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IMC 2020: Sessions

Session 642: Nature or Nurture?: Creating and Contesting Political Borders in Medieval Europe

Tuesday 7 July 2020, 11.15-12.45

Sponsor:Graduate Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Reading
Organiser:Rebecca A. C. Rist, Graduate Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Reading
Moderator/Chair:Rebecca A. C. Rist, Graduate Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Reading
Paper 642-aThe Making of a Borderless Border: The Treaty of Corbeil, 1258
(Language: English)
Olivier Sirjacq, Department of History, University of Reading
Index terms: Administration, Crusades, Politics and Diplomacy
Paper 642-bContested Borders?: The Royal Forest in England under Henry III, 1225-1272
(Language: English)
Andrew Ford, Graduate Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Reading
Index terms: Economics - Rural, Geography and Settlement Studies, Politics and Diplomacy
Abstract

This panel will explore the idea of political borders as both natural and constructed phenomena in medieval Europe. Paper -a will examine the Treaty of Corbeil (1258) which attempted to create a border between two distinct territories - France and Aragon - despite the geographical limitations of inhospitable mountainous terrain. Paper -b will discuss the role of royal forests in reinforcing positive relationships of trust and loyalty between key political stakeholders and the English crown. Paper -c will analyse the relationship between the county border and the distribution of gentry territories in late medieval England through the medium of inquisitions post mortem.