A History of Spain Part 5

[Sidenote: Inter-relations of the Christian and Moslem peoples.]

Except in times of war, relations between the Christian and Moslem peoples were even cordial and intimate. They visited one another's countries, aided one another in civil wars, engaged in commerce, and even contracted mixed marriages, not only among people of the lower cla.s.ses, but also among those of the highest rank, even to that of royalty. Mohammedan law did not require the conversion of Christian wives, but many of the latter embraced the Moslem faith, with the consent, too, of their families. Although there were instances of Mohammedan women marrying Christians, the reverse was usually the case, for the conquerors did not bring their families as had the earlier Germanic invaders. Religious differences were not an insuperable barrier in this period: there was scarcely a war confined to Christians on the one side and Mohammedans on the other; the Mozarabes were not greatly molested within the Moslem state; Christians were often employed in administrative capacities by the emirs and caliphs; and Christian mercenaries, many of them Spaniards, fought in the Moslem armies. It was only natural, therefore, that the neighboring Arabic civilization should have exercised not a little influence on Christian Spain, especially since the power and wealth of the caliphate were so much greater than in the kingdoms of the north. In intellectual aspects--for example, in philosophy and science--the Arabic influence was to be greater at a succeeding time, but in political and military matters and in language much pa.s.sed over to the Christians in this period. In like manner the Spanish peoples reacted upon the invaders, but this was confined princ.i.p.ally to the effects produced by the Renegados and Mozarabes, whose contributions were largely due to the conditions of the Moslem world in which they lived.

[Sidenote: Diversity in Christian Spain.]

Christian Spain itself was far from being a unit; rather diversity was the rule. The northwest followed the Visigothic tradition, while the north centre and northeast, especially Navarre and Catalonia, while retaining much of the Visigothic inst.i.tutions came into frequent contact with French peoples, who gave a new turn to their civilization. Within each section, too, there were many complex differences between one region and another. Hence the inst.i.tutions of the princ.i.p.al areas may be taken separately.

_Kingdoms of Asturias, Leon, and Castile_

[Sidenote: Social cla.s.ses in the Christian northwest.]

Social inequality increased in this period, due to a decline in wealth and to an accentuation of the hazards of life. The higher n.o.bility attained to vast privileges and authority, although less than in other parts of Christian Europe. They were often, but not always, allowed to conquer lands for themselves, rule their own estates with almost absolute authority, leave the king's service for that of another monarch, and be free from taxation. The social prestige of the n.o.bles was weakened, however, through the king's right to grant t.i.tles of n.o.bility. The king might also deprive a n.o.ble created by himself of his t.i.tles and lands. Most of the n.o.bility of the lower grades were in fact retainers of the greater n.o.bles or of the king, usually rendering military service in return for protection. This state of dependence was called _encomienda_ (commendation),--a term used centuries later to cover the virtual enslavement of the American Indians. Small landed proprietors and free agricultural and industrial laborers placed themselves in similar relations to the great n.o.bles, so that the latter were about the only really free cla.s.s of the time. These civilian dependents gave produce, tribute, or personal service to the lord. The various grades of servitude, from serfs attached to a piece of land and enjoying at least some of the products of their labor down to individuals held in personal slavery, continued to exist. In general the servile cla.s.ses advanced in about the same degree that the freemen fell back; many of them came together to form an intermediate cla.s.s in which some rights--for example, to own property and to change one's habitation freely within the same seigniorial territory--were enjoyed.

[Sidenote: The political system.]

The king's power was complete enough in theory to merit being called absolute, for in him rested supreme legislative, judicial, and administrative authority over the realm as a whole. In fact the royal authority did not extend equally over all the land. On his own properties and usually in conquered regions the king was indeed an absolute monarch, but as concerned the lands of the n.o.bles and the church there were important limitations on his authority. On their estates the n.o.bles enjoyed rights of an economic nature and also those of a sovereign, with almost as much power in theory and in fact as the king had in theory over all the land. They raised troops at will, and fought with one another and even against the king; they had judicial authority over most of the cases arising within their lands; and they collected taxes for themselves. The protection which they owed to all on their estates was not very faithfully accorded, but on the contrary they oppressed not only their own dependents but also those of other lords,--a practice which was a fruitful cause of private war. The n.o.bles, too, were veritable highwaymen, robbing travellers, business men, and pilgrims, and contributing more than any other cla.s.s to the lawlessness of the times. Bishops and abbots occupied a position similar to that of the great n.o.bles. The church had acquired estates through gifts of individuals and grants of the king, and the same rights and duties attached to them as in the case of the n.o.bles. Thus, for example, great churchmen raised troops, which at times they commanded themselves.

