Medieval Frontier History in New Catalonia

Lawrence McCrank addresses here the processes and consequences of the Christian reconquests in Northeastern Spain during the 12th century, focusing specifically on New Catalonia then being won back from the Muslims. The history of this region, he argues, can be analysed best in terms of the concepts of frontier historiography because this frontier context gave the institutions and organizations that emerged there a distinctive and persistent character. In particular, these studies look at the role of the Cistercians of Poblet and Santes Creus and the Church of Tarragona as colonial agents fostering the resettlement and reorganization of the frontier. This consolidation prepared the way for the next wave of Reconquest.