Warfare and Conflict Landscapes in Britain and Ireland, 1100-1250: New Approaches

Sponsoring Organization(s)

Dept. of Archaeology, National Univ. of Ireland-Galway; Dept. of Archaeology, Univ. of Exeter

Organizer Name

Oliver Creighton

Organizer Affiliation

Univ. of Exeter

Presider Name

Terry Barry

Presider Affiliation

Trinity College, Univ. of Dublin

Paper Title 1

Archaeologies of Anarchy? Landscapes of War and Status in Twelfth-Century England

Presenter 1 Name

Oliver Creighton

Paper Title 2

Landscape as Protection in Medieval Gaelic Ireland, ca.1100–1600

Presenter 2 Name

Kieran D. O’Conor

Presenter 2 Affiliation

National Univ. of Ireland-Galway

Paper Title 3

Medieval Welsh Battlescapes: An Archaeological Conflict Landscape Approach to Defining Conflict in Twelfth-Century Wales

Presenter 3 Name

Jacqueline Veninger

Presenter 3 Affiliation

Univ. of Exeter

Start Date

13-5-2016 1:30 PM

Session Location

Schneider 1225

Description

This session features speakers who will present case studies from both Britain and Ireland of how new research is opening up fresh perspectives on the conduct, perception and material signatures of conflict and warfare in the twelfth and early thirteenth centuries.

While our understanding of warfare in medieval Europe is dominated by studies of battles and battlefields, large-scale military clashes were actually rare. In the case of Britain and Ireland, for most of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries warfare was instead characterised by sieges of castles and towns, the raiding and the devastation of landscapes and territories, and low-intensity modes of conflict (including, especially in western parts of Britain, elements of 'asymmetric' warfare, such as ambushes).

The session includes case studies of Gaelic parts of Ireland, the Anglo-Welsh marches, and the so-called 'Anarchy' of Stephen's reign in England, to explore the evidence of conflict in varied geographical and political contexts. Particular themes for consideration will include: different strategies and patterns in the militarisation of the landscape; the changing place and role of fortification in conflict landscapes; and psychological aspects to medieval warfare. This session will open up different ways of investigating and reconstructing these conflict landscapes and highlight the value of new methodologies and approaches for researching them (including, for example, Geographical Information System-enabled analyses of terrain and archaeological surveys of sites). The session will highlight the vibrant and interdisciplinary nature of research into medieval conflict landscapes.

Oliver Hamilton Creighton

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May 13th, 1:30 PM

Warfare and Conflict Landscapes in Britain and Ireland, 1100-1250: New Approaches

Schneider 1225

This session features speakers who will present case studies from both Britain and Ireland of how new research is opening up fresh perspectives on the conduct, perception and material signatures of conflict and warfare in the twelfth and early thirteenth centuries.

While our understanding of warfare in medieval Europe is dominated by studies of battles and battlefields, large-scale military clashes were actually rare. In the case of Britain and Ireland, for most of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries warfare was instead characterised by sieges of castles and towns, the raiding and the devastation of landscapes and territories, and low-intensity modes of conflict (including, especially in western parts of Britain, elements of 'asymmetric' warfare, such as ambushes).

The session includes case studies of Gaelic parts of Ireland, the Anglo-Welsh marches, and the so-called 'Anarchy' of Stephen's reign in England, to explore the evidence of conflict in varied geographical and political contexts. Particular themes for consideration will include: different strategies and patterns in the militarisation of the landscape; the changing place and role of fortification in conflict landscapes; and psychological aspects to medieval warfare. This session will open up different ways of investigating and reconstructing these conflict landscapes and highlight the value of new methodologies and approaches for researching them (including, for example, Geographical Information System-enabled analyses of terrain and archaeological surveys of sites). The session will highlight the vibrant and interdisciplinary nature of research into medieval conflict landscapes.

Oliver Hamilton Creighton