Territorial Nobility and Council Politics in the Fifteenth Century: the Town Councils of the Tagus River Basin

Abstract

En el estudio de las ciudades medievales no es raro que la nobleza territorial quede relativamente en penumbra, llegando incluso a entenderla ajena al sistema urbano. Sin embargo, una mirada simplemente superficial descubre con facilidad que su presencia en la vida ciudadana era muy considerable y así se ha destacado ya en varias investigaciones. Además, es tan grande la complejidad que presenta el influjo de los nobles en la misma que parece oportuno profundizar en los distintos papeles que efectivamente desempeñan y, al mismo tiempo, recapitular la problemática desde una perspectiva comparativa. Así pues, para alcanzar tales objetivos, recurriremos a la observación de los núcleos situados en el centro del reino castellano, a lo largo del río TajoIn research concerning medieval towns, it is not unusual for the territorial nobility to be neglected as a political player, even to the point of being considered an outsider to the urban system. However, even a quick view will easily reveal its considerable presence in municipal life, as previously demonstrated in various studies. Furthermore, the complex nature of the presence of the nobility is so great that it becomes essential to delve into the different roles they played, as well as review the issue from a comparative standpoint. Hence, in order to accomplish this task we will focus on the analysis of various town councils in the heart of the Kingdom of Castile along the Tagus river basi