Brepols Online Books Medieval Miscellanea Original Archive v2016 - bobar16mimeo

Historians have considered medieval oligarchic groups as part of a hierarchical social structure in urban societies. Frequently the interpretation of oligarchy as an isolated faction makes it difficult to understand its capacity in processes of incorporation and integration. M. Asenjo-González’s study of different cities in Northern Castile - Segovia, Soria, Valladolid and Toledo — attempts to identify bonding processes and the relationships among individuals or groups. In the city of Cuenca, J. A. Jara-Fuente stresses the importance of mechanisms for the attribution of social spaces of projection (related to individuals, lineages or collectivities), because it is through the analysis of the social expectations and of the degree of satisfaction reached in that process that other patterns of relationship come to light. Y. Guerrero-Navarrete deals with the connections between financial groups and the oligarchic policy of the elite in the case of Burgos. In Granada, A. Galán-Sánchez analyzes the Islamic elites’ behaviour, considering their economic and political interests, related to the goodwill of the Christian conquerors, and, their functions as representatives of the second-class citizens who were the moriscos. F. Sabaté focuses his research on the social consequences of the merchant oligarchy investments in the urban surroundings that contributed to establishing a flow of capital between the city and the region in Catalonia. E. Ramírez-Vaquero analyzes aspects of great relevance such as the relationship that oligarchies had with other systems linked to the noble and court spheres in the cities of Navarra. Finally Marc Boone offers an historiographic reflection on Iberian urban elites and analyzes some comparative perspectives about oligarchy and patronage in the Late Middle Ages.

“The most important part of the title of this book is the word ‘and’.” These words form the memorable conclusion to D.H. Green’s study Medieval Listening and Reading, they encapsulate how, in the Middle Ages, orality and literacy are not to be considered as two separate and largely unrelated cultures or modes of textual transmission, but as elements in a mutual interplay and interpenetration. In this volume, scholars from Britain, Germany and North America follow Green’s insistence on the conjunction of medieval orality and literacy, and show how this approach can open up new areas for investigation as well as help to reformulate old problems. The languages and literatures covered include English, Latin, French, Occitan and German, and the essays span the whole of the period from the early Middle Ages through to the fifteenth century.

Les échanges entre Orient et Occident au Moyen Age ont fait l’objet de nombreux travaux récents. En histoire des sciences, l’attention a porté en priorité sur l’activité de traduction et de rédaction dans l’Espagne arabo-latine et l’Italie méridionale. Le colloque de Louvain-la-Neuve s’est proposé d’explorer les contacts scientifiques dans un contexte moins étudié, les états latins de Palestine, du XIe au XIIIe s. Les contributions intéressent les trois principales cultures en présence: arabe, byzantine et latine. L’éventail des disciplines abordées couvre l’alchimie, l’astronomie, l’histoire naturelle, les mathématiques, la médecine; une place est faite à l’histoire des techniques, ainsi qu’à certains milieux porteurs: la ville d’Antioche, la cour de Frédéric II de Hohenstaufen. On découvre ainsi que le Proche Orient des Croisades n’a pas seulement été un champ de bataille, mais qu’il y a eu place aussi pour des découvertes, des échanges, des influences réciproques.