Taking inspiration from Robert Fossier’s important questions on who dominated the territory and inhabitants (“la terre et les hommes”) of medieval Normandy, we are keen to reopen major historiographical debates on feudalism and serfdom. Our conference aims to stimulate new reflections on the notion of domination. We take the term to include not only the actual control of people and/or territories, but also strategies implemented by the dominators to legitimize and justify the social order over which they ruled. Through reinterpretation of political, economic, social and religious arenas, considered together, this conference positions itself within the cursus of recent works on the fabric of power in medieval societies. It aims to question, and perhaps redefine, the concept of domination. Whilst domination contributed much to social hierarchy, other formative aspects –  such as cooperation, negotiation and contestation – should not be overlooked.