Spain in the Middle Ages

Spain in the Middle Ages

Timeline

Visigothic

Roman

kingdom

Al-Andalus

Hispania

of Toledo

416 Arrival of the

507 Kingdom of

Emirate

Visigoths

Toledo

711 Dependent

756 Independent

711 Moorish Invasion

476 Fall of the Roman

Empire

1492 Christian

929 Caliphate

1031 Taifa kingdoms

conquest of Granada

The break-up of the Roman Empire

In 476, the Roman Empire fell, marking the beginning of the Middle Ages. From the 6th century onwards, three major civilisations dominated the former Roman Empire:

• The Eastern Roman Empire: Byzantium.
• Germanic tribes who created feudal kingdoms. The Visigoths settled in Hispania.
• The Muslims (followers of Islam).

The Visigothic kingdom of Toledo (507 – 711)

In 507, the Visigoths founded a kingdom in Hispania with Toledo as its capital.The Visigoths conquered most of the Iberian Peninsula.

• Government: the king made the laws, but sometimes he had special meetings, called the Council of Toledo, with nobles and bishops.

• Economy: most Visigoths lived in small rural communities dedicated to arable and livestock farming. People were poor.
• Religion: King Recaredo converted to Catholicism in 589 and this united the Visigothic kingdom under one religion.
• Culture: Visigoths learned to speak Latin. Saint Isidoro of Sevilla was a bishop and an important thinker, the first Christian to write an encyclopedia.

Al-Andalus

In 711, the Muslims, who already dominated North Africa, defeated the Visigoths at the Battle of Guadalete. Within seven years, the Muslims had occupied almost all of the Iberian Peninsula. Al-Andalus became part of the powerful Islamic empire. Córdoba became the capital of Al-Andalus. In 756, Al-Andalus became an independent emirate. In the 10th century (929) Emir Abderramán III proclaimed himself Caliph of Córdoba. This made Córdoba a caliphate. Al-Andalus was one of the main centres for trade and culture in the Mediterranean. After the fall of the caliphate in the 11th century (1031), Al-Andalus broke up into several taifa kingdoms.

The life in Al-Andalus

Life in Al-Andalus were peaceful, except for the battles at the borders with the Christian kingdoms.

• Government: cities were ruled by a governor who lived in the alcazaba -a fortress-.
• Economy: many people were merchants –they bought and sold things in the souk-. There were also farmers and experts in irrigated farming –rice, wheat, oranges… were introduced in Spain by Muslims-.
• Religion: many people were Muslims. Some people were Christians and Jews.
• Culture: people spoke Arabic.

Al-Andalus Society

People of different origins and religions lived side by side in Al-Andalus:

• Muslims: the conquerers
• Mozarabs: Hispano-Visigothic followers of Christianity.
• Jews: Followers of Judaism.

Christians and Jews could live where they wanted to and practise their religion, but they couldn’t have authority over a Muslim or carry weapons. They had to pay special taxes, wear a special badge and obey Muslim laws.

The legacy of Al-Andalus

Al-Andalus became an important centre for economic, scientific and cultural developments. The Muslims introduced new irrigation techniques: water wheels, wells and ditches. The fields were filled with new crops: fruit (pomegranates, melons, oranges), vegetables (aubergines, artichokes), rice and cotton. Andalusi mathematicians introduced Arabic numerals (including number zero). They also introduced paper-making, chess… Many words in Spanish come from Arabic: aceite, alcalde, jinete, cero, ojalá, hola…

