The Importance of the Periphery

How the ocean was perceived during late medieval Christianity in the Iberian southwest

Abstract

The following article focuses on two fundamental questions about how the ocean was perceived in late medieval Christianity: how did Christians envisage the oceanic element at a time of historical crossroads? What weight did this “world view†have in (people’s) daily contact with the ocean, especially along the southwestern coasts of Christianity? During the Middle Ages, two perceptions of the ocean prevailed in the Iberian territory. The first, inherited directly from the medieval autorictas, particularly St. Isadore of Seville, was in consonance with medieval Europe’s more continental and rural view, and tended to eliminate the aquatic element from the horizon – or minimize it as much as possible. The second, more positive and optimistic, became especially predominant in the south of Christendom, and was therefore closer to the Classical and Muslim heritage.  This second view was associated with the resurgence of urban life in Europe, and the repossession of the coastal and maritime areas from the Muslims, both in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. In the Iberian Peninsula, particularly in Portugal, the second, more open and benign view of the ocean prevailed after the transition from the Middle Ages to the Modern Era. However, it was still permeated by vestiges of the continental vision, more averse to the sea …