Cornell University 
 Library 
 
 The original of tiiis book is in 
 tine Cornell University Library. 
 
 There are no known copyright restrictions in 
 the United States on the use of the text. 
 
 http://www.archive.org/details/cu31924028476731 
 
JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON 
 
 F. DARWIN SWIFT 
 
HENRY FROWDE 
 
 Oxford University Press Warehouse 
 
 Amen Corner, E.C. 
 
 (Pw 3)orft 
 
 MACMILLAN & CO., 66 FIFTH AVENUE 
 
B,\iul.ui^li Hod 
 
/ 
 
 THE LIFE AND TIMES 
 
 OF 
 
 JAMES THE FIRST 
 
 THE CONQUEROR 
 
 KING OF ARAGON, VALENCIA, AND MAJORCA 
 
 COUNT OF BARCELONA AND URGEL 
 
 LORD OF MONTPELLIER 
 
 F. DARWIN SWIFT, B.A. 
 
 FORMERLY SCHOLAR OF QUEEN's COLLEGE, OXFORD 
 
 WITH A MAP 
 
 Oxfotb 
 
 AT THE CLARENDON PRESS 
 1894 
 
 c 
 
Ojcfoti 
 
 PRINTED AT THE CLARENDON PRESS 
 
 BY HORACE HART, PRINTER TO THE UNIVERSITY 
 
TO 
 
 PASCUAL DE GAYANGOS 
 
 MEMBER OF THE ROYAL ACADEMY OF HISTORY 
 FORMERLY PROFESSOR OF ARABIC IN THE UNIVERSITY OF MADRID 
 
 A TRIBUTE OF RESPECT 
 
 FOR HIS WORK AS AN ORIENTALIST AND A HISTORIAN 
 
 AND OF GRATITUDE 
 
 FOR MUCH KINDNESS SHOWN 
 
 TO THE AUTHOR 
 
PREFACE 
 
 In its original form this book was written for the Marquis 
 of Lothian's prize, open annually for competition to junior 
 members of the University of Oxford. The subject for 
 1889 was 'James I of Aragon,' and the present work is an 
 expansion of the unfinished essay which I then sent in to 
 the examiners, and to which they awarded an honourable 
 mention. 
 
 The book, however, would never, perhaps, have been 
 completed, had it not been for the kind encouragement 
 and invaluable help of a friend, by whose advice I visited 
 some of the principal archives and libraries of Spain in 
 the years 1889 and 1890. 
 
 Of these, far the most important for the purposes of my 
 subject were the Archives of Aragon at Barcelona, which 
 contain over 2,300 parchments and thirty registers of the 
 reign. It is much to be regretted that these valuable 
 archives are not more frequently visited by historians. 
 They are kept in perfect order, the documents are carefully 
 classified, and I received every kindness and attention from 
 the distinguished Archivist, D. Manuel de Bofarull y de 
 Sartorio, and his son, D. Francisco de Bofarull ^. 
 
 ' These Archives contain in all and seventeenth centuries ; while other 
 
 18,626 parchments of the Counts of treasures consist of collections of Papal 
 
 Barcelona and the kings of Aragon, Bulls, acts and registers of the Supreme 
 
 and 6,388 Chancery Registers, besides Junta of Catalonia, processes of the 
 
 the numerous MSS. relating to the old Cortes, and the libraries of sup- 
 
 ' Generalidad de Catalufia ' and to pressed monasteries. The earliest 
 
 the proceedings of the old Council document dates from 875, in the 
 
 of Aragon in the fifteenth, sixteenth, reign of Wilfred I. 
 
viii PREFACE. 
 
 The University library at Barcelona contains the earliest 
 known MS. of James' Chronicle, as well as the MS. of 
 Marsilio, and a copy of the ' Furs ' of Valencia— the latter 
 an excessively rare book. Here too I was very kindly 
 treated by the librarian, D. Mariano Aguil6, and also by 
 his brother, D. Placido Aguil6 Fuster. 
 
 At Pamplona the Archives are under the control of the 
 municipal body, and are closed to the general public, 
 though they probably contain many historical treasures. 
 I have to thank his worship the Mayor, and the Archivist, 
 for allowing me to examine the duplicate copies of certain 
 treaties between Navarre and Aragon^ 
 
 In the Escurial I found little of importance, with the 
 exception of James' philosophical treatise, the Libre de 
 Saviesa, and certain papal letters which have been pub- 
 lished. 
 
 At Madrid, in the National Library there is a fourteenth- 
 century MS. of great importance as containing a life of 
 the Conqueror, the text of which would seem to indicate 
 that its author had seen the Chronicle. Its existence seems 
 to have been unknown to the historical world till recently, 
 and I believe that I am the first of James' biographers 
 who has examined it. I have to thank the librarian, 
 D. Antonio Paz y Melia, for showing me it. The library 
 of the Royal Academy of History contains a copy of the 
 original MS. of Marsilio, which should be published. My 
 warm thanks are due to the librarian, D. Antonio Rodriguez 
 Villa, for his courtesy towards me. In the Royal Private 
 Library every facility was afforded me by the librarian, 
 D. Manuel Zarco del Valle, but it contains nothing 
 
 ' The treasure of these Archives is crowning, anointing, and burying the 
 
 an illuminated English 'Ceremonial' kings of England. It was probably 
 
 of the fourteenth century, containing taken to Navarre by John of Gaunt, 
 a minute account of the manner of 
 
PREFACE. ix 
 
 bearing on James' reign, with the exception of a fifteenth- 
 century MS. of the Chronicle. 
 
 The National Library at Paris contains a MS. catalogue 
 of the Escurial Library (perhaps the one which disappeared 
 from Spain early in the century); while in the National 
 Archives are to be found the duplicate copies of some 
 important treaties between France and Aragon. In the 
 former I must thank M. Omont, and in the latter M. Dela- 
 borde, for their courtesy. 
 
 It will be seen that comparatively few documents of 
 the reign are to be found outside Barcelona, most of the 
 municipal archives — and with them the magnificent library 
 of Poblet Monastery — having perished in the disturbances 
 which desolated the country during the first half of this 
 century. 
 
 I have to thank Mr. Reginald Stuart Poole, Professor of 
 Archaeology at University College, London, and formerly 
 Keeper of the Coins and Medals in the British Museum, 
 for an introduction, as well as for the kindly interest he 
 has taken in my work ; and I am indebted to Mr. E. 
 Armstrong, Fellow and Tutor of Queen's College, Oxford, 
 for help in a chronological difficulty ^ 
 
 Above all, I would wish to express my gratitude to 
 D. Pascual de Gayangos, Member of the Royal Academy 
 of History, and formerly Professor of Arabic in the 
 
 ' Some of my chief difScnlties have at times overlooked it in practice, and 
 
 been chronological, and I cannot but other writers have neglected it still 
 
 complain of the carelessness of the more. Even in the Cohccion de 
 
 historians of Spain in this respect, documentos iniditos the date printed 
 
 from Zurita to M. TourtouUon. A in the margin to each document is 
 
 frequent source of error has lain in often given in the old style — some- 
 
 forgetfulness of the fact that Spanish times with absurd results, as in vi. 54, 
 
 documents of the thirteenth century where a proclamation by Pedro III 
 
 are usually dated by the year of is assigned to February 12, 1276, 
 
 the Incarnation. This peculiarity has when his father was still alive ! The 
 
 been acknowledged by M. TourtouUon real date is, of course, February 12, 
 
 himself (ii. p. 45, note 5); yet he has 1277. 
 
X PREFACE. 
 
 University of Madrid. To him I owe almost all my 
 introductions and the consequent kindness with which I was 
 received at the various archives and libraries that I visited. 
 I am also deeply obliged to Seiior Gayangos' son-in-law, 
 D. Juan Facundo Riano, Senator of the Kingdom, for his 
 kindness in procuring me various introductions, political 
 and other. 
 
 This book has been written in the spare time of an 
 exacting profession, and under many difficulties. If it 
 attain its object — the elucidation and arrangement of the 
 facts of an important reign — I shall be quite satisfied. 
 
 F. Darwin Swift. 
 
 Denstone College, Staffordshire, 
 November, 1893. 
 
 ERRATUM 
 Page 20, note 2, for 1218 read 1216 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY^ 
 
 Contemporary. 
 
 The Chronicle of James I of Aragoii, translated by Forster, with introduction 
 
 and notes by P. de Gayangos. London, 1883. 
 Libre de Saviesa, by the same monarch, existing in MS. in the Escurial. 
 Constitutions y altres drets de Cathalunya. Barcelona, 1588. 
 Massot-Reynier, Coutiimes de Fer^ignan. Montpellier, 1848. 
 Fueros y Observancias de Aragon. Zaragoza, 1667. 
 Fori Regni Vakntiae. Monzon, 1547. 
 Didacus Gumiel, Aureuni Opus regalium frivilegiorum civiiatis et regni 
 
 Vakntiae. Valencia, 1515. 
 MniSoz y Romero, Ftieros. Madrid, 1847. 
 Siete Partidas of Alfonso X of Castik. Madrid, 1807. 
 £tablissements de Saint Louis. Paris, 188 1-6. 
 Poems of the Troubadours in Trovadores en Espafla, by Mila y Fontanals 
 
 (Barcelona, i86i),and in the Choix des Poisies Originaks des Troubadours, 
 
 by Raynouard. Paris, 1817. 
 Matthew Paris, Chronica Majora. London, 1877. 
 Pnylaurens, Chronicon, in Catel's Histoire des Comtes de Tolose. Toulouse, 
 
 1623. 
 PeHafort, Summa. Rome, 1603. 
 
 Document in Wagenseil, Tela Ignea Satanae. Altdorf, 1681. 
 Will in Ruffi, Histoire des Comtes de Provence. Aix, 1654. 
 Treaty in Ughelli, Italia Sacra, vol. iii. Venice, 1718. 
 Quotations from Bishop Vidal, in Blancas, Commentarii. Frankfort, 1606. 
 An astronomical MS. in the Bodleian Library, Oxford. Ash. 341. 
 Documents in the National Archives at Paris. 
 
 Parchments and Registers in the Archives of the Crown of Aragon, at Barcelona. 
 Documents in vols, ii, ix, x of the Coleccion de Docunientos iniditos del 
 
 Archive General de la Corona de Aragon, by Prospero de BofaruU y 
 
 Mascaro. Barcelona, 1850, 
 in vols, i and v of the Memorial Histdrico Espana, published by the 
 
 Royal Academy of History. 
 in Germain, Histoire de la Commune de Montpellier. Montpellier, 1851. 
 
 > The list of authorities consulted is not exhaustive. 
 
xu BIBLIOGRAPHY. 
 
 Documents in Capmany, Memorias sobre la Marina, Comercio, y Aries, de 
 
 Barcelona. Madrid, 1792. 
 in vol. vi of the Histoire Ghilrah de Languedoc, by Devic and Vaisete, 
 
 revised by Dulanrier and others. Toulouse, 1879. 
 
 in Marca, Marca Hispania. Paris, 16S8. 
 
 ■ in D'Achery, Spicilegiuni, vols, vii, viii. Paris, 1665. 
 
 in Gariel, Series Praesulum Magalonensium. Toulouse, 1665. 
 
 in Martene y Durand, Thesaurus Novus Anecdotorum, vol. ii. Paris, I7I7- 
 
 in Villanueva, Viaje Literario d las iglesias de Espafia, vol. iii. Madrid, 
 
 1806. 
 
 in Potthast, Regesta Pontijicum Romanorum. Regensburg, 1S74. 
 
 in Raynaldus, Annates EcdesiasHci. Rome, 1667. 
 
 ■ in TourtouUon, Don Jaime I. Valencia, 1874. 
 
 Subsequent. 
 
 Marsilio's paraphrase of James' Chronicle, completed in 1314, and existing in 
 
 the University library at Barcelona, with the exception of a few pages at 
 
 the end, which are missing. 
 Jaume Febrer, Trobas dels linatges de la conquista de Valencia, composed 
 
 imder Pedro III. Palma, 1848. 
 Bernat Desclot, Historia de Catalunya, written about 1285. Barcelona, 1616. 
 
 Of little value. 
 Ramon Muntaner, Chronica 6 descriptio dels fets y hazanyes del inclit D. Jacme 
 
 primer, begun about 1330. Barcelona, 1616. Almost worthless. 
 Gesta Comitum Barcinonensium, written about 1300 by a monk of Ripoll (in 
 
 Marca, Marca Hispanicd). 
 Chronicon Barcinonense, written in 1368 (also printed by Marca). 
 Historia Pinnatensis de Aragonum Regibus, by P. MarfiUus, written after 
 
 1369. Zaragoza, 1876. 
 All the three above-named Chronicles are meagre and untrustworthy. 
 MS. of the fourteenth century, by J. F. Herredia, containing a life of James, 
 
 and existing in the National Library at Madrid. 
 Carbonell, Chroniques de Espana. Barcelona, 1546. Worthless. 
 Viciana, Chronyca de Valencia, 1564. Valencia, 1882. 
 Benter, Coronica General de todo Espana. Valencia, 1604. Chronology quite 
 
 untrustworthy. 
 Zurita, Anales de la Corona de Aragon. Zaragoza, 1610. The great work of 
 
 one of the greatest of European historians. Its one fault is its occasionally 
 
 inaccurate chronology. 
 Indices Rerum ab Aragoniae Regibus Gestarum. Zaragoza, 1576. 
 
 A Latin epitome of the Anales. 
 Mariana, /?e Rebus Hispaniae. Toledo, 1592. Contains little original information. 
 Blancas, Aragonensium Rertim Commentarii. Zaragoza, 1588. (Published 
 
 by Schott, in Hispaniae Illustratae, vol. iii. Frankfort, 1606.) The 
 
 chief value of this work, for James' reign, lies in the collection of Bishop 
 
 Vidal's definitions which it contains. 
 
BIBLIOGRAPHY. xiii 
 
 Diago, Anales de Valencia. Valencia, 1613. A work of great historical 
 
 value, considerable pains being taken to expose Zurita's chronological 
 
 inaccuracies. 
 Miedes, De Vita et rebus gestis Jacobi primi Regis Aragonum, also printed by 
 
 Schott. Untrustworthy and exaggerated. 
 Escolano, Historia de Valencia. Valencia, 1610. 
 Monfar y Sors, Historia de los Condes de Urgel, forming vols, ix and x of the 
 
 Cokccion de documentos inlditos. Based on the original documents, and 
 
 so of considerable value. 
 Ra}'naldus, Annales Ecclesiastici. Rome, 1667. 
 Abarca, Los Reyes de Aragon. Madrid, 1682. 
 Moret, Annales de Navarra. Pamplona, 1695. 
 
 Dameto, History of Majorca, translated by Colin Campbell. London, 1716. 
 Keinier and Ottens, Map of Navarre, Aragon, Catalonia, and part of Valencia. 
 
 Amsterdam, 1720. 
 Ferreras, Histoire Ginerale d'Espagne, edited by Hermilly. Paris, 1744. Of 
 
 little value. 
 Finestres y de Monsalvo, Historia de Foblet. Cervera, 1753. 
 Aguirre, Collectio Concilio7-um Hispaniae. Rome, 1755. 
 Millot, Histoire LittSraire des Tro2ibadours. Paris, 1774. 
 Mansi, Sacrorum Concilioritm Collectio. Venice, 1780. 
 Asso, Historia de la Economica Politica de Aragon. Zaragoza, 1798. 
 Capmany, Memorias sohre la Marina, Commercio, y Artes, de la antigua 
 
 ciudad de Barcelona. Madrid, 1793. A beautifully printed work, of 
 
 great value for the documents it contains. 
 Villarroya, Coleccion de Cartas. Valencia, 1800. 
 Semp^re, Histoire des Cortes d'Espagtie. Bordeaux, 1815. 
 Conde, Histoire de la Domination des Arabes et des Maures en Espagne et 
 
 Portugal. Paris, 1825. 
 Hallam, Middle Ages. Londwn, 1826. 
 Schmidt, Geschichte Aragoniens im Mittelalter. Leipzig, 1828. The author 
 
 — as M. Tourtoitllon (i. p. 347) has remarked — does not properly appre- 
 ciate the relative value of his authorities. 
 Savigny, Geschichte des RSmischen Rechts im Mittelalter. Heidelberg, 1815-31. 
 Dunham, History of Spain and Portugal. London, 1832. Very full and 
 
 painstaking, but based only on second-hand authorities. 
 Henry, Histoire de Roussillon. Paris, 1835. 
 BofaruU y Mascaro, Condes de Barcelona. Barcelona, 1S36. Largely based 
 
 on original documents. 
 Giraud, Histoire dii Droit Franfais au may en Age, Paris, 1846. 
 TiciiiiOT, History of Spanish Literature. London, 1849. 
 Quadrado's valuable annotated edition of the Catalan text of Marsilio's 
 
 Conquista de Mallorca. Palma, 1850. 
 Lafuente, Historia General de Espana, vols, v, vi. Madrid, 1851. 
 Germain, Histoire de la Commune de Montpellier. Montpellier, 1851. The 
 
 standard history of this town, with a valuable collection of documents 
 
 drawn from the Municipal Archives. 
 
xiv BIBLIOGRAPHY. 
 
