«Since the Middle Ages, the leadership of armies and the use of weapons were tasks that fell to the nobility. In the military and political history of Andalusia, and, naturally, of Spain as a whole, a very important role was played not only by the military corps but also by fraternities, maestranzas (royal fraternities of noblemen) and other chivalric orders. These were created by the Crown as a means of encouraging the local nobility to train as horsemen and to use weapons, and therefore to be ready to respond immediately to the call of the king and present themselves wherever they were needed. In the case of Ronda, Philip II merely sanctioned and encouraged a practice that was already in existence. It is known for example that the military corps of the Nobility of Ronda had already fought in 1569 in the war against the Moors, that is before the Royal Decree of 6 September 1572 and the foundation of the Maestranza. This decree also demonstrates the king´s strong recommendation that noblemen train for war through tournaments, equestrian games, shot-put contests, gymnastic rings and, last but not least, the spearing of bulls. Confrontation with bulls was not only an element of equestrian training but also a popular spectacle. Several years later, in 1575, the Maestranza de Ronda received instructions from Philip II for its members to take pains to breed «good horses for the protection and defence of the kingdom». Despite the advent of state-financed and state-controlled armies in the countries of the new Europe, the military corps of the Real Maestranza de Ronda never completely abandoned its preparations for war, as was demonstrated when it united with other patriotic forces to combat the invasion of Napolean Bonaparte. After ending its historical commitments to the army, the Ronda Maestranza maintained its riding school and channelled its energies into cultural and charity activities. The Ronda maestrantes have therefore had been confronting bulls for centuries, spearing them with lances and «if required as a matter of honour, even fighting them on foot, face to face, and killing them by the sword». These age-old games with bulls sowed the seeds in Ronda for a tauromachy with both noble and popular appeal, and in turn paved the way for modern bullfighting on foot. The extraordinary fact that the two most important bullfighting dynasties of all times - the Romeros and the Ordóñez - were born in Ronda, can only be attributed to the existence of an institution such as the Real Maestranza de Caballería de Ronda.»

Pedro Romero de Solís

The Reales Maestranzas de Caballería (royal fraternities of noblemen) emerged between the 16th and 19th centuries. The first of these aristocratic institutions was founded in Ronda in 1572, whilst the last to be established was the Saragossa fraternity in 1824. The Seville, Granada and Valencia fraternities all emerged during the 17th century.

The term maestranza first appeared in Andalusia in the mid-17th century as a derivative of maestro, meaning teacher of the art of gineta, an Arabic-Andalusian style of horse riding. By extension the term was used to describe a group of noble individuals trained in the skill of horse handling. Like the fraternities of noblemen and warriors who trained to be fit and ready to defend frontiers during the Reconquest and to defend the king, it was a typical medieval institution.

The origin of the Ronda fraternity is a royal letters patent dated 6 September 1572 by Philip II, which encouraged that «... in the cities, towns and places of these kingdoms, the noblemen and other leading gentlemen found and create fraternities, companies or orders, devoted to a specific saint, with statutes, conditions and chapters regarding, amongst other things, the celebration on certain days of jousts, tournaments, equestrian games and other military exercises».

The monarchs distinguished these institutions with a series of privileges, especially during the 18th century. For example, Philip V decreed that every such institution would always have as its president a member of the royal family, and after a certain period of time, this would be the king himself. Each institution had its own uniform and the capacity to organise bullfights.

Regarding the particular history of the Real Maestranza de Caballería de Ronda, the following are key periods in its history:

Chivalric treaty. Tapia and Salcedo Columbian Library, Seville Jousting by the Reales Maestranzas for the swearing in of Isabella II as the crown princess. Lithographs by P. Blancharz, 1834.

1525-1705. The royal letters patent by Philip II was read in Ronda at the town council meeting of 22 September 1572. On behalf of the town, the mayor and other noblemen present engaged in the typical ritual of removing their hats, taking the king´s letter in their hands, kissing it and placing it on their heads as a sign of compliance. In addition to agreeing to alert all those noblemen not present, it was decided that the first step would be to clean the public thoroughfare of the Plaza del Pozo and purchase a jineta lance and a few bells so that on feast days any number of horses might be able to run.

