Urban Elites and Aristocratic Behaviour in the Spanish Kingdoms at the End of the Middle Ages (Studies in European Urban History (1100-1800))

This collection of studies presents the results of research to discover the scope of aristocratic ambitions of the urban elites in the Hispanic kingdoms in the Late Middle Ages. The goal is to gain a greater knowledge of the urban elites in order to discover the social and political motivations of the privileged, those who were able to profit from the mechanisms of social ascension. Aristocratisation is also related to the adoption of values which determined the behavior and mentality under the mark of the dominant feudal culture. The strategies, the resources to move up the social ladder and the ambition of the urban social elite and the occasions used to ensure successful promotion and the results obtained should be brought to light. The variety in the urban elites within the Iberian Peninsula offers comparative possibilities and supposes an important advancement in the knowledge of aspects related to social promotion. María Asenjo-González, is professor of Medieval History at the Complutense University of Madrid. Her research interest covers Castilian cities from 1250 to 1520 in social, political, economic and cultural aspects María Asenjo-González / Foreword vii Introduction Jan Dumolyn / Later Medieval and Early Modern Urban Elites: Social Categories and Social Dynamics 3 Part I. Aristocratic Behaviour: Status and Privilege José Antonio Jara Fuente / Performing Aristocratic Roles? The Building Process of Status and Privilege in Fifteenth-Century Castilian Towns 21 María Asenjo-González / Aristocratic Ambitions in Oligarchic Urban Society. Social and Political Consequences in Fifteenth-Century Castilian Towns 49 Eloísa Ramírez Vaquero / The Elites of Pamplona at the End of the Middle Ages: the Road to Ennoblement 61 Jean-Pierre Barraqué / The Discourses of an Elite: Saragossa in the Late Middle Ages 87 Part II. Merchant Elite and Aristocratic Manners Flocel Sabaté / The Defection of the Medieval Catalonian Bourgeoisie: a Mutation of Values or a Bibliographic Myth? 111 Damien Coulon / Ruling Class and Long-Distance Trade in Barcelona at the End of the Middle Ages 133 Yolanda Guerrero-Navarrete / Gentlemen-Merchant in Fifteenth-Century Urban Castile: Forms of Life and Social Aspiration 143 David Igual Luis / Social Rise of the Mercantile Elite in Cities of the Medieval Kingdom of Valencia 161 Glossary of Technical Terms 171 This collection of studies presents the results of research to discover the scope of aristocratic ambitions of the urban elites in the Hispanic kingdoms in the Late Middle Ages. The goal is to gain a greater knowledge of the urban elites in order to discover the social and political motivations of the privileged, those who were able to profit from the mechanisms of social ascension. Aristocratisation is also related to the adoption of values which determined the behavior and mentality under the mark of the dominant feudal culture. The strategies, the resources to move up the social ladder and the ambition of the urban social elite and the occasions used to ensure successful promotion and the results obtained should be brought to light. The variety in the urban elites within the Iberian Peninsula offers comparative possibilities and supposes an important advancement in the knowledge of aspects related to social promotion. María Asenjo-González, is professor of Medieval History at the Complutense University of Madrid. Her research interest covers Castilian cities from 1250 to 1520 in social, political, economic and cultural aspects