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IMC 2017: Sessions

Session 1640: The Other Look at Early Medieval Societies: The Phenomenon of Militarisation, II - Early Medieval Military Organisation

Thursday 6 July 2017, 11.15-12.45

Sponsor:Fritz Thyssen Stiftung, Köln
Organisers:Guido M. Berndt, Friedrich-Meinecke-Institut, Freie Universität Berlin
Laury Sarti, Historisches Seminar, Albert-Ludwigs-Universität Freiburg
Moderator/Chair:Roland Steinacher, Friedrich-Meinecke-Institut, Freie Universität Berlin
Paper 1640-aWeapon-Bearers and Warriors in Early Anglo-Saxon England
(Language: English)
Ellora Bennett, Geschichte der Spätantike und des frühen Mittelalters, Friedrich-Meinecke-Institut, Freie Universität Berlin
Index terms: Historiography - Medieval, Military History
Paper 1640-bCarolingian Levies: Military Service and Local Communities - Peasant milita or Aristocratic Cavalry Force?
(Language: English)
Christoph Haack, Seminar für Mittelalterliche Geschichte, Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen
Index terms: Historiography - Medieval, Military History
Paper 1640-cThe Evidence for Alfredian Military Reforms in Their 9th-Century Context: What Can We Know?
(Language: English)
Ryan Lavelle, Department of History, University of Winchester
Index terms: Historiography - Medieval, Military History
Abstract

Although early medieval societies underwent a continual process of militarisation, this is a subject that only recently has come into the focus of modern research. These sessions collect papers dealing with different aspects of this phenomenon by using regional case studies as well as subject-related approaches. This second session looks at the early medieval military organisation and recruitment strategies. The first paper (-a) assesses to what extent the possession of weapons in early Anglo-Saxon England indicated active participation in warfare, while paper (-b) takes a 'from the bottom up' perspective on capitularies to shed a new light on Carolingian armies. Paper (-c) reassesses the military reforms under Alfred the Great and its effects on contemporary military organisation.