Maestranza de caballería
Encyclopedia
Maestranzas de caballería (literally translated as cavalry
armories) were noble
guild
s created in the modern age by the Spanish
Crown, with the aim of giving the nobility practice in horsemanship
and the use of weapon
s. In the sixteenth century, the caballería or cavalry
, was the typical military branch for nobles to follow, but the aforementioned skills had become less common as the Spanish aristocracy
converted into a class of courtier
s. These noble institutions created a dedicated cavalry corps that was directly funded by its members. The participating nobles, or maestrantes, organized themselves under the advocacy of a holy patron and took the internal form of a fraternity
.
issued a Royal Decree on September 6, in which he encouraged the distinct local nobilities to organize themselves into noble brotherhoods. On August 3, 1573, the nobility of Ronda
created the Hermandad del Santo Espíritu under the advocacy of Nuestra Señora de Gracia ('Our Lady of Grace'), which would later become the Real Maestranza de Caballería de Ronda.
Seville
created a fraternity in the name of its patron saint, Saint Hermengild, soon thereafter, though it dissolved rapidly. By 1670, a group of nobles took Nuestra Señora del Rosario ('Our Lady of the Rosary') as its patron saint and the following year drew up orders which would give rise to the Real Maestranza de Caballería de Sevilla
from that time forward.
Nuestra Señora del Triunfo ('Our Lady of the Triumph') became the patron of the Real Maestranza de Caballería de Granada
, created in 1686 to imitate its Sevillian counterpart. Eleven years later, the last of the modern-era maestranzas was formed: the Real Maestranza de Caballería de Valencia
.
Two altogether separate cases are those of the Real Maestranza de Caballería de Zaragoza
, born in 1819 of the old Cofradía de Caballeros Hijosdalgo de San Jorge, and the Maestranza de Caballería de Segovia
in 1990.
In 1728, a petition was sent to the Spanish King by the city of Carmona, which acknowledged the existence of a Maestranza de Carmona. It would be governed from 1732 onwards under the auspices of the Real Maestranza de Caballería de Sevilla.
Also in 1728, Philip V of Spain
responded affirmatively to a memorial presented by the horsemen Diego Chacón y Rojas and his son Juan with the intention of reorganizing the Maestranza de Antequera
. This maestranza was also governed by the rules of the Sevillian group.
Three years later, a series of horsemen asked the Crown to form the Maestranza de Jaén
, but the Council of the Kingdom's Cavalry declined the request. The same case occurred with the Maestranza de Utrera
in 1732.
Conversely, in 1739, the Council of Caballería ruled in favor of the creation of the Maestranza de Jerez de la Frontera
. Finally, in 1758 a request was submitted for a Maestranza de Palma de Mallorca
. The request was approved, and the henceforth guild has governed itself with its own bylaws.
approved the Real Maestranza de Caballería de La Habana
(Havana) with the intention of helping with the ever-challenging defense of Cuba
from incessant corsair
attacks. The move had a very limited effect, and disappeared after fifty years at most.
In 1789, the festivities surrounding Charles V's initiation inspired a group of Mexican
nobles to seek royal authorization to create a Real Maestranza de Caballería de México. Some of the nobles were members of existing maestranzas, and the whole group was undoubtedly inspired by the guild in Cuba. They proposed their idea to the King on 3 February 1790, along with the support of the powerful Viceroy
, but the initiative was struck down by the Consejo de Indias
due to fears that any kind of autonomous organization among the American nobility could possibly sow the seeds for an independence movement.
