Greetings everyone.
A reader recently asked if there were any links about medieval Portugal. When I expanded that topic slightly to include Iberia, I hit the jackpot. While I did not find any links on Iberian Heraldry, I did find them on history, clothing, food, architecture, historic people, Crusades, Jewish life in Moorish Spain, even a map of a Viking invasion of Iberia! This topic is only beginning to fascinate western scholars, so I believe that in coming years more information will become available on Medieval Iberia. Many of these sites have links of their own for you to follow. The occasional site is in it's native language (either Spanish or Portuguese), with no English translation available.
Enjoy this list in the spirit it is offered, and please pass it along to those who will be interested.
Cheers
Aoife
ORB: Medieval Iberia: Spain and Portugal
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/sbook1p.html
AARHMS (American Association for Research Historians on Medieval Spain)
http://www.uca.edu/divisions/academic/history/aarhms/default.html
Which includes, under the Links section: Society for Spanish and Portuguese
Historical Studies
Libro: The Library of Iberian Resources Online
http://libro.uca.edu/
(Site Excerpt) The Library of Iberian Resources Online (LIBRO) is a joint
project of the American Academy of Research Historians of Medieval Spain and
the University of Central Arkansas. Its task is to make available to users
the best scholarship about the peoples and nations of the Iberian peninsula.
Consequently, the book list is principally drawn from recent, but
out-of-print university press monographs. In addition, the collection
includes a number of basic texts and sources in translation. These are
presented in full-text format and reproduce all the matter included in the
original print version. The collection focuses upon peninsular history from
the fifth to the seventeenth centuries. Future plans call for the addition
of modern materials as well.
Medieval Sourcebook:
Professions of Faith Extracted from Jews on Baptism (Visigoth Spain)
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/jewish-oaths.html
(Site Excerpt) To our most merciful and tranquil lord Recceswinth the King,
from us the Jews of Toledo as witnessed or signed below. We well remember
how we were long and rightly constrained to sign this Declaration promising
in the name of King Chinthila's holy memory to support the Catholic faith;
and we have done so. However, because our pertinacious lack of faith and the
ancient errors of our fathers held us back from believing wholly in Our Lord
Jesus Christ or accepting the Catholic truth with all our hearts, we
therefore make these promises to your greater glory, on behalf both of
ourselves and our wives and children, through this our Declaration,
undertaking for the future not to become involved in any Jewish rites or
customs nor to associate with the accursed Jews who remain unbaptised.
Libro: The Visigothic code (Forum judicum) Translated by S.P. Scott
http://libro.uca.edu/vcode/visigoths.htm
(Site Excerpt) I. What the Method of Making Laws Should Be.
We, whose duty it is to afford suitable assistance in the formation of the
laws, should, in the execution of this undertaking, improve upon the methods
of the ancients, disclosing as well the excellence of the law to be framed,
as the skill of its artificer. The proof of this art will be the more
plainly evident, if it seems to draw its conclusions not from inference and
imitation but from truth. Nor should it stamp the force of argument with the
subtlety of syllogism, but it should, [2] with moderation, and by the use of
pure and honorable precepts, determine the provisions of the law.
Medieval Sourcebook: Ibn Abd-el-Hakem: The Islamic Conquest of Spain (Morish
Spain)
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/conqspain.html
(Site Excerpt) Musa Ibn Nosseyr sent his son Merwan to Tangiers, to wage a
holy war upon her coast. Having, then, exerted himself together with his
friends, he returned, leaving to Tarik Ibn Amru the command of his army
which amounted to 1,700. Others say that 12,000 Berbers besides 16 Arabs
were with Tarik: but that is false. It is also said that Musa Ibn Nosseyr
marched out of Ifrikiya [Africa] upon an expedition into Tangiers, and that
he was the first governor who entered Tangiers, where parts of the Berber
tribes Botr and Beranes resided. These bad not vet submitted themselves.
When he approached Tangiers, be scattered his light troops.
Medieval Sourcebook: The Poetry of the Spanish Moors, Selections
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/moorishpoetry.html
(Site Excerpt) Verses To My Daughters
With jocund heart and cheerful brow
I used to hail the festal morn---
How must Mohammed greet it now?---
A prisoner helpless and forlorn.
While these dear maids in beauty's bloom,
With want opprest, with rags o'erspread,
By sordid labors at the loom
Must earn a poor, precarious bread.
