Castillos y fortalezas feudales en Asturiasmetodología para su estudio

Laburpena

The current work is an advance of objectives, methods and results of the "CASTELLA project: Power Centres in Asturias: feudal castles and fortress". The main purpose of this essay is the drawing up of an exhaustive catalogue relating to medieval strongholds and castles in the geographical framework of the current territory of Asturias, as well as the historical-archaeological study of the fortified settlements of this age. In terms of methodology this research is based, on the one hand, on the collection and the analysis of written documents, current and classical bibliographic references, archaeological maps and catalogues, previous excavations reports, material collections kept in museums and private owners, topographical maps, aerial photography, digital cartography, toponomy, etc. On the other hand, it is based as well on the study of the territory whese these strongholds lie, it is based also on their diachronic perspective, as a method of spatial analysis to allow us to explain the special features of the incastellamento in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, so as to state the layout and the hierarchical distribution of these settlements. This new documentary corpus of castles will allow us to go deeply into new paths of research, such as the framework in the different geohistorical contexts that can explain better the choice of the settlements through its spatial analysis, as well as the specific functions and causes that justify the special tipology and morphology of every historical period, or the changing territorial relations that order and give a hierarchical structure to the settlers and set up the feudal social body in different periods and places.