The royal power was still further limited in fact, because of the necessity of relying upon n.o.bles or churchmen to govern distant lands or to hold other posts of an administrative and even of a judicial nature.

The rulers of administrative districts were the counts (_condes_) appointed by the king, and these individuals often gave him considerable trouble,--as witness the uprisings (at length successful) of the counts of Castile. The very necessities of civil strife obliged the kings to yield privileges to one set of n.o.bles in order to get their aid against another. Nevertheless, great as was the n.o.bles' authority, it was not so excessive as elsewhere in western Europe. Feudalism, the essence of which was the grant of lands in perpetuity with rights of sovereignty attached, in return for which the grantee owed fealty and some form of service, perhaps military, to the grantor, did not exist in its fullness in northwestern Spain. By special grants the king might agree to refrain from exercising his sovereign privileges, but in such cases certain limitations were usually expressed. When judicial authority was conferred on a n.o.ble, some attributes were retained,--for example, the trial of crimes of murder and the right of appeal to the royal authority from the cases in seigniorial courts. Again, when the lords made laws for their territories they did so by special grant of the king, who frequently intervened to change the seigniorial statutes or to enact others of his own. The difference from European feudalism, however, was perhaps more juridical than actual.

[Sidenote: Rise of the free towns.]

One element appeared in this period which was to prove a great limitation on seigniorial authority, and was to be an aid to the king in the establishment of internal good order and unity. This was the plebeian town. The most important type of this cla.s.s was the _villa_, or _concejo_, which originated in the tenth century. The _villas_ were founded on lands conquered by the kings, and were usually in frontier districts exposed to the enemy. On this account special privileges were granted in order to induce people to settle there. Anybody who could contrive to reach a _villa_ was declared free, even if of servile grade before. All citizens were not equal, however; there were varying grades of rank, though all were free. The _villas_ were exempted from many duties to the state,--often from the payment of taxes. They were also withdrawn from the jurisdiction of the counts, and were granted much political authority. Each _villa_ received its own _fuero_, or charter, by a special grant, with the result that there was a great variety in the terms of different charters, although certain of them tended to become the types which were imitated in subsequent grants. As a general rule the government of a _villa_ was in the hands of the a.s.sembly of citizens, in which local laws were enacted and judges and administrative officers elected. These rights, added to a long line of exemptions, made veritable political ent.i.ties of the _villas_, which were independent of all but the king, and were in great measure not subject to him. The _villa_ extended beyond its own walls to include neighboring rural districts as well. The rise of the _villas_ on royal lands compelled the n.o.bility and the clergy to form similar settlements in order to attract people to their territories or to avoid uprisings of their dependents, although these towns did not achieve rights equal to those of the _villas_.

[Sidenote: Diversity and primitive character of the law.]

Since privilege was the general rule, the law in northwestern Spain was very far from being uniform. The Visigothic _Fuero Juzgo_ continued to be the general law, but it was often supplanted as a result of grants by the king to n.o.bles, clergy, and _villas_, and by the n.o.bles and clergy to yet other units under their rule. Very important, too, was the modifying effect of local customs, which in the absence of other specific law were frequently cited. These customs tended to resemble those of the Germanic invaders or even of the indigenous peoples, since the type of life at this time was similar to that of earlier unsettled periods. This era, therefore, was one of a marked falling away from Roman traditions, which had to wait several centuries before they again came into their own.

[Sidenote: Economic backwardness.]

