Unit 3. Medieval Europe

1. UNIT 3. MEDIEVAL EUROPE:
11th TO 15th

2. Remember that the Middle Ages is the
historical period which ran from 476 to 1492
or 1453.
It can be divided into different stages:
– The High Middle Ages (S.V - XI): Byzantine Empire,
Germanic kingdoms, Islamic civilization,
Carolingian Empire. FEUDALISM (from S.IX-X to Early
Modern Period): ruralisation.
– The Late Middle Ages (S. XII – S. XV): resurgence
of cities.

3. 1. THE LATE MIDDLE AGES.
The resurgence of cities.
Urban society.
Political institutions.

4. THE RESURGENCE OF CITIES.
Two processes occurred that brought a
gradual recovery of the urban world:
– An increase in the rural population helped cities
to grow, as many peasants migrated to them.
– An increase of agricultural productivity.
Therefore, agricultural surpluses which were not
needed for consumption by people in rural areas
were sold in the cities. Therefore, cities regained
(recuperaron) commercial importance and more food
was available for people in urban areas.

5.  URBAN SOCIETY
• The feudal structure of society was maintained: the king,
privileged class (nobility and clergy) and no-privileged class
or the third state (commoners and peasants).
• The nobility and the clergy continued to be the privileged
classes, but inhabitants of cities enjoyed more freedom
than peasants.
• There were big differences within the urban population.
– The great merchants and bankers were among the richest
classes. Their wealth was based on the possession of goods and
money.
– Below them were small traders and craftsmen. They were
joined by professionals related to the arts and the law.
– The largest social class was formed
of workers and peasants who worked the land surrounding the
city.
– Finally, the most disadvantaged social class included
many beggars (mendigos) with no resources.

6. New social class: bourgeoisie
“Burguesía”
• This term was used initially to identify the social
class composed by the inhabitants of the "burgs“
(“burgos”): primitive walled settlements inhabited by
merchants near castles and bridges.
• This social class is characterized by not being
feudal lords nor serfs and not to belong neither
to the Privileged estates (nobility and clergy) or
the peasantry.
• Their socioeconomic functions were those of
merchants, artisans or practitioners of liberal
professions.

7. GUILDS (GREMIOS)
• Guilds were associations of craftsmen with the same
trade (agrupaciones de artesanos con un mismo oficio).
• They were rigidly hierarchical:
– At the top were a small number of masters (maestros);
– Then the officials (oficiales);
– At the bottom, the apprentices (aprendices).
• Guilds were regulated by strict rules regarding working
conditions, the quality of the products, working hours
and prices.
• Craftsmen belonging to a guild usually lived in the
same street or neighborhood, which were given the
name of the profession: dyers (tintoreros), embroiderers
(bordadores), tanners (curtidores)…

8.  POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS
• There were two institutions that were considered superior to all others:
the papacy and the empire.
• The Pope in Rome was the highest moral authority of Catholicism and also
aspired to hold political superiority above that of kings and emperors. His
aim was to establish a theocracy: a system of government in which
religious power is imposed over civil power. To do this, the popes had
substantial assets and their own territories, the Papal States.
After the fall of the Carolingian
Empire, the Holy Roman Empire was
founded in the easternmost kingdom
in 962. This institution sought to be
the defender of Christianity and the
Pope, so its emperors considered
themselves superior to all other
powers. Emperors were elected by an
assembly of German nobles and
bishops known as the Diet.

9. Another important political institution
The monarchy
• Kings began a process to regain their authority.
• Monarchs had to confront the feudal nobility to limit
its privileges and strengthen (fortalecer) the power of the
monarchy. To do this, they sought alliances with the
townsmen, who also wanted to free themselves from
the nobility.
• Monarchs granted cities with specific privileges
known as fueros. Through these fueros, cities achieved
independence from the power of the nobles and the
monarchs obtained taxes in exchange, as well as the
political and military power of the bourgeoisie.

10. Fuero Ciudad Real (20 febrero 1255)
Conocida cosa sea a todos los Hombres que ésta
Carta vean, como, Yo Don Alfonso por la Gracia de
Dios Rey de Castilla, de León, de Toledo, de Galicia,
de Sevilla, de Córdoba, de Murcia y de Jaén […] y
tuve voluntad de repoblarlo y de hacer una gran e
importante población […] quise que hubiese allí una
gran e importante ciudad que tuviese fuero y que
fuese la cabeza de aquel territorio y mandé poblar
aquel lugar que dicen El Pozuelo de Don Gil y le
puse de nombre Real […]
Y Yo el citado Rey Don Alfonso les otorgo y
concedo a perpetuidad a todos los habitantes de
Villa Real.
Y mando y defiendo con firmeza que nadie se atreva
a desobedecer este Privilegio, ni quebrantarlo ni
despreciarlo en ningún punto.
Cualquiera que lo haga sufrirá mi ira y me pagará
10.000 Maravedís y a los que les haya dañado les
indemnizará con el doble de lo que les haya dañado.
Y para que este Privilegio tenga naturaleza lo mando
sellar con mi sello de plomo.

