The Formation of Medieval Territories in Mountain areas. A perspective from archaeology and written records at Caramulo (Lafões, central-northern Portugal)

Tente, Catarina and Melo, Daniel (2024) The Formation of Medieval Territories in Mountain areas. A perspective from archaeology and written records at Caramulo (Lafões, central-northern Portugal). In: Political landscapes in Late Antiquity and Early Middle Ages: the Iberian Northwest in the Context of Southern Europe. Reti Medievali E-Book (49). Firenze University Press, Firenze, pp. 107-130. ISBN 979-12-215-0530-6

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Abstract

The research that has been carried out in the Lafões/Caramulo area (central-northern Portugal) has made it possible to acquire new data on the formation of medieval territories in a mountainous area. The present paper uses data from written documentation and archaeological data to make a first approach to the study of the of the formation processes of village territories and the different-scale sociopolitical processes that were behind these processes. The focus of this study are two medieval parishes which occupy the most mountainous areas of the present-day municipality of Vouzela. The available data show significant differences between the two, particularly in the configuration of the settlement and its dynamics over time. While in one the settlement areas are quite stable, the other records changes in the settlement structure, with new foundations and abandonments throughout the Middle Ages. As far as it is possible to understand, these differences are fundamentally correlated with the actors who played in each of these territories. In fact, it was social differences of local scales which were mainly responsible for these differences in the definition of territories, ownership of rural properties, size of plots, settlement patterns and surely socio-economic practices. Micro-scale politics have determined different histories and settlement features.

Tipologia del documento:	Capitolo di libro
Informazioni aggiuntive:	This paper is part of the Research Project PID2020-112506GB-C42.
Parole chiave:	Early Middle Ages, Central Portugal, Micropolitics, Churches, Rock-cut graves, Local elites, Villages, Seasonal settlement
Soggetto:	D History General and Old World > D History (General) > D111 Medieval History D History General and Old World > DP Spain
Depositato da:	dr Vincenzo De Luise
Depositato il:	09 Ago 2025 09:02
Ultima modifica:	09 Ago 2025 09:02
URI:	http://www.rmoa.unina.it/id/eprint/7192

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