Royal Audiencia and Chancillería of Valladolid

The Royal Chancillería of Valladolid

The Royal Audiencia and Chancellería of Valladolid was a Spanish judicial institution set up in Valladolid in 1371, with jurisdiction over all of the territories of the Crown of Castile. It was the first Spanish audiencia to be established. The building was originally called El Palacio de los Vivero.

Antecedents

Henry II established an audiencia to administer justice at the request of the Cortes of Toro, convened in 1371 by the king himself. The audiencia consisted of eight oidores (or jueces letrados, "learned judges"), two prelates and the chancellors of justice, who were in charge of sealing documents. (Compare to the British Lord Chancellor.) John I of Castile applied the term chancillería (a court of last resort, not to be confused with a chancellery) in 1387 to these audiencias. By this time Valladolid Chancillería had come to consist of a governor (or regent), sixteen oidores (or "civil-case judges"), three alcaldes del crimen, grouped into four civil chambers, one criminal and one for cases among hidalgos and nobles. The rulings of the Chacillería were irrevocable, although a very grave case could be reviewed by the Council of Castile.

Seats

During it first years, the Chancillería had a nomadic just like the royal court. The Valladolid Audiencia originated in the The residence of the Audiencia was established in Valladolid by the Cortes of Valladolid (1442 and 1447). It was during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, Isabella I and Ferdinand V, that its permanent seat in Valladolid was confirmed by the 1489 Ordinances of Medina del Campo. Later Isabella and Ferdinand established two districts: one north of the Tagus River under the jurisdiction of the Valladolid Audiencia, and one south of the river under an Audiencia of Granada. After the sixteenth century, other audiencias were created to administer justice in the many territories that that came under the dominion of the Crown.

For a short period from 1601 to 1605 the Valladolid Audiencia resided in Medina del Campo, when the royal court moved to Valladolid. The Audiencia later moved into the Palace of the Four Towers (today the Captaincy General) in Burgos for a mere nine months between 1605 and 1606. After this it returned to Valladolid when the royal court moved to Madrid. The Audiencia thereafter remained in Valladolid until 1834, when it was abolished.

The Palace of the Viveros

The official residence of the Audiencia is the Palace of the Viveros. It was originally constructed in the mid-fifteenth century as a fortified palace for Alonso Pérez de Vivero, Contador mayor ("chief treasurer") of John II. In one of its great halls, the Sala Rica, the Catholic Monarchs, Isabella and Ferdinand were married on October 19, 1469; their marriage united the Crowns of Aragon and Castile.

When it was property of the Viveros, the palace had towers, a wall, a moat and a keep. These were torn down at the orders of the Catholic Monarchs in 1475 to avoid their use in a rebellion against the monarchy. When the Vivero family lost possession of the palace, the Crown adapted it for the Chancellería and carried out other renovations including the central cloister.

See also

• Audiencia

Coordinates: 41°39′23″N 4°43′14″W / 41.65639°N 4.72056°W / 41.65639; -4.72056