Caspe
ZaragozaAragón
Pre-Roman toponym of Iberian origin. The medieval form Casp, attested from 1110, derives from the Iberian base *kasp- or *kabts- of disputed etymology, with cognates in other toponyms of the Ebro valley like Casbas, Caspueñas and Cabra. The philological hypothesis with most support —Joan Coromines, Antonio Beltrán— links it to the Iberian substrate with orographic value ('cut height, isolated crag'), descriptive of the limestone platform on which the town sits.
Kasp- is a pre-Roman toponymic base attested in the Iberian substrate of the middle Ebro valley with orographic value. The hamlet of Caspe is documented from the 12th century after its reconquest by Alfonso II of Aragón in 1168 and the grant of the place to the Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem. The maximum historical importance of the place dates from the year 1412: the Compromise of Caspe, meeting of the nine compromissaries of Aragón, Catalonia and Valencia (three from each kingdom) elected to resolve the succession to the throne of Aragón after the extinction of the Catalan dynasty in 1410, decided on the 28th of June 1412 in favour of Ferdinand of Antequera, Castilian infante of the Trastámara dynasty. The decision, known as the Sentencia de Caspe, changed the destiny of the Crown of Aragón by uniting it to Castile by dynastic line seventy-seven years before the marriage of the Catholic Monarchs.
Evolution of the name
- *kasp- pre-Roman Iberian before the 3rd century BC
- Casp / Caspe medieval Aragonese from the 12th century
Glossary
- Attested
- A form or word documented in writing in historical sources; opposed to "reconstructed" (forms proposed by comparative inference but not actually documented).
- Compromise of Caspe (1412)
- Meeting convened in Caspe on the 17th of March 1412 with nine compromissaries —three from Aragón, three from Catalonia and three from Valencia— to decide the succession to the throne of the Crown of Aragón after the death without descendants of Martin I the Humane in 1410. After three months of deliberations, on the 28th of June 1412 the compromissaries proclaimed king Ferdinand of Antequera, Castilian infante of the Trastámara dynasty and maternal grandson of the Aragonese King Peter IV. The decision inaugurated the Trastámara dynasty in Aragón and was prelude to the dynastic union with Castile of the Catholic Monarchs (1469).
- Etymology
- The origin and history of a word and the phonetic and semantic changes it has undergone. An etymology may be confirmed, probable or disputed depending on documentary attestations and linguistic parallels.
- Pre-Roman
- Prior to the Romanisation of the Iberian peninsula (3rd century BC); applied to toponyms, linguistic roots and populations.
Sources
- Beltrán Martínez, A. — Topónimos prerromanos del valle del Ebro
- Sesma Muñoz, J.Á. — El Compromiso de Caspe
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Camino del Ebro