Queen and King Push For Influence In Catholic Appointments

The enduring stability of what became Greater, and eventually Imperial Spain, was made possible by the systems drawn out from tradition by the Royal House. It's reform of the courts , law enforcement and municipal administration that came to pass out of the Councils, such as that of Madrigal and Toledo, established these in formal agreements. These also maintained, but also reestablished the legal precedence of the Crown over such affairs across Castilian lands. There was also the turning of hidalgos across Old Spain into various levels of king's men. But all of these and their effects could reach only so far. There was also the Church to consider.

"They could never be absolute masters in their own land until they had brought under royal control the immensely powerful Spanish Church. The power of the Church in Spain was reinforced by its vast wealth and by the vast extent of its privileges. There were seven archbishoprics and forty bishoprics.... The regular and secular clergy shared with hidalgos the privilege of exemption from the taxes levied by the Crown, and they were more successful than the hidalgos in evading the payment of municipal dues...." [p. 99]

The Church members even excelled at promoting the welfare of their own servants and helpers. They grew great demesnes, held hereditary offices, enabling great families to remain central to power in many places. Over the centuries, of course, this independence furthered fueds. For example, in the fifteenth century, the act of presentation of "...the more important benefices was a source of constant dispute." Sees, Cathedral chapters, monastic Orders all felt pressured to conform from the ministers of the papacy as well as the King and Queen. For example, the handing over of certain fortresses of Don Alfonso Carillo to royal officials was coupled with royal demands that royal judgements and jurisdictions would remain superior to any local decisions, whether in the Church or not.

In 1475, Isabella asked that she be able to pick the Archbishop of Zaragoza when the office fell vacant. The practice that she said she recalled was that a sovereign could pick a candidate 'in supplication to the Papacy' who would then 'give the blessing' of their pick. [p.100] In 1478 the sovereigns called a Council at Seville.

"The programme laid before the council for discussion made it clear that the Crown was determined to secure control over all benefices in Castile, and that it expected clerical ratification for its defiance of Rome. The council duly agreed to intercede with the Pope, but the delegation which it sent to Rome met with no success." [p 101] 

Next, Elliott tells of the vacancy in the see at Cuenca in 1479 where the sovereigns demanded their selection be met with the blessing in Rome. This wasn't resolved until 1482. As time went on, the sovereigns pushed their agenda to establish greater control over the Church in other ways as in Granada, in 1486 where the Crown did gain superior privileges. The eventual consequences of these early motions pushing the sovereign agenda would be huge for Europe in all sorts of ways.
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J.H. Elliott: Imperial Spain 1469-1716 : Penguin, NY, 2002