Iberian Peninsula in the Late Middle Ages: Art, Crisis, Wars
The Iberian Peninsula During the Late Middle Ages
1. Mudéjar and Nasrid Art
Mudéjar art was a style that mixed Muslim and Christian characteristics. An example of this art is the use of bricks, plaster, and tiles. In Teruel, we can find Mudéjar works such as the Tower of San Martín.
Nasrid art developed between the 13th and 14th centuries in the kingdom of Granada. Its most emblematic works were a series of palaces of the Muslim kings. In addition, this place stood out for developing some novel decorative elements such as mocárabes.
2. The Crisis of the Late Middle Ages on the Iberian Peninsula
The crisis of the late Middle Ages affected the peninsula in the same way as the rest of Europe. It began with a few years of bad harvests, which caused malnutrition. This was followed by the Black Death. This situation caused numerous revolts, as well as wars and religious persecution.
2.1. Social Unrest
During the Late Middle Ages, significant revolts broke out in the kingdoms on the peninsula.
- Irmandiño Revolts (1467-1469), Galicia. They were severely repressed, and the nobility remained dominant.
- War of the Remences. In 1460, the Catalan peasants rose up against abuses committed by the feudal lords. King Fernando II of Aragón resolved the conflict with the Arbitral Award of Guadalupe in 1486.
- Catalan Civil War (1462-1472). In Barcelona, a conflict broke out between the wealthy bourgeoisie, who belonged to the Biga faction, controlled the Generalitat, and held local power, and the petite bourgeoisie, who belonged to the Busca faction and were supported by the king.
Wars in the Christian Kingdoms on the Peninsula
Castilian Civil Wars
The first war (1351-1369) brought King Pedro I of Castile up against his brother, Enrique of Trastámara. Following the defeat and death of Pedro I, Enrique II became King of Castile, marking the beginning of the Trastámara dynasty.
A century later, part of the nobility fought against King Enrique IV. When he died, the War of the Castilian Succession took place (1475-1479). The victor in this conflict was Isabel, who was married to Fernando, heir of the Crown of Aragón. This would result in the future dynastic union of the two kingdoms.
2.2. Religious Persecution
- There were pogroms against the Jews, such as those that occurred in the years 1391 and 1473.
Jews became conversos (they converted to Christianity) to escape persecution, but they were still discriminated against.
- There were also hostilities against the Mudéjar and attempts to force them to convert. This provoked Mudéjar revolts in rural areas.
Living alongside each other became increasingly difficult, and many royal councillors began to recommend the expulsion, eventually taken at the end of the 15th and beginning of the 16th century, in the Early Modern Age.
Unit 1: The Early Modern Age: Humanism and the Renaissance
The Early Modern Age
The Early Modern Age began in 1453 with the Fall of Constantinople and ended with the French Revolution in 1789.