Hermandad, THE (Sp., 'brotherhood'), had its rise in an association of the principal cities of Castile against the nobles who in 1282, under Prince
Sancho, rose against Alfonso X. When Sancho succeeded to the throne (1295) the league was more firmly organised throughout Castile and Leon, with the express object of resisting the tyranny and exactions of the crown-vassals and nobles. Ferdinand and Isabella, in order to curb the power of their feudatories, first favoured the association and ultimately (in 1485) gave it a legal status under the name of the Hermandad. It now constituted a confederation of the entire burgher class for police and judicial purposes, with local courts and an annual meeting of deputies from all the cities; and the sovereigns, adopting its members as a standing force to counterbalance the followers of the feudal lords, put themselves at the head of the association, placed it at the service of the city magistrates, and employed it both in quelling disturbances and in seizing confiscated properties. The introduction of a regular standing army enabled the crown to free itself from this dependence on the towns; and with the decay of the Hermandad disappeared the last vestige of popular freedom.