De la anomalía a lo extraordinario: nobleza, linaje y escritura genealógica en Castilla (siglos XIII-XIV)

Abstract

Starting from the problem of the late start of Castilian genealogical literature compared to other European contexts, this article discusses the relevance of the use of certain historiographic categories, with a strong emphasis on that of «lineage», to account for one of the basic forms of sociability in the nobility of the late Middle Ages. The article echoes the main theoretical discussions in the field, relating them to the issues of orality and the written word. Finally, certain lines of research are proposed, such as the analysis of the concept of lineage in Castilian and other Peninsular sources; how Alfonso X of Castile attempted to capitalize on it politically and socially; or how lineage is conceived of in the texts produced by the Castilian nobility and its milieu in the late Middle Ages.