The year 1573 marked the constitution of what would later become the Maestranza: the Cofradía del Santo Espíritu (Fraternity of the Holy Spirit). According to the statutes, equestrian festivities were to take place on «the second day of the Holy Spirit, on the feasts of St John and St Peter, during Carnival and on Easter Sunday, and each Thursday the sons of noblemen were to ride in the Plaza del Pozo, their patron saint being Our Lady of Grace». There were also statutes regarding horse breeding and maintenance in Ronda, these being amongst the earliest tasks adopted. During this period it was «an educational institution, a genuine school of military instruction, whose ethos was rooted in the gallant arts of horse riding and fencing, for demonstration on specific public holidays, and the practice and designation of which represented its first and only statutes». (Juan Pérez de Guzmán, La Casa del Rey Moro, Madrid, 1920)

1706-1750. The emergence in several cities of noble corps during the last third of the 17th century, and the acceptance of the term maestranza to designate these corps, eventually led to a new name for the former Fraternity of the Holy Spirit. Whilst the means and ends remained unchanged, the internal organisation was adapted to meet the new needs of the times.

At an historic meeting held on 17 October 1706 at the church of Our Lady of Grace the order gained independence from the town council and admitted new members ready and willing to serve the king. Important historical circumstances of this period were the War of Succession (1701-1730), with the loss of Gibraltar, the defence of the coastlines and the prerogatives granted in 1730 to the Maestranzas by Philip V and ratified by Ferdinand VI. It was at this point that the name Real Maestranza de Caballería de Ronda was adopted.

1750-1850. This period is considered to be the most brilliant in the history of the order. Two factors stand out: the social phenomenon of the nobility, and, following the construction of the bullring, the boom in tauromachy. Membership of the Maestranza increased and horse breeding was established, this initiative nevertheless being brought to a halt by the War of Independence. The statutes were written and the so-called Academy of Lesser Sciences was created and run for a time for the sons of members.
Jousts and tournaments were transferred from the Carrera del Pozo to the Plaza de Santa María la Mayor. Depending on the type of festivity held in the square, presided over by a portrait of the king or prince, on completion of the games thanks would be given to the patron saint, Our Lady of Grace, at the nearby chapel devoted to her. The event would be rounded off with refreshments for the members at the home of the Deputy President. These were reportedly very gay occasions and there would be dancing until dawn.
During this period the Maestranza was directly affected by a number of important events, such as the War of Independence. Following the abdication of Charles IV, the Maestranza officially marked the accession to the throne of his son Ferdinand VII with a series of magnificent events. The four existing Maestranzas were called upon to exhibit their skills for the impending meeting between the King and Napoleon I. Nevertheless, the popular rising against the French troops on 2 May prevented this demonstration from taking place and led to the creation of the Maestranza´s own batallion, which participated in the battle of Almonacid.

1850-2000. The Maestranza de Caballería de Ronda has survived intact to the present day and has increased its work in its home town in the form of donations and grants for public works, health and other issues, as well as allowing its premises to be used for multiple purposes. Its main functions are the maintenance of the bullring and its contribution to social and cultural works.

Ronda likes to think of itself as the divine city, in the words used to describe it by the poet Rainer María Rilke. Set on a Miocene plateau more than 700 metres above sea level, it is separated from the coast by rugged topography and has a severe climate. It is surrounded by Jurassic mountain ranges and sits amidst a collection of Natural Parks and protected spaces: Cartajima to the south; Sierra de las Nieves to the east, the highest peak of which is the Torrecilla at 1.919 m.; Castillejos and Líbar to the west; and a group of hills extending to north. The river Guadalevín, called Wadi L-Laban by the Arabs and meaning «river of milk», is a tributary to the left side of the Guadiario and divides the town into two from south-east to north-west, generating a gorge more than 90 metres deep. This geographical accident is one of the town´s most recognisable characteristics.
Arunda, close to Acinipo and mentioned by Pliny, has traditionally been identified as the present-day Ronda. In reality, during Roman times the site was nothing more than a small settlement. It was during the Islamic period that it began to acquire importance as the head of the Takurunna province, with the first settlers being of Berber origin. Various sources mention several Berber families of the Takurunna district, such as the Banu Jali, who supplied 400 horsemen to Abd al-Rahman I shortly after his arrival in the Iberian peninsula, and others who integrated with the Umayyad state from the earliest days. This was the region of the ancestors of the famous Umar ibn Hafsún, the Muwallad of Bobastro who rebelled against the central power of Córdoba, warring with two emirs and the first Spanish caliph, Abderramán III. According to the chronicles, by the 10th century Ronda was already a «very strong and very ancient» settlement. There is nevertheless much doubt surrounding the exact site of what is today known as Ronda. According to one 13th century author, there were three centres of population in the Ronda region: a town called Takurunna, the fortress of Ronda (Runda) and the castle of Onda (Unda).

