The ‘Reconquest’: a new proposal of definition

In the following pages, we propose to rehabilitate the use of the term “reconquest” (reconquista). We understand and appreciate the reasons that have rendered it controversial, and are aware of the legitimate circumstances that have led to “condemnation” of usage of the word, which has been misrepresented and ideologically manipulated in the past and even today. We believe, however, that it is time to reclaim the instrumental value of a term that defines with precision a medieval ideology that arose to justify the expansive war of the Christians in the north of the Peninsula at Islam’s expense. This ideology is rooted in very old and extensive accounts throughout the Peninsula, reflecting different models of understanding, not always alluding to a Visigoth past or the legendary Battle of Covadonga. In any case, albeit intermittently, it is an ideology that permeated the Peninsula throughout the entire Middle Ages.