Santa Hermandad
（重定向自Hermandades）
![Papal bull of Pope Urban VIII, 1637, sealed with a leaden bulla.](/Images/godic/202501/17/Papal.bull2200.JPG")
![El puesto de policía de Enschede (Países Bajos) está ubicado en la Calle Hermandad.](/Images/godic/202501/17/Hermandad_Enschede2200.JPG")
![Mitglieder der Cofradía de la Entrada de Jesús en Jerusalén tragen ihren Paso bei der Prozession in Astorga](/Images/godic/202501/17/Domingo_de_ramos_astorga2200.jpg")
![Büßer der Cofradía del Lignum Crucis in La Laguna](/Images/godic/202501/17/Procesión_Magna_in_La_Laguna_362200.jpg")
Santa Hermandad, literally "holy brotherhood" in Spanish, was a type of military peacekeeping association of armed individuals, which became characteristic of municipal life in medieval Spain, especially in Castile. Modern hermandades in Spain, some of which evolved from medieval origins, are now for the most part religious confraternities retaining only a military structure and ethos.