VILLAFÁFILA IN 1506

Villafáfila belonged to the lordship of the Military Order of Santiago, as an encomienda until the 14th century, and since then forming part of the Castrotorafe encomienda, but with its own land and jurisdiction, of which the places of San Agustín and Revellinos and other villages that were depopulated before the end of the fifteenth century. Since 1467 it had been occupied by force by the Count of Benavente, Don Rodrigo, who had ceded it to his brother, Don Pedro Pimentel, who "had it tyrannized" , according to the testimony of the neighbors many years later. The delivery of Villafáfila to Don Pedro by the count his brother, was the result of a concert, by which he gave the Count the town of Almanza and the place of Pobladura, which he had received from his first wife, Doña Francisca de Almança:

“The said Mr. Pedro had and possessed the town of Villafáfila in the name of the Count of Benavente and at the time that the said town of Villafáfila was taken from him by the king our lord, as a master who is of the order of Santiago, to said Mr. Don Pedro restored him and restored the said places of Pobladura and Almança” .

This agreement was established by deed signed by both brothers on 30-XI-1470 [1] .

The abuses and injustices that Don Pedro inflicted on the neighbors were known in the court of the Catholic Monarchs thanks to the report of the visitors of the Order of Santiago in 1494 in which they say things like:

 “Others, after having been told that all the plaintiffs came to complain to us so we could remedy them, and together with this we took an oath from the aldermen as usual and customary, we have it in all the encomiendas, towns and logares, and after taking this oath never The judges and aldermen came to tell us something because they were afraid of Don Pedro Pimentel, because day or night they did not remove spies from Don Pedro from our inn, as we suspected and wished us, because out of this no one dared to come and We were informed that, if they dared to come, they would sue big complaints from the said Don Pedro...; none of those of us who took an oath like the others did not dare to say anything, saying that if they said it I would hang them and that if we took an oath they would perjure themselves....;[2] .

The Catholic Monarchs had allowed this favorable situation for the Count of Benavente due to the good services he had rendered them during the war of succession and during the reconquest of Granada. In 1493, with the incorporation of the military orders to the crown, the masters were the kings, and the consented occupation of part of the assets of an encomienda and the complaints expressed by the neighbors, appealing to their highnesses to remedy it, made that the kings considered the reinstatement of Villafáfila to the charge of Castrotorafe.

In 1496, Queen Isabel sent the commander of Castilleja de la Cuesta, Alonso de Esquivel, one of the visitors of 1494, to make an investigation of the neighbors and the income of Villafáfila and his land, and of two places in the kingdom of Grenade,

 “Montexaque and Abenaxan that we heard done thanks to the Count of Benavente” ,

with the intention of reinstating the Order of Santiago Villafáfila and compensating the count with those two places. The investigation was carried out in May 1497, and that same year:

"Don Fernando de Pavia, commander of the order and mastery of Santiago, took possession of it by the hand and commanded by King Don Fernando, our lord, and Queen Doña Ysabel, who is holy glory, and handed it over and gave it to Don Enrique de Guzmán, commander of the encomienda of Castro whose is this town” .

I not only take possession of the fortress but also of the justice of the town:

“Don Fernando de Pavia, by letter and approval from King Fernando and Reyna Ysabel, our lords, took the bars of justice for this witness, Françisco Rodríguez Reyna, Doña Ysabel, holy glory behold, and handed her over and gave her to Don Enrique Enríquez de Guzmán, commander of the encomienda de Castro, whose is this town”. He not only took possession of the fortress but also of the Mosque, the ordinary mayor at the time with this witness, and handed it over to Juan de Muélledes and Pedro Testón so that they could inform them by their Highnesses” [3] .

The new political situation in the town brought many changes, not only in the positions of warden of the fortress, for which Françisco Traslago, a trusted man of the commander, and of the ordinary wardens, was appointed; Also in the influence of certain families, who, under the patronage of the Pimentel, had settled in the town, and had occupied the regiment and obtained privileges, such as the exemption of breasts or favorable access to council lands. This caused some differences with the commander and with his sponsored in 1499 the visitors of the Order had to settle that year:

“In the said Villafáfila we failed in certain debates and alterations between each other, and between some fidalgos and the commander, and according to what it seemed, everyone wanted peace, if he were a mediator, and this is how it was stated that certain makers for the said commander don Enrique and the mayors of the town and other certain fidalgos petitioned and testified to us with certain protests that, since we were going there with the power of your highnesses, we should take the cabsas in our hands and give the means that would serve God and concord with them; With greater abundance they committed it into our hands and all of us, differently, took it to a place called San Cebrián, where Don Enrique, commander, was with whom we agreed and gave each other the best means we could and left them with all harmony ” [4].