11. 2. THE CRISIS OF THE 14th CENTURY AND
THE END OF THE MIDDLE AGES
A. THE CRISIS OF THE 14TH CENTURY
• RELIGIOUS CRISIS: Within Catholicism, there was a confrontation that led
to the Western Schism.
– This schism was a period of rupture within the Church, from 1378 to
1417, during which there were two popes: one in Rome (Italy)-Urbano
VI- and the other in Avignon (France)-Clemente VII-. 1417: Martin V
• POLITICAL CRISIS: The Hundred Years’ War (Guerra de los 100 años: 1337-1453) took
place. This was a serious conflict between the most powerful monarchies
of the time, France and England.
• DEMOGRAPHIC CRISIS: The population of Europe fell by over a third
during the 14th century. The causes were hunger caused by many years of
bad harvests, almost constant wars and the Black Death (Peste Negra). The
Black Death was a highly contagious disease that regularly proved a
danger to people from 1348.

12. • SOCIAL CRISIS: different social conflicts.
– In the countryside: Peasants revolted against their lords to
free themselves from the abuses of the rigid manorial
system. In addition, there were clashes (enfrentamientos)
between nobles which affected the serfs.
– In the cities: The poorest people and the lower levels of
the craft guilds revolted against the urban oligarchy. There
were also disputes within the urban oligarchy to control
municipal power.
– Mass revolts (revueltas populares): The masses, terrorised by
the Black Death and hunger, violently pursued Jews (1391),
foreigners, the wealthy or anyone who they believed was
responsible for their situation.

13. B. THE END OF THE MIDDLE AGES
• During the 15th century a new cultural movement, called the Renaissance
(Renacimiento), appeared. This is characterized by the recovery of the thought of
Greco-Latin antiquity (Greece and Rome). The previous theocentrism ended and put
man at the center of thought (anthropocentric), this was called humanism.
• These ideas were born in Italy and spread rapidly thanks to the invention of the
printing of movable types in 1450 (until that time the books were copied by
hand).
With the fall of
Constantinople in
1453 we moved
from the Middle
Ages to the
Modern Age.
In Spain is used
like final date
1492.

14. 3. THE IBERIAN PENINSULA FROM 11th TO 15th CENTURY.
1031 TO 1085 1085 TO 1212
1212 TO 1250 Entrega de llaves de Granada de Boadil a los Reyes Católicos

15. Before starting, it is necessary to understand …
The origin of the peninsular Christian
kingdoms (8th to 10th)
The Astures and Cantabri defeated
the Muslims in Covadonga in 722.
Their commander was the Visigothic
nobleman Pelayo. This was the
origin of the Kingdom of Asturias. Its
capital was in Oviedo.
In 914, King Ordoño II moved the
capital to León and changed the
name of the kingdom. At the end of
the 10th century, the Kingdom of
León dominated the Submeseta
Norte.

16. • Castilla was a county that was dependent on the Astur-Leonese kingdom.
In the 10th century, Count Fernán González gave Castilla its independence
from León and established its capital in Burgos.
• Navarra was a kingdom.
• Once freed from Frankish dependence after the 9th century, the counties
of Aragón, Sobrarbe and Ribagorza were formed in the central Pyrenees.
• The Catalan counties were found in the area of the eastern Pyrenees. The
County of Barcelona, led by Count Wilfredo el Velloso, was the most
powerful from the second half of the 9th century.

17. THE IBERIAN PENINSULA 11TH TO 15TH
• POLITICAL SITUATION FROM 1031 TO 1085

18. • AL-ANDALUS. The most important taifas to emerge in 1031
were those of Sevilla, Toledo, Badajoz and Zaragoza. The
Christians took advantage of the differences between the
Muslims to conquer territory and collect taxes paid in gold
coins, known as parias.
• HISPANIC CHRISTIAN KINGDOMS.
– Aragón: Ramiro I added the counties of Sobrarbe and Ribagorza
to the Kingdom of Aragón.
– Navarra: It was ruled by the kings of Aragón between 1076 and
1134.
– Castilla: The Kingdom of Castilla was formed when Sancho
III bequeathed (legó) this county to one of his sons, Fernando I.
During his reign, as he was married to a Princess of León, the
Kingdom of Castilla was linked to the Kingdom of León.
– The Kingdom of León, which was the oldest in the peninsula,
was overtaken in importance by the Kingdom of Castilla.
– Alfonso VI, King of Castilla and León, took Toledo in 1085. This
city had a high symbolic value, as it was the centre of a powerful
taifa and had been the capital of the Visigothic Kingdom.

19. POLITICAL SITUATION FROM 1085 TO 1212

20. • AL-ANDALUS. After the Christian conquest of the Kingdom of Toledo
(1085), the Taifa kings were forced to seek help from the Almoravids,
Muslims that had established an empire in North Africa. Their arrival
stopped the Christian advance.
• ARAGON. This kingdom experienced strong growth In 1137, the union
between the Catalan counties and Aragón led to the formation of the
Crown of Aragón.
• LEON AND CASTILLA. The kingdoms of León and Castilla united by the
monarch Alfonso VI, had been strengthened by the conquest of Toledo.
This opened up opportunities for expansion throughout the lands of the
Tajo.
• PORTUGAL. This was a county belonging to the Kingdom of León that was
given as a dowry to Henry of Burgundy when he married Alfonso VI’s
daughter. Their son declared it independent in 1128 and it was established
as a kingdom in 1143. The borders of the Kingdom of Portugal extended to
the banks of the Tajo after the conquest of the city of Lisbon in 1147.

