoured the defence of the eastern front. As well as being a question of political will, the economic problems did not allow a sufficiently large army to be raised to enable a large contingent to be left on the Danube while the problems with Persia or on the western front were being resolved. To the above-mentioned factor of military weakness was added another geographic one. The region of the Balkans, on account of its essentially mountainous relief, (Balkan is a Turkish word meaning “mountainous chain”), is a zone whose defence presents great problems. Thus, the Empire could not avoid a large part of Balkan territory falling into the hands of the Slavs during the 7th century. This escaped Byzantine control with the constitution of the esclavinias, territories occupied by independent Slavonic tribes, that remained outside imperial jurisdiction (although from Justinian II (685-695) onwards the esclavinias were recognised as autonomous (but tributaries), these never constituted a sovereign power or a state, which gave the Empire the opportunity to integrate them into its political orbit, thus maintaining the fiction of universal Byzantine sovereignty). The above-mentioned revolt by Phocas, and the anarchy that followed it, together with the passivity of Heraclius, who after a decade of inactivity concentrated on the eastern front, contributing to worsening the situation, given that the internal crisis, together with the total abandonment of the positions on the Danube, was exploited by the Slavs, who poured into the Balkans. Thus, at the beginning of the 7th century, the ethnic and political make-up of the Balkans had varied considerably, and it was perhaps the greatest change that the peninsula has suffered until this moment. A predominantly Hellenic population turned into one with a numerous Slavonic component; an organisation centralised around Constantinople became a tribal diversity based on blood ties, with an agricultural and pastoral economy; the population changed from urban to rural and dispersed. A kind of Sclavinia that maintained its autonomy for a long time was also formed on the Peloponnesian peninsula. Since then the dark ages began —such as the English historiography rightly calls it— in the Balkans in particular, and in Byzantium in general, a situation that will be dealt with on the following pages. 4. The difficult times From the 7th century, and up to the beginnings of the 9th century, Byzantine civilization suffered a turbulent, dark epoch, during its very existence came under threat. The impact of Avars and especially Slavs who, taking advantage of the mili- Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 59-82. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 69 08/06/2009 8:25:41 70 José Marín tary weakness of the Empire as well as its internal problems, managed to cross the Danubian Limes to settle in the Balkans; the ruinous war against Persia on the eastern front, where most of the Byzantine army was concentrated, meant neglecting the western front; and the Muslim expansion that took place in the Middle East and the north of Africa at the expense of Byzantine provinces; all of these were, grosso modo, the external threats that the Empire had to face. The great danger that the Avar presence represented for the Byzantine Empire at a critical moment such as the second decade of government by the emperor Heraclius, becomes evident when we remember the expedition in 626 when, in connivance with the Persians, they besieged the city of Constantinople. In the absence of the emperor, the patriarch Sergius I (610-638) organised the defence of the capital and raised the morale of the population, kindling religious fervour and infusing them with the will to resist the siege. Litanies were chanted and hands raised towards heaven in prayer, while the Virgin Mary was invoked as the preferred intercessor before Jesus Christ. Admirably, the Avars abandoned the site. Such a victory can be explained easily, not only through the Avars’ lack of adequate siege techniques to assault a walled city like Constantinople, but also by the timely arrival of military reinforcements. However, and this says a lot about Byzantine mentality, rather than rely on the city’s natural or military defences, the citizens of Constantinople trusted in the supernatural defence of a capital to which they attributed a trascendent destiny. In fact, as J. Haldon states, such an emphasis also implied a loss of confidence in the traditional symbols of power. The belief in the celestial protection found eloquent expression in the hymn Akathistos, composed in the 5th century, but whose preface, in which the Virgin Mary is invoked as “invicta estratega”, is attributed to the patriarch Sergio, who would have written it shortly after the Avar siege, in order to celebrate such a magnificent and miraculous victory (against enemies who were compared to the old adversaries of Israel, as if Constantinople were a New Jerusalem). That year of 626 was decisive not only for Byzantium, but also for the future of the other two empires in conflict. It marked the beginning of the decline of Persia, while the Avar danger disappeared over the Byzantine horizon. The weakness of the Avars, exemplified by the settling of Serbs and Croats in the Balkans, is an interesting point in itself, but one that strays beyond the present purpose, so let us then return to the general situation of the empire. The situation that had reached tragic dimensions in the 7th century (such that the Empire, threatened on all its frontiers, seemed about to perish), also marked an era not only of territorial changes, but also of political orientation, with a marked tendency towards the militarisation of the administration. In those regions where the imperial dominion was restored, a thema or themata was created, that is, a province governed by an estratega in whose hands the civil and military power was concentrated, and whose mission consisted of ensuring the submission of the region, administering it and protecting it from new dangers. Moreover, each thema had a detachment of soldiers, the stratiotas, who were installed as settlers on lands handed over in exchange for defending them. Thus, these soldier-settlers made sovereignty Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 59-82. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 70 08/06/2009 8:25:42 Byzantium and the dark ages. A civilization on trial 71 inhabiting, defending, cultivating and paying their taxes, as this was a civil-military measure that had far-reaching socio-economic repercussions. The word thema originally designated a military body, but would later come to designate a territorial division, a change that came about between the end of the 7th century and beginning of the 8th. The characteristic 10th-century organization of the Empire in themata, a puzzle still not completely resolved in the historiography, had its origin, according to some, in the reforms of Heraclius and, according to others, in the exceptional union of civil and military power under Justinian and the later creation of the exarchate under the emperor Maurice. Whatever the truth, these “advanced provinces” were key elements in the Byzantine recovery that began in the early decades of the 9th century. Precisely one of the keys for the imperial recovery during the epoch of the Macedonian dynasty was the protection of the minor free peasantry, whose origin is associated with the constitution of the themas. The loss of a great part of the Balkans to the Slavs, Serbs, Croats and Bulgars meant that the Greek east and the Latin west turned their backs on each other, mutually ignoring each other. The peninsula, having been a bridge, now became an abyss. There were three landmarks in this process: the exaltation of Pippin as king of the Franks in 751, the imperial coronation of Charlemagne in 800, and the more famous than effective schism of Photius in the second half of the 9th century. This crisis of Byzantium was part of a global process that affected the entire Mediterranean. While it was a deepening of changes that had been brewing for the Latin west, in the Greek-Byzantine east it was practically the end of the old epoch and the beginning of the Greek Middle Ages: an ecumenical Latin empire became an eastern Greek empire, a Catholic world was gradually transformed into an orthodox Christian one. The concept of the “Great Breach of Hellenism” that Dionýsios Zakythinós4 coined for the Greek case, therefore seems appropriate, given that it expresses very well the change, which took place between the 7th and 9th centuries, putting an end to ancient Hellenism which gave way to medieval Hellenism, i.e. Byzantine, Hellenism. The migrations of barbarian peoples signalled the end of one stage and the beginning of another. Moreover, the global impact that this external situation provoked was not negligible. This included demographic contraction, migratory movements, such as Greeks from Egypt, Syria and Palestine who left their land to move to Anatolia or further away to Sicily; or inhabitants of the Balkans, who fled to the islands or the south of Italy; and the depopulation of some cities and the destruction of others with the consequent ruralisation and dispersion of the population. All of this contributed to a serious economic crisis resulting from both the abandonment of fields and the loss of rich provinces, it was the case with Egypt, and the consequent reduction in manpower and the interruption of important routes, both overland and maritime. 4. Zakythinós, Dionýsios A. “La Grande Brèche dans la tradition historique de l’hellénisme du Septième au Neuvième siècle”, Xαριστήεριον είς Άναστάσιον Κ. Όρλάνδον. Δημοσίευμα τη̃ς έν Άθήναις Άρχαιολογικη̃ς Έ ̉ ταιρείας. Athens: 1966: III, 300-327; Byzance: Etat-economie-Société. London : Variorum Reprints, 1973: VIII. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 59-82. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 71 08/06/2009 8:25:43 72 José Marín From the demographic point of view, there was a drop in population, caused both by the violence of the barbarian invaders and the flight from their assault, as well as ruralisation and dispersion, on account of which the already damaged urban structure of the Empire, especially in the Balkans, definitly fell apart. The kastron, a new urban system more in accordance with the needs of the times, together with the new administrative organization centred on the themes, replaced the old one inherited from Rome. In fact, the archaeological findings show that the process of change in the urban structure had already begun in the 6th century, before the impact of Avars and Slavs, but it got deeper later. The Byzantine thalassocracy had to face the competition of the newly-born Islamic empire, which would soon come to threaten Byzantium and its control of the Mediterranean. Before the 7th century Constantinople ruled the sea routes along the axis from the Crimea in the east to the Pillars of Hercules in the west, with full naval, commercial and military control, and with the political influence that such a situation naturally implied. Later, Byzantium had to resign itself to the maritime control of the Black Sea —Aegean Sea axis, thus reducing its commercial flow, together with its political presence in the western Mediterranean. It is symptomatic that the high points of the Byzantine Empire coincide with the periods of maritime domination and, in fact, when Byzantium turned its back on the sea, the decline was inevitable. Thus, the unity of the ancient world had split forever. 5. The Great Breach, crisis or transformation? The political, social, economic, religious, and linguistic changes that brought about the crisis of the 7th century implied the end of an era that, rooted in Antiquity, was at the same time the foundation for a new epoch. It was not a terminal crisis, but rather a starting crisis. It seems that the debatable (and debated) thesis by Henri Pirenne5 was fulfilled, mutatis mutandis, in the case of the eastern Mediterranean. In line with the Belgian historian’s proposals, Antiquity, personified by the Romania, extended beyond the 5th century, when the western Roman Empire collapsed politically, that is, the structure of the Romania survived historically practically unchanged, a hypothesis that, although not reflecting the reality of the Latin west, does so to some extent with regard to the eastern reality, as shown in our preceding approach. Pirenne’s error, in this case, lies in not having emphasised enough the case of Byzantium, where he would have found some “positive”, not merely theoretical, evidence more in line with his thesis. The critical century, which somehow coincided with Pirenne’s approach, was the time between 650 and 750, when east and west were separated for good by the emergence of the Muslim world as a new power in the Mediterranean, to which we have to add the Slavonic “wedge” in the 5. Pirenne, Henri. Mahoma y Carlomagno, trans. Esther Benítez. Madrid: Alianza, 1981. (Paris: F. Alcan, 1937; Bruxelles: Nouvelle société d’éditions, 1937). Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 59-82. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 72 08/06/2009 8:25:44 Byzantium and the dark ages. A civilization on trial 73 Balkans, which interrupted communications between east and west, such as the road network based around the via Egnatia, which was completely broken up. The importance of the 7th century for world history in general, and for Byzantine history in particular, has also been emphasised by professor Héctor Herrera Cajas6, only this time with a more general vision that includes, together with Byzantium and the Islamic world, the Persian Sassanid Empire in the east, and the power of the Avars (as well as the Serbs, Slavs, Croats and Bulgars) in the west. In fact, it should be recognised, to put the historical processes in their true perspective, that a single explanation is misleading, given that many of the protagonists are linked, in one way or another, to the Byzantine Empire. Once the problem has been framed from a “universal” point of view, it is possible to refer more coherently to the specific processes, such as ethnic changes, mutations in urban life or fluctuations in the imperial frontiers. Dionýsios Zakythinós highlighted this by studying a specific but representative case (Greece), placing it within a global framework. According to this author, between the seventh and ninth centuries, the old Hellas experienced a period of darkness, crisis and change; it was the death of Greco-Roman Antiquity and the beginning of what we might call the Greek Middle Ages. He states: From the mid 7th century and until the middle of the 9th, the history of Greece shows a period of decline; the evidence from the sources about this classical land of glorious reminiscences becomes rare and imprecise; no monument was erected, no literary manuscript came from this region where writing represented the subtlest works of human thought; there are very few and debatable archaeological vestiges; a few inscriptions, some humble graffiti, have been conserved; coins and seals are rare7 It was the end of a monumental and artistic era that, for the Greeks, dated back without a break to Classical Antiquity. The archaeological and artistic-architectural evidence, where it exists, constitutes clear proof that the flame of civilization seemed to turn off, and turn into little more than an ember that, when winds of change blew in from the Imperial capital at the end of the 8th century and beginning of the 9th, it was rekindled to cast a new light, no less brilliant, although different than the previous one. For Dionýsios Zakythinós this was the abyss, the “Great Breach”, that separated two well-defined historical landscapes: from the architectural point of view, for example, it was the end of the era of the Palaeo-Christian basilica and the beginning of the era of the cruciform church, in the same way that, in the urban context, the magnificent Hellenic city was replaced by the Byzantine kastron with its marked military character.8 6. Herrera, Héctor. Dimensiones de la Cultura Bizantina. Arte, Poder y Legado Histórico. Santiago de Chile: Centro de Estudios Bizantinos de la Universidad de Chile - Universidad Gabriela Mistral, 1998; Herrera, Héctor. Las relaciones Internacionales del Imperio Bizantino durante la época de las grandes invasiones. Santiago de Chile: Ediciones del Centro de Estudios Bizantinos y Neohelénicas de la Universidad de Chile, 1972. 7. Zakythinós, Dionýsios A. “La Grande Brèche dans la tradition historique...”: 300. 8. Zakythinós, Dionýsios A. “La Grande Brèche dans la tradition historique…”. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 59-82. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 73 08/06/2009 8:25:45 74 José Marín In the Balkans, the phenomenon could be explained by the Avar-Slavonic and Bulgar invasions that undoubtedly affected the Hellenic population deeply. However, this would minimise and simplify a more complex processes. The Balkan problem should really be considered as part of the Byzantine crisis, and this, in turn, cannot be understood if it is not included within a wider Mediterranean crisis. The AvarSlavonic invasions, the earthquakes, epidemics and famines, or the Iconoclasm Controversy, were more or less local phenomena that do not suffice to explain the full picture. The precarious balance was disrupted by the Muslim expansion (a result of Persian and Byzantine weakness), creating a commotion on a “universal” scale. For Zakythinós, the seventeenth of September 642 is a symbolic date, being the day when Alexandria fell into Muslim hands. The ideal that its founder had incorporated into the history of the Greco-Roman Civilization almost a millennium earlier, fell with the city.9 Thanks to the studies published in the last ten years, it is possible to explain the image that has forged the historiography of the Balkans, based on fragmentary documentation. The archaeology has demonstrated that the Balkans never completely escaped from Byzantine control, and the Peloponnese even less so. Thus the works by Anna Avramea10 about the Peloponnese, or by Florin Curta11 on the Slavs and the Greek dark ages, offer us new perspectives of analysis, questioning the almost total transformation of the Empire, placing the emphasis on elements of continuity, and minimising or varying, —depending on the case —the pattern outlined until now. The “Great Breach” should be seen as a gradual process of changes rather than an abrupt rupture between one period and another. Dionýsios Zakythinós apparently identified the problem and its principal variables well, but exaggerated it. Despite this, the concept of the “Great Breach” is a valuable one. Andreas Stratos12, a Byzantist who studied the 7th century with great interest, stated that this was a “truly grave” epoch for the Empire, a “crucial century”, in which “the very existence of Byzantium was fought over”, which was achieved, to an extent, as George Ostrogorsky13 states, by abandoning the “Roman dream” to face the reality. Both visions coincide with the one that has been analysed above. Only Paul Lemerle14 doubts that it was a crisis, specifying that it was rather 9. Zakythinós, Dionýsios A. “La Grande Brèche dans la tradition historique…”. 10. Avramea, Anna. Le Péloponnèse du IVe au VIIIe siècle. Changements et persistentes. Paris: Publications de la Sorbonne, 1997. 11. Curta, Florin. “Byzantium in Dark-Age Greece (the numismatic evidence in its Balkan context)”. Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies, 29/2 (2005): 113-146; Curta, Florin. The Making of the Slavs. History and Archéology of the Lower Danube Region, c. 500-700 A.D. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006; Curta, Florin. Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages. 500-1250. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. 12. Stratos, Andreas N. Studies in 7th-Century Byzantine Political History. London: Variorum Reprints, 1983. 13. Ostrogorsky, George. “Byzantine cities in the early Middle Ages”. Dumbarton Oaks Papers, 13 (1959): 45-66; Ostrogorsky, George. “The Byzantine Empire in the world of the Seventh Century”. Dumbarton Oaks Papers, 13 (1959): 1-21; Ostrogorsky, George. History of the Byzantine State, trans. Joan Hussey. New Brunswick: Rutgers U. Press, 1957. (Munich: Beck, 1940). 14. Lemerle, Paul. “Les repercusions de la crise de l’Empire d’Orient au VIIe siècle sur les pays d’ Occident”; Caratteri del secolo VII in Occidente : 23-29 aprile, 1957. V Settimane di Studi Sull’Alto Medioevo. Spoleto: Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 59-82. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 74 08/06/2009 8:25:46 Byzantium and the dark ages. A civilization on trial 75 a period of transformations —which would also be in line with the thoughts of John Haldon15— during which the axis of the Empire moved towards the east. Thus, the position of Zakythinós is doubtful. He indicates that it was a political, economic, social and spiritual crisis, concluding that “situated over the Great Schism, what I see is the ruin of universal Hellenism”. If, on the other hand, in line with H. Herrera,16 we understand a crisis as a period of deep questioning that demands committed, compromising and rational responses, born from a spirit tempered in the tremendously historical act of living through a crisis, responses that once updated would lead to a transformation (radical or not) of a specific historical entity, any discussion framed in such terms seems pointless. It seems more important, and more complex, to determine whether it was a crisis that led to a transformation, or vice-versa. With regard to the supposed decline, this happens when a civilization appears incapable of overcoming reiterated and acute crises; in my opinion, the Byzantine renovation of the 9th century shows that the Empire knew how to find the right answers, thus avoiding decadence. We are probably facing speculative images from behind which a historical reality peers out (perhaps forcing an ironic smile), a reality of such complexity that it involves all these aspects. Whatever it is, what we can observe clearly is that Byzantine civilization not only managed to survive a difficult epoch with the adequate historical responses, but it also reinvigorated its Hellenic roots. Byzantium knew how to gain a prosperous future. 6. Bibliographical Overview We did not wish to load this article with excessive notes, which would have been very numerous; we are, however, indebted to an important bibliography, from which we ought to highlight some titles, which the reader will also find listed at the end of this brief commentary. Without delaying on the primary sources (which are well-known, i.e. Procopius17, Menander18, John of Ephesus19, Theophanes20, Centro di studi sull’Alto Medioevo, 1958: II, 713-731. 