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Summarizing the medieval history of Spain is not easy because it covers a period of more than a thousand years, between the 5th and 15th centuries, full of cultural, political and religious events that will mark many of the most important events of the Spanish Middle Ages. The invasion of the Visigoths is mainly characterized by not being a colonizing conquest: these people arrive to the Iberian Peninsula in a wave of massive immigration and initially live as "guests" of the Roman Empire.
Later, with the decline and ruin of the Roman Empire, the Visigoths took advantage and became the ruling class, establishing a new national state. It is King Eurich (466-484) who will lead the Visigoths to the creation of their independent state, which later becomes the most powerful in the West.
As the culture of the Visigoths was less developed, they adopted the culture of the Romans for the functioning of their state: the official language is Latin, the basic principles of their laws are based on Roman law, and the king himself, who feels heir to the emperors of Rome, adopts their clothing and colors, as well as his crown.
After the fall of the Roman State, the Church remains strong and powerful. Under the Visigoths, their presence will become more solid, with milestones such as the wars of the Reconquista, the name of the Catholic Monarchs by which Isabel of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon are known, the conquest and colonization of America and other parts of the world, forming the Spanish Empire. The greatest achievement of the Visigoths on the political scene is the unification of the Peninsula. Art in the time of the Visigoths focused almost exclusively on religion.
The year 1492 is key for the future of Spain:
The Christian Reconquest of the Peninsula ends with the taking of Granada, the last Arab kingdom that survived as a cultural island, amidst the push of the Christian kingdoms, which since 1250 had reconquered almost the entire peninsular territory.
The Jewish communities are expelled, thereby completing the religious unification of the Peninsula. From now on, Spain will be only Catholic.
Led by Christopher Columbus, the Spanish arrive in America, and claim the new lands for the Crown of Castile and the Catholic Faith. This makes Spain become, in a very few years, the First World Empire, with possessions all over the planet.
In the political sphere, the American colonies allowed Spain to become the first truly global empire. The above, together with different developments within Europe, make Spain the strongest and most important state in the world for many years.
Likewise, on the linguistic level, the Spanish expansion towards America, other parts of Europe and the Philippine Islands, turn Spanish into a world language to this day.
In 1519 Charles V became the new King of Castile, after the death of his grandfather, King Ferdinand. From that year on, Spain became a great world power and the largest empire in the world. His possessions included, in addition to America, territories in North Africa, part of Italy, Flanders and Burgundy.
As a result of his foreign policies, Charles V ends up losing the support of the ruling princes of the German Empire and, as a result, abdicates and divides his empire into two parts. A part, which included Spain, America, Flanders, Italy and Sicily, passed into the hands of his son, Philip II. The other part, the German Empire, remains in the hands of his brother Fernando.
Philip II made Madrid the fixed capital of Spain in 1561. During his reign, the Philippine Islands, whose name is derived from "Philip", were "discovered" and colonized. This will be the last moment of expansion of Spain around the world. Philip II died in 1598. With his death, the decline of the great Spanish Empire began.
What is historically known as the Spanish "Golden Age" covers a period of 150 years: from Charles V, until the death of Philip IV, in 1665. It is in this period that Spain experiences the maximum splendor in terms of artistic production.
It is the period of the Renaissance throughout Europe. But in Spain, it will have its own characteristics, due to the special and privileged situation in which the country finds itself, in its role as the "Great Empire of the world." Unlike the rest of Europe, medieval features survive in Spanish art, especially interpretations of the world, man and nature, from a religious perspective.
During the Golden Age the Baroque movement prevailed, both in literature, architecture and painting. Within literature, Spain produced classic works during this period, which mark the beginning of the modern era in European literature. The three genres that stand out are: poetry, theater and the novel.
Among the most prominent poets of the Golden Age, we have: Garcilaso de la Vega (1501-1536), Fray Luis de León (1528-1591), Luis de Góngora (1561-1627), and Francisco de Quevedo (1588-1645).
Among the most recognized playwrights, we have: Lope de Vega (1562-1635), Tirso de Molina (1584-1648), Juan Ruiz de Alarcón (born in Mexico. 1581-1639), and the greatest of all, Calderón de la Barca (1600-1681).
In the novel, the following stand out: the anonymous work, El Lazarillo de Tormes (1554); Francisco de Quevedo and, the greatest of all, Miguel de Cervantes y Saavedra (1547-1616), author of the incomparable work The Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote of La Mancha, published in 1605 (first part) and 1615 (second part).
In painting, the following stand out: Diego de Velásquez (1599-1660), considered the "great Spanish master of the Baroque"; El Greco (died in Toledo in 1614, although born in Crete); and Bartolomé Esteban Murillo (1617-1682).
In Spain, the medieval period not only covers a long period of time, but its culture, politics, religion, art, language, etc. It spread throughout the entire Spanish territory and other countries in Europe and America. This explains why there is no place in Spain where medieval festivals and markets are not held during all months of the year.
It would be very difficult to single out some medieval festivals and markets among so many important ones that exist today. This is why we cite a very interesting and complete website that collects all the medieval fairs and markets in a very methodical and complete way, in which month by month and for each Autonomous Community, these joyful, historical and cultural festive events of our country that fill our regions and people with color and identity are presented.
