Spain in the Middle Ages is a period in the history of what would eventually later become Spain that began in the 5th century following the fall of the Western Roman Empire and ended with the beginning of the early modern period in 1492.

The history of Spain and Portugal is marked by waves of conquerors who brought their distinct cultures to the Iberian Peninsula. After the migration of the Vandals and Alans down the Mediterranean coast of Hispania from 408, the history of medieval Hispania begins with the Iberian kingdom of the Arianist Visigoths (507–711), who were converted to Catholicism along with their king Reccared in 587. Visigothic culture can be seen as a phenomenon of Late Antiquity as much as part of the Age of Migrations.

From Northern Africa in 711, the Muslim Umayyad Caliphate crossed into the Iberian Peninsula, at the invitation of a Visigothic clan to assist it in rising against King Roderic. Over the period 711–788, the Umayyads conquered most of the lands of the Visigothic kingdom of Hispania and established the territory known as Al-Andalus. A revolt during the conquest established the Christian Kingdom of Asturias in the north of the Peninsula.

Much of the period is marked by conflict between the Muslim and Christian states, referred to as the Reconquista, or the Reconquest (i.e., The Christians "reconquering" their lands as a religious crusade). The border between Muslim and Christian lands wavered southward through 700 years of war, which marked the Peninsula as a militarily contested space. The medieval centuries also witnessed episodes of warfare between the Christian states and between the Muslim taifas, successor states of the Caliphate of Cordoba. Wars between the Crown of Aragon and the Crown of Castile were sparked by dynastic rivalries or disagreements over tracts of land conquered or to be conquered from the Muslim south.

The Middle Ages in Hispania are often said to end in 1492 with the final acts of the Reconquista in the capitulation of the Nasrid Emirate of Granada and the Alhambra decree ordering the expulsion of the Jews. Early modern Spain was first united as an institution in the reign of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor as Charles I of Spain.

Early medieval Hispania

When the Germanic tribes invaded the provinces of the Roman Empire, the hordes, urged forward by the pressure of the Huns in their rear, hurled themselves for the first time upon the Pyrenean Peninsula – the Alani, a people of Scythian, or Tatar, ethnicity; the Vandals and Suebians, Germanic ethnicity. The Alani were, for the most part, quickly brought into subjection. The Vandals temporarily established themselves in Baetica and then passed on into Africa, while the Visigoths hemmed in the Suebi in Galicia until the latter were completely brought under control. These Visigoths, or Western Goths, after sacking Rome under the leadership of Flavius Alaricus (410), turned towards the Iberian Peninsula, with Flavius Ataulfus for their leader, and occupied the northeastern portion, after becoming part of the Empire themselves as foederati and Roman citizens (thanks to the Constitutio Antoniniana). Wallia extended his rule over most of the peninsula, keeping the Suebians shut up in Galicia. Theodoric I took part, with the Gallo-Romans and Franks (also foederati and Roman citizens), in the Battle of the Catalaunian Plains, where Attila was routed.

Flavius Euricus (466), who declared the independence of his kingdom from the western administration, may be considered the first monarch of Spain, though the Suebians still maintained their independence in Galicia. Euric was also the first king to give written laws to the Visigoths. In the following reigns the Catholic kings of France assumed the role of protectors of the Hispano-Roman Catholics against the Arianism of the Visigoths, and in the wars which ensued Alaric II and Amalaric lost their lives. This commenced a three-hundred-year period of cultural and economic flourishing on the Iberian peninsula, comparable to cities such as Baghdad and Constantinople regarding commerce and valuable products. Much wealth was created during this time due to the slave trade. Under Muslim rule, the Iberian peninsula became a center of knowledge, unlike the prior Visigoths. They revolutionized the political structures by bringing in ambassadors from Egypt, Tunisia, Saxony, and Byzantium. Many Jews were employed as merchants, physicians, and courtiers. However, this was not the majority. Many Jews were subject to lowly jobs such as executioners, jailors, and peddlers.

Things started to go deteriorate for the Jews once Muslims started losing control of the Peninsula. The success of Jews depended on whether Muslims had power. Once Christians took majority control in the territory many Jews either converted or fled concluding this chapter of Jewish migration.

Medieval Christian Hispania

The Romans initially brought Christianity to the Iberian Peninsula. There is evidence of martyrs in the third century. By the fourth century, church councils were held throughout the main Roman cities. The Romans would then fall to the Visigoths in 409. The Visigoths were not Christian initially, but by the sixth century, King Recared held councils regarding Christianity in Toledo. Vikings returned to Galicia in 859, during the reign of Ordoño I. They were faced with an army led by Don Pedro who dispersed them and destroyed 38 of their ships. Alfonso III, the Great, continued the forays as far as the Sierra Morena, and founded Burgos, the future capital of Castile. His sons rebelled against him, and he abdicated the crown, dividing his dominions among them. With him ended the Kingdom of Asturias, the territory of which soon became subject to León. The work contains information on the playing of chess, with over 100 chess problems and chess variants. The king also co-authored several works of music such as the Cantigas d'escarnio e maldicer and the Cantigas de Santa Maria in Galician-Portuguese. The latter contains more than 400 poems alongside musical notation, and currently forms one of the largest collections of songs to have survived from the Middle Ages.

Main cities

Medieval Spain was as much as a network of cities as it was interconnected provinces. Cities were cultural and administrative centers, the seats of bishops and sometimes kings, with markets and housing expanding from a central fortified stronghold. Medieval Spanish history can easily be followed through these major cities:

See also

  • Spanish chivalry
  • Medieval Spanish literature
  • Orders, decorations, and medals of Spain

References

Further reading

de:Geschichte Spaniens#Mittelalter