THE IMPACT OF ACCULTURATION ON MEDIEVAL CASTILIAN SOCIAL STRUCTURES

Acculturation has been the empirical foundation of the anthropological history of humanity, and has integrated the history of language, society, and culture. Acculturation refers to all cultural events resulting from the acquisition, modification, or reinterpretation of a culture, particularly the reception and assimilation of cultural elements specific to one social group by another. The term acculturation became widely accepted among American anthropologists in the late 19th century to refer to the changes that occur when social groups with different cultural traditions merge. The creation of a new system of sources to replace the traditional one of the kingdom was the work of Alfonso X, whose extensive legacy included three texts of particular importance attributed to him (those usually referred to as Fuero Real, Espéculo and Partidas). Their prologues coincided in making clear Alfonso X's firm conviction, both in the need for reform and in his authority to carry it out, through the application of a legal framework (each one of them), drawn up with the advice of the Court and legal experts. The conditions of the kingdom required action with urgency, but also with extreme caution, and this was reflected in the documentation of the time, which revealed how the king already had a legal framework of some scope which, in anticipation of possible resistance to its acceptance by the kingdom, he granted municipal jurisdiction to several towns in León, Castile and Extremadura between 1255 and 1265, considering that they did not have a jurisdiction by which they should be judged.