As was natural in such an age of disorder, commerce and industry did not flourish. With the rise of the towns a beginning was made, and at least one town, Santiago de Compostela, seems to have attained to some industrial importance. Commerce was hampered by innumerable obstacles, such as the depredations of foreign enemies and robber lords, the duties which had to be paid to the king, and the tolls which were collected by the lords at highways, rivers, or bridges within their lands.

Stock-raising and agriculture and the production of the bare necessities of life were the princ.i.p.al occupations. Even these suffered, not only from the raids of the Moslems and the n.o.bles, but also from the extreme weight of taxation, which was all the worse in that it was levied at the caprice of the king, lord, or churchman collecting it. The state of misery was so great that it is not surprising that famine and epidemics hara.s.sed the people.

[Sidenote: Ignorance and superst.i.tion.]

[Sidenote: Innovations in architecture.]

In general culture, too, there was a decline to an even lower level than that of the Visigothic period. Churches and monasteries maintained something of the old intellectual traditions, and their schools were almost the only resort for an education. Latin continued to be used in literature and in official doc.u.ments, but was already acquiring the new forms which were to pave the way to the various Romance tongues of later days. The age was one of superst.i.tion, which made itself manifest, as in other parts of Europe, even in judicial procedure. The tests of wager of battle (or a duel between litigants), the hot iron, and boiling water were all used to determine innocence or guilt, in the belief that G.o.d would intervene on the side of the man whose cause was just. Poverty and danger led men to live in groups, thereby introducing a fresh departure from Roman individualism. In the towns life more nearly resembled the Roman type. In architecture this period marked the introduction of the b.u.t.tress in some of the churches. Naturally, it was an age of the building of castles and walls, although the materials used were perishable. Most edifices were of wood, for in that day Spain was covered with forests in regions where they no longer exist. The burning of villages in times of war, especially during the Norman invasions, led to an exchange from the wooden roof in church building to one of non-combustible material of industrial manufacture.

_Kingdoms of Navarre, Aragon, and Catalonia_

[Sidenote: The Christian reconquest of Catalonia.]

In essentials, the social organization of north central and northeastern Spain was not greatly different from that of the northwest. Navarre and Catalonia were considerably affected by French influence,--Aragon less so. The details for Navarre and Aragon are in any event obscure or lacking. The Moslem invasion caused an emigration of the people of Catalonia across the Pyrenees, with the result that most of the territory remained deserted for two centuries. By 797 Gerona had been reconquered, and by 801 Barcelona was retaken, and these dates marked the beginning of the social and political reorganization of what was to become Catalonia. Lands were allotted to the Frankish conquerors and to a number of Catalans who had either remained in that region, subject to the Moslems, or who came in at the time of the reconquest. These estates were given free of obligation, except for that of military service. The most important holders were the various counts, but there were a number of lesser proprietors beyond their jurisdiction. Many of these were converted in course of time into feudatories of the counts. The counts were at first the appointees of the French king; later they became hereditary; and finally independent. The church also acquired vast territories in Catalonia, and was allowed to enjoy immunity from obligations and an absolute dominion over its lands. The most important holdings were those of the bishop of Gerona.

[Sidenote: Feudalism in Catalonia and Navarre.]

From the above it appears that the feudalism of France had taken root in Catalonia, where the n.o.bles were more absolute in their own territories and more free from the power of the king or lord to whom they were subject than was the case in northwestern Spain. The greater importance of the counts of Barcelona has already been alluded to; by the beginning of the eleventh century they were saluted with the t.i.tle of prince in recognition of their sovereignty. Aside from their own estates, however, their legal authority extended little further than that of a right to inspect judicial tribunals (in order to see that their decisions were in accord with the general law of the land) and to have certain cases appealable to their courts. The _Fuero Juzgo_, in so far as it applied to the changed conditions of Catalonia, was the general law, but numerous exceptions began to appear, much as in the northwest, although the development of free towns was not nearly so great. In Navarre the administration of justice belonged to the king, but on the other hand the king could not hold court, or make war, peace, or a truce, without consulting the n.o.bles, and he was subject in every respect to the laws which confirmed their privileges. Furthermore, he acquired his throne by election, although the choice was confined as a rule to members of a single family. Feudalism not only weakened the power of the monarchy in north central and northeastern Spain, but also tended to impair the lot of the servile cla.s.ses, which were delayed in achieving emanc.i.p.ation in these regions much longer than in other parts of Spain.