15.Haldon, John F. Byzantium in the Seventh Century. The transformation of a culture. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990). 16. Herrera Héctor. “El sentido de la crisis en Occidente”. Academia, 8 (1983): 70-78. 17. Procopius. The anecdota, or secret history, ed. H.B. Dewing. London-Massachussets: Heinemann-Harvard University Press, 1960. 18. Menander. The history of Menander the Guardsman, ed. R.C. Blockley. Liverpool: Cairns, 1985. 19. Bishop of Ephesus, John. The third part of the ecclesiastical history of John, Bishop of Ephesus, ed. M. A. R. Payne Smith. Oxford: university Press, 1860. 20. The Confessor, Theophanes. The chronicle of Theophanes Confessor: Byzantine and Near Eastern history, A.D. 284-813, eds. Cyril Mango, Roger Scott. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1997. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 59-82. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 75 08/06/2009 8:25:47 76 José Marín Theophylaktos Simokates21, the anonymous Miracles of Saint Demetrius22, or the Chronicle of Monemvasía23 and apart from the traditional manuals of Louis Bréhier24, Fotios Malleros25, Alexander A. Vasiliev26, Dimitri Obolensky27 or George Ostrogorsky28, some recent works must be mentioned, such as the very exhaustive work by Warren Treadgold29, unique in its class in decades of Byzantology, which together with a detailed historical description provides us with an update from the historiographical point of view, which converts this work into an essential reference manual for today. It is important to highlight the collection of essays edited by Michael Maas30 and dedicated to the epoch of Justinian, which is analysed from various points of view. Florin Curta’s31 contributions are both interesting and original, both his book about the invention of the Slavs, which presents a vision that incorporates anthropology and archaeology into historical analysis, and in his latest book about the history of south-eastern Europe in the Middle Ages, whose second chapter is dedicated, justifiably, to the “dark ages”, a subject which the author knows in great depth. In order to approach the principal characteristics of the 7th century, beginning with the excellent synthesis of the period that extends from Justinian to Heraclius, the book by John Haldon32 is very useful. It not only includes good narration, but also introduces the different positions of historians with regard to certain problems, such as the origin of the themata. For a synthetic vision of the 21. Simocatta, Theophylactus. The history of Theophylact Simocatta: an english translation with introduction and notes, eds. Michael Whitby, Mary Whitby. Oxford: Clarendon Press for Sandpiper Books, 1997. 22. Les Plus anciens recueils des miracles de saint Démétrius: et la pénétration des slaves dans les Balkans, ed. Paul Lemerle. Paris: éditions du Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1979. 23. Cronaca di Monemvasia, ed. Ivan Dujcev. Palermo: istituto Siciliano Studi Bizantini, 1976 among the more relevant. 24. Bréhier, Louis. El Mundo Bizantino. Vida y Muerte de Bizancio, trans. José Almoina. México D.F.: UTEHA, 1956. 25. Malleros, Fotios. El Imperio Bizantino 395-1204. Santiago de Chile: Editorial Jurídica de Chile, 1951. 26. Vasiliev, Alexander Alexandrovich. History of the Bizantine Empire 323-1453. Madison-Milwaukee: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1964. 27. Obolensky, Dimitri. The Byzantine Commonwealth. Eastern Europe 500-1453. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1971. 28. Ostrogorsky, George. Geschichte des byzantinischen Staates. Munich: C.H. Beck, 1940. 29. Treadgold, Warren. A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1997. 30. Mass, Michael, ed. The Age of Justinian. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005. 31. Curta, Florin. The Making of the Slavs. History and Archeology of the Lower Danube Region, c. 500-700 A.D. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001; Curta, Florin. Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages. 5001250. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. 32. Haldon, John F. Byzantium in the Seventh Century. The transformation of a culture. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 59-82. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 76 08/06/2009 8:25:48 Byzantium and the dark ages. A civilization on trial 77 general situation of the Mediterranean world at the beginning of the 7th century, see the articles by Héctor Herrera33 and George Ostrogorsky34. For the study of the Avars and Slavs in the Balkans and the Peloponnesus, there is an extensive bibliography. For the latter case let me highlight first the work by Antoine Bon35, a pioneer in the study of the peninsula, and second, because it updates the state of the question, the book by Anna Avramea36, which contains invaluable archaeological information. With regard to the Avars and Slavs, apart from the classic book by Francis Dvornik37, the articles by Ivan Dujev38 in Medioevo ByzantineSlavo, which deals with various themes, are essential reading, although it is true that some of his statements are now disputable. The above-mentioned book by Florin Curta39 is a valuable updated complement. With regard to the changes that took place in Byzantium in the “dark ages”, together with the study by Anna Avramea and Florin Curta on the archaeological aspect, it is essential to consult The Economic History of Byzantium, edited by Angeliki Laiou40, which contains relevant information about commercial exchanges, the numismatic findings or road networks, among other themes. Peter Charanis41, some of whose articles are reprinted in a collection, dedicates various works to the situation in the Balkans, delving into the archaeological evidence, the documentary sources or the demographic problems, especially the population movements that occurred during the period in question. Although Peter Charanis is somehow vehement in his positions, some of which are debatable, there is no doubt about the seriousness with which he studied these themes, always searching for a full validation for the controversial sources for the study of the Peloponnese in the Middle Ages: the Chronicle of Monemvasia. Dionýsios Zakythinós42 has the merit of having incorporated the concept of “the Historical Schism”, taken from German historiography, that explains very well 33. Herrera, Héctor. “Dagoberto y Heraclio. Un capítulo de Historia Diplomática”. Byzantion Nea Hellás, 2 (1971): 135-151. 34. Ostrogorsky, George. “The Byzantine Empire in the World of the Seventh Century”. Dumbarton Oaks Papers, 13 (1959): 1-21. 35. Bon, Antoine. Le Péloponnese Byzantin jusqu’au 1204. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1951. 36. Avramea, Anna. Le Péloponnèse du IVe au VIIIe siècle. Changements et persistences. Paris: Publications de la Sorbonne, 1997. 37. Dvornik, Francis. Les Slaves. Histoire et civilisation de l’ Antiquité aux débuts de l’ Époque Contemporaine, trans. Danielle Pavlesky, Maroussia Chpolyansky. Paris: édition du Seuil, 1970. (Boston: American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1956). 38. Dujev, Ivan. Medioevo Bizantino-Slavo, Storia e Letteratura.1. Saggi di Storia Politica e Cultural. Roma: Edizione di Storia e Letteratura, 1965. 39. Curta, Florin. The Making of the Slavs. History and Archéology of the Lower Danube Region, c. 500-700 A.D. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001. 40. The Economic History of Byzantium. From the Seventh through the Fifteenth Century, 3 vol., Angeliki E. Laiou, ed. Washington D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and collection, 2002. 41. Charanis, Peter. Studies on the demography of the Byzantine Empire. London: Variorum Reprints, 1972. 42. Zakythinós, Dionýsios A. “La Grande Brèche dans la tradition historique de l’hellénisme du Septième au Neuvième siècle”... Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 59-82. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 77 08/06/2009 8:25:49 78 José Marín the material, intellectual and spiritual conditions of Greek and Byzantine history from the 7th to the 9th centuries. To his articles, cited below, should be added some interesting works by Andreas Stratos43, published in a volume in the Variorum Reprints collection. The value of Stratos’ work lies in that, first of all, he dared to study a crucial period in the history of Byzantium which, paradoxically, has been little studied, and second, he analyses the scarce sources available for the period with erudition and perspicacity, drawing interesting conclusions. For a discussion about whether the epoch in question was one of crisis or transformation, the theoretical work of Héctor Herrera44 has been of great use and has served to challenge the ideas of Paul Lemerle45. Bibliographical appendix Ahrweiler, Hélène. “La Frontière et les frontières de Byzance en Orient”. Actes du XIVe Congrès International des Etudes Byzantines (Bucarest, 6-12 septembre 1971), Mihai Berza, Eugen Stnescu, dirs. Bucarest: Editura Academiei Republicii Socialiste România, 1974 : I, 209-230 ; Byzance: les pays et les territoires. London: Variorum Reprints, 1976: IV/209-230. Andréadès, Andreas M. Histoire Economique et Financière de la Grèce. Athens: Faculté du Droit de l’Université d’Athènes, 1958. Avramea, Anna. Le Péloponnèse du IVe au VIIIe siècle. Changements et persistences. Paris: Publications de la Sorbonne, 1997. Baynes, Norman Hepburn; Moss, Henry St. Lawrence Beaufort. Byzantium. An Introduction to East Roman Empire. Oxford: the Clarendon Press, 1962 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1948). Baynes, Norman Hepburn. El Imperio Bizantino, trans. María Luisa Diez-Canedo, Francisco Giner de los Ríos. México D.F.: Fondo de Cultura Económica, 1985. (primera edición, London: Williams & Norgate, 1925). Bogdan, Henry. La Historia de los países del Este, trans. Amanda Fons. Buenos Aires: Javier Vergara, 1991. (Paris: Perrin, 1990). Bon, Antoine. Le Péloponnese Byzantin jusqu’ au 1204. Paris : Presses Universitaires de France, 1951. Bréhier, Louis. El Mundo Bizantino. Vida y Muerte de Bizancio, trans. José Almoina. México D.F.: UTEHA, 1956. Carpenter, Rhys. Discontinuity in Greek Civilization. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1966. 43. Stratos, Andreas N. Studies in 7th-Century Byzantine Political History. London: Variorum Reprints, 1983. 44. Herrera, Héctor.“El sentido de la crisis en Occidente”. Academia, 8 (1983): 70-78. 45. Lemerle, Paul. “Les repercusions de la crise de l’Empire d’Orient au VIIe siècle sur les pays d’ Occident”. Caratteri del secolo VII in Occidente : 23-29 aprile, 1957. V Settimane di Studi Sull’Alto Medioevo. Spoleto: Centro di studi sull’Alto Medioevo, 1958: II, 713-731. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 59-82. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 78 08/06/2009 8:25:50 Byzantium and the dark ages. A civilization on trial 79 Castellán, Angel A. “Proposiciones para un análisis crítico del problema de la periodificación histórica”. Anales de Historia Antigua y Medieval, 8 (1957-1958): 7-48. Charanis, Peter. “The transfer of population as a policy in the Byzantine Empire”. Comparative Studies in Society and History, 3/2 (January, 1961): 140-154. Charanis, Peter. “Ethnic changes in the Byzantine Empire in the Seventh Century”. Dumbarton Oaks Papers, 13 (1959): 23-44. Charanis, Peter. “The Chronicle of Monemvasia and the question of the slavonic settlements in Greece”. Dumbarton Oaks Papers, 5 (1950): 140-166. Charanis, Peter. “On the question of the hellenization of Sicily and Southern Italy during the Middle Ages”. The American Historical review, LII/I (1946): 74-86. Charanis, Peter. “On the Slavic Sttlements in the Peloponnesus”. Byzantinische Zeitschrift, 46 (1946): 91-103. Charanis, Peter. “On the question of the Slavonic Settlements in Greece during the Middle Ages”. Byzantinoslavica, X (1949): 254-258. Charanis, Peter. “The significance of coins as evidence for the history of Athens and Corinth in the Seventh and Eigth Centuries”. Historia. Zeitschrift für alte Geschichte, IV/2-3 (1955): 163-172. Charanis, Peter. “Nicephorus I, the Saviour of Greece from the Slavs (810 A.D.)”. Byzantina-Metabyzantina, I/I (1946): 75-92. Charanis, Peter. Studies on the demography of the Byzantine Empire. London: Variorum Reprints, 1972. Curta, Florin. “Introduction”, East Central and Eastern Europe in the Early Middle Ages. Florin Curta, ed. Michigan: Ann Arbor, 2005: 1-38. Curta, Florin. “Byzantium in Dark-Age Greece (the numismatic evidence in its Balkan context)”. Byzantine and Modern Greek Studies, 29/2 (2005): 113-146. Curta, Florin. The Making of the Slavs. History and Archéology of the Lower Danube Region, c. 500-700 A.D. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001. Curta, Florin. Southeastern Europe in the Middle Ages. 500-1250. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2006. Ducellier, Alain; Kaplan, Michel; Martin, Bernadette. El Cercano Oriente Medieval, trans. Eduardo Bajo. Madrid: Akal, 1998. (Paris: Hachette, 1978). Dujev, Ivan. “Bisanzio e i1 mondo slavo”, Centri e vie di irradiazione della civilità nell’alto Medieoveo: 18-23 aprile, 1963. XI Settimane di Studi Sull’Alto Medioevo. Spoleto: Centro Italiano di studi sull’Alto Medioevo, 1964: 3-22. Dujev, Ivan. “Il mondo slavo e la Persia nell’ Alto Medioevo”, Atti del Convegno internazionale sul tema “La Persia e i1 mondo Grecorromano”. Roma: Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei (Atii della Accademia nazionale dei Lincei. Memoriae della Classe di Scienze morali, storiche e filologiche, quaderno 76), 1966: 321-424. Dujev, Ivan. “L’arrivo dei popoli slavi e le sue conseguenze”, Popoli e paesi nella cultura altomedievale: 23-29 aprile 1981. XXIX Settimane di Studi Sull’Alto Medioevo. Spoleto: Centro Italiano di studi sull’Alto Medioevo, 1983: I, 131-152. Dujev, Ivan. Medioevo Bizantino-Slavo, Storia e Letteratura. 1, Saggi di Storia Politica e Letteratura. Roma: Edizione di Storia e Letteratura, 1965. Dujev, Ivan. Medioevo Bizantino-Slavo, Storia e Letteratura. 2, Saggi di Storia Politica e Letteraria. Roma: Edizione di Storia e Letteratura, 1968. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 59-82. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 79 08/06/2009 8:25:51 80 José Marín Dvornik, Francis. Les Slaves. Histoire et civilisation de l’Antiquité aux débuts de l’Époque Contemporaine, trans. Danielle Pavlesky, Maroussia Chpolyanski. Paris: édition du Seuil, 1970. (Boston: American Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1956; New Brunswick, N. J.: Rutgers University Press, 1962). Ferluga, Jadran. “Gli slavi del sud ed altri gruppi etnici di fronte a Bisanzio”, Gli slavi occidentali e meridionali nell’Alto Medioevo: 15-21 aprile 1982. XXX, Settimane di Studi Sull’Alto Medioevo. Spoleto: Centro Italiano di studi sull’Alto Medioevo, 1983: I, 303-344. Finlay, George. A History of Greece from its conquest by the Romans to the Present time. B.C. 146 to A.D. 1864, Vol. IV: Mediaeval Greece and the Empire of Trebizond A.D. 1204 1461. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1877. García-Guijarro, Luis. “Justiniano y la romanidad oriental en el siglo VI”, Historia Universal de la Edad Media, Vicente Ángel Álvarez, ed. Barcelona: Ariel, 2002: 95-132. Gregorovius, Ferdinand. Roma y Atenas en la Edad Media, trans. Wenceslao Roces. México D.F.: Editorial Fondo de Cultura Económica, 1946. Grousset, René. L’Empire des Steppes. Attila. Gengis Khan. Tamerlan. Paris: Payot, 1952. Haldon, John F. Byzantium in the Seventh Century. The transformation of a culture. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1990). Hauptmann, L. “Les rapports des byzantines avec les slaves et les avares pendant la séconde moitié du VIe siècle”. Byzantion, 4 (1927-1928): 137-170. Herrera, Héctor. “Dagoberto y Heraclio. Un capítulo de Historia diplomática”. Byzantion Nea Hellás, 2 (1971): 135-151. Herrera, Héctor. “El sentido de la crisis en Occidente”. Academia, 8 (1983): 70-78. Herrera, Héctor. Dimensiones de la Cultura Bizantina. Arte, Poder y Legado Histórico. Santiago de Chile: Centro de Estudios Bizantinos de la Universidad de Chile - Universidad Gabriela Mistral, 1998. Herrera, Héctor. Las Relaciones Internacionales del Imperio Bizantino durante la época de las grandes invasiones. Santiago de Chile: Ediciones del Centro de Estudios Bizantinos y Neohelénicos de la Universidad de Chile, 1972. Jenkins, Romilly. Byzantium. The Imperial centuries. A.D. 610-1071. London: Wiedenfeld and Nicolson, 1966. Laiou, Angeliki, ed. The Economic History of Byzantium. From the Seventh through the Fifteenth Century, 3 volumes, Washington D.C.: Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and collection, 2002. Lemerle, Paul. “Invasions et migrations dans les Balkans dépuis la fin de l’ époque romain jusqu’ au VIIIe siècle”. Revue Historique, 211 (1954): 265-308. Lemerle, Paul. “Les repercusions de la crise de l’Empire d’Orient au VIIe siècle sur les pays d’ Occident”, Caratteri del secolo VII in Occidente : 23-29 aprile, 1957. V Settimane di Studi Sull’Alto Medioevo. Spoleto: Centro di studi sull’Alto Medioevo, 1958: II, 713-731. Lemerle, Paul. “Quelques remarques sur le règne d’Heraclius”. Studi Medievali, III/I (1960): 347-361. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 59-82. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 80 08/06/2009 8:25:52 Byzantium and the dark ages. A civilization on trial 81 Lewis, Archibald. “Mediterranean maritime commerce: A.D. 300-1100 Shipping and Trade”, La navigazione mediterranea nell’alto medioevo. XXV Settimane di Studi del Centro italiano di studi Sull’Alto Medioevo, 14-20 aprile 1977. Spoleto: Centro italiano di studi su’ll alto medioevo, 1978: II, 481-501. Maas, Michael, ed. The Age of Justinian. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2005. Malleros, Fotios. “¿Existe continuidad entre la Grecia clásica y la moderna?”. Byzantion Nea Hellás, 5 (1981): 199-228. Malleros, Fotios. El Imperio Bizantino 395-1204. Santiago de Chile: Ediciones del Centro de Estudios Bizantinos de la Universidad de Chile, 1987 (Santiago: Editorial Jurídica de Chile, 1951). Marín, José. “Croatas y Serbios en el De Administrando Imperio de Constantino VII Porphyrogénito”. Studia Croatica, XXXVII/130 (Marzo 1996): 24-45. Marín, José. Cruzada, Guerra Santa y Yihad. La Edad Media y Nosotros. Valparaíso: Ediciones de la Universidad Católica de Valparaíso, 2003. Musset, Lucien. “Entre deux vagues d’invasions: la progression slave dans l’histoire européenne du Haut Mayen Age”, Gli slavi occidentali e meridionali nell’Alto Medioevo: 15-21 aprile 1982. XXX, Settimane di Studi Sull’Alto Medioevo. Spoleto: Centro italiano di studi sull’Alto Medioevo, 1983: II, 978-1028. Musset, Lucien. Las invasiones. El Segundo Asalto contra la Europa Cristiana, trans. Juan Viñoly. Barcelona: Labor, 1968. Nystazópoulou-Pélekidou, Maria. “La cuestión macedónica”. Byzantion Nea Hellás, 11-12 (1993): 267-295. Nystazópoulou-Pélekidou, Maria. “Le sud-est de l’Europe et la Mediterranée au Moyen Age (les cadres géographiques et historiques)”, Communications Grecques presentées au VIe Congrès International des Etudes du Sud-Est Européen (Sofia: 30 Août - 5 Septembre 1989). Athens: Comité National Grec des Etudes du Sud-Est Européen-Centre d’Études du Sud-Est Européen, 1990: 455-469. Obolensky, Dimitri. Byzantium and the Slavs: collected studies. London: Variorum Reprints, 1971. Obolensky, Dimitri. The Byzantine Commonwealth. Eastern Europe 500-1453. London: Cardinal Ed., 1974 (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1971). Oikonomides, Nicholas. “The concept of Holy War and two Tenth-century Byzantine Ivories”, Peace and War in Byzantium: Essays in honor of George T. Dennos, Timothy S. Miller, John Nesbitt, eds. Washington D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press, 1995: 62-86. Okey, Robin. “Central Europe/Eastern Europe: Behind the Definitions”. Past and Present, 137 (November, 1992): 102-133. Ostrogorsky, George. “Byzantine cities in the early Middle Ages”. Dumbarton Oaks Papers, 13 (1959), 45-66. Ostrogorsky, George. “The Byzantine Empire in the world of the Seventh Century”. Dumbarton Oaks Papers, 13 (1959): 1-21. Ostrogorsky, George. History of the Byzantine State, trans. Joan Hussey. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1957. (Munich: Beck, 1940). Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 59-82. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 81 08/06/2009 8:25:53 82 José Marín Patoura-Hatzópoulos, Sofia. “L’oeuvre de reconstitution du limes Danubien à l’ époque de l’ empereur Justinien Premier”. Revue des Etudes Sud-Est Européennes, XVIII/1 (Janvier-Mars 1980): 95-109. Pirenne, Henri. Mahoma y Carlomagno, trans. Esther Benítez. Madrid: Alianza, 1981. (Paris: F. Alcan, 1937). Pritsak, Omeljan. “The Slavs and the Avars”, Gli slavi occidentali e meridionali nell’Alto Medioevo: 15-21 aprile 1982. XXX Settimane di Studi Sull’Alto Medioevo. Spoleto: Centro italiano di studi sull’Alto Medioevo, 1983: I, 353-432. Rajevi, Andrés. “Bizancio y la cristianización de los eslavos”. Byzantion Nea Hellás, 9-10 (1990): 239-273. Šari, Ljiljana. “Balkan Identity: Changing Self-Images of the South Slavs”. Journalof Multilingual and Multicultural development, 25/5-6 (2004): 389-407. Setton, Kenneth M. “The Bulgars in the Balkans and the occupation of Corinth in the Seventh Century”. Speculum, 25/24 (October 1950): 502-543. Spain Alexander, S. “Heraclius, Byzantine Imperial Ideology, and the David Plates”. Speculum, LII/2 (April 1977): 217-237. Stratos, Andreas N. Studies in 7th-Century Byzantine Political History. London: Variorum Reprints, 1983. Szádeczky-Kardoss, Samuel. “The Avars”, The Cambridge History of Early Inner Asia, Denis Sinor, ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994: 206-228. Treadgold, Warren. A History of the Byzantine State and Society. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1997. Vacalópoulos, Apostolos E. Origine of the Greek Nation. The Byzantine Period, 1204-1261, trans. I. Moles. New Jersey: Rutgers University Press, 1970. Vasiliev, Aleksand Alexandrovitch. History of the Byzantine Empire 323-1453. Madison-Milwaukee: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1964. Vasiliev, Aleksand Alexandrovitch. Justin the First. An Introduction to the epoch of Justinian the Great. