Prácticas colectivas y gestión de los espacios agrarios en la Alta Edad Media: una perspectiva comparada desde Irlanda y el noroeste de la península Ibérica

The aim of this article is to analyse how the study of collective practices in early medieval localities can further critical assessment of peasant society historiography and open new avenues for the interpretation of evidence. In order to do so, the historiography and sources of two case studies, the Irish rath and Iberian sernas, will be contrasted in regards to two elements that have played a central role in the construction of their descriptive models. This involves evaluating both past and current interpretations and evidence; specifically, archaeology and legal arrangements for Ireland, and charters in the case of Spain. An analysis of collective governance practices sheds new light on aspects of early medieval society that have hitherto been neglected, providing a more nuanced account of the socioeconomic transformations that local peasant societies underwent during the aforementioned timeframe, and strengthening our understanding of their influence on the overarching socioeconomic and political processes.