Dear all,
Please find below a call for papers at very short notice, for the
meeting of the EAA in Kraków from the 19th-24th September,
(http://cracow2006.e-a-a.org/). The session is entitled: ''Crusade,
colonisation and conversion: material traces at the frontiers of
medieval Christendom". Papers on environmental exploitation and the
impact on fauna are particularly welcome, and will complement existing
contributions. The initial deadline for abstract submission is the end
of April - but papers will continue to be accepted until the session is
full.
Crusade, colonisation and conversion: material traces at the frontiers
of medieval Christendom
Session abstract:
The crusading movement was prevalent in many European societies from the
late-eleventh through to the seventeenth century. One of its aims was to
secure or reclaim possession of land held by enemies of the Church for
Christendom. In the late-medieval Baltic this was combined with attempts
to eradicate or convert native pagan societies. In the East the
establishment of crusader kingdoms at the end of the eleventh century
was coupled with the desire to reclaim Christianity’s holy sites and to
defend Christians against the threat of Turkish invasion. Whether
territorial expansion as a result of crusading activity was organic or
planned, its impact can be described as ‘colonial’. It resulted in the
selective appropriation of existing infrastructure and the establishment
of new settlements, fortifications, religious and administrative
centres. This was invariably coupled with an implanted population and
ruling hierarchy.
Archaeologists have become increasingly interested in numerous aspects
of the crusading movement in all the theatres of war, and the aim of
this session is to assess the state of current research and potential
directions for future work. Papers are invited on any aspect of the
crusading frontiers, particularly on related colonisation, environmental
transformation, resource exploitation, cross-cultural interaction and
religious expression.
Contact details:
Aleks Pluskowski
Department of Archaeology
University of Cambridge
Downing Street
Cambridge CB2 3DZ. UK
Email: [log in to unmask]
Tel: +44 (0)1223 365 401
Fax: +44 (0)1223 333 503
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