Crown of Castile

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Coat of Arms of the Crown of Castile
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Kingdom of Castile and León circa 1360

The starting point of Crown of Castile can be considered as the union of the Kingdoms of Castile and Leon in 1230 or the later fusion of their Cortes (their Parliaments). In 1230, Ferdinand III became King of Castile and Leon (including the Kingdoms of Galicia and Asturias). The Kingdom of Castile started as a County inside the Kingdom of Leon.

The kingdoms of Leon and Castile had been united previously on two occasions:

In 1037, Ferdinand I of Castile joined the two kingdoms for the first time. At his death in 1065 the kingdoms passed separately to his sons, following the Spanish tradition of the time consisting in dividing the kingdoms among the king's offspring, and so the kingdoms would be divided again. In 1072 until 1157 under two kings: Alfonso VI of Castile and Alfonso VII of Castile. At the death of the last one, the kingdoms were divided again amongst his sons. Ferdinand III of Castile (The Saint) received the Kingdom of Castile from his mother (Berenguela) in 1217, and later, the Kingdom of León from his father (Alfonse IX of León) in 1230. From now on the two kingdoms would be united under the names of Kingdom of León and Castile, later as Crown of Castile. Ferdinand III will also conquer part of Andalusia and the Kingdom of Murcia from Al-Andalus.

The kings of the Crown of Castile had the titles of King of Leon, Castile, Toledo, Galicia, Murcia, Jaen, Cordoba, Seville and Principal of Biscay and Moline

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The union of the Cortes

Almost immediately after the union of the two kingdoms under Ferdinand III the parliaments of Castile and León were united. It was divided into three arms which corresponded to the three classes of nobility, the church and the people. There were be representatives of Castile, León, Galicia, Toledo, Navarre and the Basque provinces. The number of cities represented in the Cortes varied over the years, but Juan I concerted those that would be allowed to send representatives: Burgos, Toledo, León, Sevilla, Córdoba, Murcia, Jaén, Zamora, Segovia, Ávila, Salamanca, Cuenca, Toro, Valladolid, Soria, Madrid, Guadalajara y Granada (after 1492).

Under Alfonso X of Castile ("The Wise"), most of the Cortes was brought together for both of the Kingdoms. The Cortes of 1258 in Valladolid was composed of Castile, Extremadura and León (De Castiella e de Estremadura e de tierra de León) and those of Seville in 1261 of Castile, León and all other kingdoms (De Castiella e de León e de todos los otrs nuestros Regnos). Subsequent Cortes were celebrated separately, for example in 1301 that of Castile in Burgos and that of León in Zamora. But the representatives demanded for the parliaments to be reunited from then on.

Initially the individual kingdoms and cities retained their individual historical rights, including the old fuero of Castile and the different fueros of the councils of Castile, León, Extremadura and Andalucía. But soon a law for all of Castile was drafted based on the Siete Partidas (c. 1265), the Ordenamiento de Alcalá (1248) and las Leyes de Toro (1505). These laws continued to be in force until 1889 when a new Spanish Code of Civil Laws (el Código Civil Español) was enacted.

The Spanish Language and Universities

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Map of Castillian and Aragonese Universities

In the 13th Century there were many languages spoken in the Kingdoms of León and Castile among them Castillian, 'Austurian-Leonese, Basque and Galician. But throughout the century Spanish gained more and more prominence as the language of culture and communication. One example of this is the 'Cantar de Mío Cid'.

In the last years of the reign of Ferdinand III Castillian began to be used to certain types of documents, but it was during the reign of Alfonso X that it became the official language. Henceforth all public documents were written in Castillian, likewise all translations were made into Castillian instead of Latin.

Some people think that the substitution of Castillian for Latin was due to the strength of the new language, whereas others consider that it was due to the influence of Hebrew-speaking intellectuals who were hostile towards Latin, the language of the Christian Church.

Furthermore, in the 13th Century many Universities were founded in Castile, some, like those of Salamanca and Palencia were the first universities in Europe.

In 1492, under the Catholic Monarchs, the first edition of the Grammar of the Castillian Language by Antonio de Nebrija was published.

Spanish territorial devisions within the Crown of Castile

In Spain

Overseas

ca:Corona de Castella es:Corona de Castilla fr:Couronne de Castille

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