Simon Berger. Mingham and tamma: Nomadic Administration of the Frontiers in the 14^th Century Mongol Empire

This article presents a study of the frontier administration of the Mongol Empire during the period from 1206 to 1259. It examines the stereotype of the Mongols seen as nomads without borders. The military and administrative organization of the subject peoples into decimal units of tens and the institution known as tamma, whose function was to conquer, control and populate the border areas paints quite a different picture – we see a system of government in which territorial limits are important. Nevertheless, these notions are expressed through an original and truly nomadic concept of sovereignty which allows us to conceive of the State, and in particular the Medieval State, in a manner different from the paradigm of the Modern European State seen as essentially confined to a particular territory. With the use of data that has been unnoticed until now, we can hazard a new hypothesis on the importance of the role of the tamma on the borders and show it to be an integral part of the Mongolian state apparatus.

Éva Collet. Tracing the Juridical Frontier between Byzantium and Islam. The North of Bilad al Sham (2^nd-5^th AH/8^th-11^th centuries)

The Muslim jurists of the middle ages recognized two types of jurisdiction: the territories under Islam known as Dar-al-Islam and the territories of the enemy known as Dar-al-Harb (House of War), which referred especially to the Byzantine Empire. These territories should not be seen as clearly delimited geographic zones. Rather they were informal spaces within which Islamic jurisdiction held sway. These jurists formulated the criteria necessary to establish the exact point where an individual crossed the border and exited the territories ruled by Islam. This article highlights the signs that enabled the recognition of the frontier between Byzantium and Islam. As the military front was constantly moving, this frontier was not only a question of geography and space. Rather it was defined by temporality and the official protocols of frontier crossing.

Damien Coulon. The Pareurs of Perpignan – beyond the Limits of the Crown of Aragon and the Social Frontiers

The textile craftsman known as the Perpignan pareurs played an active if unexpected role in the marketing of material in whose manufacturing they were involved. This product was sold all over the Mediterranean. These craftsmen, in the course of this activity, were able to shake up traditional professional and social mores and upset to certain degree the urban political balance as is attested by the notarial and municipal records of the city. By examining the idea of social and geographic frontiers and the ways and means of crossing them, this article analyses the role played by this dynamic and heterogeneous group and shows that the decisive role they played in the economic influence of Perpignan was greater than previously supposed. This influence was felt throughout the Mediterranean in the 14^th and 15^th Centuries. And finally, this study of the frontiers also aims to give a better account of the pareur community and its identity, which has been shown to be more complex than was first thought.

Simon Dorso. Delimiting the Territory: Reflections along the Border of the Kingdom of Jerusalem (Galilee 12^th-13^th Centuries)

The account given by Ibn Gubayr of the crossing of the border between the Ayyubid Principality of Damascus and the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem allows us to examine the concept of spatial and territorial limits in this region of the Near East during the Crusades. Several scales are discussed. Firstly, there is the external frontier, which is a line of a certain thickness. This space contains conflict but is also a place of compromise. It is characterized by fluid limits, resistance to fortification and its own particular temporality. Secondly, we will discuss the fabrication of territories and the mechanisms required to establish a feudal kingdom in Palestine. These mechanisms are both concrete in their intentions (they involve the distribution of land and the recasting of the limits of a diocese) and make use of powerful representations when the coronation of a king in Jerusalem heralds the coming of the Promised Land. Finally, we will discuss the demarcation of land given over to villages as this is found in Latin and Arabic texts as well as with reference to boundary stones found in situ.

Juliette Dumasy-Rabineau. The Lost Maps of the Borders of Burgundy in the Middle of the 15^th Century

In the middle of the 15^th Century there was a conflict between the King of France and the Duke of Burgundy over their common borders in Burgundy. In this context, the Burgundy administration commissioned an important series of maps which showed the disputed enclaves and border lines. These maps have been lost but we know the name of the cartographer. He was a famous scholar, Henry Arnault de Zwolle who was both astronomer and physician. Several references and clues in certain sources allow us to reconstitute the history, the appearance and the use of these maps. This conflict over borders thus allows us to examen the relationship of power to territory with particular emphasis on map making, especially in the Burgundy of the Valois princes.

Simon Hasdenteufel. The Emperor beyond the River: The Construction of a Political Territory in the Latin Empire of Constantinople (1204-1213)

This article analyses the spatial dimension of the conquest and occupation of Byzantine territories by the forces of the Fourth Crusade from 1204. During this period the spatial organization of the Byzantine Empire was radically modified. The Latins moved in in an informal and discontinuous manner. This was due to internal political rivalries between the Crusader forces in play and to their limited military forces as well as to attacks from neighboring powers. All data of this kind cannot be reduced to the classical cartographic representations of the frontier. Nevertheless, by examining the two methods of frontier construction in Latin Romania (setting up garrisons in strategic positions and the capacity of covering distances on horseback) we can obtain a different kind of cartographic projection that will enable us to learn more about the way political players organized and delimited their territories in the Middle Ages.