[Sidenote: Coming of the monks of Cluny.]

[Sidenote: Backwardness of Pyrenean Spain.]

The most important religious incident of the period was the entry of the monks of Cluny into Spain. This order had taken it upon itself to combat simony (the sale of church office) and offences against the ecclesiastical law of celibacy (requiring that men who had taken holy orders should not marry), both of which practices were than very prevalent in Christendom, and to bring about a complete and effective submission of distant churches to the bishop of Rome. These monks came into Spain by way of Navarre in the reign of Sancho the Great, and by 1033 they were already in Castile. Aside from their immediate objects they produced two other important effects: they reinforced the French ideas which had preceded them; and they accelerated the reconquest as a result of the influence which they acquired, employing it to urge on the kings in wars against the Moslems. In economic inst.i.tutions, general culture, and the fine arts the north centre and northeast were very backward, like the northwest. It is noteworthy, however, that by the ninth century the Catalans were already beginning to engage in trade in the Mediterranean.

DEVELOPMENT TOWARD NATIONAL UNITY, 910-1492

[Ill.u.s.tration: Spain in 910]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Spain in 1130]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Spain in 1037]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Spain 1212-1492]

CHAPTER VII

ERA OF THE SPANISH CRUSADES, 1031-1276

[Sidenote: General characteristics of the era.]

The period of a little more than two centuries after the downfall of the caliphate was marked by a complete change from that preceding it, and in like manner was quite independent of the next succeeding era. Up to this time Moslem Spain had represented by far the princ.i.p.al element in the peninsula. The Christian states had maintained themselves with difficulty, making occasional gains, which were not infrequently followed by equally great losses whenever the Moslem power was sufficiently united internally to present its full strength. The civilization of the Christian kingdoms had also been notably inferior in almost every respect to that of the Moslem south. From the eleventh to the middle of the thirteenth century, however, the region of Moslem Spain, divided against itself, could not make an effective resistance, and the Christian powers began an offensive which enabled them to reconquer all of the peninsula except for a narrow strip in southern Andalusia. These wars partook very largely of the crusading spirit then so prevalent in Europe, and although it was not nearly so persistent, fervid, or exclusive an aim as is usually believed it seems appropriate to characterize this era as that of the Spanish crusades. This was also a period of noteworthy advance in internal organization in Christian Spain, for although civil war and disorder were great as compared with some later eras many regions enjoyed long terms of peace, very much more complete at least than in the three preceding centuries. The pus.h.i.+ng back of the Moslem frontier conduced greatly to this end. The kings gradually became more powerful than the great individual n.o.bles, who had been able to meet them on virtually equal terms before. The free commoners advanced both in status and in numbers. In material well-being there was a marked improvement. Finally, in general culture the same tendency appeared. In all of these respects the fund of civilization was very slight compared with what it was to become in succeeding centuries, but it was at least something, whereas the period before had represented little more than bare existence. Despite the fact that there was very little understanding of the ideal of national unity, as evidenced by the frequency with which monarchs divided their kingdoms, circ.u.mstances tended toward the accomplishment of what men could not readily grasp.

Two great states emerged in Christian Spain, the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon. They were able even to act in peace and concert at times in the wars against the Moslems. A third region tended to withdraw from the current of peninsula unity, for it was in this period that the modern state of Portugal had its independent beginnings. Nevertheless, Moslem Spain, though less important than Castile and Aragon, remained the keynote of the period, not alone because of the wars against it, but also because its civilization, especially in material and intellectual aspects, was still far superior to that of Castile and Aragon. It was at this time, indeed, that the Moslem world produced its greatest scholars and the Christian states became most strongly imbued with the spirit of Moslem culture, with permanent results on Spanish character. This era was unequal in length for Castile and Aragon, closing respectively in 1252 and 1276 with the deaths of Ferdinand III and Jaime I.

