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Santa Hermandad (, "holy brotherhood") was a type of military
peacekeeping Peacekeeping comprises activities intended to create conditions that favour lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed warfare. Within the United N ...
association of armed individuals, which became characteristic of municipal life in medieval
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
, especially in Castile. Modern hermandades in Spain, some of which evolved from medieval origins, are now for the most part religious
confraternities A confraternity ( es, cofradía; pt, confraria) is generally a Christian voluntary association of laypeople created for the purpose of promoting special works of Christian charity or piety, and approved by the Church hierarchy. They are most ...
retaining only a military structure and
ethos Ethos ( or ) is a Greek word meaning "character" that is used to describe the guiding beliefs or ideals that characterize a community, nation, or ideology; and the balance between caution, and passion. The Greeks also used this word to refer to ...
.


Background

As
medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the Post-classical, post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with t ...
Iberian kings of León, Castile, and
Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...
were often unable to maintain public peace, protective municipal leagues began to emerge in the twelfth century against bandits and other rural criminals, as well as against the lawless nobility or mobilized to support a claimant to the crown. These organizations were individually temporary, but became a long-standing fixture of Spain. The first recorded case of the formation of an ''hermandad'' occurred when the towns and the peasantry of the north united to police the pilgrim road to
Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela is the capital of the autonomous community of Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city has its origin in the shrine of Saint James the Great, now the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, as the destination of the Way of St ...
in Galicia, and to protect the pilgrims in the 12th Century, a major source of regional income, against robber knights. With the countryside virtually everywhere effectively in the hands of nobles, throughout the High Middle Ages such brotherhoods were frequently formed by leagues of towns to protect the roads connecting them. The ''hermandades'' were occasionally co-opted for dynastic purposes. They acted to some extent like the Fehmic courts of
Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
. Among the most powerful was the league of northern Castilian and
Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...
ports, the ''Hermandad de las Marismas'':
Santander Santander may refer to: Places * Santander, Spain, a port city and capital of the autonomous community of Cantabria, Spain * Santander Department, a department of Colombia * Santander State, former state of Colombia * Santander de Quilichao, a m ...
, Laredo,
Castro Urdiales Castro Urdiales is a seaport of northern Spain, in the autonomous community of Cantabria, situated on the Bay of Biscay. Castro Urdiales is a modern town, although its castle and the Gothic-style parish church of Santa María de la Asunción, date ...
,
Bermeo Bermeo is a town and municipality in the ''comarca'' of Busturialdea. It is in the province of Biscay, which is part of the autonomous region of the Basque Country in northern Spain. With a population of 16,765, it is the most important fishing ...
,
Guetaria Getaria is a coastal town located in the province of Gipuzkoa, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, in the North of Spain. This coastal village is located on the Urola Coast, with Zarautz to the east and Zumaia to the west. Getaria i ...
, San Sebastian,
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and
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.


Early formation

The ''hermandades'' initially began to form in
Andalusia Andalusia (, ; es, Andalucía ) is the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Peninsular Spain. It is the most populous and the second-largest autonomous community in the country. It is officially recognised as a ...
in 1265, in towns seeking to “defend their interests” from
Islam Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
ic rebels who had been taking land and proclaiming their leader king.O’Callaghan, Joseph F. ''A History of Medieval Spain''. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1975. The groups may have been inspired by a previously-existing Islamic police force called the ''Shurta''.Lunenfeld, Marvin. ''The Council of the Santa Hermandad''. Coral Gables: University of Miami Press, 1970. The ''hermandades'' worked as local
militias A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...
to protect the towns they came from. Hermandades also curbed the actions of bandits and other criminals, becoming a kind of
police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...
force. As the hermandad gained more legitimacy, they also gained more powers and responsibilities. Along with working as a police force and militia, they also collected taxes, acted as judges, and worked with the
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and corregidores on these and similar administrative problems. The hermandad judges relied on the backing of the corregidores for legitimacy.Lunenfeld, Marvin. ''Keepers of the City''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,1987. The hermandad were given jurisdiction over a wide range of crimes including: "crimes on roads or in unpopulated areas; rape of honest women; blasphemy; and the passing of false money." As one of their first acts after the
War of the Castilian Succession The War of the Castilian Succession was the military conflict contested from 1475 to 1479 for the succession of the Crown of Castile fought between the supporters of Joanna 'la Beltraneja', reputed daughter of the late monarch Henry IV of Castile ...
in 1475 to 1479,
Ferdinand and Isabella The Catholic Monarchs were Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, whose marriage and joint rule marked the ''de facto'' unification of Spain. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being both ...
"brought peace by the brilliant strategy of organizing rather than eliminating violence;" they established a centrally organized and efficient Holy Hermandad (''Santa Hermandad'') with themselves at its head. They adapted the existing form of the ''hermandad'' to the purpose of creating a general police force under the direction of officials appointed by themselves, and endowed with large powers of summary jurisdiction, even in capital cases. The rough and ready justice of the ''Santas Hermandades'' became famous for brutality. The original ''hermandades'' continued to serve as modest local police units until their final suppression in 1835.