Ingrid Houssaye Michienzi, Sarah Maugin, Claire Soussen. The Frontier between Faiths: Is this a Pertinent Concept with reference to the Urban Space under the Crown of Aragon during the 13^th-15^th Centuries?

The Jewish entity was recognized both legally and institutionally by the Crown of Aragon through the local communities known as aljamas. It also possessed what might be termed a body whose form, importance and name differed according to context and location. In the main cities of the Catalan-Aragon space, you could find the Jewish area which was identified within the urban topography by several spaces even when they were surrounded by walls with access gates and/or contained the specific infrastructures, such as those required by religious worship. Thus, the Jewish Community stood out visibly in the urban space whether they were seen by Jews or by non-Jews. In order to evaluate the pertinence of the concept of frontier between the faiths in the urban space of the cities of the Catalan-Aragon Region during the 13^th-15^th Centuries, we will examen the nature of these areas, their effect on traffic on the scale of the city and the brutal changes that took place after the pogroms of 1391.

Frédérique Laget. The Construction of the Sea Frontier in England at the End of the Middle Ages

The maritime frontier is a strategic and geo-political construction whose origin can be found in the later centuries of the Middle Ages. The case of England between the 13^th and 15^th Centuries allows us to demonstrate how the Channel, which under the Plantagenets had been a zone of circulation and free exchange, came progressively to represent a frontier. The maritime frontier between France and England was built by the admiralties and by assimilating the sea to a border area in which jurisdictions were applied to people and unities rather than to a particular space. From the 14^th Century, while France tended to identify its coastline with its border, England with its ambition to dominate the sea and establish its sovereignty thereupon, looked to the enemy coasts to establish its frontier.

Laurence Leleu. Spatial and Mental Frontiers in Saxony (9^th-11^th Centuries)

What was the Saxony of the Early middle ages like? From the second half of the 9^th Century the Saxon sources give us a definition of this space, which was the result of the Frankish conquests that occurred in the last third of the 8^th Century, as the land of the Saxons, in opposition to the territories of neighbouring peoples (Franks, Normans, Obotrites, Frisians, Thuringians) but also as a regnum of the Frankish Kingdom of the East, with the two realities being often confused. Nevertheless, Saxony seemed difficult to map, given the extreme fluidity of its borders. There is a kind of border zone and sometimes we come across evidence of a system of demarcation. The Rhine and Elbe rivers act as symbolic limits rather than real borders. We may say that the true borders are mental. It is in the mind that the Saxon is distinguished from the others through a feeling of belonging to a particular Saxon identity.

Arnaud Lestremau. Ex paterne genere Danici - The Onomastics of a Frontier Society. The Example of the Midlands in the 10^th and 11^th Centuries

Despite political unity which dates from 954, England still retained a cultural border between the Danish and Anglo-Saxon traditions. This article looks at them from the point of view of anthroponymy which it will map out. Despite the predominance of Anglo-Saxon names, in the North and the East we find a large proportion of Norse names. The ethnic surname Danus/Dacus was concentrated in the Midlands while the nomina propria Northman or Halfdan were concentrated in the Danelaw. Name changes of linguistic tradition from one generation to the next are more common in the Midlands families, as are names of linguistic ambiguity as well as double-barrelled names, which indicate compromise, as they bring together both traditions. These usages make of the Midlands a space rich in diversity from the point of view of onomastics compared with other areas where a single identity is predominant.

Olivier Marin. The Frontier Experience seen through the Liber de legationibus of Gilles Charlier (1433-1435)

During the Hussite Revolution, the border between the country of the Czechs and the rest of Christendom was almost impenetrable. The Church envoy, Gilles Charlier, who was sent to bring the Bohemians back into the bosom of Rome, was one of the first people authorized to cross it. His first-hand account of his embassy gives us a vivid picture of what a frontier between faiths must have been like at the end of the Middle Ages. Our aim is, on the one hand, to reconstruct his itinerary and on the other hand, to portray Gilles Charlier’s direct experience of the local geography. His narrative is replete with details regarding the tense situation being experienced in the border areas of Bohemia, such as the lack of communication and the religious obstacles that existed between former belligerents. From certain hints in the text, we can see that he saw how this frontier was becoming blurred and being reshaped by the new conditions with their new rapports de force.

Tristan Martine. From One Kingdom to Another. Shifting Frontiers and Aristocratic Societies in South Lotharingia (End of the 9^th-10^th Century)

At the turn of the 9^th and 10^th Centuries, Lotharingia changed suzerainty several times. First it was part of Eastern Francia then it became part of Western Francia. This article considers the consequences of these geopolitical changes at the local level. For instance, it enquires whether the incorporation of South Lotharingia into Western Francia from 911 to 925 upset the geographic horizon and the strategies of the aristocrats who planned to settle in the border areas. We wish to apprehend the pervasiveness of a frontier between kingdoms in the mentalities of both lay and ecclesiastical aristocrats. With this in mind we will examen not only their consciousness of this frontier but will also show how this frontier could be a source of conflict with these aristocrats’ local interests.

