War of the Bands
Encyclopedia
The War of the Bands was a civil war
, really an extended series of blood feud
s, in the western Basque Country
(part of Castile
), Gascony, and Navarre
in the Late Middle Ages
. The main primary source
for the War is Las Bienandanças e fortunas by Lope García de Salazar, written c.1471. The war is named after the aristocratic networks of familial alliances and their armed followings, known as bandos (bands), that carried out constant wars for power and honour across three kingdoms. The wars ceased only with the imposition of royal authority under Ferdinand II of Aragon
and Isabella of Castile
, the Catholic Monarchs
.
The wars resulted partly from the destabilising effect of the Castilian Civil War
and the ensuing political weakness of the House of Trastámara. That the Seniory of Biscay effectively ceased to exist after 1370 and was subsumed in 1379 into Castile only exacerbated the effects of political anarchy on Biscay. The rise of the towns, notably Bilbao
and Bermeo
, caused jockeying for municipal power between the rich urban families. The landed nobility, enfeoffed in the heavily encastellated countryside, nursed feuds that dated back centuries. The Ligizamon and Zamudiano had been enemies since 1270. Many minor noble families were caught in the feuds of the great families by ties of marriage.
In 1362, in the early stage of the conflicts, the Ligizamon and Zurbarán families fought a battle in the streets of Bilbao. They battled again in the market of Bermeo in 1413. Thereafter until 1433 the fighting between the two bands continued without a truce. The Vasurta, who had been enemies of the Ligizamon over the rights to a salmon, fought on the side of the Zurbarán. The urban warfare was less fatal than the pitched battles often fought in the countryside: only five men died in a fracas in Bilbao in 1440 and only ten in the streets of Bermeo in 1443.
In 1413 a private war broke out between Juan de Sant Pedro, from the Labourd
in the English
Duchy of Gascony, and the Navarrese houses of the Espeleta and the Alzate. After the head of the Alzate and his son were killed, Lord Fernando of the Gamboino family of Gipuzkoa married his son to the daughter and heiress of the Alzate. In consequence he led an attack on Juan de Sant Pedro to avenge his daughter-in-law's family. He was defeated and killed and 150 men died in the battle.
Around 1420 the Gamboinos extended their feuding with an assault by night on the Oñaz family, also of Guipúzcoa. On Christmas, the Oñaz' manor was set alight and the head of the house plus nine others died in the blaze. The Oñaz family lands were then ravaged by the Gamboinos and their allies, but the allies of the Oñaz came to their defence. Of the latter, the Lescano attacked the Gamboino-allied Valda family and killed its leader. With the end of this little war a whole new network of blood feuds had come into being.
The Gamboinos and the Valda fought against the Oñaz and the Lescana at Zumarraga in 1446. The Oñaz were victorious and burnt the Gamboino fortress at Azkoitia
. Seventy men and twelve of the leaders were killed. The families, with every wider networks of allies, engaged again in 1447 and 1448.
As early as 1390 and 1393 warring in Biscay had been reduced by the intervention of the royalist hermandad
es, capable of drawing on the revenues of royal estates. In 1415 the corregidor, the royally-appointed governor of the hermandad, acting on royal orders, siphoned off Biscayan wheat to the Asturias
, inciting a rebellion. The Biscayans were defeated at Erandio
with the loss of sixty men and the wheat transfers continued. In 1442 the hermandades interfered successfully in Bilbao and Mondragón
, but the peace established did not endure. In 1457 the war between the Gamboinos and the Oñaz was brought to an abrupt end when the hermandades rebelled against them both, seized their manors, and expelled their leaders from Guipúzcoa.
Civil war
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic, or, less commonly, between two countries created from a formerly-united nation state....
, really an extended series of blood feud
Blood Feud
"Blood Feud" is the twenty-second and final episode of The Simpsons second season. It originally aired on the Fox network in the United States on July 11, 1991. In the episode, Mr. Burns falls ill and desperately needs a blood transfusion. Homer discovers Bart has Burns' rare blood type and urges...
s, in the western Basque Country
Basque Country (historical territory)
The Basque Country is the name given to the home of the Basque people in the western Pyrenees that spans the border between France and Spain on the Atlantic coast....
(part of 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...
), Gascony, and Navarre
Kingdom of Navarre
The Kingdom of Navarre , originally the Kingdom of Pamplona, was a European kingdom which occupied lands on either side of the Pyrenees alongside the Atlantic Ocean....
in the Late Middle Ages
Late Middle Ages
The Late Middle Ages was the period of European history generally comprising the 14th to the 16th century . The Late Middle Ages followed the High Middle Ages and preceded the onset of the early modern era ....
. The main primary source
Primary source
Primary source is a term used in a number of disciplines to describe source material that is closest to the person, information, period, or idea being studied....
for the War is Las Bienandanças e fortunas by Lope García de Salazar, written c.1471. The war is named after the aristocratic networks of familial alliances and their armed followings, known as bandos (bands), that carried out constant wars for power and honour across three kingdoms. The wars ceased only with the imposition of royal authority under Ferdinand II of Aragon
Ferdinand II of Aragon
Ferdinand the Catholic was King of Aragon , Sicily , Naples , Valencia, Sardinia, and Navarre, Count of Barcelona, jure uxoris King of Castile and then regent of that country also from 1508 to his death, in the name of...
and Isabella of Castile
Isabella I of Castile
Isabella I was Queen of Castile and León. She and her husband Ferdinand II of Aragon brought stability to both kingdoms that became the basis for the unification of Spain. Later the two laid the foundations for the political unification of Spain under their grandson, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor...