 Martin, Histoire de France. Paris, 1855. 
 
 Guizot, History of Civilization, translated by Hazlitt. London, 1856, 
 
 BofaruU y Broca, La lengua Catalana. Barcelona, 1858. 
 
 Cambouliu, Essai sur t histoire de la Littirature Catalane. Paris, 1858. 
 
 Bover, Noticias historico-topogrdphicas de la isla de Mallorca. Palma, 1 864. 
 
 Parcerisa, Recuerdos y hellezas de Espana. 
 
 Schafer, Geschichte von Spanien, Gotha, 1861. 
 
 Street, Gothic Architecture in Spain. London, 1865. 
 
 Heiss, Descripcion General de las Monedas Hispano-Christianas. Madrid, 1867. 
 
 Moyle, Institutes of Justinian. Oxford, 1889. 
 
 v. Balaguer, Historia de Catalana y de la Corona de Aragon, Barcelona, 
 
 1861 ; Historia de los Trovadores, Madrid, 1878 ; De la literatura 
 
 Catalana, Madrid, 1S75. 
 Gari y Siumell, La drden Redentora de la Merced. Barcelona, 1873. 
 Kitchin, History of France. Oxford, 1S73. 
 Stubbs, Constitutional History of England. Oxford, 1874. 
 Tourtoullon, Don Jaime I. Valencia, 1874. Perhaps the chief fault of this 
 
 brilliant and painstaking work lies in the lack of references for many 
 
 important statements — a grave defect where fresh ground is being broken. 
 Amador de los 'Kios, Judios de Espanay Portugal. Madrid, 1875. 
 Wallon, ^. Louis et son temps. Paris, 1S75. A work of critical ability. 
 D'Aigrefeuille, Histoire de la ville de Montpellier. Pijardiere's revised edition 
 
 of 1875. 
 Gams, Die Kirchengeschichte von Spanien. Regensburg, 1876. 
 Devic and Vaisete, Histoire Genlrale de Languedoc, Dulaurier's revised edition 
 
 of 1S79. An invaluable monumental history of the south of France, now 
 
 quite up to date. 
 Viollet-le-Duc, Military Architecture, translated by M. Macdermot. London, 
 
 1879. 
 Fustel de Coulanges, Institutions Politiques de Vancienne France. Paris, 1877. 
 Campaner y Fuertes, Numismatica Balear. Palma, 1879. 
 Cunningham, Industry and Commerce. Cambridge, 1885. 
 Oman, The Art of War in the Middle Ages. London, 1885. 
 Del Mar, Money and Civilization. London, 1886. 
 Gams, Series Episcoporum. Regensburg, 18S6. 
 Campaner y Fuertes, Bosquejo histSrico de la dominacion islamita en las islas 
 
 Baleares. Palma, 18S8. 
 Lane-Poole, The Moors in Spain. London, 1 890. 
 Bradley, The Goths. London, 1S90. 
 Watts, Spain. London, 1S93. 
 
 To these three attractive works I am indebted for many facts in my Intro- 
 duction. 
 Gneist, History of the English Constitution. London, 1891. 
 Articles on ' Provenzal,' by P. Meyer, and on ' Catalan,' by A. Morel-Fatio, 
 
 ia tlie Encyclopaedia Briiannica. London, 1885. 
 Ford, Handbook for Spain. London, 18S8, An excellent specimen of a literary 
 
 guide-book. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 INTRODUCTION i 
 
 Part I: POLITICAL HISTORY, 1213-1276. 
 
 First Period: The King's Minority. 
 
 Chapter I. Early Years 11 
 
 II. Government ey the Council .... 18 
 
 III. Fresh Troubles 24 
 
 Second Period : The Conquest of Mallorca and Valencia. 
 
 IV. The Cortes of 1228 34 
 
 V. The Conquest of Mallorca 39 
 
 VI. Sancho of Navarre 50 
 
 VII. The Invasion of Valencia 55 
 
 VIII. The Fall of Valencia 62 
 
 Third Period : The Struggle with France. 
 
 IX. Toulouse and Xativa - 71 
 
 X. The Revolt of Valencia 82 
 
 XI. Navarre and Corbeil 91 
 
 Fourth Period : The Struggle with Feudalism. 
 
 XII. Alvaro of Urgel and Costanza of Sicily . 99 
 
 XIII. The last effort of Privilege .... 107 
 
 XIV. The Fall of Murcia and the King's Crusade 114 
 XV. The Dispute with Pedro, and the Council of 
 
 Lyons 122 
 
 XVI. The Succession in Navarre, and the Revolt 
 
 of the Barons 130 
 
 XVII. The Death of the King 138 
 
XVI 
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 Part II : SOCIAL HISTORY, 1213-1276. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Chapter XVIII. The Government of James' Dominions . 149 
 
 XIX. The Feudal System in James' Dominions . 184 
 
 XX. James as a Legislator 199 
 
 XXI. Revenues and Commerce of James' Dominions 220 
 
 XXII. The Church, Jews, and Saracens . . -235 
 
 XXIII. Literature, Science, and Art . . . 254 
 
 APPENDICES 263 
 
 DOCUMENTS 287 
 
 INDEX 303 
 
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JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 § I. The Visigoths and Moors. 
 
 It w.as an evil hour for Spain when, earh^ in the fifth The 
 century, the Visigothic king Atawulf, in his flight before enter Snniu 
 Constantius, the general of Honorius, crossed the border (4i.=i)- 
 and made Barcelona his residence (415). His successor, 
 W'allia, withdi-ew the Goths from Catalonia and took 
 possession of Aquitania, making Toulouse his capital ; but 
 Thcodoric II, about the middle of the centur)-, conquered 
 near!)- the whole of the peninsula, and the work was com- 
 pleted by his murderer, Euric. .And final!)-, with the defeat 
 of Alaric II, on the field of Voclad, by the growing power 
 of the Franks under Clovis (507), the kingdom of Toulouse 
 fell to the ground, and the \"isigoths were thrust back into 
 Spain, retaining in Gaul only a strip of land along the 
 Gulf of Lj-ons. The degeneracj^ of these barbarians had 
 been marked ever since they first came into contact with 
 the enervating influence of Rome, and with their cntrj' into 
 Spain it became rapid. They found in the countr\- a mixed 
 and enfeebled population of Colts, Iberians, and Romans, 
 whose continued presence largely accounts for the further 
 deterioration of the conquerors. They also found them- 
 selves confronted at once with a serious religious problem : 
 thc\- themselves were Arians, and their subjects were 
 
 li 
 
JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 They 
 
 became 
 
 Catholics 
 
 (589). 
 
 Moorish 
 invasion 
 (711). 
 
 Catholics. For eighty years there raged a strife which at 
 times almost amounted to persecution, till at last it was 
 terminated by the good sense of King Reccared, who was 
 followed in his profession of Catholicism by the majority 
 of his Visigothic subjects (589). 
 
 The troubled history of the following century is little 
 more than a record of the struggles of the nobles and 
 bishops on the one hand, against the authority of the 
 sovereign — usually their own nominee — on the other. In 
 this priest-ridden kingdom the fierce Archbishop Julian, 
 and his licentious successor Sisebert, are typical of the age, 
 with its Jewish persecutions and its general depravity. The 
 end came suddenly. As late as 673 the last great king, 
 Wamba, had successfully carried his arms into Southern 
 France, and reduced the revolted towns of Narbonne and 
 Nimes : in 711 Roderic, 'the last of the Goths,' was de- 
 feated and slain by a small army of Moors under Tarik, 
 a general of the .Mohammedan governor of Morocco ; and 
 with him, with barely a struggle, the kingdom of Toledo 
 fell, to rise no more. For Spanish civilization the change 
 was from darkness to light. At first it seemed as if a like 
 fortune would be shared by the rest of Europe, for bands 
 of Arabs soon penetrated into Septimania, and occupied 
 Narbonne, Carcassonne, and even Bordeaux. But their 
 victorious career was stayed at length on the field of Tours 
 by the strong hand of Charles 'the Hammerer' (73a), and 
 by the end of the century the waves of the Mussulman 
 invasion had been rolled back into Spain ^. 
 
 For a little over a generation the country was ruled as 
 a province of the Caliphate of Damascus, but in 756 this 
 connexion with the East was severed by the arrival of 
 Abderrahman, a survivor from the massacre of the royal 
 family of the Damascene Omeyyads by an Abbaside usurper. 
 From this time the Sultan of Cordova remained indepen- 
 
 ' It was in following up the success on Zaragoza, and on its return journey 
 of the Franks that, in 778, the army fared disastrously at the hands of the 
 of Charlemagne failed in its attempt Basques in the pass of Roncesvalles. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 3 
 
 dent of the Eastern Caliphate, and the title of Caliph was 
 even assumed later by Abderrahman III. For nearly 
 two centuries and a half — from 756-1002 — the empire of 
 the Omeyyads of Cordova was maintained with unrivalled The 
 splendour, and during this period Spain held up the torch pfCo^do™ 
 of civilization and culture to the rest of Europe, which was (756- 
 still plunged in the barbarism of the dark ages. The true ^°°^'' 
 capital of the west was Cordova, with its palaces and 
 gardens, its mosques and schools, its poets and philosophers. 
 During these years the prosperity of Spain was such as it 
 had never been before and never was to be after ; and the 
 tolerance of the Moors towards their Christian subjects 
 stands out in striking contrast to the persecution of the 
 Jews by the Visigothic rulers of the land. 
 
 But a cloud, small and almost unnoticed at first, was Attacks 
 gathering in the peninsula itself, which was destined one chris^tians 
 day to obscure even the brightness of Cordova. At the 
 time of the Moorish invasion a band of Visigoths, more 
 impatient of a subject condition than the mass of their 
 fellow countrymen, had taken refuge, under a chief known 
 as Pelayo, in the mountains of Asturias and Galicia. By 
 the middle of the eighth century they had already made 
 of Leon and Castile a debateable ground between them- 
 selves and the Moors of Andalucia, and early in the tenth 
 century they began to make forays across the border. At 
 first the tide of invasion was temporarily stemmed by the Victories 
 victories of Abderrahman III, who defeated the Kings of "^j^^^^j^^j'jj 
 Leon and Navarre, and even entered Pamplona (about and Ai- 
 924) ; but a few years later the Moorish sovereign himself (^524- 
 suffered a fearful defeat at Alhandega, at the hands of 1002). 
 Ramiro II of Leon, barely escaping with his life (939). By 
 his successor, Hakam, and by Almanzor, the great minister 
 of Hisham II, the barbarians of the north were once more 
 reduced to their proper insignificance, Leon, Pamplona, 
 Barcelona, and even Compostella, all falling into Almanzor's 
 hands. 
 
 But, with the death of the latter in 1002, the decline and 
 
 B 2 
 
4 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 Anarchy in fall of the Omeyyad empire at once began. Anarchy swept 
 (1002-"^ over the land, and for nearly a century all was confusion. 
 1086). Each large town or district set up its independent ruler, 
 and many of these were tributary to Alfonso VI of Leon 
 and Castile. In these straits the unhappy Moors had re- 
 course to the dangerous expedient of calling in the foreigner, 
 in the shape of the Almoravides, a sect of Berber fanatics, 
 who had recently overrun the north coast of Africa. They 
 The AI- crossed under their general, Yusuf, and in October, 1086, in- 
 enter Spain Ai^ted a crushing defeat on Alfonso at Zallaka, near Badajos. 
 (1086). Yusuf then returned to Africa, but in 1090 he was recalled 
 by the renewed aggressions of Alfonso, and this time, be- 
 sides repelling the Christians, he carried his arms against 
 the Moors of Andalucia, who, in their divided state, soon 
 succumbed to his prowess^, Mohammedan Spain thus 
 becoming a province of the African Almoravide empire. 
 Fresh raids The rule of the Almoravides was not, however, to last for 
 Christians long. Spain seemed destined to be fatal to her conquerors : 
 
 (^"33- the new-comers were soon enervated, and the Christians,- 
 1146). 
 
 under Alfonso ' the Battler,' resumed their raids, burning 
 
 even the suburbs of Cordova and Seville in 1133. Once 
 more anarchy followed : every petty lord became inde- 
 pendent, till 1 145, when the Almohades, a fresh sect of 
 Appear- fanatics, who had already overthrown the Almoravides in 
 Almo^ha'des Africa, appeared on the scene, and, by the middle of the 
 ("45)- twelfth century, Andalucia was temporarily united under 
 their government. But, as they ruled the country from 
 Africa, their hold on it could hardly be lasting; and though 
 in 1 195 they succeeded in inflicting a severe defeat on the 
 Christians at Alarcos, yet in laia, on the disastrous field 
 Battle of of Las Navas de Tolosa— against the forces of Aragon, 
 (i°i°2)! Leon, Castile, Navarre, and Portugal — a deadly blow was 
 inflicted on Almohade rule. The chiefs of Andalucia seized 
 the opportunity to rise against their foreign masters, the 
 
 1 The exploits of the Cid — a Cas- belong to this period. In 1094 he 
 tilian adventurer who served indiffer- toolc Valencia, but it was recovered 
 ently under Moor and Christian — by the Moors shortly afterwards. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 5 
 
 Africans were expelled, and by 1 260 Cordova, Valencia, 
 Seville, and Murcia, had fallen into the hands of the Kings 
 of Castile and Aragon. All that was now left of the The Moors 
 Moorish empire in Spain was the little kingdom of Granada; f^ Granada 
 but this was destined to defy the attacks of the Christians (i^So)- 
 for over two centuries. 
 
 § 2. The House of Barcelona. 
 
 The county of Barcelona had formed an outpost for the Capture of 
 forces of Christianity against those of Islam ever since the ^l\^^^^ 
 beginning of the ninth century, when Louis, son of Charles f'rench 
 the Great, had wrested the town from the Moors and 
 conferred it on Bera, as first Count. In Bera's immediate 
 successors were also vested the Duchy of Septimania and 
 the Marquisate of Gothia; but about the middle of the 
 century the reigning Count seems to have been stripped of 
 these titles by Charles the Bald, most of his territories 
 north of the Pyrenees falling to the Counts of Toulouse. 
 From this time the bonds connecting the county with the Wilfred I 
 French Crown became little more than nominal, and Wilfred ^'^"'^' '^°>' 
 ' the Hairy ' — generally regarded as the founder of the 
 House of Barcelona — is said to have made the Countship 
 hereditary in his family. Wilfred died about 898, and of 
 his immediate successors but little is known. In 984, during 
 the reign of Borrell II, Barcelona was sacked by Almanzor ; 
 but Borrell's great-grandson, Ramon Berenguer I (1035- Conquests 
 1076) — the compiler of the Usages of Barcelona — conquered Berengue"l 
 most of Catalonia from the Moors, besides acquiring the (1035-76)- 
 rights of suzerain over Carcassonne and a number of other 
 places in the south of France ^. 
 
 Ramon Berenguer left his territories to be ruled over 
 
 ' By his will he left to his sons conjectures that he acquired these 
 
 Carcassonne, Redes, Lauraguais, and rights through his grandmother, Er- 
 
 all his possessions in the county of mesindis, wife of Borrell III, and 
 
 Toulouse, Minervois, Narbonne, Foix, daughter of Roger I, Count of Coserans 
 
 Comminges (BofaruU, Condes de Bar- and Carcassonne. 
 celona II, p. 41). Bofarull (ib. p. 62) 
 
JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 Ramon 
 
 Beren- 
 
 guer III 
 
 gains 
 
 Provence 
 
 (i"5). 
 
