Dams, Disasters, and Disputes: The Management of Rivers and Associated Infrastructure by Rural Communities in the Alps during the Late Middle Ages.

Dams, disasters, and disputes: The management of rivers and associated infrastructure by rural communities in the Alps during the Late Middle Ages. Water was a key resource for having a thriving economy in the Alps of the Middle Ages. Livestock on alpine pastures needed a steady supply of water, streams powered mills and rivers offered a cheaper and often safer mode of transportation downstream. But managing water was no easy task, be it because of conflicts of interests between groups or the nature of alpine water currents themselves, which could be volatile and dangerous. This paper will explore how rural alpine communities coped with the challenges posed by water and its management. The focus lies on the Rhine in Grisons and nearby areas from 1450 to 1600, centred on the role and agency of local actors. With this approach this paper contributes a view from “the other side” in the context of this panel, by investigating how the daily lives of people dwelling next to alpine currents were shaped by rivers and how local groups managed the usage of waterways, which included the production and transportation of lumber. Which countermeasures against flooding were employed? How were bridges (re-)built and maintained, in the face of fluctuating water levels or the threat posed by log driving down the river? What disputes regarding the use of water, waterways and associated infrastructure emerged and how were they settled