Early Modern European History

Historical Weekend Walks: Alcázar of Seville (al-Qasr al-Muriq), Seville, Spain

Lockdowns are frustrating. Especially in the autumn/winter season because festive spirit isn’t quite there yet and the weather is, quite frankly, bad. In fact, Lockdowns are a constantly ongoing greyish mess. To dilute your Lockdown blues, we’re introducing a series of posts that will be produced on weekly basis, ‘Historical Weekend Walks’. In these posts we’ll be choosing one historical location and we’ll be giving you a mini-tour of the place by using our very own photos(which were not made in 2020)!

Our first ‘walk’ will take place in Alcázar of Seville, or as it’s known in Arabic, al-Qasr al-Muriq.

The Lion’s Gate entrance. For those of you who’d seen ‘The Game of Thrones’ you may recognise this location from the fifth season of the show.

Although the location of this royal residence could be traced back to 8th century, the Alcazar we see now was largely build during 11-12th centuries during the Mutamid and Almohad periods. Coincidentally, these periods corresponded with a rise in socio-cultural developments and permitted the location to become one of the key non-Christian centres of arts and learning on the Iberian Peninsula.

In our day and age tourists enter Alcazar through the Lion’s Gate, which is one of the side entrances to the palace.

SOURCE TIME: (and you thought that we’ll miss out the opportunity to introduce you to some literary sources!) This is a poem by a famous Islamic poet Ibn Zaydun. Although written about another palace, what can you find out about Islamic attitudes towards either palaces or an elite culture within the palaces? Think about how the construction of the poem helps you to understand what the palace culture was like. (cc: https://www.islamicspain.tv/arts-and-literature/poems-from-al-andalus/)

After entering the palace and passing through an ancient arch you end up in mini-square, called the Patio de la Montería (or the Court of the Hunters), through which you can proceed in different paths to explore the palace. As you can see from the photos below, the overall architectural style of the Alcazar combines a lot of differing architectural influences. Indeed, the traditional ‘flat’ columns cohabitate with the Islamic-style carvings, thus uniting the aesthetic of the façade. Such a somewhat patchy style occurred probably due to King Peter I and his architects attempting to incorporate traditional European styles into Islamic building in 1360s.

The Patio de la Montería. View from the entrance to it.

After leaving the Patio, you can wonder off into different directions. We decided to follow the steps of various diplomats and slip into the Ambassador’s Room.

Architectural details of the entrance to the Ambassador’s Room

Detail: Balcony inside the Ambassador’s Room.

The Hall of the Ambassadors, was build by Seville craftsman Diego Ruiz in 1389, following the orders of Pedro I. The room mainly uses a Moorish style as the bottom half of the room is rich with Islamic geometric patterns. However, the top half is decorated by methods that are traditional to Western architecture. This could be seen most clearly in the predominant usage of golden decorations as well as portraits of various kings in a usual high Renaissance or Baroque style.

To give you a better idea about the size and layout of the room, here is a very short clip of the room.

When we left the Hall of the Ambassadors we popped into the Patio de las Muñecas (Patio of the Dolls). Decorated by delicate carvings and plaster works that seem typical to the Iberian Peninsula, the top section of the carvings in the balcony-like structure, were not part of the original ensemble as they were only added to the room in 19th century for Queen Isabel II. The lower half, however is the original work.

Think like a Historian:
Is it generally a useful idea for a figure in power to show off their lavish lifestyle if the country is going through a period of political and economic instability? Why do you think so? Can you come up with some historical examples?

Having cooled down within the walls of the palace we decided to face the blazes of the Spanish sun and we went on to explore the outside sections of the palace.

Patio of the Maidens, with Charles V’s emblem incorporated into the Moorish design.

Located near the Patio of the Dolls, we found the Patio of the Maidens. This patio derives its name from an old local legend that mentions that this pond was originally filled with the tears of 100 Christian virgins as means to pay tribute to the Moors.

Think like a Historian:
Can local legends be used by historians to reconstruct a society that they’re studying? Why do you think so?

From this patio you can sneak into the Gothic Palace that was mostly developed by Charles V in 16th century and by Bourbon monarchs in 18th century. As you can see the architectural style is very different to the other parts of the palace.

Although not strictly related to the Alcazar, this video discusses the start of the Spanish Civil War. This video may be helpful for you to answer some of the questions which this post asks.

The key location to visit in this part of the palace are the Salones de Carlo V (Halls of Charles V) which consist of the Grand Hall and the Hall of the Tapestries. Whilst the Grand Hall, which was constructed in 1929 for the Ibero-American exposition in 1929 during the reign of Alfonso XIII, may not be as interesting for some, a location that may be more intriguing is the Hall of the Tapestries.

