# Merindad
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{{short description|Mediaeval Spanish administrative entity}}
{{Italic title}}
'''{{Lang|es|Merindad}}''' ({{IPA|es|meɾinˈdað}}) is a [mediaeval](/source/mediaeval) [Spanish](/source/Spanish_language) administrative term for a [country subdivision](/source/country_subdivision) smaller than a [province](/source/province) but larger than a [municipality](/source/municipality).{{cn|date=February 2025}} The officer in charge of a ''merindad'' was called a ''merino'', roughly equivalent to the [English](/source/English_language) [count](/source/county) or [bailiff](/source/bailiff).[{{in lang|es}}. [https://aunamendi.eusko-ikaskuntza.eus/en/merino/ar-101110/ "merino".] ''Auñamendi Eusko Entziklopedia''. Retrieved 2024-04-14.]
It was used in the [kingdoms of Castile](/source/kingdom_of_Castile) and [Navarre](/source/kingdom_of_Navarre). Connected to the birth of Castile, the [Merindades](/source/Merindades), standing for the northernmost ''[comarca](/source/comarca)'' of the [province of Burgos](/source/province_of_Burgos), was part of the creation of the administrative division by [King Peter](/source/Peter_of_Castile).[{{in lang|es}}. [http://www.enciclopedianavarra.com/?page_id=4832 "Baja Navarra".] ''Gran Enciclopedia de Navarra''. Retrieved 2024-04-14.][{{in lang|es}}. [http://www.enciclopedianavarra.com/?page_id=19892 "Ultrapuertos".] ''Gran Enciclopedia de Navarra''. Retrieved 2024-04-14.]
Administratively, they have been substituted by the ''[partido judicial](/source/partido_judicial)''. In [Biscay](/source/Biscay), the ''mancomunidades comarcales'' keep the place of the old ''merindades'', such as [Duranguesado](/source/Duranguesado).
=== ''Merindad'' of Estella ===
The ''merindad'' of Estella or Tierra Estella (in Basque: ''Lizarrako Merindadea'' or ''Lizarrerria'') is one of the five ''merindades'' into which the Foral Community of Navarre (Spain) has historically been divided and whose head of ''merindad'' is the town of Estella. Its territorial delimitation coincides with that of the judicial district of the same name. The ''merindad'' encompasses 72 municipalities and 39 ''facerías'' among which are the Sierra de [Urbasa](/source/Urbasa), the [Sierra de Andía](/source/Andia) and the Sierra de Lóquiz as the largest. The total area of the ''merindad'' of Estella is 2,068.6 km².
The ''merindad'' of Estella is located in western Navarre, covering parts of Navarra in the north and the Ribera de Navarra in the south. It borders the ''merindad'' of Pamplona to the north, the ''Merindades'' of Pamplona and [Olite](/source/Olite) to the east, La Rioja to the south, and Álava, in the Basque Country, to the west.
=== ''Merindad'' of Olite ===
Established by [Charles III of Navarre](/source/Charles_III_of_Navarre) on April 18, 1407, the ''merindad'' of Olite was formed by separating towns from the ''Merindades'' of Sangüesa and Estella, later becoming the judicial district of Tafalla.[[Caro Baroja, Julio](/source/Julio_Caro_Baroja) (1982). [https://www.fundacioncajanavarra.es/cultura-y-educacion/archivo/la-casa-navarra-tomo-IV.pdf ''La Casa en Navarra''. Vol. 4. Photographs by José Esteban Uranga.] Pamplona, pp. 7–8.] Caja de Ahorros de Navarra. ]
=== ''Merindad'' of Ribera ===
The 1366 census already classified towns like Valdorba, [San Martín de Unx](/source/San_Mart%C3%ADn_de_Unx), [Ujué](/source/Uju%C3%A9_%E2%80%93_Uxue), [Murillo el Fruto](/source/Murillo_el_Fruto), [Santacara](/source/Santacara), [Murillo el Cuende](/source/Murillo_El_Cuende), [Pitillas](/source/Pitillas), and [Beire](/source/Beire) as part of the ''merindad'' of Ribera ([Aragón](/source/Arag%C3%B3n_(river)) and [Cidacos River](/source/Cidacos) regions). The ''merindad'' of La Ribera originally included [Artajona](/source/Artajona), Tafalla, Caparroso, and Rada, alongside towns later assigned to the ''merindad'' of [Tudela](/source/Tudela%2C_Navarre). This structure remained until 1342, when records began distinguishing Tudela separately, though reassignment was not immediate.[{{Cite web |title=Gran Enciclopedia de Navarra {{!}} TUDELA, MERINDAD |url=http://www.enciclopedianavarra.com/?page_id=19748 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241205013934/http://www.enciclopedianavarra.com/?page_id=19748 |archive-date=2024-12-05 |access-date=2025-02-13 |website=www.enciclopedianavarra.com}}] has fewer Basque influences than any other in Navarre, with distinct Romance and pre-Roman place names. Many of its towns were once under Islamic rule, with Muslim and [Mudéjar](/source/Mud%C3%A9jar) populations persisting long after the Reconquista, particularly in the capital, where Arabic influences remain in toponymy and vocabulary. These cultural traces are visible south of the merindad of Estella, near the [Ebro River](/source/Ebro), becoming more pronounced southeast of [Azagra](/source/Azagra) toward Aragon.