Joseph F. O'Callaghan

Throughout history monarchs have used their powers over the laws of their realms to define their will and the rules they set for their subjects. Yet very few of them have undertaken the long and detailed task of drawing up a formal legal code that establishes an entire system of laws. One of the few who did so was Alfonso X, whose Siete Partidas was the most comprehensive legal code established in the medieval West, and which continues to influence laws on three continents down to the present day. In this book, the eminent historian Joseph O'Callaghan details the various parts of the code and the contexts for their provisions. Not only does this help explain the motivations behind many of its measures, but it also shows how the code can inform our understanding of Alfonso's concerns and the broader world of 13th century Castile more generally. The result is a book that students of both medieval and legal history will find rewarding reading, both for the insights it provides into life in medieval Spain and for its demonstration of just how much we owe today to Alfonso's enduring legal labors.… (altro)

This is amazingly encyclopedic account of the history of the Iberian peninsula from Visigothic times to the end of the 15th century. While it may be getting a little dated, its narrative of the development of the kingdoms, societies and cultures of the region holds together thanks to Joseph O'Callaghan's clarity and his command of the sources. This is a book from which a reader can profit either by reading it cover-to-cover or by dipping into its clearly-delineated chapters, each of which can stand alone as a mini-essay on their topic. If you're looking for a book on Spain during the Middle Ages, this is definitely an excellent place to start.… (altro)

Covering the central period of the Reconquista - approximately 1050-1250 - O'Callaghan's book is a narrative history followed up with thematic chapters on military organization, war finance, and the ideology of crusade. It's all rather academic and dry.

O'Callaghan eventually followed this up with The Gibraltar Crusade covering the succeeding century. I read that book first, and liked it better, largely because it has more detail about individual campaigns and battles, making for less dry recital of dates. The reason for the difference, I think, is the sparser historical record for the earlier period rather than any difference in O'Callaghan's goals - just within this book, it's obvious how the narrative becomes more detailed later in the period.

O'Callaghan strongly stresses the crusading character of the Reconquista. The number of times he says something along the lines of it being reasonable to suppose that this king took a crusading vow before that campaign is rather alarming, and one suspects he's overstating his case, but that the religious angle was important cannot sensibly be denied (contra some politically correct accounts I've had the displeasure to read), nor the practical importance of popes allowing ecclesiastical incomes to be diverted towards the war effort.

The emphasis is very much on the Christian side, with internal Muslim developments dealt with only cursorily. Muslim chroniclers are often cited, but generally for what they said about their enemies rather than about their co-religionists. This is a bit disappointing since a big part of the story of the period is how the Peninsular Muslims twice called in Moroccan support to defend them against the Christians only to find themselves annexed by the successive Moroccan empires of the Almoravids and the Almohads. Still, O'Callaghan set out to write the story of Iberian crusade, not of jihad, so this has to be accepted as simply not what the book is about.

Solid rather than exciting, a book to be read to learn about Reconquista history rather than for reading enjoyment.… (altro)