Some were also produced in the institutional situation of the council to adapt to the recent condition of realengo. To avoid lawsuits between neighbors and facilitate a better exercise of justice, the Catholic Monarchs appointed from that year a Mayor for the towns of the Order of Santiago had to the north of the Central System, but with residence most of the year in Villafáfila , following the recommendations of the visitors:

“Beyond that, we settled on other particular things, since the powers of their highnesses forbade us, because seeing that it was their service, and because there was no person on earth for their highnesses who knew of such cabsas, and because we did not leave them in So much confusion, since they asked us and required it, we got to know about it; It seems to us, if your highnesses are served, it would be good to send someone who understands justice, because ordinary mayors seldom determine, because things are between relatives” [5] .

The mayors were appointed annually by the council of the order, and had under their jurisdiction the towns and places that the Order of Santiago owned in Old Castile and in the kingdoms of León and Galicia, to the north of the Central System: “aquende los ports” or “the ports here”, as they appear in the documents, among which several encomiendas and places were included: in Zamora the encomiendas of Castrotorafe, Villafáfila and Porto, the encomienda of Peñausende; the charge of Destriana de la Valduerna in León; the encomienda de la Barra and Valle de Courel in Galicia; in Salamanca, the encomienda of Barruecopardo with Saucelle and Vilvestre, and the town of Peralejo de Abajo; in Valladolid, the encomienda of Castroverde del Cerrato, Piñel de Abajo, Pozuelo de la Orden and Villalar; and the town of Guaza de Campos in Palencia. Although he had the obligation to visit all of them during his mandate, the possession of the position and the residence that was taken at the end of his office, were carried out in Villafáfila, since it was the town where he spent the most time. The council had to ask the Council of the Order to make a provision so that the mayor could only spend four months in Villafáfila, and the rest would be distributed among the other towns in the party, because the presence and actions of the mayor permanently in the town created conflicts of competence with the ordinary mayors and the regiment, as well as being burdensome for their coffers. Even in 1519, the Mayor lived there most of the time, as communicated in a letter to the Council:

“The mayors of said party reside most of the year in the town of Villafáfila, which is the closest of the counties to the other places in the party” [6] .

Although the position was of annual duration, several times an extension in the mandate takes place, as in the case of Rodrigo de Figueroa who was appointed in 1505 and remained in the office until 1508. As it was a justice office, a bachelor or a lawyer in law for his performance, and to guide him in his functions and limitations, together with the appointment certificate, he was given some "Chapters", which they had to comply with, a copy of which, dated in the year 1507, was in the ark of the council of Villafáfila.

Ordinary justice was in charge of two mayors elected annually by the council, on Saint John's Day, who judged in the first instance the lawsuits "ansi çibiles as creminales" , and the regiment was made up of four aldermen, two for each state, noble and overall. Since the 16th century, only the outgoing mayors and aldermen elected two people for each position of justice and regiment, and then in a public council some certificates were kept with the names of those proposed in a jar and a child extracted the ballots from those who corresponded. hold office for the following year.

For the help of the municipal government or for the drafting of ordinances, ten "deputy persons" were elected annually , the so-called tens. In addition, there was a council attorney, in charge of representing the council in lawsuits and collecting the rents of the councils and making the releases of the expenses. During these years the two mayors used to belong to the state of the good pecheros men, but towards 1527 the hidalgos obtained a provision from the Council of Orders, for the distribution of the mayorships between both states.

During the occupation of Don Pedro Pimentel, the positions of justice and regiment would be appointed by him or would have to have his approval, and in view of the new situation the council asked their Highnesses to apply in Villafáfila what was stipulated in the capitular laws of the order for these cases and in February 1502, the council receives a Royal Provision from the Council of Orders, by which:

"Don Fernando and Doña Isabel by the grace of God Rrey e Rreyna de Castilla etc., perpetual administrators of the Order of Chivalry of Santiago by apostolic authority, to you the council, mayors, aldermen and officials and good men of the town of Villafáfila health and grace " .