The dissolution of the Caliphate of Córdoba and the subsequent emergence of a system of small constantly warring independent kingdoms, the so-called taifas, precipitated the fall of Ronda into the hands of King al-Mutadid´s Sevillians and gave rise to numerous poems about it being an impregnable town. Subsequently it became part of the Almoravid and Almohad empires. It was under the latter that Ronda began to adopt the true traits of a town, having more in common with the Nasrid developments that were to emerge in the 16th century than with the simple centres of refuge of earlier centuries. During the early Nasrid reign of Granada, Ronda was granted to the Marinîds in return for their support, until this Mahgrebi dynasty was swept from al-Andalus by Castilian victories. Mohammed V was later to use Ronda as the base for his fight to recover the throne of Granada. During the 15th century the people of Ronda were attacked by Christian troops and on 22 May 1485, greatly aided by the novel use of artillery, the town was taken by King Ferdinand. This moment is illustrated in one of the bas-reliefs of the choir stalls in the cathedral at Toledo.
The geological conditions that made Ronda inaccessible also made it a unique place in Europe, and it is this circumstance that has traditionally obstructed its urban expansion, surrounded as the town is by the Guadalevín, the Culebras stream and the imposing precipice to the north. Judging from the words of an anonymous traveller, the place had a poor reputation during the 11th century: «It is a town that bears the mark of savagery, constantly prey to the most disagreeable severity / Those who have visited it once have never had the slightest inclination to go back / The horizon is always shrouded in mist and the main square fills one´s heart with sadness». Nevertheless, one century later, Prince Ismail Imad ab al-Ayyubi´s description was: «Ronda has a most formidable and elevated castle, which the clouds crown in the form of a turban and appear to drape with double necklaces of varied pearls». Expansion to the eastern, western and southern hills took place during the 13th century. During the reign of the Marinîds in the following century, several improvements were introduced and the town gained new buildings under the instruction of the Sultan Abú l-Hassan, whose son Abd el Malik, known as Abomelic, had proclaimed himself king of Ronda, Algeciras and Gibraltar.
During his reign, the court at Madina Runda was made up of well-known philosophers, poets and intellectuals, and the town became a busy trading centre whose shops and warehouses boasted the most sophisticated merchandise from Morocco, Asia and Spain. Well-guarded fortresses, high towers and abundant wells and houses were built to be subsequently inherited by the Castilian conquerors, who transformed the churches and turned the houses into mansions.
The growth during the 18th century of the Mercadillo shantytown necessitated two monumental works to save the town. The second of these, the monumental bridge over the gorge, the Puente del Tajo, which links the old part to the new part, still remains. The present-day town contains the following three districts: the Mercadillo (lit. Street market), where the enlightened rationalism of Charles III is evident; the Ciudad (the town), taking in the Arabic medina, the most noble part; and the district of San Francisco situated on the other side of the old fortress walls and inhabited by different types of farm workers.

In the 19th century Ronda remained an isolated mountain town until being discovered by foreign travellers at the height of the Romantic period. Banditry and smuggling, which had always prospered in the precipitous topography and which fed on the circumstances of the War of Independence against the French army, became in travel literature a quasi-commercial brand. Merimée, Ford, Gautier, Davillier, as well as the drawings by Lewis, Roberts, Blanchard and Doré, have created an image of Andalusia in general and of Ronda in particular in which the bandit, mountain maiden and brave bullfighter go hand in hand. As one sets out on a stroll through Ronda, it is as well to remember that behind this typical postcard scene is a rich and complex history, a large part of which stems from its Arab past and the modernity that came with the Enlightenment.