UNIT 7. THE GREAT PENINSULAR KINGDOMS (13th-15th CENTURIES).

1. THE RECONQUEST DURING THE 13th CENTURY: LAS NAVAS DE TOLOSA.

At the beggining of the 13th century Castile form an alliance with Aragon and Navarre to defeat the Almohads.
The almohad army was destroyed in the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa and the muslims taifa never recovered. During the 13th century and the early 14th century, the Christian Kingdoms conquered all the muslims territories except the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada.

1. 1. Castille.

During the 13th century Castille crossed Sierra Morena and conquered the Guadiana and Guadalquivir Valleys, about 125.000 km2 in 30 years. The expansion was led by:

• Ferdinand III conquered the Baja Extremadura and the Guadalquivir Valley.
• Alfonso X conquered Huelva and Cadiz.
• At the end of the 13th century, Tarifa was occupied to control the Strait of Gibraltar.

14th century.

The Nasrid Kingodm tried to recover the Strait of Gibraltar with the help of the Marinid Kingdom, but they were defeated by Alfonso XI in the Battle of Rio Salado (1340)
The crisis of the 14h century stopped the expansion of the Christian Kingdoms.

1. 2. Aragon.

In the early 13th century, the king of France took the Occitanian territory from Aragon. The excuse was the persecution of the Albigensians and the aragones king Peter II was defeated and killed in Muret (1213)
His son, James I the Conqueror continued the expansion to the south:

• 1229 he conquered Mallorca and Ibiza.
• 1238 Valencia and a part od Alicante.
• 1244, Teatry of Alzira, signed by James I and Alfonso X of Castille, which meant that Murcia remained part of Castille.

2. THE RESETTLEMENT.

The ressettlement of the territories occupied during the 13th century was different from before:

• The occupation was carried out by nobles and the military orders that received in return vast expanses of land (latifundia).
• Many muslims stayed, keeping their religion and customs. They were called mudejars (mudejares).

2. 1. Military orders and latifundia.

The military orders were Christians societies of knights dedicated to war and prayer. They were led by a grand master. They were granted large plots of land (latifundia) with castles to protect them. This took place in the Jucar, Turia and Guadiana Valleys

2. 2. Repartimientos.

A land grant (repartimiento) was a donation of land (including villages) to those who had participated in the conquets. The main beneficiaries were: the military orders, the nobility and the Church.
A capitulation was a contract made by the new inhabitants that promise to respect the law, religion and propery of the Muslims (Mudejars) that had to lived in Muslim quartes (morerias). This took place in Extremadura, the Guadalquivir Valley, the Balearic Islands, Murcia and Valencia.

3. THE CROWN OF CASTILE.

 After the unification of Leon and Castile in 1230, the Crown of Castile becme the largest kingdom in the Peninsula.

3. 1. Goverment of the kingdom.

The goverment was composed of three institutions: the monarchy, the Cortes and the municipal councils.

• the monarchs accumulated more power including tha ability to raise armies and collect taxes and new institutions helped them:

1. the Treasury, to collect taxes.
2. the Chancery, to organise the kingdom.
3. the Audience, administration of justice.

• The Cortes of Leon were created in 1188, when the king allowed representatives of the cities to join the King's Council.
• Municipal councils controlled by the nobility (regidores), althought the monarchy appointed corregidores to exercise control.

3. 2. Economy.

Most people worked in agriculture:

• cereals to feed themselves.
• gravepines and olive trees for export.

The most important economic activity was Merino sheep farming which produced exceptional wool and was controlled by the nobility, military orders and monasteries.

3. 3. Society.

In the 14th century, Castile had four million inhabitants. Was a estamental society and the main minorities were:

• the jews lived in the societies and worked in trade and finance.
• the muslims worked in agriculture and lived in the Tajo Valley and Murcia.

3. 4. The Cortes.

The Cortes were metting of representatives of the three estates (the clergy, the nobility and the ordinary people), summoned by the king and that were held in different cities. The functions of the Cortes were:

• to approve laws propossed by the king
• to raise taxes (subsidies) to cover his financial needs.
• to present complaints and request of the estates to the king.

4. TRANSHUMANCE.

Transhumance was the practice of moving livestock from one place of pasture to another. During the summer castilian farmers took their livestock to the pastures of the Cordillera Cantabrica or the Sistema Central to be fattened on the high pastures and regrow their wool, an in winter  returned to the lowlands of Extremadura or Castile.

4. 1. Transhumance an the Mesta.

King Alfonso X established the Mesta (1273) , an association that looked after the interest of livestosk farmers. Its aim was to avoid conflict between arable farmers and shepherds, as the sheep had to cross the lands od arable farmers twice a year, causing damage.
The monarchs gave many privileges to the Mesta.

4. 2. The importance of wool trade.

The flocks of sheep belonged to the high nobility which exported it to textile mills in northern Europe.
The wool for export was sent to Burgos, and from there travelled to the coastal villages of northern Santander (Hermandad de las Cuatro Villas) and was shipped to Flanders.
The export of raw wool was very atractive for the nobility but had negative consequences:

• hindered the developemnt of Castilian cloth manufacturing.
• obstructed the growth of the bourgeoisie.

4. 3. The castilian fairs.

  The wool trade reactivated the comercial life of the Meseta Norte, and led to the creation of fairs and markets: Rioseco, Valladolid and Medina del Campo, among others.

5. THE CROWN OF ARAGON.

5. 1. Goverment.

The Crown of Aragon was divided into several territories with each own institutions and laws. The goverment was based on pactismo: the king agreed to share the creation of laws with the Cortes and to respect the rights of the three estates (fueros). The main institutions were

• the Cortes, one in each kingdom: granted subsidies to the king and passed laws.
• the viceroy, the king's representative in each kingdom.
• the Generalidad or Diputación del General, a permanent comission of the Cortes that defended the Fueros and enforced the decisions of the Cortes.
• the Chief o Justice of Aragon, who mediated in disputes between the king and the nobility.

 5. 2. Economy and society.

• The most important economic activity was agriculture and livestock farming: Mediterranean trilogy, rice and vegetables.
• Artisanship: ironwork and manufacture of cloth.
• Trade.

The growth of trade led to the emergenc of the bourgeoisie which controlled the assembly of Barcelona (Consell de Cent). 

5. 3. Mediterranean expansion.

In 200 years the Crown of Aragon expanded its territory across the Mediterranean Sea, thanks to the financial support of Catalan, Mallorcan and Valencia merchants:

• Sicily (Sicilia) 1282.
• Athens and Neopatria (Atenas y Neopatria) in 1313
• Naples (Nápoles) in 1442.