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
armories) were noble
Nobility
Nobility is a social class which possesses more acknowledged privileges or eminence than members of most other classes in a society, membership therein typically being hereditary. The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be...
guild
Guild
A guild is an association of craftsmen in a particular trade. The earliest types of guild were formed as confraternities of workers. They were organized in a manner something between a trade union, a cartel, and a secret society...
s created in the modern age by the Spanish
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
Crown, with the aim of giving the nobility practice in horsemanship
Equestrianism
Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...
and the use of weapon
Weapon
A weapon, arm, or armament is a tool or instrument used with the aim of causing damage or harm to living beings or artificial structures or systems...
s. In the sixteenth century, the caballería or cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
, was the typical military branch for nobles to follow, but the aforementioned skills had become less common as the Spanish aristocracy
Aristocracy
Aristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...
converted into a class of courtier
Courtier
A courtier is a person who is often in attendance at the court of a king or other royal personage. Historically the court was the centre of government as well as the residence of the monarch, and social and political life were often completely mixed together...
s. These noble institutions created a dedicated cavalry corps that was directly funded by its members. The participating nobles, or maestrantes, organized themselves under the advocacy of a holy patron and took the internal form of a fraternity
Chivalric order
Chivalric orders are societies and fellowships of knights that have been created by European monarchs in imitation of the military orders of the Crusades...
.
Early maestranzas
Philip II of SpainPhilip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
issued a Royal Decree on September 6, in which he encouraged the distinct local nobilities to organize themselves into noble brotherhoods. On August 3, 1573, the nobility of Ronda
Ronda
Ronda is a city in Spanish province of Málaga. It is located about West from the city of Málaga, within the autonomous community of Andalusia. Its population is approximately 35,000 inhabitants.-History:...
created the Hermandad del Santo Espíritu under the advocacy of Nuestra Señora de Gracia ('Our Lady of Grace'), which would later become the Real Maestranza de Caballería de Ronda.
Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
created a fraternity in the name of its patron saint, Saint Hermengild, soon thereafter, though it dissolved rapidly. By 1670, a group of nobles took Nuestra Señora del Rosario ('Our Lady of the Rosary') as its patron saint and the following year drew up orders which would give rise to the Real Maestranza de Caballería de Sevilla
Real Maestranza de Caballería de Sevilla
The Real Maestranza de Caballería de Sevilla is a noble guild created in 1670 from the remnants of the preceding Cofradía de San Hermenegildo...
from that time forward.
Nuestra Señora del Triunfo ('Our Lady of the Triumph') became the patron of the Real Maestranza de Caballería de Granada
Real Maestranza de Caballería de Granada
The Real Maestranza de Caballería de Granada is a Spanish maestranza de caballería created in 1686 under the advocacy of the patron saint Nuestra Señora del Triunfo . One year later it approved a set of bylaws, and since 1992 it has been governed by state law...
, created in 1686 to imitate its Sevillian counterpart. Eleven years later, the last of the modern-era maestranzas was formed: the Real Maestranza de Caballería de Valencia
Real Maestranza de Caballería de Valencia
The Real Maestranza de Caballería de Valencia is a Spanish maestranza de caballería created in 1697. The first set of bylaws were approved seven years later, and currently the organization is governed by the latest draft of 1999. It has as its patron saint the Virgin Mary of the Immaculate...
.
Two altogether separate cases are those of the Real Maestranza de Caballería de Zaragoza
Zaragoza
Zaragoza , also called Saragossa in English, is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain...
, born in 1819 of the old Cofradía de Caballeros Hijosdalgo de San Jorge, and the Maestranza de Caballería de Segovia
Segovia
Segovia is a city in Spain, the capital of Segovia Province in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is situated north of Madrid, 30 minutes by high speed train. The municipality counts some 55,500 inhabitants.-Etymology:...
in 1990.
Disbanded maestranzas
Historians are certain of the existence of several maestranzas in different Spanish cities. Their decay and disappearance were due to a range of factors, including the prohibition of the use of small firearms, abandonment of old customs and accoutrements consistent with the jineta riding style and the decline of the equine trade in the south of Spain, etc.In 1728, a petition was sent to the Spanish King by the city of Carmona, which acknowledged the existence of a Maestranza de Carmona. It would be governed from 1732 onwards under the auspices of the Real Maestranza de Caballería de Sevilla.