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1950. Vilfan, Sergij. “La cristianizzazione delle campagne presso gli slavi del sud occidentali: organizzazione, resistenze, fondo sociale”, Cristianizzazione ed organizzazione ecclesiastica delle campagne nell’alto medioevo: espansione e resistenze: 10-16 aprile 1980. XXVIII Settimane di Studi Sull’Alto Medioevo. Spoleto: Centro italiano di studi sull’alto Medioevo,1981: II, 889-918. Vlasto, Alexis Peter. The entry of the Slavs into Christendom: an introduction to the medieval history of the slavs. London: Cambridge University Press, 1970. Zakythinós, Dionýsios A. “La Grande Brèche dans la tradition historique de l’hellénisme du Septième au Neuvième siècle”, Xαριστήεριον είς Άναστάσιον Κ. Όρλάνδον. Δημοσίευμα τη̃ς έν Άθήναις Άρχαιολογικη̃ς ̉Έταιρείας. Athens, 1966: III, 300-327; Zakythinós, Dionýsios A. Byzance: Etat-economie-Societé. London: Variorum Reprints, 1973 Zakythinós, Dionýsios A. “La ville byzantine”. Diskussionbeiträge zum XI Internationalem Byzantinisten Kongress, (1958): 75-90; Zakythinós, Dionýsios A. Byzance: Etateconomie-Societé. London: Variorum Reprints, 1973. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 59-82. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 82 08/06/2009 8:25:54 The andalusian economy in the times of Almanzor. Administrative theory and economic reality through juridical and geographic sources Francisco Franco-Sánchez Universitat d’Alacant Spain Date of reception: 22th of November, 2006 Final date of acceptance: 18th of December, 2007 Abstract A study of the economy of al-Andalus in epoch of Ibn Ab ‘mir, Almanzor, through the analysis of three related aspects: First, it is shown how the Kitb alamwl of the Maghrebin, ad-Dwd (d. 402 or 411/1011·2 or 1020·1) was a juridical treaty on administrative and economic topics and it was known and used in this epoch. Secondly, the functioning of the state granaries or alorines as storage centres for the legal taxes proceeding from agriculture is presented and they are presented as the functional heirs of the annona militaris of the Roman empire. Finally, the economic information about al-Andalus transmitted by the oriental geographers Ibn awqal and al-Muqaddas is shown in the shape of tables (both died after 378/988). Key words Economy, Al-Andalus, Caliphate, Ad-Dâwûd, Taxes. Capitalia verba Oeconomia, Arabica Hispania, Caliphae munus, Ad-Dâwûdi, Tributa. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 83-112. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 83 83 08/06/2009 8:25:54 84 Francisco Franco-Sánchez 1. Introduction Various studies have dealt with the economy of al-Andalus,1 but none of these has placed enough emphasis on the aspects related to the political economy of al-Andalus, a state with Islamic confessional roots (it could also be called a “superstructure”) that possessed a centralised economic administration, and that, depending on the strength of the central power and the moment, might in some cases be successful in this, while during many other periods it might be the regional and local dynamics that would take precedence in its economic evolution. In this sense, as an aside, it must be emphasised that in the epoch of Almanzor (who governed from 978-1002/367-392), the Andalusian economy was run according to clearly established and well-known legislation, some of whose treatises were already over a century old. But without needing to go back to oriental sources, there is a clear example of an economic treatise of which we know that it was known and followed in the al-Andalus Mlik. On the other hand, the aim was to show the economic reality of al-Andalus, as well as the regional economies, by means of a regulatory mechanism for the economy that was employed on numerous occasions by the powers that be to mitigate famines and guarantee social peace. This was the so-called alorines, an economic institution whose roots lie in the annona militaris of the Roman world, but which, according to the data available, contributed to mitigating famines in the caliphate of al-Andalus, and to enriching its administrators. Finally, we will consider the two most important contemporary oriental geographers in order to show the economic panorama that Ibn awqal-, and al-Muqaddas wished to portray in al-Andalus, a peninsula that they knew at first hand, precisely at the time when Ibn Ab ‘mir, better known as Almanzor, was beginning his rise to power. 1. See the valuable summary of the data by Chalmeta, Pedro. “An Approximate Picture of the Economy of al-Andalus”, The legacy of Muslim Spain, Salma Khadra Jayyusi, ed., chief consultant Manuela Marín. Leiden: ed. E. J. Brill, 1992: 741-758; other earlier studies that deal more specifically with the economy of al-Andalus in the 10th century are: Imamuddin, Sayyid Muhammad. The Economic History of Spain (under the Umayyads, 711-1031 A.D.). Dacca: Asiatic Society of Pakistan, 1963: XVII + 537. (This is the English publication of the thesis undertaken with the support of a grant from the Spanish government. He defended it in Madrid in 1956; reviewed by Martínez Montávez, Pedro. “La economía en la España omeya”. Hispania, XXV/99 (1965): 429-440); Arié, Rachel. “La vie économique dans l’Espagne musulmane”, Wirtschaftsgeschichte des Vorderen Orients in islamischer Zeit, Bertold Spuler, ed. Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1977: 239-254; Chalmeta, Pedro. “Sources pour l’histoire socio-économique d’al-Andalus: essai de systématisation et de bibliographie”. Annales Islamologiques, XX (1984): 1-14; Chalmeta, Pedro. “España musulmana. La sociedad andalusí. La economía. Instituciones”, Historia General de España y América. III. El fallido intento de un Estado Hispánico Musulmán (711-1085), Vicente-Ángel Álvarez Palenzuela, coord. Madrid: Ediciones Rialp, 1988: 459-543; Córdoba de la Llave, Ricardo. “Las actividades económicas”, Abdarrahman III y su época, Emilio Cabrera, coord. científico. Córdoba: Caja Provincial de Ahorros de Córdoba, 1991; and various notes about the economy and taxes can be found in: Vallvé, Joaquín. El califato de Córdoba. Madrid: Mapfre, 1992: 1-1351. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 83-112. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 84 08/06/2009 8:25:55 The andalusian economy in the times of Almanzor 85 Although their reports about al-Andalus have been classified as clearly biased (especially in the case of Ibn awqal), their works are of great interest because the authors had first-hand information which they refer to, and also because both contributed to creating the image of a rich and splendid al-Andalus in the Islamic world. 2. Relation between Islamic economic theory and real economic administration The mahab by al-Awz‘ (d. 157/774), and his rules regulated everything related to the division of booty in precise detail. His juridical doctrine, which aimed at a fair share of the land and property seized, was clearly the result of a society in expansion. But once the new Muslim state had been consolidated, a restructuring of the law became necessary, in consonance with a much more complex administration. These rules were developed in the first ‘Abbsid period, with works such as those by Ab Ysuf Ya‘qb Ibn Ibrhm al-Anr (d. 182/799): Kitb al- har; Yayà Ibn ˘ dam (d. 203/819): Kitb al- har; Ab ‘Ubayd al-Qsim Ibn Sallm (d. 224/839): ˘ Kitb al-amwl; Ab l-Far Qudma Ibn a‘far Ibn Qudma al-Ktib al-Badd (d. 320/932): Kitb al- har wa-in‘at al-kitba and Ab l-asan ‘Al al-Mward (364˘ 450/974-1058): Al-Akm as-sulnya.2 These works on political economics, or economic administration, demonstrate the long trajectory of the orient regarding its codification, but there were also notable examples of this in the Muslim west,3 such as the works by ad-Dwd and Ibn azm. Here, they appeared in the 4th/10th centuries out of the need to clarify the legality of property ownership, which was in turn the consequence of the need for restitution for the numerous injustices committed by the powerful, who had taken to pillaging and seizing lands to which they had no legitimate rights. Among these, the work of ad-Dwd stands out, for which there is firm evidence, based on real casuistry, that it was used in al-Andalus and that its influence stretched beyond the final epoch of the Umayyad caliphate.4 2. Other later works must be added to these, such as those by Ibn al-Farr’ (d. 458/1066). Al-Akm assul nya; Ab l-Fara ‘Abd ar-Ramn Ibn Raab al-anbal (d. 795/1393). Kitb al-istihr li-akm al˘ har to mention only the most important treatises. Among the works on economic material it is basic to consult the work Taxation in Islam, ed. A. Ben-Shemesh. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1965-1969, 3 vols., as well as the article by Chalmeta, Pedro. “Una obra de ‘materia económica’: ‘el Kitb fi’at al-amwl de al-Dwd’”, Actas del IV Coloquio Hispano-Tunecino (Palma de Mallorca, octubre a noviembre de 1979). Madrid: Instituto Hispano-Arabe de Cultura, 1983: 63-78. 3. Add to the work by ad-Dwd the epistle by Ibn azm (384-455/994-1063). Rislat at-talh li-wuh at-tahl, a work written later in 426/1035. Edition and partial translation by Asín Palacios, ˘Miguel.“Un ˘ inexplorado del cordobés Ibn azm”. Al-Andalus, II (1934): 1-56. códice 4. With regard to the importance of the work by ad-Dwd, it is cited as a source by Ab l-Wald Muammad Ibn Rušd al-Qurub (450-520/1058-1126). Kitb al-Muqaddimt li-aw’il kutub al Mudaw- Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 83-112. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 85 08/06/2009 8:25:56 86 Francisco Franco-Sánchez Ab a‘far Amad Ibn Nar ad-Dwd (or ad-D’d) al-Mlik al-Asad (d. 402 or 411/1011·2 or 1020·1), according to the q ‘Iyd, was a faqh (doctor of Muslim ˘ law) from Masla (others say that he was from Biskra) who lived in Tripoli in Libya (where he composed his commentary about the Kitb al-Muwaa’), later moving to Tremecén, where he died in 402 (although some locate his death in 411). His biographers agree that he was an outstanding Maghrebin Mlik scholar, a virtuous faqh, a precise, admirable and fecund polygraph, and a gifted linguist, expert in adt and speculative science and also a kind man.5 He was a disciple of Ab Isq Ibrhm Ibn ‘Abd Allh az-Zubayd al-Qalnis (d. 359/969), and Ab ‘Abd al-Mlik Marwn al-Bn (d. 440/1048), Ab Bakr Ibn Muammad Ibn Ab Zayd, Hayyn al- ab at-ulayul, Ibn Fuays, and Ibn al-Fara, Ibn Ḫayr al-Išbl and many others learned from him. His biographers, namely q ‘Iyd (d. 544/1150 or 575/1179, depending on the source), Ibn Ḫayr (502-575/1108-1179), Ibn al-Abbr (595-658/1199-1260) and Ibn Farn (720-799/1321-1397), concurred on the basic traits of his life and works. Ibn ‘Iy (who seems to be the oldest of them) stated that he acquired his knowledge by himself, being almost self-taught; he reiterated that his learning was unique and that the majority of his knowledge was not acquired from to any famous imm, and that he reached (his solutions) only through his intelligence (which does not detract value or orthodoxy from his writings). He also affirmed that he wrote his commentary F šar al-Muwa’ in Tripoli, and among other works mentioned the one titled Kitb al-amwl.6 Both Ibn Ḫayr and the q ‘Iy give contradictory arguments; although both were writing just over eighty years after the death of ad-Dwd, the latter’s biography seems to be more complete and better founded. He wrote a Mlik treatise on Muslim law that must be considered among the works on juridical-economic issues known as Kitb al-amwl (Kitb fi’at al-amwl wana; Ab ‘Abd Allh Muammad Ibn Amad al-Anar al-Qurub (d. 671/1273). Tafr al-Qur’n, or by Ab ‘Abd Allh Muammad Ibn Amad Qsim Ibn Sa‘d al-‘Uqbn al-Tilimsn (d. 871/1467). Tufat an-nzir wa- unyat a-kir, not to mention other compilers who used it, such as Ab l-Abbs Amad Ibn Yayà al-Wanšars (834-914/1430-1508). Al-Mi‘yr al-murib. These circumstances allow us to conclude that the Kitb al-amwl by ad-Dwd was long studied by jurists in al-Andalus and the Maghreb, being a basic reference work for Mlik law for over 500 years after the author’s death. For more details about the work, the genre it belongs to, and other treatises of the same theme or about those that influenced this one, see pp. 1-3 and 19-20 of the introduction to the complete Arab edition: Šaraf ad-Dn, Abu Muhsin Muhammad. Kitb al-amwl. Ab Ja‘far Amad Ibn Nar ad-D’d (t. 402 H./1011). Islamabad: Islamic Research Institute, 1995/1416: 1-3, 19-20. 5. Qd ‘Iyd (476-544/1083-1150). Tartb al-madrik, ed. (partial Arabic) Muhammad a-Talb. Tarim alabya mustaraa min Madrik al-Q ‘Iy Biographies aghlabides. Extraites des Madrik du Cadi ‘Iy. Tunis: mi‘ at-Tnisya, 1968: 369-70, 430. About the author and his work, see the introductory study in Arabic and English translation by Šaraf ad-Dn, Abu Muhsin Muhammad. Kitb al-amwl. Ab Ja‘far Amad Ibn Nar ad-D’d (t. 402 H./1011). Islamabad: Islamic Research Institute, 1995/1416: 1-12, as well as the article by Chalmeta, Pedro. “Una obra de ‘materia económica’...”: 66-73. 6. Qd ‘Iyd. . Tartb al-madrik, ed. (Arabic) Ahmad Bakr Mamd. Beirut: Dar Maktabat al-Hayat, 1968: IV, 623-624. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 83-112. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 86 08/06/2009 8:25:58 The andalusian economy in the times of Almanzor 87 according to P. Chalmeta, and also sometimes called Kitb f l-amwl wa l-maksib).7 Based on a reference by Ibn Ḫayr8, and on the style of the work,9 P. Chalmeta brought forward the hypothesis that it was not written by the author, but rather that it is a nawzil or compilation of answers given by ad-Dwd himself to specific questions and affairs that he was asked about. This would explain why ad-Dwd neither wrote nor taught this work (in which case the biographers would have included it among his works). The Kitb al-amwl would have been compiled by some of his disciples, and would have circulated in the Maghreb and al-Andalus without an original author, later under the name of the compiler, and after the latter’s death it would have been reassigned to ad-Dwd. Thus, dissenting with Ibn ‘Iy, he affirms that it was a doctrinal body, rather than a real treatise. The works consists of four parts (az’), which, from a Mlik point of view, deals with the principal resources of the state, the military administration, the right to make peace and war, and it contemplates a whole set of rules relating to taxes, captives, booty and its division, etc., supplying sentences by the author about cases related to the Maghreb, Sicily and al-Andalus. It also deals with illegally acquired 7. Ab a‘far Amad Ibn Nar Ad-Dwd (or Ad-D’d) al-Mlik al-Asad (Masla-Tremecén, d. 402/1011). Kitb al-amwl (or Kitb fi’at al-amwl, or Kitb f l-amwl wa-l-maksib), partial Arab edition and French translation of the 3rd ikr of the second part: Abdul Wahab, Hasan Husni; Dachraoui, Farhat. “Le régime foncier en Sicile au Moyen Age (IXe. et Xe. siècles) Édition et traduction d’un chapitre du ‘Kitb al-amwl d’al-D’d’”, Études d’orientalisme dédiées à la mémoire de Lévi-Provençal. Paris: G.-P. Maisonneuve et Larose, 1962: II, 401-444, arab edition 405-427; French translation 428444; Arab edition of the capitulillo 26: Dachraoui, Farhat. “Fal min Kitb f l-amwl wa-l-maksib li-lD’d”. awlyt al-mi‘at at-Tnisya, IV (1967): 83-100; complete Arab edition with intro. and notes of the “unicum” from El Escorial, and English trans. by Šaraf ad-Dn, Abu Musin Muammad. Kitb al-amwl. Ab Ḫa‘far Amad Ibn Nar ad-D’d (t. 402 H./1011). Islamabad: Islamic Research Institute, 1995/1416: 1-170 + 1-225, a work we have taken as a basic reference (Arabic reed. New Delhi: Kitab Bhavan, 1999), and there is another Arab edition: Šda, Rida. Kitb al-amwl li-Amad Ibn Nar adDwd. Rabat: Markaz At-Tur al-Marib, 1988, as well as the one by Al-Fili, Najib Abdul Whab. A critical edition of Kitab al Amwal by Abu Jafar Ahmad al-Dawudi. University of Exeter, 1989. Outstanding studies about this work include the brief analysis of the first pages of Sharfuddin, Abu Mushin Muhammad. “Ab Ja‘far al-Dwd’s ‘Kitb al-amwl”. Islamic Studies, 4 (1965): 441-448, as well as the presentation and preliminary study of the El Escorial manuscripts by Chalmeta, Pedro. “Una obra de ‘materia económica’: el ‘Kitb fi’at al-amwl de al-Dwd”...: 66-68. Although the spelling in the manuscript used by the editor and English translator correspond to a transcription “ad Dwd”, we share the criteria of the western Arabists who, avoiding archaic forms, have transcribed “ad-Dwd” with a modernised spelling. 8. Ibn Ḫayr al-Išbl (502-575/1108-1179). Fahrasa ma rawhu ‘an šuyhihi min ad-dawwn al-muanna fa f urb al-‘ilm, ed. Codera, Francisco.; Ribera, Julián. Bibliotheca Arabico-Hispana. Index librorum de diversibus scientiarum ordinibus quos a magistris didicit Abu Bequer Ben Khair. Madrid: Michaelem Romero, 18931895: IX-X, 247-248. Pedro Chalmeta reaches this conclusion through the fact that Ibn Ḫayr does not cite this among ad-Dwd works while, in another place in the Fahrasa (p. 440), he boasts about “having learned that he composed Amad Ibn Nar ad-Dwd, with iza”. Pedro Chalmeta is rightly surprised that he does not cite the Kitb al-amwl and placed emphasis on having learnt all his science from it (Chalmeta, Pedro. “Una obra de ‘materia económica’: ‘el Kitb fi’at al-amwl de alDwd’”…). 9. The text states: “was asked …”, “they asked him …”, “the author answered …”, “he stated …”, etc. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 83-112. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 87 08/06/2009 8:25:59 88 Francisco Franco-Sánchez property and property which was abandoned and without a legal owner.10 It is one of the oldest surviving treatises on the subject of taxes, and it not only talks about general casuistry, but also about specific cases from al-Andalus, Sicily and the Maghreb. It seems clear that this is a series of juridical approaches originating in a real environment, in which inherited situations abound, and a desire to adapt them to reality and standardise them. That is why out of the 28 epigraphs in the work, those of a more “theoretical” nature are shorter, older and not very polemical, while those that deal with reality are much longer, contemporary with the author, little “traditionalist” with regard to his explanation and with a clear touch of controversy.11 Its being a realistic and practical treatise makes it especially interesting and valuable for the construction of social and economic history. Although it is not strictly speaking a work on economics, it is about the economic theory of the state, and must therefore be taken into account as its suggestions help us better to understand the Andalusian and Maghrebin society at the end of the 10th century, and the faqhs almost certainly demanded its application by the Umayyad power. We find in it the key to the norms for the regulation of the compulsory taxes, such as the adaqa12 on the Muslims or the izya on the imms, to specific epigraphs on booty, abandoned goods, the correct administration of booty seized during combat (with an extensive casuistry concerning this), the status of captives and how their possessions should be considered. On the other hand, it also contains the legal concepts of obligatory application in the Islamic society that was al-Andalus. Thus, we have used it for such diverse research as understanding the legal status of lands in the northern meseta, abandoned after the reorganisation of the 9thcentury frontiers13, or understanding the concept of “social assistance” for those in need, referring to its definitions of the poor and needy, which is specified in such great detail.14 Given the above, we wish to recover this treatise, which, as a complement to the great manuals of the Mlik school, shows the legislation applied 10. It is divided into four parts (az’), and these then into a total of 26 chapters (ful), that begin with the word ikr and are: Preamble (ff.1v-2r); 1st part (ff. 2r-14r), which in essence deals with the goods that fall into the hands of the suln, the booty, conscription, and the farming of the lands of the ḫar; 2nd part (ff. 14r-29v), that discuss the dwn and the reception of pensions, booty, tithes on the lands, recove of lands abandoned by the Muslims in Ifrqiya al-Andalus and Sicily and inheritance of pensions; the 3ª part (ff. 29v-43v), about the rights and behaviour about captives, truces, as well as various epigraphs dedicated to the paying of taxes, both the izya by the imms, and the adaqa by the Muslims and various casuistics about combat, and the 4th part (ff. 43v-55v.), about the goods belonging to unknown owners, about who should be considered poor and about wealth. 11. According to Chalmeta, Pedro. “Una obra de ‘materia económica’... ”: 72-73. 12. Weir, Thomas Hunter; Zysow, Aaron. “adaḳa”. Encyclopédie de l’Islam/Encyclopaedia of Islam (2ème èdition/2nd edition: EI2). Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1995: VIII, 510-526, which analyses: 1. adaḳa in the Ḳur’n; 2. adaḳa in the adt; 3. adaḳa in Islamic law, and 4. The practice of adaḳa. 13. Franco Sánchez, Francisco. “Consideración jurídica y religiosa de los territorios de la meseta y el Norte peninsular por el poder musulmán de al-Andalus”. Al-Andalus-Magreb, 7 (1999): 101-133. 14. Franco Sánchez, Francisco. “La asistencia al enfermo en al-Andalus. Los hospitales hispanomusulmanes”, La Medicina en al-Andalus, Camilo Álvarez de Morales, Emilio Molina López, dirs. Granada: Fundación El Legado Andalusí, Conserjería de Cultura de la Junta de Andalucía, 1999: 135-171. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 83-112. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 88 08/06/2009 8:26:00 The andalusian economy in the times of Almanzor 89 in the Muslim west, holding as it does the norms of the socio-economic field of public and private law that the works of Mlik Ibn Anas or Sann do not provide in such detail. 3. Some mechanisms for the regulation of the “real economy” by the state The intervention of the caliphal state in the general economy of al-Andalus could not be direct, in the way we understand this nowadays, but rather applied through indirect mechanisms and intermediaries. Thus, when Marxist historiography qualified the economic regime of Islamic societies as a “tributary-mercantile system”, thereby making an essential differentiation between the earlier “slavery-based system” and the contemporary “feudal system”15, the first axis of this was defined as the relation of exaction by the ruling social class or group over the popular mass, manifested through the payment of taxes, while the other axis was configured by the intense mercantile relation of the system, in turn a consequence of an evidently monetary economy.16 Such a general outline of this relation is a useful framework and element of analysis, but little else. The reality, as it has been transmitted to us through the Arab sources, was that the central Cordovan government tried to make the tax effective, gathering it through local governors. Thus enunciating this, it might seem to be a mere fiscal relation between a/some lord(s) and their respective subjects, 15. About the question of whether there was feudalism in al-Andalus, see the analysis in Chalmeta, Pedro. “Le problème de la féodalité hors de l’Europe chrétienne: le cas de l’Espagne musulmane”, Actas del II Coloquio Hispano-Tunecino de Estudios Históricos (Madrid-Barcelona, Mayo 1972). Madrid: Instituto Hispano Árabe de Cultura, 1973: 91-115 (especially pages 93-96); Chalmeta, Pedro. “¿Feudalismo en al-Andalus?”, Orientalia Hispanica, sive studia F. M. Pareja octogenario dicata. Volume I: Arabica-Islamica. Pars Prior, J. M. Barral, ed. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1974: 168-194 (especially pages 173-177). 16. About the Marxist vision of the Islamic societies see the historical and socio-economic analysis by Samir Amin, whose Spanish translation is in: Samir, Amin. Clases y naciones en el materialismo histórico. Barcelona: Iniciativas Editoriales, 1979: 1-211; Samir, Amin. El desarrollo desigual. Ensayo sobre las formaciones sociales del capitalismo periférico. Barcelona: Fontanella, 1974: 1-427; Samir, Amin. Elogio del socialismo y otros escritos. Barcelona: Anagrama, 1978: 1-110; Samir, Amin. Sobre el desarrollo desigual de las formaciones sociales. Barcelona: Anagrama 1974: 1-154. A coinciding analysis about the real importance that the Marxist postulates have suggested in the historiography in general, can be seen in two very different works: Cardoso, Ciro Flamarión Santana; Pérez Brignoli, Héctor. Los métodos de la Historia. Barcelona: Crítica, 1977: 1-439 (pages 59-70: “La concepción marxista de la historia, desde los años 20 a nuestros días”, pages 70-72: “La influencia del marxismo en el pensamiento histórico contemporáneo”); Aróstegui, Julio. La investigación histórica: Teoría and método. Barcelona: Crítica, 1995: 1-428 (pages 110 - 128: “El marxismo y la historiografía”). A study of the ideological drift of an important group of Egyptian intellectuals from Marxist positions towards radical Islamism is the one by Gómez García, Luz. Marxismo, islam e islamismo: El proyecto de Adil Husayn. Madrid: CantArabia, 1996: 1-432 pp. Finally another reading of the evolution of contemporary Arab ideologies that trys to explain this same intellectual drift is Charaffeddine, Fahima. Culture et ideologie dans le monde arabe: 1960-1990. Paris: éditions L’Harmattan, 1994: 1-244. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 83-112. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 89 08/06/2009 8:26:01 90 Francisco Franco-Sánchez but, as we have expressed in a previous study,17 the payment of the tax assumed a “recognition of sovereignty”, which is something more than an exercise in fiscal obligation; it means carrying out a religious obligation that affected the real essence of the Islamic “pyramid of sovereignty”. This “recognition of legitimate sovereignty” to the Muslim ruler was a political act, but also had economic and religious implications: as is known, the payment of the legal tax (whether it be Christian or Muslim), was the way in which this recognition was periodically made evident; non-payment was equivalent to insubordination, a rebellion that went beyond the political sphere and that implied abandoning agreed juridical-religious obligations.18 This meant that regular payment of the tax was equivalent to the formal acceptance of political-religious deference, and non-payment meant rebellion, not only against the established earthly power, but also against the political-religious system of which this was its legitimate representative. The non-payment of tax by a group that had previously agreed to it was in itself enough reason to consider them “outlaws”, and even more so if there was any active aggression against the Muslim community, as was the case with the rebels towards central power, or the kingdoms in the north of the peninsula. The quality and obligation of the legal tax has been clarified before. Despite this, the successive governments of the orient and those of al-Andalus (especially after the Fitna) complemented it with other illicit taxes (muks, marim, etc.). However, the aim is here to concentrate on an aspect that we do not consider to have received the attention it deserves. This is the issue of the state granaries or alorines which, according to what we can infer from the references in the Arab sources, were another inheritance from the Roman past in the Andalusian administrative structure. The, alfolíes, alhelíes or alorines19 were the public granaries which were used essentially to store grain, and possibly also other long-lasting products, all being the result of taxes paid in kind by the Muslim peasants. These were obliged to contribute a proportion of the harvest, generally a tenth, as a tax. 17. Franco Sánchez, Francisco. “Consideración jurídica y religiosa de los territorios de la meseta y el Norte peninsular …”: 101-133. 18. In case of non-payment of the cited tax, the Muslim sovereign was empowered to reclaim it; here arose the religious relevance of the raids against the Christians in the north (in the times of the ‘Abd arRamn III until the Fitna, and in especial those of Almanzor), or against the Muslim rebels within the state (epoch of ‘Abd ar-Ramn I, ‘Abd ar-Ramn II, ‘Abd ar-Ramn III). See more details in my study cited in note 17, and Míkel de Epalza has also dealt with this in various places, such as: Epalza, Míkel de. “El derecho político musulmán y su influencia en la formación de Álava (siglos VIII-XI)”, La formación de Álava. 650 Aniversario del Pacto de Arriaga (1332-1982). Comunicaciones. Vitoria-Gasteiz: Diputación Foral de Álava/Arabako Foru Aldundia, 1985: 309-310 (Estudios de Deusto, Bilbao, XXXII/2, fasc. 73 [1984]: 504518); Epalza, Míkel de. “Descabdellament polític i militar dels musulmans a terres catalanes (Segles VIIIXI)”, Symposium Internacional sobre els orígens de Catalunya (Segles VIII-XI), Frederic Udina, dir. Barcelona: Real Academia de las Buenas Letras, 1991: I, 67-75. 19. Dozy, Reinhart; Engelmann, Wilhelm Hermann. “Alholí”. Glossaire des mots espagnols et portugais dérivés de l’arabe. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 18692: 139. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 83-112. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 90 08/06/2009 8:26:02 The andalusian economy in the times of Almanzor 91 We do not know if an origin of this based in the “annona militaris”20 of the Roman Empire has been indicated before, but given what is known, this is more than likely, as both mechanisms are similar. In the Roman state, along the roads built for this purpose, the army went about gathering the tax of the annona, consisting of wheat, oil, wine, barley, rye, meat, vegetables, etc., and this annona was used to pay the costs of the militias. The products collected were stored in provincial granaries built for this purpose, the so-called mansiones; a mansion was a station prepared as a place where soldiers and state officials could spend the night, and with stores where they could supply themselves and their troops. The landowners in the surrounding area took the respective contributions (annonae) to these stores, silos or granaries or, if it came from communities far afield, the army went to collect the tax. In the Andalusian case, we find a correlation in the qur, or state inns, in some cases fortified, that were placed at regular intervals along the main routes in the peninsula. They were luxury inns (palacetes), almost like little palaces (hence their later semantic derivation) where the various lords and Omeya state officials stayed, and even later ones.21 On the other hand, the public granaries do not seem to have been associated with those in al-Andalus, but were instead centralised provincially. The local officials were in charge of the administration of these public silos, and we know of their existence because the Arab sources cite them as the origin of the lucrative profits and fortunes that their administrators gained from them. Thus, the management of the granaries in Cordoba was of special importance, due to being the seat of central power and the large number of peasants in the Cordovan country that paid their taxes in grain and kind there, and due to the economic importance that they had in general, and for the city in particular. That is why the appointment 20. Among the very extensive bibliography that should be cited with regard to the annona militaris, a special place is given to both the old studies by van Berchem, Denis. “L’annone militaire dans l’Empire romain au IIIe. Siècle”. Mémoires de la Société Nationale des Antiquaires de France, LXXX (1937): 117-202, and his Doctoral Thesis, published under the title: van Berchem, Denis. Les distributions de blé et d’argent a la plèbe romaine sous l’empire. Geneva: Georg et Cie., 1939: 1-182 and the Pavis D’Escurac, Henriette. Le préfecture de l’annone, service administratif impérial, d’Auguste à Constantin. Rome: Écoles Françaises de Rome, 1976: 1-473. Gonzalo Arias has followed the ideas of D. van Berchem and has even developed them regarding the philological study of the so-called Antonine’s Itinerary; his scientific debt to D. van Berchem has been recognised in a recent article: Arias, Gonzalo. “Tras las huellas de van Berchem”. El Miliario Extravagante, 82 (2002): 20-26, in which he annotates his work as a researcher on Ancient Rome. We must thank him for the theory that Antonine’s Itinerary was really a series of disperse route notes that were grouped together by an anonymous collector of the Roman annona militaris, a thesis about which he has spoken in various studies in El Miliario Extravagante. A complementary study is the one by Remesal Rodríguez, José. La annona militaris y la exportación del aceite bético a Germania. Madrid: Universidad Complutense, 1986: 1-284. 21. See the section dedicated to the functionality of the qur in Franco Sánchez, Franco. Vías y defensas andalusíes en la Mancha Oriental. Alicante: Instituto de Cultura Juan Gil Albert-Conselleria d’Educació i Ciència de la Generalitat Valenciana, 1995: 1-402, as well as Rubiera Mata, María Jesús. “El rey Lobo de Murcia, Ibn Mardanis (1147-1172): promotor de la construcción de alcázares viales”, Imágenes y promotores en el arte medieval. Miscelánea en homenaje a Joaquín Yarza Luaces. Bellaterra: Servei de Publicacions de la Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 2001: 191-194. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 83-112. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 91 08/06/2009 8:26:03 92 Francisco Franco-Sánchez and control of the management by the administrators in charge of them was carried out regularly. This control was also carried out, although less directly, by the management of those in charge of the provincial granaries, as shown by news from Ibn Bassm, contained in a letter from Ibn Šuhayd to the Valencian taifa king, ‘Abd al-’Azz Ibn Ab ‘mir (Almanzor’s grandson), explaining the promise that he had been made to grant him a property in Tudmr. The motive was that Ibn Šuhayd’s father had been named governor of Tudmr and Valencia by Almanzor, and the exploitation of the aforementioned property in an indeterminate place had been ceded to him; after nine years as governor, his father returned voluntarily to Cordoba weighed down with enormous wealth: “four hundred gold dinars from the sale of products; gold objects with a value of 100,000 dinars; ownership documents for five hundred head of livestock and two hundred selected slaves”.22 The governor Ibn Šuhayd presented the list of earnings to Almanzor in order for him to indicate the tax that he had to pay for them, complaining about the high price of the grain required to feed the slaves and the livestock. In a display of generosity, Ibn Ab ‘mir exempted him from the taxes and conceded him two thousand almuds of cereals, half of wheat, and half, barley, that had to be taken from the state granaries in Villena (Fillna), situated near his property. Mª. J. Rubiera identified these granaries of the Šarq al-Andalus cited in the estate of Los Alorines/Els Alforins, an interesting case of the derivation of the same Arab place name (al-hur, pl. al-ahr’) simultaneously in Castilian and Valencian, separated by a regional and linguistic frontier, despite being the same estate. The cause of the double toponymical derivation lies in the enormous size of the estate in question (which covers a large region between the modern-day municipalities of Caudete, Villena and Onteniente) and the fact that this has been divided since the Middle Ages by a linguistic frontier, which has led to the double denomination.23 The estate of Los Alorines/Els Alforins on the frontier between the kingdoms of Castile and Valencia was the reason behind various disputes over its ownership and its boundaries, remaining a crossing to this day.24 These stores of the kra of Tudmr were located in a strategic zone: far from the coast, the 22. Ibn Bassm (m. 542/1147). Ad- Daḫra f mahsin ahl al-azra, Arab ed. by Isn ‘Abbs, I. Tunis: Dr al ‘Arabya li-l-Kitb, 1975: I, 193. 23. Rubiera Mata, María Jesús. “Los precedentes geopolíticos musulmanes del señorío de Villena”, Congreso de Historia del Señorío de Villena. Albacete 23-26 Octubre 1986. Albacete: Instituto de Estudios Albacetenses de la Excma. Diputación de Albacete-C.S.I.C.-Confederación Española de Centros de Estudios Locales, 1987: 360; Rubiera Mata, María Jesús. Villena en las calzadas romana y árabe. Alicante: Ayuntamiento de Villena-Universidad Alicante, 1985: 1-62; Rubiera, María Jesús; Epalza, Míkel de. Xàtiva musulmana (segles VIII-XIII). Xàtiva: Ajuntament de Xàtiva, 1987: 60-61. 24. See Gironés Guillem, Ignasi. Els Pergamins d’Ontinyent. Ontinyent: Ajuntament d’Ontinyent, 1991: 1-229; Gironès Guillem, Ignasi. “L’Ontinyent al segle XIV (Notes tretes del Curial del Justícia d’Ontinyent de 1343). El Diari més antic que es conserva a Ontinyent des de la conquesta. Un dels primers documents de censals de la Comunitat Valenciana”, Almaig. Estudis i Documents, X (1994): 37-45. He studied in detail this lawsuit known as “Los debats de Villena de 1425: un episodi inèdit” that defined as “El teló de fons: del contenciós entre Ontinyent i Villena sobre els Alforins”: Terol i Reig, Vicent. “‘Los debats de Villena‘ de 1425: cavalcades i enfrontaments fronterers en preludi de la Guerra Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 83-112. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 92 08/06/2009 8:26:04 The andalusian economy in the times of Almanzor 93 above-mentioned district was sufficiently dry to guarantee the correct storage of the grain. Moreover, they were at the crossroads of the Játiva-Villena-Vinalopó Valley-Murcia route and the Villena-Caudete-Balazote route, the Via Augusta and the Camino de Aníbal respectively, being equidistant from all the large urban centres in the region. These are convincing reasons to guarantee the credibility of such a toponymical identification. Similarly, a century earlier, when al-azzl (156-250/772-864), ‘Abd ar-Ramn II’s court poet, was in charge of the granaries in the kra of Jaén, he became notoriously rich during a period of shortages. As with the granaries of Tudmr, the ones in the kra of Jaén were also situated at another crossroads, although we do not know whether in Bal Marwn or Calzada de Marwn.25 This relation with the road network (as with the annona) also responded to two needs: the need to be at a crossroads, to facilitate access from any place in the kra for the villagers who went there to pay tax or to collect grain, and in second place, so that military expeditionary forces did not have to go far off their route when they required supplies from the state granaries in the kras. The destination of the cereal stored in the granaries varied. As in the case of the grain in the Roman annona militaris, the cereals in the alorines were destined for high-ranking officials and armies on their travels, thus guaranteeing not only the maintenance of people and pack animals, but also a minimum of security and comfort on any journey of an emissary or civil servant. Grain was also extracted from the granaries to pay the pensions of those whom the Cordovan power had conceded this right; they served to pay in kind the troops stationed in the provincial fortresses, and from them was taken the grain necessary to be taken for the supply of the caliphal raids. Thus, al-akam II guaranteed lib (who was going through a bad economic moment in the Maghreb) his unconditional support “although they had to empty the full coffers of the treasury and the overflowing granaries of al-Andalus”.26 They also had a set standard measure for charging taxes and for regional economic transactions related to them; thus, for one of the Berber lords given refuge on the Cordovan side, al-akam II granted a pension of “200 dinars (...) plus ten almudes of wheat per month, according to the standard measure of the souk, plus two cahices of barley for their mounts every night, according to the standard measure of the granary”.27 The type of taxation is referred to in the document (see Appendix I) which mentions livestock taxes. This was a writ conceded during Raman in 362/June 973 de Castella de 1429-1430”. Alba. Revista d’Estudis Comarcals d’Ontinyent i la Vall d’Albaida, 10 (1995): 17-34. 25. Vallvé, Joaquín. La división territorial de la España musulmana. Madrid: C.S.I.C., 1986: 281. 26. Ibn ayyn (377-469/987·8-1076). Kitb al-muqtabis f ta’rḫ ril al-Andalus: vol. VII, ed. Emilio García Gómez. El Califato de Córdoba en la Muqtabis de Ibn Hayyn: Anales Palatinos del Califa de Córdoba al-Hakam II, por ‘s Ibn Ahmad al-Rz (360-364 H. = 971-975 J. C.). Traducción de un ms. árabe de la Real Academia de la Historia. Madrid: Sociedad de Estudios y Publicaciones, 1967: 165 (chap. 139). 27. Ibn ayyn (377-469/987·8-1076). Kitb al-muqtabis f ta’rj ril al-Andalus: VII, ed Emilio García Gómez. El Califato de Córdoba...: 187 (chap. 161). Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 83-112. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 93 08/06/2009 8:26:05 94 Francisco Franco-Sánchez by the caliph al-akam II to some of his Berber allies who wished to return to their regions of origin in the Maghreb. As well as the religious recommendations and the fiscal guidelines for livestock, it specifies the behaviour to be followed when collecting agricultural produce: The zakaat corresponding to the goods harvested must be taken from your subjects, as well as that of the fruit found on their land, and the adaqa or legal alms of the livestock, according to the legal precepts and prescriptions, without in the slightest way reducing, increasing or altering these precepts, that are as follows: (...)Zakaat must be levied on all the grain in silos. There is no zakaat for less than five loads (wasq), the wasq consisting of sixty s‘s, and the s‘ being equivalent to four almudes, according to the almud of the Prophet (God bless him and save him!). Above five wasq, the zakaat is a tenth, if the land is watered by rains or from springs, or a fifth, if it is dry land or irrigated by water mills. The zakaat is not levied on figs, walnuts, almonds, or other fresh or dried fruit. It is, in contrast, levied on dates and grapes. The zakaat on olives is levied on the oil, after pressing. There is no zakaat on the imms taxpayers, either men or women, nor on any of their goods or livestock. They are only obliged to pay the poll tax or izya. However, if they engage in trade between one country and another, they must pay a tenth of the product that they sell. Only an eighth of the zakaat must be seized, that God grants to those who levy it, without increasing or exceeding this quantity.28 The public granaries also had another important function, given that in the case of storms, lack of rain and, in general, ruinous harvests, the grain in the silos was a guarantee that it might be sown again the following year. The unpredictability of the weather (droughts, torrential rains, bad harvests in general, etc.) was alleviated to some extent by the grain deposited in the state granaries, given that, in case of an unfavourable economic or climatic situation, orders were given to put it on public sale at an adequate price. This was a way of limiting famine among the population and securing the next sowing. In these cases, we know that the stored cereals were sold at a moderate fixed price to break the extortionate prices that food reached during periods of dearth. Thus, the alorines became a very effective measure for regulating grain prices and mitigating shortages. The Romans used the grain collected through the annona for the same purpose, and even in late imperial times, on some occasions the emperors gave orders to bring out cereal at a price below market value, as a populist measure to control the increasingly discontent plebs.29 The Arab sources frequently show these negative economic contingencies in the registers of the Cordovan State, as in the case of the great famine of 397/812·3, that 28. Ibn ayyn (377-469/987·8-1076). Kitb al-muqtabis f ta’rj ril al-Andalus: VII, ed Emilio García Gómez. El Califato de Córdoba…: 142-145 (chap. 112). 29. van Berchem, Denis. Les distributions de blé et d’argent a la plèbe romaine sous l’empire…: 1-182. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 83-112. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 94 08/06/2009 8:26:06 The andalusian economy in the times of Almanzor 95 killed many people in Šarq al-Andalus and was the cause of serious revolts,30 to mention but one example. The granaries were designed for this. Thus, through Ibn ayyn, we know that the Cordovan capital managed to survive thanks to the grain from the state granaries after a serious drought which lasted throughout the year 324/935·6: That year there was a general drought in al-Andalus, such as had never before been seen or heard of so persistent, given that it lasted throughout the year, the sky denying any rain down to the last drop that might moisten the land, but the people enjoyed a good situation, and the prices did not rise much despite the persistent drought, because there were still abundant resources, given that provisions were continually brought from other places and there was general prosperity, without misery, the sultan sustaining them through the bad times, until the following year, [3]25 (936·7) they had rain. That they could be sustained like this for a whole year was considered marvellous (…).31 Similarly, we know that as a result of famines, shortages due to bad harvests, heavy flooding of rivers and diverse tragedies, the population affected received a general exemption from the legal tax. Accordingly, all those circumstances were carefully noted in the Cordovan palace archives, and eclipses, comets, and other extraordinary astronomic phenomena that were considered presages or related to the disasters were added. Thus, thanks to the meticulousness of the registers of the central administration, ar-Rz was able to note them down in what, for the same reason, E. García Gómez called the Anales Palatinos. Numerous examples might be shown to reflect this exemption from taxes. Thus, Ibn ayyn states that the taxes were lifted in the year 362 (early April 973) in the kra of Jaén after a drought followed by frosts;32 behind this news lies the unjust claim made for a large quantity of wood, fish and tar as legal taxes that the kra of 30. Ibn ‘Ir al-Marrkuš (died around 711/1312). Al-Bayn al-murib, ed. (Arabic) Evariste Lévi-Provençal. Ibn ‘Ir al-Marrkuš. Al-Bayn Al-Mugrib. Tome Troisième. Histoire de l’Espagne Musulmane au XIème. siècle. Texte arabe publié par the première fois d’après un manuscrit de Fès. París: Librairie Orientaliste Paul Geuthner, 1930: II, 73, and also in the anonymous ikr bild al-Andalus (s. VIII/XIV), arab ed. spanish trans. study Luis Molina. Una descripción anónima de al-Andalus. Madrid: C.S.I.C., 1983: chap. 109. 