Local identities in the Early Middle Ages (700-1050)

In the framework of this project, an international working group has been set up (‘Small worlds – wide horizons: Local identities and social cohesion (700–1050)’). The group deals with rural, village-level societies. It concentrates therefore on people who lived within ‘small worlds’ of some eight to ten kilometres diameter. The group studies different parts of the Frankish and post-Frankish world, namely East and West Francia, Alemannia and Bavaria, but also northern Spain and Anglo-Saxon England.

In particular, the working group deals with different types of local groups and communities and their cohesion/cohesiveness. It questions their foundation (for instance by sharing legal status, rights or interests) and it asks for common actions and rituals of their members.