 6. THE KINGDOM OF NAVARRE.

6. 1. Several dinasties, only one fuero.

After the death of Sancho VII in 1234, Navarre was ruled by three dinasties of french origin: Blois, Capet and Evreux.
The monarchs had to swear loyalty to the General Charter (Fuero General) which establised the rights and duties of the inhabitants of the kingdom.
The king ruled helped by:

• the Royal Council that was chosen by the king.
• the High Court in charge of justice.
• the General Auditing Office which controlled the the Royal Treasury.

District and social groups.

In the 13th century, Navarra had 150.000 inhabitants and was divided in four districts and a territory in modern day France: Ultrapuertos.
The nobles based their wealth in land and livestock farming and Christians, Jews and Mudejars lived together.

  Economy.

The main economic activites were:

• livestock farming and vegetable farming in la Ribera Tuledana.
• Artisanship and trade in The Camino de Santiago.

 Navarrese civil war: agramonteses and beaumonteses.

Chronology: 1451-1512.
Causes:

• the death of the queen Blanche of Navarre in 1441started a sucessory conflict between her husband John II of Aragon and her son, Charles, prince of Viana.
• the rivalry between two groups of nobles which began in the 14th century:

1. the agramonteses, they represented the Franco-Navarrese nobility and the farmers of the Pyrenees. They defended the livestock farming and supported John II.
2. the beaumonteses. They represented the farming nobles of the Ribera. They supported Charles of Viana and later Castile.

Result: After the death of John in 1479, Navarra was ruled by a French dinasty, but in 1512, Ferdinand the Catholic, invaded it with a castilian army and united it with the Crown of Castile.

7. CIVIL WARS IN CASTILE AND ARAGON.

The Late Middle Ages was a time of crisis for the Iberian Peninsula due to:

• the Black Death.
• famine.
• economic crisis:

1. reduction of mediterranean trade.
2. smaller harvest.

• civil wars.

 7. 1. Black Death and progroms.

After a series of bad harvests, the Black Death reached the Peninsula via the Mediterranean Sea, spreading quickly to the rest of the Peninsula. The consequences were:

• many areas were abandoned.
• the lords demanded more lands from the king and increased peasants' taxes.
• Jews were blamed for the crisis an 1391 there mass killings of jews in various cities (progroms).

7. 2. Conflicts in the Crown of Aragon.

In the 15th century a new dinasty ruled Aragon, the Trastamara dinasty. In 1410, Ferdinand the Antequera was chosen to be king by the Compromise of Caspe
There were social conflicts due to the demografic and economic crisis:

• Peasant revolt. The peasants (remences) rose against the lords because of the increase of th rents and the feudal abuses (malos usos).
• In Barcelona, a conflict between the Busca (traders and artisans) and th Biga (nobles and bourgeoisie).

There was a civil war (1462-1472) between the King John II supported by the Busca and the peasants and the nobility. The king won.

7. 3. Castile.

During the 14th century the castilian nobility tried to recover their privileges. The monarchy was controlled by the nobility and the favourites. The main conflicts were:

• 1st castilian civil war (1366-1369. between:

1. King Peter I that wanted to strengthen royal authority
2. The hig nobility that supported Henry og Trastamara.

Henry won and granted lands and privileges to th enobles.

• 2nd castilian civil war (1475-1479) after the death of Henry IV between:

1.  his sister Isabella
2. his daughter Joanna.

Isabella won and assert the royal authority.

7. 4. The Irmandiño revolt.

A revolt of the farm laboures (irmandiños) against the feudal lords in 1467.

8. CULTURE.

Three different cultures lived alongside in the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages: Muslims, Christians and Jews. Their main contributions were:

Jews.

The most important figures were:

• Ibn Shaprut, a doctor in Cordoba during the 10th century.
• Maimonides, a thinker, physician and astronomer.

 Muslims. 

The most important contributions of the mudejars, the muslims living in the christian kingdoms were:

• the mudejar art.
• the words of arabic origin.
• the main figuro was Averroes who recovered the ideas of Aristotles.

 The School of translators of Toledo.

Alfonso X the wise created the School of Toledo which translated and copied literary, philosophical, medical an scienfitic text from Greco-Roman, Muslim and Jewish cultures.

 

 

UNIT 6. CITIES IN MEDIEVAL EUROPE.

1. CITIES GROWTH.

From the 12th century, cities started to grow due to:

• the end of the second invasions.
• the introduction of new agricultural techniques.
• the population growth.
• the revival of trade.

1. 1. The end of the second invasions.

At the end of the 11th century the viking (Norman) invasions ended with the conquer of England and Normandy.
The apparition of the Truce of God, agreements to maintain peace and limit the wars between feudals.

1. 2. Agricultural growth.

From the 11th century there was an increase in agricultural productivity due to:

• apparition of new cultivation methods, such as triennial rotation:

1. only a third of the land was fallow
2. use of manure as fertiliser.

• new farming tools:

1.  the mouldboard plough (arado de vertedera) which made deeper furrows and increased the soil's fertility.
2. the use of horses
3. uses of harnesses.

• use of windmills and watermills which made grinding grain easier.

Farmers began to produce more crops than they could consume and sell surplus crops.

 1. 3. Population growth.

The increase in production causes a population growth. The european population grew from 45 million in the 12th century to 75 million in the 14th century.
Population growth caused a increase of the arable land:

1. Peasants resettled old abandoned land.
2. New lands were cleared.

 1. 4. Revival of trade.

The increase of production and populatin growth led to a revival of trade. As a consequence cities started to grow:

• Apparition of new cities around castles and abbeys that surplus crops to sell and atracted merchants.
•  Ancient smaller cities at a crossroads and ports where peasants exchanges their surplus crops and buy goods.
• The Crusades that openned the trade with the eastern mediterranean.

1. 5. The Crusades.

The Crusades were several military campaings organised by the Pope in order to liberate Holy Land (Jerusalem) from the Turks that took place between the 11th and the 13th centuries.

Roman plough. Far less eficient than the mouldboard plough.

Mouldboard plough (arado de vertedera). Allowed to make a deeper furrow an increased greatly the soil's fertility.

The use of horses to plough increased greatly the crop production.

Windmill.

2. MEDIEVAL CITIES.

2. 1. Location.

Most of the medieval cities appeared due the following factors:

• Appeared around fortress and next to the ancient roman roads (calzadas).
• near good land for farming or grazing.
• a plentiful water supply
• forest to obtain wood.
• quarries to obtain stone.

2. 2. Organization.