31. Ibn ayyn. Kitb al-muqtabis, V, Arab crit. ed. Pedro Chalmeta; Federico Corriente; Mamud ub. Ibn ayyn. Al-Muqtabas V. Madrid: Instituto Hispano-Árabe de Cultura-Facultad de Letras, 1979: 259260; Ibn ayyn. Kitb al-muqtabis, V, ed. and spanish trans. María Jesús Viguera, Federico Corriente. Crónica del califa ‘Abdarramn III an-Nir entre los años 912 y 942 (al-Muqtabis V). Saragossa: Anubar, 1981: 287 (epigraph “La sequía”). 32. “The same month the ib aš-šurta and zabazoque (master of the souk) Amad Ibn Nar, cadi of the kra of Jaén, went out to examine the complaint by some inhabitants of the kra against their governor (‘mil), el‘rid ‘Abd ar-Ramn Ibn Yawar”, and “At the end of umadà al-thani (the year 362/beginning of April 973) sent the caliph al-akam al ib aš-šurta and zabazoque Amad Ibn Nar to the kra of Jaén, to inspect the quantities of wood, fish and tar that the ‘mil of the kra, Muammad Ibn ‘Abd l-Mlik had demanded from the vassals of that place. They had, effectively, received orders to supply specific quantities of the above-mentioned products and to transport them to Seville and Algeciras for the fleets that were under construction; but now the Caliph decided to exonerate them of this supply and include it in his private expenses, out of benevolence to his subjects and their comfort. The ‘mil Muammad Ibn ‘Abd al-Mlik paid all the people of the villages the value of what they had supplied, in the presence of Amad Ibn Nar. The repayment was perfect, and they were not defrauded out of even a whit”, Ibn ayyn. Kitb Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 83-112. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 95 08/06/2009 8:26:07 96 Francisco Franco-Sánchez Jaén had to supply to the central government, being collected by the ‘mil of the kra of Jaén. In the previous epigraph, Ibn ayyn talks about a serious drought and frosts that affected Cordoba and “also some kras near Cordoba”, that had destroyed their crops.33 In these circumstances due note was taken of this fact in the annals of the Cordovan administration and payment of taxes by the local populace was postponed. The levy of these by the governor of the kra was considered a great injustice. In reparation, al-akam II applied pressure by sending a Cordovan official to control the return of the payment of the supplies in kind unduly levied, with the public treasury taking charge of this repayment. When the Umayyad state disappeared with the Fitna, all the state institutions vanished with it, some of which were inherited by the kings of the taifas that arose from the 11th century. We have hardly any data about the institution of the state granaries after the caliphate, although we might expect that, depending on the new taifa capitals, they continued centralising their important fiscal task and fulfilling the above-mentioned economic improvement functions. Given this, it must be supposed that the granaries mentioned in the Villena/Caudete/ Onteniente region fulfilled their function until the beginning of the 5th/11th century, and probably after they disappeared, although their toponymical imprint still survives. And the same should be said about the rest of the caliphates’ state granaries. 4. Two tales about the economy in Almanzor’s times: the reports of Ibn awqal anb Al-Muqaddasi I. The geographer Ab l-Qsim Muammad Ibn ‘Al Ibn awqal (d. after 378/988), was from Nabn/Nisibis (Upper Mesopotamia/al-azra), where he spent his childhood and adolescence; between 331/943 and 362/973, he travelled ceaselessly, undertaking innumerable journeys. It seems that Ibn awqal’s main activity was as a trader, and it has been shown that that he professed to š‘ism, which is why he has also been defined as a missionary-agitator.34 On his lengthy wanderings, Ibn awqal travelled through the Maghreb and al-Andalus, telling his tale in the first person: “I entered al-Andalus at the beginning of the year 337 [11th July –9th August 948], when it was ruled by Ab l-Muarrif ‘Abd ar-Ramn (III) al-muqtabis f ta’rj ril al-Andalus: VII, ed Emilio García Gómez. El Califato de Córdoba…: 123 (chap. 88), 129-130 (chap. 90). 33. The drought followed by hail and frost that occurred in the months of March and April 973 and that “also extended to some kras near Cordoba and destroyed a good number of vines, fig trees and other crops”, Ibn ayyan. Kitb al-muqtabis f ta’rj ril al-Andalus: VII, ed Emilio García Gómez. El Califato de Córdoba…: 129 (chap. 89). 34. In A. Miquel’s opinion about the author’s political-religious options, the professions of fim faith scattered through his work identify him as a sincere militant of this movement, although it is difficult to affirm that he was a d‘, a Fim missionary EI2: III, 810-811. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 83-112. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 96 08/06/2009 8:26:08 The andalusian economy in the times of Almanzor 97 Ibn Muammad Ibn ‘Abd Allh Ibn Muammad Ibn ‘Abd ar-Ramn Ibn akam Ibn Hišm Ibn ‘Abd al-Malik Ibn Marwn”35; ‘Abd ar-Ramn III proclaimed himself caliph in 316/929, but is not described in this work by his title as caliph of anNir li-Dn Allh as might be expected, from which we might surmise that this is coherent with the anti-Umayyad tone of the rest of his story. We know that from Cádiz he travelled to Seville and around the western regions of the Baetic ranges, moving up through current-day Portugal and Extremadura, visiting Toledo and the peninsula’s central meseta; he also went to Cordoba. Ibn awqal returned to the peninsula for a second time in 363-4/974-5. His work was written in about 367/977 (at least the first version) a year before Almanzor’s rise to the iba, which is why the economic data that he wanted to reflect about al-Andalus is important. Although it cannot be used for dating his work, he states that Almanzor “is the current zabazoque (master) of al-Andalus”. Given the large amount and the kind of information that he transmits, but especially on account of the way in which he relates his news about al-Andalus, there is an almost general consensus, following R. Dozy, that Ibn awqal must have been a spy dedicated to gathering information on his long trade journeys, which he then placed at the service of the Maghrebin Fimds or the Š‘s in the east. Ibn awqal appears to have been interested in supplying a full and accurate account of the economic and natural resources of al-Andalus and its natural wealth; he also describes the situation and state of the tracks and routes, as well as the state of its armies and their military power. When turning to commerce, he shows an interest in the prices, productions, and economic activity in general. As can be seen, the data is more generic than exact, and if he wished to gather information about al-Andalus to offer to the Fims, it was more to persuade them about the general good and the global economic bonanza in the peninsula, than to provide them with precise data of places, routes or production, that they would undoubtedly know about from other more prolific and exact informers or traders. II. For his part, Ab ‘Abd Allh Muammad Ibn Amad Ibn Ab Bakr al-Bann’ aš-Šam al-Muqaddas (or al-Maqdis), (around 334/946-around 390/1000) in his Asan at-taq-sm f ma‘rifat al-aqlm also shared the postulates of the “al-Balḫ school”. 35. Ibn awqal (d. after. 378/988), Arab ed. Johannes Hendrik Kramers. Opvs Geographicvm auctore Ibn awkal Ibn awkal Secundum textum et imagenes Codicis Constantinopolitani conservati . (Ab l-Ksim . . . al-Nasb). in Bibliotheca antiqui Palatii nº. 3346 cui titulus est “Liber Imaginis Terrae”. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1938: I, 108-117, French trans. Johannes Hendrik Kramers: Wiet, Gaston. Ibn awqal. Configuration de la Terre (Kitb Srat al-Ard). . Paris-Beirut: Maissonneuve et Larose-Comission International pour la Traduction des ChefsOeuvre, 1964: I, 107-116. ‘Abd ar-Ramn III’s rule stretched form 300/912 to 350/961: first as an independent emir between 300-316/912-929, and as the first caliph of al-Andalus between 316-350/929961; the reasons for him assuming the title of caliph can be seen in Epalza, Míkel de. “Problemas y reflexiones sobre el califato en Al-Andalus”. Revista del Instituto Egipcio de Estudios Islámicos en Madrid, 18 (1981-1982)(Homenaje al Profesor Abdelaziz Al-Ahwn. Madrid: Instituto Egipcio de Estudios Islámicos, 1982): 59-73; Epalza, Míkel de. “Problemas y reflexiones sobre el califato en Al-Andalus”. Anuario de Historia del Derecho Español, 53 (1983): 569-581. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 83-112. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 97 08/06/2009 8:26:09 Anglès.indd 98 Graph 1. Tabulated data concerning the economy of al-Andalus, according to the “report” drawn up by Ibn awqal in 367/977 Region or place mentioned Agriculture Livestock Crafts Mining Cordoba Casa de la Moneda All the cities (of al-Andalus) Al-Andalus Commerce Other data Rent rises annually to 200,000 dinars, to which one must add contributions and incomes from all al-Andalus, taxes on goods, tithes, rents, tolls, poll taxes, customs duties on the merchandise that enters and leaves by boat, rights on the taverns in the urban markets. They are metropolises, populous, full of resources It continues to have factories of irz Its products are exported to Egypt, Khorasan, and other places Slaves, captured in Ifran and illqiya. All the aqliba eunuchs that are found on the face of the earth are from al-Andalus. They are castrated by Jewish merchants. The total income until the year 340/951 was no less than 20,000,000 dinars, without counting the merchandise, jewels, ships’ rigging and pieces of gold work. Mercury, iron and lead 08/06/2009 8:26:10 Anglès.indd 99 Al-Andalus The fruit of average quality is affordable for anyone, without having to pay very dearly for them Wool fabrics (a-f), the most beautiful Armenian velvet that is sold very expensively. Tapestries of excellent quality. There are brocades that are exported. There are marvels with regard to dyes, obtained from grasses native to al-Andalus; Maghrebin felts are dyed, excellent and expensive, and silk. Brocades are exported. Aducar in fine or crude silk (sakb) is produced, that made up for the sovereign, exceed in quality that of Iraq; another variety is made waxed, to make it impermeable. Ordinary linen is made for dressing and it is exported in large quantities to Egypt. Felts of unequalled quality. All the cities: They are famous for their cereals, commercial articles, vines, buildings, markets, shops (al –buy‘), baths, and public inn, granary and wholesale market (al-ḫnt). All the prayers take place in their beautiful mosques. There are no run-down mosques in all al-Andalus. There is no city that is not well populated and surrounded by a vast agricultural district (rustq), or rather a whole province (kra), with numerous villages (iy‘) whose farmers are prosperous, own major and minor livestock, good agricultural implements, beasts of burden and fields. Its lands are well watered, by the rain or by channels Pechina Rayyuh (Malaga) Cordoba For the people and the court linen cloth is made (that is) not inferior to the dabq, it is thick but light, of great quality. The blankets made there are exported to Egypt, Mecca, Yemen and other places. A vast and fertile region. There are great fortunes. The luxury of many fashions is appreciated: precious fabrics and dresses, in flexible linen, in course or fine silk. There are agile mounts and all kinds of food and drinks 08/06/2009 8:26:10 Anglès.indd 100 Majorca Abundance of fruit trees. Large number of pastures. Seville Many orchards and vineyards. Producing especially figs Robust mules are the speciality of this land; the breeding of the mules has no equal anywhere.Livestock at a low price. Gibraleón Flourishing city Ocsonoba Considerable city and abundant in resources Caracuel Aljama major mosque, markets, baths and fandiq (public inns, granarys and wholesale markets) Calatrava Beside a river that its inhabitants use for irrigation There are (matir) Yébenes (Abaniš) With a spring that provides drinking water It has a funduq (public inn, granary and wholesale market) Magán (Mam) This is where the clay (afl) deposits of al-Andalus are located. souks, baths and shops 08/06/2009 8:26:10 Anglès.indd 101 Al-arr’ City with souks and neighbourhoods. Similar to Guadix Guadalajara Large, well-known frontier city (ar) that has souks, fandiq, baths, a kim and an espionage officer (muḫallif). The commanders of the frontier live there (wult a-ur). Medinaceli It has a vast rural district (rustq) and a large administrative circumscription (iqlm). Region very rich in livestock. It has an enormous wall. It is prosperous in all the senses and has a great abundance of resources 08/06/2009 8:26:10 102 Francisco Franco-Sánchez In it he filled in those elements that his predecessors had omitted, compiling data on economic geography about mines, languages and races, customs, religions and sects, weights, measures and prices, territorial divisions, itineraries and distances, etc. Although he admitted not having travelled to al-Andalus in person, he stated that he had consulted numerous Andalusian informers about its conditions, and although its date is not known, as it is somewhat later than that of Ibn awqal, it seems likely that it is fully contemporary with the government of Ibn Ab ‘Amir.36 As can be seen at first sight, this work is more systematic with regard to the presentation of the data about al-Andalus (though perhaps not for other regions) and, in contrast to the relation of Ibn awqal, it offers abundant data about each city: situation, construction, fortification, quality of life, economic data linked to this concept, etc. It describes a considerable number of places and provides more economic data than its predecessor in the school but, despite this, it is complicated to extrapolate data or extract more conclusions than the merely descriptive from what is mentioned. 36. AL-Muqaddas (ha. 334-after 378/ha. 946-after 988): arab ed. Michael Jan de Goeje. Bibliotheca Geographorum Arabicorum. Pars Tertia. Descriptio Imperii Moslemici auctore Al-Mokaddasi. Lugduni-Batavorum: E. J. Brill, 1870: 7-499. A full English trans.: Collins, Basil Anthony; Hamid al-Tai, Muhammad. The Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions. A Translation of Asan at-taqsm f ma‘rifat al-aqlm. Reading: Centre for Muslim Contribution to Civilization-Garnet Publishing Limited, 1994: I-XXVIII + 1-460. Chapter about the province of the Maghreb, that includes al-Andalus: 215-245 (Arab edition), 198-222 (English Translation). Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 83-112. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 102 08/06/2009 8:26:11 Anglès.indd 103 Graph 2. Data concerning the economy of al-Andalus, according to the “report” by al-Muqaddas (ca. 1000) Region or place cited Agriculture Livestock Crafts Mining Commerce Others Capital (mir) of al-Andalus. City on a plain with a mountain above it, it has a medina and neighbourhoods. It has various markets. It is an important metropolis, amiable and attractive, in which you will find justice, science, political sense, mildness, prosperity and religion Cordoba Arjona It has no orchards or trees, but it is a territory of grains. Its people drink water from springs, but their crops are only watered by the rain. Qasalla There is an abundance of trees, olives and vines. Its people their orchards with water wheels. It is on a vast plain Jódar Abundance of olives. They drink water from springs Situated on a plain Martos It only has vineyards. There are springs It is mountainous Qanbnuš Most of its farms are in an area known as Campania. They drink water from wells On a plain (Campania) 08/06/2009 8:26:11 Anglès.indd 104 Fa ibn Laq There are quite a lot of crops.Water from wells. On a plain Bal Marwn It has some crops. There is a permanent stream. On a plain Buryna It has crops. It obtains drinking water from wells Situated on a plain. With souks in its neighbourhoods in There are olive and fruit trees and springs in abundance. The drinking water flows from a spring and some wells A-anda There are vineyards, farmlands, figs and grapes in abundance. The drinking water comes from springs and wells It is in the mountains Wd ‘abd Allh It has crops, creeks and some fruit trees On a plain Qarss Rich in figs, grapes and olives. The drinking water comes from springs On a plain Jaén (its district is called awlaba (awliya =ulia) It has a certain number of springs (later he states that there are 20). It produces fruit in abundance. The city is situated in the mountains Bulkna 08/06/2009 8:26:11 Anglès.indd 105 Al-afr, district of Jaén The zone of al-afr has creeks and mills, with many trees, fruit, olives and grapes It is located in the mountains. The zone is in a wd in which a great variety of fruit have been concentrated Priego There are valleys where the springs bubble strongly and turn the mills. There is an abundance of blackberries, olives and figs In the mountains Martos (sic.) Its inhabitants obtain drinking water from springs. It has an abundance of fig and olive trees and vines It is a city in the mountains [La]Qnt There are no orchards. Located on a plain. The climate is healthy Granada It is an al-munya/fertile plain 30 miles long. It has all kinds of excellent fruit. It has many fields It is beside a river. The city is on the plain Mentesa There are many olive and fig trees Next to a river. On a plain Baeza Drinking water from springs. Abundance of fig trees and vines On a mountain Tudela There is an abundance of sables Its fur is used for scabbards 08/06/2009 8:26:11 106 Francisco Franco-Sánchez Appendix i ibn ayyn provides information about the adaqa or canonical tax on livestock, crops, gold and silver, gathered from a note by ar-Rz. In Raman of 362/June 973 (eight years before Almanzor took on the iba, in 981-371) the caliph al-akam II saw off some of his Berber allies who wanted to go back to their lands in the Maghreb. Together with splendid gifts, he gave them a diploma —that was really a kind of “constitution”— which included a series of basic religious, fiscal, social and political norms. This document contains the specific guidelines to follow about the aspects mentioned, both inside the community, and with regard to relations with their Š‘i neighbours. Included in full by ar-Rz and copied by Ibn ayyn, this document was dedicate to the most notable of all them, Ab l-‘Ayš Ibn Ayyb “this diploma that conferred on him the legitimate authority over its people the tribes of Kutma”, moreover “on this day, on which they were given permission to leave, all the Berber chiefs (...) to whom the control over the tribes in their jurisdiction was granted, were presented with the diplomas that accredited them, written according to the text in which it was conceded to the chief among them, Ab l-‘Ayš Ibn Ayyb”. There are many and varied sections in this set of rules which were imposed by al-akam II, which refer to the various legal taxes, mentioning grain, livestock, gold and silver, etc. “The zakaat (adaqa) must be taken from your subjects corresponding to the goods harvested, as well as that of the fruits that are on your land, and the adaqa or legal alms on livestock, in accordance with the legal precepts and prescriptions, without reducing or increasing nor altering in any way the precepts, which are the following: The zakaat on gold and silver (...) The zakaat on camels (...) For minor livestock, from forty head (given that below this number there is no zakaat) and up to one hundred and twenty, the zakaat will be one head of livestock. From one hundred and twenty to two hundred, it will be two head, and from two hundred to three hundred, three. Over three hundred, the zakaat will be a head for each hundred. For cattle, from thirty head (given that below this number there is no zakaat) and up to forty, the zakaat is a two-year-old bullock (tab‘). When the number of animals reaches forty, the zakaat is a three-year-old cow (musinna). From forty upwards, the zakaat is a two-year-old bullock for each additional fraction of thirty, or a three-year-old cow for each additional fraction of forty. What is separate must not be joined and what is joined must not be separated to avoid the adaqa. Thus, if three men together have one hundred and twenty sheep, forty for each, they must pay only one sheep, and not three as would be required separately; and if two men have together two hundred and one sheep, they must pay three (seeing that, if the collector separated them, they would not have to pay more than one sheep each). Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 83-112. