L'Agenda des Médiévistes

À la fin du Moyen Âge, le comté de Bourgogne est un espace profondément rural. Les paysans francs-comtois font pousser le blé et la vigne. Ils élèvent des bestiaux pour le lait, la viande, le cuir ou la laine. Ils exploitent les friches, landes et forêts qui leur procurent non seulement du bois de chauffage et de construction, du charbon, de la poix, du miel, mais aussi de précieuses ressources pour nourrir les troupeaux. À quoi ressemblent ces territoires productifs ?

Le travail des paysans s’inscrit d’abord dans l’univers de la seigneurie, cellule de base de la vie rurale au Moyen Âge. Mais il ne faut pas imaginer les seigneuries comme des territoires homogènes et continus. Les seigneuries s’enchevêtrent les unes dans les autres, de sorte que l’encadrement seigneurial apparaît comme un patchwork bigarré de terres et de droits relevant de seigneurs différents. C’est dans cette géographie seigneuriale hétérogène et discontinue, en un mot complexe, que s’inscrivent les territoires paysans. Loin d’être ramassées autour du centre, les exploitations sont émiettées, dispersées, entremêlées. Dès lors, quelles sont les modalités de leur délimitation ?

Analysant les différents territoires de l’espace rural du comté de Bourgogne à la fin du Moyen Âge, ce livre dévoile l’organisation, la répartition, la visualisation et l’articulation des territoires ruraux.

Sylvie Bépoix est enseignante en histoire médiévale à l’Université de Franche-Comté, agrégée d’histoire, docteur et habilitée à diriger les recherches. Elle fait partie du laboratoire pluridisciplinaire ChronoEnvironnement, dédié à la compréhension des socio-écosystèmes actuels et passés.

Informations pratiques :

Sylvie Bépoix, Hommes et territoires en Franche-Comté à la fin du Moyen Âge, Tours, Presses universitaires François-Rabelais, 2025 ; 1 vol. (Perspectives historiques). ISBN : 978-2-38605-007-7. Prix : € 26,00.

Source : Presses universitaires François-Rabelais

This book focuses on Volga Bulgaria (10th to early 13th centuries), the only Muslim state in Eastern Europe before 1300. For several centuries, it operated as a bridge between the Christian West and the Muslim East. As such, it is widely believed that the colossal transit of oriental silver coin through the state was the foundation of the Bulgar economy while Islam consolidated statehood in the Middle Volga region.

Drawing on the rich archaeological record, Konstantin Rudenko argues against this view, demonstrating that the Bulgar culture was instead formed on the basis of its own resources. The Bulgars thus represent a unique example of relatively rapid change from nomadism to sedentism and urbanization, with no significant influence from neighboring, developed states. Cultural syncretism therefore emerged as a key characteristic of Volga Bulgaria.

Konstantin A. Rudenko, Doctor of Historical Sciences (2004), Udmurt State University, is Professor of Archaeology at Kazan State Institute of Culture. He has published monographs, catalogs, and numerous articles on the material culture of Volga Bulgaria, including The History of the Archaeological Study of Volga Bulgaria (2014) and The Bulgar Silver (2015).

Table des matières : ici

Informations pratiques :

Konstantin A. Rudenko, The Archaeology of Volga Bulgaria in the 10th to Early 13th Centuries, Leyde–Boston, Brill, 2025 ; 1 vol., XVI–354 p. (East Central and Eastern Europe in the Middle Ages, 450-1450, 95). ISBN : 978-90-04-67936-8. Prix : € 135,00

Source : Brill

Nel Medioevo la vita era indissolubilmente legata alla natura, la cui percezione era però in continuo movimento. Piante, animali, corsi d’acqua: tutto l’ambiente era modificato dall’agire degli esseri umani, e a loro volta le trasformazioni della natura influenzavano la vita delle comunità. Il libro indaga questi mutamenti in relazione ai cambiamenti economici e sociali. Analizza come in quel periodo l’idea stessa di natura si sia modificata in relazione alle pratiche di sfruttamento dell’ambiente e alle trasformazioni ecologiche. Riflette sulle categorie culturali che definivano i confini tra l’umano e l’animale e tra il naturale e il soprannaturale. Esplora il modo in cui la cultura medievale rappresentò le interazioni fra società e ambiente e la posizione dell’essere umano nel cosmo.

