III -THE CHRISTIAN KINGDOMS

III -THE CHRISTIAN KINGDOMS

3.1 The formation of the Christian Kingdoms

The northern Christians put up great resistance against the Muslims. In 722 A.D. a Visigothic army defeated the Muslims in the battle of Covadonga (Asturias).

Later, different kingdoms and counties were flourishing:

• the Kingdom of Asturias, which later became the Kingdom of León.
• the County of Castile (later Kingdom of Castile),
• the Kingdom of Pamplona (later Kingdom of Navarre),
• the Kingdom of Aragón and
• the Catalan Counties.

3.2 The Reconquista

The Christian Kingdoms fought for almost eight centuries against the Muslims to conquer their territories and recover the old Visigothic territory. That is the reason why this period is known as "The Reconquista".

As time passed, the Christians joined together and formed four large kingdoms: the Crown of Castile, the Crown of Aragón, the Kingdom of Navarre and the kingdom of Portugal. At first La Rioja, our Autonomous Region, belonged  to the Kingdom of Nájera-Pamplona and later to the Crown of Castile.

3.3 The Christian advance

In 1212 the Christian kingdoms joined together and defeated the Muslims in the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa. This was a decisive blow against the Muslims in the Peninsula.

In the following centuries, the Kingdom of Castile conquered most Andalucía and the Kingdom of Aragón conquered Valencia and the Balearic Islands.

3.4 The end of  the Reconquista

The Christian advance finished in 1492, when the Catholic Kings, Isabel of Castile and Fernando of Aragón, conquered the Kingdom of Granada, the last Muslim territory in the Iberian Peninsula. This put an end to the Reconquista after eight centuries of wars.

3.5 The society

The society in the Christian kingdoms was divided into three groups or classes: nobility, clergy and the common people. Among them you can find Christians, Muslims and Jews.

3.6 The noblemen

The nobility was formed by nobles, lords and  knights. They all were vassals of the kings, that is, they received land from him and in return they supported him in his wars. They lived in castles and their main activity was war.

3.7 The clergy

The clergy  was formed by bishops, abbots, abbesses, priests, monks and nuns. Monks and nuns lived in monasteries. They were dedicated to praying, medicine, helping the poor people and culture.

3.8 The common people

Most of the common people were peasants who lived in small villages and worked as farmers. Some were artisans or traders and were freemen, Other were serfs, depended on a nobleman or an abbot and had almost no rights. There were also Muslims living under the rule of Christians: these were the Mudejars. They were very skillful gardeners.

3.9 The repopulation

The Christian kings needed to occupy the conquered lands with people to farm and to effectively defend the territory. This occupation is known as repopulation.

Many Jew and Mudejar farmers stayed in their lands when they were conquered by the Christians. In addition, other Christian and Mozarab (Christians who had escaped from al-Andalus) farmers came.

As a result of it people of three different religions lived in the Christian kingdoms: Christians, Muslims (Mudejars) and Jews.

3.10 A fief

When the conquered territories were too large and underpopulated the king gave them to chief nobles or to some monasteries, thereby becoming great owners. These large territories were the fiefs.

Fiefs worked as little countries. In their territories, the lords or owners  administered justice, had their own armies, collected taxes, controlled the serfs who worked for them and even coined their own money.

3.11 Life in Christian city

In the Middle Ages, most of population  were peasants and they lived in small villages. But from the 13th century on, the cities grew thanks to the rise of commerce.

The cities were divided into quarters. The people who lived in the cities were the burghers. Most of them were artisans and worked as traders. Jews lived in separated quarters. They were good traders and doctors.

Medieval cities were surrounded by walls and their gates were closed by night. Some citis were protected by a near castle. Other main buildings were the cathedral (the most important church, made of stone), the town hall and the palaces of nobles and wealthiest traders.

There used to be a large open area, the marketplace, where artisans and traders installed their stalls. There took place the most important events in the city.

Cities were ruled by a council in which traders and artisans participated. This was the origin of modern city halls.

3.12 Commerce

Commerce was an important activity at the end of the Middle Ages. Traders or dealers lived in the cities and exchanged their products in the marketplaces.

Traders gathered in fairs, where  products from different places arrived.

Commerce made some cities prosper. Thus, bigger and more attractive buildings were built, such as palaces, cathedrals and universities. These were teaching centers that gave prestige to the cities in which they were.

3.13 Craftwork

Many of the inhabitants of the medieval cities were craftsmen: carpenters, weavers, blacksmiths...

Craftsmen worked in workshops.

Those dedicated to the same job lived in a street named following that job. For example, Coopers' street, Cutlers´street, Tanners' street.

The craftsmen who had the same job gathered in guilds. There were three categories among craftsmen: master (who owned the workshops), skilled workers and apprentices.

The craft workshops were buildings owned by a master craftsman. They were homes and workshops at the same time.

In the ground floor was the shop, where all the products made in the workshop were offered. 

An emblem referring to that activity was put in the outside of the building. 

The workshop itself was in the first floor. There, the apprentices and skilled workers had their tools and materials required to make their products.

In the upper floor were the dormitories, the kitchen and the dining room.

3.14 The Romanesque art

During the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries an artistic style called Romanesque developed in Christian Europe. Through the Road to Santiago this new style came to the Christian kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula.

In architecture the main characteristic is the use of stone and the round arch.

In those days many churches, monasteries and cathedrals with thick walls and small windows were built, so that the inside was very dark.

Some Romanesque churches survive in La Rioja, such as the Cathedral of Santo Domingo de la Calzada, the church of La Concepción in Treviana or the church of Santa María de la Piscina in Peciña.

Facades, doors and columns were decorated with sculptures.

In these sculptures religious and mythological, vegetal and geometric motifs are shown.

Walls were decorated with paintings depicting religious scenes which transmitted the teachings of the Bible. This was very useful because in the Middle Ages few people could read or write.

Paintings were made with bright colours and with thick black lines.

3.15 The Gothic art

During the 13th, 14th and 15th centuries a new artistic style called Gothic developed.

The Gothic cathedrals and churches used the pointed arch an were more illuminated than the Romanesque ones.

 They had large rose windows and stained glass windows. Thanks to the new techniques churches were  taller and their pointed towers seemed to touch the sky.

Gothic paintings and sculptures represented religious figures. They were more realistic and showed more movement than the Romanesque ones.

We have some Gothic buildings in La Rioja, such as the cloister of the cathedral of Santo Domingo de la Calzada, the churches of Santa María la Real in Nájera and San Juan Bautista in Grañón and the monastery of Cañas.