A History of Spain / founded on the Historia de España y de la civilización española of Rafael Altamira

by Charles E. Chapman; Rafael Altamira

Superstition.

Sports.

In general social customs, so far as they relate to the upper classes, for the practices of the humbler elements are less well known, this era was marked by great immorality, license in expression (even when referring to matters of religion), luxury, a desire for honors and noble rank (even to the point of falsely pretending to them), the mixture of an appetite for knowledge with the pursuit of superstitions, and the exaggerated practice of chivalric principles (professed more as an affectation than with sincerity). The luxury of the times manifested itself in the usual ways, and it is worthy of note that members of the middle class were now able to vie with the nobles. Women painted and powdered and used exaggerated effects in their dress, and men wore high-heeled boots, employed various devices to correct the natural defects of the body, and used perfumes. Foreign influences entered to modify clothing so that it tended more to fit the body than before, with a resulting abandonment of the flowing garments of earlier times. Men often wore stockings of different colors, a feather in their hat, and a much-adorned, variegated cape. Color, too, was equally prominent for its diversity in women’s dress, but the dress itself allowed greater freedom of movement than the earlier styles had done. Superstitions were prevalent, from the alchemy and astrology of the learned, to the various forms of divination and ancient practices—such, for example, as the mass for the dead dedicated to living persons—of the common people. Jousts and tourneys and attempts to imitate the warlike feats of the heroes of fiction in such works as Amadís de Gaula (of which later) formed a part of the chivalric customs of the day. Bull-fighting was clearly in existence by the time of Alfonso X, and thenceforth enjoyed great popularity.[39]

In social and political institutions Aragon proper, Catalonia, and Valencia still differed from one another sufficiently to merit separate treatment. While in many ways their customs were like those of Castile there were certain variations worthy of record.

Aragon proper

Social differences in Aragon proper.

Prior to the reign of Pedro IV the nobles increased their authority both with respect to their rights over the lower classes and in the exercise of political power, but if Pedro reduced their privileges in the latter respect neither he nor his successors did anything to prepare the emancipation of the servile classes. The nobles retained their social privileges even to the extent of procuring a law in 1451 doing away with the royal practice of granting titles of nobility of the lower grades. Feudalism continued, though in a modified form, for if the nobles could receive lands from the king and reissue them to vassals of their own they were obliged to return them to the king whenever he should ask them to do so, and were not allowed to build castles without his consent; moreover, there were various other limitations on their former nearly absolute sway. They collected taxes for themselves, and were exempt from paying them to the royal treasury, but were under the necessity of rendering military service when called upon. The clergy gained increased social importance just as it did in Castile, and the middle class became a prominent factor with the development of the towns, though far from attaining to the high place of the same element in Castile. The towns followed a divided policy, for those of the north were feudal in type and allied with the nobility, while those of the south were more democratic and royal. The condition of the servile classes was even worse than before, and no serious attempt was made either by them or the Cortes to relieve their hard lot.[40] The laws continued to recognize the lord’s right to deal with them as he pleased, and even to kill them, and lands were still sold with the men and women both Christians and others who dwelt thereon. The history of the Jews and Mudéjares followed the same course that it did in Castile. Not merely in Aragon proper but in all the dominions of the crown the Jews were subjected to exceedingly harsh treatment. The Mudéjares of both Aragon and Valencia were protected by the kings and the nobles with a view to keeping their lands occupied so that they might not fail to yield rents and taxes, and in both regions the rural population was principally Mudéjar. The Roman law exercised a powerful influence in Aragon as elsewhere. Thus freedom of testament was introduced, and primogeniture attained to a predominant place. The guilds did not advance to the point reached in Castile, existing rather for purposes of mutual aid, and lacking the technical regulations of the Castilian guilds.

Catalonia

Revolts of the serfs.

There are two prime facts in the social history of Catalonia in this period: the uprising of the serfs; and the outstanding importance of the cities, especially Barcelona. The first marked the decline of the nobility and the appearance of a new social factor; the second indicated the direction which modern social organization was to take. Having lost their political power the nobles concentrated their interest on getting wealth out of their lands, especially through the tributes of their serfs. In this respect they had the enormous advantage of possessing the greater part of Catalan territory.[41] The serfs were subject to a great number of annoying personal services, and (in a typical case) to as many as thirty different tributes, most of them in kind, besides the ordinary rental for the land. They had already won a right to redeem themselves for money, and Juan I, Martín I, and María (the wife and regent of Alfonso V), as well as many jurisconsults, made some more or less ineffectual attempts to better their condition. The plagues which swept Europe in the fourteenth century were a greater aid, since laborers became scarce and therefore more desirable. By the time of Alfonso V the serfs had become sufficiently emboldened to formulate demands, on the threat of a general uprising. Alfonso accepted a sum of money from them, granted what they asked, and then withdrew his promises when the nobles also bribed him. The revolt was delayed, however, to the year 1462 in the next reign, when it formed one of the complications in the wars of Juan II against the deputation of Catalonia and the city of Barcelona. Both sides sought the aid of the serfs, but Juan was able to win them to his support, although their military operations were directed primarily against their own lords. The peace of 1472 did not solve the social question; so there was another uprising in 1475, and it was still going on at Juan’s death, in 1479, being left for solution to the reign of his son, Ferdinand.