4 - The Battle of Salado (1340) Revisited

Summary

The battle of Salado (1340) remains one of the most compelling episodes of Iberian medieval military history. This is unsurprising when one considers that it appears to have everything to fire the imagination – an encounter between armies led by charismatic and powerful rulers on both sides, a moment in which the fate of the Reconquest appeared to hang in the balance, and a resounding Christian victory over the Muslims – and also the tools to analyze it – detailed accounts in the Christian and Arabic chronicles and ample documentary sources to place it in context. In fact, from classic studies to more recent ones, Salado continues to inspire debate among historians as to the significance of Castile's victory over the Marinids. Some argue that the battle constituted a major juncture in the Reconquest, others espouse the view that the battle was significant only in light of further Castilian conquests in the area, and more recently as to the exact reasons for the Christian triumph. My aim in this contribution is to reconcile the discrepancies that remain between the different historians regarding the development of the battle of Salado, specifically taking into account the speed of the Castilian cavalry and the location of the Muslim encampments, and in the process introduce this important topic to an Anglophone audience that perhaps may be unfamiliar with it. My study is also in keeping with the recent trend in medieval military historiography that again returns to close analysis of that rare occurrence that was the pitched battle.