to arms; a right of which they liberally availed themselves. [52] They
also claimed the privilege, when aggrieved, of denaturalizing themselves,
or, in other words, of publicly renouncing their allegiance to their
sovereign, and of enlisting under the banners of his enemy. [53] The
number of petty states, which swarmed over the Peninsula, afforded ample
opportunity for the exercise of this disorganizing prerogative. The Laras
are particularly noticed by Mariana, as having a "great relish for
rebellion," and the Castros as being much in the habit of going over to
the Moors. [54] They assumed the license of arraying themselves in armed
confederacy against the monarch, on any occasion of popular disgust, and
they solemnized the act by the most imposing ceremonials of religion. [55]
Their rights of jurisdiction, derived to them, it would seem, originally
from royal grant, [56] were in a great measure defeated by the liberal
charters of incorporation, which, in imitation of the sovereign, they
conceded to their vassals, as well as by the gradual encroachment of the
royal judicatures. [57] In virtue of their birth they monopolized all the
higher offices of state, as those of constable and admiral of Castile,
_adelantados_ or governors of the provinces, cities, etc. [58] They
secured to themselves the grand-masterships of the military orders, which
placed at their disposal an immense amount of revenue and patronage.
Finally, they entered into the royal or privy council, and formed a
constituent portion of the national legislature.

These important prerogatives were of course favorable to the accumulation
of great wealth. Their estates were scattered over every part of the
kingdom, and, unlike the grandees of Spain at the present day, [59] they
resided on them in person, maintaining the state of petty sovereigns, and
surrounded by a numerous retinue, who served the purposes of a pageant in
time of peace, and an efficient military force in war. The demesnes of
John, lord of Biscay, confiscated by Alfonso the Eleventh to the use of