• In the center of the city there was a large square surrounded by the town hall, he marketplace and the cathedral. Also there were hospitals, schools and religious buildings.
• Nobles lived in teh centre of the city in luxurious palaces, the rest of the peope lived in neihbourhoods depending on the origin (judería, morería) or trade (guilds).
•  Streets were narrow and dirty. There were no sewers and poor urban hygiene led to the spread of disease.

An example of medieval city, Carcassone.

 Middle Ages: the town. BBC.

3. SOCIAL GROUPS.

3. 1. The bourgeoisie.

The growth of cities transformed the feudal society. Medieval cities were territories outside the feudal system and their inhabitants were free and not subject to a lord.
A new social group appeared, the bourgeoisie, whose wealth came from the sale of their products and profits generated by their businesses.We can distinguish two groups:

• high bourgeoisie (merchants and bankers).
• petty bourgeoisie (artisans and traders).

  3. 2. Other social groups.

• Nobility and clergy, they lived in palaces and convents.
• Ordinary people, such as artisans, servants and beggars.
• Jews were a minority and lived in separate neighbourhoods.

3. 3. The city goverment.

The cities were ruled by magistrates chosen by the citizens. The magistrates were led by a major that was in charge of the finances, order and justice.
Over time, cities were ruled by the richest families of merchants and bankers, the urban paticians.

3. 4. The jews.

  The Jewish presence in Europe started with the expulsion of the jews from Palestine by the romans in 135AD. In medieval Europe, Jews worked as artisans, traders, bankers and in medicine and science. They were persecuted, although there were periods of tolerance:

• Jews had to wear clothes that distinguised them from Christians.
• live in separate neighbourhoods, called Jewish quarters or juderias.
• The synagogue was the jewish place of worship, where the rabbi or spiritual leader interprets the Torah, the holy book of the jews. 

 4. MARKET DAY IN A MEDIEVAL CITY.

 Medieval cities were centres of exchange: farmers exchanges their agricultural products for goods mafe by artisans.

4. 1. Artisans and guilds.

The artisans were organised in guilds. A guild is an association of artisans who made the same products with the goal of protect themselves from the competition of artisans from other cities. The functions of the guilds were:

• control the quality and price of the products.
• force the artisans to work the same hours and use the same kind of tools.
• guarantee that only authorised artisans work in the cities.

 Guilds organised the artisans in several categories:

• apprentices, an artisan of young age that is learning a trade working in the workshop of a master.
• artisans that works in the workshop of a master.
• master artisan, an artisan that has establish his own workshop after pass an exam of the guild.

4. 2. Market day.

Market days in medieval cities attracted  many people:

• peasants who sold agricultural and livestock products and buy goods (clothes, shoes, scissors).
• merchants sold products difficult to find in the cities like salt and bought agricultural and artisan products.
• Musicians and acrobats came to entertain the crowd.

5. COMMERCIAL EXPANSION.

From the 12th century, great fairs started to appear. A trade fair was a large market held periodically in which large quantities of products were bought and sold. The causes were:

• travelling became safer.
• new roads were built.
• cities, monarchs, and lords created laws to protect the merchants.

The mos important were held in Champagne (France).

5. 2. Long distance sea routes.

 Maritime trade became more important due to the increased capacity and speed of the ships.
The main maritime routes were:

• The Mediterranean route which connected

1. Venice, Genoa, Marseille, Barcelona and Valencia (textiles, weapons and tools).
2.  Middle East and the Byzantine Empire (silk and spices).

• The Atlantic and Baltic (Hansa) route in which products from Lisbon and the ports of the Bay of Biscay and the Baltic Sea were exchanged on Flanders (Bruges, Ghent, etc).

 5. 3. The circulation of money.

  The restauration of trade made necessary the circulation of money:

• Many cities began producing their own gold, silver and alloy coins.
• Moneychangers appeared to allow merchants to change the currency of their money.
• Individuals and societies (bankers) started to lend money with interest.
• Bill of exchange appeared. A bill of change (letra de cambio) is a written document that orders a organization to pay a particular sum of money to a person at a particular place or time.

6. EUROPE IN THE HIGH AND LATE MIDDLE AGES.

During the 13th century, the monarchies became more powerful with the help of the bourgeoisie.
However, the crisis of the Late Middle Ages led to wars between the European monarchs.

6. 1. The strengthening of royal power.

From the 12th century, the monarchs managed to impose their authority on the feudal nobility and give stability to their territories. In order to do this they need the support of the bourgeoisie:

• the kings gave the bourgeoisie:

1. letters of privilege that freed them from the control of the lords and allowed them to govern their cities.
2. a monopoly on bussiness.
3. a guaranty to be able to travel freely and safely to conduct trade.

•  the bourgeoisie gave the monarchs economic resources to impose their authority.

6. 2. The Cortes and parliament.

The Royal Council started to include representatives of the bourgeoisie and became the Cortes (parliament).
The king used the Cortes to obtain financial support (subsidies) from the bourgeoisie an in return listen to their demans and sometimes agree to them.

6. 3. The Late Middle Ages Crisis.

• Started at the beginning of the 14th century with an agricultural crisis due to:

1. population growth that resulted in the cultivation of low quality land.
2. climate change led to several bad harvests.

•  Population decline due to:

1. Widespread famine.
2. Black Death.

• Economic crisis due to:

1.  decline of artisan and commercial production.
2. rise of prices
3. increase of taxes.

•  Conflicts:

1. Wars betwen European monarchies.
2. Civil wars between the nobility and the monarchy.
3. Peasant and urban revolts.

The main consequence was a widespread crisis of the feudal system that marked the end of the Middle Ages.

6. 4. The Hundred Year's War.

Chronology: 1337-1453.
Causes: the death without a son of of the French king, Charles IV and the claim of Edward III
The English occupied a large part of France, but were defeated by Charles VII and lost of their territories in France, except the city of Calais.
Consequences:

• Triumph of the idea of a monarchy tied to a national territory.
• End of the feudal monarchy. 

7. THE BLACK DEATH.

7. 1. The Black Death.

The Black Death was an infectious disease caused by bacteria and transmited to humans from fleas that lived on infected rats. It came from Asia and reached Europe in 1348 by Genoese ships.

Its spread was unstoppable and had no cure. The only way to halt its advance was to isolate the sick and burning their belongings.

7. 2. Consequences.

Depoulation.

• It is estimated that between a 30 and 40% of the European population died, reducing the population from 73 to 45 million.
• Many lands were abandoned.

Social crisis.