Camille Rhoné-Quer. The Conception of Fluvial Frontiers. Ṭabarī (839-923) (839-923) and the Iranian Borders: between Mythical Heritage and Writing the History of the Islamic Empire

How does Ṭabarī (839-923), a figure of central importance among the historians of Medieval Islam, envisage the waterways, especially those situated in North-East Iran and in the adjacent Central Asian Territories, a territory which had long been thought of as one of the distinct border areas of the Islamic World. Through a close study of the narrative processes and the symbolic practices associated with these watery spaces, the article illuminates the process of creating a narrative form and shows the relationship that Islamic societies and powers had with their frontiers. In fact, Ṭabarī’s vision of the frontier spaces is fragmented, with reference to the North-East Frontier of the Dar al-Islam. He perpetuates the representation of a fluvial border, inherited from Pre-Islamic Iran which is partly mythical and which is localized in the Amu Darya. The chronicler fails to mention other rivers and waterways despite the realities of historical conflicts and the geography of the external frontiers of the empire of his age. As both a threshold and a barrier, these river basins are the locus of the dramatization of political legitimacy.

Romain Saguer. Consolidation or Disappearance of Frontiers? The Counties of Roussillon and Cerdanya after the Fall of the Crown of Majorca (2^nd half of the 14^th century)

From the 13^th Century, and especially under the Majorca dynasty (1276-1344), the counties of Rousillon and Cerdanya functioned as both maritime and land frontier spaces. Though Peter IV of Aragon’s conquest did not modify this characteristic, it did change the balance somewhat. When we examen the sources, the Southern frontier of both counties seems to lose its clarity and emerge as a border between states under the rule of the Aragonese Crown. On the other hand, the Northern frontier that lay between these two counties and the territories ruled by the King of France and the Count of Foix, was the object of constant attention by the king and his officials in their bid to remodel the royal administration. The territory was structured from East to West along an axis which followed the border and from Perpignan, the fortified city that was a pole of attraction.

Giovanni Stranieri. Local Territories in Southern Apulia from the 7^th to the 10^th Century. Is this the Reflection of the Frontier between Byzantium and the Adriatic?

In the course of the 7^th Century, after the Lombards penetrated into Italy and the Slavs settled in Illyricum, these regions, for the most part, no longer fell under the authority of the Byzantine Empire. Having freed themselves from the Byzantine network, these societies began to change and reorganize their space according to new tropisms. In Southern Apulia, on the Italian side of the Otranto Canal, the city of Oria benefited from these transformations. From the archeological work undertaken in the area we see how Oria played a leading role in attracting the region’s resources. Ceramic analysis shows that the local production no longer maintained links with long-distance trade; unlike the port of Otranto, situated in the most Eastern part of the region, which played an active role in trade with the Eastern side of the canal, as we can see from recent excavations that took place in Butrint in Albania. These hitherto unpublished results illuminate the influence of the cities on the nearby rural spaces and their rankings in the urban system. They also make up an ensemble of consistent clues which go some way towards filling indirectly some of the gaps that still exist in our knowledge of the frontiers between the political powers in play during the period under consideration.

Marc Suttor. Defining and Making Manifest a Fluvial Frontier. The Case of the Middle Meuse from the 13^th to the 16^th Centuries

From the 13^th Century, borders began to be drawn and the Meuse formed a visible limit with its spatial markers (boundary stones between France and the Empire) or natural markers (a willow, a poplar). The very precise “records” of the Scabins show the interaction of the princes in conflict over the river: the frontier followed the channel of navigation. In 1328 an enquiry registered the right of the Count of Namur to collect the tonlieu tax on wine transported between Mézières and Namur. This illustrates how limits could be modified and rivals beaten in the drive to gain control of the river. Finally, we see these frontiers becoming part of long-term memory.

Josep Torró. The Medieval Frontier as a Process of Appropriation: A Few Remarks on the Case of Iberia in the 13^th Century: Cuadrilleros, Almonedas, Suertes

If we consider the medieval frontier in Iberia as a process of appropriation, we see this happen in three distinct stages: incursion, sharing out of land and agrarian colonization. It is not enough to describe these actions in simple succession, we must identify the logical continuity common to them all. This article shows the continuity that existed between, on the one hand, the practices and institutions involved in the taking of movable spoils such as men and animals through raids on horseback by members of the urban community situated near the border and, on the other hand, the distribution of property which took place after the conquest of the urban areas and the immense agrarian spaces of Al-Andalus that took place in the course of the 12^th and 13^th Centuries.