Factions, lineages and urban conflicts in late medieval Europe. Models and approaches from Castile and Tuscany

Urban conflicts are a main historiographical field which study has been often conditioned by prejudices and misconceptions that prevented an appropriate knowledge of the development and consequences of their social, political, anthropological and cultural manifestations. In Italian cities, the so-called weigh of the political values from the Ancient world that would have been transferred to the Western civilization, has burdened our perception of the historical reality. Particularly regarding conflicts: an aspect that did not fit the ideal political virtues of the Italian comune. In the Castilian case, the main problem is the excessive political prominence attributed to royal power and its institutional and legal system, an approach that was reinforced in the 80's when it was linked to the origins of the "Modern State". These perspectives have limited the study of urban conflicts in a complex political society that also managed the control of violence. The article proves that, by putting aside some of the mentioned perspectives, it is possible to achieve new findings regarding conflicts, social behavior in urban history.