Dependent emirate

Independent emirate

4 stages

Caliphate of Córdoba

Taifa Kingdoms

Muslims

Society

Christians – Mozarabs

Jews

AL-ANDALUS

Mosque

Souk

Parts of

the city

Medina

Alcazaba

Agricultural techniques

Paper-making

Legacy

Mathematics

Language

Timeline

th

th

th

th

10

11

12

century

century

century

century

817 County of Aragon

1035 Kingdom of Castile

1137 Crown of Aragon

830 Kingdom of Pamplona

1139 Kingdom of Portugal

854 Astur-Leonese Kingdom

1150 Kingdom of Navarre

897 Catalan counties

Expansion of the Christian kingdoms

From the 8th century, small areas of Christian resistance to the Muslims became counties and kingdoms in the north of the Iberian Peninsula: the Kingdom of Asturias, established by Don Pelayo, who was a Christian leader in the Battle of Covadonga (722), which became part of the Kingdom of Castile in 1035), the Kingdom of Navarre, the county of Aragon, the Catalan counties. In the 11th century, the Christian monarchs started to conquer Al-Andalus. In the 13th century, following the Christian victory at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa (1212), Al-Andalus was reduced to the Kingdom of Granada. Four major Christian kingdoms were established: the Kingdom of Castile, the Kingdom of Navarre, the Crown of Aragon and the Kingdom of Portugal.

The Iberian Peninsula in the 11th century

The Iberian Peninsula in the 13th century

The Reconquista

Between the 8th and the 15th centuries, the Christian kingdoms expanded in to the south of the Iberian Peninsula, conquering lands from Al-Andalus, in a process called The Reconquista.

• Alfonso VI was king of Castile. In 1085 he conquered Toledo.
• In 1212 the Christians won the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa, and Al-Andalus was reduced to the Kingdom of Granada.
• Jaime I was king of Aragon. In 1229 he conquered the Balearic Islands and in 1244 he conquered parts of Valencia.
• Fernando III was king of Castile and Leon. He conquered Córdoba in 1236 and Sevilla in 1248.
• Granada was the las Muslim Kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula. Christians conquered Granada in 1492.

Medieval society

There were three social groups in the Christian kingdoms:

• The nobles fought wars. They were the king’s vassals and provided him with men and weapons.
• The clergy worshipped God. The monks and nuns wrote manuscripts and cultivated the land. Priests looked after people and churches.
• The peasants worked the land.

The Muslims who remained living in Christian territories were called Mudejars.

The king

The nobles and the clergy

The peasants

The Medieval Castle

To defend their territory, the nobles built castles and organised large armies. Castles were fortified and located in high places. The nobles lived in castles and trained for combat. The lady of the castle gave orders to the servants.

The lands of the fiefdom

Most of the population were peasants, serfs, who worked for a feudal lord. They had to give him part of their harvest. The peasants’ living conditions were very difficult, they were often hungry. They grew cereals, pulses, vegetables, vineyards and orchards. Their tools and agricultural techniques were very simple.

Farmland The serfs worked the land. They got firewood from the forest. Cows grazed on the pastures.

The lord’s domain The lord lived in a castle. The peasants had to pay to him to use the forest and windmill.

Villages Peasants lived in small villages, with a church in the centre. Peasant houses were made of adobe walls, thatched roofs and dirt floors.

windmill

pastures

church

watermill

hunting

forests

isolated farm

A medieval fiefdom

vegetable gardens

castle

A Castilian city

The most important buildings (city hall and cathedral) were in the main square. The city’s festivals and religious celebrations took place here.

The wall protected the city. Its gates were closed at night.

hospital

castle

city hall

market

cathedral

main square

hospice

Jewish quarter

People who lived in the city were free and did not depend on a feudal lord. They worked in trade or as artisans (forming guilds), they made up a new social group: the bourgeoisie.

Cities were divided into districts, made up of narrow streets (made of mud), that formed different neighbourhoods.

synagogue

cemetery

slums

monastery

Romanesque Churches

Church of San Martin de Frómista (Palencia), 11th century.

Cathedral of Zamora, 12th century.

Gothic Cathedrals

Palma de Mallorca Cathedral, 13th century.

Cathedral of Burgos, 13th century.

the first Christian areas

3 stages

territorial

repopulation

king

The Christian kingdoms

(9th - 14th centuries)

nobles

privileged

2 social groups

clergy

non-privileged

peasants

bourgeoisie

Castilian cities

guilds

Romanesque

Medieval art

Gothic