_Moslem Spain_

[Sidenote: The _taifa_ states and the rise of Seville.]

With the dethronement of Hisham III in 1031 the caliphate broke up into a number of states called _taifas_, from an Arabic word meaning "tribe,"

or "people." Down to the close of the eleventh century there were many of these states,--twenty-three at one time,--but the most important were those of Cordova, Seville, Malaga, Granada, Almeria, Denia and the Balearic Islands, Saragossa, Toledo, and Badajoz. The rulers were usually Slavic or Berber generals of the latter-day armies of the caliphate and their descendants. Each desired to make himself sole caliph, and so an internecine strife was waged almost continuously, especially in the south. Seville soon forged ahead of its regional rivals, and was by far the most important _taifa_ of the century. Like several of the others it had been founded as a republic (as early as 1023), but its skilful ruler, Abul Ca.s.sim Mohammed of the Abbadite family, soon made himself absolute, while retaining the forms of a republic. In order to overcome his most powerful neighbors he pretended that Hisham II had reappeared, availing himself of a mat-maker who resembled the dead caliph. The stratagem was so successful that Carmona, Valencia, Denia, Tortosa, and even the republic of Cordova recognized the pseudo-Hisham, whereupon the crafty Sevillian proceeded to conquer large parts of the _taifa_ states of Malaga and Granada. His successors were equally fortunate, and by the end of the third quarter of the century the greater part of Moslem Spain, especially in the west and south, had acknowledged the rule of the lord of Seville. Seville, too, had become every bit as noteworthy an intellectual centre as Cordova had been under the caliphs.

[Sidenote: Yusuf and the Almoravide conquest.]

The Christian kings of Castile and Leon had meanwhile profited by the wars of the _taifa_ states to make conquests or to reduce many of the _taifas_ to the payment of tribute. Even Seville was tributary to a Christian king. This inclined many of the Moslem princes, realizing their own helplessness, to invite a newly-risen Mohammedan power in northwestern Africa to come to their aid. The rulers of the _taifas_ recognized that their own authority might be endangered by the entry of their coreligionists, but their feelings were well expressed in the words attributed to the ruler of Seville: "I would rather be a camel-driver in Africa than a swineherd in Castile." The African people referred to were a branch of the Berbers who had dwelt apart in the Sahara Desert. Converted at length to the Moslem faith, they became fanatically religious, taking to themselves the name "Almoravides"

(religious men), and launching themselves forth to the conquest of all northwestern Africa. The African empire of the Almoravides was already an accomplished fact when their emperor, Yusuf, was invited to help the Spanish Moslems under a promise that he would not deprive the _taifa_ rulers of their states. In 1086 Yusuf entered Spain, and encountered the army of Alfonso VI of Leon at Zalaca, near Badajoz. Yusuf was completely successful, and the Christian peril was rolled back, but no counter-conquests of moment were made. Yusuf himself returned to Africa.

Four years later the Moslem princes had need of Yusuf, and once again he came to avert the threatening danger. By this time popular opinion, reinforced by the intrigues of the Moslem priesthood, desired the establishment of Yusuf's authority in Spain; the restoration of a single rule, it was believed, would check the Christian kings, and bring peace and prosperity. By 1091 Yusuf had reduced all of the _taifa_ princes except the king of Saragossa, and the latter was subjected by Yusuf's successor. Thus the unity of Moslem Spain was again accomplished.[18]

[Sidenote: Rise of the Almohades.]

The Almoravide rule rested very lightly on the Moslem population, but only for a short time. The emperors lost their religious enthusiasm, and not only did they fail to advance the conquest but they also gave themselves up to a life of luxury and dissipation. Public security declined, with the result that the people now wished to rid themselves of the sovereigns whom formerly they had desired so much. At this time there came a tremendous uprising in Africa in 1125 of the Moors of the Moroccan Atlas, an uncivilized branch of the Berber family. They had become fanatical Mohammedans, and like their Almoravide predecessors had taken a name springing from their religious faith, that of "Almohades"

(unitarians). Uncultivated as they were, they were able to master the military art of that day sufficiently to overwhelm the Almoravide power in Africa, though only after a long war.