 History of 
 Aragon. 
 
 Petronilla 
 betrothed 
 to Ramon 
 Beren- 
 guer IV 
 ("37)- 
 
 conjointly by his sons, Ramon Berenguer II and Berenguer 
 Ramon II. The latter, however, soon murdered his brother 
 and reigned alone till 1096, when he was succeeded by his 
 nephew, Ramon Berenguer III, who — by his marriage with 
 Dulce, daughter of the Viscount of MiUau and Gevaudan, 
 and Countess of Provence— secured the greater part of 
 Provence, though not till after a contest for its possession 
 with the Count of Toulouse. Ramon Berenguer was also 
 successful in his wars against the Moors, from whom he 
 wrested Tarragona, besides temporarily expelling its inhabi- 
 tants from Mallorca, with the help of the Genoese, Pisans, 
 and the Lord of Montpellier. He died in 1 13 1 , bequeathing 
 to his elder son, Ramon Berenguer, the county of Barcelona, 
 and to the younger, Berenguer Ramon, Provence, Gevaudan, 
 and Millau. 
 
 Ramon Berenguer IV was destined to leave to his 
 successors a kingdom as well as a county. The monarchy 
 of Aragon owed its existence to Sancho ' the Great ' ot 
 Navarre (970-1035), who, after securing possession of most 
 of the country, had left it to his son, Ramiro I (1035-1063) ; 
 and the son of the latter, Sancho Ramirez (1063-1094), 
 overran and divided Navarre with Alfonso VI of Castile. 
 The first great king of Aragon, however, was Alfonso ' the 
 Battler' (1104-1134), who married Urraca, Queen of Castile, 
 of which country he was, for a time, ruler, till later, incited 
 by his wife, it revolted from him. Against the Moors 
 Alfonso was more fortunate, recovering from them Zaragoza, 
 Calatayud, and Daroca, though eventually he met his death 
 at their hands on the field of Fraga (1134). By his will he 
 bequeathed his kingdom to the Orders of the Temple, 
 Hospital, and Sepulchre ; but the Cortes refused to sanction 
 this strange arrangement, and dragged from a monastery 
 Alfonso's brother, Ramiro. The latter, however, soon 
 abdicated in favour of his daughter, Petronilla, a child two 
 years of age, who was at once betrothed to Ramon 
 Berenguer IV of Barcelona, Aragon and Catalonia being 
 thus united under one sceptre. 
 
, INTRODUCTION. 7 
 
 Ramon Berenguer himself remained content with the Wars of 
 title of ' Prince of Aragon.' He afterwards joined in the BeJen" 
 attack on the Moors, taking Tortosa in 1148 and L^rida gier IV. 
 in 1 149, but was less successful in his attempt to reduce 
 Navarre, which had refused to recognize Ramiro 'the 
 Monk,' and had chosen a king of its own. He also engaged 
 in a war with the Count of Toulouse, which secured him 
 the alliance of Henry H of England, as well as in a contest 
 in Provence, on behalf of his nephew, with the House of 
 Baux. It was in 1163, at a village near Genoa, on his way 
 to an interview with the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa, in 
 connexion with the Provenzal question, that the life of the 
 great Count came to an end. By his will he left Catalonia 
 and Aragon to his eldest son, Alfonso, and to his second 
 son, Pedro, Cerdagne, Carcassonne, Beziers, and his rights 
 in Narbonne. 
 
 Alfonso II 'the Chaste' (116^-1196) seems to have been Alfonso II 
 a wise and valorous prince, the chief event of whose reign jj^gs" 
 was his successful war with the Count of Toulouse for the Wars with 
 possession of Provence, which the Count claimed on the 
 strength of the marriage of his son with Dulce, the heiress 
 of Raymond Beranger II. The issue of the struggle was 
 the investiture, by Alfonso, of his brother, Raymond 
 Beranger III, on whose death, in 1181, Provence reverted 
 to the Crown, the House of Barcelona thus issuing com- 
 pletely victorious from the struggle with its northern 
 rival. 
 
 Another war undertaken by Alfonso was against the Prestige of 
 
 Viscounts of Nimes and Beziers, both of whom were forced of Bar'ce-'^ 
 
 to do homage ^. Roussillon, too, on the death of its lona in 
 
 Count, passed to the Crown of Aragon, whose influence in Pedro II 
 
 the south of France was now at its height. (1196- 
 
 ^ '213). 
 
 On the death of Alfonso, in 1196, Aragon and Catalonia 
 
 fell to his eldest son, Pedro II, and Provence to the younger, 
 
 * The Viscount of Beziers had given accept it as a fief from Alfonso, to- 
 up Carcassonne to the Count of Tou- getherwithLauraguais,Rodez,Termes, 
 louse, and he was now compelled to Minervois, and other places. 
 
8 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 Alfonso. Conciliation was the keynote of Pedro's foreign 
 policy, and it was in this spirit that he married his sisters, 
 Leonor and Sancha, to Raymond VI and Raymond VII 
 of Toulouse, respectively, besides declaring his kingdom 
 a papal fief— an arrangement which was subsequently 
 repudiated by the Cortes at Zaragoza. But Pedro's reign 
 is chiefly important for the part he played in the Albigen- 
 sian war, and this we shall notice presently. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 THE HOUSE OF BARCELONA. 
 
 Wilfred I {d. 898). 
 
 I I I 
 
 Wilfred U or Borrell I Suniario Suniefredo 
 
 (flf. 912). (1^.954). (Count of Urgel). 
 
 Borrel H {d. 992). 
 
 I 
 
 Ramon or Borrell HI 
 
 (d. 1018). 
 
 Berenguer Ramon I 
 {d- 1035). 
 
 Ramon Berenguer I 
 {d. 1076). 
 
 Armengol 
 (Count of Urgel). 
 
 ]<amon Berenguer II reigns with, and is murdered by, Berenguer Ramon H 
 {d. 1082). (d. 1096). 
 
 Ramon Berenguer 111 = (as third wife) Dulce, Countess of Provence, 
 (rf. 1131)- 
 
 Ramon Berenguer IV = Petronilla of Aragon. 
 id. 1 162). I 
 
 Alfonso II Pedro {d. young) Sancho Dulce = (probably) Sancho 1 
 
 (rf. 1196). (Count of Cerdagne (who succeeded 
 and Lord of to Cerdagne). 
 
 Carcassonne). 
 
 of Portugal. 
 
 I 1 
 
 Alfonso II Pedro = Aurembiax 
 (Countess of 
 NuSo Sanchez Urgel). 
 
 (made Count of Roussillon, 
 Conflant, and Cerdagne, by Pedro II). 
 
 Pedro II Alfonso Fernan Leonor = Raymond VI 
 
 (i^. 1213). (Count of (Abbot of of Toulouse. 
 
 I Provence). Montaragon). 
 James I. 
 
 Sancha = Raymond VII 
 of Toulouse. 
 
lO JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 THE HOUSE OF PROVENCE. 
 
 Gerberge = Gilbert, Viscount of Millau 
 
 (Countess of Provence 
 c. iloo), 
 
 and Gevaudan. 
 
 Douce = Ramon Berenguer III of Barcelona. 
 I 
 
 I I 
 
 Ramon Berenguer IV. Beranger Raymond 
 
 (Count of Provence, d. 1144). 
 
 I 
 
 I I Raymond Beranger II = Richilda, niece of the 
 
 Alfonso I Raymond Beranger III Q Count of Provence, Emperor Frederick I. 
 
 of Aragon. (Count of Provence, d. n66). 
 
 d. 1181). 
 
 Douce = The Count of 
 Toulouse. 
 
 I I 
 
 Pedro II of Aragon. Alfonso II 
 
 (Count of Provence, 
 d. 1209). 
 
 I 
 Raymond Beranger IV 
 (Count of Provence, d. 1245). 
 I 
 
 I I I.I 
 
 Marguerite = S. Louis. Eleanor = Henry III Sancie = Richard Beatrice = Charles of 
 
 of England. of Cornwall. Anjou. 
 
 ' On his death, the fief of Provence reverted to the Crown of Aragon, to pass to 
 Alfonso II in Iiyfi. 
 
Part I. 
 
 POLITICAL HISTORY, 1213-1276. 
 
 First Period: THE KING'S MINORITY. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Early Years. 
 
 Early in the morning of February 2, 1208^, before it 1208. 
 was light, while the clergy were singing ' Te Deum ' at ~^ 
 Matins in the yet unfinished ^ church of ' Our Lady of the birth 
 Tables ' at Montpellier, a child, born during the night, was *-'"^ ^'^''•■• 
 presented at the altar. Afterwards it was taken to the 
 church of S. Firmin, where the priests were chanting the 
 ' Benedictus,' and here a like ceremony was performed. 
 The child was the son of Pedro II of Aragon and Mary of 
 Montpellier, afterwards to be known as 'James the Con- 
 queror^.' On his father's side he came of the royal line 
 of Aragon and the Counts of Barcelona. His mother's 
 ancestry was still more illustrious : she was the daughter 
 of William VIII, Lord of Montpellier, by Eudoxa Comnena, 
 
 ' Histoire Gineiale de Languedoc, pcUier, vii. p. 239. 
 
 vol. vii. p. 38 ; Desclot, Historia de ^ Ja??tes' Chronicle, 5. James is 
 
 Cathaluna, i. 4 ; Miedes, Vila Jacobi, said to have been named after a candle : 
 
 i. ; Beuter, Coronica de Espafia, i. i ; twelve of these were lighted, each 
 
 Muntaner, Chronica, 5. named after an Apostle ; the one called 
 
 ' It was not consecrated tillAug. 25, James burned the longest, and from it 
 
 1230. Germain, Histoire de Mont- the child received his name. lb. 
 
la 
 
 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1204. 
 
 Fortunes 
 of his 
 mother, 
 Mary. 
 
 a child of Manuel Comnenus, Emperor of Constantinople, 
 whose military . abilities, as well as other less creditable 
 qualities, were destined to be reproduced in his great- 
 grandson ^. 
 
 The mother of the latter, Mary, had been twice married 
 before she became Queen of Aragon. Her first husband 
 was Barral, Viscount of Marseilles, who soon died, and the 
 second was the Count of Comminges, who had two wives 
 living at the time of the marriage, and eventually repudiated 
 the third. 
 
 When, on the death of William VIII, Mary found herself 
 Lady of Montpellier, her rights were disputed by one of 
 her father's natural sons ^ ; but the citizens seem to have 
 been indifferent to his claims, and, with an eye, no doubt, 
 to fresh commercial opportunities, they offered the hand of 
 his sister to the King of Aragon. The latter, not unwilling 
 to secure so important an outpost against the French 
 
 ' Gibbon, 48 ; Chron. 2. The story 
 that James' conception took place at 
 Montpellier, and was due to circum- 
 stances not altogether unlike those 
 which attended the birth of Galahad 
 (cf. Sir T. Malory's Morte cV Arthur), 
 originated with Desclot, who is fol- 
 lowed by Muntaner, Beuter, Miedes 
 (ib.), Zurita {An. ii. 59), and most 
 writers down to M. Tourtoullon {^Don- 
 Jaime, i. p. 61), who seem to have 
 taken a pleasure in believing it and in 
 expatiating on the details. On the 
 other hand the Chronicle merely tells 
 us that a noble induced Pedro to visit 
 the queen at Miravals, where James 
 was conceived {Chron. ib.), and this 
 version is followed by Marsilio (i. 3). 
 The whole of Desclot's story is rejected 
 in the Hist. Gen. Lang. (vii. 40) on this 
 account, and also because Puylaurens, 
 a contemporary historian, tells us that 
 James was conceived ' in castris,' and 
 was born at Montpellier {Comtes de 
 Tolose, xi.). Vaissete's own explana- 
 tion of the story is that it was invented 
 
 to account for the Chevalet dance at 
 Montpellier, and his recent editors 
 join him in rejecting it. These reasons, 
 however, do not satisfy Germain (ib. 
 vol. i. p. 314), who accepts Beuter's 
 compromise.by which the first meeting, 
 when Pedro was deceived, took place 
 at Montpellier, and the second, when 
 James was conceived, at Miravals. 
 That there may be some truth in the 
 story is, perhaps, to be inferred from 
 James' own allusion to the ' marvels ' 
 of his birth, in Chron. 48. 
 
 ° William VIII, who died in 1202 
 or 1203, had left Montpellier to his 
 eldest son, Mary having renounced 
 her claims on the town — which rested 
 on the marriage agreement of her 
 father with Eudoxa — at the time of 
 her betrothal to Barral. On the other 
 hand, the pope had refused to legiti- 
 mize the sons of William by Agnes 
 of Castile, and this left Mary his only 
 lawful child. Germain, ib. i. p. 27 
 seq. ; Dachery, Spicilegium, ix. Ep. 
 22. 
 
EARLY YEARS. 13 
 
 monarchy, accepted the offer ; and the marriage took place 1204-13. 
 in 1 204 ^. — **- 
 
 The luckless Mary, however, was equally unfortunate in 
 her third husband, as indeed was to be expected from the 
 nature of the alliance and the dissolute character of Pedro. 
 A repudiation soon followed^, and Mary fled to Rome, 
 where sentence was given in her favour ^, and where she 
 died in April, 1213 *. 
 
 A few months later her husband followed her to the Albigen- 
 grave. In 1 309 the South of France had been flooded by fi^j'ogT.^'^ 
 a swarm of Northerners, headed by Simon de Montfort. 
 Their ostensible object was the extermination of the 
 'Albigensian heresy,' which had spread far and wide in 
 the territories of Raymond VI, Count of Toulouse, and of 
 Raymond Roger, Viscount of Albi, Beziers, and Carcas- 
 sonne, as well as in the territories of Foix and Comminges, 
 and in the Viscountcy of Bearne. Apart from its religious 
 aspect, the war was also a struggle of races — of the North 
 against the South, of Frank barbarism against Latin 
 civilization. 
 
 What part was Pedro ' the Catholic,' the king whose 
 orthodoxy had never been doubted, to play in the struggle? 
 The prospect of French aggrandizement in the south could 
 hardly have been pleasing to him, but to engage in a con- 
 flict with the Church was a serious matter. It was all- 
 important, therefore, for him to gain the friendship of the 
 powerful leader of the Crusaders, who had already secured 
 
 ' Germain,ib.i.pp.23-33;Dachery, to her son James, see Dachery, ib. ix. 
 
 ib. viii. Ep. 33. Ep. 23. 
 
 2 In spite of Pedro's promise in the Nearly a year later (Jan. 24, 1214) 
 
 marriage treaty with Mary: 'nun- Pedro made over Montpellier to Mary's 
 
 quam te viventem, diraittam.' Dachery, brother, William, despite his promise 
 
 ib. in the marriage treaty of 1 204 : 'Si 
 
 ' Potthast,./?«^fj^a, No. 4561 (dated habuerimns infantes snperstites de te 
 
 Jan. 19, 1213). generates et de me natos, ad primo- 
 
 ' Germain, ib. i. p. 260 ; jffist. Gen. genitum mascnlum . . . haec dos re- 
 
 Lang. vi. p. 401 ; Gest. Com. Bare. vertatur.' Dachery, ib. x. 178 ; cf. 
 
