Leones Charter – 1209

Castelo Rodrigo

The franchise or customs of Castelo Rodrigo in the 13th century owe their creation to the fact that Castelo Rodrigo was, for a very long time, the most important settlement in the region designated, at least since the end of that same century, as “Riba-de-Côa”. We can assume the year 1209, based on a settlement charter by Alfonso IX, information transcribed at the end of the Castelo Rodrigo codex, dated September 1209, in which he grants to the Municipality of Castelo Rodrigo the best privileges he chose in all his kingdom, which should be understood as documents of civil, criminal, political, administrative, and procedural laws, granted to municipalities for their constitution and government.