Relationship with rulers

The hermandades have had an inconsistent relationship with the ruling powers of
Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...
. They were sometimes used to undermine the authority of the king or his officials, and sometimes used to enforce it. Early in their formation, they tended to be temporary and to work in favor of royal authority in times of unrest. The king also took only a very minor role in the formation and regulation of the league. Under the reign of King Alfonso in 1298, hermandades were used against the king because some of the towns felt that he had been abusing his power. While under the reign of
Isabella I of Castile Isabella I ( es, Isabel I; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''la Católica''), was Queen of Castile from 1474 until her death in 1504, as well as List of Aragonese royal consorts, Queen consort ...
the hermandades were used to consolidate her authority and silence those who objected to her reign. By 1476, the administration of the “soon-to-be-kingdomwide league was incorporated into Isabella’s government as the Santa Hermandad (Holy Brotherhood)”. At that point, the Hermandad had a charter, which stated that its duties were to ''"...guard the
sovereignty Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...
and service of the king and all the rights he ought to have and to guard our bodies and all that we have … and we will live in peace and quiet so that when our king comes of age he will find the land well ordered and richer and better settled for his service."'' At one point, corregidores were chastised by the townspeople because they were unable to stop the outrages and abuses of the Hermandad. Corregidores held posts within the Holy Brotherhood, but their power to control their chapter was limited.


Relationship with towns and local communities

Just as the Hermandad's relationship with the rulers and their fellow government employees was constantly changing, so was the opinion of them held by the towns they were supposed to be guarding. As mentioned before, the hermandad was initially created as local militias in times of need. When they became a more powerful and more permanent institution, there were definite instances of abuses of power. There were the previously mentioned instances of the Holy Brotherhood silencing those who objected to Isabella’s reign. There were also reported instances of abuse by judges and archers, about whom the corregidores could do nothing.
Guzmán de Alfarache ''Guzmán de Alfarache'' () is a picaresque novel written by Mateo Alemán and published in two parts: the first in Madrid in 1599 with the title , and the second in 1604, titled '. The works tells the first person adventures of a ''picaro'', a ...
(1599) is quoted in Lunenfeld’s book. He quotes: “God free us from the transgressions of the three Holies-
Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...
, Brotherhood, and
crusade bull A crusade bull or crusading bull ( la, bulla cruciata) was a papal bull that granted privileges, including indulgences, to those who took part in the crusades against infidels.. A bull is an official document issued by a pope and sealed with a lea ...
.” Complaints began to appear requesting that the powers of the Holy Brotherhood be reined in, and in 1485 police immunities were reduced and cases were brought up against the archers and judges. Among local communities, the Santa Hermandad—also known colloquially as ''los mangas verdes'' ("the green sleeves"), since their body armour covered all but the sleeves of their green uniforms—attained a reputation of being unreliable, corrupt and negligent of the interests of the townsfolk. Modern
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parlance has maintained the phrase '' a buenas horas, mangas verdes!'' (roughly translated as "right on time, green sleeves!", meaning " better late than never!"), referencing the Santa Hermandad's inability to react promptly to crimes in their districts.


Finances

The Holy Brotherhood was supported by the collection of taxes and by a special ability to collect wartime funding, called ''servicios'' which were granted by a papal bull as a
crusading indulgence In the history of the Catholic Church, a crusade indulgence was any indulgence—remission from the penalties imposed by penance—granted to a person who participated in an ecclesiastically sanctioned crusade. It had its origins in the Council of C ...
. Because the hermandad was usually backed by the crown and nobles, they were able to collect money from resistant towns with force.


Other uses

In the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
, the
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
expression ''
hermandad Santa Hermandad (, "holy brotherhood") was a type of military peacekeeping association of armed individuals, which became characteristic of municipal life in medieval Spain, especially in Castile. Modern hermandades in Spain, some of which evo ...
'' remains a derogatory
nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...
for the
police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...
. Dutch Wikipedia: "Hermandad".


See also

* ''Germania'' (guild)


References


Further reading

*{{cite journal , last1=Stewart , first1=Paul , title=The Santa Hermandad and the First Italian Campaign of Gonzalo de Córdoba, 1495-1498 , journal=Renaissance Quarterly , date=1975 , volume=28 , issue=1 , pages=29-37 Social history of Spain Medieval Spain Defunct law enforcement agencies of Spain 1835 disestablishments