Spain in the Middle Ages
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Spain in the Middle Ages is a period in the history of Spain that began in the 5th century following the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ended with the beginning of the early modern period in 1492.
The history of Spain is marked by waves of conquerors who brought their distinct cultures to the peninsula. After the migration of the
From Northern Africa in 711, the Muslim Umayyad Caliphate crossed into Spain, at the invitation of a Visigothic clan to assist it in rising against King Roderic. Over the period 711–788, the Umayyads conquered most of the lands of the Visigothic kingdom of Hispania and established the territory known as Al-Andalus. A revolt during the conquest established the Christian Kingdom of Asturias in the north of Spain.
Much of the period is marked by conflict between the Muslim and Christian states of Spain, referred to as the Reconquista, or the Reconquest (i.e., The Christians "reconquering" their lands as a religious crusade). The border between Muslim and Christian lands wavered southward through 700 years of war, which marked the peninsula as a militarily contested space. The medieval centuries also witnessed episodes of warfare between Spain's Christian states and between the Muslim taifas, successor states of the Caliphate of Cordoba. Wars between the Crown of Aragon and the Crown of Castile were sparked by dynastic rivalries or disagreements over tracts of land conquered or to be conquered from the Muslim south.
The Middle Ages in Spain are often said to end in 1492 with the
Early medieval Spain
When the
Euric (466), who put an end to the last remnants of Roman power in the peninsula, may be considered the first monarch of Spain, though the Suebians still maintained their independence in Galicia. Euric was also the first king to give written laws to the Visigoths. In the following reigns the Catholic kings of France assumed the role of protectors of the Hispano-Roman Catholics against the Arianism of the Visigoths, and in the wars which ensued Alaric II and Amalaric lost their lives.[1]
Medieval Islamic Spain
For specific medieval Muslim dynasties and their rulers, see:
- UmayyadDynasty in Spain:
- Umayyad Emirate of Cordoba, 756–912 (929)
- Abd ar-Rahman I, 756–88
- Hisham I, 788–96
- al-Hakam I, 796–822
- Abd ar-Rahman II, 822–52
- Muhammad I, 852–86
- al-Mundhir, 886–88
- Abdallah ibn Muhammad, 888–912
- Abd ar-Rahman III, 912–29
- Umayyad Caliphate of Cordoba, 929–1031
- Abd ar-Rahman III, as caliph, 929–61
- Al-Hakam II, 961–76
- Hisham II, 976–1008
- Muhammad II, 1008–09
- Suleiman, 1009–10
- Hisham II, restored, 1010–12
- Suleiman, restored, 1012–17
- Abd ar-Rahman IV, 1021–22
- Abd ar-Rahman V, 1022–23
- Muhammad III, 1023–24
- Hisham III, 1027–31
- Umayyad
- Taifa states
Medieval Christian Spain
The Reconquista
The fugitive Goths found a retreat in those mountains where the Romans had never been able to effectively establish their authority; only a few years after the
Another rallying-point of the Reconquest was Aragón; the other two, Navarre and Catalonia, were placed by the circumstances of their origin in peculiar relations with France. The Basques on either side of the Western Pyrenees dissatisfied with Frankish rule, rebelled on several occasions. At Roncevaux they annihilated the forces of Charlemagne, and in 824 another victory secured the independence of the Basques of Pamplona. The names and dates of their kings, or chieftains, are very uncertain until we come to Sancho II, Abarca. He abdicated in favour of his son, García II, the Trembler, in whose time the Leónese and Navarrese together were routed at Valdejunquera.[1] Sancho III, the Great, was one of the monarchs who most influenced Spanish history; he was eventually King of Navarre, Castile, Aragón, and Sobrarbe. At his death (1035) he divided his kingdoms, giving Navarre to his eldest son García, Castile, with the title of King, to Fernando, Aragón to Ramiro, and Sobrarbe to Gonzálo.
Unification of Spain
Several difficulties stood in the way to the union of the various states formed in Spain by the Reconquest. Navarre and Catalonia were in particularly close contact with France, and the marriage of Ramón Berenguer the Great with Dulcia, heiress of Provence, made the relations between the peoples of the langue d'oc so close that the subsequent development of Catalonia was connected rather with that of the South of France. In Navarre, when the dynasty of Sancho the Elder became extinct, the Crown passed in succession to the houses of Blois (1234) of France, and of Évreux (1349–1441), with the result that Navarre, until the 15th century, lived in much closer relations with the French monarchy than with the Spanish states. On the other hand, the feudal system introduced in the western kingdoms by the House of Navarre brought about repeated partitions of states. Ferdinand I divided his kingdom into five parts, Castile, León, Galicia, Zamora, and Toro, though his son Sancho the Strong despoiled his brothers and restored the kingdom to unity. But Alfonso VII separated Castile and León, leaving the former to his son Sancho, and the latter to Ferdinand I.[1]
Another result of feudal customs being introduced by the Burgundian princes was the separation of Portugal. For
This conquest, however, placed the kings of Aragón in a position of antagonism with the popes, who defended the rights of the House of Anjou.
Meanwhile, the Reconquest languished in Castile; at first, because of the candidacy of Alfonso X for the crown of the
Culture
In the post-Roman period before 711, the
were primarily oral.Alfonso X commissioned a translation of an Arabic work on chess, dice and
Main cities
Medieval Spain was as much as a network of cities as it was interconnected provinces. Cities were cultural and administrative centers, the seats of bishops and sometimes kings, with markets and housing expanding from a central fortified stronghold. Medieval Spanish history can easily be followed through these major cities:
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). . Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- ISBN 9781781855225.
- ^ Burns (1990)
- ^ Musser Golladay (2007:31). Although Musser Golladay is not the first to assert that 1283 is the finish date of the Libro de Juegos, the a quo information compiled in her dissertation consolidates the range of research concerning the initiation and completion dates of the Libro de Juegos.
- ^ Wollesen, Jens T. "Sub specie ludi...: Text and Images in Alfonso El Sabio's Libro de Acedrex, Dados e Tablas", Zeitschrift für Kunstgeschichte 53:3, 1990. pp. 277–308.
- OCLC 900344519.
Further reading
- The Art of medieval Spain, A.D. 500–1200. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 1993. ISBN 0870996851.
- ISBN 9780198219453.
- O'Callaghan, Joseph F. (1975). A History of Medieval Spain. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. ISBN 9780801492648.
- ISBN 0582495156.
- Hillgarth, Jocelyn N. (1976–1978). The Spanish Kingdoms, 1250–1516 (2 vols.). Oxford, UK: Clarendon Press. ISBN 0198225318.