Depopulation reduced the income of the feudal lords because there were fewer serfs. The lords raised the taxes paid by the peasants and recovered obsolete feudal rights.
The peasants rebelled violently against the lords and in the cities, ordinary people rose up against the urban patricians.

Religious crisis.

 The people in Europe saw the epidemic as a divine punishment for the sins of the people and the corruption of the Church. Because of this, a new religious fervour erupted and a movement to reform the Chruch began.

UNIT 5. ROMANESQUE ART AND CULTURE.

1. ROMANESQUE.

Romanesque was the artistic and architectural style dominant in Western and Southern Europe between the 9th and 12th centuries. Romanesque was:

• characteristic of the feudal world.
• deeply religious.
• adopted Roman elements and developed along the Romance languages.

 1. 1. The rise of the romanesque.

10th century, due to the end of the second invasions took place:

• economic development.
• population growth
• apparition of new villages that needed churches.

11th century, apparition of the Romaneque art, the first artistic style common to all Christianity. The art was religious and depicted the glory of God.

1. 2. Development of the romanesque style.

Christian devotion during the 10th century was very important in the development of the Romanesque Art:

• The cult of relics (part of the body belonging to a saint) which were kept in churches.
• Pilgrimage routes to a sacred places where large pilgrimage churches where built.
• Cluny Abbey which controlled many monasteries in the pilgrimage routes and helped to spread the Romanesque art.

1. 3. Culture controlled by the Church.

• During the Middle Ages most of the population was illiterate. Only members of the clergy and the nobility could write and read.

• Monasteries were the most important learning institutions until the 12th century:

1. there people learn how to read and write and study.
2. had large libraries that contained a vast amount of knowledge.
3. In scriptorira, the monks copied the books by hand onto parchment and illustrated books from Antiquity.

• Latin was the main language of religion and culture.
•  In the Early Middle Ages, Latin Vulgar started to evolve into the Romance Language spoken in Europe such as Italian, Castilian, French, Portuguese, Galician and Catalan.

 2. Romanesque architecture.

  The main buildings were churches. Churches represented the glory of God on Earth.

2. 1. The floor plan.

They used the Latin cross plan (planta de cruz latina) to symbolise the place where Jesus died. It consisted of two parts:

• a long section that housed the naves (naves)
• a shorter section, transept (transepto).

The place where they met is called crossing (crucero) and usually is covered by a dome of tower.
The top part of the cross contained a central semicircular apse (abside) where  the altar is located.
Next to the main entrance is located a bell tower.
Pilgrimage churches had an ambulatory, a gallery in the apse that allow the pilgrims to move around.

2. 2. Vaults, walls and arches.

• To cover the buildings they used vaults that replaced wooden roofs:

1. Barrel vaults (boveda de cañón), semicircular vaults divided into sections by arches. Were very heavy
2. Groin vaults (boveda de arista), made of the intersection of two barrel vaults. Was lighter and supported by four pillars.

•  Buildings supported by very thick walls with a few spaces for windows, and reinforced by:

1. pillars and columns inside.
2. buttresses outside.

• Use of semicircular arches with capitals in doors and windows. 
• Use of domes with a square of octogonal plan to cover the crossing.
• In churches with three naves there is a tribune or triforium above the side naves.

1. 3. The main entrance.

• Was located on the west entrance and symbolised the door to Heavenly Jerusalem.
• Was decorated with reliefs and sculptures.

Reconstrucion of the Cluny III abbey.

Barrel vault. San Pere de Rodes.

Use of barrel vault. Basilique of Saint Sernin, Toulouse. File: Toulouse,_Basilique_Saint-Sernin-PM_51262.jpg Author: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:PMRMaeyaert License: CC BY-SA 3.0

Groin vault, Maria Laach Abbey. File: Maria Lach 12.jpg Author: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benutzer:Goldi64 License: GFLD

Groin vault, Abbey Church of Sainte-Foy.

Groin vault. Speyer Cathedral, Germany. Sesafa1

Use of groin vault, Durham Cathedral. File:Durham_Cathedral._Interior.jpg Author: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Oliver-Bonjoch License: CC BY-SA 3.0

Crossing of Speyer Cathedral, Germany. The crossing is covered by a dome supported by a octogonal base.

Santiago de Compostela, central nave. Tribune of triforium.File:SantCompostela21.jpg Author: Georges Jansoone License: BY-SA 3.0

Main entrance of Saint Trofimo's church. File:Arles_kirche_st_trophime_fassade.jpg Author: http://www.reserv-art.de/ License: CC BY-SA 3.0

3. LIFE IN A BENEDICT MONASTERY.

Monks lived in the countryside, far from the cities. They retired to monasteries to devote their life to God, through work, meditation and prayer.
 In order to become a monk you had to:

• pass a learning period (novitiate)
• make three vows to be ordained: obedience, poverty and chastity.

3. 1. Monastic orders.

Monasteries are ruled by an abbot (abad) or abbess (abadesa), who had overall authorithy over the comunity, but had to consult the rest of the community on the most important issues.
Monks and nuns are organised in monastic orders (ordenes monásticas) which were subject to monastic rules that explained how to organise the monasteries and the life of the monks. The main two orders were:

• The Benedictine Order, founded by St. Benedict in the 6th century in Italy.
• The Cisterian Order was a reform of the Benedictine Order and appeared in the 12th century.

3. 2. Daily life in a monastery.

Daily life in monasteries was centred on prayer and work, but not all the monks performed the same task: some copied manuscripts in the scriptorium, others worked in the garden and others looked after the sick.
Monks and nuns spent most of the day in silence and ate together. The monasteries were built around a churhc, surrounded by several buildings: a refectory or dining room, the cloister (claustro), the scriptorium or library), etc. 

4. Romanesque painting.

Romanesque painting had common characteristics:

• Its functions were educational (to teach the faithful), moralising (helping people to distinguish right from wrong) and decorative (to cover the walls).
• paintings had no depth, volume or perspective.
• Use of uniform colors (blue, red) with thick outlines.
•  Figures are always forward-facing and stylised, anti-naturalistic and hieratic.
• Scenes were adapted to the architectural framework.
• Characters are arranged hierarchically so that the most important ones are larger.
• The most common motifs were:

1. scenes from the bible and the life of saints.
2. representations of everyday life.

4. 2. Types of painting.

There were three types of paintings:

•  Frescos which covered the walls and the apses of the churches.
• Paintings on wooden boards covered with a layer or plaster (panel paintings) (pintura sobre tabla) to cover the front of the altar and the apse (altarpieces) (retablo).
• Miniatures for decorating and ilustrating religious books. Small, but detailed and full of colours.