---portion of a poem by Prince Mohammed Ben Abad
Libro: Christian Martyrs in Muslim Spain by Kenneth Baxter Wolf
http://libro.uca.edu/martyrs/martyrs.htm
(Site Excerpt) [1] The city of C�doba was the setting for an unusual
historical drama that unfolded between the years 850 and 859, when
forty-eight Christians were decapitated for religious offenses against
Islam. More striking than the number of executions were the peculiar
circumstances surrounding them. For one thing, as the sources unambiguously
demonstrate, the majority of the victims deliberately invoked capital
punishment by publicly blaspheming Muhammad and disparaging Islam. Moreover,
though some Cordoban Christians applauded the executed Christians as
martyrs, others regarded them as self-immolators whose unwarranted outbursts
served only to expose the community as a whole to the emirs suspicions.
Medieval Sourcebook:
A Late-Medieval Spanish Nobleman:
Don Juan Pacheco, Master of the Order of Santiago (1419-1474)
translated by Simon Doubleday
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/1474DonJuanPacheco.html
(Site Excerpt) Don Juan Pacheco, Marquis of Villena and Master of the Order
of Santiago, son of Alfonso T�lez Gir�, was a man of middling stature,
with a thin and well-formed body, attractive features and graceful gestures.
He was Portuguese by nationality, among the greatest nobles of that kingdom,
and grandson of one of the knights who came from Portugal to Castile in the
service of King Juan I of Castile [1379-90], who was defeated at the battle
of Aljubarrota [1385] (1).
Medieval Sourcebook: Osbernus: De expugnatione Lyxbonensi, 1147
[The Capture of Lisbon]
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/cap-lisbon.html
(Site Excerpt) [Adapted from Brundage] The first groups to depart on the
Second Crusade were Anglo-Norman and Flemish sailors and troops who left
Dartmouth on May 19, 1147 bound for Spain. Their goal was to conquer a
number of position on the west coast of Iberia, among them the city of
Lisbon. Affonso I of Portugal was already in the field there when the
Anglo-Norman troops landed on the beaches in June 1147.
An account of the expedition survives, written by Osbernus.
The city of Lisbon at the time of our arrival consisted of sixty thousand
families paying taxes-this figure includes the suburbs round about, except
the free ones, which pay taxes to no one. A circular wall there surrounds
the top of the hill and, at the left and right, the city walls descend to
the banks of the Tagus River. The suburbs, down below the city wall, are cut
into the banks of the river in such a way that each of them has a superbly
fortified citadel. The place is girded with pitfalls. The city was populous
beyond belief, for, as we learned from its alcayde, or governor, after the
capture of the city, it had one hundred fifty-four thousand men, not
counting women and children, but including the citizens of Scantarem who had
been expelled during this year from their stronghold and who were living in
Lisbon as guests and immigrants.
Medieval Sourcebook: Sir Jean Froissart: John of Gaunt in Portugal, 1385
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/1385gaunt-portugal.html
(Site Excerpt) THE King of Portugal was well pleased at the arrival of the
English knights, and commanded that they should be comfortably lodged. When
they were ready, Don Martin d'Acunha and Don Fernando Martin de Merlo, who
were acquainted with the king's habits, introduced them to him. He received
them very graciously; and after some conversation, which they knew well how
to keep up, they presented the falcons and greyhounds. The king cheerfully
accepted them, as he was fond of the chase. They returned the king thanks,
on the part of the Duke and Duchess of Lancaster, for the handsome mules he
had given them. The king replied, these were trifles, merely tokens of
affection, such as lords desirous of maintaining love and friendship ought
to make to each other; but he should soon offer more splendid presents. Wine
and spices were now brought, of which the English knights having partaken,
they took leave of the king and returned to their lodgings, where they
supped. On the morrow, they were seated at the king's table. Sir John
d'Ambreticourt and Sir John Sounder were at another table with the great
barons of the kingdom, among whom was Lawrence Fongasse, squire of honor to
the king, who was well known to these knights, having been acquainted with
them in England; on which account he made them the best cheer in his power,
and this he knew well how to do.
Medieval Sourcebook: Jews and Christians in Teruel: The Fuero of Teruel,
1176 CE
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/1276teruel.html
(Site excerpt) 85: Of the corredores of the council: It should also be known
that the judge and the alcaldes must appoint public brokers (corredores) to
sell things. The sellers and the brokers shall swear that they will be
honest in all things, alike for poor as for rich, whether they be Christians
or Jews or even Moors.