The Capitular Law is inserted that speaks about the regiment, approved by the Order, at the beginning of the 15th century, and against the provision:

“And now in the council of the said horden, a petition was seen that was given to us by you, for which you beg us and ask for mercy that we order that the said law be kept in that said town or that we probe close to it, as a The nra merçed was, and us, with the agreement of the said council, we take it for good that for you you order that you obey said capitular law that of its kind has been incorporated and the guards and officials and fagades to keep and comply with everything, and for everything according to because of the form and manner that is contained in it, and against the nor and form of what is contained in it you bayais ny pasais ny consent yr ny pass now ny in any time ny by any way under penalty of the nra mercy of ten myll mrs to each one who did the opposite”.

In addition, he summons the council so that some of his representatives appear before the kings wherever the Court is found:

“and others we send to the ome that you this letter will show that you place what you appear before us in the court of what you want us to be, from the day that you place until the first fifteen days following, under the said penalty, under which we send to anyone notary public who is called for this, who therefore gives testimony signed with his sign, so that we know how the mandated number is fulfilled” [7] .

The council met to the sound of a tolling bell, in the square or in a church or in the inn of the mayor, in the absence of council houses, just as the mayors settled down to exercise justice "fight lawsuits" in a corner of the square or under the portals of some private houses, so the Catholic Monarchs ordered the construction of some houses for the meetings of the council:

“Your Highness will know how the visitors sent the said council of this town of Villafáfila to build a town hall to be town hall in it and the said town is very needy and has a lot to do to repair the fence and doors of the said town that It is ordered and they begged their Highnesses to order that the said house not be built and for this reason they did not send from here to the next All Saints' Day that comes from this present year of a thousand and incur the penalty that the visitors put on them, in the saying chapter. Having seen the chapter of the said visitation, they probed in it and ordered the said council to have and comply with what the said visitors five hundred and two years” [8] .

At least since the 12th century, the town had a fortress and a rammed earth fence surrounding the original urban nucleus, whose condition was one of the main concerns of the order's visitors. In the visitation of 1499 the state of the fence was in great deterioration:

“We visited the walls of the said town, which are all made of earth and all of them now with hatches, again in some of them the council has made a high wall in the gates” .

But despite ordering that they be repaired by the council, in 1503 they were still in the same situation:

“The walls of this town are made of earthen walls and they are all very sagging and in some parts the council has made some gates out of a raised wall” .

In a similar state they found the fortress, located in one of the corners of the enclosure:

“We visited the fortress of this town in which we decided Fco de Treslago as warden, who is appointed by Don Enrique Comendador de Castrotorafe, it is all made of land and has few defenses as it seems and a house and certain bastions demolished except for a room where the warden is. , on the part of the said commander we were presented with a sa probision that orders that we have information on what is demolished from the said fortress and when and by what part it was demolished or fell or whose charge was the fazer which said information we obtained and we gave it closed and sealed to the mayordomo of the commander so that he could come to their highnesses so that they could do whatever was at the service of God and theirs” [9] .

In 1503, Commander Don Enrique Enríquez de Guzmán died, and Don Sancho de Castilla was appointed Commander of Castrotorafe, but his mandate must have been short, since in 1506 Don Alonso de Aragón, Duke of Villahermosa, and cousin of the king, was Commander Catholic, who resigned from the charge before leaving for Naples, in the company of the Archbishop of Zaragoza, by order of the king.

Therefore, during his stay in the town, the encomienda was vacant, something that must not have gone unnoticed by Fernando, who made provision for it in favor of Don Fernando de Vega, Lord of Grajal, one of the few Castilian nobles, who had remained faithful to him in those fateful days and who had served him well during the succession crisis.

During his stay in the town of Tordesillas, on the first of July, the date coinciding with the publication of the manifesto to the towns, in which Fernando set out his vision of Concord, the king named Fernando de Vega a knight of the habit of Santiago , who for his services in recent days, when he was sent to negotiate the terms of the agreement in La Coruña, will appoint

“president and logarthenyente general of the horde of Santiago

together with some other commanders or cavalleros of the said horden podays to arm and arm a cavallero of the said Fernando de Vega with the cars and ceremonies that in such a case he is accustomed to stage and ansy for you armed cavallero I command Fracº Martínez Villón, my chaplain, frayle of the said order that he give her the habit and teach her with the blessings and seconds as provided by the said rule. From which I ordered him to give and give this my letter signed by my name and sealed with the seal of the said horde in the said town of Tordesyllas on the first day of the month of July in the year one thousand five hundred and six years.” frayle of the said order that he give her the habit and teach her with the blessings and seconds as provided by the said rule. From which I ordered him to give and give this my letter signed by my name and sealed with the seal of the said horde in the said town of Tordesyllas on the first day of the month of July in the year one thousand five hundred and six years.” frayle of the said order that he give her the habit and teach her with the blessings and seconds as provided by the said rule. From which I ordered him to give and give this my letter signed by my name and sealed with the seal of the said horde in the said town of Tordesyllas on the first day of the month of July in the year one thousand five hundred and six years.”.