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 106 08/06/2009 8:26:12 The andalusian economy in the times of Almanzor 107 The payment of the adaqa must be taken from the livestock that has shed its first teeth or that is a little younger; but it must not be taken from that which is breeding —or that has already given birth—, nor from that which is being fattened for meat, nor the stud of the livestock. [here follows the text about the zakaat on agricultural products, shown above] The zakaat is not applicable to the imm taxpayer, either men or women, nor to any of their goods or livestock. They are only obliged to pay the capitation tax or izya. However, if they trade between one country and another, they must pay a tenth part of the product they sell. The bearer of this writ must act with justice to levy the zakaat and to distribute it among the eight categories of people designated by God Almighty, or in the case that they do not all exist in the country, of the parts that correspond to those that have a right to them, that is, those who wage holy war on the infidels and heretics, according to the decision by the Cadis of the prince of the believers that operated in the Maghreb. Only an eighth of the zakaat which God conceded to those who levy it, can be appropriated, without increasing or exceeding this quantity. Nowhere on the land entrusted to you may any customs posts be built, that charge any toll to passengers and travellers, and they must not demand from them, either by land, or by sea, any tribute, alcabala (sales tax), contribution, food tax, nor extortion or expense that is weighed on their goods (… …)”.37 Various aspects from this text have to be considered. In first place, we can suppose that this norm that was imposed on the allied Maghrebins was the same as applied in al-Andalus, as it is very generic and in accordance with what is stipulated in the general treatises on Islamic administrative economy, and moreover, the Maghrebins would have protested if their zakaat had been higher than that of the Andalusians. Only the camel tax should be excluded, for these were nonexistent on the Peninsula (at least in the numbers of head described). These legal taxes were based on a charge for agricultural production, as well as on the possession of gold and silver, and livestock. In the latter case, it first specifies in detail the one corresponding to camels, given that the document was aimed at the Maghrebin Berbers. Further, the taxes on minor and major livestock are specified; in the minor case (sheep and goats) payment began at 40 head, and for up to 120 head the required payment was one head; in the case of cattle, there was an exemption up to 30 head, and between 30 and 40 the payment was a bullock. These tax bands were important, given that, in the case of the zakaats being considered equal, we must conclude that there was great wealth in livestock in al-Andalus. That means that that in the 9th/10th centuries, the small domestic flocks were free from the payment of such taxes, while must consider the possibility that whoever 37. Ibn ayyn. Kitb al-muqtabis f ta’rj ril al-Andalus: VII, ed Emilio García Gómez. El Califato de Córdoba…: 143-145 (chap. 112). Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 83-112. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 107 08/06/2009 8:26:13 108 Francisco Franco-Sánchez had a flock or herd would have a minimum of 40 sheep or goats or 30 cattle and that it would be normal to exceed this figure. A curious point are the amendments on tax gathering which were soon made in an attempt to evade fiscal avarice. As the norm was to gather the flocks together and employ a shepherd to look after them, this was always the most favourable option for the owners when it came to paying tax. Similarly, it is notable that Muslim legal tax tended not to be levied on the imms, unless they traded with Muslims (in which case they also had to pay the tithe); and the indication of the eighth that would be kept by the collector of such taxes needs to be considered. It is prohibited to ask your subjects or travellers “either by land, or by sea, for tribute, alcabala, contribution, food tax, nor extortion or expense over their goods”, which makes sense, given that the cited taxes were illegal, and this was an official document. On the other hand, we know that in al-Andalus these illicit fees (being outside the sunna) existed during the caliphate, were normal during the period of the taifas, and there are even some specific examples of their presence from the Almohad and Narid periods. The express prohibition of the building of a “customs post that charged passengers and travellers a toll” must be understood in the same sense, from which it could be concluded that during the caliphate period there were no such fiefdoms or internal tolls (at least legally authorised ones) in al-Andalus, but Ibn awqal’s text implies the opposite (see above). Finally, among the various conclusions that can be drawn, there is one that relates to the albacares (exterior enclosures annexed at walls) of the fortifications, as places where the local troops would guard the livestock collected as adaqa, until their subsequent sale (and conversion into cash), or consumption.38 It follows that, if the tax to be paid is clear and we know that the grain was stored in the alorines state granaries, this livestock would also have to be stabled, even if only for a short period, in some ad hoc enclosure. Appendix ii firm conclusions still cannot be drawn from the study of the economy of alAndalus. The three maps included, illustrating the peninsula’s productive economy between the 11th and 13th centuries, are a graphic summary and synthesis of the data.39 Despite showing its age, the work by César Emilio Dubler “Sobre la vida economica en la Península Ibérica del siglo XI al XIII. Contribución a las relaciones islamo-cristianas” 38. See the explanation by Epalza, Míkel de. “Funciones ganaderas de los albacares, en las fortalezas musulmanas”. Sharq Al-Andalus. Estudios Árabes, 1 (1984): 47-54. 39. Dubler, César E. Über das Wirtschaftsleben auf der iberischen Halbinsel vom XI. zum XIII. Jahrhundert. Beitrag zu den islamisch-chistlichen Beziehungen. Ginebra-Erlenbach-Zürich: Librairie E. Droz-Eugen Rentsch Verlag, 1943: 1-XIV + 1-186 pp. See the details about this work that García Gómez, Emilio added in the review he wrote in Al-Andalus, 10 (1945): 472-474. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 83-112. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 108 08/06/2009 8:26:14 The andalusian economy in the times of Almanzor 109 was the first in-depth, detailed and extensive study of the Andalusian economy. Concentrating on the 11th to 13th centuries, he painted a panorama of the Andalusian productions and crafts based on the oriental geographers, but especially on the data from al-Idrs and al-imyar, also using the Arab toponymy profusely,40 as well as the data supplied by contemporary Christian sources. These three maps have been translated from German, and are included here, although doing so might be problematic, because they are a useful way of approaching the distribution of Andalusian production. 40. Despite the novelty of using the Arab toponymy as a vehicle for historical information, it must be mentioned that Dubler assumes the postulations by Miguel Asín, with nothing other than a mere enunciation of toponymy and meanings, and without further semantic or morphological criticism. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 83-112. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 109 08/06/2009 8:26:15 Anglès.indd 110 Location of non-metallic materials production in the iberian peninsula Arab sources Calamine (Zinc) al-khul Sulfur Alum and vitriol Gypsum Lapis lazuli Ochre Special clays Salt and salt mine production Marble quarry Gemstones Amber Christian Toponyms sources 08/06/2009 8:26:21 Anglès.indd 111 Craft productions in the Iberian Peninsula (XIth-XIIIth centuries) Glass Pottery Toponyms with pottery Cotton Flax, hemp Cotton Wool Textile crafts Ropeworkers crafts (filters, ropes, nets) Dyes: dry cleaners Wood: production and crafts Comercial harbour anchorage yards Fishing Leather: production and goods Paper productions Oil production limit 08/06/2009 8:26:27 Anglès.indd 112 Location of metal and mineral production in the Iberian Peninsula Arab sources Gold Raw materials Alluvial gold Silver Copper Lead Tim Iron Magnetita Marcasite Mercury Archeological remains of the mining industry Toponyms al-ma'din as-sama az-za'uq Christian sources 08/06/2009 8:26:34 LOYALTY, FRIENDSHIP AND LOVE IN THE LETTERS OF FULBERT OF CHARTRES Analie Germain Université de Provence-Aix-Marseille France Date of reception: 25th of April, 2007 Final date of acceptance: 18th of December, 2007 Abstract In letter 51 of his correspondence, Fulbert of Chartres offers a definition of fidelitas which has long been used by historians to describe feudal-vassalic relations. In all of his correspondence, Fulbert expresses this social bond by using an elaborate vocabulary of friendship and emotions. He thus qualifies social relations described as an element of vassalage and loyalty and gives them a moral content. He defines amicitia, particularly for the attention of William of Aquitaine, by emphasising its “useful” aspect and stressing its objective, honestum or the common good, terms that have already been found in his 51st letter to define fidelitas. Friendship is therefore a natural corollary of the relationships of loyalty within the clergy or in the secular world. In the same way relationships of loyalty are coupled with the use of the vocabulary of affectus, which conveys the ideals of peace and the common good, heralded by the Bishop of Chartres in feudal society at the beginning of the 11th century. Key Words Fulbert de Chartres, Faithfulness, Friendship, Peace, Love. Capitalia verba Fulbertus Carnutinus, Fidelitas, Amicitia, Pax, Caritas. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 113-132. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 113 113 08/06/2009 8:26:34 114 Analie Germain The letters of Fulbert, bishop of Chartres between about 1006 and 1028, are a fundamental source of knowledge about the organisation of feudal society. Indeed, this bishop, appointed by King Robert the Pious, following his position as scolaster of Chartres and reputed for his erudition and piety, left 131 letters which are concerned with particular problems of a legal, ecclesiastical and religious nature. These letters show how the bishop forged a network of relationships among the great and the good of society at the start of the 11th century: he corresponded, for example, with Robert the Pious, Fulk Nerra Count of Anjou, William, Duke of Aquitaine or Eudes II Count of Blois and Chartres, but also with churchmen such as Odilo of Cluny or Abbo of Fleury. This source is an invitation to examine the society of power around the year 1000 and covers the notion of feudality.1 Indeed, Fulbert of Chartres, in his famous letter 512 of his correspondence, offered a definition of fidelitas, in which many historians have seen the definition of feudal-vassalic relationships for the attention of William, Duke of Aquitaine3. Indeed, it seems that the Bishop of Chartres plays on both meanings of the word fidelitas, which represents the feudal-vassalic relationship in its entirety as well as sworn loyalty4. Thus he defines the relationship of loyalty, which forms part of the vassalic ritual but includes other types of relationship, through the concepts of securitas, consilium and auxilium. In this way his letter can act as a basis for establishing the rules of vassalage like those for any type of loyalty. Fulbert emphasises the moral aspect of this man-to-man relationship, which must follow the established rules and which 1. This article has been developed out of a communication presented on 21st May 2005 in Aix-enProvence, as part of the Doctoral Meetings organised conjointly by SICMA (Sociétés, Idéologies, Croyances au Moyen Age) laboratories of the University of Provence and CHREMMO (Centre Historique de Recherches Médiévales sur la Méditerranée Occidentale) of the University of Montpellier III-Paul Valery. It makes up part of a thesis at the University of Provence under the supervision of Mrs. H. Taviani-Carozzi. I am grateful to those who participated in the Doctoral Meetings for their advice and support. I am grateful to Mrs. H. Taviani-Carozzi for rereading it. 2. The numbering and the text of the letters used in this article refer to The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres, ed. Frederik Behrends. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1976. The translation of the letters is personal. 3. This letter is particularly used in the following reference works: Bloch, Marc. La société féodale. Paris: Albin-Michel, 1994 (first edition, Paris: Albin Michel, 1940); Ganshof, François-Louis. Qu’est-ce que la féodalité ? Paris: Tallandier, 1982 (first edition, Bruxelles: impr. de l’Office de Publicité, 1944); Boutruche, Robert. Seigneurie et Féodalité. I. Le premier âge des liens d’homme à homme. Paris: Aubier, 1968; Bournazel, Eric; Poly, Jean-Pierre. La mutation féodale Xe-XIIe siècles. Paris: Presses universitaires de France, 1991. 4. The Latin text of this letter, following the edition The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 90-92: Glorioso duci Aquitanorum W(illelmo) F(ulbertus) episcopus oracionis suffragium. De forma fidelitatis aliquid scribere monitus, haec vobis quae secuntur breviter ex librorum auctoritate notavi. Qui domino suo fidelitatem iurat, ista sex in memoria semper habere debet: incolume, tutum, honestum, utile, facile, possibile. Incolume videlicet, ne sit in dampnum domino de corpore suo. Tutum, ne sit ei in dampnum de secreto suo vel de municionibus per quas tutus esse potest. Honestum, ne sit ei in dampnum de sua iustitia vel de aliis causis quae ad honestatem eius pertinere videntur. Utile, ne sit ei in dampnum de suis possessionibus. Facile vel possibile, ne id bonum quod dominus suus leviter facere poterat faciat ei difficile, neve id quod possibile erat, reddat ei impossibile. Ut fidelis haec nocumenta caveat iustum est, sed non ideo casamentum meretur. Non enim sufficit abstinere a malo, nisi fiat quod bonum est. Restat ergo ut in eisdem sex supradictis consilium et auxilium domino suo fideliter prestet, si beneficio dignus videri vult, et salvus esse de fidelitate quam iuravit. Dominus quoque fideli suo in his omnibus vicem reddere debet (…). Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 113-132. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 114 08/06/2009 8:26:35 Loyalty, friendship and love in the letters of Fulbert of Chartres 115 aims at achieving bonum, utile and honestum, in other words the common good and the sovereign good of feudal society5. For the Bishop of Chartres, this relationship is essential to society in his time: it enables the moralisation and hierarchisation of the secular world as well as the clerical, in order to promote peace and justice. In the 131 letters that make up his correspondence, this notion of fidelitas and the lexical field associated with it frequently recur and are often connected to two other lexical fields, those of friendship and of love. How then is this association between the two vocabularies, one of social relationships and one of emotions, understood? And what are the words and the concepts that can prove the connection between the two? Does Fulbert of Chartres attempt to apply another cultural and moral model to the relationship of loyalty and if so, with what aim? It is sensible to consider in which contexts, in which circumstances and according to what needs the specific vocabulary of fidelitas is enriched with other notions like those of “friendship” and “love”. 1. Loyalty and friendship in the letters of Fulbert of Chartres In the letters of Fulbert that contain the lexical field of loyalty, another lexical field is sometimes found, namely that of amicitia. This concept was inherited from Greek and Roman Antiquity6. Cicero, in his treatise De Amicitia, passed on the conceptions of Antiquity of this social relationship to the men of the Middle Ages. In Rome, amicitia was embodied by two types of relationships: a noble relationship between highborn political men who shared the same education and values, in particular the quest for virtue, and another, more common relationship, which subordinates the client to his superior. The term amicitia was employed to represent this relationship, despite the inequality between the two partners. From the earliest centuries of this era, the Christian authors revisited this Greek and Roman heritage and adapted it to their beliefs and their communal way of life. The theme of caritas, Christian love which is a gift from God and which must nourish the clergy, subsequently appeared and was preferred to the Roman notion of amicitia within monastic communities from the end of Antiquity and the early Middle Ages7. The Greco-Roman heritage however survived, revisited and adapted by the Church Fathers, such as Saint Augustine or Ambrose of Milan, who passed it on to the literate 5. For a thorough analysis of this letter and in particular its rhetorical aspect and moral content, see the following studies: Becker, Alfons. “Form und Materie. Bemerkungen zu Fulberts von Chartres De forma fidelitatis im Lehnrecht des Mittelalters und der frühen Neuzeit”. Historisches Jahrbuch, 102 (1982): 325361; Adalbéron de Laon. Poème au roi Robert, ed. and trans. Claude Carozzi. Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 1979. See the introduction for clarification of letter 51 by Fulbert of Chartres. 6. The following work offers a detailed panorama of the notion of friendship in Antiquity and its evolution: Konstan, David. Friendship in the classical world. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997. 7. Brian P. McGuire offers an analysis of this evolution: McGuire, Brian P. Friendship and community: the monastic experience, 350-1250. Kalamazoo: Cistercian Publications, 1988. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 113-132. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 115 08/06/2009 8:26:36 116 Analie Germain men of the Middle Ages. Gerbert of Rheims and Fulbert of Chartres in particular turned amicitia into a lofty ideal of virtue and affection shared between two men, as well as a social relationship that was useful to both parties. They thereby returned to the notion of utile, from utilitas developed by Cicero in many of his works,8 which Fulbert employs to define fidelitas in his letter 51. It seems therefore that these two social relations, amicitia and fidelitas, are adorned with the same moral connotations by the Bishop of Chartres. Taking as a starting point the study of vocabulary of amicitia associated with words and expressions which convey loyalty, this discussion intends to analyse the particular relation that linked Fulbert to William of Aquitaine, because it gives rise to the use of two lexical fields. 2. Amicitia in the lexical field of loyalty This notion of amicitia is evident in Fulbert’s letters through words of the same family and words which are closely linked. If we take the lexical field of amicitia in the letters which already contain the lexical field of fidelitas9, we notice first of all the rarity and poverty of this lexical field in comparison with that of loyalty. The words are particularly significant in relation to appearing in the text. The most common word, amicus, only appears seven times in the correspondence, while the term fidelitas10 appears 16 times and the term fidelis11, 22 times. In letter 26, the bishop of Chartres denies being a friend of Léothier, Archbishop of Sens. In letters 105, 114 and 117, Hildegar, Fulbert’s secretary, brings him news of his “friend” William of Aquitaine12. Fulbert uses this term amicus again in letter 119 referring directly to William. Similarly, the superlative amicissimus was used by Hildegar to qualify William’s attitude towards Fulbert in letter 109. The term amicitia is also rare: it is found in letter 1 addressed by Fulbert to Abbo de Fleury and is above all used to characterize the relationship between the bishop of Chartres and William of Aquitaine. Certain terms are closely associated with the concept of amicitia: Hildegar wrote to 8. In particular, see his De Officiis (Cicero, Marco Tulio. De Officcis, éd. Walter Miller. Cambridge [Mass.] -London: Harvard University Press-William Heinemann, 1975) and his De Amicitia (Cicero, Marco Tulio. De amicitia, ed. Valentín García Yebra. Madrid: Gredos, 1987). 9. The lexical field of the fidelitas is very rich in the letters of Fulbert de Chartres. The following words and expressions can be pointed out: fidelitas, fidelis, fidus, fideliter, subditus, satelles, dominus, casatus, miles, auxilium, consilium, securitas, casamentum, beneficium, honor, dignitas … 10. The word was picked out in the following letters: The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 2 (letter 1, 2 twice), 10 (letter 2), 12 (letters 3, 4), 20 (letter 9, 2 twice), 148 (letter 82), 164 (letter 92), 172 (letter 95), 178 (letter 99), 204 (letter 114), 208 (letter 115), 214 (letter 120), 218 (letter 122), 228 (letter 127). 11. The word was picked out in the following letters: The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 12 (letter 3), 14 (letter 5), 16 (letter 6), 20 (letter 9), 50 (letter 27, twice), 58 (letter 31), 74 (letter 42), 98 (letter 56), 106 (letter 62), 108 (letter 64), 138 (letter 78), 150 (letter 83), 172 (letter 95), 182 (letter 100), 204 (letter 114), 206 (letter 115), 212/214 (letter 119, twice), 218 (letter 122), 224 (letter 125), 226 (letter 126). 12. Hildegar, previously chancellor and secretary to the Bishop of Chartres, was, from 1022, his representative in Poitiers, capital city of William of Aquitaine, where Fulbert was in charge of the treasurer of Saint-Hilaire. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 113-132. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 116 08/06/2009 8:26:37 Loyalty, friendship and love in the letters of Fulbert of Chartres 117 Fulbert that he “can observe the goodness, familiarity, friendship and patience of his friend William (Duke of Aquitaine) towards him”13. Fulbert wrote to the Duke of Aquitaine that he “felt his benevolence, which to him was more gentle in affection and actually more useful than the benevolence of all of his friends”14. The notion of utilitas is found in the greeting of letter 107, that Fulbert sent to William of Aquitaine and in which he wished him “usefulness and honesty” or “the common good and the sovereign good”15. These ideas, associated with the term amicitia, allow a more precise definition of this relationship: it was a question of a social bond in which affectus and utilitas, far from conflicting, complement each other. The idea of utilitas, which Fulbert had already used to define loyalty, is also used to characterize amicitia. We furthermore notice that the idea of amicitia was particularly used among educated men since Hildegar, Fulbert and William of Aquitaine were men of letters16 who knew enough about Cicero to remember the connection that he had made between amicitia and utile in his works17. Integrated into the vocabulary of friendship, the words fidelitas, dominus, consilium, beneficium, servulus, words which belong to the lexical field of fidelitas, are also found. At the end of this brief presentation of the context in which the vocabulary of friendship associated with the lexical field of fidelitas is used, it is worth noting that these vocabulary associations do not, after all, affect certain relationships of the Bishop of Chartres. Fulbert’s correspondence with the Duke of Aquitaine or with Hildegar on the subject of the Duke of Aquitaine focuses on the heart of these associations. The relationship between the Bishop of Chartres and the Duke of Aquitaine will be the subject of a separate study. But it is possible henceforth to attempt to analyse the association of the two lexical fields in the letters exchanged between Fulbert and Abbo de Fleury, Hildegar and Léothier of Sens. In 1004, Fulbert, not yet bishop, but a simple clerk and possible secretary to Bishop Rodolphe of Chartres, wrote to the famous Abbot Abbo de Fleury to ask for his aid against the new abbot of SaintPère de Chartres, installed by Count Eudes. Fulbert wrote to Abbo that he did not know “what to give in return for the granting of his good friendship”, and then he “responds to his friendship with eternal loyalty”18. We find a direct association in this letter between fidelitas and amicitia, since the friendship offered by Abbo seems 13. amici tui Guillelmi deprehendere potes erga te benignitatem, familiaritatem, amititiam (sic), sustinentiam (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 210 [letter 117]). 