Local meetings and meeting places in early medieval León

Abstract

This article explores the written evidence for local meetings and meeting places in early medieval León between the tenth and early eleventh centuries. It considers the functions of local meetings, as well as the role they played in the negotiation of social relations within the localities. The analysis of meeting places – among which churches feature prominently in the record – provides further insight into the ways in which links between the localities and the overarching social and political framework developed, and reveals the different forces that could lead to the institutionalization of local meetings.