319: Of the public bath: Following this are provisions about the public
bath. The [male] bathers may go to the communal bath on Tuesdays and
Thursdays and Saturdays, according to the law. Women may go to the bath on
Mondays and Wednesdays. Jews and Moors may go on Fridays, and on no other
day by any means. . . . Moreover, if the Jews or Moors bath on some other
day than Fridays, each of the bathers shall pay a fine of 30 sueldos to the
judge and the alcaldes and the almotacaf by thirds with the plaintiff, if it
should be proven according to law. Moreover, if a man enters the bath or any
bath house on the women's days, he shall pay a fine of 30 sueldos, if it
should be proven. If not, he shall swear that he was accused falsely and be
believed. Moreover, if a woman enter on the men's days, as was said, she
shall pay 30 sueldos [as was specified above]. . .
Medieval Sourcebook: Barcelona Jewish Court Documents:
A Daughter's Inheritance, 1293
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/1293belladona.html
(Site Excerpt) We the undersigned court [state]: it happened that Lady
Bonadona, the wife of R. Judah b. R. Jucifia Saporta came before us and said
to us, "since my father, R. Samuel b. R. Abraham Ascandrani made a will
concerning his possessions at the time of his death and he had no heir
but me and he gave me as his heir the houses which I live in today in the
Jewish quarter, and a vineyard at the edge of this city [Barcelona] near
Mogoria, and a seat in the synagogue in the courtyard of the Israelites
[i.e. in the men's section of the synagogue] in this city and he said at
that time that if (heaven forbid) I should die without children then the
aforementioned property should revert to a charitable trust; now I need to
sell [the property] in order to support myself and I am afraid that I will
not find a buyer since everyone knows that this property is mortgaged to the
charitable trust because of my father's will. Please consider the laws and
examine my father's will and determine for me whether my father's words
giving the possessions after my death, are valid or not.
The Portuguese Military Orders - Overview
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Academy/3908/militaryorders/introd.html
(Site Excerpt) The ancient Military Orders were, like their counterparts -
the Hospitallers of St. John of Jerusalem and the Templars which had evolved
earlier in the Holy Land - true religious orders. The knight-friars took the
evangelical vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience, and swore to defend
the faith and the Church. Besides these knight-friars - who in reality were,
as it has been emphasized by modern scholars, lay members - the Orders had
religious brothers and sergeants [see on the subject, Paul Crawford's
introduction paper on the Military Orders]. The most famous of them all -
the Order of Our Lord Jesus Christ - was created in 1319, by King Dennis I,
with the Pope's approval, so as to succeed to the Order of the Knights
Templar in the domains of the Portuguese Crown. Unwilling to accept the
suppression of the Knights Templars' Order and the subsequent transmission
of that Order's properties and wealth to the Hospital of St. John of
Jerusalem as decreed by the Council of Vienna, the Iberian kings soon made
an alliance to evade this solution. The Iberian alliance, after years of
negotiations with Rome, resulted in the creation of the Military Order of
Montesa (in the kingdom of Valencia) by the King of Aragon, and the Order of
Our Lord Jesus Christ created by the King of Portugal with the Pope's
approval.
The End of Europe's Middle Ages: New Monarchies; Portugal
http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/endmiddle/monarchies5.html
(Site Excerpt) As in Castile, the nobility was the major source of rebellion
in Portugal and the royal succession was regularly disputed. The continual
disputation of succession was exacerbated by the policy of intermarriage
between the royal houses of Portugal and Castile that was initiated by Diniz
of Portugal (1261-1325) and Ferdinand IV of Castile and Le� (1286?-1312) to
end the wars between their two kingdoms. During his reign from 1279 to 1325,
Diniz of Portugal provided vigorous encouragement to Portuguese agriculture
and commerce, founding schools for the study of agriculture. He made
Portuguese the official language of the law courts and his interest in
learning and the arts prompted him to found a university at Lisbon in 1290
(it was later moved to Coimbra in 1306). In 1294, he signed a commercial
treaty with England and created a royal navy in 1317.
Medieval Portugal :Estremoz
http://nunoalves.com/doc_portugal_2.html
Tis site is a series of photos of the town of Estremoz and Atalia, which
both have several "medieval" sections still standing. Not all photos are of
medieval architecture.
Two first viking expeditions to Spain and Portugal
http://www.geocities.com/RainForest/Vines/4894/sur_i.htm
A Map of the journey, on modern-day map, with an excellent representationof
the political division between Spain and Portugal of the time.
About.com: Medeival Iberia Subject Index
http://historymedren.about.com/cs/medievaliberia/index.htm
Some interesting links to be found. Warning: interrupted by frequent
advertisements.