Fresco painting was a complex and precise technique:

• First the wall was covered with layers of mortar and a thin layer of lime-based plaster.
• The artist drew an outline on parchment.
•  Then, he made holes in the parchment along the outline of the drawing. The parchment was placed in the wall and the artist blew soot through the holes.
• Pigments (earth mixed with egg) were applied to the plaster. The plaster was sprinkled with water to keep the wall wet.

 The most common images in the churches were: the patocrator and the theotokos:

• The pantocrator. Christ is represented inside and almond shape (mandorla). He blessed with his right hand and hold a book with his left. He is surrounded by the four Evangelists) with his symbols:

1. John, an eagle.
2. Matthew, an angel.
3. Mark, a lion.
4. Luke, a bull.

• Theotokos. The Virgin is represented as the mother of God, seated in a throne with the infant Jesus on her knees. 

Educational function. Painting was used to teach the Christian doctrine to the believers. Creation of Adam and the Original Sin, Museo del Prado.

Pantocrator.

Theotokos. The Virgin Mary represented as the throne of Christ Child.

Representation of the daily life. Peasants.

5. ROMANESQUE SCULPTURE.

5. 1. Main characteristics.

The main characteristics of the romanesque architecture are:

• Sculpture was used to teach the Christian doctrine.
• Most sculptures were atached to buildings and had to adapt to the shape and dimensions of the surface on which they were made.
• Carvings made of wood and brightly-coloured polychrome were put on churh altars.
• The sculptures were rigid, hieratic and lacked perspective.
• Sculptures groups were organised hierarchically and geometrically according to importance.
• The main themes were the crucifixion of Christ and the Virgin and the Child, but also scenes of everyday life.

5. 2. Capitals.

The capitals in cloisters were decorated with diverse themes:

• Religious with Biblical characters and historiated capitals that narrated entire stories.
• Everyday life.
• Real or fantastic animals and plant motifs.

5. 3. Entrances.

Sculptures were mainly located at the entrance of the churches to inspire awe among the faithful as they entered the church:

• the main scene, the figure of Christ in Majesty, is located on the tympanum.
• the lintel, doorframe and archivolts contians scenes from the Bible, the apostles and the saints, animals and geometrical motifs. 

Last Jugdment, Saint Lazare Cathedral. File:118_Autun_Cathédrale_Saint-Lazare_Le_tympan_(détail).jpg Author: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:Moreau.henri License: CC BY-SA 3.0

6. ROMANESQUE ART IN THE IBERIAN PENINSULA.

• Romanesque art reached the Iberian Peninsula at the of the 10th centruy and spreaded during the 11th and 12th centuries, specially along the Camino de Santiago.
•  Shared many characteristics with the Europan Romanesque but was inspired by Pre-Romanesque styles.

6. 1. Architecture.

We can distinguish two stages:

• First Romanesque, in Catalonia and Aragón, 10th century and early 11th century.
• Full Romanesque, all the Christian Kingdoms, 11th and 12th centuries.

We can distinguish three styles according to the dominant influence:

• French Romaneaque, in the Camino de Santiago. Best examples, Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela; the Churches of Isidoro (León) and San Martín de Fromista. 
• Lombard Romanesque in Catalonia. Small churches decorated with lombard bands and with high bell towers. Best example: San Clemente de Tull.
• Mudejar Romanesque. Castile-León, Castile-La Mancha, Extremadura and Aragón. Use of bricks and blind arcades (arquillos ciegos).

6. 2. Sculpture and paintings.

Main characteristics:

• French influence through the Camino de Santiago.
• Influence of the Islamic art.

Notable examples are:

1. the entrance of the monastery in Ripoll.
2. the cloister of Santo Domingo de Silos.
3. the Portico de la Gloria of Dantiago de Compostela.

About the painting the main themes were

•  In Catalonia, scenes form the Bible.
• in Castile and Leon, plant motifs and scenes from everyday life.

Santiago's de Compostela interior. File:Catedral,_Santiago_de_Compostela,_España,_2015-09-22,_DD_13.jpg Attribution: Diego Delso License: BY-SA 4.0

San Martín de Fromista.

San Clemente de Tahull. File:Taull001.jpg Author: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Usuario:Airunp Lincese: BY-SA 2.5

San Tirso de Sahagún.

Annunciation of the Shepperds, Pantheon of the kings.

UNIT 4. THE ORIGIN OF THE FIRST PENINSULAR KINGDOMS (8th-13th CENTURIES).

1. THE ORIGIN OF THE CHRISTIAN KINGDOMS.

Only a narrow stretch of land in the north of the Iberian Peninsula remained outside the control of the Cordoba's Emirate.
Nevertheless, the internal conflicts in Al-Andalus during the 8th century, favoured the formation of two areas that resisted the islamic role:

• a territory around Asturias, where some Visigothic noble had fled from the islamic conquest.
• several counties in the Pyriness which were a part of the Marca Hispanica.

1. 1. The kingdom of Asturias.

At the beggining of the 8th century, some local leaders from Asturias rejected the authority of the emirs of Cordoba. One of them, Pelagius, defeated the muslims in the battle of Covadonga (722 AD) and the muslims abandoned the territory.

During the 8th and 9th centuries, the kingdom of Asturias started to expanse:

• Alfonso I (8th century) conquered Galicia.
• Alfonso II (9th century) established the capital in Oviedo and introduced the Visigothic laws.

Asturian art.
The art of the kingdom of Asturias mixed the visigothic traditions with new elements:

• rounded arch.
• barrel vault.
• external buttreses.

 1. 2. The Marca Hispanica.

During the 8th century, Charlemagne occupied Pamplona, Jaca, Girona and Barcelona, although he was not able to reach the Ebro River. This territories became the Marca Hispanica, a fortified zone to reinforce the border of his kingdom. The Marca Hispanica was divided in counties who swore loyalty to the king.
After the death of Charlemagne, the counties became independent:

• the kingdom of Pamplona.
• the Aragonese counties.
• the Catalan counties.

  

Santa Maria del Naranco. Imagen de Anne Wipf en Pixabay.

San Miguel de Lillo.

 2. FROM THE KINGDOM OF ASTURIAS TO THE KINGDOM OF LEON.

2. 1. The occupation of the Duero river.

In te second half of the 9th century, Alfonso III (866-910) conquered the region between the Cordillera Cantabrica and the River Duero, taking advantage of the internal conflicts of the emirs of Cordoba., including cities like Astorga, Porto, Leon y Astorga.

2. 2. The creation of the kingdom of Leon.