The Hall of the Tapestries was build during the 18th century. The construction was begun under Charles V, with an overall aim to celebrate his own military victories. However, by 18th century these tapestries began to wear down and needed to be fixed. As a result, the ‘updated’ tapestries now cohabitate with the ‘new’ 18th century tapestries that were made by the Royal Tapestry Factory in Spain following the commission of the Spanish Crown.

Think like a Historian:
Why do you think different tapestries were chosen to be put into the same room to celebrate Charles V’s victories? Think about the way how some rulers chose to justify their reign throughout historical continuity.

A mini-photo dump of the photos that were made in the neighbouring gardens of the Palace.

If you’re interested to explore the topic further…

If you’re interested in reading more about the Moorish Spain, may we recommend Richard Fletcher’s Moorish Spain. It contains a very readable style and introduces core concepts that are related to this period in Iberian history.
If you’re interested in finding out about the architectural style of Moorish Spain, may we suggest either Moorish Architecture by Marianne Barrucand or Felix Arnold’s Islamic Palace Architecture in the Western Mediterranean: A History.
Unfortunately we were unable to find any historical documentaries that contextualise Alcazar in Seville. However, what we did find were some historical music from the region!

Enjoy the music and see you next week when we will travel to yet another Moorish palace this time in Granada! ☺️

The Golden Ages: Spain (2/?)

In the previous post we have briefly introduced and discussed a concept of the ‘Golden Age’ and how it is understood by those who study early-modern Spanish history. As promised, in the next few posts we will be diving more in depth of how the Spanish ‘Golden Age’ came to be and what kind of cultural artefacts it produced. This specific post will focus on the developments and strengthening of the Spanish government that allowed for relative political stability within the European part of the realm.

Think like a Historian:
What makes a strong government? Can you give historical or contemporary examples of situations where you think a government has been either strong or weak? Why do you think so?

The role of Isabella and Ferdinand

Given that Isabella and Ferdinand assumed their respective Crowns after a period of major political instability they had to focus on establishing strong, long-during, political ties with their subjects. A key element of this was the establishment of a stable relationship between the Spanish Crown and Spain’s nobility, which was mainly done by the Crown’s attempts to impose a higher degree of royal authority on the nobility throughout the course of their reign. The Crown’s attempts to foster such relationships mainly took a form of surrounding the Royal Court with prestige. For example, the power of nobility was limited by switching their attention from inner rivalries to pursuing the knightly culture and chivalric activities, such as jousts and tournaments as well as participating in motto writing competitions[1]. Furthermore, the majority of the nobles, who had fought against the Crown, were pacified by being granted various pardons by the monarchs[2]. Various actions, such as the ones mentioned above, allowed the Crown to establish a more positive image in the minds of the ex-rebels as well as the supporters of the Crown.

This is a brief video that explains the concept of chivalry and its role in a Mediaeval society.

This is another video that focuses on explaining what Mediaeval Romances were and places them within a literary context.

Just as Isabella and Ferdinand had to control various individuals to lay foundations to political stability, they also had to impose their royal authority onto the contemporaneous Institutions. One of such Institutions was the Cortes which had attempted to disregard the monarchy at the start of their reign. In order to secure their power over the Cortes, the Crown employed the corregidores from 1480[3]; replaced all nobility within the Council of Castile with letrados, educated lawyers; and extensively used the royal progress[4]. This reform proved to be efficient as the revenue from Castilian lands increased from 800 000 maravedís in 1470 to 22 million in 1504[5], thus demonstrating that people accepted the royal authority of the Crown and therefore allowing the Crown to strengthen their control of the localities. Consequently, Isabella and Ferdinand managed to lay down the foundations for political stability as they mostly subdued the Spanish nobility and the local governing bodies.

The role of Charles V

Nevertheless, despite Ferdinand and Isabella vastly increasing the authority of the Crown in the eyes of the nobility, their successor, Charles V, was faced with a major revolt at the start of his reign. This revolt, led by the Communeros, challenged Charles’s authority as king.

SOURCE TIME: Here is a list of demands produced by a group of rebels during the Communeros revolt. What conclusions can you draw from this source about the issues which Charles V was faced with when he assumed the Spanish throne? How wide-spread do you think such grievances were and to what extent could Isabella and Ferdinand could be said to have created a weak relationship between the Crown and the localities? (cc: Ed., Jon Cowans, Early Modern Spain: A Documentary History, (Philadelphia, 2003), pp. 46-48)

Yet, due to the revolt disintegrating as soon as Charles met some of the demands, such as employing Castilians in governmental bodies, it was highly likely that Charles did indeed benefit from the previously established foundations in the relationship between the nobility and the Crown. As a result, Charles continued to extend his royal authority further.

