November 23, 1248 the hosts of the king Ferdinand III [1], made up of members of Hispanic royalty, both Christian and Muslim, the latter vassals of the Holy King [2], Ricos Omes [3], fixeddalgos [4] and the prelates and members of the religious and military orders [5] entered Seville. All of them, in order of their social origin, participated in the inheritance and went on to hold public and religious positions in the city [6]. Among the great lineages who accompanied Ferdinand III some already had a great heritage in the north of the peninsula. This was the case with Don Pedro Núñez de Guzmán and Don Pedro Ponce , both married to illegitimate daughters of King Alfonso VIII and, therefore, brothers-in-law of King Fernando III [7]. But how was the relationship between the different groups that emerged in the city? The purpose of this study is to analyze how the power that the great families came to have could become the origin of the regime change carried out by King Enrique III in the face of the banderizo conflicts in the administration of the city of Seville early fifteenth century based on what is stated in the Annals by Ortiz de Zúñiga .
Rise of two great lineages:the preamble to the banderizo conflicts
Among all the lineages that settled in Seville were the Guzmanes and the Ponce , the future Ponce de Leóns. Its various branches and families came to occupy great lordships and received some of the first noble titles awarded in Andalusia [8]. Nor did they hesitate to welcome other lineages under their bosom, through marriage and trade relations. They thus formed patronage networks that over time and the different circumstances that occurred gave rise to the different banderizo conflicts that took place in Seville until well into the fifteenth century. Now, how did the situation between these two great families and their bannermen get sour until they came to confront each other with weapons?
It is interesting to know that both lineages came to unite through marriage ties on an ongoing basis . Thus, the year 1303 saw the wedding of Don Juan Alonso de Guzmán with Doña Beatriz Ponce de León. The young man was the son of Don Alonso Pérez de Guzmán, known as Guzmán el Bueno , and the Sevillian noblewoman María Alonso Coronel; The young woman, on her part, was the daughter of Don Fernán Ponce de León and Doña Urraca Gutiérrez de Meneses; all of them four great Sevillian families. But the link did not stop there, but was increased with the marriage the same year of Doña Isabel de Guzmán with Don Fernán Pérez Ponce de León, also children of the same parents [9].
But the family unions between both lineages did not stop there, as Ortiz de Zúñiga shows us . The son of don Fernán and doña Isabel, don Pedro Ponce de León, lord of Cangas and Tineo and mayordomo mayor of the king, and lord of Marchena by royal mercy of Alfonso XI, married doña Leonor de Guzmán [10]. The marriage bond between the members of both families is repeated in the ancestors of Doña Leonor de Guzmán, mother, along with King Alfonso XI, of the future King Henry II. According to Ortiz de Zúñiga, a partition deed from 1338 shows us how don Pedro Núñez, son of don Álvar Pérez de Guzmán and doña María, and married to doña Juana Ponce de León, had, among other children, doña Leonor of Guzman [11].
The work of service carried out as royal subjects, both in peace and in war, led the members of these lineages to hold numerous positions in Andalusian public life and Seville . As proof of this, prominent members of these families were regular attendees at the Courts held by the Castilian-Leonese monarchs that followed one another over the years. In fact, the members of these lineages appear in the confirmation of the numerous privileges granted by the monarchs by being members of the King's Council [12]; This is what happens in the Courts of Valladolid convened by King Ferdinand IV, where they confirmed, on April 18, 1308, the frankness and privileges given by San Fernando to the Franks neighborhood; confirmed, among others, by Archbishop Fernando, Alonso Pérez de Guzmán, Pedro Núñez and Álvar Pérez de Guzmán [13]; or the privileges to the cathedrals and clergy of the kingdom, granted on May 17, 1311 by King Ferdinand IV in the presence of the Archbishop of Seville, Don Juan Alonso de Guzmán and Don Fernán Pérez Ponce de León [14]. One could also cite, by way of example, attendance at the Cortes that took place in Valladolid between 1325 and 1326 during the reign of Don Alfonso XI. Among the representatives of the Seville town hall were Don Fernán Ponce de León, Lord of Marchena, and his son, Don Pedro Ponce de León [15].