Insegna Storia medievale all’Università di Catania. Il suo Writing the Holy Land (Palgrave Macmillan, 2020) ha vinto il Premio San Francesco 2021.

Informations pratiques :

Michele Campopiano, Storia dell’ambiente nel Medioevo. Natura, società, cultura, Rome, Carocci, 2025 ; 1 vol., 176 p. (Quality Paperbacks). ISBN : 978-8-82902-796-5. Prix : € 17,00.

Source : Carocci

Minted in Florence around November 1252, the florin became one of the leading gold currencies of the Middle Ages. Historians agree that its success was mainly due to the need for a stable means of payment in the networks of international trade. The Florentine Florin investigates the florin as a medium with hitherto neglected political, social, and cultural dimensions. By bringing human agents and political institutions more prominently into the history of the coin, this book enhances our understanding of money and its nature from a historical perspective, and provides an original framework for the integrated study of material culture and economic practices.

Stefano Locatelli is Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Postdoctoral Fellow between Fordham University and the University of Milan.

Table des matières :

Introduction
1 The pre-history of the florin
2 The florin and the merchants
3 The florin and the Crown
4 The florin and the papacy
Conclusion
Appendix
Bibliography
Index

Informations pratiques :

Stefano Locatelli, The Florentine Florin. The Politics and Culture of Money in the Middle Ages, Manchester, Manchester University Press, 2025 ; 1 vol., 272 p. (Artes Liberales). ISBN : 978-1-52615-813-0. Prix : GBP 85,00.

Source : Manchester University Press

Medievalism has been a common and hardly innocent practice in Eastern European political discourses ever since the dissolution of the USSR in the 1990s. To use but one example, both Russia and Ukraine have laid claims on such prominent historical figures as Prince Vladimir / Volodymyr the Great, Princess Olga, Boris and Gleb/Hlib, as well as on such semi-legendary characters as Ilya of Murom. The recent military conflict has led to a renewal of interest in the history of medieval Rus’ and to the rewriting and falsification of this history, particularly in the public sphere, education and political discourse. This multidisciplinary volume draws together contributions from scholars from different countries and different disciplinary backgrounds, who analyze a variety of media and sources in which medievalisms can be manifested. The authors examine the uses of medievalising statues, fiction, cartoons, tourism and popular history in Ukrainian and Russian political discourses. The aim of this volume is to take a balanced and wide-ranging approach to medievalism as a political weapon and a cultural mainstay and to facilitate a fruitful and respectful dialogue among scholars coming from diverse cultural and ethnic backgrounds with an interest in Slavic studies, medievalism, the use of history in public discourse and the history of ex-Soviet and post-communist countries.

ANASTASIJA ROPA holds a doctoral degree from Bangor University (North Wales) and is currently a senior researcher at the Latvian Academy of Sport Education. Her most recent research explores medieval equestrianism in English and French literary sources.

Table des matières :

Introduction. Whose Medieval Past? – Anastasija Ropa, Edgar Rops

Prince Vladimir and Ilya of Murom: Whose Heroes? – Edgar Rops, Anastasija Ropa

Leo Mol and St. Volodymyr: Chiselling the Myth of Rus’-Ukraine for the Diaspora and the Western World – Anastasija Ropa

History Serves the Motherland: Alexander Nevsky in Russian Political and Militarist Discourse (2018-2023) – Olga Kalashnikova

“Peresvet’s Victory” in Mariupol: Notes on a Medieval Battle Narrative and its Contemporary Applications – Kati Parppei

Global Medievalism in Contemporary Vyborg – Aleksandr Rusanov, Alexandra Kolesnik

Conclusion: The Seductive Middle Ages – Anastasija Ropa

Notes on Contributors

Informations pratiques :

Medievalism in Russian and Ukrainian Political Discourses, éd. Anastasija Ropa, Budapest, trivent, 2025 ; 1 vol., 210 p. ISBN : 978-615-6696-46-5. Prix : € 42,00.

Source : Trivent