Late Middle Ages: Crisis and Christian Kingdoms' Evolution
The Late Middle Ages: Crisis of the XIV and XV Centuries
The Christian Kingdoms in the Middle Ages: Political Organization
Institutions (Kingdom of Castile and Crown of Aragon)
The Kingdom of Castile was a hereditary monarchy and property, where the nobility opposed the monarchical pretensions. This led, in the fourteenth century, to the civil war between Pedro I and Enrique de Trastámara, who led a rebellion of the nobility. After the war, he established a new dynasty on the throne (Trastámara), and the nobility was rewarded with generous concessions for their support to the new king (mercedes enriqueñas). Still in the Middle Ages, the monarchy was strengthened.
There was the merger of the Cortes de Castilla y León, the birth of the Hearing (Chancery) as the supreme body of law, subject only to the king. The Accounting and Finance departments were displayed, and the constable led the royal army. The Special Court (assembly of the three estates) limited its role to voting special grants to the crown. A Royal Council was created, with lawyers advising the king on all decisions. At the local level, the monarchical intervention in the municipalities was highlighted, which set the regiments composed of councilors appointed by the king for life and the figure of the mayor, the king's permanent representatives in major cities.
The Crown of Aragon had a confederal character since it was formed by a series of kingdoms: Aragon, Catalonia, and Valencia, with different laws and institutions. After several clashes between the nobles and the king, in 1283, Pedro III signed the General Privilege. Thanks to this, although there were clashes, relations between the king and his subjects were better than in Castile. Institutions reflected the peculiarities of the federal character of the Crown. Independent courts existed in Aragon, Catalonia, and Valencia. Temporary committees of the provincial courts became permanent, and they expanded their powers: the Generalitat of Catalonia or the council of the kingdom of Aragon and the Kingdom of Valencia. In the kingdom of Aragon, the office of Justice of Aragon was created; its primary role was to defend the privileges of the kingdom. The real authority was represented in the different territories by deputies or viceroys, who were acting on their behalf. Municipalities fell under the jurisdiction of urban oligarchies controlling various charges, which highlights the council and the board of One Hundred in Barcelona.
The Christian Kingdoms in the Middle Ages: Demographic, Economic, and Political Crisis
The last two medieval centuries match a phase of crisis in Europe, which also affected the peninsular kingdoms. In the first half of the fourteenth century, bad weather ruined crops, and a livelihood crisis erupted. The Black Death or bubonic plague came to the peninsula in 1348 and spread rapidly from the Balearic Islands and the east coast inwards. After the first wave, the population, weakened by hunger, was more prone to disease, and then there were other more localized outbreaks. The coastline was more affected, and it spread more into the cities than to the countryside. As well as high mortality, there were movements of population and depopulation in some areas. In addition, labor decreased, and prices rose.
The crisis not only affected the poor but also reached the gentlemen (nobility and clergy), causing a decrease in income and vassals. The noble reaction focused on recovering their losses at the expense of the peasants and the monarchy. This resulted in social conflict: there were peasant uprisings against the nobility, such as the offorans in Mallorca, the hermandiñas wars in Galicia, or the remensa movement in Catalonia. There were also clashes in cities like Barcelona and rivalries between factions of the nobility for municipal control, as in Salamanca. In addition, there were attacks against the Jewish population by the common people.
On the other side, the process of strengthening of the monarchies started, which clashed with the claims of the nobility of having the ultimate power in their dominions and beyond. To complete the picture of general crisis, civil wars occurred in the kingdoms of Castile, Catalonia, and Navarra, although specific causes had also emerged in these social tensions. This demographic and political crisis allowed the settlement of the old feudal society and laid the groundwork for the modern age.