Title

A grant (Privilegio Rodado)

Generic classification

Object

Date

Century

Dimensions

Material

Technique

Provenance

Current location

Inventory Number in Current Collection

Inscriptions / Marks

"[inner circle] SIGN OF KING DON ALFONSO; [outer circle] THE KING'S STANDARD-BEARER, DON JUAN GARCÍA, MAJORDOMO OF THE ROYAL COURT, CONFIRMS IT."

Object history

The Hispanic Society of America's holdings include nearly 200,000 manuscripts, letters and documents. Archer M. Huntington, founder of the institution, created this great collection between the late 19th and early 20th centuries. For this purpose, he made purchases from large personal libraries such as that of the Marquis of Jerez de los Caballeros, who sold him around 10,000 manuscripts and printed books, or the bullfighting library of Carmena and Millán (Codding, O’Neil and Lenaghan 2021, 9).

Of all of them, the most fruitful commercial relationship was with the German collector Karl W. Hiersemann, from whose private collection Huntington obtained more than 200,000 manuscripts and Hispanic books between the first two decades of the 20th century. In view of Huntington's interest, Hiersemann went so far as to create large custom catalogs specifically for his American client and for the Hispanic Society of America (Codding, O’Neil and Lenaghan 2021, 9).

The grant is part of those holdings in Hiersemann's private collection in Leipzig and was acquired by Huntington in 1907 transferring it that same year to the holdings of the Hispanic Society (Codding, 2017).

Description

The privilegio rodado originated in the 12th century under the reign of Ferdinand II of León. It emerged as a consequence of the division of the Kingdom of Castile among the sons of Alfonso VII, nicknamed "the Emperor." Castile was inherited by Sancho III, who also inherited the right to use the imperial cross. Meanwhile, Ferdinand II inherited the Kingdom of León, and to distinguish himself from his brother, he adopted a new symbol: a lion surrounded by the inscription Sigmun ferdinandi, legionensis regis. In Castile, the privilegio rodado arrived with Ferdinand II of León's nephew, Alfonso VIII, who began using the signo rodado, this time with a cross bearing the inscription Signum Adefonsi regis Castelle. The signo rodado became established in Castile, while in León it gradually fell out of use (Ostos y Pardo, 1999). During the reign of Ferdinand III, the crowns of Castile and León were reunified, and the Castilian chancery's style prevailed over that of León. Although initially simple, this element soon evolved into a prominent visual resource and became a model for legitimizing grants and confirming royal privileges (Codding 2017, 133-4).

The present privilege was issued in 1423 and confirmed a year later. It is written in brown Gothic script and is attached, with green, blue, white, and red silk threads, to a lead seal. In the manuscript, John II of Castile appoints Álvaro de Luna as Constable of Castile, a position he held until 1453. Given the manuscript's importance, it features elaborate decoration, consisting of an outer border of interwoven leaves with fantastical animals and soldiers bearing Álvaro de Luna's heraldry.

The signo rodado contains several inscriptions in Gothic script in its outer and inner circles. The outer circle reads: «IOHAN FURTADO DE MENDOCA MAYORDOMO MAYOR DEL REY CONFIRMA IOHAN DE AUELLANEDA ALFERES». The inner circle reads: «MAYOR DEL REY CONFIRMA SIGNO DEL MUY ALTO REY» (Codding 2017, 133-4).

Locations

• 1423 - XIX^th c.

  province

  Possible origin in the province of Valladolid, Valladolid (Spain)

• XIX^th c. - 1907

  dealer/antiquarian

  Karl Wilhelm Hiersemann, Leipzig (Germany) *

• 1907

  private collection

  Archer Milton Huntington, New York (United States) *

• 1907 - present

  museum

  The Hispanic Society of America, New York (United States)