This project obtained a one-year extension of the funding initially granted for 2014-2016.
Presentation
This research questions the role of peasant households in the shaping of landscapes in Western early medieval Europe.
Archaeologists and historians study different aspects of the dynamics that affect medieval landscapes and societies, but models for comparative and interdisciplinary research that combine their evidence are rare. This research project considers the peasant household as a key object, that allows to combine various approaches and types of evidence.
In the first part of the project, archaeologist and historians from the University of Oxford and the ULB have explored three main topics (peasant ‘protagonism’, the ‘mapping’ of peasant households, and agrarian technologies) in workshops, a winter school, and collaborative work.
As a next step, the team intends to explore questions related to agrarian production, strategies of risk-avoidance, crisis and societal collapse. Finally, the results of the research project will be published in a collective book.
Promoters
- Chris Wickham and Helena Hamerow, Faculty of History, University of Oxford
- Jean-Pierre Devroey and Alexis Wilkin, Centre sociAMM (Sociétés anciennes, médiévales et modernes), ULB
Le financement de ce projet, initialement accordé pour 2014-2016, a été prolongé d’un an.