The following day he was knighted in the church of the Turresillan monastery of Santa Clara by the Count of Mélito:

“In Tordesyllas, two days of the month of July of five hundred and six years, in the church and monastery of Santa Clara, by virtue of this provision, Don Diego de Mendoça made Fernando de Vega a knight, and then I, Francº Martínez Vellón, gave him the I accepted and took the profession... in the presence of Don Diego de Mendoça, commander of Usagre, and Gutierre Gómez de Fuensalida, commander of Benbrilla, and Fernando de Quesada, knight of the said horden” .

Once he has taken the habit of knight of Santiago, the king orders that he be provided with the encomienda of Castrotorafe:

“Don Fernando etc., to you, Fracº Martínez Villón, my chaplain, know that Castrotorafe's entrustment, which is from the said horden, is presently this cow by resignation that, purely and simply, was made by Don Alonso de Aragón, Duke of Villafermosa, last commander and holder that was of the said parcel, in the hands of the person, who, in order to receive the said resignation, has my power and faculty, and, as said administrator, belongs to the provision of the said parcel; therefore, complying with the services that Fernando de Vega, cavallero of the said horde, has done to me and she is expected to do from now on, by this my letter I appoint him to be provided with the said commission ... with all his annexes and belongings ... and I give him power and authority so that he, or whoever his power may have,.

In the same Letter of Provision, he names Luis de Barrio, a resident of Villafáfila, as depositary of the media annata de la encomienda, that is, half of the fruits and rents that the commander should collect during the first two years of his position, to be employed in repairs and improvements of the fortresses and properties of the encomienda:

“and because according to the apostolic bull and establishment of the said order, half of the fruits and income of the said order of the first two years, when it is provided by the commander, counting from the day of the vacation, must be spent and converted into the works and repairs and improvement of the houses and estates and members of the said entrustment, and according to the said establishment I am obliged to appoint a person who collects and receives and spends said half of the fruits, and hereby appoint and deputy for this to Luys de Barrio, a resident of the town of Villafáfila, to whom I give complete power so that he can take and collect the said half of the fruits and income of the said commission for the said two years and I order him to spend and distribute them in the said works and repairs and improvements,With the agreement and presence of said commander or of whom his power ovyere and I order Fernando de Vega that after he is provided with the said entrustment, let the said depositary know and the authorized transfer of this my letter so that he can collect and spend the said mytad of fruits as said is...

Given in the town of Tordesyllas on two days of the month of July of myl and who and six years.

I the King.

Miguel Pérez de Almaçan, secretary of the king, my lord, I made it write by order of his highness” .

The appointment of Luis de Barrio, a resident of Villafáfila, to the position of collector of the media annata de la encomienda, can only be understood assuming knowledge of it by His Highness, or by Fernando de Vega himself, or that he had already been depositary of this collection on the death of don Enrique Enríquez, in 1503. This knowledge had to occur the previous days, during the king's stay in Villafáfila, either because he posed in his house, which was next to the church of San Martín, where the concord was signed, or because Fernando de Vega stayed there, since Luis de Barrio was one of the main noblemen of the town.

Immediately afterwards, Don Fernando de Vega grants a power of attorney in favor of Álvaro Vázquez Noguerol, a resident of the town of Grajal:

“so that in my name you can take and take possession of the fortress and town and places of the said encomyenda of Castrotorafe and you can request the warden who has the said fortress and the other people who have the towns and places of the said encomyenda that They leave it free and disenfranchised and prudish ... put justice mayors and senior bailiffs and mayordomos and other officials in all the towns and places of the said commission and remove those that are posted” .

