“Know everyone who can read this power of attorney...”: authorization for carrying out functions on behalf of another in castilian crown during the reign of Carlos I

Abstract

The article addresses the analysis of two notarial documentary typologies, the power of attorney and its substitution, during the first half of the 16th century, reign of Carlos I. The diplomatic analysis will accompany the history of the legal background of these models and the comparative with what the various forms and treaties of the time provide. The documentary corpus -origin of the diplo-matically analyzed models- corresponds to protocols from the Provincial Historical Archive of Málaga, a city incorporated to the Castilian crown in 1487, with public notaries adept at notarial practice con-solidated since the 13th century in Hispanic land.