On the other hand, as royal vassals, their participation in the war was continued and on some occasions, the kings did not hesitate to leave the administration in the south in their hands. Thus, on the death of King Sancho IV, Doña María de Molina, guardian and mother of Fernando IV, sent Don Alonso Pérez de Guzmán in 1295 to control the ambitions of power in Andalusia of the Infante Don Juan [16]. Such was the appreciation for the services rendered that Alfonso XI came to knight Pedro Ponce de León and Álvar Pérez Guzmán, among others, in Burgos [17]. Another example, among the numerous cases shown in the Annals de Ortiz de Zúñiga, took place when King Alfonso XI, in the midst of the Algeciras campaign , had to return to Madrid in 1341 and left sea affairs in the hands of Admiral Micer Egidio Bocanegra, while land affairs were left in the hands of don Juan Alonso de Guzmán, don Pedro Ponce de León and the Grand Prior of San Juan [18].
There are also numerous cases presented by Ortiz de Zúñiga regarding the participation of the Seville Council , and with him, members of these two lineages, in the numerous military campaigns that took place over the years covered by this study. Thus, in the Gibraltar campaign carried out by Alfonso XI in 1333 mention is made, among others, of Álvar Pérez de Guzmán, Juan Alonso de Guzmán –lord of San Lúcar– and Pedro Ponce de León –lord of Marchena– [19]; likewise, these last two fought against the Portuguese army, winning Villanueva de Barca-Rota in 1336 [20]. We have proof of the dedication of the members of these great lineages in the fact that some of them lost their lives in military campaigns, such as Don Alonso Pérez de Guzmán, who perished in the siege of Orihuela in 1365, forming part, together with the army of the city of Seville, from the hosts of King Pedro I. He was succeeded in office by his brother, don Juan Alonso de Guzmán [21].
Such services caused them to be benefited with different titles that helped to enhance his already extensive heritage. Thus, King Alfonso XI granted Don Pedro Ponce de León, on April 6, 1331, the town of Marchena [22]. Little by little, both the Guzmáns and the Ponce de Leóns continued to accumulate privileges granted by the monarchs, such as the concession in 1366 in the Courts of Burgos by King Enrique II of the lordship of Gibraleón to Álvar Pérez de Guzmán, who also came to hold the position of chief bailiff of Seville and the Admiralty of Castile [23]. Also, among the many privileges granted by King Henry II, called "El de las Mercedes" , in 1369 granted Juan Alonso de Guzmán, lord of San Lúcar, in consideration of his ancestry, for the services rendered and for the suffering suffered during the reign of Pedro I, the town of Niebla with the title of count and rank of mayorazgo after marrying him with Doña Juana de Castilla, daughter of Don Fadrique, deceased brother of the king. On the death of the young woman, he married Doña Beatriz de Castilla, his own daughter [24].
Flag conflicts
The aggrandizement of the great families of the Sevillian oligarchy even led to seeking their own benefit to the detriment of the interest of the city , which would lead to band conflicts. So much so that, already in 1327, King Alfonso XI gave Seville new ordinances, on the advice of Count Álvar Núñez Osorio, reserving the appointment of the ordinary Mayors, the Notaries of the Courts and the Juries to the Royal appointment [25 ]. The same reservation was made in the Ordinance granted by the king in 1337 [26]. Already in 1339 the representatives of Seville in the Cortes of Alcalá de Henares requested the restitution to Seville of the appointment of the ordinary Mayors and Notaries [27]. In the order given on July 6, 1344 by King Alfonso XI, due to breach of the previous one, he appointed Marcos García, Pasqual Ibáñez de Mendoza, Arnao Tolosán, Bartolomé de las Casas, Pasqual Pérez Trapera, Mathos González and Bartolomé Martínez as executors. of the standard [28]. It will be in 1346 when, with a new book of ordinances, King Alfonso XI returned the appointment of ordinary Mayors to Seville , having to be chosen among vassals of the king or his son, and that of the Jury to the neighbors of the collaciones [29]. It will be King Pedro I in a new notebook of ordinances issued on January 27, 1351 who will require that the Twenty-four are chosen by the king and are his vassals [30].
