ABSTRACT
In the midst of the constant struggles, the domestic situation of the Spanish kingdoms, especially of Castile, was far from reassuring. The real interest of the period lies in the efforts of the middle classes to attain a recognized position which, guaranteed by Fueros, might insure to them relative independence. Many troubadours fled to Spain, and contributed to the brilliance of the courts of Jaime I and Pedro III of Aragon, and of Alfonso X of Castile. During the greater part of this period the two most powerful influences were still the French, in literature and art, and the Arabic, in science, philosophy and the arts of luxury. The famous Majorcan influenced Juan Manuel strongly, as indeed he did all his contemporaries. The architecture of Southern France is to be found copied at Manresa, Gerona, Tarragona and in the Cistercian abbeys. In the 14th century imitation of Italian primitives, especially of Giotto, appears, and this is most in evidence on the Mediterranean coast.
