Landscapes of (Re)Conquest: Dynamics of Multicultural Frontiers in Medieval SW Europe

Mediterranean societies were characterised by multiple and shifting frontiers during the Middle Ages, a formative period for modern Europe. These frontiers were created by periods of conflict between opposing societies defined, above all, by religious differences - between Christians, Muslims and Jews, but also between different groups of Christians. All these frontiers absorbed existing communities and supplemented them with migrants. They were governed by authorities from imposing castles, whose remit was to ensure security and promote the ideology of the conquerors. As the most striking material legacy of the former frontiers, today these castles are the focus of regional and national tourism, tied into narratives of cultural struggles. However, they remain disconnected from their associated territories, both in the academic and public domains. As frontiers, these territories encompassed multicultural communities and articulated tensions between the conquering authorities and conquered populations. This project will address this disconnection between frontier castles and their cultural landscapes, with two aims. Firstly, to broaden regional and international interest in the full spectrum of medieval heritage in South West Europe, building on existing interest in iconic monuments. Secondly, to develop public awareness of past multiculturalism as an essential context for the current debate on migration and multiculturalism, especially since traditional historical narratives are regularly used to validate political and social agendas.

This will entail a comparative investigation of three different frontier regions in Spain and Pyrenean France. The key questions we will ask are how did conquering authorities deal with the creation of multicultural societies in these frontiers, how did they relate to central authorities and how did conquered communities respond to the imposition of new political and social norms? Drawing on a range of archaeological, environmental and historical data, we will investigate changes in settlements, religious, commercial and political centres alongside environmental changes, assessing whether territorial reorganisation resulted in intensified resource exploitation, or to what extent earlier trends continued and can be linked to established practices and worldviews. We will then consider how much freedom there was to move across these frontiers, traditionally linked to the widespread practice of transhumance. Finally, we will bring all this information together and produce a comparative map of what we will define as cultural resilience - the ability of conquered communities to adapt to the imposition of a new regime. Environmental exploitation is an increasingly used index of this resilience. We will then develop a visual and digital infrastructure to enable visitors to engage with the cultural landscapes associated with the iconic monuments of frontier authorities.

The project will have multi-faceted international and national impact, drawing attention to the connection between key monuments which are lynchpins in the tourist industry of SW European countries and lesser known heritage sites, situated within connective cultural landscapes. The aim of the project in terms of non-academic beneficiaries is to raise awareness of the complexity of multiculturalism in the past, particularly relevant to current concerns in Europe, including the UK. We expect a broad range of people to benefit from the project's findings across multiple regions of Europe:

1. Visitors to museums, monuments and cultural landscapes in SW Europe. The historical monuments of SW Europe are typically disconnected from their cultural landscapes, and to synchronise them with our state-of-the-art research, we will promote this connection through a portable exhibition, as well as digital information packs which will highlight the connections between castles, frontiers and their dynamic communities. Adding information to public display boards will be possible for some key sites (e.g. Molina), and we will facilitate this for all sites through our mobile app which will integrate local gastronomy and enotourism with heritage and cultural landscape.

2. Museum professionals. The project will provide new data, reassess existing data and most importantly provide a landscape context for key monuments. This will provide museum professionals with substantial new information, enabling them to contextualise their collections more effectively, and enhance current and future displays. Our information packs will provide regionally and internationally important museums (e.g. Molina, Alhambra, Carcassonne) with an additional resource to use in outreach activities.

3. Local government agencies and the commercial sector in SW Europe. In providing a new and accessible resource, our research will benefit archaeologists working in government and commercial sectors in Spain, Portugal and France. The project's results, the archived data and our public outreach will have the potential to inform practice at the regional level, and to guide future research strategies. The landscape remains a neglected component in commercially driven archaeology of historical sites, and this project will draw significant attention to this, providing an additional resource for government agencies in Spain and Pyrenean France.

4. Public audiences interested in medieval Europe and the history of multiculturalism. The project website will make our research available to all. It will be written accessibly in English, Spanish and French, and feature an interactive map which will allow people to find out information about the cultural landscapes in our key case study regions. We will also publicise the project's events and key findings in local and national media.