Pereira García, I. (2020), La Rioja (Siglos VIII-XV). [León] Universidad de León: Área de Publicaciones, 486 p., Instituto de Estudios Medievales. Corpus Inscriptionum Hispaniae Mediaevalium, v. 6

Abstract

This review by Begoña Arrúe Ugarte analyzes the book La Rioja (Siglos VIII-XV) by Irene Pereira García, the sixth volume of the Corpus Inscriptionum Hispaniae Mediaevalium. The reviewer highly values the work, considering it a pioneering and interdisciplinary study that exhaustively compiles and analyzes medieval epigraphy in La Rioja—a historical source that has traditionally been scattered and understudied compared to that of Antiquity. Arrúe highlights the author's methodological rigor in reconstructing the region's "epigraphic landscape" by combining critical analyses of production centers (led by Nájera and San Millán), technical and physical materials (ranging from stone to ivory or metals), and the evolution of Visigothic, Carolingian, and Gothic scripts.

The core of the reviewed work is a catalog of 116 entry files spanning from the 8th to the 15th century, examining the value of inscriptions as instruments for public and communicative projection. Among the most relevant contributions highlighted by Arrúe are the inclusion of unpublished pieces, the correction of erroneous dates—such as re-dating the ring of Tudirico to the 8th–9th centuries—and new critical readings of various monuments and artworks scattered across national and international museums. In conclusion, the reviewer considers the book an essential source of linguistic, artistic, and cultural information, without which a comprehensive understanding of the Middle Ages in La Rioja would remain incomplete.