Corte y diplomacia en la Castilla bajomedieval

• Main Author: Óscar Villarroel González
• Format: Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Casa de Velázquez 2015-11-01
• Series: Mélanges de la Casa de Velázquez
• Subjects: Castile; Court; diplomacy; historiography; monarchy; sources
• Online Access: http://journals.openedition.org/mcv/6537

This paper analyses the current state of the research as regards diplomacy and its relations with the court in the Castilian context. After a long history, historiography is undergoing a number of changes in this sphere of historical study—changes that have scarcely impinged in the case of Castile. Lack of sources is undoubtedly the main problem, as there is no archive for the monarchy preserving diplomatic and court documentation with which to tackle the history of Castilian diplomacy in a similar way to other spheres of research. The main goal is therefore to find alternative sources. This paper presents the rationale behind that search, offering a couple of examples showing how fruitful this kind of work can be in advancing our knowledge of the history of diplomacy in the Kingdom of Castile.