La justicia penal en el levantamiento comunero de Castilla

Abstract

At the beginning of the 16th century, a period of government instability, as well as a social and economic crisis, were gradually installed in Castile. In this context 92 Ricardo M. Mata y Martín ADPCP, VOL. LXXIII, 2020 of institutional deterioration begins the reign of a young monarch who ignores his new territories and grants the main government positions in Spain to people from other countries. Soon, from 1519-1520, the well-known rebellion of the comuneros or community movement takes shape, in which some of the cities rise against the authority of the king. The initial protests are transformed into open rebellion and violence and battles between the rebel hosts and the defenders of royal authority are unleashed. Throughout all the process of rebellion and later, the mechanisms of penal sanction against the members of the movement of the cities are set in motion. This paper tries to analyze, from the legal-criminal perspective, the way in which the penal system was applied to the leaders of the communities. The Worms Edict of 17th December 1520 posses special interest and also the executions after the battle of Villalar in April 1521. Attention is also given to subsequent penal proceedings, as well as to the penalties applied and their modalities of execution.