Medieval Frontier Societies

by Robert Bartlett (Editor), Angus MacKay (Editor), G.W.S. Barrow (Contributor)

This is the first study of the nature of frontiers and frontier society in the Middle Ages. Focusing on the frontiers between England and Scotland, Wales, and Ireland; between Castile and Grenada; and on the Elbe, the book examines the consequences for frontier societies of being located in areas of cross-cultural contact and confrontation. This comparative study by expert contributors throws new light on our thinking about frontiers, and fills a major gap in the history of medieval Europe.

Genres: History, British Literature

408 pages, Paperback

First published March 8, 1990

About the author

Robert Bartlett, CBE, FBA, FRSE is Bishop Wardlaw Professor of Mediaeval History Emeritus at the University of St Andrews.

Reviews

[Joyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me a very looong time to read this book but it was worth the effort to learn a different aspect of medieval life. By examining the borders/frontiers of England & Wales, England & Scotland, England & Ireland, Christian Spain & Islamic Spain, Germany & Poland and Germany & Czechoslovakia, the authors make a cogent case for the numerous frontiers they discuss. The interactions on these frontiers, as recorded in contemporary documents, can be compared and contrasted with each other throughout the book but each frontier has its own unique inhabitants and cultures. Christianity and paganism play as large a role in the cultural clashes and rebellions in northern Europe as Christianity and Islam do in Spain. Although the book is 20 years old, I'd never thought of Europe this way, the neo-Turnerian point of view and it's interesting and thought provoking. All the chapters are written by historians who are specialists in their fields. There's an excellent discussion of the Turner Thesis, which, though now discredited, has expanded historiography by bringing frontiers into historiography discussions.