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Santa Hermandad, literally "holy brotherhood" in Spanish, was a type of military peacekeeping association of armed individuals, which became characteristic of municipal life in medieval Spain, especially in Castile. Modern hermandades in Spain, some of which evolved from medieval origins, are now for the most part religious confraternities retaining only a military structure and ethos. As medieval kings of León, Castile, and Aragon were often unable to maintain public peace, protective municipal leagues began to emerge in the twelfth century against bandits and other rural criminals, as well as against the lawless nobility or mobilized to support a claimant to the crown. These organizations were individually temporary, but became a long standing fixture of Spain.〔O'Callaghan, Joseph F. O. ''A History of Medieval Spain''. (Ithaca, Cornell University Press, 1975), 448. ISBN 0-8014-0880-6〕 The first recorded case of the formation of an ''hermandad'' occurred when the towns and the peasantry of the north united to police the pilgrim road to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, and protect the pilgrims, a major source of regional income, against robber knights. With the countryside virtually everywhere effectively in the hands of nobles, throughout the High Middle Ages such brotherhoods were frequently formed by leagues of towns to protect the roads connecting them. The ''hermandades'' were occasionally co-opted for dynastic purposes. They acted to some extent like the Fehmic courts of Germany. Among the most powerful was the league of northern Castilian and Basque ports, the ''Hermandad de las Marismas'': Toledo, Talavera, and Villa Real. As one of their first acts after the War of the Castilian Succession, Ferdinand and Isabella "brought peace by the brilliant strategy of organizing rather than eliminating violence;"〔Henry Kamen, ''Empire: how Spain became a world power, 1492-1763'', 2002:7.〕 they established a centrally organized and efficient Holy Hermandad (''Santa Hermandad'') with themselves at its head. They adapted the existing form of the ''hermandad'' to the purpose of creating a general police force under the direction of officials appointed by themselves, and endowed with large powers of summary jurisdiction, even in capital cases. The rough and ready justice of the ''Santa Hermandades'' became famous for brutality.〔Kamen 2002.〕 The original ''hermandades'' continued to serve as modest local police units until their final suppression in 1835. In the Netherlands, the Dutch expression ''hermandad'' remains a less-than positive nick-name for the police.〔Dutch Wikipedia: "Hermandad".〕 ==Early formation== The ''hermandades'' initially began to form in Andalusia in 1265, in towns seeking to “defend their interests” from Islamic rebels who had been taking land and proclaiming their leader king.〔(Joseph F. ''A History of Medieval Spain''. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1975. )〕 The groups may have been inspired by a previously-existing Islamic police force called the ''Shurta''.〔Lunenfeld, Marvin. ''The Council of the Santa Hermandad''. Coral Gables: University of Miami Press, 1970.〕 The ''hermandades'' worked as local militias to protect the towns they came from. Hermandades also curbed the actions of bandits and other criminals, becoming a kind of police force.〔 As the hermandad gained more legitimacy, they also gained more powers and responsibilities. Along with working as a police force and militia, they also collected taxes, acted as judges, and worked with the Cortes and corregidores on these and similar administrative problems. The hermandad judges relied on the backing of the corregidores for legitimacy.〔Lunenfeld, Marvin. ''Keepers of the City''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,1987.〕 The hermandad were given jurisdiction over a wide range of crimes including: "crimes on roads or in unpopulated areas; rape of honest women; blasphemy; and the passing of false money."〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Santa Hermandad」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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