On July 20, when the council of Villafáfila was meeting, called to the sound of a tolling bell, at the posada of Mr. Bachiller Rodrigo de Figueroa, mayor, the said mayor and the ordinary mayors, aldermen, attorney, and many other neighbors being present. , Álvaro Vázquez presented himself as mayor of the town and fortress of Castrotorafe, on behalf of the commander Fernando de Vega, and exhibited the letters of provision of the king and those of power that he brought, before the council. After reading, they took the letter of provision in their hands and said that they obeyed it, then they kissed them and placed them on their heads as a sign of respect and reverence. The mayor took and received an oath from the mayor of Castrotorafe by Dios y Santa María in the name of the commander:

“In anyma of said Mr. Fernando de Vega Commander that the said Mr. Fernando de Vega Commander, would keep the prejudices and all the good spindles and customs that this said town of Villafáfila has and that if he did so, God help him in this world to the body and in the other to the anyma where it would last longer and otherwise it would be that he demanded it” .

After having sworn to respect the uses and customs of the town, the mayors and aldermen and the attorney delivered:

“The posysyon of this town of Villafáfila and its land... and the said Álvaro Vázquez as a sign of posysyon walked through the square and streets of said town and entered the fortress of the said town and walked through it and opened and closed the door which is at the entrance of it” .

Although the encomienda was owned by Castrotorafe, at that time Villafáfila was the highest quality town in it, since Castrotorafe had been in the process of depopulation since the 15th century:

"We visited the town in which there would be a good fit if it were populated with four hundred residents more or less, although at the time there are only fifteen residents in it . "

For this reason, before taking possession of the fortress and town of Castro, the mayor came to take that of Villafáfila, where the mayor resided for most of the year:

"The said Alvaro Vázquez Noguerol alcaide asked the said Mayor Mayor that, because he needed the said oregynal deeds, to show and present in the said town of Castrotorafe and take the posysyon of it" .

Before leaving Villafáfila he left his power to Martín de Barrio, to represent the commander in all lawsuits and causes that may be necessary. Martín was the brother of Luis de Barrio, in whose houses the mayor was, who had been appointed depositary of the media annata by King Fernando [10] .

A few months after the death of King Felipe I, through the mediation of Cisneros, Fernando tries to attract the nobles who, during the brief reign of the Habsburg, had stood out the most for their animosity towards the Catholic king, such as the Count of Benavente.

Knowing the interest of the Pimentels in Villafáfila and the entire encomienda of Castro, to which Don Alonso probably aspired to the death of Commander Don Enrique in 1503, but for which he was not provided, increasing the reasons for resentment against the Catholic king, he tries to get him to return to his friendship or at least to separate him from his resentment, proposing his appointment as commander.

On May 12, 1507, Mr. Francisco Jiménez de Cisneros, Archbishop of Toledo, and Mr. Bernaldino Fernández de Velasco, Constable of Castile, sent a letter of insurance to the Count of Benavente in which they promised him, on behalf of the Queen, Juana and King Ferdinand, who was absent from these kingdoms, consolidating his position in Naples, which within a hundred days from then, will grant him the encomienda de Castrotorafe and other concessions related to the fairs of Villalón, as well as the commitment to respect the favors that King Felipe had granted to him and other nobles of his party, such as Don Juan Manuel, the Duke of Nájera, e.:

"so that you may be and show yourselves a servant of Their Highnesses" .

But it was not necessary to wait so long, because on the 31st Don Fernando de Vega, who in addition to Commander of Castrotorafe was Governor of the entire Order of Santiago, on behalf of Don Fernando, while he was absent, sent a letter to Naples to tell the king that, for some just reasons that moved him, it was his will, without deception, fraud or bribery, to renounce his encomienda de Castrotorafe, surely following an indication to this effect from the king. The resignation is made effective on June 27 in the hands of Juan Sánchez de Granada, a friar of the Order, and on July 4 a certificate is issued in favor of Don Alonso Pimentel, 5th Count of Benavente, making provision for the parcel of Castrotorafe. He received the certificate of appointment while the count was in the hermitage of the Cross, outside the walls of Benavente, and that same day Luis de Barrio, a resident of Villafáfila, and one of the hidalgos who were in the sphere of influence of the Pimentels, were appointed to collect and spend half of the income of the encomienda (the media annata), of the first two years, for repairs in the parcel. Also on that same day, the count empowered Alonso de Mercado, mayor of Benavente, and Portocarrero to go and receive the fortress of Castrotorafe. On July 7, they take possession of the fortress of Castro, of which they appoint Alonso de Porras, a resident of Zamora, as warden. Also on that same day, the count empowered Alonso de Mercado, mayor of Benavente, and Portocarrero to go and receive the fortress of Castrotorafe. On July 7, they take possession of the fortress of Castro, of which they appoint Alonso de Porras, a resident of Zamora, as warden. Also on that same day, the count empowered Alonso de Mercado, mayor of Benavente, and Portocarrero to go and receive the fortress of Castrotorafe. On July 7, they take possession of the fortress of Castro, of which they appoint Alonso de Porras, a resident of Zamora, as warden.[11] .

