Wars in 12th century Catalonia. Aristocracy and political leadership

Issue date
2015Author
Bonet, Maria
Suggested citation
Bonet, Maria;
.
(2015)
.
Wars in 12th century Catalonia. Aristocracy and political leadership.
Imago temporis: medium Aevum, 2015, núm. 9, p. 163-189.
https://doi.org/10.21001/itma.2015.9.07.
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Show full item recordAbstract
Feudal wars and wars of conquest were characteristic conflicts in Catalonia in
the 12th century and led to a consolidation of the aristocratic military and political
leaders. Among these, the highest power was the count or the king, who extended
his domination and led the process of expansion through such novel formulae as
pacification, the formation of armies and pacts with foreign leaders. The counts
and the king used military agents from outside the regional aristocratic interests,
implemented new military policies and found ideological or legislative resources
to support their pre-eminence in military deployment. The rise of the cities, the
towns and the defence or occupation of the conquered frontiers contributed to the
reformulation of the military system, which broke the almost exclusive hold of the
noble families on military activity. However, the members of the latter ruled and
fought in regional settings, focussing their military activity on the defending and
acquiring patrimony, as well as on establishing their jurisdiction. The concepts of
heritagisation, dominating and fighting were assimilated into a single reality, and
even became interchangeable. Meanwhile, conquests guided by providence placed
the “inevitability” of the conquest, acquisition or “liberation” of al-Andalus on
another plane.
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Imago temporis: medium Aevum, 2015, núm. 9, p. 163-189European research projects
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