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IMC 2020: Sessions

Session 735: Industries of Warfare in the Middle Ages

Tuesday 7 July 2020, 14.15-15.45

Moderator/Chair:Jesus Brufal, Departament d'Història, Universitat de Lleida
Paper 735-aMetalworking Processes at the Borders: Smelting, Smithing, and Social Change in Francia, 7th and 8th Centuries
(Language: English)
Olga Magoula, Department of History & Archaeology, University of Ioannina
Index terms: Archaeology - General, Economics - Trade, Technology
Paper 735-bThe Medieval Origins of the Military Industry: Production, Consumption, and Trade of Weapons in the Crown of Aragon
(Language: English)
Miquel Faus, Departament d'Història Medieval, Història Moderna i Ciències i Tècniques Historiogràfiques, Universitat de València
Index terms: Economics - Trade, Economics - Urban, Military History, Social History
Paper 735-cThe Newport Medieval Ship: Unravelling the Secrets of a Mid-15th-Century Merchant Vessel
(Language: English)
Toby Jones, Newport Museum & Art Gallery
Index terms: Archaeology - Artefacts, Economics - Trade, Maritime and Naval Studies, Technology
Abstract

Paper -a:
This paper will discuss the scale of technological innovation in major high output ore-resourcing and metalworking installations situated near the borders of ferritic zones in Merovingian and early Carolingian contexts. The archaeology of metalworking production in Alsace and Jura and case studies from Sermersheim, Develier-Courtételle and Pratz Le Curtillet will be used to illustrate diverse practices of individual technological solutions within the diversity of early medieval metalworking processes. The internal organization of the workshops, the social roles of artisans, and a more or less generalized scale of metalworking production in Francia during this period will be explored.

Paper -b:
The Crown of Aragorn had from the 13th century some of the most important points of manufacture and distribution of weapons of the Iberian Peninsula. Cities such as Valencia or Barcelona fed the demands of the kingdoms that formed the Crown of Aragon. This paper will deal with the topic of the major manufacturing centers of weaponry and their ways of production, but also will analyze who were the major consumers and which part of the product was exported. Through a careful study of notarial, fiscal, and corporative sources we can give a new interpretation to military history from an approach coming from social and economic history.

Paper -c:
Discovered and raised in 2002-2003, the preserved hull remains and artefacts of the Newport Medieval Ship (c. 1449-1469) have progressed through cleaning, digital documentation, analysis, and conservation. Examination of individual ship timbers and overall hull form have led to a greater understanding of Atlantic-Iberian ship design, construction sequence, and woodland resource management in the late medieval period. Recovery of such a unique find of unparalleled craftsmanship offers insights into technological innovation at the very beginning of the Age of Exploration and the complexity of Anglo-Welsh/Iberian trading links. The planned reassembly will create a unique, enduring attraction for future generations.