Medieval Galician written culture cannot be adequately grasped without a historical contextualization of the place Galicia occupied among the Iberian kingdoms between the tenth and twelfth centuries. Since the beginning of the Islamic occupation and the emergence of the first nuclei of Christian resistance, Galicia had been part of the Astur-Leonese crown. The power held by Galician aristocratic dynasties during this period conferred on them a notable position at court. Their influence was reflected not only in the authority these dynasties effectively exerted over successive rulers, but also in the substantial autonomy they maintained in the face of royal power. A result of this preeminence was the active role played by the Galician nobility in the line of succession to the Leonese crown, which materialized in the successive coronations of Bermudo III in Santiago de Compostela in 981, the proclamation of García, son of Fernando I, as King of Galicia in 1065 and Afonso Raimúndez's accession – the future Afonso VII of Castile and Leon – to the Galician throne in 1111, with the help of Pedro Froilaz, Count of Traba, and Archbishop Xelmírez.

Galicia held this distinguished position in peninsular politics until the thirteenth century. Its predominant position was evident in the tutelage of the Galician nobles, above all of the aforementioned House of Traba, over the Leonese monarchs – Afonso VII, Fernando II, Afonso IX and even Afonso X – some of whose tombs lie in Compostela's cathedral.