Resumen
Álvaro Carvajal’s Bajo la máscara del regnum is an original and fruitful
contribution to existing research on early medieval societies, based on Bob Jessop’s approach
to state theory. This article suggests a number of points for discussion around three issues:
agrarian growth, the forms and functions of justice, and conflicts over space. On the one
hand, the potential of Carvajal’s approach can be verified beyond the aspects that constitute
the core of the book. On the other hand, its originality makes very apparent (by contrast)
some theoretical and historiographic problems that burden current research practice.