Condado de Oropesa
Item
Country
ES
Name of institution (English)
Historical Archive of the Nobility
Name of institution (official language of the state)
Language of name of institution
spa
Contact information: postal address
Calle Duque de Lerma 2, 45003 Toledo
Contact information: phone number
0034 925210354
Contact information: web address
Contact information: email
nobleza@cultura.gob.es
Reference number
ES.45168.AHNOB/2.6//FRIAS,F.3
Type of reference number
Archival reference number
Title (English)
County of Oropesa
Title (official language of the state)
Condado de Oropesa
Language of title
spa
Creator / accumulator
Duchy of Frias
Date(s)
1101/1979
Language(s)
spa
Type of material
Textual Material
Physical condition
Good
Scope and content
The Archive of the Duchy of Frias is a rich collection since it gathers documents belonging to various aristocratic houses that have had a decisive political and social influence in Spanish history. The archive constitutes a source of research on the history of the territorial dominion of the Frias family. It also reflects the government and foreign policy of Spain, beginning in the Middle Ages. It gathers a considerable volume of political documents, among which stand out those of the reigns of Juan II, Enrique IV, Carlos V and the Habsburg dynasty.
This third section of the collection, titled “Condado de Oropesa” (FRIAS,F.3), contains documents from the following aristocratic titles (FRIAS,F.3,SF.1-12): County of Oropesa, County of Alcaudete, Lordship of Montemayor, Lordship of Almaraz, Lordship of Belvis, Lordship of Cabañas, Lordship of Cebolla, County of Deleitosa, Marquessates of Frechilla y Villarramiel, Marquessate of Jarandilla, Lordship of Mejorada y Cervera, Lordship of Monroy, Marquessate of Villar de Grajanejos.
The documents are classified in several series according to their type:
1) Genealogy, noble titles, and entailed estate (“mayorazgo”).
2) Nobiliary jurisdiction: This series gathers all the documents generated or related to the exercise of nobiliary jurisdiction: granting of lordships or jurisdictional rights and the transfers, agreements, and lawsuits over them; support of the seigniories to the Crown of Castile, especially in military matters; and jurisdiction over vassals in aspects of government, justice, and taxation.
3) Estate: It contains all the documents related to the familial estate and its administration: managing of assets, domain transfers, delimitation, and increase or decrease of patrimony (through dowries, marital capitulations, etc.). It is, together with the section of estate administration, the largest documentary series and occupies a large part of the collection.
4) Estate administration: This series includes those documents generated or received by the administration of the estate: maintenance and use of properties, estate inventories, accounting, and payment of taxes. Documents produced by the archival activity are also included in this series. The documentation, which occupies a huge volume, is organized by manorial administrations with geographical criteria and deals with correspondence between the administrators and the head of general administration, accountability, and expenses. Otherwise, the documentation produced by the general administration itself includes sumptuary and household expenses, in addition to the record books.
5) Private: This series contains the personal files of each of the family members: for example, work-related, academic, and professional documents; non-hereditary appointments and honors, such as decorations, membership in associations and Military Orders, and appointments for offices and positions. Documents produced for familial celebrations and social meetings are included.
6) Staff: tasks performed.
7) Board of pious works (documents related to charitable works and expenses related to religious worship).
8) Collections.
Concerning Jews, the County of Oropesa section contains documents related to the purchase and sale of properties owned by Jews, such as the sale that Clara, wife of Ysaque Harazon, from Oropesa, made of an apiary of forty hives in the mountains of Oropesa (1492). The subsection Lordship of Cebolla contains records on the community assets of the Aljama, such as the butcher shop of the Jews in Talavera, which was located in the Santa Maria compound (1490). There is also information on the farming of royal taxes, including the “cabeza de pecho”, the poll-tax paid by Jews in Talavera (1462).
This third section of the collection, titled “Condado de Oropesa” (FRIAS,F.3), contains documents from the following aristocratic titles (FRIAS,F.3,SF.1-12): County of Oropesa, County of Alcaudete, Lordship of Montemayor, Lordship of Almaraz, Lordship of Belvis, Lordship of Cabañas, Lordship of Cebolla, County of Deleitosa, Marquessates of Frechilla y Villarramiel, Marquessate of Jarandilla, Lordship of Mejorada y Cervera, Lordship of Monroy, Marquessate of Villar de Grajanejos.
The documents are classified in several series according to their type:
1) Genealogy, noble titles, and entailed estate (“mayorazgo”).
