Notas del vecindario de Los Arcos en la Baja Edad Media: laicos y cabildo parroquial, presencia de judíos y organización muni... [Notes on the neighbours of Los Arcos in the Late Middle Age: secular and parish council, presence of Jewish and municipal organisation. Introduction: documentary sources]

Abstract

Before becoming annexed to Castille along with other towns from the same administrative area, Los Arcos occupied an important position in the kingdom of Navarre under the different royal houses which ruled here. Thanks to a fort or castle which the monarchs had built on the border, the town helped to protect Navarre’s territory in Rioja Alavesa from castillian attacks. The privileges granted by Sancho VI el Sabio in 1176 enabled the town to prosper. From the middle of the thirteenth century, it was considered one of the historic «buenas villas» (good towns) of Navarre. Los Arcos boasted a fine Romanesque parish church, which was transformed during the Renaissance, and a large parish council. For two centuries there was a...