Manuel Acién Almansa, medievalista pionero y renovador de la historia de Al-Andalus

Abstract

Manuel Acién Almansa had been a pioneer researcher in Medieval Studies in Spain, since he played
a decisive role in the integration of al-Andalus into this academic field. Given his ability to revive the
historiographical debate on Andalusian society characterization, he must also be considered as a real
innovator of Andalusian studies. In this paper I analyse his professional career in the context of the renewal
of the aforementioned studies. I also make an assessment of the historiographical projection of his ideas,
reviewing both the trends that have welcomed his proposals and the critical reactions to such proposals.