This very elegant Festschrift pays homage to Malcolm Vale's long-lasting interest in contacts and exchanges within late medieval Europe, and even beyond, in a recent contribution to the Festschrift of one of his own tutors, the late Maurice Keen. An opening chapter by Michael Jones celebrates the distinguished career of an eminent scholar whose extensive work on archival sources contributed immensely to our understanding of late medieval aristocratic culture.
The fifteen essays included in this volume have been divided into two parts: ‘Units and Borders’, on the one hand, and ‘Exchanges’ on the other. The six essays that constitute the first part focus on dynamics which either shaped different (socio-) geographical units or, on the contrary, challenge their relevance and the definition of their boundaries. Taken as a whole, these contributions give a complex and rich picture of multiple processes at work, at times challenging old perceptions. In particular, we are shown that language and the rise of vernaculars did not serve straightforwardly to create territorial identities (Guilhem Pépin, Maria João Violante Branco). The reality was indeed more complex. The rich interplay of political and socio-economic factors that shaped the topography of late medieval Bruges (Jan Dumolyn) highlights, at a local level, what the editors deem to be ‘the important question of multiple overlapping boundaries’ (p 28).
The second part, which comprises five essays, focuses on different ‘vehicles’ of exchange. Particular interest arises from the Afro-Portuguese Olifant of the late 1400s, whose use and rich iconographic programme bears witness to multi-directional exchanges between Iberian aristocratic circles and West Africa (Rita Costa-Gomes). Exchanges, in this instance, moulded the object. The transformative impact that the crossing of the Channel had on the use of the ‘teachings of Saint-Louis’ in the last quarter of the fourteenth century in England, ‘where it became closely associated with a critical stance on royal government’ (p 198), is similarly remarkable (Frédérique Lachaud). How much cross-cultural experiences informed individuals’ behaviours is, however, less easily fathomable and, in the absence of firm evidence, any attempt to identify such influences must include an element of speculation, which is difficult to ignore when reading the contributions of Jean Dunbabin on Philip of Chiety or of Paul Booth on the last week of the life of the Black Prince.
The noticeable efforts of the editors, Hannah Skoda, Patrick Lantschner and Robert Shaw, to bring together this coherent and well-structured volume should be commended. The general introduction by Lantschner and Skoda adds a theoretical level to an approach by the fifteen contributors that is considered as empirical. If one could argue that history is empirical, it remains true, nonetheless, that the different models of analysis (mostly drawn from modern history) that are presented here in an attempt to overcome what Lantschner and Skoda label as the late medieval paradox – ie ‘state formation’ versus plurality and porosity of the boundaries, broadly speaking – are thought-provoking. They potentially offer a fresh perspective on an old debate, but John Watts raises concerns in the general conclusion. It is no longer necessary to expose the limitation of the idea of ‘nation-state’ for Watts, who proposes ‘to re-focus our energies on the dynamics and interactions that helped them to grow at that time’. At the same time, Watts wonders about the viability of this task, questioning ‘how much more analytical sophistication we can afford to develop while still being able to communicate our understanding’ (p 274).
