The Making of Europe:

400-1500
Week 5: Spain, the Reconquista, and the ‘revival of Europe’
Housekeeping…
Submission dates for primary source commentaries (1000 words each)
1. Assessed Primary Source Commentary 1 (15%): Wednesday 7 March, 12 Noon (week 6)
(due next week)
2. Assessed Primary Source Commentary 2 (35%): Wednesday 25 April, 12 Noon (week 10)

Remember! You must do one commentary on a source from Section A, and the other on a source from
section B. (course handbook p.32)

My contact details:
 Isaac.Boothroyd@Manchester.ac.uk
 Office hour: Wednesday 1-2pm, Sam Alex S2.29
 Seminar Aims:
- To look at what our sources actually tell us about Iberian society in the
10th-12th Centuries
 
- To reconsider the Reconquista model of this period in history
 
- To think about the assessment, source analysis, and how you can get
the best marks.
 What do our sources actually tell us about Medieval Spain?

Alfonso III, King of Asturias c.866-910 Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (El Cid) c.1043-1099

10 minutes to consider the sources:

- How are Christian-Muslim relations presented here?
- Does this change over time?
- Is it accurate? Does the purpose of these sources influence their presentation of events?
Historians have traditionally referred to this period as the
Reconquista...but is that a useful model?
10 minutes In groups/pairs:

Consider our primary sources & your secondary reading.

Is the ‘Reconquista’ an accurate presentation of events

in this period?

Think about:

1) When this theory first came about, and why

2) What Christian-Muslim relations in Spain were

really like

3) If our primary sources are an accurate guide here

Map of the Iberian peninsula C.1157,
during the ‘Reconquista’
 Source Analysis Assessment…

What are the basics of source analysis?

What other factors should you consider for a more nuanced analysis?