Issue date: 05 Jun, 2017
ANNIVERSARIES. 1000 YEARS OF THE FUERO DE NÁJERA.
The Fuero de Nájera is a body of local laws originating in the early 11th century.
Nájera is a town in the Rioja region, but in the Middle Ages, it was the capital of the kingdom of Nájera. Sancho III, King of Pamplona, granted it a special fuero or body of laws, which was confirmed by Alfonso VI of Leon and Castile when he conquered the city in 1076, and also later by Alfonso VII, Ferdinand IV, and Peter of Castile in 1352.
This was the origin of Navarrese law and the foundation of Spanish law in general.
At that date Nájera had its own coins, made in one of the first mints of Christian Spain.
There are two known versions of this early fuero: one in a book known as the Becerro Gótico de San Millán, published by Prudencio de Sandoval in 1615; and the other in another book, the Becerro Galicano. It consisted of 13 consensual regulations which were applicable in the city of Nájera and throughout its territory.
These texts, and some later editions, compile earlier Navarrese laws with very diverse private-law content which gives us an almost perfect picture of society in that period.
Later Kings of Castile would also confirm the validity of the fuero. These were Alfonso VII in Nájera on 13 May 1136, stating that the fuero was granted to Christians and Jews; Ferdinand IV, in Burgos, on 14 May 1304; Alfonso XI, also in Burgos, on 6 June 1332; Peter of Castile, in Valladolid, on 15 January 1352; the Infante Don Sancho, in Valladolid, on 28 April 1282; Henry II, in Burgos, on 7 February 1367; and John II, in Segovia on 29 August 1407 and Valladolid on 24 May 1420.
The custom of confirming the local fueros ended with the Catholic Monarchs, due to their desire for unity and uniformity within the kingdoms.
The composite images on the stamp show the royal capital of Nájera surrounded by mountains: the modern town in colour, with the mountain behind it in black and white, symbolising the past and the living present.
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