The peasantry formed the most numerous group in the vast course of history in its dialectical diversity and specificity. However, the peasants’ importance was not matched by an equal research effort from historians. Something especially true during any pre-capitalist context in which the absolute relevance of this social class is shaded by the historiographical fascination about the ruling classes of yore. Hence, the present paper aims to contribute for understanding the protagonism of the “hidden subject” that was the early medieval Iberian peasantry between the 5th and 7th centuries. This class is frequently seem as static or – at most – passive. To frame a clearer picture of such an elusive social group this text presents a regional analysis with the articulation of written and archaeological sources in order to capture the peasant agency in the process of struggle with the aristocratic powers. The main hypothesis is that the process of aristocratic weakening in the Douro river basin during the 5th century ensured greater autonomy for this region peasants and that between the 6th and 7th centuries there is a new onslaught of a renewed aristocracy articulated with the State Visigoth. There was, without a doubt, a partially successful aristocratic advance, however, I would like to emphasize precisely the resistance imposed by the peasantry in a long-lasting effort to preserve their living conditions.
Federal University of Mato Grosso, Brazil - ORCID: 0000-0002-2445-0044
Titolo del capitolo
Unveiling a hidden subject: peasant agency in the Douro river basin (5th- 7th centuries)
Autori
Eduardo Cardoso Daflon
Lingua
English
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0562-7.06
Opera sottoposta a peer review
Anno di pubblicazione
2024
Copyright
© 2024 Author(s)
Licenza d'uso
Licenza dei metadati
Titolo del libro
Local Societies and Peasantry Agencies in Medieval Iberia
Curatori
Juan Antonio Quirós Castillo
Opera sottoposta a peer review
Numero di pagine
304
Anno di pubblicazione
2024
Copyright
© 2024 Author(s)
Licenza d'uso
Licenza dei metadati
Editore
Firenze University Press
DOI
10.36253/979-12-215-0562-7
ISBN Print
979-12-215-0561-0
eISBN (pdf)
979-12-215-0562-7
eISBN (xml)
979-12-215-0564-1
Collana
Reti Medievali E-Book
ISSN della collana
2704-6362
e-ISSN della collana
2704-6079