La territorialización del poder señorial en Castilla. Sobre los límites del Campo de Calatrava en el siglo XIII
One of the best known and outstanding professor José-Ángel García de Cortázar´s contribution, is his thesis about social organization of the space in medieval Spain (1985, 1988, 1995, 1999, 2001, 2008) that is, the analysis of the interaction between the different areas of political power, society and territory ?real or imaginary? where they develop. Professor García de Cortázar has been able to provide the necessary means to overcome the traditional repopulation point of view, in addiction, with the general medieval Christian society view; based on profound theoretical reflections, clear and coherent methodological proposals and the large number of studies related mainly to the northern Iberian Peninsula. Thus, he has managed to integrate general historical processes into the territory where they took place, which is directly related to present Anthropology, Historical Sociology and Spatial Archaeology proposals. From these approaches, we try to study a specific feature of the political power territorialization and its economic and social implications. The subject to study is the establishment of accurate limits to the manorial territories. The studied area is Campo de Calatrava, the order of Calatrava greatest dominion in the Hispanic kingdoms. Two decisive events mark the period of study: the permanent union between the kingdoms of Castile and Lion (1230) and the end of Alfonso X the Wise´s reign (1272/1284). At that period, when the border with Islam moves away from Sierra Morena, we can see how the colonization and the reorganization of the conquered territories developed like according to the Christian society rules. The previous repopulation model based on fortification systems is replaced with the village and parish model. As a result, the feudal lords competed for territory and the jurisdictional limits were clearly defined through concords, agreements and arbitrations. At the end of this process, territorial boundaries had already been set; these were going to stay for centuries, except for some corrections made during the 15th-16th century. At that final stage, Campo de Calatrava councils were feeling strong enough to develop their own territorial policy. This policy would generate numerous legal disputes and demands, and would change partly former 12th and 13th century boundaries.