21. THE POLITICAL SITUATION FROM 1212 TO 1250.

22. • The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa (1212) was a major victory for
the Christian kingdoms and made the occupation of the
Guadalaquivir valley possible.
• Portugal reached the southern coasts of the peninsula in 1249 with
the conquest of Faro, bringing the end of its expansion.
• The definitive union of Castilla and León came with Fernando III
in 1230. This king conquered the two great Islamic capitals, Córdoba
(1236) and Sevilla (1248). In addition, he took Murcia in 1243.
• Navarra turned to France, with whom it had the closest ties from
that moment. In 1234, a French dynasty occupied the throne of
Navarra, bringing a series of fiefdoms located in France.
• In 1250, there was only one Andalusian kingdom, the Kingdom of
Granada, ruled by the Nasrid dynasty.
• Aragón lost nearly all its land in the Midi after the defeat by the
French in the battle of Muret (1213), in which Pedro II died. His
successor, Jaime I of Aragón, conquered the Islas Baleares (1235)
and Valencia (1245), which were added to the Crown of Aragón as
kingdoms.

23. EXPANSION TROUGH REPOPULATION
• Repopulation consisted of the occupation by the Christian
population of the lands that had been taken from the Muslims.
There were several systems:
– Presura. It meant that if someone could take a piece of land and
cultivate it, ownership was granted to them.
– Concejos. The concejos were settlements concentrated in a
certain area to which the king granted a fuero.
– Repartimiento. This involved the division, or repartimiento, of
land, and each settler was granted a plot. In the Guadalquivir
valley, this included cereal and olive fields.
– Capitulaciones. This was a treaty which allowed the Muslim
population, known as the Mudéjar, to remain, respecting their
property and religion.

24. THE IBERIAN PENINSULA DURING 14TH AND 15TH CENTURY

25. • The 14th and 15th centuries were marked
by conflicts between Christian kingdoms and civil
wars caused by rivalry between the nobility and
the monarchy.
• On one hand, nobles sought to protect and
increase their privileges. On the other
hand, kings, usually with the support of the
towns, wanted to restrict the power of the
nobility, although they still needed their military
support. In the end, kings reinforced their
authority, but in exchange had to grant financial
concessions to the nobility.

26. CASTILLA AND ARAGON: THE MOST IMPORTANT
KINGDOMS DURING THIS PERIOD
THE KINGDOM OF CASTILLA
• Isabel I de Castilla (Isabel La Católica)
• In 1468 Henry IV (Isabel´s brother), a man of weak and indecisive character,
recognized the princess Isabel like heiress to the throne in the pact of the
Bulls of Guisando.
• 1492: Cristobal Colon discovered America and reoncquered of Nasrid
Kingdom
THE KINGDOM OF ARAGÓN
• Fernando II de Aragón (Fernando el Católico).
• 1475: Concordia de Segovia. "Tanto monta, monta tanto, tanto
Isabel como Fernando". They both signed all the documents as
The king and the qeen.
• 1479: Tratado de Alcáçovas, recognised Isabel and Fernando
kings of Castilla.

27. Important institutions: “CORTES ESTAMENTALES”.
• All Christian kingdoms had Cortes Estamentales. The first were
those of León, constituted in 1188. Now as the Cortes of Castilla,
their major development took place during the 14th and 15th
century, when the representatives of cities were an important
counterweight to the privileges of the nobility and the clergy.
The Cortes of the states of the Crown of Aragón were especially
relevant as the king could not pass laws without their consent.
General Councils, or Generalidades, were also formed in the Crown
of Aragón. These were administrative bodies responsible for
carrying out and managing agreements made in the Cortes, such as
collecting taxes. This model of government based on the sharing of
responsibilities between the king and state institutions is known
as pactismo.

28. SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATIONS
• In the 14th century, Spanish kingdoms suffered a
serious demographic crisis brought on by hunger, wars and
the Black Death. This demographic crisis had
an economic impact. In Castilla, agricultural production
declined and many fields were left abandoned. On the other
hand, in the Crown of Aragón, many merchants and craftsmen
were ruined.
– Social conflicts added to the demographic and economic problems.
Confrontations between different groups:
• Between nobles. Clashes between different factions of nobles were typical. This
created a situation of insecurity which adversely affected peasant and bourgeois
economies alike.
• Against the lords. To reinforce their privileges, the nobles strengthened manorial
rights over their serfs. This made the situation more difficult for peasants. For this
reason, there were frequent uprisings against the lords.
– Religious. The most significant religious clashes were the assault on
Jewish quarters and massacres of Jews in 1391. This happened in cities
of the Crown of Castilla, such as Sevilla, Córdoba and Toledo, and the
Crown of Aragón, such as Valencia, Mallorca and Barcelona.