• In the 9th century, peasant families from the Cantabrian valleys were encouraged to move to the Duero Valley to occupy it.
• Ordoño II moved his court to Leon to control the Duero Valley in 914 AD. The kingdom of Asturias became the kingdom of Leon.

2. 3. 10th century: a stable border.

•  In the 10th century, the kingdom of Leon reached the River Tormes, conquering Salamanca and Avila.

• The Cordoba's caliphate, led by Al-Mansur, stopped its expansion, launching raids against Santiago, Leon and Zamora. Because of that, Leon tried to secure the frontier along the Duero River.

2. 4. The origin of Castile.

• Most of the Muslim attacks on Leon came from the east (La-Rioja, Alava and Burgos). Because of this, Alfonso III built castles and lands to several counts in this region, that became known as Castile, land of the castles.

• The counts started to act independently and in 10th century, the count Fernán González united all the counties in Castile, creating the County of Castile.

• In the 11th century, the County of Castile became a part of the Kingdom of Pamplona, but in 1035 became independent again with Ferdinand I. In 1037,Ferdinand became the king of Leon.

Activity:

Ho wto write History-The battle of Covadonga

Kingdom of Leon in 910 AD.

3. THE PYRENEAN COUNTIES AND KINGDOMS.

In the 9th century the territories of the Marca Hispanica became independent from the Carolingian Empire:

• Kingdom of Pamplona.
• Kingmo of Aragon.
• Catalan counties.

 3. 1. Kingdom of Pamplona.

Was located between the Arga and Aragon rivers an inhabited by basques. Led by the families Arista and Jimena fought against the Franks and the Muslims.
Finally, the Arista dinasty expelled the Franks, establishing the Kingdom of Pamplona.
In the 10th century, Pamplona conquered Álava, La Rioja and the County of Aragón.

3. 2. Aragón: from county to kingdom.

  In the 9th century, the Aznar Galíndez family created the County of Aragon. Later, the counties of Sobrarbe and Ribagorza joined Aragon and in the 11th century appeared the kingdom of Aragon.

3. 3. The catalan counties.

  In the 9th century, Wilfred the Hairy (Wilfredo el Velloso), count of Barcelona annexed most of the Catalan counties and made his position hereditary.
His grandson, Count Borrel II, made the counties independent from the franks in 987 AD.
In the 11th and 12th centuries, the catalan counties expanded into Occitania (north of the Pyrenees) and towards the Ebro Valley.

3. 4. Sancho III "the Great".

Sancho III (1004-1035) inherited the Kingdom of Pamplona and thanks to marriage alliances and military skills he conquered:

• the counties of Castille, Aragon, Sobrarbe and Ribagorza.
• most of the Kingdom of Leon.

Navarra became the most powerful kingdom in the Peninsula, but when he died his kingdom was divided among his sons, creating the kingdoms: Castile and Leon, Pamplona and Aragón.

The kingdom of Pamplna under Sancho III the Great. File: Mapa de las expansión de los reinos cristianos por la Península Ibérica en el s. XI. Author: José Alberto Bermúdez. License: CC BY-NC-SA 3.0

 

 

 

 4. THE CAMINO DE SANTIAGO.

In the 9th century, the tomb of St. James was found in Galicia, near Finisterre. The location was named, Compostela. Alfonso II ordered the construction of a church on the site of the tomb of Saint James.
In the 11thc entury routes to Santiago were organised from different parts of Europe, the Camino de Santiago.

4. 1. The Jacobean  route.

In the 9th century, the tomb of St. James was found in Galicia, near Finisterre. The location was named, Compostela. Alfonso II ordered the construction of a church on the site of the tomb of Saint James.
The Camino de Santiago was a network of routes to Santiago organised from different parts of Europe from the 11th century and used for Christian pilgrims who wanted forgiveness for their sins. The Camino became a cultural and commercial exchange:

• towns grew along the road: Jaca, Estella, Pamplona, Logroño, Burgos, Leon.
• Inns (posadas), hospitals (hospitales) and churches were built.
• The Romanesque (Romanico) and Gothic (Gótico) styles of architecture spread through the Iberian Peninsula.

4. 2. The pilgrimmate.

The pilgrims walked to Santiago in groups for protection and wore a scallop shell to identify themselves.
Their final destination was the Cathedral of Santiago where they visited the tomb of the apostle.

Way of St. James road network. File:Ways_of_St._James_in_Europe.png Autrhor: Manfred Zentgraf, Volkach, Germany License: CC BY-SA 2.5

5. The advance of the christian kingdoms.

5. 1. The taifa kingdoms.

After the fall of the caliphate (1031 AD), Al-Andalus was divided into small kingdoms (taifa). This kingdoms were weak and paid parias (an annual tribute in gold in exchange for a temporary truce) to the christian kingdoms.
The christian kingoms used this money to built stronger armies and during the 11th and 12th centuries conquered the valleys of the rivers Tajo and Ebro.

5. 2. The kingdom of Castille and Leon.

• Ferdinand I (1037-1065) conquered the provinces of Salamanca and Avila.
• Alfonso VI (1065-1109) conquered Toledo, Madrid and the center of the Peninsula.
• Alfonso VII (12th century) was proclaimed "Emperor of All Spain" and  all the other peninsular kingdoms paid him vassalage.

Nevertheless the castilian advance was stoped by the Almoravids and the Almohads. The almoravids defeated Alfonso Vi in Sagrajas (1086), and later the Almohads defeated the Christians in Alarcos but later they were defeated in Las Navas de Tolosa (1212).

5. 3. The conquest of the Ebro Valley.

Navarra.

Navarra was unable to expand south due to Castille and Aragon and by the 13th century was ruled by French dinasties.

 Crown of Aragon.

• During the 11h century Aragon conquered the province of Zaragoza, and the County of Barcelona conquered Tarragona and expanded into Occitania (south of France).
• During the12th century, Ramon Berenguer IV (1131-1162) conquered the rest of Catalonia and Alfonso II, Teruel.

Spain in 1100 AD.

The Christian kingdoms during the 12th century. File: La Reconquista, siglo XII. Author: Alejandro Cana Sánchez. License: (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0)

 6. THE RESETTLEMENT.

 6. 1. Definition and types.

