El linaje de Aza durante los siglos XIII y XIV: declive y resurgimiento

AbstractThe Aza lineage was a modest Castilian aristocratic group that acquired quotas of power and certain fame during certain phases of its existence. However, it has received relatively little attention on the part of scholarship throughout the ages. In fact, for the period between the thirteenth and the fourteenth centuries, there is only one study by the early-modern genealogist Luis de Salazar y Castro, of questionable merit in certain aspects of his narrative. We seek to examine this aristocratic group over that same period, and with special attention to the trajectory between the reigns of Alfonso X and Alfonso XI of Castile, going beyond a merely descriptive dynastic approach by concentrating on two questions: Firstly, we will consider the position of the family members within the social hierarchy of the moment; and, secondly, we will gauge the family’s economic power and its seigneurial capacity in the northern plateau region (Meseta Norte). El linaje de Aza fue un modesto grupo aristocrático castellano que adquirió cuotas de poder y cierta notoriedad durante algunas fases de su existencia. Historiográficamente su interés ha pasado un tanto desapercibido a ojos de los especialistas. De hecho, para la etapa comprendida entre los siglos XIII y XIV sólo contamos con un trabajo específico elaborado en época moderna por el genealogista Luis de Salazar y Castro, bastante cuestionable en algunas partes de su relato. Nuestra propuesta trata de acercarse a este grupo nobiliario en ese mismo intervalo temporal, con especial atención al trayecto que transcurre entre los reinados de Alfonso X y Alfonso XI, tratando de superar la mera concepción dinástica en base a dos objetivos. El primero, posicionando a sus integrantes dentro de la escala social del momento. El segundo, calibrando su alcance económico y su capacidad señorial en la Meseta Norte.AbstractThe Aza lineage was a modest Castilian aristocratic group that acquired quotas of power and certain fame during certain phases of its existence. However, it has received relatively little attention on the part of scholarship throughout the ages. In fact, for the period between the thirteenth and the fourteenth centuries, there is only one study by the early-modern genealogist Luis de Salazar y Castro, of questionable merit in certain aspects of his narrative. We seek to examine this aristocratic group over that same period, and with special attention to the trajectory between the reigns of Alfonso X and Alfonso XI of Castile, going beyond a merely descriptive dynastic approach by concentrating on two questions: Firstly, we will consider the position of the family members within the social hierarchy of the moment; and, secondly, we will gauge the family’s economic power and its seigneurial capacity in the northern plateau region (Meseta Norte)