The mendicant friars, especially the Dominicans and the Franciscans, made an enormous impact in thirteenth-century Spain influencing almost every aspect of society. In a revolutionary break from the Church's past, these religious orders were deeply involved in earthly matters while preaching the Gospel to the laity and producing many of the greatest scholars of the time. Furthermore, the friars reshaped the hierarchy of the Church, often taking up significant positions in the episcopate. They were prominent in the establishment of the Inquisition in Aragon and at the same time they played a major part in interfaith relations between Jews, Muslims and Christians. In addition, they were key contributors in the transformation of urban life, becoming an essential part of the fabric of late medieval cities, while influencing policies of monarchs such as James I of Aragon and Ferdinand III of Castile. Their missions in the towns and their educational role, as well as their robust associations with the papacy and the crown, often raised criticism and lead to internal tensions and conflict with other clergymen and secular society. They were to be both widely admired and the subjects of biting literary satire. As this collection demonstrates, the story of medieval Spain cannot possibly be fully told without mention of the critical role of the friars.

En el panorama de la Europa bajo-medieval la implantacion de las ordenes mendicantes constituye un fenomeno lleno de rasgos originales y prenado de consecuencias socioeconomicas y culturales de primer orden. Uno de los hitos de la penetracion mendicante en el territorio de la actual comunidad de Castilla-La Mancha lo constituye el monasterio clariso de Alcocer, al norte del obispado de Cuenca, cuya fundacion a mediados del siglo XIII es el fruto de una iniciativa concertada entre la corona castellana y una importante familia de la nobleza de la epoca, los Guzman. El seguimiento de la historia medieval del cenobio ilustra, por anadidura, numerosos procesos que atanen a la evolucion del senorio de Alcocer, poblacion sobre cuya historia local el presente estudio contribuye asimismo a arrojar luz. En los apendices documentales de esta obra se publica una considerable coleccion de fuentes de archivo, en su mayor parte ineditas hasta este momento, para el mejor conocimiento de la historia local de Alcocer, de las familias nobles que en epoca medieval ostentaron su senorio, y de la comunidad clarisa en torno a la cual se construye nuestro estudio."