The Resettlement (in spanish, Repoblación) was the occupation of land that had been deserted (Ebro Valley, Plain of Vic) or taken from Al-Andalus (the Tajo and Ebro Valleys) by the Christian kings. We can distinguish two types of resettlement:

• Free resettlement (in spanish, repoblación libre) (pressura or aprisio, 9-10th centuries). Small plots of lands were given to free peasants that founded villages. The settlers owned small plots of land (allods) and held pastures, water and forests collectively as public property.
• Concejiles resettlement (in spanish, repoblación concejil) (11-12th centuries) organised by the monarchs in areas of the border with Al-Andalus. To encourage the settlement of cicities, the monarchs granted privileges:

1. municipal charters, collective contracts that established the conditions for cultivating the land.
2. fueros, rights, liberties and ta exemptions granted to the inhbitants of a city.

6. 2. Organization of the settlements.

• Most of the settlements were small villages inhabited by free peasants.
• They cultivated wheat and gravevines using oxens to work the land. The houses had vegetable gardens and a barn for a cow, some pigs and chickens.
• The villagers meet in a council to discuss communal matters. 
• Most of th resettlers were Cantabrian or Asturians, bu also Christians from Al-Andalus (Morzarabs).

6. 3. Mozarabic art.

Small churches built by the Mozarabs in the 9th and 10th centuries. Their main characteristics were:

• Built in stone with thick walls and sparsely decorated.
• Use of horseshoe arches.
• Columns with capitals decorated with plant motifs.

7. THE CONSOLIDATION OF THE PENINSULAR KINGDOMS.

7. 1. The Crown of Castille.

The kingdoms of Castille and Leon were finally unified in 1230 with Ferdinand III. He created the Crown of Castille that became the most important peninsular kingdom.

7. 2. The kingdom of Portugal.

• Portugal was a part of the Kingdom of Leon that became a county in the early 12th century.
• Became independent in 1128 when Alfonso Enriques proclaimed himself king.
• Portugal started to expand south.

 7. 3.  The crown of Aragon.

In 1137, Petronila the daughter of Ramiro II, the king of Aragon, married Ramon Berenguer IV, count of Barcelona, creating the Crown of Aragon. His son, Alfonso II controlled the kingdom of Aragon, the catalan counties and Occitania.

8. EL CID.

Rodrigo Díaz de Vivar (1043-1099) was a member of the castilian lower nobility, a knight without lands. There were three ways that a knight could use to became rich: fight for the king, win battles or marry a wealthy woman.

8. 1. Castile and Leon.

Rodrigo was educated with the prince Sancho. When Sancho became king, he made Rodrigo royal standard-bearer. After the dead of Sancho, Rodrigo served under Alfonso VI and married Alfonso's niece in 1074.
Later he was accused of launching a expedition to take Toledo without permision and was exiled (1081.

8. 2. Al-Muqtadir.

He became the head of the armies of the king of Zaragoza betwen 1081 and 1086. He was known as sidi (lord).

8. 3. Reconciliation with Alfonso and second exile.

In 1086, Rodrigo reconciled with Alfonso and left from Levante where protected the allies of Alfonso and forced the muslim kings to pay parias to Castille.
In 1089, Rodrigo was accused of treason again and force to exile. Then, he decided to act on his own, becoming the most powerful leader in the Levante. In 1094 he conquered Valencia and established a christian taifa under his own rule.

UNIT 3. FEUDAL EUROPE.

1. HOW WAS MEDIEVAL SOCIETY ORGANISED.

After the collapse of the Carolingian Empire a new social system appeared: the feudalism.

The feudalism was a social system of medieval Europe in which the nobility received land from the monarch in exchange for military service and loyalty.

1. 1. A period of inestability.

In the 9th and 10th centuries Western Europe suffered a series of invasions from several directions:

• From the North: Normans (Vikings).
• From the East: the Hungarians.
• From the South: the Muslims.

 These attacks terrorised the populations because the monarchs were unable to protect them or raise armies. This had two consequences:

• Only the nobles were able to maintain armies or built fortress and many free people ask them for protection. The ones who could afford military equipment became knights and the peasants became serfs
• The monarchs relied on the nobles for military support.

1. 2. Vassalage.

Vassalage (in spanish vasallaje) was a pledge of allegiance established in a dual ceremony:

• The homage (in spanish, homenaje), in which the vassal, knelt before the lord and promised to be loyal and provide him with military and ecomic help.
• The investiture (in spanish, investidura), in which the king gave a fieddom (in spanish, feudo) to a vassal.

 1. 3. A stratified society.

Feudal society was inequal and divided in estates (in spanish, estamento): closed social groups in which people were born and remained for life. There were two privileged estates and one non-privileged:

• Privilieged estates: the nobility and the clergy. They were a small percentage of the population but:

1. owned most of the land.
2. did not pay taxes.
3. held the kingdom's highest offices.

• Non privileged estate: peasants and artisans. They were most of the population:

1. were forced to work for the other two estates.
2. had to pay taxes.
3. had no rights.

Vikings raids in Europe. File:Viking_Expansion.svg User:Max_Naylor

Magyar's (hungarian) raids in Europe. File:Kalandozasok.jpg https://hu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Szerkeszt%C5%91:Csan%C3%A1dy CC BY-SA 3.0

Hungarians (Magyars) raids. The Magyars were a nomadic people of asian origin that settled in the Panonian plain and started to attack Eastern and Central Europe.

Saracen boats. The saracens were muslims pirates that attacked the coasts of southern Europe.

 

The vikings' attacks were brutal because they wanted to crush resistance by spreading terror among their victims. Also, they were pagans and had no problems to attack the symbols of the Christian religion or the members of the clergy.

 

 The history of vikings in 5 minutes.

 

 

 

 

 

 

EXTRA. NORSE RELIGION AND MITHOLOGY.

The vikings came from the Scandinavian Peninsula (modern day Norway, Sweeden and Denmark) and they followed a polytheistic religion, with dozens of gods and mythical creatures such as the giants and the elfs. Among the most important gods were:

• Odin, king of the gods.
• Thor, god of thunder.
• Frey, god of agriculture.
• Freya, goddess of beauty and love.
• Loky, gof of mischief.

 

 

The Scandinavian peoples believed that the Universe was organized around a sacred tree, Ygdrassyl, and divided in nine kingdoms, among them Asgard, the kingdom of the Gods and Midgard, the kingdom of humanity.

 

 

 

  The vikings believed that only the warriors that died in combat had the right to enter in the paradise (Valhalla). The rest of the poeple would go to Hellheim.

 

  How Thor got his hammer.

 Ted-Ed: Thor's journey to the land of the giants.

Ted Ed: Loki and the master builder.

 

 

 

Unraveling History: Loki. The video is in spanish, you have to select the english subtitles.

 

Homage, a member of the nobility promise to be loyal to he king.