Although the Crown and the Cortes continued to borrow extensively from foreign investors for his military campaigns despite the despite the 1530s influx of bullion from the New World, Charles was mostly successful at continuing to control the Cortes. This was achieved by predominantly by Charles employing skilful locals, such as Cobos, that constituted the majority out of pre-existing letrados[6]. Such personnel was able to effectively govern multiple councils, including the Council of Finance, created in 1523. Success of such changes was evident by the Cortes supporting Charles’ extensive military campaigns as in 1528 when the French forces besieged Milan and Naples, the Cortes willingly approved a subsidy of 533,333 ducats for Charles to utilise in the war[7]. Consequently, Isabella and Ferdinand certainly contributed for laying the foundations to the ‘Golden Age’ as the Crown relied on its stable authority, thus allowing Charles to have greater control of his empire.

A short video about Charles V’s foreign policy as well as some bits of his domestic policy. Don’t be alarmed at the fact that the video’s description says that he was a Holy Roman Emperor. He held two titles- that of the Spanish monarch and the Holy Roman Emperor.

The role of Philip II

As a result of the internal political efforts of Isabella and Ferdinand and Charles, Philip felt more secure in terms of his state’s unity than any of his predecessors. This could be seen in Philip’s preference of the centralised system of government throughout his reign, rather than continuing to utilise the peripatetic kingship. The Royal Court, having settled in Madrid in 1561, became the centre of Philip’s conciliar system. Such an approach allowed Philip to become personally involved with the matters of his Empire as all of the information about it went through Philip’s hands. Although such a process was a time-consuming one, it was nevertheless highly effective. This was mainly due to Philip’s continuing to use skilful letrados who performed both executive and legislative roles. This was beneficent for Philip because he was able to dictate his own rules to the Cortes, thus changing the prior trend. For example, despite the backward nature of the Council of Finance and Spain’s reliance on foreign bankers, the Spanish Crown was still able to collect triple number of ducats in 1590s in comparison to 1559[8]. Consequently, the fact that Philip managed to slightly alter the style of rule and to utilise it to his advantage demonstrates that he was working on already pre-established foundations, which were laid by Isabella and Ferdinand.

SOURCE TIME: This is a portrait of Philip II’s son, Prince Don Carlos. This portrait provides an idealised image of the Prince and it was painted after his very mysterious death at a young age. Why do you think this portrait was painted? Also think about what it shows what Philip II saw as an important part of the government. (photo cc: Rimma)

Think like a Historian:
Do you think a conciliar government is useful for a monarch? Do you think conciliar government still exists today?

Important vocabulary

Chivalric (n. chivalry): a way of behaviour that was followed by Medieval knights, that placed emphasis on honour and courage
The Cortes: One of the key administrative institutions within the Spanish government
The corregidores (pl.): A Spanish government official
Letrados (pl.): A lawyer or a judge in early-modern Spain
Maravedís: A system of currency in early-modern Spain
Peripatetic kingship: A method of governing a country, that was popular amongst Mediaeval rulers. It is mostly characterised by the Royal Court continuously moving around the country, from one location to the other.
Conciliar system: A system of government that functions on many councils being responsible for an individual aspect of government, such as finances or education.

To explore this topic further…

If you’re interested in exploring the Spanish ‘Golden Age’, then I would recommend reading Henry Kamen’s Spain 1469-1714: A Society of Conflict (Great Britain, 2005). It is a very neat discussion on how the ‘Golden Age’ of Spain came to be as well as its cultural implications.
If you’re interested in the roles of Isabella and Ferdinand, J. Edwards’ Ferdinand and Isabella: Profiles in Power is a very comprehensible source to begin with.
This is a quick link to the narrative of events of what had happened to Don Carlos.
To keep things interesting, there even is an opera that is based on these events. It’s called Don Carlos (surprising turn of events, we know).

This is an entire opera that was recorded in Vienna in 2015.

Footnotes

[1] J. Edwards, Ferdinand and Isabella: Profiles in Power (2013, USA), 136

[2] Ibid.

[3] Robert S. Chamberlain, ‘The Corregidor in Castile in the Sixteenth Century and the Residencia as Applied to the Corregidor’ in The Hispanic American Historical Review (1943), pp. 222-257

[4]Henry Kamen, Spain 1469-1714: A Society of Conflict (Great Britain, 2005), p.17

[5] Robert S. Chamberlain, ‘The Corregidor in Castile in the Sixteenth Century and the Residencia as Applied to the Corregidor’ in The Hispanic American Historical Review (May, 1943), pp. 222-257

[6] Aurelio Espinosa, The Empire of the Cities: Emperor Charles V, the Communero Revolt and the Transformation of the Spanish System (Netherlands, 2009), p. 211

[7] Aurelio Espinosa, The Spanish Reformation: Institutional Reform, Taxation, and the Secularization of

Ecclesiastical Properties under Charles V, The Sixteenth Century Journal, Vol. 37, No. 1 (2006), pp. 3-24

[8] John Lynch, Spain Under the Habsburgs in Volume 1: Empire and Absolutism, 1516-1598 (Oxford, 1981), pp. 188-89

The Golden Ages: Spain (1/?)

