THE MESTA

It was but natural that these royal bids for local favor should
have been sagaciously awarded to powerful cities and individuals
whose support would be most helpful to the sorely harassed
monarchy. Conspicuous among these were Badajoz, Caceres,
and Cordova, and the ecclesiastical dignitaries of Coria, Car-
tagena, and Seville. The prevalence of local sheep taxes through-
out Castile during the reigns of Sancho IV and Ferdinand IV may
of their own sheep from all local taxes in other parts of the realm. Ulloa, Privs.
Cdceres, pp. 127-128; Brit. Mus., 1321 к 6, no. 21, Badajoz: privilege to collect
montazgos, 1285. This was confirmed by Ferdinand IV in 1301, and was sup-
plemented by him in 1303 with a permit to collect another sheep tax, the ronda,
a fee for maintaining on the outskirts of the city a mounted watch, or ronda, from
whose protection passing flocks were supposed to benefit. A similar document,
which was also typical of this period, was the privilege granted in 1284 by Sancho
to the archbishop and chapter of the cathedral of Seville. This guaranteed, first,
an exemption for the flocks of the chapter from montazgos in all parts of the realm,
and secondly, the right of the chapter to collect tithes on all sheep visiting the juris-
diction of Seville. Acad. Hist., Ms. 25-ι-C 12, fols. 432-433. Seebelow₁ p. 242,
on the Mesta and ecclesiastical tithes, or diezmos. A like guarantee was given by
Sancho to the cathedral of Cartagena in 1292, which was confirmed in r309 by
Ferdinand IV. Ibid., fols. 462, 582-583. Another ecclesiastical beneficiary of this
growing practice was the bishop of Coria, who in 1285 obtained from Sancho a
noteworthy privilege. Ibid., Ms. 25-ι-C 8, fols. 93 fi. Coria, like Badajoz and
Câceres, was an important town in the western pasture regions. It is deserving of
comment, first, because it was one of the very few instances of an exemption in
favor of the flocks belonging to a single individual, for the document was granted
to the bishop himself as ‘ councillor of the queen ’ and not as the representative
of his chapter. Secondly, this document is worthy of attention because of the
Strikingparallelbetweenits terms and those of the Mesta Chartersof 1273 and 1276.
The early privileges of the Mesta often supplied phrases and sentences for later
documents on questions of pastoral rights; but the accuracy with which this grant
to the bishop of Coria reproduces several of the more essential clauses of the Mesta’s
charters cannot have been purely fortuitous. It is true that certain general phrases
in the law of the Partidas (t,a. 1256-63) regarding “ the manner in which privileges
to migratory sheep are to be granted ” were frequently copied in subsequent docu-
ments of this type. The Order of Calatrava received a sheep privilege of this type
in 1264, based upon the above mentioned law. Bull. Ord. Milit. Calat., p. 167. In
the instance of this Coria privilege, however, certain clauses relative to exemptions
from local taxes seem clearly to have been taken from the Mesta charter of 1273
The Coria privilege even goes so far as to assign the royal entregadores, the judicial
protectors of the Mesta, as guardians of the favored bishop’s interests. Further
instances may be briefly cited as evidence of the unusual activity of the towns and
great ecclesiastics in establishing their titles to local sheep tolls during this period.
In r289 the towns of Lara and Covarrubias agreed upon the use of certain montes
lying between them and upon the Xnontazgos which they were to pay each other.
Fuentes para la Historia de Castilla (1906-10,3 vols.), ii, p. r34. In 1288 Cordova ob-

TAXES DURING THE RISE OF THE MESTA    183

be best demonstrated by a partial list of the localities which re-
ceived privileges involving the collection of montazgos:¹

It will be observed that these twenty-seven privileges, granted
during twenty-nine years, are almost equally divided between the
two reigns. These figures acquire special significance when
placed beside those for the succeeding reign of Alfonso XI (1312-
50), when but five such documents appeared during thirty-eight
years.² It is quite evident, then, that the towns took full advan-
tained a recognition of its right to levy montazgos. Brit. Mus., 1321 к 6 (22); con-
fir med in 1386 by Henry II, upon payment of 20,o∞ maravedis. The monastery
of Santa Maria de Brazacorta had the right to take one sheep from each migrating
mano (small flock), and ten maravedis from each herd of cows or horses which
passed by the establishment. Acad. Hist., Docs. Monast. Suprim., no. 213 (1287-
89), confirmed in 1297 (no. 216), 1379 (no. 219), and 1393 (no. 220). The towns
sometimes guaranteed or recognized each other’s title to montazgos in their
respective woodlaɪjd pastures, quite without any royal sanction. Fuentes para la
Hist, de Castilla, ii, p. 134: an agreement made in 1289 between Lara and Covar-
rubias. See Gonzalez, vi, pp. 299-300, for a similar arrangement between Albacete
and Chinchilla in 1373.

¹ While making no pretence at completeness, this list represents an extensive
search through most of the collected town ordinances and fueros, both in print and
in manuscript. The items which it lacks would not materially influence the con-
clusions here presented, save to reiterate and strengthen them. This list is com-
piled from Gonzfilez, v and vi, passim`, Ulloa, Prius, de Caceres’, Arch. Cuenca,
Becerro, fols. 14τ-143; Acad. Hist, Ms. Salazar, i, 41, Ms. Colec. Fueros Privs.,
i, ii; Brit. Mus., Mss. Eg. 493, fols. 85-96.

² Cficeres (1317), Alcaudete (1323), Lazariegos (1326), Yanguas (1347), and
Alcalfi de Benzaide (1345). The same sources were drawn upon for these as for
those just cited. Here again the qualification must be made that this list is illus-
trative rather than complete, though it is significant that the sources for the reign
of Alfonso XI, especially those in manuscript, are far more extensive than those of
the two previous reigns.

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