Castilian monasteries facing the new taxation of the late medieval monarchy: evolution and dynamics

Abstract

During the late medieval period, the European monarchies, and the Castilian monarchy in particular, witnessed a fiscal “revolution” in line with the process of formation of the modern “State”. In this context, the monarchy made use of the economic resources of the monasteries of the Crown and their vassals, particularly those belonging to traditional orders –Benedictines, Cistercians and Premonstratensians– who were forced to contribute to the royal treasury through direct and indirect taxes, either on an ordinary or extraordinary basis. However, in parallel to this process, the different monarchs, to a greater or lesser extent, continued to grant a series of exemption privileges and donate income in juro de heredad to the monasteries. Making a global assessment of the contributions and income of the monasteries in this context is a difficult task due to the fragmentary nature of the data, making it more feasible to make an approximation and a general balance sheet.