258 Murgia
delicate equilibrium of the kingdom’s government to the complete advantage
of the Crown.
The institution or reform of the Audiencias of the Crown of Aragon in
the reign of Philip II demonstrated the sovereign’s determination to fix the
widespread chaos in the law, cope with a rise in crime—a result of wars and
social tension—and simplify sentencing processes. The Sardinian Audiencia
was included in the broader process of rationalizing the Spanish state appa-
ratus through new bureaucratic techniques and administrative procedures.
Constrained, on the one hand, by the powers of the viceroys, whose deci-
sions in governmental matters could not be implemented without consensus.
Nonetheless, as the sole tribunal of appeals for all the “lay” jurisdictions of the
island, the Audiencia promoted conformity within the law by restricting the
space of civic justice.12 Moreover, in the course of the second half of the cen-
tury, a new social stratum, the letrados—men of the robe whom the Crown
relied on to maintain the centralization of state power and the administra-
tive apparatus—took shape within this legal and bureaucratic structure. With
it, however, the consequent compression of privileges in the governance of
justice was exercised hitherto by feudalism and cities. Naturally, the success
of this “robed” class within public affairs and the higher administrative and
legal offices of the kingdom was meant to reduce the presence of representa-
tives, especially of the noble class, who, lacking a degree in utroque iure, were
gradually eliminated.13 Left to the nobility were all the most important military
posts, as well as the offices of the governors of Cagliari and Sassari, and of the
ministers of the “cloak and dagger.”
The rise of this class had actually already begun with the onset of reform
early in the century, through the election of the constituents of the civic coun-
cils, which favored the rise of new social forces, such as lawyers, notaries, phy-
sicians, and knights, who would replace the old noble and patrician oligarchies
within urban municipalities. The experience of a juror or civic administrator
served as basic training for a new class of functionaries and magistrates on a
local level. The development of state apparatuses, following the bureaucratic
and administrative reforms of Philip II, helped reinforce this class over the
course of the century. In addition to the Royal Audience, the tribunal of the
government of Sassari, the administrative and fiscal offices of the viceroy’s gov-
ernment, and the tribunal of the Inquisition all contributed to the formation
of a local robed class.
12 Luigi La Vaccara, La Reale Udienza. Contributo alla storia delle istituzioni sarde durante il
periodo spagnolo e sabaudo (Cagliari, 1928).
13 Francesco Manconi, La Sardegna al tempo degli Asburgo: secoli XVI–XVII (Nuoro, 2010).