Early Medieval Commons? Or How the History of Early Medieval Europe Could Benefit from a Necessary Conversation: The Case From NW Iberia

Álvaro Carvajal Castro

doi:10.5334/ijc.1109

Abstract

In 2016, M. Laborda-Pemán and T. De Moor issued a call to advance the conversation between commons scholars and historians. This paper argues that in order to further this conversation, in the case of Western Europe more attention needs to be paid to the centuries preceding the blossoming of the commons in the high Middle Ages. It focuses on NW Iberia to show that in this case, as in others, such developments need to be assessed against the processes triggered by the collapse of the Roman Empire. On the basis of the extant sources, and building upon some of the concerns of critical institutionalism, it then considers some of the theoretical avenues that could facilitate such a dialogue: addressing the multifunctional, socially embedded nature of institutions; the weight of social inequalities and power relations in their configuration and functioning; the role of conflict in the definition of norms and their transformation over time; and the discursive practices aimed at legitimising specific institutional arrangements.

Highlights

In comparison to earlier and later periods, in Western Europe this was a time of relatively low social complexity.1 Lords and political authorities had a limited capacity to interfere on the ground, and in some regions local communities must have enjoyed a significant degree of autonomy
This paper has argued for the need to integrate the early medieval centuries into broader debates on historical commons, and has identified a number of avenues for dialogue with historians working on later periods and other common scholars
It has focused on NW Iberia to show that a proper historical understanding of the commons in this region needs to situate them against the transformations triggered by the collapse of the Roman Empire

Summary

Introduction

In comparison to earlier and later periods, in Western Europe this was a time of relatively low social complexity.1 Lords and political authorities had a limited capacity to interfere on the ground, and in some regions local communities must have enjoyed a significant degree of autonomy. 34 1 the acquisition of pasture lands in low-lying and mountain areas – livestock was central to monastic economies (Mínguez 1980; Pascua Echegaray 2011) –, and the pressure on commons would later increase as other actors, including lay aristocrats and monasteries and local elites and councils, became involved in livestock rearing and the commercialisation of livestock production (Pastor 1970).

Results

Conclusion