The Foundations of the European Space aims to be a long-term research initiative in the study of the spatial dimensions of early medieval European societies.

In its first phase, FES-I works within the framework of a three-year project awarded by the Spanish Ministry of Education. The project started in december 2004 and is due to end in december 2007, by which time other projects are expected to take over the effort.

FES-I focuses primarily on the notions of scale and scale change. We seek to explore:

• How system-scale relates to social complexity, the development and stability of systems of governance and the articulation of economic relationships.
• How changes in scale impact on notions of community, status and political identity.
• The interaction between local communities and larger-scale system beyond.

Early medieval Europe, from the intense fragmentation of the post-Roman period to the slow emergence of larger scale polities thereafter, is a suitable observatory for such a research.

The FES group brings together historians and archaeologists from Spain, Britain and Italy. We’re also interested in scientific exchange with related developments in the fields of anthropology, sociology and geography, among others.