Alfonso X el Sabio or the Learned (1221–84), king of Castile, is a key founder of Spanish culture by his astonishing patronage of letters, law, music, art, and science, by his relentless imposition of Castilian rather than Latin in all state business, and by his production (through teams of experts—Muslims, Christians, and Jews) of seminal works such as his histories, his astronomical tables, and his law codes. His life was filled with furious activity, including an amphibious crusade against Moroccan Salé on the Atlantic, his long struggle to become Holy Roman Emperor, and his frontier wars with Muslim...

The Siete Partidas was a unique code of civil law enacted in medieval Europe. Following the model of Justinian’s Corpus iuris civilis, the Siete Partidas was a true code, comprehensive and systematic, organized in books, titles, and laws.¹ As such it contrasts sharply with the other great legal works of thirteenth-century Europe. The Constitutions of Melfi drawn up at the command of Emperor Frederick II (1212–50) for his kingdom of Sicily also has the nature of a code, though by comparison with the Siete Partidas it is quite brief.² The treatise De legibus et consuetudinibus Angliae attributed to the...

These notes concentrate on work published since 1980, the approximate cut-off point of my 1986 legislative work on Alfonso X.¹ The entries are discussed under the three main headings used in that work: manuscripts, editions, and studies.

A useful census of manuscripts was prepared by Antonio García y García and published twice in close succession; the more recent version is preferable.²

The most important new datum under this rubric is that a long-lost manuscript, crucial to the textual tradition of the Partidas, was discovered safe and sound in a private collection in Madrid.³ It contains the first two partidas, one...

We make this book for the service of God and the common benefit of nations, as we have shown in its beginning. And we divide it into Seven Parts, in the manner which we have mentioned above, in order that those who read it may find therein all things complete and certain, in order to be able to profit by them. And we divide each Part into titles, which means the sum of the principles which are explained in it. And these principles, in which all matters are shown perfectly as they are and how they are to be understood,...

Nothing can prevent the laws from having the force and authority which we have mentioned except three things; first usage,¹ second custom, third fuero. These grow out of one another, and include natural law in themselves, as is demonstrated in this book; for just as a word is composed of letters, and meaning is drived from words, and reason from meaning, so usage originates from time, custom from usage, and fuero from custom. Wherefore, we desire in this Title to explain what use is; in what way it should be established; for what reason it gains force by time, and...

The origin of laws, temporal as well as spiritual, is this, that every Christian should believe firmly that there is one true God who has neither beginning nor end, who is neither subject to limitation nor change, and has power over all things, and that the brain of man cannot understand or describe Him perfectly; and that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are three persons and one thing, simple, without division, which is God the Father, neither created nor begotten by another, the Son begotten by the Father only, and the Holy Spirit proceeding from both of them, all three...

In order to know God and to gain his love it is proper that every Christian possess in himself two things: First the Catholic Faith, in which he must believe; second the Sacraments of the Holy Church, which he must accept; for, as the soul and body make up a perfect man and Jesus Christ is both man and God, so he who believes in the Catholic Faith and accepts the Sacraments of the Holy Church is entitled to the name of Christ and is a thorough Christian. As in the previous Title we treated of the Catholic Faith, in...

We have spoken in the two preceding Titles of the Faith and the Sacraments of the Holy Church, and how all ought to receive them, as the Holy Fathers have ordained; and now we wish to speak in this Title of the persons whose duty it is to expound the Faith and administer the Sacraments. Such persons are the prelates of the Holy Church, whose duty it is to explain and to preach it according to the ordinances of the religion of Our Lord Jesus Christ, and who are required to punish men for the sins which they commit. For...

Our Lord instituted nine orders of angels in the celestial church, placed each one of them according to his rank, granted to some superiority over others, and gave them names corresponding to their duties; for which reason, in imitation of this, the Holy Fathers ordained nine orders of priests in the terrestrial church, granted to some precedence over others, and gave them names according to what they had to do. This was done for three reasons: First, as the angels praised God eternally in heaven, so, in imitation of this, that priests should praise God on earth; second, that they...

Some persons choose to live a life which is austere and secluded from other men, because they believe that in this way they serve God better without hindrance. And, since the riches of this world are an impediment to this, they think it better to renounce them all, and to conform to what our Lord Jesus Christ said in the Gospel, that to all those who abandon father, mother, wife, children, or other relatives, and all temporal goods for him, he will give in return an hundred fold and, besides, life which will endure forever. Such persons as these are...

Where any man voluntarily makes a promise to another concerning something just and good, he is bound to keep it; and if this is the case with respect to the promises which men make to one another, how much more should it be with respect to those which they make to God. And since in the preceding Title it is fully set forth how the promises made by members of the regular clergy, when they receive the order, should be kept; it is proper to speak in this one of the vows and promises which men make to God while...

Adam was the first man whom our Lord God created, as is stated in the Title which treats of the Holy Trinity, and on this both Jews and Moors are agreed. Hence he is, and will be called the Father of all, because he was the beginning of the race of men. But on account of Adam’s wickedness, and the evil he did, and his want of fear of God, and his disobedience to His commands, he fell into sin by which he deserved to lose the favor of God, and to be alienated from Him, and be expelled from...

Moses was a man whom God loved greatly, and for that reason He commanded him in the old law to build a tabernacle which resembled a tent, in which the children of Israel were accustomed to offer up prayer and sacrifices to God. Afterwards, King Solomon, in imitation of it, built the temple of Jerusalem, which, moreover, was the first house of prayer that the Jews possessed, and from that time forward they built, and were accustomed to build houses called synagogues, in which they prayed, and offered up their sacrifices.