14. Vestram (…) benivolenciam expertus sum cunctis amicorum meorum benivolenciis affectu mihi dulciorem, effectu quoque utiliorem (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 212 [letter 119]). 15. Clarissimo duci Aquitanorum G(uillelmo) F(ulbertus) humilis episcopus utile et honestum (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 190 [letter 107]). 16. Fulbert and Hildegar are or were renowned scolasters. William is a lay prince reputed for his culture and he does not hesitate to ask Fulbert for some books. 17. We find in letter 51 by Fulbert (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 90, 92) a long reference to De Inventione by Cicero, in particular in the use of the words utile and honestum, which are central to Ciceronian thinking on virtue. This aspect has been studied by: Carozzi, Claude. « Introduction », Adalbéron de Laon, Poème au roi Robert, ed. and trans. Claude Carozzi. Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 1979: I-XII. 18. quid rependam muneris santae amicitiae…et ac perennem fidelitatis habitum amicitiae tuae rependo (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 2 [letter 1]). Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 113-132. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 117 08/06/2009 8:26:38 118 Analie Germain to require Fulbert’s loyalty in return. Moreover, they appear along with two notions of other words from the same lexical field: friendship is conveyed by the benivolentia of Abbo and Fulbert owes him “a student’s loyalty”19 towards his master (dominus). Fulbert therefore introduced the word amicitia into the lexical field of fidelitas. Two interpretations of this letter are possible. Fulbert may have associated these two lexical fields with a simple rhetorical goal: it would mean convincing Abbo of his friendship and loyalty with the exclusive aim of obtaining his help in a specific affair. However, Fulbert undoubtedly truly sought the friendship of Abbo, this man of letters whom he respected “as his student”. In this case, the use of the lexical field of loyalty goes back to the master-disciple relationship that Fulbert knew well as he was the scolaster of Chartres, and not a relationship of vassalage. The flexibility of the relationship of loyalty is apparent here as it can include the relationship between a scolaster and his students, which was certainly the case in Chartres between Fulbert and his old followers, such as Hildegar. This relationship is thus accompanied by a friendship sometimes born out of living with each other within the school, often out of mutual respect among men of letters. The relationship between Fulbert and Hildegar therefore offers another example of friendship, founded on fidelitas. Hildegar was first of all a student of Fulbert, then scolaster of Chartres. He then became one of the clerks in his entourage, then his secretary and Chancellor. He shared his daily life and became part of his familiaritas. A double loyalty binds them, the one that binds Hildegar to his old master within the cathedral school of Chartres and the one that binds him to the bishop within the Chartrian clergy. The two men never used the vocabulary of amicitia in their letters except to characterise the relationship between Fulbert and William of Aquitaine. On the other hand, they used a lavish vocabulary taken from the lexical field of loyalty: Hildegar frequently described himself as fidelis in view of his dominus Fulbert, to whom he owed fidelitas20. Along with these words, there are numerous emotional terms such as carissimus or dilectissimus21 and set phrases which are indeed the topoi of amicitia, inherited from Antiquity and the early Middle Ages. For example, Fulbert writes to Hildegar, “your absence often reminds me of how much your presence was indispensable to me”22. This old platitude of friendship had already been used by the Christian Fathers or during the Carolingian renaissance23. It was therefore a relationship of friendship, characterised by reciprocal affection and usefulness, since Fulbert granted Hildegar 19. fidelitas ut alumni (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 2 [letter 1]). 20. See for example the form of address in letter 114 and letter 115: The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 204, 206-207. 21. The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 188 (letter 105). 22. Absencia tua sepe commemoror quam necessarius eras presens (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 156 [letter 88]). 23. White, Caroline. “Friendship in absence – Some patristic views”, Friendship in medieval Europe, Julian Haseldine, dir. Sutton: Stroud, 1999: 68-89; Goetz, Hans-Werner. “ ‘Beatus homo qui invenit amicum’. The concept of friendship in early medieval letters of the Anglo-Saxon tradition on the continent (Boniface, Alcuin) “, Friendship in medieval Europe, Julian Haseldine dir. Sutton: Stroud, 1999: 124-136. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 113-132. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 118 08/06/2009 8:26:39 Loyalty, friendship and love in the letters of Fulbert of Chartres 119 important positions such as chancellor and scolaster at Chartres,24 while Hildegar represented him in Poitiers and passed on crucial information to him. The use of the vocabulary of loyalty bears witness to the fact that the friendship between these two educated men did not erase the ecclesiastical hierarchy between the clerk and the bishop, the social hierarchy between the master and the follower. We can however ask ourselves why the vocabulary of friendship that the two men master perfectly and use for other people, is not used in this relationship. This vocabulary was indeed replaced by the fraternal or paternal vocabulary generally used in the church: both men call each other “brother” or “father”. This lack of vocabulary of friendship should not necessarily be interpreted as an absence of friendship, but rather as the existence of another model of friendship, that of a spiritual friendship based on caritas, the Christian love that the clergy were supposed to disseminate25. The case of the letter written to Léothier of Sens is different: it is very possible that Fulbert swore an oath of loyalty to Léothier, his archbishop, during his consecration as Bishop of Chartres. Indeed, the Romano-Germanic Pontifical of the 10th century, widely known and copied in the north of France, bears witness to the fact that the ordinationes of bishops often contained an oath of obedience and loyalty to their archbishops26. Thus, both men maintained within the church a relationship of loyalty, which excluded homage, but drew at length on the lexical field of fidelitas. Fulbert often used the notion of fidelitas, particularly in the forms of address of the letters. He therefore promises Léothier “the service of his loyalty”27 or “the service and the feeling of his loyalty”28. The terms fidelis and dominus are also present in these letters. From letter 16 we learn that Léothier excommunicated an enemy of Fulbert who went on to thank him for it. It seems that Léothier provided help, auxilium, ecclesiastically speaking, to his suffragan bishop. Finally, in letter 26, Fulbert reproaches Léothier for having consecrated the new Bishop of Orleans “without his council”29. Therefore, in the letters from Fulbert to his archbishop, we find a group of terms that belong to the lexical field of loyalty. The conflict between the two prelates on the subject of the Bishop of Orleans gave Fulbert the occasion to deny any friendship with Léothier, “with pleasure I will accept, father, you calling me your friend, if you yourself act like a friend”30. Prior to this letter, we 24. scolarum ferulam et cancellarii tabulas tibi servo (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 194 [letter 108]). 25. Caritas, or Christian love, defines the idealised relationships between members of the regular or secular clergy. However, with Fulbert of Chartres, the use of caritas vocabulary becomes systematic between clerks. To conclude that a friendship between two correspondents is real, the presence, along with this vocabulary, of a whole emotional and friendship lexical field must therefore be established. 26. LXIII Ordinatio episcopi: Vis sanctae Mogontiensi aecclesiae, mihi et successoribus meis fidem et subiectionem exhibere? Volo (Vogel, Cyrille; Elze, Reinhard. Le Pontifical Romano-Germanique du Xe siècle. Cité du Vatican: Biblioteca apostolica vaticana, 1963: I, 202). 27. obsequium fidelitatis (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 12 (letter 3). 28. fidelitatis affectum et obsequium (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 12 [letter 4]). 29. sine meo consilio (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 48 [letter 26]). 30. Quod me, pater, amicum appellas gratanter annuerem, si te quoque exhiberes amicum (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 48 [letter 26]). Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 113-132. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 119 08/06/2009 8:26:40 120 Analie Germain often find an emotional vocabulary in the missives from Fulbert to his archbishop, which proves that their relationship of loyalty was coupled, before this event, with a relationship of friendship. This rested on Fulbert’s oath of loyalty and involved “help” and “council” between the two prelates. It brought together affectus or dilectio, the feeling of love between them and utilitas, as much for the two prelates as for the church as a whole. Lastly, this relationship did not abolish the hierarchy that existed between the archbishop and the suffragan bishop. Moreover, it was this hierarchical bond that the fidelitas lexical field expresses. Fulbert of Chartres’ correspondence offers some examples of different social relationships, bringing together friendship and loyalty. The use of these two lexical fields allows the relationships to be qualified differently each time and to value only certain relationships of loyalty. It is noticeable that there were several models of friendship, amicitia, between men of letters or caritas between clerks, but that, in all of these models, loyalty was an essential component. Similarly there were many types of loyalty, be they between the follower and the master or between the bishop and his archbishop, which nourished different friendships. In addition, friendship did not erase the social hierarchies at the start of the 11th century: admittedly it made the two men equals in theory, by virtue of their culture and elevated position in society. However, within this “élite” there was of course a hierarchy which is explained by the use of the words dominus, fidelis. This hierarchy of equality, within an élite, is of course to be compared with the system of vassalage, in which J. Le Goff31 found the same phenomenon. Fulbert’s specific relationship with William of Aquitaine gave rise to a very liberal use of the two lexical fields of friendship and loyalty and enables a more precise analysis of how this double social bond works. 3. Fulbert and William of Aquitaine The relationship between the two men is complex and they themselves expressed this in a number of ways. In the correspondence of the Bishop of Chartres, the first image that we have of this relationship is that given in the letters that Hildegar sent to Fulbert from Poitiers and which systematically mentioned his “friend the Count William”32: Hildegar is Fulbert’s representative in Poitiers, in the post of treasurer of 31. See his analysis of the vassalic ritual in the following work: Le Goff, Jacques. “Pour un autre Moyen Age, temps, travail et culture en occident: 18 essais », Un autre Moyen Age. Paris: Gallimard, 1999: 11-400. Jacques Le Goff evokes the procedure of the vassalic ritual and its symbolic sense: homage and immixtio manuum mean the submission of the vassal to his lord and therefore the hierarchy that exists in feudalvassalic relationships. On the other hand osculum exchanged by the two men at the end of the ritual shows that they are equals, that they belong to one and the same élite. 32. amicus vester comes G(uillelmus) (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 190 [letter 105]); G(uillelmus), comes amicus tuus (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 204 (letter 114). There are comparable formulas in letters 109 and 117 (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 194 [letter 109], 210 [letter 117]). Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 113-132. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 120 08/06/2009 8:26:41 Loyalty, friendship and love in the letters of Fulbert of Chartres 121 Saint-Hilaire. Indeed William of Aquitaine33 was, as Count of Poitiers, the secular father of Saint-Hilaire and could appoint to the very lucrative post of treasurer of Saint-Hilaire. In 1022, he appointed Fulbert of Chartres to this post, in the hope of attracting this famous man of letters to Poitiers. But Fulbert was occupied with his work in his diocese and sent Hildegar to represent him. The latter played the role of intermediary between the prince and the prelate and bore witness to the attitude of William towards the man who had awarded him this honor34, “you can observe goodness, familiarity, friendship and patience in your friend William towards you”35. Again we find all the vocabulary of amicitia in the letters of Hildegar, and this man of letters seemed to take pleasure in defining this relationship between a prelate and a great layman with the help of a vocabulary with Ciceronian overtones. The lexical field of loyalty is barely used except for the word honor describing the post of treasurer of Saint-Hilaire. We therefore distinguish, in Hildegar’s letters, the coexistence of two types of loyalty between William of Aquitaine and Fulbert of Chartres: the honor that William entrusted to Fulbert includes fidelitas, maybe sworn, and servitia. The plentiful vocabulary of friendship used by Hildegar indicates that both men also maintain fidelitas which rests in a relationship of amicitia. These two relationships, which we are examining separately in order to give a clear analysis, are not differentiated in the three men’s letters, who stressed one or another of them according to their needs. Fulbert’s correspondence conserved the letters exchanged by the two protagonists of this social relationship, as well as a letter from Fulbert to Hildegar in which the bishop defines his relationship with William. These missives bear witness to the relationship of amicitia which existed between the two men. Indeed, in them we find a plentiful vocabulary of amicitia and affectus: the adjectives carus-carissimus and dilectus-dilectissimus were often used36. William sent Fulbert his “kindest regards”37 while Fulbert compared the count to his best friends38. The words bonitas, benevolentia define the relationships between the two men and in particular William’s attitude to Fulbert39. The bishop also rejoiced in the caritas40 and the affectus that William showed him. Thus he wrote to the count that he wished to “revive the admirable 33. Richard, Alfred. Histoire des comtes de Poitou, tome I. 778-1204. Paris: Picard, 1903; Treffort, Cécile. “Le comte de Poitiers, duc d’Aquitaine et l’Eglise aux alentours de l’an mil 970-1030”. Cahiers de civilisation médiévale, 43 (2000): 395-445. 34. non amittes susceptum honorem si tenere volueris. (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 210 [letter 117]). 35. amici tui Guillelmi deprehendere potes erga te benignitatem, familiaritatem, amititiam, sustinentiam. (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 210 [letter 117]). 36. The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 164 (letter 92), 208 (letter 116). 37. caras amicicias. (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 208 [letter 116]) 38. See note 13 above. 39. The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 212 (letter 119), 216 (letter 120). 40. vobis autem me licet immerentem gratuitis beneficiis accumulare mira caritatis abundancia placet. (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 212 [letter 119]). Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 113-132. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 121 08/06/2009 8:26:42 122 Analie Germain gentleness of his affection towards him”41. Both men therefore seem to have had a veritable affection for each other. Similarly, Fulbert presented himself as the faithful servant of his lord, William. Sometimes it was William who called Fulbert dominus, thus showing his respect for the bishop and the reputed man of letters that he was. This vocabulary conveys the loyalty that they owed each other within their friendship. Both men gave each other many presents. For example, Fulbert wrote to William, “I accepted your free donations”42; he is talking about the “free benefits”43 that William gave to him. One could believe that Fulbert was talking about the post of treasurer of Saint-Hilaire, but that would contradict the use of the terms servitium, deservire associated with this position. It is therefore more likely that these “free donations” refer to the alms, the offerings made by William to the church of Chartres for its reconstruction after a fire that destroyed it in 1020. Fulbert alluded to these offerings in letter 92 and wrote in letter 119 that they were use in the “service” of Jesus and his mother Mary, in other words the service of the Cathedral, Notre-Dame de Chartres44. In exchange Fulbert sent him a collection of texts on King Salomon, a subject that interested the Duke45. In addition, Fulbert constituted a point d’appui for William north of the Loire and a means of obtaining information about the king or the Counts of Anjou46 and Blois and Chartres. This amicitia was very useful in the practical sense of the term. We find, moreover, the notion of utile in the definition of this relationship between the two men: Fulbert thanked William for his benevolence which to him was “more useful indeed than that of all his friends”47. He also greeted the duke by wishing him “usefulness and honesty”48. Finally, Hildegar advised Fulbert to keep the post of treasurer of Saint-Hilaire for as long as possible, even if he could not do so himself, “if he thinks that it will be useful to him”49. The notion of utilitas is therefore at the heart of the relationship between Fulbert and the Duke of Aquitaine. In the letter from Hildegar, it is a 41. relevare cupio mirabilem affectus vestri erga me dulcedinem.. (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 214 [letter 119]). 42. munera vestra gratis suscepisse. (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 212 [letter 119]). 43. gratuitis beneficiis (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 212 [letter 119]). The adverb gratis and the adjective gratuitus do not signify free in the modern sense of the term: payment and donations in return were probably expected by William. On the other hand these gifts did not bind Fulbert in servitium to the Duke of Aquitaine. 44. propter elemosinam quam misit ad restauracionem ecclesiae nostrae (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 164 [letter 92]); Domninum Ihesum Christum et sanctam Mariam genitricem eius in cuius officio expensa sunt mercedem uobis reddituros (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres, ed. Frederick Behrends…: 214 [letter 119]). 45. tibi etiam misisse sibi exponendas sentencias Bacharii, Bedae et Rabani de fine Salomonis. (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 164 [letter 92]). 46. Foulque Nerra, then Count of Anjou, was a “difficult vassal” of William of Aquitaine. 47. Vestram (…) benivolenciam expertus sum cunctis amicorum meorum benivolenciis affectu mihi dulciorem, effectu quoque utiliorem. (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 212 [letter 119]). 48. Clarissimo duci Aquitanorum G(uillelmo) F(ulbertus) humilis episcopus utile et honestum. (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 190 [letter 107]). 49. suadeo ergo ne facias vel scribas eius repudium si intelligis fore tibi utilem. (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 210 [letter 117]). Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 113-132. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 122 08/06/2009 8:26:43 Loyalty, friendship and love in the letters of Fulbert of Chartres 123 question of practical use: Fulbert had to keep the post of treasurer of Saint-Hilaire as it offered him substantial financial revenue. In Fulbert’s letters, the notion of utile had many uses: the benevolence of William was “useful” to him effectively through the services that his friend gave him in return, by his generous donations. Moreover, he compared the effectiveness (effectu) of this friendship to that of his other relationships with other friends. Amicitia is therefore defined in part by its “usefulness”. However Fulbert, when he used the terms utile, utilitas, also had in mind their Ciceronian sense of usefulness for the common good. The relationship of friendship with William of Aquitaine therefore takes on a moral connotation. This connotation is found in the expression utile et honestum that Fulbert used in the way he addressed William in his letter 107. Wishing the Duke of Aquitaine “usefulness and honesty”, Fulbert assumed the position first and foremost as his loyal subject for the post of treasurer of Saint-Hilaire, since this expression defined the loyal duties in his letter 51, but he also alluded to their relationship of friendship which he liked to think of as “useful”. The expression utile et honestum, inspired by Cicero, acts as a connection between the two types of relationship and was integrated henceforth into the model of friendship that Fulbert offered the Duke of Aquitaine. This privileged social relationship must not only aim at the practical use of each one, but above all the public use and the sovereign good as friendship and loyalty enable the expression of virtue and the quest for social peace. However, the fidelitas that the two men had in their relationship of friendship was less restrictive than the one that Fulbert owed William for his post as treasurer. In the name of this position, Fulbert asked Hildegar, in letter 92, to “pledge his perpetual loyalty”50 to the Duke of Aquitaine. He “indeed acknowledges that he owes him perpetual loyalty, to his soul as to his body”51. We find in this expression the notion of safety, of guarantee that the loyal subject must safeguard his lord’s body and his person, as defined in letter 51. This relationship of loyalty rested on the position of treasurer of Saint-Hilaire that the Duke of Aquitaine entrusted to the Bishop of Chartres. This position was called beneficium or dignitas52 in Fulbert’s letters, and honor, as seen in a letter from Hildegar. The notions of help or council never appear in the letters between the two men53. On the other hand, the position received by Fulbert and which consisted of “reaping the benefits”54 of Saint-Hilaire and supporting the school, included servicia to William and Saint-Hilaire55. These 50. dic karissimo nobis principi G(uillelmo) perpetuam fidelitatem (..) ex parte nostra. (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 164 [letter 92]). 