 

Bishop's investiture. The king gives a fiefdom to his vassal (the bishop).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

2. The feudal monarchy.

The king was considered to be sacred and chosen by God to rule:

• His office was hereditary.
• His power was validate by the Church in a coronation ceremony.
• The kingdom were his personal property and he was free to divide it.

2. 2. The king powers.

He had exclusive powers:

• military: led military campaigns.
• economic: collect taxes.
• judicial: supreme judge.

 Neverheless he had two shared authority with the most important nobles and religious authorities. 

He received help in matter of government from:

• The Royal council (Curia), composed of bishops, abbots, dukes, count and marquis.
• Civil servants who write royal documents and oversee the royal arvhives.

The kings had no permanent residence. The king and the court moved between cities and castles.

2. 3. Kings and kingdoms.

After the breakup of Charlemagne's empire, Europe was divided in several kingdoms with two common atributes:

• christianity.
• feudal organisation.

 The main two powers in the European Christianity were:

• The Pope, who provide spiritual authority.
• The Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. In the 10th century, the Pope crowned Otto I of Germany as emperor, but the title of emperor became an honorary title.

Europe in the year 1.000 A.D.

3. The privileged: the nobility.

The nobility were a privileged social group, whose role was to military protect society. Was composed of dukes, marquis, counts and barons. Their power came frome the lands they possesed, the fiefdoms, which enabled them to live in large castles and buy horses and weapons.

Their main activities of the noblemen were:

• training for battle, taking parts in joust and tournaments.
• in case of war, fight for the king.
• Hunting on horseback (wild boar, deer and foxes)
• falconry, to train a bird of prey to hunt.

The activities of noblewomen were:

• take responsability of servants and domestic matters.
• play music and to do embroidery.
• ride horses and hunt.

 Castles.

Nobles lived in fortified castles. A castle was a military stronghold that symbolised the power of nobility. Its main characteristics were:

• were located on high ground in a fiefdom.
• had very high and wide walls.
• contained several buildings around a courtyard.
• was self-sufficient with a wells, granaries and artisans' shops.
• had a keep (in spanish, torre del homenaje) where the lord and his family lived.

Medieval dance.

External link: Dkfindout castles.

4. Knights.

A knight (in spanish, caballero) was a trained warrior who gave military service to a king or feudal lord during the Middle Ages.
They were part of the chivalric order which uphold the values of courage, loyalty to their lord, faithfulness to their lady and defence of the weak.
All the knights were members of the nobility and in order to become a kinght had to undertake a long training:

• at age six they became pages (in spanish, pajes) and learnt how to behave among noblemen and women.
• at age fourteen became squires (in spanish, escudero). They had to carry the lord's shield and start a gruelling military training.
• at the age of 20 they became knights after a long ceremony (the knighting ceremony) (ser armado caballero):

1. The day before, they took a ritual bath and spent the night praying.
2. They presented before their lord, and then, the lord laid a sword in their shoulders and gave them their weapons.

The main activities of a knight were: war, tournaments and joust and courtly love:

• war: they fough in the army of their lords (armed retinous) to fight against rival nobles or aid the king.
• tournaments (torneos), fights between groups of knights; and jousting (justas), single combat between two knights.
• courtly love (in spanish, amor cortés), a noble, idealised and chivalrous ritual. Knights were expected to behave towars their lady as vassals towards their lords.

Medieval fencing.

5. The clergy.

The Church controlled the social and spiritual life of most of the europeans during the Middle Ages.

5. 1. Church regulation of social life.

• The church was the most important building in any village. Its bells marked the rhythm of daily life.
• The Church organised the ceremonies that marked a person's life as well as festivities.
• Christians had to fulfill certain religious obligations:

1. to pray everyday, go to Mass on Sunday, fast (ayunar) during Lent (Cuaresma), 
2. to practise charity and give money to the Church.
3. Make a pilgrimage to holy sites such as Rome, Jerusalem or Santiago.

  5. 2. A rich and influential institution.

Was a very influential institution because:

• acumulated great riches and many of its members held privileged positions.
• owned considerable land and buildings. Because of this it received:

1. a tithe (diezmo) from peasants living on its lands.
2. donations from its parishioners.

5. 3. The organisation of the Church.

The Clergy were the men and women who dedicated their lives to the Church. The leader of the Church was the Pope who lived in Rome and the clergy was divided according to:

• their role :

1. secular clergy: priests and bishops who attended the believers.
2. regular clergy: monks and nuns dedicated to pray. They lived in the countryside (monasteries) (monasterios) or the cities (convents) (conventos).

• their standard of living:

1. high clergy (cardinals, bishops, abbots, etc). lived as the nobility.
2. lower clergy (nuns, monks, priests, etc), they lived as the peasants.

6. A FIEFDOM: LORDS AND PEASANTS.

In the Middle Ages there were fiefdoms. A fiefdom was a entailed property, which meant it could be inherited by the lord's descendants, but not sold. A fiefdom was organised in two parts:

• the lord's demesne or domain (in spanish, reserva) was the best land that the Lord reserved for himself. It contained:

1. the castle.
2. the communal pastures and forest.

• holdings were the plots of lands that the lord gave to serfs and free peasants to farm and live on them.

 In exchange for the land, the peasants had to fullfill several obligations towards the lord:

• work in the lands of the lord a certain number of days (personal services).
• pay the census (a part of the harvest).
• give him the first fruits of the harvest.
• Pay to use the oven, the mill, the blacksmith and other services (monopoly rights).
• Pay jurisdictional rights: a tax to use bridges, the river, hunting rights.
• Obey the lord and respect his justice.

 In return, the lord had the guarantee the protection of the peasants.

The peasants were about a 90% of the population and they live in small villages with communal lands. There were two types:

• free peasants, owned their land and were free to marry, leave the fiefdom, etc.
• serf, worked the lord's land and had no personal freedom.

7. Daily life of the peasants.

The peasants lived from livestock farming, arable farming and using the forests (hunting, firewood).
The main economic activity was  subsistence farming:

• they used basic tools and techniques.
• harvests were not abundant.

Division of work:

• men carried out the jobs requiring greater strenght (ploughing (in spanish, arar), reaping (in spanish, cosechar), cutting down trees (in spanish talar arboles).
• women helped collect the harvest, grew vegetables, took care of the children.

Agrarian techinques:

To avoid depleting the soil, they rotated their crops (two-crops or three-crops rotation systems) and a part of the land was left fallow.

The main crops were:

• cereals.
• pulses (in spanish, legumbres): beans (in spanish, judías) and chickpeas (garbanzos).
• grapevines (in spanish, vides) and olives (in spanish, aceitunas).
• vegetables (in spanish, verduras) and fruit trees.