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
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