 1213. For her will of April 20, 1213, viii. 33. 
 by which she left all her possessions 
 
14 JAMES THE -FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1211-13. the estates of Raymond Roger. De Montfort himself, on 
 — ^*- the other hand, was not without his own ambitions ; he 
 was a politician as well as a soldier, and the prospect of the 
 lordship of the south can hardly have failed to pass before 
 his eyes. The attainment, however, of such a position 
 would be no easy task, and an understanding with so 
 powerful a neighbour as the King of Aragon was in every 
 way desirable. The negotiations, therefore, ended in an 
 arrangement, by which the king's son was to marry the 
 Count's daughter ; and the boy was given up to De Mont- 
 fort when he was three years old (1211). But the inexor- 
 able attitude of the Church towards the unfortunate Count 
 of Toulouse, his brother-in-law, was too much for even the 
 orthodox King of Aragon. After various attempts to 
 induce the pope to restrain the depredations of the Cru- 
 saders in the territories of the Counts of Foix and Bearne, 
 who were vassals of the House of Barcelona, and on the 
 insolent rejection of his mediation by the Council of Lavaur 
 (January, 1213), Pedro determined to assist his brother-in- 
 law by force of arms. The result was the disastrous battle 
 at Muret, a town three leagues from Toulouse, where the 
 troops of Aragon and Catalonia were defeated by a sortie 
 of the garrison, headed by De Montfort in person^ and the 
 king lost his life ^ (September la, 1213)- 
 Factions Aragon now found itself divided into three parties. Of 
 (1213). these, two were headed by the young king's uncles, the 
 Infantes Ferdinand and Sancho ^ — the former a restless 
 monk, the latter Count of Roussillon, Conflant, and Cer- 
 dagne — while the third, or national party, was led by one 
 of the most powerful nobles of Aragon, Pedro Fernandez de 
 Azagra, Lord of Albarracin, who was supported by most of 
 the cities and towns. Catalonia remained loyal to its 
 Count, and does not seem to have been affected by the 
 factions of the neighbouring country. 
 
 ^ Hist. Gin. Lang.v\.-^^.jflo-i,2\. BerengnerlV, James' great-grand- 
 ° Sancho was really James' great father. Zurita, An. ii. 25, 50, 76. 
 uncle, being the third son of Ramon 
 
EARLY YEARS, 15 
 
 The crisis appears to have united, for the time, all parties 1213-14. 
 in one demand — the restoration of their young king. De ~'^~ 
 Montfort, however, was, not unnaturally, averse from 
 relinquishing his precious charge, and it became necessary 
 to resort to more active and forcible measures. Nuiio 
 Sanchez, Count Sancho's son, proceeded, therefore, to ravage 
 De Montfort's lands, in company with the Viscounts of 
 Bearne and Cardona, while an embassy was despatched to 
 Rome to solicit the intervention of the pope. The journey 
 of the envoys was rewarded with success, the Holy Father 
 at once instructing Pedro of Benevento, his legate in 
 Languedoc, to procure James' release ^ ; and the cardinal, 
 who had been holding a synod at Montpellier, set out for 
 Narbonne, whither the young king was escorted by the 
 French. Here, after they had sworn to defend him, James 
 was handed over to the nobles and burghers, who were 
 waiting to receive him (May or June, 1214). He was six 
 years and four months old at the time, and was accom- 
 panied by his cousin, Raymond B^ranger, Count of Provence, 
 a boy of nine ^. 
 
 From Narbonne the king was taken to Barcelona, where 
 the townsmen gave him a splendid reception, and where an 
 Order in Council was issued, under a new seal, convoking 
 a Cortes at L^rida. There appeared at the Cortes the Cortes of 
 Archbishop of Tarragona — who is said to have held the ^'^"'^n 
 young king in his arms during the ceremony — as well as 
 the bishops, abbots, nobles, and ten men from each city of 
 both countries. The king's uncles were conspicuous by 
 their absence. Here all were induced by the legate to 
 swear allegiance to their young sovereign ^, for whom 
 a tutor was chosen in the person of Guillen de Monredon, 
 
 ' Potthast, Reg. 4888. its future exaction at each accession, 
 
 ^ For Raymond's relationship to in return for the confirmation by the 
 
 James, see the pedigree prefixed to sovereign of tlie customs of the king- 
 
 this chapter. dom. Blancas, Commentarii, Ann. 
 
 ' The first instance of such an oath, 1213. 
 and one which formed a precedent for 
 
l6 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1214-16. Master of the Temple in Spain and Provence. At the 
 -^ same time the legate appointed three governors of the 
 king's dominions, one for Catalonia, who is not named, and 
 two for Aragon— Azagra and Pedro Ahones— whose juris- 
 dictions were to be divided by the Ebro. Over all, as 
 'Procurator General,' the cardinal set Count Sancho of 
 Roussillon, in the hope, doubtless, of conciliating him. 
 James' home for the next two years was at Monzon, 
 a strong castle on the Cinca, the property of the 
 Templars ^ 
 Rivalry of The young king thus owed his position on the throne to 
 STck^^' the good will of the Church. It remained to be seen 
 whether her support would maintain him on it. The years 
 of his seclusion at Monzon were a time of misery and dis- 
 traction for Aragon. How far the king's uncles actually 
 aimed at the throne is doubtful. It is possible that Sancho's 
 object was merely to rule for his nephew, while Ferdinand, 
 as being a nearer relative of the king, sought to oust the 
 regent ^. And, besides the hostility of Ferdinand, Sancho, 
 who had not the ability of an Almanzor, had to reckon 
 with a strong loyalist party headed by the Templars. The 
 rest of the nobles were divided between the king's uncles, 
 the only great baron who maintained a consistent neutrality 
 being the aged Ximeno Cornel, ' the wisest man in Aragon 
 and the best adviser,' who ' grieved for the evils that he 
 saw so great in Aragon ^,' Nor was the kingdom merely 
 torn by factions. The royal finances were on the verge of 
 bankruptcy, to such an extent that, when James arrived 
 at Monzon, he had ' no food for one day.' 
 
 This state of things was the outcome of the rule of Pedro 
 the Catholic, ' the most bounteous king there ever was in 
 Spain,' under whom much land had been mortgaged, and 
 the royal fiefs had fallen from seven hundred to a hundred 
 
 Chron. 10, 11; Zurita, An. ii. pending the decision of the pope. 
 
 66. Montpellier refused to recog- Hist. Gin. Lang. vi. p. 440. 
 
 nize James, and was taken by Philip ^ Tourtoullon, ib. i. p. 120. 
 
 Augustus under his ■ protection,' = Chron. ja 
 
EARLY YEARS. 17 
 
 and thirty in number 1. At length, as a last expedient, it 1215. 
 was decided at a Cortes, held at Huesca in September, ~**~ 
 1 215, to despatch an embassy to Rome, consisting of Cer- 
 vera and Ahones, the expenses being defrayed by Sancho, 
 who was obliged to mortgage four castles to raise the 
 necessary 35,000 maravedis ^. The mission seems, however, 
 to have produced little immediate result, and matters 
 rapidly went from bad to worse. But relief came from an 
 unexpected quarter. 
 
 ' Chron. 11. Doc. Ined. vi. 10). It seems also to 
 
 ^ The embassy was sent ' pro de- have been joined by G. R. Moncada, 
 
 mandenda morte domini Petri indite Viscount of Bearne {Parch. App. 2 : 
 
 recordationis regis Aragonum, et pro ' in hoc praesenti viatico quod facio 
 
 aliis multis negotiis regni expediendis ' Romam '). 
 
 (Parchments, App. i ; cf. BofaruU, 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 Government by the Council. 
 
 1216-17. It seems, in fact, to have become evident to the young 
 
 J . king himself that something must be done to save the 
 
 James at ° ^ 
 
 Monzon. kingdom from anarchy. James had not a Marshall or a 
 De Burgh to act for him, but he had the spirit of a Richard 
 the Fearless, and could rely on the support of the Templars 
 and the counsel of Ximeno Cornel. Various attempts to 
 entice him from Monzon had already been made by the 
 contending parties ; but on September 15, 1216, a meeting of 
 loyalist nobles was held in the castle, at which were present 
 the Primate Aspargo and the Bishop of Tarazona, with 
 Azagra, Cervera, Cornel, Cardona, and Guillen Moncada, 
 all of whom swore to defend their sovereign ^. On hearing 
 of the formation of this league of the Public Weal, Don 
 Sancho is said to have contemptuously declared that he 
 would willingly cover with scarlet cloth as much ground 
 as the king and his supporters should be able to pass 
 over in Aragon beyond the Cinca ^ ; and it was perhaps 
 owing to extra precautions taken by the regent, that no 
 attempt to escape was made by James for the present. 
 A temporary reconciliation, indeed, seems to have been 
 effected, for, on July 19 of the following year, at a 
 General Cortes at Monzon, Sancho was present, and the 
 Catalans voted a grant of ' bovage ^.' Soon afterwards 
 
 ' Parchments, dd; cf. Bofarull, Z'uir. ' Parchments, 78; cf. Tourtoullon, 
 
 Ined.M\.i\. ib. i. p. 367. The following are styled 
 
 2 Chron. 14. the king's ' councillors ' in this docu- 
 
GOVERNMENT BY THE COUNCIL. 19 
 
 (August (?) 1217) the young king escaped from Monzon, 1217-18. 
 prompted doubtless by the royalists, as well as by his own ~**~ 
 daring spirit : ' they could not keep me in Monzon ... as 
 I, considering it was necessary for the country, wished to 
 go.' His cousin, Raymond, had escaped already, and James, 
 though only nine years old, had resolved to follow his 
 example. Early one morning he left the castle, but had 
 not gone far before he heard that Sancho was lying in wait 
 at Selga. A battle seemed imminent, and the young king 
 dismounted from his horse and donned a coat of mail : 
 ' that was the beginning — the first arms I ever took.' 
 Happily the enemy remained quiet, and they reached 
 Berbegal the same day, and Zaragoza a few days later, 
 where the citizens gave the king an enthusiastic welcome ^ 
 
 James' movements, for some time after this escape, Cortes at 
 cannot be followed. In September we find him as far north ^1^^^°^^' 
 as Gerona^, and in March of the following year he was 1218), 
 back at Monzon ^. In June he was apparently once again (Sept. 8. 
 on friendly terms with Count Sancho, for on the 24th of '^'^^■ 
 that month, on the advice of the regent, bishops, nobles, 
 and burghers of Aragon and Catalonia, assembled in a 
 General Cortes at Villafranca, peace was proclaimed over 
 the land from the Cinca to Salsas *. In July the king 
 presided over a Cortes of Catalonia at Tarragona, and in 
 September over another General Cortes at L^rida. Here 
 the pacification with Sancho was completed, and, in return 
 for the cession of certain towns with a rent roll of 15,000 sols, 
 
 ment: Cornel and Ahones, for Aragon; Cabrera and DoiSa Elvira (see Ap- 
 
 the Viscount of Cardona and Cervera pendix A). 
 
 for Catalonia ; as well as, apparently, ' Chron. 14. 
 
 Sancho, the Primate, and the Bishops ^ Parchments, 8 1 (a transaction with 
 
 of Vich, Lerida, Tortosa, and Zaragoza the Temple). 
 
 —ten in all. ' lb- 100. 
 
 ' Bovage ' was a tax on the yoke of * Cons/. Cat. Snperfl. vol. iii. lib. x. 
 
 oxen and head of other cattle (Zurita, tit. 3, const, i. This Cortes is not 
 
 Indices, p. 100). Important business noticed by M.Tourtoullon(ib.i. p. 367), 
 
 was transacted at this Cortes relative who seems to be itnder the impression 
 
 to the succession to the county of that Sancho did not come in till 
 
 Urgel, claimed by the Viscount of September. 
 
 C a 
 
ao JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1218-19. in addition to some rents in Barcelona and ViUafranca, the 
 ^^ Count resigned the regency and swore allegiance ^. James' 
 other uncle, Ferdinand — who seems to have represented the 
 party of opposition to the royal authority, whether exercised 
 in person or through a regent — was, apparently, included 
 in the pacification, and was confirmed in the wealthy abbacy 
 of Montaragon. Other business transacted at the Cortes 
 was the confirmation of the ' money of Jaca,' an alloy of 
 brass and silver, as currency in Aragon : it had first been 
 struck by Pedro II ^. 
 James' Of the young king's fortunes during the next two years 
 
 adv'isers^" little is known, and his movements are difficult to trace. 
 He had now shaken off the regent, and the government 
 was carried on by a council. In 12 19 he had the good 
 fortune to be taken under papal protection, for on July 26, 
 Honorius III received both king and kingdom 'under the 
 shadow of our wings,' besides naming, as James' advisers, 
 Aspargo, Cornel, Cervera, and Ahones ^. It is not easy to 
 say who was the moving spirit in all these transactions — 
 the escape from Monzon, the Cortes of L6rida, and the 
 appeal to Rome. The king was the pupil of the Templars, 
 and their influence in matters of state must have been 
 considerable. There can also be little doubt that James 
 possessed a mentor of no slight experience in Ximeno 
 Cornel, who is said to have prompted the flight from 
 Monzon, and was now definitely given a seat in the 
 council. In Catalonia the Bishop of Barcelona acted as 
 the king's lieutenant * ; and, backed as he was by the 
 
 ^ Parchments, 113 ; Zurita, An. ii. the exiled Connt of Toulouse crossed 
 
 71 ; cf. TourtouUon, ib. i. p. 368. At the Pyrenees with an army of Arago- 
 
 this Cortes James pardoned Montpel- nese and Catalans, and recovered his 
 
 Her, at the intercession of Honoriusin, capital, in besieging which De Mont- 
 
 and confirmed its privileges. Gariel, fort was slain. Potthast, Reg. 5643, 
 
 Ser. Praes. Mag. i. p. 320 ; Hist. Gen. 5644 ; Balaguer, Historia de Cataluna 
 
 Lang. vi. pp. 440, 512. y Aragon, ii. p. 187. 
 
 ^ Zurita, An. ib. ; Miedes, Vita ^ Zurita, Ind. p. loi ; Potthast, 
 
 Jacobi, i. 2; Blancas, ap, Schott. iii. Regesta,(>ia'j. 
 
 p, 655. In 1218 — in spite of a papal * Parchments, 133. 
 letter forbidding James to help him — 
 
GOVERNMENT BY THE COUNCIL. 21 
 
 Templars, the towns, the Church, and a large section of the 1218-20. 
 nobility, James' position can hardly have been despicable. ~**~ 
 
 That matters had not, however, gone altogether smoothly, 
 even in Catalonia, since the Cortes of Lerida, may be 
 inferred from a reconciliation of Nuiio Sanchez and Hugo, 
 Count of Ampurias, which was effected at Barcelona on 
 July 8, 1230, G. Moncada acting the part of peacemaker^. 
 And two months previously, on May 8, the renewal of the 
 papal protection was found necessary ^. 
 
 The loyalty, too, of the king's followers was soon to be War with 
 put to a severe test. While at Zaragoza, James heard that ^ege^o/""^ 
 a certain Lope d'Alvaro had suddenly been carried off, Alban-acin 
 without any previous challenge ^, by Rodrigo Lizana, and ^ 
 imprisoned in Lizana Castle. The complainant was Pele- 
 grin de Trosillo, Lope's son-in-law ; and the king's council 
 resolved to chastise the offender. They began by recover- 
 ing the stronghold of Alvaro, which had fallen into the 
 enemy's hands, and then marched against Lizana Castle, 
 where Don Lope was imprisoned, and where one of Don 
 Rodrigo's knights was in command. Here the ' fonevol ' 
 that the besiegers had brought with them was a great 
 success, discharging a thousand stones by day, and five 
 hundred by night, so that the castle was soon taken, and 
 Don Lope was released. It would have been as well if the 
 victors had stopped here, for Don Rodrigo had taken 
 refuge with a more formidable antagonist — Pedro Fer- 
 nandez de Azagra, Lord of Albarracin, whose proud boast 
 it was that he held his town of none but the Blessed 
 Virgin *. 
 
 Originally a governor of Aragon, Azagra seems to have 
 drifted over to the party of opposition led by Ferdinand, 
 and he now refused to surrender the fugitive. The royalist 
 
 ' Parchments, 146. * Towards the end of the previous 
 
 * Zurita, Ind. 102. century an ancestor of Azagra had 
 
 ° By the Fueros of 1247 this was received the town of Albarracin 
 
 treason. Fueros, lib. ix. tit. ' de con- from the Moorish King of Valencia, 
 
 firmatione pacis,' and tit. 'de prodi- in return for services rendered him. 
 
 toribns.' Zurita, An. ii. 29. 
 
