Notes on the Dynamism of Western European Civilization (13th-14th Centuries) and the Portuguese Territory

Portugal (11th-14th Centuries)

  • 1096: Constitution of the County of Portugal.

  • 1128: Battle of São Mamede; Afonso Henriques assumes power in the County of Portugal.

  • 1131: Start of the construction of the Monastery of Santa Cruz in Coimbra, a primary cultural center marking the beginning of Portuguese nationhood.

  • 1143: Conference of Zamora; Recognition of the Kingdom of Portugal.

  • 1179: By the Bula Manifestis Probatum, Pope Alexander III recognizes Afonso Henriques as king.

  • 1212: Battle of Navas de Tolosa.

  • 1249: D. Afonso III conquers the Algarve.

  • 1254: Cortes of Leiria with the presence of procurators from the municipalities and the clergy.

  • 1258: General Inquiries, a tool used by kings to control seigniorial abuses by the nobility.

  • 1297: Treaty of Alcanices.

Seigniorial Power: Privileges and Immunities

  • Royal Lordships (Reguengos): Lordships belonging to the king.

  • Clerical Lordships (Coutos): Lordships belonging to the clergy.

  • Noble Lordships (Honras): Lordships belonging to the nobility.

  • Hereditary Transmission: Lordships were transmitted hereditarily.

Origin of the Lordships:

  • Right of Presúria: The right to possess lands that were reconquered, regardless of social status.

  • Royal Donations: Lands donated by the king.

  • Donations from Nobles: Lands donated by nobles.

Privileges of the Lordships:

  • Land Possession: Ownership of land.

  • Possession of Arms: Right to bear arms.

  • Military Command: Authority over military forces.

  • Fiscal and Judicial Power: Authority in fiscal and judicial matters.

Immunities (Exemptions):

  • Judicial: Exemption from royal judicial intervention.

  • Fiscal: Exemption from royal taxes.

  • Administrative: Autonomy in administrative functions.

Notes on Land Donation:

  • The practice of donating lands was a common way to reward services, as coined money was not widely available.

Distribution of Domains

  • Northwest and Estremadura: Predominance of Crown, lay, and ecclesiastical domains.

  • Center and South: Dominance of religious-military orders such as the Order of Christ or the Order of Santiago.

  • Privilege of Immunity: In coutos and honras, royal officials were restricted from fiscal and judicial actions. These domains exercised economic, judicial, and fiscal power.

Structures within the seigniorial domain

  • Reserves: Directly exploited by the lords through the labour of serfs and colonos. Called "quintã" in lay lordships and "granja" in ecclesiastical lordships.

  • Casais: Agricultural parcels exploited by peasants through lease agreements. The rent could be fixed, in kind, or mixed.

Types of Land Ownership

  • Reguengos: Lands belonging to the Crown.

  • Honras: Lordships of the nobility, primarily resulting from royal donations.

  • Coutos: Ecclesiastical lordships controlled by a diocese, monastery or military order.

The Specificity of Portuguese Municipal Society

  • The implementation of the municipal network was a fundamental axis in the structuring of medieval Portugal.

  • Opposition existed between the seigniorial and feudal society and the municipal centers.

  • Municipalities were created by a charter, mostly of royal origin, although some were granted by noble or ecclesiastical seigniorial entities.

Definition of a Foral (Charter)

  • Defined the territorial limits of the municipality.

  • Established the norms of political, legal, administrative, social, and economic organization, including the rights and duties of the residents.

  • Portuguese municipalities can be distinguished as rural (Entre Douro e Minho and Beira Alta) and urban.

Objectives of Granting the Carta de Foral

  • Economic: Promote settlement and increase agricultural surface through land clearing; create support structures for the development of commerce.

  • Social: Guarantee the defense of the freedoms and rights of free men against the prepotency of the lords of the nobility and clergy.

  • Political: Guarantee the defense of the territory; prevent the growth of lay and ecclesiastical seigniorial powers.

Municipal Governance

  • Assembly (Concilium): The deliberative body of the municipality, where magistrates were elected and decisions about community life were made.

Elected Magistrates:

  • Juízes or Alvazis: Military defense of the municipality and administration of justice.

  • Procuradores: Delegates who represent the municipalities.

  • Vereadores: Functions of treasurer and external representation of the municipality.

  • Almotacés: Surveillance of markets, weights, measures, prices, sanitation, hygiene, and public works.

Areas Regulated by Municipal Postures

  • Socioeconomic Issues: Land distribution; use of pastures, forests, and water courses; land clearing; exercise of trades; market supply; price fixing; public hygiene surveillance.

