Castilian and Portuguese Societies: studies on the relations of power and memory in the Early Middle Ages

From the last decades of the twentieth century, different historiographical currents returned their studies to the problematic ones around the theory of the real power and the conceptions referring to the image of the kings of Portugal and Castile. These topics covered diverse subjects such as the conception and the theory of monarchical power, the regal symbols, the forms of legitimation of this power in relation to the nobility and the clergy, among others. In this regard, several studies have aroused debates among specialists, regarding the idea that the royal power in the Castilian and Portuguese societies were devoid of theological-sacred references, unlike the rituals that developed between the French kings. These interpretations based on sources of diverse shades, such as specula principis (mirrors of princes), chronology, hagiography, legislative works and those of legal and literary nature have gained body and even in the face of a substantial production need to be discussed and revisited. This course aims to discuss primarily the relations of power and memory records in the societies of the Early Middle Ages, through the visualization of the interrelations between royalty, clergy and nobility; with special emphasis on the kingdoms of Portugal and Castile, between the XIII-XV centuries.