Poverty and Authority in Late Medieval Castile

The coming of the friars to the Iberian Peninsula during the thirteenth century caused a drastic transformation in spiritual and temporal perceptions at all levels of society. Not only did they represent a superior theological authority within the Church, but they also possessed and exercised a recognized and effective secular authority over the notables and the general populace alike.  Claiming a path to material poverty as they original raison d’etre, Franciscans and Dominicans soon thrived in a religiously diverse and changing society. The presence of the friars strengthened the structures of social relations by creating solid networks in urban societies where they exercised social and spiritual authority by serving the needs of the growing merchant class. They also legitimated the power and social status of nobles and monarchs by accepting the patronage of both the Castilian and Aragonese royal families.  In dealing with heretics, Jews and Muslims, the friars created structures of authority and dissent that affected the spiritual and temporal life in all spheres of social activity. The narrative of the friars in their sermons incorporated auctoritas as a genuine source of knowledge by using medieval exempla. Those examples were profusely used for preaching in public spaces helping to spread a popular attitude of anti-Semitism and economic resentment. In many ways, Mendicant preaching constantly reminded the general population of their differences in a religiously plural society by defining the boundaries separating the heterodox from the orthodox.  This paper analyzes several examples from both Castile and Aragon to better understand the crucial role of the Mendicant friars in shaping social and religious attitudes.