The Aristocracy in Twelfth-Century Leon and Castile (Cambridge Studies in Medieval Life and Thought: Fourth Series) by Simon Barton

by Simon Barton

This volume examines the nature of aristocratic society in the Spanish kingdoms of León and Castile in the twelfth century. Drawing on an extensive range of original sources, many of them unpublished, it highlights the unrivaled wealth, status and power enjoyed by some members of the aristocracy. It also explores the multifarious roles that lay magnates were expected to as family protectors, landlords and judges; as courtiers, diplomats and military commanders; and, not least, as patrons of the church.

Genres: Spain, History

Paperback

First published July 18, 1997

Reviews

[Michael Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This weighty study examines the nature and process of aristocratic society and power in the northwestern Iberian peninsula during the high middle ages. Non-clerical magnates filled multiple roles, including family protector, landlord, judge, courtier, church patron, military commander, and diplomat, and the inheritance of these duties from one generation to the next led to a growing awareness of lineage. The lower half of the peninsula was still in Moslem hands, which had a lot to do with how the noble warrior class developed, because the concept of crusade led to influence far from home and the court. Many of Barton’s sources are not available in English and he includes several previously unpublished documents, as well as a very extensive bibliography, a biographical chapter on the counts of León and Castile, and a set of relevant genealogical tables.