The population of Villafáfila at the beginning of the 16th century can be known from various sources, with great disparity in terms of figures and reliability.

The most precise data are those deduced from the census of 1497 [12] , commissioned by Queen Isabel, with a nominal list of neighbors by parish and state, in the town and in the two villages. The result of the investigation is as follows:

Possibly the number of clerics has been underestimated, since in San Agustín there are none, and in Villafáfila only six, when there were seven parishes with their corresponding parish priests and there would be some other clergyman with benefices or chaplaincies in the town. We cannot know if rigorous criteria would be applied in the rest of the states at the time of inclusion in the register, so the data obtained would have to be revised slightly upwards.

In 1501 the visitors of the Order of Santiago reported that "Ay in this town and its villages three hundred and fifty or four hundred times" , which seem to agree with the previous data, but in 1508 the figure given "Ay in the town of Villafáfila two hundred and twenty vassals” seems to refer only to the pecheros de villa. In a witness statement in 1510, an alderman says that there will be in the town and land “three hundred and three pecheros, two more or two less” , almost twenty-five less than in the 1497 census. As it is a lawsuit to decide the amount of maravedies that correspond to the villa in the actual service, it is possible that the data is underestimated. During those years a general die-off took place in these kingdoms.“the pestilence and sterility that has availed in these reigns then here” , from 1506 to 1508, which forced to postpone the collection of the royal service of one hundred stories of mrs. approved by the courts of Valladolid in 1506, as stated in a Royal Provision signed by Queen Doña Juana in 1510:

“I have ordered that the distribution of said service be dismissed because the subjects and naturals of these my reigns did not receive fatigue in the pay of the” ,

 To the bad harvests since 1506, caused by a "dry grad" , which were compensated by the good harvest of 1509:

 "Now seeing how God No. Lord for his infinite goodness has given good times in these reigns" ,

he orders the distribution of the hundred million maravedies in the years 1510 and 1511. The effects of the plague were felt in Villafáfila in the year 1507, which was marked in the memory of the neighbors as "the year of the pestilençia" , still remembered that way in 1524 [13] .

In 1515 the visitors collected a total of 431 residents, which could be close to the true figures because "they were found out by oath of the mayors and aldermen" , of which 300 are from the town, sixty-six from San Agustín and sixty-seven five of Ravelins. This represents a slight growth of 0.43% per year, since 1497, despite the mortality crises of 1506-1507 [14] .

The economic situation of the town in those years was one of expansion, despite the fact that in 1506 the harvest was very scarce, but the year 1505 had been very abundant. The town had experienced economic growth in the second half of the 15th century, the news of which spread to the nearby counties:

“Juan Gómez, a resident of Valcavado, said that he knows that the residents of the town of Villafáfila, some of whom are much richer and have more land than those of the town of Alixa, and their land, and he knows this because this witness dealt in the town of Villafáfila there may have been forty years a little more or less [1470] and he met men in the said town that one of them could buy the estate of two vs. the richest of the town of Alixa and who believes that now they are richer than not then because it is land of more farming and more evidence than not the said town of Alixa” [15] .

The socioeconomic structure of the residents of the town is not known in detail; We know that the richest neighbors were few, not counting the clerics, who formed the estate with the highest incomes, and the archpriest of Villafáfila was the richest man in the town, since in 1499 he had bought an estate with more than 400 loads of land to the monastery of Sahagún:

“and then they ordered the mayors and aldermen to give him a memorial with justice of the people paid in the said town to have horses and weapons and that they be paid in the amount of fifty thousand mrs. so hidalgos as pecheros who are the following " ,

and five hidalgos and six pecheros are related in the town and two in Revellinos, in the year 1503 and the said visitors gave order for:

"That the aforementioned have arms and horses until the day of San Miguel, at the point of war, under penalty of every 10,000 mrs for the chamber of their highnesses" .

