Polyorcetic adaptations of the fortifications of the Order of Calatrava:the case of the Castle of La Peña (Spain)

• Luis José García-Pulido ^[2] ; Julio Navarro Palazón ^[1]
  1. [1] Escuela de Estudios Árabes

     Escuela de Estudios Árabes

     Granada, España

     
  2. [2] a Escuela de Estudios Árabes (EEA), CSIC, Granada, España
• Localización: FORTMED2023. Defensive architecture of the mediterranean : vol. XIII, XIV, XV / Marco Giorgio Bevilacqua (dir. congr.), Denise Ulivieri (aut.), 2023, ISBN 978-84-1396-129-3, págs. 145-152
• Idioma: inglés
• Enlaces
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• Resumen

  • During the Late Middle Ages, the Command of the Calatrava Military Order controlled the south eastern territory of the province of Jaén (Spain). This region is situated between the flat lands of Cordoba to the west, the valley of the Guadalquivir river to the north and the mountainous border of the Nasrid kingdom of Granada to the east. This region is defined by its topographic relief and is surrounded by mountains to the east. In front of them rises the limestone hill of La Peña of Martos, with its 1003 metres above sea level. A wide area can be visually controlled from this conical and symbolic promontory. The Calatrava Military Order built their main castle on top of this high hill, as a symbol of their power in this region. This fortification had a key role to protect the territory from attacks from the Nasrid kingdom of Granada during the thirteenth to the fifteenth century. As a result, several interesting defensive elements were added from the Late Middle Ages on that were also used in other military buildings of the Calatrava Military Order. This paper analyses these defensive mechanisms and the improvement of military features used in this territory, vital to this Order and to the kingdom of Castile. This research departs from the study of the Castle of La Peña, the headquarters of the Command of the Calatrava Military Order in the district of Martos (1).