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The role of small towns in building Medieval Europe

Le rôle des petites villes dans la construction de l’Europe médiévale

El papel de las pequeñas ciudades en la construcción de la Europa Medieval

O papel das pequenas cidades na construção da Europa Medieval

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Published on Wednesday, April 27, 2016

Summary

It is our aim to promote an approach to urban studies which, repeatedly but discontinuously, appears on the horizon of historical, geographical, sociological and anthropological research, always with a certain stigma as an inferior and unattractive subject of analysis. Inferior, because each time it has been considered on a comparative scale, it comes up against the variability of definitions of its designating attribute. It is unattractive inasmuch as it is not satisfied by scientific approaches rooted in the intention to capture decisive and major development processes. By combining several scientific areas, this conference aims to give a voice to the small towns of a Medieval Europe, increasingly perceived as "moving".

Announcement

Presentation

The International Conference on the Middle Ages is the result of a partnership between the Institute for Medieval Studies (IMS-FCSH/NOVA) and Castelo de Vide municipality.

The wishes and competence of a research centre that links scientific research with its transfer to society are joined by a town council committed to investing, sustainably, in culture, heritage conservation and training.

Our aim is to make this conference an annual event, providing discussion forums for the major themes and issues of the Middle Ages, with experts from various scientific fields, including history, archaeology, history of art and literature.

This is an opportunity to highlight the multidisciplinary nature of the IMS as the only research unit in Portugal exclusively dedicated to the development of medieval studies. The choice of Castelo de Vide to host these meetings will allow researchers to be part of an appropriate environment for reflection on Medieval Studies. It will also contribute to promoting the attractions and heritage of the town.

In due course, our aim is to set the scene for regular international meetings on the Middle Ages with the annual International Conference on the Middle Ages, held in Castelo de Vide.

2016 Event

The theme of the first International Conference on the Middle Ages is The role of small towns in building Medieval Europe.

While this inaugural meeting will be a tribute to the town hosting the event – and also a tribute to all European towns that share similar structural features – this option has an underlying purpose of a scientific nature.

It is our aim to promote an approach to urban studies which, repeatedly but discontinuously, appears on the horizon of historical, geographical, sociological and anthropological research, always with a certain stigma as an inferior and unattractive subject of analysis. Inferior, because each time it has been considered on a comparative scale, it comes up against the variability of definitions of its designating attribute. It is unattractive inasmuch as it is not satisfied by scientific approaches rooted in the intention to capture decisive and major development processes.

Without intending to succumb to the temptation of globalizing small medieval towns, we will try to scrutinise their role, looking away from the few large towns that hold, as a rule, the findings of historiographical syntheses. Besides these leading centres, many other smaller ones organized their population and became urban communities. We refer, for example, to coastal trading centres, other small towns located in the mountains that centralized sub-regions, or roadside villages that accommodated pilgrims on their way to a bigger centre. So it was in these locations (also) that the most diverse flows would cross, albeit silently for current researchers. By combining several scientific areas, this conference aims to give a voice to the small towns of a Medieval Europe, increasingly perceived as "moving".

Since this Conference will include the presence of renowned experts in the field, the International Network for the Study of Small Towns in Time will be officially established.

Thematic Panels

1 – Urban hierarchies in the Middle Ages: the nodes and flows

2 – Comparative Studies of small medieval towns: scales of analysis (from “region” to Europe)

3 – The substance of small medieval towns – archaeological perspectives.

4 – Virtualisation of small medieval towns: e-conservation of heritage

5 - Small medieval towns in art, and art in the medieval urban world.

6 – Echoes of small medieval towns in literature.

7 – Castelo de Vide in the Middle Ages, borderland – multidisciplinary approaches

Organizing committee

  • Adelaide Millán da Costa (UAb; IEM-FCSH/NOVA);
  • Amélia Aguiar Andrade (IEM-FCSH/NOVA);
  • Catarina Tente (IEM-FCSH/NOVA).

Scientific committee

  • Maria Helena da Cruz Coelho (Univ. Coimbra);
  • Iria Gonçalves (Univ. Nova de Lisboa);
  • Jean-Luc Fray (Univ. Blaise Pascal);
  • Beatríz Arizaga Bolúmburu (Univ. Cantabria).

Places

  • Castelo de Vide, Portugal

Date(s)

  • Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Keywords

  • Moyen Âge, petites villes, Europe

Contact(s)

  • Amélia Andrade
    courriel : aman [at] fcsh [dot] unl [dot] pt
  • Adelaide Costa
    courriel : adelaide [dot] costa [at] uab [dot] pt

Information source

  • Adelaide Costa
    courriel : adelaide [dot] costa [at] uab [dot] pt

License

CC0-1.0 This announcement is licensed under the terms of Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal.

To cite this announcement

« The role of small towns in building Medieval Europe », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Wednesday, April 27, 2016, https://calenda.org/363580

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