, the Catholic Monarchs
Catholic Monarchs
The Catholic Monarchs is the collective title used in history for Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being both descended from John I of Castile; they were given a papal dispensation to deal with...
.
The wars resulted partly from the destabilising effect of the Castilian Civil War
Castilian Civil War
The Castilian Civil War lasted three years from 1366 to 1369. It became part of the larger conflict then raging between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of France: the Hundred Years' War...
and the ensuing political weakness of the House of Trastámara. That the Seniory of Biscay effectively ceased to exist after 1370 and was subsumed in 1379 into Castile only exacerbated the effects of political anarchy on Biscay. The rise of the towns, notably Bilbao
Bilbao
Bilbao ) is a Spanish municipality, capital of the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of the Basque Country. With a population of 353,187 , it is the largest city of its autonomous community and the tenth largest in Spain...
and Bermeo
Bermeo
Bermeo is a town and municipality in the sub-region of Busturialdea and the wider province of Biscay, part of the autonomous region of the Basque Country, in Northern Spain. Bermeo has 17,026 inhabitants and is the most important fishing port of the Basque Country. The town was founded in 1236 and...
, caused jockeying for municipal power between the rich urban families. The landed nobility, enfeoffed in the heavily encastellated countryside, nursed feuds that dated back centuries. The Ligizamon and Zamudiano had been enemies since 1270. Many minor noble families were caught in the feuds of the great families by ties of marriage.
In 1362, in the early stage of the conflicts, the Ligizamon and Zurbarán families fought a battle in the streets of Bilbao. They battled again in the market of Bermeo in 1413. Thereafter until 1433 the fighting between the two bands continued without a truce. The Vasurta, who had been enemies of the Ligizamon over the rights to a salmon, fought on the side of the Zurbarán. The urban warfare was less fatal than the pitched battles often fought in the countryside: only five men died in a fracas in Bilbao in 1440 and only ten in the streets of Bermeo in 1443.
In 1413 a private war broke out between Juan de Sant Pedro, from the Labourd
Labourd
Labourd is a former French province and part of the present-day Pyrénées Atlantiques département. It is historically one of the seven provinces of the traditional Basque Country....
in the English
Kingdom of England
The Kingdom of England was, from 927 to 1707, a sovereign state to the northwest of continental Europe. At its height, the Kingdom of England spanned the southern two-thirds of the island of Great Britain and several smaller outlying islands; what today comprises the legal jurisdiction of England...
Duchy of Gascony, and the Navarrese houses of the Espeleta and the Alzate. After the head of the Alzate and his son were killed, Lord Fernando of the Gamboino family of Gipuzkoa married his son to the daughter and heiress of the Alzate. In consequence he led an attack on Juan de Sant Pedro to avenge his daughter-in-law's family. He was defeated and killed and 150 men died in the battle.
Around 1420 the Gamboinos extended their feuding with an assault by night on the Oñaz family, also of Guipúzcoa. On Christmas, the Oñaz' manor was set alight and the head of the house plus nine others died in the blaze. The Oñaz family lands were then ravaged by the Gamboinos and their allies, but the allies of the Oñaz came to their defence. Of the latter, the Lescano attacked the Gamboino-allied Valda family and killed its leader. With the end of this little war a whole new network of blood feuds had come into being.
The Gamboinos and the Valda fought against the Oñaz and the Lescana at Zumarraga in 1446. The Oñaz were victorious and burnt the Gamboino fortress at Azkoitia
Azkoitia
Azkoitia is a town located in the province of Gipuzkoa, in the Autonomous Community of Basque Country, in the northern Spain...
. Seventy men and twelve of the leaders were killed. The families, with every wider networks of allies, engaged again in 1447 and 1448.
As early as 1390 and 1393 warring in Biscay had been reduced by the intervention of the royalist hermandad
Hermandad
Hermandad, literally "brotherhood" in Spanish, was a peacekeeping association of armed individuals, which became characteristic of municipal life in medieval Spain, especially in Castile....
es, capable of drawing on the revenues of royal estates. In 1415 the corregidor, the royally-appointed governor of the hermandad, acting on royal orders, siphoned off Biscayan wheat to the Asturias
Asturias
The Principality of Asturias is an autonomous community of the Kingdom of Spain, coextensive with the former Kingdom of Asturias in the Middle Ages...
, inciting a rebellion. The Biscayans were defeated at Erandio
Erandio
Erandio is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, northern Spain.In 1415, during the War of the Bands, the corregidor, the royally-appointed governor of the Biscayan hermandad, acting on royal orders, siphoned off Biscayan wheat to...
with the loss of sixty men and the wheat transfers continued. In 1442 the hermandades interfered successfully in Bilbao and Mondragón
Mondragón
Arrasate or Mondragón - is a town and municipality in Gipuzkoa province, Basque Country, Spain...
, but the peace established did not endure. In 1457 the war between the Gamboinos and the Oñaz was brought to an abrupt end when the hermandades rebelled against them both, seized their manors, and expelled their leaders from Guipúzcoa.