33 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 I230. army accordingly marched on the castle and besieged it 
 ~*^ for about two months. Inside were fully a hundred and fifty 
 knights — as many as James had with him — and there was 
 treachery in the royalist camp, the friends and relatives of 
 Azagra keeping the besieged informed of the plans of their 
 assailants, and carrying in supplies under the king's eyes. All, 
 in fact, with the exception of Ahones, Pelegrin, and Guerao 
 de Puyo, served him 'badly, and acted as treacherously 
 as they could' — so treacherously, indeed, that one night 
 Pelegrin and Puyo, while guarding the engines, were deserted 
 by the others in a sortie of the garrison, and were killed. 
 James' council now advised him to withdraw, which he was 
 obliged to do, for ' I could not take counsel myself about 
 it, nor had I anyone to consult, being only eleven years 
 old at the time ^.' This was the king's first encounter 
 with his turbulent nobility, and it was not to be his last. 
 
 During the siege itself measures had been taken for the 
 better government of the kingdom, by the appointment of 
 two Templars — one for Aragon, and the other for Cata- 
 lonia — to superintend, apparently, and collect, the royal 
 revenues ^. Here again the influence of the Order shows 
 itself; and it was on the advice of James' councillors — 
 Ximeno Cornel, Guillen Cervera, and Guillen Moncada — 
 that, about six months later, a match was arranged between 
 the king and Leonor, daughter of Alfonso VIII of Castile. 
 There were obvious reasons for the alliance — among them 
 the desirability of a good understanding with the neigh- 
 bouring kingdom, and also of an heir to the throne, in view 
 of the dangers that beset the king's person. But James 
 was only just thirteen, and the failure of so early a marriage 
 does not seem to have presented itself as a possibility to 
 the promoters, the happiness of the woman, as often in the 
 Middle Ages, being only a secondary consideration. The 
 
 ^ Chron. 15, 16. James' memory racino.' '&oi2i-!vX\., Doc. Ined. iii. 14; 
 
 has failed him as to his age. He was of. Parclunents, 151, 15c. 
 
 really twelve, an Act of July ig, 1220, ' Bofarull, ib. 12. 
 being given ' in obsidione de Albar- 
 
Feb. li: 
 
 GOVERXMEiXT BY THE COUNCIL. 23 
 
 marriage took place at Agreda in Castile, in the presence of 1221-2. 
 Ferdinand and Berengaria, on February 6, 1221, but it was ,,~**~ 
 
 ° ' J ' ' Marriage 
 
 not consummated for a year. After the ceremony the of James, 
 young king returned to Aragon, and was knighted in the 
 church of S. Mary of Orta, where, having first heard Mass 
 of the Holy Ghost, he girt himself with a sword, which he 
 took from the altar 1. The rest of the year 1221 seems to 
 have been uneventful at home, but part of the following 
 year the king spent in chastising Guerao Cabrera-, a 
 claimant to the county of Urgel, who eventually came in 
 and was temporarily confirmed in the possession of the 
 county (Dec. ai, 1222), on condition of submitting to the 
 decision of the king's court, in the event of the appearance 
 of his rival, the Countess Aurembiax ^. 
 
 ' Chron. 17-19, Leonor's connexions will be best understood from the sub- 
 joined pedigree : 
 
 Alfonso VII of Castile (11 26-1 157). 
 
 \ 
 
 I I 
 
 Sancho III of Castile Ferdinand II of Leon 
 
 (ii57-ii5S\ (1157-11SS). 
 
 I I 
 
 Alfonso \ III of Castile Alfonso IX of Leon = Berengaria 
 (,1158-1214). (,1188-1230). of Castile. 
 
 Ferdinand III (1230-125 2), who became 
 King of Castile on the resignation, in his 
 favour, of his mother, Berengaria in 1 2 1 7. 
 
 II III 
 
 Enrique Berengaria = Urraca= Blanca= Eleanor = 
 
 (1214-1217). Alfonso IX Alfonso II Louis VIII. James, 
 
 of Leon. of Portugal. 
 
 ^ Cf. Parchments, 19S : 'in exercitu apud Castillionem, post capcionem 
 ipsius.' 16 Aug. 
 ' See Appendix A. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 Fresh Troubles. 
 
 1223. So far, the government of the king's council had, on the 
 ~^^~ whole, been a success. A reconciliation had been effected, 
 for the present at least, with Ferdinand and Sancho, the 
 kingdom had been taken under papal protection, Lizana 
 had been chastised, and the royal prestige had, doubtless, 
 been considerably augmented by the marriage with Leonor 
 Quarrel of of Castile. But fresh troubles were impending, and this 
 cada and ^imc Catalonia was to be the scene of the conflict. Nuno 
 Nuno Sanchez had a quarrel with Guillen Moncada, Viscount of 
 Bearne, over a falcon — a small spark, from which a great 
 flame was kindled. The usual defiances followed, and two 
 parties were formed, Moncada being joined by Azagra, and 
 Nuiio by Ahones and the Infante Ferdinand. Hostilities 
 were begun by Moncada, who ravaged Roussillon, capturing 
 the castle of Avalri near Perpignan, and defeating the men 
 of the latter town. James had taken Nuiio under his pro- 
 tection, and, as the attack was made despite the royal 
 prohibition and Nuilo's offer to ' do right,' the king collected 
 his forces and invaded Moncada's territories, taking no less 
 than 130 castles and towns, among them Cervellon, the siege 
 of which lasted thirteen days^ He then besieged Mon- 
 cada Castle, which is situated on the top of a steep and 
 high hill commanding the entrance to the plain of Barce- 
 lona, and is almost impregnable ^ It was held by Moncada, 
 
 ' Chron. 21. drag up engines, though at the present 
 
 ^ At the time of the siege the hill day only one side is wooded. The 
 
 was probably thickly wooded on all castle is not more than eight miles 
 
 sides, so that it would be difficult to from Barcelona. 
 
FRESH TROUBLES. 25 
 
 Cornel, and Lizana, with about 130 knights ; while on the 1223-4. 
 king's side were Sancho, Nuno, Ferdinand, Ahones, Artal """*" 
 de Luna, and Ato Foces — in all about 400 knights. 
 
 The siege lasted three months (Sept. to Nov. ^), and the 
 besieged, who had provision for only three days, would have 
 been obliged to surrender, had they not received supplies 
 from the besieging camp itself, and even from Barcelona. 
 ' Being yet a child, I really knew not how to obviate this, 
 all those who were with me, excepting only Don Sancho 
 and Don Pedro Ahones, being then much displeased at my 
 trying to do harm to those inside the castle.' So James was 
 obliged to raise the siege and retire to Aragon. 
 
 On the withdrawal of the besiegers, Moncada hastened 
 to show his respect for the royal authority by destroying 
 Terraza and Sarboz and besieging Piera. A reconciliation 
 was then effected with him at Tahuste by Ferdinand and 
 Ahones, who undertook to get the king to restore the 
 castles he had taken. At this meeting were present also 
 delegates from Zaragoza, Huesca, and Jaca, and its outcome 
 was the formation of a league, which included Moncada, 
 Ahones, Nuno, Ferdinand, and Azagra, besides the towns 
 mentioned. The mischief had thus spread to Aragon. 
 
 James was at Alagon during these proceedings : it was 1224. 
 winter, and here the conspirators found him, and, despite >™^s 
 
 ^ '■ imprisoned 
 
 his order that they should not enter with more than four or at Zaragoza 
 five knights, the three ringleaders — Ferdinand, Moncada, ^ ^ '' 
 and Ahones — contrived to let in fully 200 during the night. 
 Next day, with many protestations of loyalty, they con- 
 veyed both king and queen to Zaragoza, where they were 
 closely confined. The situation is best described in James' 
 own words : ' the queen hearing the noise of the armed men 
 who remained outside, and of those who had entered the 
 house, to lie down before us, took to weeping very bitterly. 
 I comforted her as well as I could.' This state of things 
 
 ' Zurita, An. ii. 78. So too Tour- against Chron. 21, which gives 1222 : 
 toullon, ib. i. p. 143. The date is but the king's memory has already 
 necessitated by later events, and is failed him over Albarracin. 
 
26 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1224-5. lasted for three weeks, till at last the young king yielded 
 "**" and paid Moncada 20,000 morabatins as damages ^. The 
 triumph of the feudal party — the party of opposition to the 
 royal authority — was now complete, and Ferdinand, Mon- 
 cada, and Nuiio, busied themselves in distributing the fiefs 
 of Aragon among their friends and partisans, pretending 
 that it was done with the royal sanction ^. And in March, 
 as a fresh humiliation, the king was compelled at Dai-oca 
 once more to confirm the money of Jaca, and to withdraw 
 his own coinage ^ ; while in October, at Monzon, the con- 
 spirators insisted on his putting away his ' evil counsellors,' 
 and accepting their own nominees^. James' cup of bitter- 
 ness was full. But he was resolved to make a bold stroke 
 to recover his prestige. Boy though he was, he had long 
 burned to draw his sword against the Infidel, and even now 
 the idea of diverting the fiery spirits of his nobles against 
 foreign foes seems to have occurred to him. To do this, 
 however, it was obviously necessary first to pacify the 
 kingdom. 
 1225. In March, therefore, of the following year, the king paid 
 Attack on a visit to Zaragoza, and confirmed the privileges and customs 
 of the citizens ^ ; and on April %6 he presided over 
 a Cortes of Catalonia at Tortosa, at which were present the 
 bishops, nobles, and burgesses, and where, preparatory to 
 the expedition against the Moors, peace was proclaimed over 
 the land from the Cinca to Salsas ''. The troops assembled 
 probably towards the middle or end of July ^. The details 
 of the campaign are not known. It was towards the end of 
 August that the Christian army found itself before the 
 
 ' I.e. about ;^i 1 ,000. Cf. Chron. ° Marca, Afar^. .ffiV/. 1406 ; Const. 
 
 21-4. The king's speech of ' cutting Cat. Suferjl. x. 3, i, 2. This impor- 
 
 sarcasm ' in Miedes, ib. 3, is not even tant Cortes seems to have escaped 
 
 sufficiently Thucydidean to be ac- the notice of both Zurita and M. Tour- 
 
 cepted. toullon. 
 
 ^ Chron. 24. ' The king was at Barcelona on 
 
 ' Parchments, 126. June 6 {Parch. 259) and at Lerida on 
 
 * Zurita, An. ii. 80. June 30. Ib. 261. 
 ' Ib. : cf. Parchments, 285. 
 
 Valencia. 
 
FRESH TROUBLES. 27 
 
 , Strong castle of Peniscola ^ — a miniature Gibraltar ^ some 1225-6. 
 forty miles south of Tortosa. The king was accompanied ~**~ 
 by the Bishops of Barcelona, Lerida, and Tortosa, as well 
 as by the Moncadas, Cervera, and Cervellon ; from Aragon 
 there came only the Bishop of Zaragoza, with Ahones, 
 Acorella^, and Pedro Perez, the justiciar. The castle is 
 inaccessible by water, and is connected with the land only 
 by a narrow strip of sand. The siege lasted all September 
 and into October ; but the efforts of the assailants were 
 futile, and eventually they were obliged to raise the siege 
 and return home *. 
 
 But even now the young king was not to be daunted. 1226. 
 Early in the following year he summoned to Teruel all the 
 barons and knights holding of him in fee, for a fresh cam- 
 paign against the Moors. On the appointed day, however, 
 there appeared only Blasco de Alagon, Artal de Luna, and 
 Ato Foces ; and when, after waiting three weeks, they had 
 consumed their supplies, it became evident that the expedi- 
 tion would have to be abandoned. But the king's credit 
 was saved by an unexpected piece of good fortune. Alarmed 
 by the news that the Christian monarch had ordered afresh 
 levy of his troops, Abu Zeid, the Moorish King of Valencia, 
 now sent and offered to pay as tribute a fifth of his revenues 
 — terms which James gladly accepted, and peace was con- 
 cluded. 
 
 On his way back, when near Calamocha, about seventeen 
 miles south of Daroca, the king met unexpectedly a noble, 
 
 ' In later days PeHiscola was the obsidione Peniscole, iii. Nonas Sep- 
 
 refnge of a distinguished member of tember, anno dominice Incarnationis 
 
 the Luna family — Benedict XIII— 1225'; (3) Parch. 288, an acknow- 
 
 from the Council of Constance. ledgment of a debt contracted ' cum 
 
 ^ Ford, Spain, p. 464. obsessum castrum de Peniscola tene- 
 
 ' Perhaps rather Ato Orella, as in bamus.' Yet Sefior Balaguer says 
 
 Parch. 269. that it is plain that James did not 
 
 * The siege of PeSiscola is not \)t%\t%&Ye^\i,co\3.\Catalunay Aragon, 
 
 mentioned in the Chronicle, but that ii. p. 198). The siege is wrongly 
 
 it took place is proved by the reference deferred by Zurita {An. ii. 80), and 
 
 in:— (i) Desclot, Hist. Cat. i. 8 ; M. Tourtoullon (ib. i. p. 152) to 
 
 (2) Parch. 269, which is dated 'in Oct. i. 
 
28 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1226. who, from being a privy councillor, had become one of his ,^ 
 
 —**- most dangerous enemies — Pedro Ahones^ — now on his way 
 
 Ah^nes^""^ to invade Valencia, with fifty or sixty knights. James 
 
 (Feb.). persuaded him to come to Burbaguena, and there taxed 
 
 him with being, by his lateness, the cause of the failure of 
 
 the expedition, forbidding him now to break the truce. In 
 
 reply, Ahones alleged the expense incurred in military 
 
 preparations by himself and his brother, the Bishop of 
 
 Zaragoza, and refused to obey. The king, who was just 
 
 eighteen, at once grappled with him, seizing his hand and 
 
 sword. At this moment a number of Ahones' followers 
 
 burst into the room, and released their master, without, 
 
 apparently, the royalists lifting a hand in defence of their 
 
 sovereign. 
 
 A hot chase now ensued, for Ahones had taken to horse 
 and was flying up a hill towards Cutanda Castle, the pro- 
 perty of his brother the bishop. At the top he changed 
 horses, and his men repulsed Blasco de Alagon and Artal 
 de Luna, who were pressing up, with showers of stones. 
 The king, however, made a detour and came up in the rear, 
 with the cry ' Aragon ! Aragon ! ' Ahones' men now lost 
 heart and took to flight, while their master was pierced 
 with a lance under the right arm, by Martinez de Luna. 
 The king dismounted, and bending over the wounded man 
 chid him gently : ' Ah ! Don Pedro Ahones ! In an evil 
 hour were you born. Why would you not believe the 
 advice I gave you ? ' ' Ah ! my lord ! ' said Don Blasco, 
 ' leave that lion to us, that we may take revenge on him for 
 the harm he has done us.' ' God confound you,' was the 
 indignant reply, ' that at this time you should say such 
 things. I tell you that if you strike Don Pedro Ahones, 
 you shall have to strike me first. I forbid you to touch 
 him.' James then ordered the wounded man to be put on 
 a horse, with an esquire supporting his body, and they 
 set out for Daroca ; but Ahones died on the way. He 
 
 ' Ahones seems to have been a 'Mesnader' or knight of the king's 
 household. Tourtoullon, ib. i. p. 188. 
 
FRESH TROUBLES. 29 
 
 was buried in the church of S. Mary at Daroca ^ While 1226. 
 pitying the man, we can hardly deny that he deserved his -*^ 
 fate. In any country his acts would have been regarded as 
 the acts of a traitor. He had betrayed his sovereign at 
 Alagon, had kept him a prisoner at Zaragoza, and had 
 refused to obey him at Burbaguena. James' conduct on this 
 occasion appears at its best, and in its most truly chivalrous 
 guise. And, perhaps, in all that long life, it was, after all, 
 the only knightly deed he ever did ; for it is certainly the 
 only act of unconscious chivalry that is recorded of him. 
 