It must be recorded that many were the nobles who suffered the wrath of King Pedro I. As a consequence they had to leave the kingdom and joined the hosts of the future King Henry II [31]. Thus, the Annals de Ortiz de Zúñiga, show us how, after the death of King Pedro I in Montiel at the hands of his father's brother, Enrique –count of Trastámara–, he was accompanied on his return to Seville by Don Alonso Pérez de Guzmán –lord of San Lucar–, by Don Pedro Ponce de León –Lord of Marchena– and by Don Alvar Pérez de Guzmán –Alguacil Mayor and Lord of Gibraleón–, among many other knights from distinguished families [32].
King Juan I did not hesitate to confirm the privileges of the great Sevillian magnates , together with those of the city, the Church, the convents and the hospitals after acceding to the throne in 1379. Thus, the counts of Niebla and Medinaceli and the lords of Marchena, don Pedro Ponce de León, and from Gibraleón, Álvar Pérez de Guzmán [33]. They considered his absolute power and the king had to send a letter on July 24, 1388 to the Seville Regiment in which he was urged not to be vassals, nor receive maintenance or bedtime from Ricos Omes such as the Count of Niebla, the Count of Medinaceli or the Lord of Marchena, under threat of reestablishing the restrictions imposed by Alfonso XI and give the charges to other gentlemen who keep the regulations. They all obeyed until the moment of King John I's death[34].
King John I died in 1390. He left in his will as one of the prince's guardians, a minor, the Earl of Niebla , who from Andalusia tried to fulfill the will. Pedro Ponce de León -Lord of Marchena- and Álvar Pérez de Guzmán -Admiral- raised their voices against him. The earl's voice prevailed, forcing his opponents and all his supporters out of the city. Thus began the bloody banderizo conflicts in the city of Seville . The Count of Niebla did not hesitate to go to court with part of his entourage, a fact that caused his fall from grace; An opportunity that the Lord of Marchena and the Admiral took advantage of to return to Seville and take up their former commands, to the exclusion of those who opposed them. In this way, the interest in his own side caused that the affairs of the city were left aside, before the civil discord of the banderizos .
So much so, that according to Ortiz de Zúñiga , paraphrasing Chronicler Gil Gonzalez, "[...] it turned out [...] to make the government sick in such a way that in the collection of taxes each one put his hand as far as he could, many paying the ambition of few." The years 1393 and 1394 were a new impetus for band conflicts. This time by the Admiralty of the Sea, occupied by Don Álvar Pérez de Guzmán and granted by royal privilege to Don Diego Hurtado de Mendoza, supported by the Count of Niebla. Don Álvar Pérez de Guzmán returned to the chief bailiff and lost the admiralty. The conflict had reached such a point that not even the intervention of the elected Archbishop Don Gonzalo de Mena could bring the positions of both sides closer together .
The year 1398 saw a resurgence of the Sevillian banderizo conflicts . On this occasion it was the opposition of the House of Marchena to the appointment of Don Henrique as Count of Niebla. Neither the mediation of Archbishop Don Gonzalo de Mena nor the royal mandates managed to temper the spirits. The "scandals, homicides, violence, robberies and calamities" returned to rage in the city, which again caused the division of the council. According to the Annals , in 1399 (perhaps it is the visit of 1402), King Enrique III went to Seville in order to remedy the situation . After closing the gates of the city, he ordered the banderizo chiefs, the mayors, and the Twenty-Four to be summoned to the Alcázar. , to urge them to comply with their obligations, under threat of subjecting them to capital punishment. Many of them were in prison, some were even subjected to torture. Both the Count of Niebla and Don Pedro Ponce de León, after being put in prison, were ordered to leave the city without further punishment in gratitude for the services provided by their parents. The banderizo conflicts culminated in 1402, when King Enrique III returned to Seville due to the persistence of the same problem . At that time, he chose to appoint Dr. Juan Alonso de Toro, a member of the Royal Council, as corregidor, and Diego García de Toledo, his chamber clerk, Micer Ventolín, his maestresala, Juan Martínez de Sevilla, a owner of the Fleets, and Bartolomé Martínez de Sevilla, its treasurer.
Conclusion
Even with the established changes, from the sample of charges that can be seen in numerous documents after 1402, as Ortiz de Zúñiga affirms, it can be verified that many of the officials from the Seville council continued to hold their positions; and even more; the banderizo conflicts in the city of Seville remained in force for much of the fifteenth century , with bloody fights in which many of the stately homes and the towers of the churches of the different collaciones came to be constituted as strongholds of defense.
