City and the Realm: Burgos and Castile, 1080-1492

The articles in the first part of this volume, two being a revised English version of an article originally in Spanish, examine the place of the city in the historical development of Castile. The focus is the social and economic history of Burgos, and the work is founded on detailed research in the archives of the area. Professor Ruiz also calls into question the long held belief in the democratic character of medieval Castilian municipal life. In the second section he opens the field of enquiry to deal with the controversial question of what impact the conquest of Seville and the subsequent settlement of al-Andalus had on the realm of Castile, looking in particular at demographic factors and the emergence of the latifundia. The following articles analyse the symbolism and ceremonial of royal power, arguing that the claims for a sacred monarchy so usual in the medieval West were absent during this period of Spanish history, and that the kings used popular secular ceremonies, not anointments or coronations, to legitimise their rule. The book then closes with a study of the origins of the Spanish Inquisition. Les travaux contenus dans la premiere partie de cet ouvrage examinent la place de la Cite dans le developpement historique de la Castille. L'interA t central porte sur l'histoire sociale et economique de Burgos et l'analyse est fondee sur une recherche detaillee dans les archives de cette region. Le professeur Ruiz remet aussi en question la croyance que l'on avait depuis longtemps quant au caractere democratique de la vie municipale dans la Castille medievale. Dans la seconde partie, l'auteur elargit le champs de l'enquA te afin de traiter de la question controversee au sujet de l'impact de la conquA te de Seville et l'occupation consecutive d'al-Andalus sur le royaume de Castille, s'interessant en particulier aux facteurs demographiques et A l'emergence de latifundia. Les etudes suivantes analysent le symbol