The History of Granada
http://www.andalucia.com/cities/granada/history.htm
(Site Excerpt) Granada's history is one of internal crises because of the
existence of a powerful landowning nobility successive wars with Castile.
Successive kings of Granada sought political support and military aid from
Morocco. Moroccan recruits caused the kingdom to undergo an intense process
of 'arabisation', to cut itself off from all Castilian influences, and to
develop an absolute form of government based on military support.
Who's Who in Medieval History: St. Anthony of Padua
http://historymedren.about.com/library/who/blwwanpadua.htm
(Site Excerpt) A Franciscan friar and Doctor of the Church, Anthony (also
Antony) joined the order in hopes of preaching to the Saracens and possibly
facing a martyr's death. Instead he became a respected teacher and gained
fame for his miracles. He is a patron saint of the poor and oppressed.
Untitled Page from Oxfordshire: Islamic and Medieval Portugal
http://www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/museums/oikos/indexportm2.htm
This page contains links to a great many archaeological artifacts from
Islamic and Medieval Portugal. Pottery, fashion items and vignettes from
altarpieces, loom weights, etc. Well worth the look. Bibliography included.
Resources for Medieval Iberian Studies
http://www.georgetown.edu/labyrinth/subjects/iberia/iberia.html
Portugal's Palaces and Medieval Castles are Tributes to a Royal Era
http://www.weddings-in-portugal.com/castles.htm
(Site Excerpt) Castelo Sao Jorge (Lisbon)
During every regime since the departure of the Romans from Iberia, this
hilltop has been valued as a fortification along the Tagus River. Today, the
bulky castle crowns the Alfama medieval neighborhoods of Lisbon with thick
stone walls, medieval battlements, Catholic and feudal iconography, verdant
landscaping, and sweeping views of one of Europe's greatest harbors.
Portugal: THE HOUSE OF AVIS
http://www.1upinfo.com/country-guide-study/portugal/portugal26.html
(Site Excerpt) When Fernando died in 1383, he left no male heir to the
throne. His only daughter, Beatriz, was married to Juan I, king of Castile.
The marriage writ stipulated that their offspring would inherit the
Portuguese crown if Fernando left no male heir and that, until any children
were born, Portugal would be ruled by a regency of Fernando's widow, Leonor
Teles. When Fernando died, Leonor assumed the regency in accordance with the
marriage writ. The assumption of the regency by the queen was badly received
in many Portuguese cities because Leonor was a Castilian and considered an
interloper who intended to usurp the Portuguese crown for Castile and end
Portugal's independence.
Medieval Iberia: Readings from Christian, Muslim and Jewish Sources. / (book
reviews, History Today Magazine)
http://www.findarticles.com/cf_dls/m1373/n3_v48/20371150/p1/article.jhtml
(Site Excerpt) Except for St James's shrine in Galicia and parts of
Portugal, the Spanish peninsula was more or less a mystery to medieval
Englishmen. The Muslim takeover of most of it had hardly registered with
Bede, the Cid was barely heard of, and only rarely did Spanish affairs
impinge upon the consciousness of English chroniclers. And so matters
remained once the land of occasional crusaders had become the haunt of
recusants up to no good. For centuries, so far as Englishmen were concerned,
European history stopped at the Pyrenees. As recently as 1970 virtually all
there was for Englishmen to read on medieval Spain were Altamira's
lamentable chapters in the Cambridge Medieval History.Then everything
changed. On the one hand, Franco's death in 1975 ungagged cultural activity
in the provinces and released an avalanche of historical publication greater
than anything that had been seen for two hundred years. And on the other
(and for reasons which are far from clear), Anglo-American scholars began to
interest themselves in the subject, with the result that in 1998 the world
of the Cid is as accessible to anglophone students of the European Middle
Ages as the worlds of Frederick Barbarossa and St Louis, and Simon Barton
can afford to take a great deal for granted in a thoroughly researched study
in which he is able to present the aristocracy of twelfth-century Leon and
Castile in much the same terms as J.C. Holt has presented their English
contemporaries.
Labryinth: Medieval Iberia (note: these pages are no longer maintained.
You'll have to wade through some dead links to get to the gold).
http://www.georgetown.edu/labyrinth/subjects/iberia/iberia.html
This page is comprised of a list of links of interest on the subject..
1492: AN ONGOING VOYAGE an Exhibit of the Library of Congress, Washington,
DC
http://www.ibiblio.org/expo/1492.exhibit/Intro.html
(Site Excerpt) 1492. Columbus. The date and the name provoke many questions
related to the linking of very different parts of the world, the Western
Hemisphere and the Mediterranean. What was life like in those areas before
1492? What spurred European expansion? How did European, African and
American peoples react to each other? What were some of the immediate
results of these contacts?