Bibliography
Primary sources
- ORTIZ DE ZÚÑIGA, Diego:Ecclesiastical and Secular Annals of the Very Noble and Very Loyal City of Seville , Volumes I-II, Madrid, Imprenta Real, 1795.
Secondary sources
- ÁLVAREZ PALENZUELA, Vicente Ángel (Coord.):History of Spain in the Middle Ages , Barcelona, Ariel, 2011.
- DÍAZ IBÁÑEZ, Jorge:“Church and nobility in late medieval Seville”, in Yearbook of Medieval Studies , 39/2, July-December 2009, p. 877-931.
- FUERTES DE GILBERT ROJO, Manuel (Baron de Gavin):Corporate nobility in Spain:nine centuries of noble entities , Madrid, Ediciones Hidalguía-UNED, 2007.
- MARTÍN RODRÍGUEZ, José-Luis:Manual of History of Spain. 2. Medieval Spain , Madrid, History 16, 1993.
- MARTÍNEZ RUIZ, Enrique and MAQUEDA, Consuelo (Coords.):Historical Atlas of Spain I , Madrid, Ediciones Itsmo S.A., 2000.
- MAYORALDO Y LODO, José Miguel de (Count of Acevedos):History and legal regime of titles of nobility , Madrid, Ediciones Hidalguía-UNED, 2007.
- MEDINA MOLERA, Antonio (Dir.):History of Andalusia II , Dos Hermanas (Seville), Biblioteca de Ediciones Andaluzas S.A., 1981.
- MENÉNDEZ PIDAL, Faustino:The nobility in Spain:Ideas, Structures, Stories , Madrid, Royal Academy of History-Official State Gazette, 2015.
- MONSALVO ANTÓN, José María:Historical Atlas of Medieval Spain , Madrid, Editorial Síntesis S.A., 2010.
- SALAZAR Y ACHA, Jaime de:Spanish Genealogy Manual , Madrid, Hidalguía Editions, 2006.
- SÁNCHEZ SAUS, Rafael:“The social origins of the Sevillian aristocracy of the fifteenth century”, in The Andalusian nobility in the Middle Ages , Granada, University of Granada and University of Cadiz, 2005, pp. 1119-1139.
- VALDEÓN BARUQUE, Julio:"The «Hundred Years' War»", in ÁLVAREZ (Ed.):Universal History of the Middle Ages , Barcelona, Ariel, 2013, p. 672-676.
Notes
[1] he was crowned King of Castile in 1217. Already in 1230 he was also crowned King of León on the death of Alfonso IX. For more detail on the conquests of both monarchs, see GARCÍA TURZA, Javier:“El final de la Reconquista”, in ÁLVAREZ PALENZUELA, Vicente Ángel (Coord.):History of Spain in the Middle Ages , Barcelona, Ariel, 2011. , p. 478-482 and MARTÍN RODRÍGUEZ, José-Luis:Manual of History of Spain. 2. Medieval Spain , Madrid, History 16, 1993, p. 351-352.
[2] ORTIZ DE ZÚÑIGA, Diego:Ecclesiastical and Secular Annals of the Very Noble and Very Loyal City of Seville , Volume I, Madrid, Imprenta Real, 1795, pp. 17 and 50 (illustrated and corrected by D. Antonio María Espinosa y Cárcel)). In these pages you can see how the representatives of the kingdoms of Portugal, Aragon and Castilla-León participated in the campaign.
[3] Among them were already families such as the Guzmán, the Ponce, the Ribera (who settled later), the López de Haro, the González Girón, the Téllez de Meneses, the Álvarez de Lara or the Pérez de Toledo (Ibídem , p. 81 and 169-170).
[4] According to the Annals, “ [D]e the two hundred Fixesdalgo [who were participants in the inheritance of Seville] it was intended that the Sevillian nobility leave, forcing them to reside, although some families ended, others were absent and others declined, giving up their assets” (Ibid , p. 185-186). Among them were already families such as the Finestrosa, the Cervantes, the Gallego, the Ortiz or the Medina. For a more in-depth study of the origins of the Sevillian nobility, consult the chapter written by Sánchez Saus (SÁNCHEZ SAUS, Rafael:“Los origins sociales de la aristocracia sevillana del siglo XV”, in La nobility andaluza en la Average , Granada, University of Granada and University of Cadiz, 2005, pp. 1119-1139).
