Medieval Serfdom

This thesis analyses the correlation between the presence of slave trade in specific trading centres and long distance trade networks. In doing so, the thesis focuses on the ninth and tenth centuries, and on the special cases of Dublin (Ireland) and Verdun (Carolingian Empire). To better understand if slave trade has a significant impact on international trade and to understand what position Dublin and Verdun hold in their respective trading network, eight different criteria of analysis were selected and used for comparison. The criteria vary between geographical aspects, socio–economic aspects, military aspects and moral or ethical aspects.
Our research is motivated by a certain lack of comparative study in the field of slave trade in the Early Middle Ages, a dire need to shed light on specific trading sites about which academic research has been limited, and the growing interest in scientific literature for trading networks and communications in and around Europe during this period. In this regard most of our research and findings are inspired by the ongoing scientific debates. It is the ambition of this thesis to fuel the debate on topics such as the qualification of trading sites as emporia, the gradual change from slavery to serfdom at the end of the tenth century, and the existence of large international trade networks. To substantiate this research, all conclusions are drawn from textual and archeological primary sources from the ninth and tenth centuries.

Siervos medievales presenta una realidad social poco estudiada hasta ahora por la historiografía medievalista: la vasta extensión de la dependencia campesina de carácter servil en el norte de la Península y, en especial, en Aragón y Navarra, durante los siglos XI al XIII. Indaga la experiencia vital de los siervos, las características de la reproducción social de las familias serviles y la dinámica de la dominación ejercida por los señores. Muestra la ambigüedad de los estatutos, del deshonor que pesaba sobre los siervos y las características de la resistencia campesina. El análisis comparativo de la evolución de la servidumbre en Navarra, Aragón y Cataluña subraya la decisiva importancia del Estado en la dinámica social.

This chapter deals with a paradox: in early-medieval Europe, when legal professionals became scarce, there was a proliferation of legal categories denoting shades of freedom and servility. Drawing on material from early medieval Francia, Italy and Ireland, this chapter attempts an explanation. Status, whether free or unfree, was meant to be stable across generations, but most of the time its connection with either work or terms of tenure was fairly tenuous. Status came to the fore in moments of particular tension occasioned by increased lordly demands. It could then become the object of bitter contestation and redefinition. The proliferation of ‘grey-area’ categories that gave themselves an air of antiquity and legality, despite contemporary learned insistence on an absolute distinction between free and unfree, opened up a space of contestation and negotiation between lords and peasants as well as between peasants and other peasants.

This article investigates the three-cornered transaction by which a merciful God contrived to defeat and destroy the power of Satan over humankind by permitting the Incarnation of His Son as a human but sinless being who could then offer himself up to suffer an unmerited crucifixion. It examines, in particular, an unexpected parallelism between this and the three-sided dynamic of villein manumis-sions in the English countryside of the 'long' thirteenth century. I am, as I fear I shall show below, no theologian. I noticed the analogies between the two processes very much by chance in the course of studying villeinage and manumissions. 1 Once seen, this odd structural similarity seemed to me unlikely to be a mere coincidence, and I marked it down as something worthy of study in due course. At the very least, the dynamics of each process must have something to contribute to our understanding of the other, whichever way the influence might run. I propose here to see how far I can progress on the questions raised by the parallels , to bring them to the notice of scholars in both areas. I shall first sketch in brief what I have learned about villein manumission in the course of compiling over many years a corpus of documented examples. 2 I then endeavour, as well as a non-specialist may, to examine and display the challenge posed by the New Testament account of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus for early medieval churchmen, and show how they met this with the help of their legacy from the Fathers of the Early Church. And finally I shall ponder what we can make of the findings as I see them, and where they might lead.

The study of slavery in the Medieval World has been largely marginalized in the past.  Despite large amounts of evidence, medievalists have traditionally opted to focus their attentions elsewhere or to have seen slavery as being of only marginal importance in the societies and economies of the world from late antiquity until the opening of the Atlantic trade.  While some important studies have been done in the past, a new interest in the subject has been growing with research looking more and more at the subject and its ramifications.

While it seems that the International Medieval Congress at Leeds this summer has barely ended, it is already time to begin thinking about next year.  This summer, of course, there were more papers and sessions devoted to the subject of slavery (and related topics) in the medieval world than ever before.  As a result, some were even scheduled to run against each other.  In order to avoid this next summer and to better promote understanding of the topic, it is hoped to organize a strand of sessions to be held next year at the IMC Leeds 2016 (4 to 7 July 2016, at the University of Leeds).

The overall topic will be ‘Slavery in the Medieval World’ with separate sessions focusing on various eras and topics under the overall theme.

The individual sessions will be numbered and will have sub-titles relevant to what their particular focus is (as well as individual session organizers).    Possible topics might include such areas as "Slavery in Medieval Arabia", "Manumission", "Children in Slavery", "Slavery and the End of the Western Empire" and so on and so forth.

The total number of sessions will, of course, be determined by the number of participants; ideally, we will have a mix of early career and more senior scholars as well as of people working on a range of geographic and temporal areas.

By bringing together scholars working on different areas and periods of the history of medieval Europe, Asia, and Africa, we hope to address the question of whether there is a single subject of slavery in the medieval world, whether some practices and activities can be seen as being of global importance, and how the earlier modes of slavery found in antiquity shaped later practice.  Whether the teachings of the monotheistic religions served to ameliorate slave-systems inherited from the past or whether they served to make them stronger could be discussed while the role of slavery itself in the systems of exchange and of personal relationship might also be usefully addressed.

All proposals addressing the topic, whether of single papers or of organized sessions, are welcome and will be examined.

Practical issues
If you are interested in giving a paper or organizing a session, please send an email by 23 August 2015 to  medievalslavery@gmail.com

While we look forward to proposals for individual papers, we also encourage potential collaboration, respondents, and moderators.  Of course, please feel free to forward this call for papers to any student or colleague who might be interested in participating in our strand!

When you write, include the following information:
1) paper title
2) a short abstract/brief description indicating what the paper will be about (max. 200 words)
3) your contact details and affiliation
4) Equipment needed? (Laptop, Beamer, etc.)

We will determine how papers of 20 minutes each best fit and we’ll let you know the results as soon as possible (no later than mid-September). We are unable to cover travel, registration and accommodation expenses for speakers. Please consider the bursary application offered by the IMC (deadline 17 October): https://imc.leeds.ac.uk/dbsql02/AQueryServlet?*context=IMC&*id=0&*formId=83&conference=2016&*servletURI=https://imc.leeds.ac.uk/dbsql02/AQueryServlet 
For general information on the IMC, see http://www.leeds.ac.uk/arts/info/125137/international_medieval_congress
We’re looking forward to lots of interesting papers and proposals!

A la dècada de 1980, uns estudis sobre la vall d’Aro (Baix Empordà) crearen el paradigma segons el qual la pagesia catalana ja patia unes desigualtats internes enormes a la Baixa Edat Mitjana. El present article vol desmentir que a la fi de l’època medieval hi hagués unes diferències tan exagerades i que la majoria de pagesos fossin miserables. L’anàlisi