51. Agnosco enim me perpetuum debitorem esse fidelitatis animae tuae et corpori. (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 220 [letter 122]). 52. The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 212-214 (letter 119), 214-216 (letter 120). 53. However the expression quicquid sum et possum tuum est is found once, used by Fulbert in letter 120 (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 214). He therefore offers his help, in every way he can as a Bishop, to William of Aquitaine. 54. ad colligendas fruges. (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 164 [letter 92]). 55. quod sanctissimo ac sapientissimo patri nostro Hylario tibique debita servicia non rependo (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 212). See also the verb deservire in letter 119 (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres, ed. Frederick Behrends…: 212). Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 113-132. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 123 08/06/2009 8:26:44 124 Analie Germain terms, which belong at the heart of the fidelitas lexical field, define the relationship that existed between the treasurer of Saint-Hilaire and the Duke of Aquitaine. In the case of Fulbert and William, this relationship was coupled, as observed, with a relationship of amicitia that involved another, more personal, loyalty. This double relationship explains certain contradictions or ambiguities in the bond between the two men: William never reproached Fulbert for not fulfilling his servitium towards him and Saint-Hilaire. Conversely in letter 116, he asked him to spend three days in Poitiers to see him56. Fulbert wrote to William that his loyalty did not depend on the position as treasurer of Saint-Hilaire, “I beg you, do not think me so base as to be less loyal because of that (the renunciation of his position)”57. Effectively the Bishop of Chartres, who could not fulfil his post correctly because of his distance from it, thought seriously about giving it up, though maintaining a relationship of friendship and loyalty with William. The letters exchanged between William of Aquitaine and Fulbert of Chartres therefore bear witness to a particularly close combination of vocabularies of affectus, amicitia and fidelitas. It is possible to try and retrace the evolution of their relationship: in 1020-1021, William of Aquitaine consulted Fulbert, a renowned lawyer, on the subject of his quarrel with a vassal. Impressed by the literary and legal quality of his answer58, he sought to lure him to Poitiers and establish him there by means of the post of treasurer of Saint-Hilaire and an oath of loyalty. However, the bishop had little time to devote to this post given that the church of Chartres was in the middle of being rebuilt. He therefore sent his secretary and friend Hildegar to represent him: he maintained the excellent relationship with William, whom he probably served as a secretary. Through his intermediary, Fulbert and William exchanged information, presents and entered into a double relationship of loyalty, one linked to the post of treasurer, the other to their mutual affection, their friendship. This double fidelitas was defined by the same term utile and by the expression utile et honestum. Friendly loyalty or legal loyalty, it was to the common good of both men and the sovereign good of society as a whole. Thus Fulbert offered William a model of friendship adapted to his situation as a layman. This model, different from that experienced among clerks, is expressed in two essential references: the fidelitas and the antique amicitia. Loyalty, certainly prior to friendship in this case, offered the Bishop of Chartres a social setting and quite a flexible lexical field to fuel a relationship of friendship, putting both men on an equal footing. In addition, William, Fulbert and Hildegar were men of letters who were aware of the antique concept of Ciceronian amicitia59. For Cicero, friendship was a social elitist relationship 56. si non manseris nobiscum plus quam triduo… (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 208 [letter 116]). 57. Nec me putes, obsecro, ita pravum, ut propter hoc videar tibi minus esse fidelis. (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 218 [letter 122]). 58. This is the famous letter 51 (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 90, 92). 59. See De Amicitia by Cicero (Cicero, Marco Tulio. De amicitia, ed. Valentín García Yebra. Madrid: Gredos, 1987) and the following study: Hellegouarc’h, Joseph. Le vocabulaire latin des relations et des partis politiques sous la République. Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 1972. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 113-132. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 124 08/06/2009 8:26:45 Loyalty, friendship and love in the letters of Fulbert of Chartres 125 which only concerned politicians or educated men. The vocabulary of friendship used by these three men, in particular by Hildegar in his own letters and those he wrote on behalf of William, drew on this concept. Finally amicitia was inserted, in this case, quite easily into a pre-existing relationship of loyalty that it strengthened and qualified. The coexistence of lexical fields of friendship and loyalty in certain letters by Fulbert of Chartres allowed him to qualify the expression of their social relationship and to find for each one a subtle equilibrium between the hierarchy inherent in feudal society and expressed by the vocabulary of fidelitas and equality, mutual aid and affection which characterised the relationships between these men of letters and symbolised amicitia. Lastly, it was possibly a means of hierarchising and pacifying the relationships of loyalty and one of the most restrictive forms of fidelitas. 4. From amicitia to affectus: a peaceful ideal A third lexical field that is closely connected with that of amicitia appears in the letters of Fulbert of Chartres: that of amor, of affectus. The “emotion”, we have pointed out, was fully part of the relationship of friendship. But it was also present in the relationships of loyalty from which amicitia was absent. For the Bishop of Chartres, affectus constituted one of the founding principles of the relationship of loyalty, in the same capacity as securitas, utile honestum. The study of this vocabulary of “love” shows the richness of this lexical field, which enabled Fulbert to offer an original model of fidelitas. 4.1 “Love” and loyalty In the letters of the Bishop of Chartres, emotional vocabulary is very rich, appearing much more than the lexical field of friendship. There are two direct associations, that is, within the same phrase or expression, of the two lexical fields of affectus and fidelitas. The expression dominus et dilectissimus was employed by Fulbert to greet certain people in the address of the letters: out of ten instances60 the expression was used to greet the king and Fulbert’s dominus, Robert the Pious61. The other expressions that bring affectus and fidelitas together have a more varied use. Fulbert wrote to Léothier, Archbishop of Sens, in letter 2, that he owed him “a lot of love 60. These instances appear in letters The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 32 (letter 17), 38 (letter 21), 46 (letter 25), 74 (letter 41), 94 (letter 53), 102 (letter 59), 176 (letter 97), 178 (letter 99), 182 (letter 101), 218 (letter 122). 61. The two other instances allow Fulbert of Chartres to greet William of Aquitaine and H (?) sub-dean of Tours. Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 113-132. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 125 08/06/2009 8:26:46 126 Analie Germain and loyalty”62. In letter 120, the Bishop of Chartres declared that he owed William of Aquitaine “a loyalty from the bottom of his heart”63. Out of six expressions of this type, four refer to a relationship of amicitia, which explains the association of the two lexical fields. Only one expression is used in a purely vassalic context. It allowed Fulbert to declare “his loyal love”64 to Eudes of Blois and Chartres. The word amor is therefore directly associated with a relationship of loyalty and conveys the feeling that the loyal subject must express to his lord. As well as these expressions, some adjectives and nouns enable emotion to be expressed in the letters which contain the vocabulary of fidelitas. It is noticeable that the emotional adjectives, such as dilectissimus, benignissimus, are very frequently used in the form of address of the letters or to invoke a person in the body of the letters. These adjectives were not only reserved for Fulbert’s lords or vassals; they were also used between clerks, or between Fulbert and Hildegar. This vocabulary of affectus was therefore used in all the relationships of loyalty, from feudal-vassalic relationships to the bond of loyalty within the clergy. However, certain words were more frequently used to convey Fulbert’s relations with laymen. The adjective dilectissimus is used in this way thirteen times65, of which seven refer to King Robert, Fulbert’s master. In the same way, the adjective benignissimus66 always served to qualify the conduct of a great prince towards the Bishop of Chartres. It served to thank William of Aquitaine, Robert the Pious and Richard of Normandy for the donations they made to the cathedral church of Chartres. By using this term, Fulbert took his position as loyal subject. Finally, the adjective familiarissimus was only used in the context of vassalage, since it conveyed the closeness between Eudes of Déols and William of Aquitaine, his master67. In this lexical field of emotions, there are different categories of nouns: certain words directly convey feelings. Fulbert compared the terms odium and dilectio in one phrase when he wrote to one of his clerks, “Not only do I receive from you neither council nor aid but in addition you repay my love with hate”68. The Bishop of Chartres in this case associating one feeling, dilectio, love, with a relationship of loyalty which bound one of his clerks to him. Moreover, it is astonishing that, on this occasion, the bishop did not use the word caritas, 62. multum amoris atque fidelitatis tibi, pater, me debere censeo (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 10 [letter 2]). 63. fidelitatem ex corde (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 214 [letter 120]). 64. nostri adhuc sui fidelis amorem. (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 182 [letter 100]). 65. This adjective can be found in the following letters: The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 32 (letter 17), 74 (letter 41), 94 (letter 53), 102 (letter 59), 148 (letter 82), 176 (letter 97), 178 (letter 99), 184 (letter 101), 188 (letter 105), 190 (letter 107), 206 (letter 115), 214 (letter 120), 218 (letter 122). 66. The word appears in the following letters: The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres,…: 32 (letter 17), 52 (letter 28), 146 (letter 81), 150 (letter 83), 182 (letter 101), 214 (letter 120), 220 (letter 122). 67. See letter 109: The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 194. 68. Non solum enim nullum ex te consilium vel auxilium capio verum insuper odium pro dilectione reddis. It is possible that this clerk was wealthy at the hands of the Bishop of Chartres. (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 32 [letter 16]). Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 113-132. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 126 08/06/2009 8:26:47 Loyalty, friendship and love in the letters of Fulbert of Chartres 127 having a more clearly Christian and clerical connotation69. The use of the word dilectio and the expression consilium vel auxilium, strongly linked to a relationship of loyalty, shows that the Bishop wanted to emphasise the fidelitas that this clerk owed him. He went on to reproach him for leading a secular life and not deserving his position as a priest. The word dilectio, the love that Fulbert held for this clerk, was the opposite of the word odium, the hate that this clerk held in exchange. Fulbert tried, in this letter, to show that any relationship of loyalty should be accompanied by mutual love between the two parties. Among the nouns that convey feelings, two in particular, the words pietas and affectio, were reserved in Fulbert’s letters for Robert the Pious. The term pietas conveys affection between two people, but also the act of fulfilling their duties to God or others. It was particularly suitable for the king as it showed his ability to govern well, to treat his loyal subjects well and therefore serve God well. The only instance of the term affectio was linked to the word pietas since Fulbert thanked the King “for such great affection (pietatis affectione) towards him”70. The two nouns amor and affectus were more widely used71. Fulbert used them as much for his relationship with his lord, Count Eudes of Blois and Chartres, as for his “friends” Léothier of Sens, Hildegar or William of Aquitaine. Another category of nouns expresses not feelings, but a certain type of conduct between two people. This behaviour was characterised by goodness, benevolence, familiarity. We have already seen that this behaviour characterised the double relationship of amicitia and fidelitas between Fulbert and William of Aquitaine. Some of these terms were also used to define Fulbert’s attitude towards Hildegar. But these words were not only used as part of amicitia; the terms bonitas and benignitas define, in this way, the behaviour of Robert the Pious towards the Bishop of Chartres. Lastly, the two words cor and anima allowed the expression of feeling to be heightened between two people with such formulas as “with all my heart” or “with all my soul”. They are quite widely used72 and concerned relationships of amicitia as well as loyalty. So this plentiful emotional vocabulary, which appears in Fulbert’s letters along with the lexical field of fidelitas, referred in part to the relationships of amicitia, which we have already studied. However, out of 84 instances of the words in this emotional lexical field, 36 were devoted to simple relationships of loyalty, and 33 instances only concerned the relationship between Fulbert and Robert the Pious. Indeed Fulbert was a vassal to the king for the diocese of Chartres and owed him loyalty 69. It is noticeable moreover that the word caritas is completely absent from these association between emotional vocabulary and the lexical field of loyalty. This word is however quite frequent in the letters of Fulbert as there are 22 instances, but in one or two exceptions, it is only used between members of the clergy to convey the Christian love that connects them. The absence of this term in the case of clerk G. is even more astonishing. 70. pro tanta erga me pietatis affectione. (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 146 [letter 81]). 71. The word amoris is found in letters: The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 18 (letter 7), 148 (letter 82), 172 (letter 95, twice), 182 (letter 100); the word affectus in letters: The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 12 (letter 4), 212-214 (letter 119, twice). 72. The word cor appears in letters: The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 38 (letter 21), 148 (letter 82), 172 (letter 95), 214 (letter 120), 218 (letter 120); and the word anima, in this sense, in letters: The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 74 (letter 41), 218 (letter 122). Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 113-132. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 127 08/06/2009 8:26:48 128 Analie Germain in this role. It therefore seems that Fulbert of Chartres tried to introduce a strong emotional and moral connotation to the definition of fidelitas and in particular to the expression of the feudal-vassalic relationship. 4.2 A new expression of loyalty This use of the affectus lexical field to characterise relationships of loyalty and, in particular, vassalic relationships, led Fulbert to complete his definition of fidelitas, which, in letter 51, essentially rested on legal and concrete clauses. All the vocabulary of “love”, indeed, conveyed a model of an interpersonal relationship which would not only be founded on fiefdom and loyalty: another of its cornerstones was the relationship of mutual love between the lord and his loyal subject. Moreover, Fulbert of Chartres developed a comparison between the relationship of loyalty and relationships within the family, based on reciprocal love and a father’s authority. Thus, in letter 27, he sent, “Count Gualeran, Count Gautier and all his other sons and loyal subjects his greetings and his blessings”73. These men were his direct vassals and he named them “sons” or “brothers” in the letter. These expressions referred to his position as lord as much as to his role as bishop, father of the Christian community. Similarly, the blessings he sent them from the bishop as the lord, were compared to a father. Fulbert went even further, asking his vassals to “defend him as their spiritual father”74. He showed them his love and trust and considered himself responsible for them, materially and spiritually speaking75. The bonds between Fulbert and his vassals exceeded the practical obligations described in letter 51; Fulbert, as bishop, added the notions of love and moral responsibility to these bonds. The relationship between Fulbert of Chartres and his principal master Robert the Pious, although more complex, in part went back to this rhetoric of responsibility. Fulbert often called for the king’s pietas, with regard to his duties of affection towards his loyal subjects. Thus, towards 1008, Fulbert did not go to meet the king, perhaps because of a dispute about the appointment of the Bishop of Orleans; he asked for his “pardon” with “royal affection”76. Fulbert expected the help he was owed from his lord by virtue of their bond of loyalty. He therefore used the father reference to request this help with more conviction, even if auxilium was part of the reciprocal duties between lord and loyal subject, “support me, good 73. Fulbertus (…) comiti Gualeranno et comiti Gualterio ceterisque filiis fidelibusque suis salutem et benedictionem. (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 50 [letter 27]). 74. rogo ut me sicut patrem vestrum spiritualem defendatis (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 50 [letter 27]). 75. Fulbert shows them this affection when their relationships are normal and very obviously not in a state of conflict: in this case, he can appear very cold and authoritarian, as in letters 9 and 10: The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 20-22. 76. facilis tamen debet esse remissio apud regiam pietatem. (The letters and poems of Fulbert of Chartres…: 38 [letter 21[). Imago Temporis. Medium Aevum, II (2008): 113-132. ISSN 1888-3931 Anglès.indd 128 08/06/2009 8:26:49 Loyalty, friendship and love in the letters of Fulbert of Chartres 129 father, support us in our weakness”77. This connection of loyalty between Fulbert and Robert the Pious is the most extensively researched aspect, thanks to the letters that Fulbert sent to the king and of which he kept copies in his collection. These letters show that Fulbert sought to behave like a good and loyal subject of the king and to follow the rules that he himself put in writing in letter 51. Thus, he very frequently gave his consilium to the king, even when his opinion might offend the latter. He possessed the lofty concept of consilium, a concept passed down from the Carolingian bishops who wanted advice, of divine origins, to be passed on to the king through his bishops: he hoped that Robert the Pious might obtain “advice and courage from God”78. Fulbert did not hesitate moreover, to oppose the king if his decisions went against his own interests, or against the health of his soul. Similarly, Fulbert helped his lord, in particular by passing on information to him about the Count of Chartres or by supporting his decision to consecrate his son Henry in 1027. If Fulbert fulfilled his duties as a loyal subject so well, it was because a moral and emotional relationship bound him to his lord. Fulbert often showed his affection for the king by calling him dominus dilectissimus and he said that in his view, the king was “always showered by a fountain of goodness”79. Moreover, the Bishop of Chartres thanked him for inquiring after him so regularly80. This relationship of fidelitas and affectus between the two men sometimes took on a moral and religious connotation in Fulbert’s letters. The latter hoped that his relationship of loyalty with the king would contribute to “the heightening of his sacred virtue”81 and allow him to obtain “what is honest and useful”82. There we find all the Ciceronian vocabulary of virtue, of utile et honestum, which already appeared in letter 51 defining fidelitas and in the Fulbertian concept of amicitia. For Fulbert, fidelitas had to allow, thanks to the affection existing between the lord and the loyal subject, the achievement of the sovereign good, honestum. This was even more true for the king who held a particular religious ministry, due to his coronation. The king was responsible for the moral and spiritual state of his kingdom. The relationship of loyalty, as defined by Fulbert, was therefore a tool of governance enabling him to keep the peace and to do good in the kingdom. Furthermore, Fulbert did not hesitate to express this religious aspect of fidelitas by wishing Robert that “God comfort his dear soul by granting him all that is good”83.