  • Administration of Justice: Application of justice, except for capital punishment, which was the king's responsibility; maintenance of good understanding and customs among residents.

  • Election of Magistrates: Procurator; Almotacé; Juízes; Vereadores; Minor stewards.

Royal Appointees in Municipalities:

  • Alcaide-mor: Governance of the fortress and command of military expeditions ordered by the king.

  • Mordomo: Administration of royal assets and rights in the area of the municipality.

  • Corregedor/Juiz de Fora: (With Afonso IV) Supervision of municipal justice.

  • Almoxarife: Supervised and collected taxes and rents due to the monarch.

  • Tabelião or Notário: Public officials who authenticate the instruments of private law (contracts).

Symbols of Municipal Power:

  • Council seal.

  • Pillory.

  • Coat of arms.

Social Organization within the Forais

  • Different statutes existed, distinguishing between cavaleiros-vilãos (knight-commoners) and peões (pedestrians).

  • Cavaleiros-vilãos: Composed the municipal oligarchy, fulfilled military obligations on horseback due to their economic capacity, and benefited from tax exemptions.

  • Peões: Represented the majority of the municipal population, were free men who lived from agriculture, and could be landholders or tenants. They were taxed and subject to other obligations. Included mesteirais (artisans) and mercadores (merchants).

Urban Growth

  • From the late 11th century, there was growth of urban centers in the West of the Iberian Peninsula. In the 13th and 14th centuries, Lisbon, Porto, Évora, and Santarém stood out as the main burgos. These urban centers showed characteristics of Christian and Muslim urbanism.

Structure of Municipalities

  • Composed of cities or towns delimited by walls. Within the walls there was the alcáçova (castle itself) and the almedina (urban center within the ring of walls). With the growth of urban centers, arrabaldes (suburbs) emerged outside the walls. Cultivation fields, vineyards, olive groves, pastures, and forests were located in the termo (surrounding territory).

Ethnic and Religious Minorities

  • In Lisbon, the areas inhabited by ethnic-religious minorities were the judiarias (Jewish communities) and the mourarias (Islamic communities).

The "Cortes"

  • Assemblies convened by the king with representatives from the three social orders of the kingdom. The people began to figure in these meetings from the mid-13th century, with the presence of procurators from the municipalities, documented in the Cortes of Leiria (1254). Complaints were presented, requests were made, and advice was given to the king.

Affirmation of Royal Power in Portugal

  • The Portuguese monarchy, during the first two reigns, was a warrior and feudal monarchy, with royal power divided among seigniorial and municipal interests. From the reign of D. Afonso II, the first measures of royal centralization were taken, such as the promulgation of the General Laws (1211). By the time of D. Afonso III, there was already a bureaucratic administration based on the main organs of the medieval State.

Measures to Affirm Royal Power by D. Afonso III

  • Creation of itinerant magistrates (meirinhos).

  • Meeting of the Cortes with the presence of procurators from the municipalities.

  • Reorganization of the Royal Curia.

  • Conducting general inquiries.

  • Under D. Dinis, the bureaucratic machine of the State continued to be perfected.

Central Administration Structure

  • King: Representative of God on Earth; Owner of the kingdom; Supreme organ of public power (military chief, supreme judge, supreme legislator).

  • High Officials: Alferes-mor; Mordomo-mor; Chanceler.

  • Royal Curia: Ordinary and Extraordinary (from the 13th century), comprising the Royal Council, Cortes, and Superior Courts.

Limiting Seigniorial Power

Royal power was affirmed by combating seigniorial expansion through mechanisms such as:

  • Laws of Disentailment/Mortmain (Leis de Desamortização).

  • Confirmations (Confirmações).

  • Inquiries (Inquirições).

Confirmations:

  • Recognition of land possession and rights of the nobility and clergy depended on the king.

  • Verification of concessions of privileges to the municipalities contained in the forais.

Inquiries:

  • Inquiries to ascertain the state of properties, attempting to understand if there were usurpations of the royal domains (reguengos).

  • D. Dinis prohibited prelates and nobles from creating new coutos and honras.

Laws of Disentailment (Desamortização):

  • Legislation created by monarchs to combat the growing vastness of the Church's immovable property, which was subtracted from the Crown's tax action.

  • The Church could only receive donations from private individuals (testaments in chapel).

  • Religious orders were prohibited from inheriting property from their professed members.

Royal Power at the Local Level

The strengthening of the monarch's power was also felt locally with an increasing intervention in the administration of the municipality, represented by:

  • Alcaide-mor.

  • Almoxarife.

  • Mordomo.

  • Corregedores.

  • Juízes de Fora.