EAA2021: Abstract

Castles are one of the most conspicuous features of the medieval landscape. The origins of these fortifications have been the subject of ample debate and though some basic features are common across Europe, other aspects are prone to different levels of regionalisms. The administrative and military organization undertaken by Alfonso III of Asturias (r. 866-910) is often considered the first step towards the incastellamento that occurred across the NW Iberian peninsula in the tenth century. The territory was organized in civitates, militar and administrative regions with a network of defensive structures spread across the landscape. Though these structures are mentioned in the literary sources with different nomenclature, such as civitate, castro, castello, penna and others, up until recently the studies of the incastellamento have considered all these fortified structures as castles. But what exactly was a castle in this period? Drawing on evidence from literary sources, archaeological record, aerial surveys and LiDAR data, this study seeks to offer a perspective from central-north Portugal and discuss the architecture, topography and function of the medieval fortifications in the 10th and 11th centuries, using the frontier coastal region between the cities of Coimbra and Porto as a particular case study area. The results presented here allow to widen our horizons on early medieval fortifications and help to build a better understanding of this particular military landscape.

Medieval, Landscape, Fortifications, Functionality, Architecture, Portugal

 Abstract (PDF)

Gil Vilarinho¹