Christians, under the new law, in imitation of the...

The churches of emperors, kings, and other lords of the land enjoy certain privileges and extraordinary exemptions, and there is good reason for this, as the houses of God should receive greater honor than those of men. Therefore, since in the preceding Title we showed how churches should be built, and in what way they should be repaired, whenever it is necessary, and, also, how they are consecrated; it is proper to speak in this Title of the exemptions and privileges which they, as well as their cemeteries, enjoy. In the first place, we shall explain what the word privilege...

As men are terrified by the things of this world, the Holy Fathers considered that there was a way by which they could the more freely unite to obtain the love of God, and for this reason there were some of them who chose their dwelling places on uninhabited mountains, and others selected theirs near towns, but apart from them; and places such as these, of whatever kind they may be, are called monasteries or religious houses, because men occupy themselves there in pious devotions, and with a view always to serve God more than to do anything else. And,...

Certain men err very gravely, who believe that when the body of a man dies the soul also dies with it, and that everything is lost together: and this is the opinion of desperate persons, for they hold that man has no superiority over any other animal which God created in this world, nor should have any reward for the good he does here, nor any punishment for the evil which he commits: and such persons as these should not be considered men, but rather as worse than beasts; for, since, on account of his understanding, man is separated from...

Emperors, kings, and other great lords, whose duty it is to watch over people and countries should be alert, and careful not to permit property in their dominions to be alienated without reason. And if they should act in this way concerning the possessions of every individual, how much more should they do so with regard to those of the churches, which are houses of prayer, and places where God should be served and praised. The property of establishments like these should not be wasted, for the reason that they may be impoverished, and be compelled to suffer loss on...

Nature, as well as reason, influences men to love the things which they create, and to preserve them, as far as they are able, in order that they may improve, and not suffer loss; as, for instance, a father loves his son, and tries to take care of him, in order that he may live in good health; and he who plants a tree, waters it, in order that he may obtain fruit from it of which he can make use. This same thing happens with regard to all matters which men make or create, for they are, as it...

The members of the body of a man are dissimilar and separate, although they are all intended for his support; and for this reason he who has them all perfect receives from them two things, symmetry and service; and, with the view to this comparison, St. Paul said that the Holy Church was the body, and its servants the members, who preserved its strength by serving it well, and contributing to its adornment. For as all the other members receive life from the heart of man, so all those who serve the Holy Church receive from it advantages and support,...

The Holy Fathers always pursued, and inquired diligently into, the sins which men commit, as well under the old dispensation as under the new. They did this in order that, after they had learned the facts, they might reprimand and punish those who had committed sin, and cause them to abandon it, and by that means to live a good life in this world, as well as save their souls in the next, and offer a good example to those who came after them. Although there are many kinds of sins, there are some which are greater than others, and...

Every Christian who does not protect and honor the Holy Church is guilty of great audacity. This is the case for many reasons, for she is our spiritual Mother, showing us, and guiding us along the way of salvation for souls: and she is our Mother in temporal matters, for she instructs us, and advises us to do good, and to avoid doing evil, therefore we should honor and protect her as a mother; and besides, as we are corporeal, born of our mothers, still, so far as our souls are concerned, we do not obtain salvation for them unless...

All those who believe in the existence of one God should feel truly grateful, and, for the reason that He was the beginning and origin of all things, men exerted themselves to serve Him and to give Him His share of the first-fruits which He bestowed upon them. We find that Adam, who was the first man, with his sons Cain and Abel, understood this when they gave to God the first-fruits which they gathered from the earth, as well as those of the beasts which they reared: but for the reason that Cain gave of the worst of his,...

Abraham was the first of the patriarchs and a very noble man, and such a friend of God that He said in his behalf that all people should be blessed in his descendants; and he, knowing that those who had lived before him had given very little to God in proportion to the benefits which they had received from him, began to give the tenth part, in addition to the first-fruits and offerings which those who preceded him had given: and he gave this, in the first place, to Melchisedek, the high priest, and out of the spoil which he...

The Holy Fathers established the rule in the Church that no priest should hold property, and that those who desired to hold it should not be received as priests, even though they all lived together in one place, so that whatever they possessed belonged to them in common. They did this to enable them to avoid the dangers into which they might fall by being covetous of riches, holding that men could, with great difficulty, retain them without committing sin. But for the reason that they saw that some were in danger of losing their souls, because they did not...

Prelates should exercise uniformity and moderation when they visit churches, monasteries, and other establishments included in their visitations, and not oppress those whom they are required to visit. For they should not act cruelly toward them by taking larger fees, or levying greater contributions than those which the Holy Church has instituted, and ordered should be taken. And although men are bound, each in his own place, to give them the above named dues when they visit them, prelates should, nevertheless, be careful not to receive them from them with arrogance, but gently, and with love, causing them no annoyance....

The saints endured hardships and very great martyrdom, through the love of Our Lord Jesus Christ; and this continued even unto death, which they underwent naturally, according to the judgment of the world, but spiritually, as far as God was concerned, they did not die, but their death rather resembled a birth: for as a child is in darkness, while it is enclosed in the womb of its mother, and when it is born perceives the light, in like manner, the saints when they die, leave the hardships of this world, which consist of affliction and darkness, and see God,...

Men become Romeros and pilgrims in order to serve God and honor the saints, and, for the pleasure of doing this, they leave their families and their towns, their wives and their houses, and all that they have, and travel through foreign countries, mortifying their bodies and spending their property, while visiting sanctuaries. And since men with such good and holy intentions wander through the world, it is but just that while they are engaged in doing so they and their property should be protected, so that no one may attack them or do them harm.

For the reason that...