Page:History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic Vol. I.djvu/78

lx Ix INTRODUCTION. iNTROD. themselves in armed confederacy against the mon- arch, on any occasion of popular disgust, and they solemnized the act by the most imposing ceremo- nials of religion. ^^ Their rights of jurisdiction, de- rived to them, it would seem, originally from royal grant,^^ were in a great measure defeated by the liberal charters of incorporation, which, in imita- tion of the sovereign, they conceded to their vassals, as well as by the gradual encroachment of the royal judicatures. ^"^ In virtue of their birth they monop- olized all the higher offices of state, as those of constable and admiral of Castile, adelantados or governors of the provinces, cities, &c. ^* They secured to themselves the grand-masterships of the military orders, which placed at their disposal an immense amount of revenue and patronage. Final- ly, they entered into the royal or privy council, and formed a constituent portion of the national legis- lature. These important prerogatives were of course fa- vorable to the accumulation of great wealth. Their estates were scattered over every part of the king- dom, and, unlike the grandees of Spain at the pre- sent day,^^ they resided on them in person, main taining the state of petty sovereigns, and surrounded by a numerous retinue, who served the purposes of Their great wealth. 55 The forms of this solemnity may be found in Mariana, Hist, de Espaila, torn. i. p. 907. 56 Marina, Ensayo, p. 128. 57 John I., in 1390, authorized ap])eals from the seignorial tribu- nals to those of the crown. Ibid., torn. ii. p. 179. 56 The nature of these dignities is explained in Salazar de Mendo- za, Monarquia, tom. i. pp. 155, 166, 203. 59 From the scarcity of these baronial residences, some I'anciful etymologists have derived the fa- miliar saying of " Chateaux en Espagne." See Bonrgoanne, Trav- els in Spain, tom. ii. chap. 13