The School of Medieval Studies of the Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas has published a number of studies and collections of documents in an effort to correct and clarify the very complicated history of Spain in the Middle Ages. Julio González believed there was a need to revise the history of the reign of Alfonso VIII, to eliminate false data, and to correct errors in chronology in the light of contemporary scholarship. “Until now,” he wrote, “single documents or documents in a series, incapable of resolving the numerous problems which arise at each step in the documents themselves, have been utilized. Incomplete collections, at times badly copied or not taken directly from the originals, and in part uncritically used, have been utilized on some occasions to establish isolated or uncertain facts. Most of the authors have preferred to avail themselves of citations or documents previously published or of manuscript collections of past times without considering on that account the absence or neglect of diplomatic criticism.”
In his study in Volume I, which covers the period from the death of Alfonso VII (1157) to the death of Henry I (1217), González has used the observations of previous investigators with the object of noting and refuting errors. He has divided the history of Castile during the period into two parts, the internal political and religious history (pages 71-660) and foreign relations (pages 663-1072). The internal history of Castile is marked by the turbulent activity of the Laras and the Castros during the minority of Alfonso VIII. In addition to tracing this in encyclopedic fashion, González has provided studies of the genealogies of these and other families to present a better understanding of the period. He also lists the successive officials serving the royal house and traces in great detail the history of the Church, the monasteries, the military orders and the artistic tendencies during the period.
The Spanish empire of Alfonso VII disintegrated into four kingdoms : Castile, León, Navarre and Aragón, only the first two of which were actually ruled by the emperor. González traces the recovery of Castile (1166-1183), the relations with León (1184-1204) and the problem of unity (1206-1217). He then devotes a chapter to the relations of Castile with the nations of the Pyrenees, Navarre and Aragón, including the recovery of La Rioja (1170-1179), the discord with Alfonso II of Aragón (1182-1195) and the permanent annexation of Alava and Guipúzcoa and the more fleeting addition of Gascony to the crown of Castile (1196-1197). The final chapter is devoted to the relations of the Castilians with the Almohade Empire. González traces most ably the expansion of the Almohades and their conflicts with Castile until their victory at Alarcos (1115) marked the zenith of their influence and the battle of Las Navas de Tolosa (1212) gave the decisive triumph to the Christians as a definite turning point in the Reconquest.
González has contributed an encyclopedic array of facts, based on an imposing list of sources. It would have made the study more useful if he had included additional economic material other than the lists of transfers of feudal holdings. The second and third volumes include a collection of 1035 documents in Latin. They also contain useful indices of documents, personal names and places, as well as an extensive bibliography. The maps throughout the first volume are exceedingly useful.