 The effect produced by Ahones' death was not what 
 James had, perhaps, expected ^. After all, the natural 
 version of the affair would be that the unfortunate man had 
 been hunted to death : and, ever jealous of the royal 
 authority, the nation doubtless felt that, in the death of one 
 of its leading nobles, a blow had been aimed at itself 
 Accordingly, on leaving Daroca, the king saw his men stoned Revolt of 
 by the townsfolk, and when he attacked Bolea, Ferdinand '^^^°°' 
 and Pedro Cornel threw themselves into the place, so that 
 he was forced to raise the siege. The whole country, in 
 fact, was in arms ^ ; and James had also made a dangerous 
 enemy in the Bishop of Zaragoza, while the only Aragonese 
 
 ' Chron. 2^-2'j. says that at the time of the adventure, 
 
 " Dunham's account of the death of he was just entering on his seventeenth 
 
 Ahones is curious, and shows he had year, and that he had not yet seen 
 
 not read the Chronicle : ' though, on the Moors in war. The siege of 
 
 the submission of the governor, Jayme Peniscola, at which Ahones was 
 
 ordered his barons to retire from the present [^Parch. 269, to which he is 
 
 Valencian territories, one of these a witness), took place, as we have 
 
 absolutely refused to obey, and seen, in September, 1225. It follows 
 
 continued to lay waste the country. that, as in Chron. 16, James' memory 
 
 The incensed king marched to chastise has failed him as to his age, and, in 
 
 the daring leader, who fled farther saying that he had not yet seen the 
 
 into the interior, still intent on his Moors in war, he is mistaken, 
 depredatory expedition. A detach- As for the month, the incident 
 
 ment of the royal troops being sent in occurred shortly after James' birthday, 
 
 pursuit of him at length overtook and a good time before Easter, i. e. 
 
 him,' &c. {Spain and Portugal, vol. in February, 1226. Chron. 25, 28. 
 iii. p. 09). ^ 'The cities of Aragon were all 
 
 The date of Ahones' death is some- against me, save only Calatayud.' 
 
 what obscure. In Chron. 25 the king Chron. 28. 
 
30 JAMES THE FIRST OF A R AGON. 
 
 1226. barons who remained loyal were Lizana, Ato Foces, Artal 
 ~"^ de Luna, Blasco de Alagon, and Don Ladron. A desultory- 
 warfare now ensued, the king's headquarters being at 
 Pertusa, where, in about two months, he was joined by the 
 Cardenas from Catalonia, with about sixty knights. With 
 these he harassed Zaragoza and cut off its supplies ; but 
 the warlike bishop retaliated by sacking Alcovera. ' This 
 happened during Lent, yet the good bishop gave his men 
 absolution for the evil they had done, and, besides, gave 
 them license to eat meat ^.' 
 
 Even in Catalonia the king's presence was required. 
 Troubles had broken out between the Cardonas on the 
 one side; and the Moncadas, Cerveras, and the Count of 
 Ampurias, on the other. Fortunately for James a recon- 
 ciliation was effected between the two parties by Nuilo 
 Sanchez, on May 23, in the king's presence, and he was 
 able once more to devote his undivided attention to 
 Aragon ^. On his return, therefore, he lost no time in 
 laying siege to and capturing Ponsano and Cellas. In 
 Huesca, however, James was nearly caught in a carefully 
 laid trap. He had rashly accepted an invitation from the 
 citizens, and had entered the town with only a few knights, 
 but soon found his lodging closely guarded, and next day, 
 despite a bold speech in which he promised to confirm their 
 customs, the burghers began to close the gates and to draw 
 chains across the streets. It was now obviously necessary 
 for the king to think of his own safety, and his ready wit 
 supplied him with a characteristic device. He sent to the 
 market under pretence of buying meat for dinner, while he 
 himself, with three knights, proceeded to the Bolea gate, 
 compelled the porter, under pain of a ' sword-cut on the 
 head,' to give up the keys, and passed out at mid-day, 
 under the people's eyes. At the Isola he was joined by 
 the Cardonas, and reached Pertusa in safety ^. 
 
 ' Chron. 27, 28, 29. about now, or perhaps as early as 1 2 34. 
 
 ^ Parch. 295. The death of Count yLeary,IIistoiretieI^oussillon,i.'p.ioo. 
 Sancho, NuBo's father, took place ^ Chron. 28-32. 
 
FRESH TROUBLES. 31 
 
 So far the advantage in the struggle had rested with 1226-7. 
 the king. It was from a consciousness of this that, on ~*^ 
 November 13, at Jaca, a close confederation was formed 
 between Zaragoza, Huesca, and Jaca, which was joined by 
 Ferdinand, Azagra, Cornel, Orella, and the Bishop of Zara- 
 goza, for Aragon, and by the Moncadas, Cerveras, and 
 Cervellons, for Catalonia. The ostensible object of this 
 league was the suppression of the outrages and disorders 
 from which the country suffered ^, but there can be little 
 doubt that it was aimed at the king. 
 
 Nor was civil war the only misery the country had to 
 bear. During the first three months of the following year 
 famine is said to have stalked through Catalonia, and the 
 quarter of wheat was sold for 56 sols ^. 
 
 But the objectless and suicidal nature of the strife had Peace of 
 become evident by now even to the rebels, who at ^^^^'m^T:l\^22 
 opened negotiations. The result was a meeting at Alcala, 1227). 
 on March 22, when the points at issue were referred to 
 the arbitration of the Primate, the Bishop of L^rida, and 
 the Master of the Temple. Their ultimate decision was 
 that all leagues should be dissolved, and the instruments 
 given up ; that Ferdinand .should receive thirty knights' 
 fees, do homage, and swear allegiance ; that to the Bishop 
 of Zaragoza and the widow of Ahones should revert the 
 property of the dead man ; that a mutual restoration of 
 prisoners and places taken should be effected ; and that 
 the king should pardon the rebels, and proclaim peace 
 through the land for a year and ten days ^ 
 
 ' Parchments, 309, 310 ; cf. Bofa- hardly have fallen in Lent, as there 
 
 rull. Doc. Ined. vi. 13, 14. The would then be no point in the king's 
 
 chronology of the whole of this year, remark : ' it happened to be a fast 
 
 1226, is very involved. The account day.' Chron. 2g. 
 
 in Chron. 25-32 leaves no obvious ^ Chron. Bare. 1221 •,Zm\i&,An.\\. 
 
 gap for the king's undoubted visit to 84. By Monfar y Sors {Historia de 
 
 Catalonia, where he spent some two Urgel, ii.) this famine is assigned to 
 
 months. I venture to place this visit 1228. 
 
 before the capture of Ponsano and ' Parch. 322; cf. Bofarull, Doc. 
 
 Cellas, the latter of which towns can Ined. vi. 15 ; Chron. 33. Zurita (ib.) 
 
32 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1227. For two years after the Peace of Alcala the country 
 
 — ^*- enjoyed a state of repose which had long been unknown. 
 In Catalonia, indeed, this calm was ruffled by a renewal 
 of the dispute over the succession to the county of Urgel. 
 We have seen that in 1 aaa Guerao Cabrera had been put 
 in temporary possession, but with reservation of the rights 
 of Aurembiax, the rival claimant. The latter now pre- 
 sented herself, and on Guerao refusing to appear and plead 
 before the king's court, sentence was given by James at 
 L^rida in favour of the Countess, who did homage. The 
 king then (Sept., Oct.) overran the county, captured all the 
 chief towns, and reinstated Aurembiax. Guerao himself 
 was allowed to go free, and became a Templar ^. 
 Retrospect. This may be said to be the end of James' troublous 
 minority. It may be divided into three periods : the first 
 from the Cortes of L^rida in 1214 — when Sancho was made 
 Regent — to another Cortes held at L^rida in 12 18, when 
 the Count was deposed. This period is marked by an 
 unceasing struggle with Ferdinand and the feudal oppo- 
 sition. 
 
 The second period extends from the Cortes of L^rida 
 in iai8 to the rupture with Moncada in 1222. This was 
 a period of government by the council, whose rule was, on 
 
 gives the date of the peace as March go to James at once : ' ad vos cum 
 
 31, and is followed by M. TourtouUon, infante de me et vobis suscepto vel 
 
 ib. i. p. 170. non suscepto libere revertatur . . . et 
 
 ' Chron. 34-36 ; Parchments, 359. in obitu vestro dictus comitatus cum 
 
 So far from it being the case that in comitatu Cerdania et de Cofulento . . . 
 
 restoring Aurembiax the king was revertatur ad ilium filium communem 
 
 acting from purely chivalrous motives, nostrum et vestrum quem eligeris . . . 
 
 the truth is that, either now or later. Item si matrimonium contraxerim 
 
 the Countess was his mistress. This is contra voluntatem vestram . . . omnia 
 
 clear from the wording of an agree- supradicta statim ad vos libere reverta- 
 
 ment with her, signed Oct. 22, 1229, tur.' {Parch. 389 ) The only witness 
 
 and sworn to by James as early as to this document was the Bishop of 
 
 Dec. 29, 1228: 'vos teneatis me hono- Lerida, and it was evidently kept 
 
 ratam et non possitis relinquere, nisi secret. It is singular that the historians 
 
 duceritis uxorem qua haberetis regnum of Spain, from Desclot to M. Tour- 
 
 vel tantam quantitatem pecunie quae touUon, should have omitted all 
 
 Comitatui Urgelli possit equiparari.' mention of this chapter in the story of 
 
 If she takes the veil, the county is to the Conqueror's amouis. 
 
FRESH TROUBLES. 33 
 
 the whole, fairly successful. The chief events were the 1227. 
 chastisement of Lizana, and the Castilian alliance— both ~**- 
 well calculated to increase the prestige of the Crown. The 
 third period begins with the dispute with Moncada in 1233, 
 and ends with the Peace of Alcala in 1227. The king now 
 makes his first essay at ruling alone. The rupture with 
 Moncada may be said to have been the cause of all James' 
 subsequent misfortunes, for it afforded his evil genius, 
 Ferdinand, the opportunity of once more stirring up a 
 general conflagration, in which both Aragon and Catalonia 
 were involved. The Peace of Alcala was probably due 
 to two causes : simple weariness on the part of the 
 combatants, and the reluctance of the towns to continue 
 a conflict ruinous to their social prosperity. 
 
 James had now served his military apprenticeship as 
 a boy. His character was, of course, hardened, and from 
 the child we shall see develop the man we might expect. 
 Apart, too, from the influence which the stormy days of his 
 boyhood had exercised on James' nature, they had taught 
 him where the elements of disruption in his kingdom lay. 
 And it was, perhaps, the recollection of this long struggle 
 that, more than forty years later, prompted the advice given 
 by the old King of Aragon to his son-in-law of Castile : 
 above all things to keep the Church and the people and the 
 cities in his grace, ' for the knights revolt sooner against 
 their lord than the others.' 
 
Second Period: 
 
 THE CONQUEST OF MALLORCA 
 AND VALENCIA. 
 
 Mallorca. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 The Cortes of 1228. 
 
 1228. James was now twenty years old, and was one of the 
 ~**~ finest and handsomest men of the day. He was a palm 
 taller than other men, was well built, with a ruddy face, 
 straight nose, teeth as white as pearls, and golden hair ^. 
 And he had won his way to the throne no less by the 
 fertility of his wit than by the strength of his arm and the 
 charms of his person. 
 Keud with It happened that, not long after the restoration of 
 Aurembiax, king and court were one day being enter- 
 tained at dinner at Tarragona by Pedro Martel, a citizen 
 of Barcelona and an experienced shipmaster. The house 
 seems to have faced the sea, and towards the end of the 
 meal the talk turned on the Balearic islands, of which 
 Martel gave, no doubt, a glowing description. The nobles 
 joined with him, and urged the king to undertake an in- 
 vasion ; and James, not unwilling that they should find an 
 outlet for their unruly spirits, consented to call a Cortes at 
 Barcelona to discuss the project ^. A pretext for the ex- 
 
 ' Desclot, Hist. Cat. i. 8. Accord- in the margin of the MS. of Marsilio, 
 
 ing to Miedes {Vit. Jac. lo) James' Martel was a citizen of Tarragona, 
 
 height was 4j cubits, i. e. about 7 feet. So too Zurita, An. iii. i. 
 
 ^ Chron. 47. According to a note 
 
THE CORTES OF 1 328. ■^S 
 
 pedition was not wanting. The story is that two Catalan 1228. 
 ships had captured at Iviza a galley belonging to the King — — 
 of Mallorca, who retaliated by seizing two ships of Barce- 
 lona and imprisoning their crews. On a demand by James 
 for reparation, the Moorish sovereign, at a loss for a reply, 
 consulted the merchants of Pisa^ Genoa, and Provence, then 
 in the island ; and a rich Genoese, pointing to James' failure 
 at Peiiiscola, counselled the rejection of his demands. On 
 this advice the Emir acted, following up his refusal by 
 asking : ' who is the king who makes such a request ? ' — 
 a question which provoked the retort : ' the son of that King 
 of Aragon who conquered the Moors in that great and 
 famous battle of Ubeda.' The envoy barely escaped with 
 his life ^. 
 
 The news of this rebuff seems to have arrived about the Cortes of 
 time of the dinner at Tarragona, and, no doubt, strengthened rj^^^ °"^ 
 James in his resolve. The Cortes met at Barcelona, shortly 1228). 
 before Christmas, and there were present the bishops, 
 barons, knights, and delegates from the towns. Three 
 questions were proposed for discussion by the young 
 sovereign : how was peace to be established in the land ; 
 what were to be the ways and means of the expedition ; 
 and how was the undertaking to be turned to God's glory. 
 
 He was answered by the venerable primate, Aspargo, who 
 said that they would take counsel on the king's proposals, 
 and a like reply was given by Guillen Moncada for the 
 nobles, and by Berenguer Girart of Barcelona for the 
 commons. The three orders deliberated apart, and on the 
 third day they brought their reply, the barons speaking 
 first, then the clergy, and lastly the townsmen. Moncada 
 
 ' Desclot, Hist. Cat. i. 8 ; Beuter, were committed at Iviza by some ships 
 
 Cor. Esp. ii. 4. The rest (including belonging to the Governor of Tortosa, 
 
 Tourtoullon, ib. ii. p. 185) prefer to in revenge for which the Amir of 
 
 ignore this version, by which the Mallorca made descents on the Catalan 
 
 Christians were the aggressors. Des- coasts, and seized a Genoese and a 
 
 clot's statement is, moreover, corro- Catalan vessel. Campaner y Fuertes, 
 
 borated by the Arab historian Almakh- Hist. Dom. Isl. p. 1 79. 
 zumi, who says that depredations 
 
 D a 
 
^6 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1-2.2&. offered four hundred horse, Nunc Sanchez one hundred, 
 ~**~ and the Count of Ampurias sixty. The offers of the clergy 
 were proportionately generous. The primate, who took for 
 his text the words ' viderunt oculi salutare tuum,' said that 
 he was too old to go himself, but offered the king the free 
 use of his property and men, and authorized any of his 
 suffragans to join in the expedition ^ ; the Bishop of Barce- 
 lona promised a hundred knights, the Bishop of Gerona 
 thirty, and the Provost of Tarragona four and an armed 
 galley '\ For Barcelona one of its citizens, Pedro Grony, 
 offered all the ships in harbour, and a like engagement was 
 made by the men of Tarragona and Tortosa ^. It was also 
 decided (December 23) that shares in the conquered land 
 should be proportioned to the contributions to the expedi- 
 tion, and commissioners were appointed for the division * ; 
 peace was proclaimed from the Cinca to Salsas ^ ; Bovage 
 was granted ^ ; and finally it was agreed that all should 
 meet at Salou, the port of Tarragona, on May i. The 
 Cortes seems to have broken up on Christmas eve''. 
 
 The expedition, therefore, was purely Catalan in its 
 origin, and if some Aragonese nobles afterwards took part 
 in it, they did so merely as the kings feudatories, and 
 without the national sanction. Meanwhile news arrived 
 that a papal legate had entered the kingdom. It was 
 John, Cardinal Bishop of Sabina, who was met by the 
 king at Lerida (March ?, 1329). James had grown tired 
 of his wife, or was ambitious of another alliance — probably 
 
 ' According to Desclot (ib.) the Tourtoullon, ib. i. p. 371. 
 
 Archbishop offered 1,000 gold marl<s, ^ Chron. 48-54. 
 
 500 loads of wheat, 100 knights, and * Parch. 363 ; cf. Bofarnll, Doc. 
 
 1,000 foot-soldiers. Ined. vi. 16. 
 
 ^ It is noticeable that the king = Const. Cat. lib. x. tit. 8, const, 
 
 promised the clergy not to regard 7, cap. 28; Marca, Marc, Hisp. 415. 
 
 their aids as a precedent for future " Zurita, Ind. p. 106. 
 
 exactions : ' non ex debito, sed ex sola ' Desclot, ib. Other business was 
 
 gracia et mera liberalitate vestra, illud transacted at the Cortes in the shape 
 
 facitis.' He also confirmed the privi- of laws on ' usury ' and the Jews, 
 
 leges granted them by his father Const. Cat. passim. 
 (Dec. 21). Parchments, 363 : cf. 
 