[5] ORTIZ: op. cit. , Volume I, p. 51. Here Ortiz de Zúñiga shows a large number of prelates who participated with their hosts in the conquest of Seville. Among them were don Gutierre, elect of Toledo, or don Remondo, the chancellor mayor of Fernando III, bishop of Segovia and future archbishop of Seville. It also records the religious and military orders that were present in the conquest campaign, all of them inherited in May or to a lesser extent in the repartimiento of the city or even before it. With regard to military orders, it is also worth noting what is stated in FUERTES DE GILBERT ROJO, Manuel (Barón de Gavin):Corporate nobility in Spain:nine centuries of noble entities , Madrid, Ediciones Hidalguía-UNED, 2007, pp. 107, 109 and 111.
[6] According to the Annals Under Ortiz de Zúñiga, the composition of the Sevillian Cabildo was as follows:
“[…]four mayors, one alguacil mayor, thirty-six aldermen, half of the estate of knights, and half of the estate of citizens, of which the voice was formed, Council, Mayors, Sheriff, Knights and Good Omes of Seville, decorated in the style of very nobles, seventy-two Jurors, six ordinary Mayors, three knights and three citizens, one Mayor of justice, another of the land, and a competent number, although not large at the time, of Bailiffs, Notaries, Porters of summons, and other ministries of justice and government, all, except the ordinary Mayors, at royal mercy, these at the annual election of the Cabildo, and that of the jurors, to that of the neighbors of their collaciones or neighborhoods. In the Cabildo, which the common voice called the Council, and in its Town Hall meetings, in imitation of Toledo, the Alguacil Mayor and Alcaldes Mayores, the Aldermen, had a vote, and by reason of their dignities, the Admiral Mayor of the Sea, and the Alcayde de los Reales Alcázares […] The administration of their own was entrusted each year to two Regidores, one from each state, who were called Mayordomos de Concejo. They could not hold a Cabildo without the Alguacil Mayor, or one of the Mayores Mayores, and doing in the Los Olmos corral […] They had the entire political and military government of the city and the kingdom, and the Adelantado de Andalucía was the head of it:The chief bailiff was the executing arm of everything and of justice, to whom it also belonged to be the city's own leader in wars, and to take out his banner that he had in his guard” (ORTIZ:op.cit. , p. 76-78).
Other public positions in the south that were based in Seville were that of Admiral Mayor (in any of its names), together with the Court of its Court, the Admiralty of Andalusia and the major notary of Andalusia. To see the definitions of each of these positions, you can consult the section "Dignities, positions and trades of the Old Regime" of the work SALAZAR Y ACHA, Jaime de:Manual de Genealogía Española , Madrid, Hidalguía Editions, 2006, pp. 322-323 and 327-328).
On the other hand, the nobility did not hesitate, as a means of increasing their power and patrimony, to seek, even, to position members of the different houses in ecclesiastical positions, and even reach to seize their rents (see DÍAZ IBÁÑEZ, Jorge:“Church and nobility in late medieval Seville”, in Anuario de Estudios Medievales , 39/2, July-December 2009, p. 877-931).
For more general information on inheritance, see MARTÍNEZ RUIZ, Enrique and MAQUEDA, Consuelo (Coords.):Historical Atlas of Spain I , Madrid, Ediciones Itsmo S.A., 2000, p. 113 and MONSALVO ANTÓN, José María:Historical Atlas of Medieval Spain , Madrid, Editorial Síntesis S.A., 2010, p. 189.
[7] ORTIZ:op. cit. , Volume I, p. 50-51. Likewise, Diego López de Haro and Nuño González de Lara, also married to illegitimate daughters of King Alfonso VIII, participated in the conquest campaigns.
