Medieval Spain: Reconquista, Repopulation, and Cultural Diversity
4.3. Territory Models: Reforestation and Social Organization. After the military occupation of Muslim lands, it was necessary to guarantee the conquests. Replanting systems (VIII-XII): 1. Repoblación by haste (VIII-X) in the north of the Duero and the foothills of the Pyrenees. The era of occupation was wilderness and uncultivated land; peasants became owners, as did monasteries or nobles. The result was the predominance of medium-sized properties. 2. Repoblación by small councils (XI-XII) in the lands between the Douro and the Toledo Mountains and east of the Ebro Valley. The territory was divided into councils with large terms or alfoces, governed by a charter or fuero (which regulated municipal life). Neighbors could ultimately become owners. Medium-sized freeholds predominated, with abundant communal land. 3. Repoblación by military orders (1st half of the XII) in the Guadiana Valley (the Mancha and Extremadura), Teruel, and Castellón. Large areas were populated sparsely. The land was divided into parcels by the Orders of Alcántara, Santiago, and Calatraba, under a knight commander. The structure was based on large estates dedicated to livestock exploitation. 4. Repoblación by allotments (2nd half of the XII) in the Guadalquivir Valley and the Levantine coast. After the occupation of a territory, royal officials distributed the goods obtained (divided them into donadíos) among the conquerors according to their social rank. The result was large estates for the nobility, military orders, and the Church. This structure extended the señorial regime. Señorio: The king granted territory to an individual or collective (monastery) as a fee for service rendered. A) Territorial lordships in reforested areas, often through the 12th century. B) Jurisdictional lordships: donations of old Crown property; from the 12th century onwards, monarchs granted privileges to beneficiaries. Society was stratified by privileges: clergy (high and low), nobility (high, dukes, earls, middle, low, and gentlemen). All enjoyed legal and tax privileges. The Third Estate (peasants, artisans) was not privileged. This tripartite structure was defined by the role of each: clergy (prayer), nobility (defense), Third Estate (labor). 4.4. Cultural Diversity: Christians, Muslims, and Jews.
+ The outstanding feature of the culture of the Iberian Peninsula is its plurality: the existence of Mudejar, Mozarabs, Christians, and Muslims, as well as Jews, enabled frequent contact and exchange of knowledge. Monasteries and universities were centers of learning. The first university was founded in Córdoba in the Caliphate’s monastic schools. By the 11th century, professors taught in schools; by the 12th and 13th centuries, universities or estudios generales appeared. The best example of intellectual collaboration between the three cultures was the School of Translators of Toledo. The first cultural bridge between the Islamic and Christian worlds were translation centers in many cities (Tudela, Barcelona, etc.), although the most prestigious was Toledo in the 13th century under Alfonso X the Wise. The procedure was: a Jew who knew Arabic and Romance translated the original Arabic into Castilian, and then a priest translated from Castilian into Latin. Thus, much of the lost knowledge of ancient Greece and the Islamic world of science spread westward. The Way of St. James became a contact route with Europe, and by the 12th century, Santiago de Compostela was already the most important pilgrimage center of Christianity.
4.1. The First Centers of Resistance: The period between the 8th and 11th centuries was characterized by the hegemony of Al-Andalus in the Iberian Peninsula, but four cores of resistance emerged in the north: the Cantabrian coast and the Pyrenees. The United Asturian-Leonese Kingdom: In 718, Don Pelayo was elected king, and in 722, he achieved the victory of Covadonga. Important was the first monarch, Alfonso I (739-757), for his campaigns in the Duero basin and the repopulation of Asturias with Mozarabs. Alfonso II (781-842) moved the court of the kingdom of Asturias to Oviedo. The greatest expansion of Alfonso III (866-910) reached the Douro, and he established León as the capital. Due to a crisis, Count Fernán González (927-970) formed the County of Castile, previously dependent on León. The Kingdom of Pamplona was established in the 9th century. Around 905, Sancho Garcés I strengthened the new kingdom, expanding south, and his dynasty, in 970, established the County of Aragon. Sancho III (1000-1035) reached the height of power, annexing Castile and Aragon. The County of Aragon: In the central Pyrenees, the counties of Aragon, Sobrarbe, and Ribagorza were formed in the 9th century. From 970, it was linked to Pamplona. The Catalan Counties: In the eastern Pyrenees, they were linked to the Carolingian monarchy in the 8th and 9th centuries; from the 9th century onwards, they sought independence. First Wilfred the Hairy (Count of Barcelona), then Borrell II (947-992), completely dissociated from the French monarch.
4.2. Main Stages of the Reconquista: Reconquista: The process of military occupation of the Iberian Peninsula, protagonized by Christians from the 8th to the 15th centuries. It originated from the idea of restoring the Visigothic monarchy and provided legitimacy to the throne. The spirit of occupation joined the crusade against the Muslims. 8th-10th Centuries: The Christian advance was limited to the occupation of empty territories such as the Duero basin and the northern Ebro. 11th Century and 1st Half of the 12th: This marks the real beginning of the Reconquista, as it was a radical change in the relationship between Christian and Muslim forces: in 1085, Alfonso VI conquered Toledo. With the arrival of the Almoravids, a slowdown occurred (Sagrajas 1086, Consuegra 1097, Uclés 1108). The kings of Aragon expanded to the middle Ebro Valley (Huesca and Zaragoza 1118). The conquest continued with the western Tagus Valley (Lisbon 1147) and the eastern Ebro Valley (Tortosa 1148). 2nd Half of the 12th Century: The Almohad apogee brought new setbacks, limiting progress to the upper courses of the Turia (Teruel 1171), Júcar (Cuenca 1177), and Guadiana rivers. Military orders were created, and treaties were signed between Castile and León and the Crown of Aragon to demarcate future conquests. 13th Century: The Christian kingdoms joined the crusade: Castile (Alfonso VIII), Aragon (Peter II), and Navarre (Sancho VII), along with military orders and foreign crusaders. The Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212 was decisive. Portugal ended its expansion between 1230 and 1239. Aragon, under James I, continued to expand between 1229 and 1235 (Mallorca and Ibiza) and between 1232 and 1239 (Valencia). Castile, under Ferdinand III, joined in 1230 and conquered Córdoba and Seville. Alfonso X the Wise conquered Andalusia, Cádiz, and Murcia, leaving only the Nasrid Kingdom of Granada by the end of the century.