THE CORTES OF 1228. 37 
 
 both — and now sought a divorce ^. This was the business 1229. 
 that had brought the legate to Aragon. ~"**— 
 
 In the latter country the expedition against Mallorca 
 was unpopular, and while the king was at Ldrida a futile 
 attempt was made by clergy, nobles, and citizens, to induce 
 him to invade Valencia instead ^. And an additional 
 temptation to him to do so presented itself while king 
 and cardinal were at Calatayud, where there arrived an 
 unexpected guest in the person of Abu Zeid Abdurrahman, 
 King of Valencia, who seems to have lost his throne for 
 his Christian sympathies, his position being usurped by Abu 
 Jomail Zian, Lord of Denia ^. Zeid had, however, succeeded 
 in holding his own in Burriana, Segorbe, and other towns, 
 and he now appeared as a suppliant for help against his 
 rival. Nothing, loth to accept an opportunity of driving 
 a wedge into a kingdom on which he had long cast a cove- 
 tous eye, James readily concluded a treaty, by which Zeid Treatywith 
 was to cede to his ally a quarter of his conquests — including ^f Valencia 
 Morella, Peniscola, Cullera, Alpuente, Exerica, and Segorbe (April 20). 
 — all places recovered were to be put into the hands of 
 Aragonese knights, and whatever James could conquer 
 himself was to form part of his kingdom. On the con- 
 clusion of this very one-sided treaty, Zeid seems to have 
 lost no time in attacking his rebellious subjects, with the 
 assistance of Azagra and other Aragonese nobles *. 
 
 But the business that most of all claimed James' 
 attention for the present was the divorce from Leonor. Divorce 
 A council was held by the legate at Tarazona, towards L°^or 
 the end of April, there being present the bishops of the (April 29). 
 province, together with the Archbishop of Toledo and 
 his suffragans. The divorce was soon pronounced, on the 
 usual pretext of consanguinity, and Leonor was sent back to 
 Castile laden with presents ^ Though divorced from his 
 
 » Desclot, ib. i. 9. vol. ii. App. E. 
 
 2 1^ * Parchments, 373 ; Zurita, ib. 
 
 s Zurita, An. iii. 2 ; Gayangos (in " ' Definitive pronunciamus . . . quia 
 
 Forster's edition o{ James'' Chronicle), consanguinei sunt in tertio gradn, 
 
38 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1229. wife, James legitimized his son Alfonso, and declared him 
 ~"^*~ heir to Aragon, his other dominions being reserved, appa- 
 rently, for any sons he might have by another wife — 
 an arrangement which is said to have caused universal 
 discontent in both countries 1. 
 
 His wife being thus thrust aside, the young king was 
 now able to turn his attention to the enterprise in hand. 
 From Aragon he returned to Catalonia, and was present 
 at Vails, near Tarragona, on July 15, to witness the be- 
 trothal of Aurembiax to the Infante Pedro of Portugal — 
 an adventurer driven from home by his brother Alfonso ^. 
 Most of the summer was taken up with preparations for 
 the great expedition ; and, before starting, both king and 
 nobles are said to have received the Cross at the hands of 
 the legate ^. 
 
 matrimonium non tenere.' Aguirre, ' Parch. 375 ; cf. TourtouUon, ib. i. 
 
 Concilia, v. p. 1S4; Gams, Kirclien- p. 374; Zurita, ib. 3. 
 
 gcschichte Sfaniens, iii. % 37. Miedes, ' Parch. 381. Alfonso, son of the 
 
 who became Bishop of Albarracin, King of Leon, was present at the 
 
 remarks that the divorce was pro- ceremony. 
 
 nounced 'inopi sane causa.' Vit.Jac. 5. ^ Zurita, Ind. p. 108. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 The Conquest of Mallorca. 
 
 The Crusaders set sail from Salou on the first 1229. 
 Wednesday in September. The fleet, whose Admiral was ~'*~ 
 Ramon de Plegamans of Barcelona, consisted of twenty- sets sail 
 five large ships, eighteen ' taridas ' or tartans, twelve *^^^P'- 5) '■ 
 galleys, and 100 ' brices ' and galleots — in all 155 saiP. It 
 included vessels from Genoa, Provence, Marseilles^ and 
 Narbonne, and carried, probably, about 15,000 foot and 
 1,500 horse ^. The king sailed in a ship of Montpellier, 
 which brought up the rear. When they had gone about 
 20 miles, the wind shifted to the south-west, and James' 
 sailors advised him to put back — a suggestion he stoutly 
 rejected. They ran all night without shortening sail, 
 though the sea rose so high that most of the fore part 
 of the royal galley was covered by the waves, and just 
 before sunset on Thursday, the wind lessening, the king, 
 whose vessel had outstripped the rest, could see Mallorca 
 and distinguish Palomera and Sollar — the latter a small 
 promontory on the north-west coast, about 130 miles from 
 
 ' This date may be got by calcu- mentioned. It is on this account that 
 
 lating from Tuesday, Aug. i, 1228 Zurita (An. iii. 4) and Miedes (FiV. 
 
 {Parchments, 357). It is tiie same as Jac. vi.) malce the totals as above, 
 
 that arrived at by Quadrado {Hist. ' Taridas ' appear to have been open 
 
 Conq. Mall. n. 36). vessels for carrying horses, and 
 
 ^ In Chron. 55, where the king puts ' brices ' much the same thing, while 
 
 the number ofthe galleys at seventeen, galleots were small galleys. Quad- 
 
 and the total of the fleet at 150, there rado, Conq. Mall. n. 33; Gayangos, 
 
 is an obvious miscalculation; while i. p. 112, n. 2. 
 
 in Chron. 59 only twelve galleys are '' Miedes, Vit.Jac. 6. 
 
40 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1229. Salou. By midnight part of the fleet had joined him, and 
 " a breeze springing up, they made for Pollensa, on the 
 north coast, but were met on the way by a Provence 
 wind, or ' white squall,' and eventually took shelter in Palo- 
 mera — a bay at the south end of the north-west coast — 
 which they entered on Friday, September 7. By Saturday 
 night the whole fleet had anchored in the harbour^. 
 State of The Christians seem to have chosen an opportune moment 
 
 Mallorca. fo"" their attack, for just then the islanders were divided 
 among themselves. The Almohade king, Abu Yahya, 
 had heard of the projected descent and had raised a con- 
 siderable force, besides sending to Africa for help. Un- 
 happily his plans were hampered by a conspiracy of his 
 subjects, led by his own uncle, Ibn Sheyri, and it was in 
 the midst of this contest of factions that a messenger burst 
 into the audience chamber, exclaiming, ' The Christian 
 fleet is coming ; I could count seventy sail.' In these 
 circumstances the conspirators were hastily pardoned, and 
 Abu Yahya managed to send a considerable force to the 
 coast, by which the Christians found themselves confronted 
 when they entered Palomera and landed on Dragonera, 
 an island lying across the entrance to the bay. The 
 Moors had not yet equipped a fleet, so there was no fear 
 of Dragonera being converted into a second Sphacteria ^. 
 
 Though the Crusaders made no attempt to land on 
 
 Mallorca in the face of the enemy, they were not idle, 
 
 for in the meantime Nuiio Sanchez and Ramon Moncada 
 
 were sent alorig the coast to look for a convenient landing 
 
 place. This they found in the harbour of Santa Ponza, 
 
 some ten miles to the south-east and only about the same 
 
 distance from the capital. 
 
 The At midnight, therefore, on Sunday, the king weighed 
 
 knd^ar"^ anchor secretly and set off along the coast with twelve 
 
 Sta. Ponza galleys, each of which towed a transport. Their departure, 
 
 (Mon., 
 
 Sept. 10). 
 
 Chron. 56-58. In Chron. 85 the Moorish king is 
 
 ^ Gayangos, ii. App. D, quoting called Abohehie, evidently a cor- 
 the Arab historian Almakhzumi. ruption of Abu Yahya. 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MALLORCA. 41 
 
 however, did not escape the notice of the Moors, who at 1229. 
 once started in pursuit, but were outstripped by the ships, ~**~ 
 which reached Santa Ponza first 1. The first to land was 
 a soldier named Bernaldo de Ruydemeya ^ (who afterwards 
 received the name of Argentona); he planted a flag on a hill 
 near the harbour. Among the nobles the first to land were 
 Nufio, Ramon Moncada, and the Master of the Temple. 
 By the time they had landed, fully 700 foot and 150 
 horse were ashore, and with these Ramon Moncada led a 
 charge against the Moors, who were routed and lost 1,500 
 men. Meanwhile James himself had disembarked, and 
 now, at the head of some twenty-five knights, he attacked 
 300 or 400 Moors posted on a hill a little distance 
 off, killing about eighty, of whom the young king slew 
 four or five with his own hand. On his return he was 
 chidden by the Moncadas for his rashness ^. Tuesday 
 was probably spent in preparations for an encounter with 
 the main body of the Moors *. At midnight James heard 
 from the rest of the fleet — which had reached Cape 
 Porrassa, only two hours from the city — that the King of 
 Mallorca had been seen on the Sierra above Port Opi, 
 evidently advancing on Santa Ponza. A battle was clearly 
 imminent*. On Wednesday, after mass, at which Guillen 
 Moncada communicated, ' sobbing, and the tears falling 
 down his face,' the infantry left the camp without orders, 
 during a dispute between the Moncadas and Nuiio, each 
 of whom wished the other to take the van, as each thought 
 there would be no battle that day. On hearing of the 
 departure of the foot, James at once set off to stop them, 
 and handed them over to the Moncadas and the Count 
 of Ampurias, the rear being entrusted to Nuiio. 
 
 The accounts of the battle are scanty and confused. 
 The fight soon became hot, each side repelling the other Battle of 
 thrice. The Moorish camp on the right seems to have sept. T^ 
 
 (Wed.). 
 1 chron. 59. * This is evident from Chron. 61. 
 
 = Perhaps rather, Riu de Meya. So too Quadrado {Conq. Mall. n. 58). 
 
 " Chron. 60, 61 ; Zurita, An. iii. 4. '' Chron. 61. 
 
43 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 i22g. been assailed by the Count of Ampurias and the Templars, 
 " the enemy retiring on to their centre. On the side of Santa 
 Ponza the Moncadas attacked and sought to dislodge the 
 Moors from an eminence, but Guillen Moncada, advancing 
 too far, was cut off from his men and killed, while his 
 brother Ramon shared a like fate in following him. Mean- 
 while the king, alarmed by the uproar, charged up towards 
 the hill with a few knights and was with difficulty re- 
 strained by Nuno. For the time all attempts to carry the 
 summit were useless, till the arrival of the royal banner, 
 with the king's following of a hundred knights, when they 
 all pushed up and attacked the centre, the Moors taking 
 to flight. The horses of the conquerors were too exhausted 
 for a pursuit, but James in his eagerness rode down the 
 hill, and was on his way towards the city, when he was 
 overtaken by the Bishop of Barcelona, with the news of 
 the loss of the Moncadas — tidings which drew from him 
 a flood of tears. The Christians seem to have encamped 
 that night on the Sierra of Port Opi — at the foot of 
 which the battle had been fought — whence they could see 
 the rich and fertile country with its forests of oranges 
 and palms, its vineyards and cornfields. No wonder the 
 king thought it the most beautiful view he had ever seen. 
 After supper the bodies of the Moncadas were searched 
 for and found. The invaders had lost in all about four- 
 teen knights — among them Hugo Desfar and Hugo 
 Mataplana — and a few foot-soldiers^. Next day James 
 carefully arranged the camp, the tents being so closely 
 packed and the cords so interlaced, that for eight days 
 no one could ride into the camp. The Moncadas were 
 buried at matins ^. 
 
 ' Chron. 63-67; Desclot, Hist. doesM. TourtouUon (i. p. 215 seq.) by 
 
 Cat. i. 10 ; Parcerissa, Recuerdos de any means elucidate it. Quadrado 
 
 Espana, pp. 50-52. Even to the (ib. n. 56) suggests that the division 
 
 latter author, who knew the ground vi^hich had reached Porrassa attacked 
 
 well, the plan of the battle seems to the enemy in the flank, 
 
 have been by no means clear ; nor '^ Chron. 67, 68. Beuter (Cor. Esp. 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MALLORCA. 43 
 
 The rest of the ships, in the meantime, had landed their 1229. 
 men at Port Opi, where they captured some forts, and, no ~^^ 
 doubt, estabHshed communications with the king's division. 
 At the same time, or soon after, the whole army marched 
 on the cityi. 
 
 The siege began in the way usual in that age — with ?'«g5 °f 
 
 , , ^ Mallorca 
 
 engmes and mmes. The men of Marseilles offered to (Sept. to 
 build ' trebuchets,' and the besiegers had also a ' fonevol ' ^^'^■)- 
 and a ' Turkish mangonel ' : the citizens, however, on their 
 side possessed two ' trebuchets ■" and fourteen ' algarradas,' 
 one of which would shoot over five or six rows of tents ^. 
 The besiegers next brought up to the moat three ' mantlets ' 
 — machines on wheels with a roof of hurdles, with brush- 
 wood on the top and earth on the brushwood — under 
 cover of which three mines were begun, while a heavy fire 
 of missiles was kept up against the walls. The Crusaders 
 were also stimulated in their efforts by the preaching of 
 two Dominicans, Miguel Fabra, and Berenguer de Cas- 
 tellbisbal — of the latter, afterwards Bishop of Gerona, we 
 shall hear more later — while even the knights put their 
 hands to everything. For three weeks, however, no foot- 
 soldier or sailor dared to sleep in the camp, but the men 
 returned to the ships at nightfall, only the king with his 
 knights and esquires remaining behind ^. After spending 
 four days in the mountains, the Moorish king at last 
 raised signals to the besieged, who next night rushed out 
 
 ii. 21) says that the bodies were put in days is distinctly implied in Chron. 
 
 coffins to be afterwards taken to the 67. Desclot {Hist. Cat. i. 10) says 
 
 Monastery of Santas Crazes in Cata- that the Christians encamped in the 
 
 Ionia. king's garden outside the walls, 
 
 ' The chronology here is as obscure having marched on the city imme- 
 
 as the operations. Nothing is said in diately after the battle. The delay of 
 
 the Chronicle of the march on the eight days, if delay there was, would 
 
 city. Quadrado (ib.) argues against probably be caused by difficulties in 
 
 Marsilio's statement {Conq. Mall. 23) landing the horses and engines from 
 
 that the invaders spent eight days in the fleet. 
 
 the camp, and thinks that theymarched ^ For an explanation of these 
 
 on the city at once. He does not seem different engines, see Appendix B. 
 
 to have noticed that a stay of eight ^ Chron. 69. 
 
44 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1229. on to the walls with torches, raising a great din, under 
 ~*^~ cover of which Abu Yahya got into the city. Next day, 
 however, the Christian attack was renewed and part of the 
 wall was demolished ^. 
 