In 1515, seventeen "quantiosos" are cited in the town, eight in Revellinos and one in San Agustín, so it seems that there had been an improvement in the situation of the neighbors [16] .

In those years some conflicts arose over the form of pechar, and as in other disputes between neighbors, the Council of the Order was resorted to by the residents of San Agustín, to provide, and from Toledo in 1503 they sent a Royal Provision to that the corresponding capitular law is complied with [17] . The same thing happened with the distribution of the amount of the royal service of 1500, distributed by the Catholic Monarchs, to pay the dowries of the infantas, their daughters, known as "the service of the shirts of the ladies and nfantas" between the villas of Villafáfila , Távara and Alija, who in the list of the province of Zamora came together "to the villas of Villafáfila and their land and Távara and theirs and the other places that belong to Don Pedro". The differences caused the collectors to seize certain assets of the council of Távara, due to the debts of that of Villafáfila, and the Catholic Monarchs had to send another Royal Provision from Medina in 1504, so that each town would pay what corresponded to it and Távara would not be seized. for which it is time to pay Villafáfila [18] .

The hidalgos were exempt from the payment of the chests and the repartimientos of the royal service, but they attended the war campaigns promoted by the Catholic Monarchs. Thus we know the intervention of some of them in the Granada War, accompanying don Pedro Pimentel and the Count of Benavente, and their participation in the defense of Perpignan in 1503. We even know the death of a nobleman, García Barrio, in the battle of Ravenna (Italy) in 1512.

The ecclesiastical establishment was made up of the seven priests from the parishes of the town, and some other clergyman who lived there, such as the priest of San Martín de Castrotorafe and some chaplains, such as the chaplain of the chapel of San Antonio Abad.

In the investigation of the visitors of the Order in 1503, the priests and the form of provision of the benefits are related:

“The visitors of the churches that are in the town and of the benefices by whom they are presented were informed and they obtained the following information:

In San Pedro, Lope Ferrández is benefited by the presentation of the parishioners and the collaboration of the Archdeacon of Páramo

San Juan, the archpriest, is the presentation and collation of the said archpriest

Santa Mª del Moral, Álvaro de Mansilla, is to present from the monastery of San Pedro de Eslonza and from the archdeacon of the Páramo

San Martín Juan de Balboa?, to present and strain the bishop of Astorga

San Salvador e San Miguel, Alonso Fernández, is to be presented by the parishioners and collation of the archdeacon of the Páramo

San Andrés, Juan de la Cámara, is to be presented by the parishioners and collation of the archdeacon of the Páramo

 Santa Marta, Antonio de Robles, is to present the parishioners and collation of the archdeacon of the Páramo

 Santa María de San Agustín, Luis de Paris, is to be presented by the parishioners and collation of the archdeacon of the Páramo

 Santo Tomé de Revellinos, Gabriel de Losada, presentation of the Monastery of Eslonza

God commanded that all these beneficiaries up to San Miguel de Setienbre present to the council a license from their Highnesses to possess, and not presenting it, they ordered the councils not to allow them to use the benefits that approved clerics put and not go to them with the rents until their highnesses try whatever their services are, the beneficiaries appealed this order and the visitors denied the appeal and ordered the councils to appoint chaplains from now on and serve the benefits and deposit the rents” .

The priests had to appeal to the Court where they won the Royal Provision of Their Highnesses so that they could freely enjoy their benefits without interference from the visitors of the order or from any other person:

“The priests of the said churches presented a proscription from the council of the order by which it seems to be the parishioners of the said churches to present and test the bishop of Astorga, according to the proscription more fully contained, date in the town of Medina del Campo on the fifth day of the month of January, year of the birth of nsJ, one thousand and five hundred and four years old” [19] . 

In addition to the income provided by the benefits, they were owners of personal assets of land, vineyards, houses, cattle and salt mines that they exploited through their servants.

The economy of the town revolved around the cultivation of cereals and vineyards, sheep farming and salt mines, being complemented by a regional craft and commercial sector.

