In the middle of the nineteenth century constitutionally-minded Spanish liberals sought to justify their position by appealing to a historical tradition which embodied an ancient Aragonese formula of liberty, according to which the king was obligated to respect the rights of the governed just as they, in turn, were bound to obey him. If he did not, they would not; or, as the formula ran, Si no, no. By the end of the century, however, scholars had clearly established that the formula was not a true one: it was the product of historians, not of history. Still a problem remained, for although the debunkers might be correct in their conclusions, their evidence was open to question. In this attempt to clarify the historiography of the legendary oath Ralph E. Giesey has sought to do three things: to reveal the historical circumstances permissive of the growth of such a legend; to unfold the conditions of the formulation of the legend; and to trace the transmission of the legend from its inception to the present.
Giesey’s investigation reveals that the oath belonged to a set of fueros drawn up in the thirteenth century whose substance was believed to have descended from the formation of the kingdom of Aragón in the eighth (or ninth) century. Yet the first explicit statement of the oath comes only in the fifteenth century, when the nobility of Aragon tried to preserve their identity in the face of absorption into the Hapsburg system. Under similar circumstances in the sixteenth century the oath was revived and began its career as a modern symbol of liberty.
This account of a myth, its formulation and subsequent life, is carefully drawn. Where direct evidence is wanting, Giesey makes imaginative use of data drawn from comparable institutional and legal history. The result is a brilliant piece of historiography.
As admirable as the book is, it seems to offer little of direct value for students concerned with the New World. Perhaps, however, those who are concerned with the history of political theory in Hispanic America have heard echoes of this pseudo-Aragonese formula across the waters. If so, they will find Giesey’s book an indispensable reference to the history of the myth.
