The Spanish Parliament of the Kingdom of León

Kingdom of León

The Kingdom of León was an independent kingdom situated in the northwest region of the Iberian Peninsula. It was founded in AD 910 when the Christian princes of Asturias along the northern coast of the peninsula shifted their capital from Oviedo to the city of León...

(1188) was the first sample of modern parliamentarism in the history of Western Europe ("The Life and Death of Democracy". John Keane. Simon & Schuster, London, 2009.
).

After coming to power, King Alfonso IX, facing a critical situation in the Kingdom of León, attacked by its two neighbors, Castile

Kingdom of Castile

Kingdom of Castile was one of the medieval kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. It emerged as a political autonomous entity in the 9th century. It was called County of Castile and was held in vassalage from the Kingdom of León. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region...

 and Portugal

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

, decided to summon the "Royal Curia".

This was a medieval organisation composed by aristocrats and bishops. But, because of the seriousness of the situation and ready to assemble the maximum political support, king Alfonso IX took a revolutionary decision: he called the representatives of the urban middle class of the most important cities and assembled them with the nobility and the Church in "Cortes" or Parliament. For the first time since Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece

Ancient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...

, not only the nobility and the Church were taking part in the elaboration of the laws of a country.

León's Parliament approached topics that today are the basis of the juridical

Law

Law is a system of rules and guidelines which are enforced through social institutions to govern behavior, wherever possible. It shapes politics, economics and society in numerous ways and serves as a social mediator of relations between people. Contract law regulates everything from buying a bus...

 classification of any democratic state: the limits of the executive power, the defense of the citizen opposite public power and deprived of the epoch and especially, the cleanliness of the judicial processes.

In this respect it is necessary to emphasize the right to private property

Private property

Private property is the right of persons and firms to obtain, own, control, employ, dispose of, and bequeath land, capital, and other forms of property. Private property is distinguishable from public property, which refers to assets owned by a state, community or government rather than by...

, the resource to being able to appeal to Justice opposite the King, the obligation of the King to consult the Parliament to enter war, the "habeas corpus

Habeas corpus

is a writ, or legal action, through which a prisoner can be released from unlawful detention. The remedy can be sought by the prisoner or by another person coming to his aid. Habeas corpus originated in the English legal system, but it is now available in many nations...

" and the inviolability of domicile.

From León's Parliament, many kingdoms in Europe assembled parliaments with participation of the cities: England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

, Catalonia

Catalonia

Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...

, Aragón

Aragon

Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza...

, Valencia.

When the Founding Fathers of the United States of America elaborated the American constitution, one of the juridical models they studied were the laws arisen from the parliament of the Kingdom of León.John Adams

John Adams

John Adams was an American lawyer, statesman, diplomat and political theorist. A leading champion of independence in 1776, he was the second President of the United States...

knew the text of the Fuero of León during his journey to Spain, as it is told in his biography.

Sources

• Encyclopedia Britannica. Article: "History of Europe" (Birth of parliamentary bodies)
• John Adams' biography.
• O'Callaghan,J.F. "The beginninings of the Cortes of León-Castile», American History Review 1969, p. 1504.
• O'Callaghan, Joseph F. "A History of Medieval Spain". Ithaca 1975.
• Procter, Evelyn. "Curia and Cortes in León and Castile 1072-1295". Cambridge 1980.
• Procter, Evelyn."The Interpretation of Clause 3 in the Decrees of León," EHR 85 (1970
• Merriman, Roger B. "The Cortes of the Spanish Kingdoms in the Later Middle Ages," AHR 16 (1911)
• "The Life and Death of Democracy". John Keane. Simon & Schuster, London, 2009.