The farmers cultivated wheat, barley and, to a lesser extent, rye, using the year-and-a-time system, on their own land or in the council quinones that were assigned to them for life and from the widow, coming from the breaking up of the terms of the old uninhabited ones and of the Loma. Likewise, they leased some neighboring terms that had remained in adil for many years, such as San Pedro de Muélledes or Oterino, currently in Villarrín. That year of 1506 was one of the most barren due to the lack of water and the harvest was very scarce, according to the testimony of the tenants of the commander's estate, to justify the non-payment of rent:

“Due to the lack of water and dryness and sterility of the year, which God for our sins wanted to give us, not even half of the symyente was caught, nor did it even reach half of the symyente, and so it did not have what it had. it was taken to pay for the seed and fallow land” [20] . 

The vineyard has maintained a relative importance since the Middle Ages, producing wine mainly for local consumption and, to a lesser extent, for export to Astorga and other places.

Other minor productions of chickpeas are also mentioned, and those from the orchards located in the surroundings of the town, some of a certain size that are called josas.

The sheep herd was in clear progress, which led to disputes with the owners of land and vineyards, and conflicts with neighboring districts, especially with the monastery of Moreruela for the use of Mount La Tabla and the passage of their cattle to jump into the lagoons. Every year the largest owners of sheep in the town and land took their flocks to winter in the mountains and meadows on the other side of the Esla river, or in the Castronuevo mountain or the Dehesa de Salinas. The wool trade was carried out with merchants from Burgos, Rioseco, etc., who used to make obligations in February and March, taking advantage of the needs of the ranchers, at lower prices than those that ran in May and June. 

Salt production in the Villafáfila salt flats had been in clear decline since the 14th century, but thirteen or fourteen salt-making huts were still productive, supplying the city of Zamora and the places between the Duero, Valderaduey and Portugal. They were not only a source of income for the producers, but a series of taxes emanated from them, such as the alvalerías or alcabalas that were transferred to the commander, the former, and to the Count of Benavente, the latter. The main complaints from the salt miners at the beginning of the 16th century were caused by the introduction of contraband salt from the kingdom of Portugal, which ruined the production of Villafáfila [21] .

In addition, in the town some artisans developed their trades, such as weavers, blacksmiths, emperails, tanners, shoemakers and tailors who served a local and regional demand. Residents of the town, the two villages of the land: San Agustín and Revellinos, and from outside the jurisdiction, such as Otero, Salinas, Valle, Vidayanes, Villanueva la Seca, etc., went to its market, where they acquired supplies necessary, such as food, tiles, salt, and other products. Some of the merchants were Jewish converts, as in the case of Francisco Arias, cited as a new Christian, who had his seat in the town square. Likewise, there were two public notaries or public notaries, a doctor, a surgeon and an apothecary. The council leased the butcher shop and grocery store annually to the highest bidders,

We fear news of some neighbors who were engaged in trade "deal", cattle, both sheep and farm, and grain, attending the main fairs of the kingdom: Medina, Villalón, Benavente, Mansilla, etc.; for which many times they had to resort to hidden loans from some residents of nearby cities, at sometimes usurious interests, which in adversity situations caused them ruin.

The poor were not lacking, both natives and foreigners, excluded from the productive system, and dedicated to begging. When they were sick, or were transients, they could avail themselves of the hospitality of the brotherhoods and hospitals that were in the town. Thus, at the beginning of the 16th century, we know the hospital of San Pedro, “the said hospital that belongs to a brotherhood of the town's vezinos” ; the hermitage of Vera Cruz, belonging to the brotherhood of that name, which had adjoining rooms to receive the poor; the hospital of San Juan; and the hermitage of Nuestra Señora de Villarigo, an old village church, located on the path from Toro to Benavente, which maintained these functions of hospitality.

This would be the town that the Catholic King gave lodging in the darkest days of his reign, when he was defeated in the struggle for the power of Castile by his son-in-law, the young King Felipe, who seemed to have a life ahead of him. The disposition of the vassals towards their lord, since he was the master of the Order of Santiago, we do not know due to the absence of contemporary testimony, but the trace of his presence left a good memory among the neighbors, who in 1510 and even in such distant years As of 1543, he was still considered the liberator of the tyranny to which the Count of Benavente and Don Pedro Pimentel had subjected the town [22] .

Author:

Elías Rodríguez Rodríguez: The Concord of Villafáfila. June 27, 1506. II Villafáfila in 1506. Pages 73 to 91. Institute of Zamorano Studies, Florián de Campo. 2006.

Photographs:

Elijah Rodriguez Rodriguez.

Jose Luis Dominguez.

Transcription and montage:

Jose Luis Dominguez Martinez.

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