Eating under Christian rule: isotopic evidence for food access and resilience among a medieval Muslim minority in Iberia

Abstract

Muslim minorities are documented as taxpayers or legal subjects in medieval Europe, but rarely as individuals or households. This study examines carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes from 120 individuals buried at Torre Monreal, Tudela (Navarre, Spain) between the late eleventh and fifteenth centuries to build a picture of everyday food access in an Islamic community under Christian rule. The results, the authors argue, show a long-term reorganisation of diet that reflects historical narratives on the legal accessibility and market availability of freshwater and terrestrial resources, and are presented here as evidence for adaptive food practices rather than dietary assimilation.