Description
Book SynopsisAt the beginning of the eleventh century, Catalonia was a patchwork of counties, viscounties, and lordships that bordered Islamic al-Andalus to the south. Over the next two centuries, the region underwent a dramatic transformation. The counts of Barcelona secured title to the neighboring kingdom of Aragon through marriage and this newly constituted Crown of Aragon, after numerous failed attempts, finally conquered the Islamic states positioned along its southern frontier in the mid-twelfth century. Successful conquest, however, necessitated considerable organizational challenges that threatened to destabilize, politically and economically, this triumphant regime. The Aragonese monarchy''s efforts to overcome these adversities, consolidate its authority, and capitalize on its military victories would impose lasting changes on its governmental framework and exert considerable influence over future expansionist projects.
In Victory''s Shadow, Thomas W. Barton offers a swee
Trade Review
Thomas Barton's Victory's Shadow offers a refreshing antidote to the traditional Reconquista narrative. His rich and careful account, based on years of archival research offers a compelling alternative to triumphalist narratives of conquest, by placing much of the focus instead on what happens after conquest—governance and consolidation.
* The Medieval Review *
Victory's Shadow offers a significant contribution to scholarship on the medieval Iberian frontier. A welcome new approach to frontier history it is the product of meticulous research conducted over many years in a range of Spanish archives, as well as an impressive acquaintance with secondary literature and will be appreciated by scholars interested in premodern Iberian and Mediterranean history, in the history of Christian-Muslim relations, in the origins of European expansionism, and in frontier history.
* Journal of Military History *
"Victory's Shadow shows how the acquisition and integration of New Catalonia was a lengthy and nonlinear process built on previous failures, on contests among rulers, on negotiations with ecclesiastical and secular magnates, and on the fate of territory further afield. With impressive attention to local political and economic contexts and changes in policies and possibilities over two and a half centuries, the book is a marvelously fine-grained account of the mechanics and logics of conquest."
* Citation from the American Historical Association's 2020 Premio del Rey Committee *
An extremely impressive work of scholarship that combines meticulous archival work with a deep knowledge of regional history and historiography to illuminate the complex mechanics of administration in this important and fascinating corner of medieval Latin Christendom.
* SPECULUM *
Victory's Shadow is an important contribution to the field, of interest also to those studying multicultural frontiers in the medieval period and beyond.
* AMERICAN HISTORICAL REVIEW *
An important contribution to the field; of interest also to those studying multicultural frontiers in the medieval period and beyond.
* American Historical Review *
A thorough and well-documented study of one of medieval Europe's less well-known frontiers.
* SIXTEENTH CENTURY JOURNAL *
Table of ContentsAcknowledgments
Abbreviations, Naming, and Coinage
Introduction
Part I: Interaction and Conquest
1. Parias and Churches along the Eleventh-Century Frontier
2. Competition along the Frontier
3. Unification and Conquest
Part II: The Implications of Victory
4. Aftermaths: Constructing Authority within a Conquered Landscape
5. Repositioning within the Lower Ebro Valley
6. Lleida and the County of Urgell
Part III: New Catalonia after Valencia
7. Repercussions of Further Conquest: Valencia and Tenurial Conditions in Catalonia
8. The Impact of Conquest and Consolidation on Jurisdiction and Administration
Appendix
Dynastic Succession of the Counts of Urgell
Dynastic Succession of the Kings of Aragon
Dynastic Succession of the Counts of Barcelona and Count-Kings of Barcelona/Aragon
Notes
Select Bibliography
Index
