What is it about?
The Castilian law code "Siete Partidas" was compiled in the second half of the 13th century for King Alfonso X the Wise. The code covers a multitude of subject-matters in a discursive manner. Unusually, it also contains instructions on military matters, and is further unusual in comparison with the (rare) medieval military texts from time that it talks about infantry and cavalry formations, how to select and appoint officers, and has highly detailed instructions on how the booty should be distributed.
Featured Image
Why is it important?
There has to my knowledge not been a paper that specifically considers the military chapters of the Siete Partidas. The paper will hopefully bring researchers to consider this text when writing about military matters and raise awareness for its provisions.
Perspectives
There are not many military texts from the 13th century to start with, and this text deals with matters which other texts (Giles of Rome's "de regimine principum" and others), which are mostly based on Vegetius' "Epitoma de re militari" do not address.
Dr. Jürg Gassmann
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: The Siete Partidas: A Repository of Mediaeval Military and Tactical Instruction, Acta Periodica Duellatorum, June 2021, University of Bern,
DOI: 10.36950/apd-2021-002.
You can read the full text:
Contributors
The following have contributed to this page
