Recent research on fortifications in France, Belgium and Switzerland 750-1000
Résumé
Since the end of Antiquity, the societies of western Europe underwent a continual process of militarisation. It includes the increased ubiquity and approval of fighting men and military violence, which intensified during the early Middle Ages and came to be a defining characteristic of the period. Militarisation significantly impacted on how members of early medieval societies perceived their worldly position and can be identified by the lack of demarcation between the martial and civil spheres of the population, weapons becoming increasingly widespread and warlike attributes, activities, and values being widely recognised and respected.
This international conference is the third convention organised to deal with this phenomenon. It is organised in the framework of the project “The Militarisation of early medieval Societies. Nature, Control and Perception in a west-European Comparison” funded by the Fritz Thyssen Foundation since 2015. Following a workshop on “Military Organisation and Society in the post-Roman World” (August 2016) and a conference on “Reflections of a Militarised World? Perceptions and conceptions of war and the military in the early Middle Ages (ca. 500-1000)” (September 2017), the aim of this gathering is to take a close look at what archaeology is able to reveal on early medieval militarisation and how the world of war shaped early medieval society and perceptions. Papers include the discussion of burial evidence, weapons more in general, the symbolism related to them, as well as treatments of military architecture like fortifications and settlements.