The pious works during the Old Regime. The example of Almansa: lawsuits for the possession of the board of las Barracas mill

Abstract

The chaplaincies and patronages were another means for the social promotion of many families of the Castilian nobility. Its foundation implied a series of spiritual obligations but also an economic benefit, which gave rise to numerous lawsuits between the descendants of the founders. The pages study the foundation at the beginning of the 16^th century of a lay patronage in the town of Almansa (Albacete) and the different litigation undertaken by different members of the lineage of the founders until the end of the 18^th century with the aim of taking over the property. Of said pious memory.