The Aristocracy in Twelfth-Century Le N and Castile

This volume examines the nature of aristocratic society in the Spanish kingdoms of Len and Castile in the twelfth century. Drawing on an extensive range of original sources many of them unpublished it highlights the unrivaled wealth status and power enjoyed by some members of the aristocracy. It also explores the multifarious roles that lay magnates were expected to fulfill: as family protectors landlords and judges; as courtiers diplomats and military commanders; and not least as patrons of the church.