Also in 1728, Philip V of Spain
Philip V of Spain
Philip V was King of Spain from 15 November 1700 to 15 January 1724, when he abdicated in favor of his son Louis, and from 6 September 1724, when he assumed the throne again upon his son's death, to his death.Before his reign, Philip occupied an exalted place in the royal family of France as a...
responded affirmatively to a memorial presented by the horsemen Diego Chacón y Rojas and his son Juan with the intention of reorganizing the Maestranza de Antequera
Antequera
Antequera is a city and municipality in the province of Málaga, part of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia. It is known as "the heart of Andalusia" because of its central location among Málaga, Granada, Córdoba, and Seville...
. This maestranza was also governed by the rules of the Sevillian group.
Three years later, a series of horsemen asked the Crown to form the Maestranza de Jaén
Jaén, Spain
Jaén is a city in south-central Spain, the name is derived from the Arabic word Jayyan, . It is the capital of the province of Jaén. It is located in the autonomous community of Andalusia....
, but the Council of the Kingdom's Cavalry declined the request. The same case occurred with the Maestranza de Utrera
Utrera
Utrera is a municipality in south-west Spain. It is in the province of Seville, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. As of 2008 it has a population close to 50,202....
in 1732.
Conversely, in 1739, the Council of Caballería ruled in favor of the creation of the Maestranza de Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera
Jerez de la Frontera is a municipality in the province of Cádiz in the autonomous community of Andalusia, in southwestern Spain, situated midway between the sea and the mountains. , the city, the largest in the province, had 208,896 inhabitants; it is the fifth largest in Andalusia...
. Finally, in 1758 a request was submitted for a Maestranza de Palma de Mallorca
Palma de Mallorca
Palma is the major city and port on the island of Majorca and capital city of the autonomous community of the Balearic Islands in Spain. The names Ciutat de Mallorca and Ciutat were used before the War of the Spanish Succession and are still used by people in Majorca. However, the official name...
. The request was approved, and the henceforth guild has governed itself with its own bylaws.
Maestranzas in the Americas
Although it is little known, in 1709 King Philip VPhilip V of Spain
Philip V was King of Spain from 15 November 1700 to 15 January 1724, when he abdicated in favor of his son Louis, and from 6 September 1724, when he assumed the throne again upon his son's death, to his death.Before his reign, Philip occupied an exalted place in the royal family of France as a...
approved the Real Maestranza de Caballería de La Habana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
(Havana) with the intention of helping with the ever-challenging defense of Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
from incessant corsair
Piracy
Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence at sea. The term can include acts committed on land, in the air, or in other major bodies of water or on a shore. It does not normally include crimes committed against persons traveling on the same vessel as the perpetrator...
attacks. The move had a very limited effect, and disappeared after fifty years at most.
In 1789, the festivities surrounding Charles V's initiation inspired a group of Mexican
New Spain
New Spain, formally called the Viceroyalty of New Spain , was a viceroyalty of the Spanish colonial empire, comprising primarily territories in what was known then as 'América Septentrional' or North America. Its capital was Mexico City, formerly Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec Empire...
nobles to seek royal authorization to create a Real Maestranza de Caballería de México. Some of the nobles were members of existing maestranzas, and the whole group was undoubtedly inspired by the guild in Cuba. They proposed their idea to the King on 3 February 1790, along with the support of the powerful Viceroy
Viceroy
A viceroy is a royal official who runs a country, colony, or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king. A viceroy's province or larger territory is called a viceroyalty...
, but the initiative was struck down by the Consejo de Indias
Consejo de Indias
The Council of the Indies, officially, the Royal and Supreme Council of the Indies , was the most important administrative organ of the Spanish Empire, both in the Americas and in Asia, combining legislative, executive and judicial functions...
due to fears that any kind of autonomous organization among the American nobility could possibly sow the seeds for an independence movement.