When studying various topics historians come up with a wide range of terms to describe a specific period-‘Middle Ages’, ‘Classical Antiquity’, ‘Enlightenment’, ‘Modern’, ‘Renaissance’ and ‘Golden Age’. This series of posts will attempt to discuss and to explore a wide range of ‘Golden ages’, whilst keeping the content entertaining and informative as usual. We’re starting off with the Spanish one and then will be travelling around the globe to see whether any of them have any similarities. Enjoy!

Think like a Historian:
Why do you think historians come up with various names to describe a specific historical period?

What is a ‘Golden age’?

The ‘Golden Age’ is a term that is usually employed by historians to describe a period of cultural flourishing which manifests itself in prospering of the arts, such as painting and architecture. Depending on the conditions in which a specific ‘Golden Age’ arises there is a strong economy, but such cases are rare.

This is an extract from a 1605 novel ‘*Don Quixote’ by* Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra. In this extract the main character, an impoverished and slightly mad knight, Don Quixote talks about an ideal world he would like to live in. (cc: http://cervantes.tamu.edu/V2/CPI/TEI/TEI_1605/1605/1605/chapter11.html )

This a short introductory video to the Spanish ‘Golden Age’. It covers the core concepts extremely well.

Spanish ‘Golden Age’: A brief introduction

When historians discuss the Spanish ‘Golden Age’ they usually refer to the reign of Philip II, during which Spain experienced a rapid development of the arts and culture. The foundations to this phenomena were mostly laid by his predecessors, Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand as they established a strong political and religious unity within their kingdom after a period of civil unrest. Although the methods that were employed by them were cruel, they were effective. The consequent pacification led to political and cultural stability within Spain, which, in turn, was essential for Spain’s flourishing of arts under Philip II.

SOURCE TIME: This is a dual portrait of Isabella and Ferdinand. The date and the author of this piece are unknown. Your main task is to think how the two monarchs are depicted and whether the artist is trying to achieve anything. If yes, what do you think is the artist’s or the rulers’ aims is?

Nevertheless, the ‘Golden Age’ would not have occurred without Isabella and Ferdinand’s successors, mainly Charles V and Philip II himself contributing to its creation. Charles built on the pre-established foundations in order to strengthen the conciliar system of the Spanish government and thus exert an even greater degree of control over the Spanish Empire than his predecessors.

SOURCE TIME: This is the portrait of Charles V when he was already quite old and was in charge of Spain and the Holy Roman Empire. It was painted by a famous contemporary European artist Titian. Your task is to compare how Isabella and Ferdinand were depicted in the painting above and the way Charles V is depicted. What stylistic differences can you see? Do you think that these differences can point to a ‘Golden Age’ creeping in? Why do you think so?

Philip II too contributed to the creation of the ‘Golden Age’. He exploited the pre-existing governmental system efficiently, thus allowing him to exert some control over the foreign policy. Due to this, Philip was able to expand his empire further, thus allowing him to focus on patronage and developments of the arts within Spain.

SOURCE TIME: This is a portrait of young Philip II. Which was painted in 1551, shortly before he married Queen Mary I of England. The artist is Titian (yes, the same one that painted his father, Charles V). What can you tell about Philip II from this painting? After thinking and discussing it, think about the role Titian played at the royal court. Why do you think he painted the two kings?

Think like a Historian:
Who is more important when it comes to cultural developments- a society or an individual creator? Why do you think so?

Important vocabulary:

Golden Age: a term that describes cultural flourishing during a historical period.

To explore this topic further…

If you’re interested in exploring the history of the ‘Golden Age’ as a concept, this article is a solid place to start as it discusses the way ancient Greeks and Romans used the concept in their poetry.

who-invented-the-golden-age Download

If you’re interested in exploring the Spanish ‘Golden Age’, then I would recommend reading Henry Kamen’s Spain 1469-1714: A Society of Conflict (Great Britain, 2005). It is a very neat discussion on how the ‘Golden Age’ of Spain came to be as well as its cultural implications.
Watch this documentary about how the literary traditions of the Spanish ‘Golden Age’ and the English ‘Golden Age’ helped one another and produced Shakespeare