2) Nobiliary jurisdiction: This series gathers all the documents generated or related to the exercise of nobiliary jurisdiction: granting of lordships or jurisdictional rights and the transfers, agreements, and lawsuits over them; support of the seigniories to the Crown of Castile, especially in military matters; and jurisdiction over vassals in aspects of government, justice, and taxation.
3) Estate: It contains all the documents related to the familial estate and its administration: managing of assets, domain transfers, delimitation, and increase or decrease of patrimony (through dowries, marital capitulations, etc.). It is, together with the section of estate administration, the largest documentary series and occupies a large part of the collection.
4) Estate administration: This series includes those documents generated or received by the administration of the estate: maintenance and use of properties, estate inventories, accounting, and payment of taxes. Documents produced by the archival activity are also included in this series. The documentation, which occupies a huge volume, is organized by manorial administrations with geographical criteria and deals with correspondence between the administrators and the head of general administration, accountability, and expenses. Otherwise, the documentation produced by the general administration itself includes sumptuary and household expenses, in addition to the record books.
5) Private: This series contains the personal files of each of the family members: for example, work-related, academic, and professional documents; non-hereditary appointments and honors, such as decorations, membership in associations and Military Orders, and appointments for offices and positions. Documents produced for familial celebrations and social meetings are included.
6) Staff: tasks performed.
7) Board of pious works (documents related to charitable works and expenses related to religious worship).
8) Collections.
Concerning Jews, the County of Oropesa section contains documents related to the purchase and sale of properties owned by Jews, such as the sale that Clara, wife of Ysaque Harazon, from Oropesa, made of an apiary of forty hives in the mountains of Oropesa (1492). The subsection Lordship of Cebolla contains records on the community assets of the Aljama, such as the butcher shop of the Jews in Talavera, which was located in the Santa Maria compound (1490). There is also information on the farming of royal taxes, including the “cabeza de pecho”, the poll-tax paid by Jews in Talavera (1462).
Archival history
Between 1988 and 1997, the Archive of the Duchy of Frias was acquired by the Spanish State from Doña Maria de Silva y Azlor, the widow of the Duke of Frias. The archive was then kept at the Castle of Montemayor (Cordoba). The organization and a description of its contents were made by the archivists of the Spanish National Historical Archive, Pilar Leon Tello and Maria Teresa de la Peña; the description was published between 1955 and 1973. In 1987, most of the archive was transferred to Madrid. A small part of it remained in Montemayor, mostly documents from the administration of properties from the 18th to the 20th centuries and the confiscation of manors. Several original titles and privileges were also in the hands of the family. In March 1994, the archive was transferred from the National Historical Archive (Madrid) to the Nobility Section in Toledo, now the Historical Archive of the Nobility, a state-owned archive.
Administrative / Biographical history
The archive is constructed around the Fernandez de Velasco family that since the 15th century held some of the most important political positions in the Kingdom of Castile. In 1430, Pedro Fernandez de Velasco received from Juan II the title and estate of the County of Haro. His son, Pedro Fernandez de Velasco, obtained from Enrique IV the rank of Constable of Castile, since then linked to the family up to the 18th century. In 1492, the title of Duke of Frias was granted by the Catholic Monarchs to Don Bernardino Fernandez de Velasco, II Constable of Castile, III Count of Haro and Captain General and Viceroy of Granada. Successive marriages linked House of Frias with a large number of titles and properties.
Access points: locations
Access points: subject terms
Access points: document types
System of arrangement
This documentary section is classified thusly: 2.3 Oropesa, condado de, 1101-1979; 2.3.1 Alcaudete, condado de, 1246-1851; 2.3.2 Montemayor, señorio de, 1337-1979; 2.3.3 Almaraz, señorio de, 1619-1623; 2.3.4 Belvis, señorio de, 1189-1852; 2.3.5 Cabañas, señorio de, 1382-1794; 2.3.6 Cebolla, señorio de, 1326-1881; 2.3.7 Deleitosa, condado de, 1298-1800; 2.3.8 Frechilla y Villarramiel, marquesados de, 1504-1818; 2.3.9 Jarandilla, marquesado de, 1101-1819; 2.3.10 Mejorada y Cervera, señorio de, 1370-1736; 2.3.11 Monroy, señorio de, 1309-1787; 2.3.12 Villar de Grajanejos, marquesado de, 1537-1835.
Access, restrictions
Free access regulated by the current legal environment on access to Spanish historical archives (law 16/1985 of Spanish Historical Patrimony).
Finding aids
Data on the collection are also available at the website of the Spanish National Archives (PARES).
Links to finding aids
Author of the description
Linked resources
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| Title | Alternate label | Class |
|---|---|---|
| Archivo Historico de la Nobleza | Collections (official language of the state) |