Inquisition: An institution introduced in Castile in 1478 by the Catholic Monarchs to monitor Catholic orthodoxy among converts, serving as the primary tool for achieving religious unity.
Aldermen: Royal officials who presided over the council to exercise direct control over cities.
Holy Brotherhood: A body established in 1476 responsible for prosecuting criminals and ensuring order in the Kingdom of Castile.
Tips (Advisers): A system consisting of royal advisers, typically lawyers, chosen by the king.
Real Hearing: A court charged with ensuring control over justice and increasing its effectiveness.
Guadalupe Arbitration Case: A 1486 decision by King Ferdinand of Aragon to stop peasant unrest in Catalonia by abolishing feudal rights known as the "bad uses."
Mayorazgo: A Castilian institution that kept a set of interlinked goods intact. Property passed to the eldest son to ensure family assets did not spread but only increased.
Cultural and Religious Movements
Erasmus of Rotterdam: A humanist who sought to unite classical culture, scientific interest, and Christian values. He was a leading exponent of Christian humanism.
Humanism: A cultural renewal movement born in Italy during the 15th century. Its characteristics included anthropocentrism, inspiration from Greco-Roman culture, interest in science, and the use of local languages.
Martin Luther: A Catholic priest who began criticizing the Church in 1517 with the publication of The 95 Theses. He denied the value of indulgences and church hierarchy, proposing a new spirituality based on salvation by faith, the priesthood of all believers, and the authority of the Bible. His doctrine spread through Germany, Scandinavia, the Netherlands, England, and Switzerland.
Council of Trent: A series of sessions held between 1545 and 1563 to lead the Counter-Reformation, attended by high ecclesiastical authorities and monarchs.
Art and Economy
Perspective: A technique for representing objects on a plane while maintaining proportions and distances, allowing for the representation of three-dimensional reality.
Commercial Capitalism: A period marked by the emergence of the first capitalist enterprises in towns linked to maritime trade routes, such as Genoa, Venice, Bruges, Lisbon, and Hamburg.
