El reforzamiento de los vínculos comunitarios a través de la fiesta en las ciudades castellanas en el marco de cuadrillas y cofradías. Siglos XV-XVII

Abstract

During the pre-industrial period, festivals of very different kinds took place in the European towns. Very often these festivals were organized by the urban authorities, which used them as a means of legitimization of the established social order. However, festivals with a much more popular base were also organized, whose main aim was to reinforce the solidarity links between the participants. That was the case in many festivals organized by the confraternities, but also in some festivals organized by the quarter communities (cuadrillas) in certain towns. In this article the author analyses a very original festival celebrated since the Middle Ages to the present day in the Castilian town of Soria on the first Sunday after the Feast of St. John the Baptist, that was organized by the quarter communities (cuadrillas) of the town.