HomeFortification and sovereign powers (1180-1340)

Fortification and sovereign powers (1180-1340)

Fortified architecture and territorial control in the 13th century

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Published on Wednesday, November 25, 2020

Abstract

This project is part of the process of candidature for the UNESCO World Heritage Site of ‘the City of Carcassonne and its sentinel mountain castles’. It follows a first symposium organized in 2018 on Castles and fortified cities, the contributions that new knowledge brings to the notion of authenticity. The meeting will have to focus on a pragmatic and concrete vision, based on the history of the sources as well as on the analysis of the architecture, but also on the understanding of the geography of the terroirs and the urban factor. To better understand the phenomena at work, the purely monographic aspect will be abandoned in favour of synthesis and cross-cutting analysis communications. It will therefore be the opportunity to compare the views of historians, geographers, architects and archaeologists.

Announcement

Organisation

The Department of Aude (France) and the Association Mission Patrimoine Mondial (World Heritage Mission) are organizing an international scientific conference in Carcassonne from November 18 to 21, 2021 on the theme of : "Fortification and Sovereign Powers (1180-1340); Fortified Architecture and territorial control in the 13th Century".

Argument

The 13th century was a special period in terms of territorial expansion of the main principalities in Europe and in part of the Mediterranean world. For these sovereign powers, control of territories through networks of fortresses was a necessity, faced with populations that were not really in the control of the dominant elites, or claims by other sovereign powers. Replacing the sites of the former power, these fortified complexes were meant to have a military, administrative and also symbolic role to embody the new masters of the territory. For these expanding sovereign powers and sometimes in confrontation with each other, coherent - and often centralised - management of the territories required a streamlining of processes, which led to the creation and development of increasingly efficient administrative tools, both centrally and regionally. A consequence or an accompaniment to the phenomenon, we observe the development of a new type of fortified architecture, the exact reflection of this new organisation of power and the concerns of their sponsors. Thus, large fortified complexes were formed, like the castles and towns of Philip II in the northern half of France; the fortresses of Edward I of England in Wales; the superb palace-castles of Frederick II in Italy and Sicily; the royal fortifications of Carcassonne and Corbières; and many others, in Aragon, Flanders, Castile, Bohemia, all the way to the Latin states of the East. This international conference aims to compare the latest research in the field in order to understand the similarities of these sovereign administrative and architectural policies across Europe, their interactions in a context of confrontation, but also their particularities and their differences, depending on the political, geographical and artistic contexts of each one, while examining the issues of circulation of models and concepts. To achieve this, the meeting will have to focus on a pragmatic and concrete vision, based on the history of the sources as well as on the analysis of the architecture, but also on the understanding of the geography of the terroirs and the urban factor. To better understand the phenomena at work, the purely monographic aspect will be abandoned in favour of synthesis and cross-cutting analysis communications. It will therefore be the opportunity to compare the views of historians, geographers, architects and archaeologists.

Draft sessions

1 – From confrontation to conquest: strategies to control the territory and its borders

2 – Sovereign powers and administrative management of the territories

3 – Construction: economics of the project and craftsmen

4 – Architectures of power: standardisation, adaptation and symbols

5 – Castles, towns and villages: population control

6 – Fortresses in times of armed peace and war

Submission guidelines

Proposals for papers must be submitted by January 31, 2021

at anais.monrozier@aude.fr

Duration : 2 days ½ of communications, framed by field visits, from Thursday 18 November in the afternoon to Saturday 20 November. Optional visits on 21 November

Paper proposal, before 31 January 2021 : title and summary (300 words maximum) ; paper publication envisaged.

The proposals will be selected by the scientific committee of the conference. This committee reserves the possibility to propose a communication to the candidates by means of a poster in the congress room.

Response to be sent to : Anaïs Monrozier anais.monrozier@aude.fr

Travel expenses : travel, accommodation and food will be covered for selected papers.

Publication : the proceedings of the conference will be published.

Scientific direction

  • Jean Mesqui (Litt. D.)
  • Denis Hayot (PHD in Art History and Archaeology)

Scientific committee

  • Jean-Loup ABBÉ, professor of medieval history, Université Toulouse-Jean-Jaurès.
  • Lucien BAYROU, honorary architect, doctor in the history of art,
  • Philippe BRAGARD, professor of the history of art, Université Catholique de Louvain,
  • ICOMOS consultant,
  • François BRETON, Architecte des Bâtiments de France, head of the Departmental Unit for Architecture and Heritage (UDAP) of Aude since September 2016.
  • Aline BROCHOT, research engineer at the CNRS, Ladyss laboratory, University Paris I - Panthéon Sorbonne.
  • Vincent CASSAGNAUD, Architecte des Bâtiments de France, head of SDAP Aude until May 2016.
  • Sylvie CAUCANAS, general curator of heritage, director of the Departmental Archives of Aude.
  • Bernard DAVASSE, teacher-researcher at Centre de recherche sur l'histoire et la culture du paysage (CEPAGE). ADESS-UMR 5185 CNRS/Ecole nationale supérieure d'architecture et de paysage de Bordeaux.
  • Daniel FABRE †, director of the Laboratory of anthropology and history of the institution of culture (LAHIC), director of studies at Ecole des hautes études en sciences sociales (EHESS).
  • Nicolas FAUCHERRE, professor of the history of medieval art and archaeology, Université d'Aix-Marseille.
  • Marie-Élise GARDEL, doctor in history, archaeologist specialised in the medieval period.
  • Marie-Claude MARANDET, professor of medieval history and researcher at the Centre de recherches historiques sur les sociétés méditerranéennes (CRHISM), Université de Perpignan Via Domitia.
  • Jean-Paul MÉTAILIÉ, director of research at the CNRS, GEODE laboratory. Université Toulouse-Jean-Jaurès.
  • Claudine PAILHES, director of the Departmental Archives of Ariège.
  • Michel ROQUEBERT, † writer,
  • Jean YASMINE, archaeologist, curator of Beaufort castle (Lebanon), associate professor at Lebanese University.

Subjects

Places

  • Carcassonne, France (11)

Date(s)

  • Sunday, January 31, 2021

Keywords

  • conference - international - world heritage - history - architecture - castles - medieval - fortresses - sovereign powers - fortified

Contact(s)

  • Anaïs Monrozier
    courriel : anais [dot] monrozier [at] aude [dot] fr

Information source

  • Anaïs Monrozier
    courriel : anais [dot] monrozier [at] aude [dot] fr

License

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

To cite this announcement

« Fortification and sovereign powers (1180-1340) », Call for papers, Calenda, Published on Wednesday, November 25, 2020, https://doi.org/10.58079/15kt

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