Art in the Kingdom of Aragon (mostly architecture)
http://www.fut.es/~espada/arra/index.html
This site in in Spanish. Click on the main image, then on one of the names
of the towns listed on the left-hand menu, to see photographs. Several of
the links are still "en praparacion" or in the process of being prepared (ie
not available)
Iberian Manuscripts
http://www.humanities.uci.edu/spanishandportuguese/spanish/medievaliberi...
(Site Excerpt) The Latin bestiary still flourished alongside its French
counterparts and was often produced in luxurious illustrated copies in
England during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. These are grouped in
two important families on the basis of variations in their texts and
programs of illumination. (Example Illumination) An Elephant Carrying a War
Tower in Battle and A Small Elephant Supporting a Larger One with Its Trunk.
Bestiary. England (?), c. 1230. 29.8 x 21.4 cm. BL, Royal Ms. 12.F.XIII,
fol. IIV. The elephant was thought to have been used in battle in Persia and
India, and the small elephant's action was understood as symbolizing
Christ's redemption of humanity.
Oblique Image Gallery: Iberian Merino Wool
http://www.mic-d.com/gallery/oblique/merinowool.html
(Site Excerpt) For thousands of years, wool has been used for clothing and
other textiles. Named for the merino sheep that originated from a Greek
colony in southeastern Italy, the Iberian Peninsula boasted the best herds
and the largest wool production by the early Eighteenth Century. After
hundreds of years of selective breeding, merino wool has a higher level of
built-in ultraviolet light protection than many other fibers. From the
original Italian and Spanish breeds, there are now more than ten varieties
grown worldwide, each with its special properties for wool fiber and meat
production.
Costume in al-Maghrib (the Muslim West) in the Medieval and Renaissance
Periods
http://witch.drak.net/lilinah/MaghribiCostume.html
(Site Excerpt) The term Berber derives from the Greek (barb*ros) and Latin
(barbarus) indicating an uncivilized person, a barbarian, and is rather
insulting. The people's own name for the overarching ethno-cultural group is
Amazight. I will use Berber because it is more commonly understood, but will
occasionally interject Amazight.
Unfortunately the authors of much research speak of "Arabs"," Berbers",
"Spanish", etc. as if they mean all people of these ethnic or cultural
groups, then they mention women as if they are some separate group. I can
only assume that in many cases where sweeping statements are made the
authors actually just mean "men", but it is frankly quite unclear. I will
insert [men?] where it is unclear to me whether the original authors mean
all members of the group referenced or just the men.
College of Saint Katherine: Clothing for Spain in the 13th c. Iberian Feast
Clothing Suggestions
http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~sca/IberianClothing.htm
(Site Excerpt) The first thing you may want to do is decide which culture
you will want to emulate. In medieval Spain, three main cultures lived side
by side: Moslems, Christians, and Jews.
For this event, a simple robe will be adequate; i.e., simply a long t-tunic.
Wear two, one over the other, for warmth or looks, or simply wear it over
your normal tunic. A cotehardie is also acceptable for both men and women,
and over this you may wear a surcoate. If you are male, you may wear a
turban, coif, hat (refer to the illuminations of the Cantigas de Santa Maria
or Book of Games, below), hood, or leave your head bare. If you are female,
you may wear a coif, veil, headband (the kind that goes across the
forehead), or leave your head bare; small flowers such as orange blossoms or
jasmine may be woven into the hair--that would be lovely. Braid your hair
into a single braid if you have long hair. For women, jewellery would
include dangling earrings, large metal bracelets, and small necklaces; hands
and feet may be stained with henna. Sandalwood, musk, frankincense, and
other fragrant oils as well as rosewater may be used to perfume yourselves.
Alphabetical Index of Cariadoc and Elizabeth's Recipes from The Miscellany
(which contains a lot of recipes from An Anonymous Andalusian Cookbook from
Moorish Spain).
http://www.pbm.com/~lindahl/cariadoc/recipe_index.html
Historical SPANISH / CATALAN /ANDALUSIAN cookbooks online
http://www.thousandeggs.com/cookbooks.html#ANDALUSIAN
This site includes: Manual de mujeres, Libre de doctrina per a ben servir,
Libre del Coch 1529, "Libre de totes maneres de confits," An Anonymous
Andalusian Cookbook of the 13th Century translated by Charles Perry, and a
partial copy of Libro del Arte de Cozina, 1607 . Note that not all these
are actually translated.