[8] MENÉNDEZ PIDAL, Faustino:The nobility in Spain:Ideas, Structures, Stories , Madrid, Royal Academy of History-Official State Gazette, 2015, pp. 153-154. For further information on the granting of noble titles in Spain, consult the work MAYORALDO Y LODO, José Miguel de (Count de los Acevedos):History and legal regime of noble titles , Madrid, Ediciones Hidalguía-UNED, 2007.
[9] ORTIZ DE ZÚÑIGA, Diego:Ecclesiastical and Secular Annals of the Very Noble and Very Loyal City of Seville , Volume II, Madrid, Imprenta Real, 1795, pp. 26-27 (illustrated and corrected by D. Antonio María Espinosa y Cárcel). The work SALAZAR:op. cit. , p. 26-27.
[10] Ibid , p. 78.
[11] Ibid , p. 73.
[12] MENÉNDEZ:op. cit. , p. 167.
[13] ORTIZ:op. cit. , Volume II, p. 34.
[14] Ibid , p. 44-45.
[15] Ibid , p. 68-69.
[16] Ibid , p. 1-2. On the mandate of the Infante Don Henrique and Queen Doña María de Molina during Fernando IV's minority, see MARTÍN:op. cit. , p. 607-614.
[17] ORTIZ:op. cit. , Volume II, p. 80.
[18] Ibid , p. 106. To treat in greater depth the different campaigns of the last decade of the reign of Alfonso XI
[19] ORTIZ:op. cit. , Volume II, p. 83.
[20] Ibid , p. 90-91. This battle takes place after Badajoz is besieged by the Portuguese army. In their aid were those of the Guzmanes and the Ponce, together with the Council of Seville, with Don Henrique Anríquez at the head of it. They were also joined by the Council of Córdoba.
[21] Ibid , p. 166. The siege of Orihuela took place within the confrontation between King Pedro I of Castile and León and King Pedro IV the Ceremonious of Aragon. This war was known as the War of the Two Peters. For more information on the events that took place, see CABRERA SÁNCHEZ, Margarita:“A stage of authoritarianism”, in ÁLVAREZ (coord.):op. cit. , p. 655-656.
[22] ORTIZ:op. cit. , Volume II, p. 78.
[23] Ibid , p. 197-198.
[24] Ibid , p. 184-185.
[25] Ibid , p. 74-75.
[26] Ibid , p. 92-94.
[27] Ibid , p. 96-97.
[28] Ibid , p. 113-114. It is also observed in this text by Ortiz de Zúñiga how certain salaries were regulated, such as the ministerial salaries of the city and those of the tenures of certain castles. In these ordinances, the tenure of Seville and the banner of the city were given to the chief bailiff, Don Alonso Fernández Coronel. On the control of the Cortes see MARTÍN:op. cit. , p. 621-623 and ROJAS GABRIEL, Manuel:“The triumph of the monarchies”, in ÁLVAREZ (coord.):op. cit. , p. 628-634.
[29] Ibid , p. 116-117.
[30] Ibid , p. 127-128. In principle it was considered that the Twenty-four were twelve knights and twelve citizens.
[31] To delve into the struggles between Pedro I and his half-brother Enrique de Trastámara, the future Enrique II, see MARTÍN: op. cit. , p. 640-644 and VALDEÓN BARUQUE, Julio:“La Revolución Trastámara”, in ÁLVAREZ (coord.):op. cit. , p. 669-685. The struggles between the two in the framework of the Hundred Years' War is treated by Julio Valdeón in the work VALDEÓN BARUQUE, Julio:"The «Hundred Years' War»", in ÁLVAREZ (Ed.):Historia Universal of the Middle Ages , Barcelona, Ariel, 2013, p. 672-676.
[32] ORTIZ:op. cit. , Volume II, p. 183.
[33] Ibid , p. 210-211. The way in which Enrique II had to pay for the help offered by the great lords was to grant them privileges that allowed them to make their vassals and, therefore, dependent on their network of influence, the council positions (MEDINA MOLERA, Antonio (Dir. ):History of Andalusia II , Dos Hermanas (Seville), Biblioteca de Ediciones Andaluzas S.A., 1981, p. 353).
[34] Ibid , p. 227-229. According to Sánchez Saus, as a result of the factional conflicts, “The factional agitation deepens and extends the control of those in conflict over the city, since its dynamic tends to incorporate the powers and people who were neutral until then.”