The medieval town and land communities: A valid analogy for Late Protohistory?

Abstract

The social mechanisms that articulated Iron Age societies are still difficult to understand. In the last decades, the traditional pyramidal models have been questioned by different authors who advocate for the diversity of Iron Age societies and the heterogeneity of potential forms of social configuration. Crucial for most of the debates is the use of analogies, with some authors who favour historical sources from medieval Europe and others who privilege ethnographical examples from outside the European continent. While we consider both approaches legitimate, in this paper we present the example of the medieval “town and land” communities, in particular the case of Soria. These communities show a model of kinship relationships, based on transversal organisational structures, which can help us understand the ties and connections between the inhabitants of a landscape according to their origins, place of residence or family. Thus, we argue that the town and land community from Soria can serve as a useful analogy, although not a direct comparison, in order to conceptualise the interrelationships between the urban and rural areas, as well as for examining the simultaneous structuration of social groups around the principles of kinship and territoriality in a context of emerging urbanisation.