History of Madrid - Middle Ages

Middle Ages

In 1383, Leo VI of Armenia was named Lord of Madrid by King John I of Castile. In 1375, the crusader Armenian Kingdom of Cilicia had been conquered by Egyptian Mamluks and King Leo was taken prisoner to Cairo. The king of Castile felt compassion for him and ransomed him with precious stones, silks, and birds of prey.

Leo arrived ill and poor to Medina del Campo. John I granted him for life the town of Madrid, Villa Real and Andújar and a yearly gift of 150,000 maravedis. He rebuilt the towers of the Royal Alcazar.

According to Father Mariana, Leo left Castile for France after the death of his protector in 1390 and died in 1391 in Paris. Federico Bravo, however states that he left after two years of ruling and five years later, the Madrilenians were conceded the revocation of the lordship by John. After troubles and a big fire, Henry III of Castile (1379–1406) rebuilt the city and established himself safely fortified outside its walls in El Pardo, after a royal schedule issued in 1391. To avoid cases like that of Leo, he ordered that Madrid would be thereinafter an unalienable possession of the Crown of Castile.

The grand entry of Ferdinand and Isabella to Madrid heralded the end of strife between Castile and Aragon.

The kingdoms of Castile, with its capital at Toledo, and Aragón, with its capital at Barcelona, were welded into modern Spain by Charles I of Spain. Though Charles favored Seville, it was his son, Philip II (1527–1598) who moved the court to Madrid in 1561. Although he made no official declaration, the seat of the court was the de facto capital. Seville continued to control the Spanish Indies, but Madrid controlled Seville.

Aside from a brief period, 1601–1606, when King Philip III installed his court in Valladolid, Madrid's fortunes have closely mirrored those of Spain. During the Siglo de Oro (Golden Century), in the 16th/17th century, Madrid had no resemblance with other European capitals: the population of the city was economically dependent on the business of the court itself.

Philip V decided that a European capital could not stay in such a state, and new palaces (including the Palacio Real de Madrid) were built during his reign. However, it would not be until Charles III (1716–1788) that Madrid would become a modern city. Charles III was one of the most popular kings in the history of Madrid, and the saying "the best mayor, the king" became popular during those times. When Charles IV (1748–1819) became king the people of Madrid revolted.