Lines of research

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The project is structured into four main lines of research:

1. Theoretical and conceptual framework

It is essential to agree on a definition of domestic space for the period we are studying. This will be based on our research of archive documentation and our analysis of the concepts of house, home, dwelling and abode.

There are various angles from which to analyse the domestic world and the relations established behind closed doors. We will be exploring this question from a gender (men and women) perspective. Daily times, mobility and functions within the house normally vary between men and women and this affects the organization and layout of space. We will also be looking at the age factor, focusing above all on children. Here we will be looking not only at children who were members of the family, but also at other young members of the household such as child and adolescent slaves or servants, or apprentices that lived in the house of their master for several years.

2. Distribution of spaces

The inside of the house varied enormously according to the social class of its occupants. The youngest girls in the household had to be very flexible when using their space, above all bearing in mind that they often had to combine professional and domestic work.

The interior arrangement of the rooms was not based on any fixed standard model and varied according to the needs of the occupants and their possibilities. As a result in some types of house it is relatively easy to find rooms with a clearly identifiable purpose or activity, while in other houses it can be quite difficult. It is therefore important to combine the study of a house with that of the particular needs of the domestic group who live in it, from the basic human needs, such as eating and sleeping, to material needs like shelter and work, and social needs such as emotional relationships and those of hierarchy. The interior layout of a house, however simple it may initially appear on many occasions is a reflection of these needs, making use of physical aspects such as the separation between walls, different levels and heights, the use of different materials, corridors or passageways linking the different rooms…

3. Fitting out the house

The study of household contents helps us reconstruct the original layout of household interiors and tells us a lot about the different ways of inhabiting them. As we mentioned earlier, the house is a world of emotions and affections, inhabited by people. It is a place in which relationships are established between men and women, in which children and old people can be cared for or neglected. Household items normally give us clues about all these aspects.

4. Studies of specific cases and their visualization

All the ideas set out in paragraphs 1 to 3 will be analysed through specific case studies. When selecting these cases, we will take into account the complexity of the different cultures living in Spain during the 15th and 16th centuries, always remembering that there was a reciprocal transfer of ideas from one shore of the Mediterranean to the other, from one frontier to the next. This period covers the final moments of the Nasrid dynasty and the continuity of al-Andalus as manifested in its architectural legacy and the continued existence of Mudejars and later Moriscos. It was also the period in which Spain conquered part of America, which also caused an enormous exchange of ideas, as although people would normally travel with few possessions, their tastes and likes undoubtedly travelled with them. While certain mediaeval forms persisted, new models were being imported from Italy at a time of very close relations between the two countries, as seen in the military campaigns led by Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, the Great Captain, Spanish rule over the Kingdom of Naples and the sack of Rome in 1527. In all these case studies we will begin with the same theoretical framework and the same questions, so as to enable ourselves at the end to make proposals for the visualization of interiors in each of the contexts we have analysed and make comparisons between them.