 While matters were in this condition, a Moor, named 
 Infantilla or Fatillah, having collected the mountaineers, 
 to the number of 5,000, encamped on a hill above the 
 stream which supplied the camp, and cut it off. He was 
 eventually dislodged, after a desperate struggle, by Nuilo 
 and the Count of Ampurias, more than 500 of the enemy 
 being killed. James had Fatillah's head slung into the 
 town ^. This engagement was followed by an unexpected 
 piece of good fortune. Benahabet, a Moor in command of 
 one of the twelve districts into which the island was divided, 
 sent a proposal to supply the besiegers with provisions — 
 an offer which James thankfully accepted ; and there 
 shortly afterwards entered the camp twenty beasts, laden 
 with barley, kids, fowls, and grapes. The present of this 
 ' angel ' was followed by the submission of several other 
 districts, so that in about a fortnight all the country between 
 the city and the coast facing Minorca was in the king's 
 hands. On the advice of Benahabet James appointed two 
 knights as governors of the submitted districts. 
 Progress of The mining and battering now proceeded briskly, four 
 e siege. ^Q^gj.g jjging soon undermined. The most active of the 
 sappers was the Count of Ampurias, who spent day and 
 night in his mine, and succeeded in shaking down a large 
 part of the wall. The next step was to fill the moat with 
 earth and brushwood. This was promptly set on fire by 
 the Moors, but James was equal to the occasion, and 
 
 ' Desclot, ^zj-A Cat. i. ii. with 500 men, the heads of 412 of 
 ^ Desclot (ib.) says that 8,000 col- whom were slung into the tower, 
 lected and 6,000 were killed or taken. Infanlillah (' filius Diaboli,' Mar- 
 He adds that, in revenge, the Moors silio, Conq. Mall. ii. 25) is perhaps 
 tied lip their prisoners on the wall on a corruption of En (Castilian ' Don ') 
 crosses, when the fire was hottest, but Fatillah (Gayangos, i. p. 142, n. 2) or 
 that none were killed. It was after of Alfatih billah, contracted into Fati- 
 this that Fatillah made his attack hilla. Ib. ii. App. D. 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MALLORCA. 45 
 
 turned the stream on to the flames. The besieged now 1229. 
 resorted to counter-mines, and drove the Christians out ~*^ 
 of one of theirs ; but, on the king killing at one shot from 
 a windlass two Moors who were standing outside, the 
 enemy were so disheartened that they abandoned the 
 mines altogether 1. The Moors next opened negotiations 
 — apparently in the hope of gaining time, for when Nuiio 
 entered the town as envoy, the Moorish king merely said : 
 ' You had better go back, for I have nothing to say to you.' 
 The Count returned to James laughing. Soon afterwards, 
 however, the besieged offered to pay the expenses of the 
 expedition and to allow the besiegers to ' retire home safe 
 and sound.' On the rejection of this generous proposal, 
 the Moorish sovereign pitched a gorgeous tent outside the 
 Port Opi gate, and offered to pay five besants a head ^ for 
 transportation of the inhabitants to Barbary. These terms 
 Nuiio advised the king to accept, and James was willing 
 to do so, had not the nobles and bishops, led by the 
 relatives of the Moncadas, clamoured for vengeance, and 
 insisted on the town being stormed. ' That vengeance,' 
 said the Bishop of Barcelona, ' would be good and just.' 
 So the terms offered were rejected ^. The Moors were 
 now reduced to desperation, and ' one Saracen after that 
 was better than two had been before.' In fact, they so 
 redoubled their efforts that the nobles began to wish that 
 they had accepted the terms suggested ; but James refused 
 to allow negotiations to be re-opened, on the ground that 
 it would be a ' sign of weakness *.' By this piece of false 
 pride he became responsible for the loss of ao,ooo lives. 
 All the mines were now abandoned, except one, into 
 
 ' Chron. 70-73. a ransom of about £(i,'joo (cf. Cam- 
 
 * This was not a bad offer. In 1248, paner y Fuertes, Dom. hi. p. 188). 
 
 on the expulsion of the Valencian ' Chron. 74-79. Marsilio {Conq. 
 
 Moors, Federigo of Castile exacted Mall. 31} draws a fine picture of the 
 
 only one besant a head as passage desperation of the besieged on the 
 
 money {Chron. 369). A besant was rejection of their proposals, 
 
 worth about ^., and, reckoning the * Chron. 79, 80. 
 population at 80,000, this would make 
 
46 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1229. which the Crusaders threw so strong a force that it was 
 ~^^~ finished in spite of the Moors. James' largest engine, 
 however, was much injured by a formidable catapult con- 
 structed by the enemy, and all attempts to put another 
 in its place were frustrated by the wet and mud. On the 
 Sunday in the Octave of S. Andrew (November 30), a 
 tower fell in, undermined by the indefatigable Count of 
 Ampurias, and a general assault was made and was 
 repulsed, the battle lasting all day. In the night another 
 tower, also undermined by the Count, collapsed, and he 
 made an attack, but was again beaten back. A large 
 wooden tower was next moved up to the walls by means 
 of wheels and ropes, and, though the Moors soon destroyed 
 the mattrasses with which it was covered, the men of 
 Marseilles hit on the expedient of protecting it with their 
 ship nets, so that the stones of the enemy did no harm, 
 and the slingers drove the besieged from the walls ^. 
 
 Four days before the final assault, the bishops and barons 
 agreed on an oath, to be taken by the whole army, by which 
 each man swore that on entering the town he would not 
 turn back unless mortally wounded. The king was not 
 allowed to take it, but he said he would act as if he had 
 done so. The oath well illustrates the savage spirit of the 
 besiegers. The cold was now so intense that James' men 
 were with difficulty induced to stay out of doors for any 
 length of time, the very sentries deserting their posts. The 
 besiegers were also harassed by incessant attacks from the 
 country Moors, and the king's anxiety became such that 
 for three days he took no sleep. ' When I thought I could 
 sleep, messages came from those who wanted directions, 
 and even when I wished to sleep, I could not, and was so 
 wakeful, that when anyone came near the tent, I heard him 
 Maiiorca approach.' On December 31 all communicated, and soon 
 ^Q™^ •) after dawn the attack began. S. George was the first to 
 enter the city, and he was followed by the Crusaders with 
 the cry of ' Saint Mary ! Saint Mary ! ' After a fierce 
 
 ' Desclot, ib. i. 12. 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MALLORCA. 47 
 
 Struggle, the Moors gave way, though the fight was renewed 1229-30. 
 in the streets. Abu Yahya, who was mounted on a white ~'^~ 
 horse, was the last to leave the breach : he was afterwards 
 found in a house by two men of Tortosa, who gave him up 
 to the king for a large sum. James told his prisoner that 
 he should not die, and placed him in charge of two knights^. 
 Three hundred Moors sought to take refuge in the Almu- 
 daina or citadel, but found the gates shut against them, and 
 were cut down to a man : the fortress itself afterwards 
 surrendered and was carefully guarded. Fully 20,000 
 Moors in all were massacred, in a slaughter which may be 
 fitly compared with the butchery perpetrated at Acre, not 
 many years before, by another soldier of the Cross ; while 
 some 30,000 escaped to the mountains, where their sufferings 
 must have been great, owing to the severity of the weather. 
 The plunder of the city was immense, the Crusaders being 
 fully a week engaged in the pleasant occupation of gratify- 
 ing their greed and lust. At last, when they had sated 
 themselves, the bishops and barons, much against James' 
 will, insisted on an auction of the prisoners and booty taken. 
 It began in the Carnival and lasted till Easter, everybody 
 buying something, but refusing to pay for it. General dis- 
 content was the result ; the houses of Gil d'Alagon and the 
 Provost of Tarragona were sacked, and the rioters were 
 only stopped from further excesses by the king's threat 
 that he would hang up so many that the town would stink 
 of them. The victors were also visited by the plague, 
 which carried off a large number of nobles and commoners: 
 among the former were Ramon Alaman, who had been 
 
 ' Chron. 81-87. The story that Desclot, though the latter, indeed, 
 
 James took the Moorish king by the mentions the oath. As Gayangos 
 
 beard, in fulfilment of an oath which remarks (i. p. 174), to ' beard' a man 
 
 he took when the Moors hurled was regarded in the Middle Ages as 
 
 Christians from their engines, origi- the worst affront : in the Usages of 
 
 nated with Muntaner {Chron. 8), who Ramon Berenguer it was punished by 
 
 is followed by most historians down the same fine as a blow to the effusion 
 
 to M. TourtouUon. Nothing is said of blood— 20 sols. Consi.Ca/.iK.i^, 
 
 of the incident by the Chronicle or Uss. 12 and 15. 
 
48 
 
 JAMES THE FIRST OF A R AGON. 
 
 1230. 
 
 Further 
 measures 
 of James. 
 
 foremost in urging the storming of the town, and the Count 
 of Ampurias, who had contributed so much to its capture. 
 Superstitious though they were, the Crusaders do not seem 
 to have regarded this visitation in the light of a Divine 
 judgement^. 
 
 What with the plague and the desertion of many of his 
 knights and foot-soldiers, who had already returned home, 
 James now found it necessary to send to Aragon for rein- 
 forcements. In the meantime he advanced up the Bunyola 
 valley, to attack the mountaineers, who held the hills of 
 SoUer, Almerug, and Bayalbahar ; but he found himself 
 outnumbered and had to return to Inca and thence to 
 Mallorca. On his arrival, the Master of the Hospital and 
 fifteen knights, who had not taken part in the siege, pre- 
 sented themselves, with a petition for a share of the land. 
 It had, however, been divided already and the nobles were 
 very firm on the point ; but they were at last induced 
 to part with a small portion of their allotments by the 
 example of the king, who gave up a ' good and honourable 
 farm ' from his share, which was a quarter of the land. The 
 next step was to make a fresh effort to reduce the Moors 
 who had taken refuge in the uplands. All thought, how- 
 ever, had been abandoned of conquering the high hills of 
 Soller, Almerug, and Bayalbahar, where 3,000 Saracens 
 held out under a chief named Xuaip ^. The Christians 
 accordingly directed their efforts against the Dertana 
 country 3, where the Moors had taken refuge in a large 
 
 ' Chron. 86-92. The number of 
 the slain, according to Desclot {Hist. 
 Cat. i. 14), was 50,000; Almakhzumi 
 gives 24,000 (Campaner y Fuertes, 
 Dom. J si. p. 186). 
 
 After his capture, the Arab king 
 disappears. According to Almakh- 
 zumi he was tortured to death, dying 
 forty-five days afterwards — a statement 
 which Seiior Campaner y Fuertes (ib.) 
 sees no reason to disbelieve. And 
 Miedes mentions a similar story : 
 
 ' creditum est ilium in urbe in vinculis 
 fuisse relictum ibique situ et squalore 
 atque moerore confectum interiisse.' 
 Vit.Jac. 7. 
 
 ^ Perhaps for Shoaib or Xuaib. 
 Gayangos, ii. App. D. 
 
 ^ Probably what is now called the 
 Artana country. The caves alluded to 
 were perhaps the immense 'Cueva 
 del Drac,' not far from Manacor, and 
 the great cave of Arta. 
 
THE CONQUEST OF MALLORCA. 
 
 49 
 
 cave, which for some time was besieged in vain, till the 
 Master of the Hospital hit on the device of letting down 
 over the face of the rock a man with some lighted wood in 
 a pan, with which he set fire to the huts ^. 
 
 The Moors now agreed to surrender as 'prisoners,' i.e. 
 slaves, if not rescued in eight days ; and during that time 
 another cave, containing 500 of the enemy, was captured. 
 The large cavern surrendered on Palm Sunday : it con- 
 tained 2,000 Moors, with 10,000 oxen and 30,000 sheep. 
 James returned to the capital, 'joyful and content.' 
 
 Soon afterwards reinforcements arrived, in the shape of 
 Lizana and thirty knights — a welcome addition to the 
 king's diminished army. James was now very anxious to 
 return home, and, leaving Berenguer de Santa Eugenia as 
 governor of the island, he set sail on the day of SS. Simon 
 and Jude (October 28, 1230), and soon afterwards arrived 
 safely at Tarragona, where he met with a splendid reception. 
 He had been absent over a year ^. 
 
 1230. 
 
 ' Chron. 93-102 : cf. Tourtoullon, 
 ib. i. p. 261. 
 
 ^ Chron. 102-106. He was at 
 Tarragona by Oct. 31 {^Parchments, 
 
 411), and kept the Octave of All 
 Saints at Poblet Monastery. Finestres 
 y Monsalvo, Historia de Poblet, ii. 
 p. 251. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Sancho of Navarre. 
 
 123 1. 
 
 Death of 
 Alfonso 
 of Leon 
 (1230). 
 
 Treaty of 
 
 Adoption 
 
 with 
 
 Sancho of 
 
 Navarre 
 
 (Feb. 2, 
 
 1231). 
 
 On his return to Catalonia, James had received the news of 
 the death of Alfonso IX, King of Leon. Alfonso had wished 
 to exclude his son, Ferdinand of Castile, from the throne, 
 and with this end in view had concerted a marriage between 
 the young King of Aragon and one of his daughters, Sancha 
 and Dulce. It was for a kingdom, therefore, that Leonor 
 had been sacrificed ; but the death of Alfonso, before the 
 marriage could be effected, left Ferdinand undisputed heir. 
 The news was a rude shock to James' ambition, and he 
 consoled himself with a characteristic medley of religious 
 and mundane considerations : ' when I heard the news, it 
 grieved me much ; but nevertheless I comforted myself, 
 for the conquest of Mallorca was of more esteem with me 
 than the gain of the kingdom of Leon would have been ; 
 and, as it was not the will of God, I did not concern myself 
 with what He did not will ^.' 
 
 Early in the following year, however, another tempting 
 bait was dangled before James' eyes. Sancho, 'the best 
 king there ever was in Navarre ' — the sixth of his name, 
 and one of the victors in the great battle of Tolosa, but 
 now an old man, bed-ridden with gout and corpulence — 
 seems to have been harassed by a sei'ies of inroads into his 
 kingdom on the part of Diego Lopez de Haro, Lord of 
 
 ' It is significant that, as already 
 noticed, Alfonso, a son of the King of 
 Leon, was present at the betrothal of 
 
 Aurembiax and Pedro of Portugal, in 
 July, 1229. 
 
SANCHO OF NAVARRE. 51 
 
 Vizcaya, with the connivance, as was alleged, of the King 1231. 
 of Castile. Sancho was incapable and unable to help him- """*" 
 self, while the idea of following the example of one of his 
 predecessors, and paying a visit to the Doctors of Cordova, 
 does not seem to have occurred to him ^. In his dilemma, 
 he cast his eye on the promising young King of Aragon, 
 and James received an invitation to the Court of Navarre. 
 He lost no time in obeying the summons, and repaired to 
 Tudela — a pleasant shady town, lying in a valley at the 
 confluence of the Ebro and Queyles — where he was affec- 
 tionately received by Sancho, the size of whose person very 
 much astonished his guest. The King of Navarre soon 
 began business, complaining bitterly of the conduct of his 
 nephew, Theobald, Count of Champagne, whom he accused 
 of plotting to usurp the throne, and ended with the fantastic 
 proposal that he and the King of Aragon should adopt one 
 another. Considering the respective ages of the two parties 
 — the one seventy-eight and the other twenty-three — James 
 was, naturally, not averse to the suggestion. The adoptions, 
 therefore, were drawn up, and James returned to Aragon 
 to collect signatories to the agreement, which was sworn to 
 at Tudela, on April 4, by representatives of the nobility of 
 both kingdoms and by six men of each of the 'good towns ^.' 
 
 ' Chron. 138 ; cf. Tourtoullon, ib. i. TourtoiiUon,ib. i. p. 255), or James has 
 
 p. 253. The statement that Don Lopez misstated the facts. Against the first 
 
 was encouraged by the King of Castile alternative is the public declaration of 
 
 mast be accepted with reserve, as May, 1232, by which not only was 
 
 James' feeling against Ferdinand was, Alfonso recognized as James' successor, 
 
 no doubt, very bitter at this time. but, if he died childless, the succession 
 
 ^ There is a serious difficulty con- was to devolve on Raymond Beranger, 
 
 nected with this story. In Chron. 141 Count of Provence. And not only so, 
 
 the king says that the rights of his but the power of Sancho to make 
 
 son Alfonso were reserved. No such such an arrangement on his own 
 
 reservation, however, appears in the responsibility is very doubtful, for, as 
 
 copy of the treaty kept at Barcelona will be seen later, transactions involv- 
 
 {Parchments, 420), nor can I find it ing a change of dynasty in Navarre 
 
 in the duplicate copy existing in the received, doubtless of necessity, the 
 
 Archives of Navarre at Pamplona. sanction of the Cortes, and the treaty 
 
 {Cajon, ii. 6 ; cf. Zurita, An. iii. 11.) of 1 231 was sworn to by the nobles 
 
 Therefore, either the reservation was and delegates of the towns. The secret 
 
 made the subject of a secret treaty (as treaty, therefore, if it ever existed, was 
 
 E 2 
 
52 JAMES THE FIRST OF A R AGON. 
 
 1231. The harmony of the proceedings was, however, somewhat 
 ~"~ marred by a slight contretemps : at some warlike proposals 
 made by his visitor, for the better defence of Navarre, 
 Sancho, who, apparently, had already begun to repent of 
 his bargain, ' answered me very fiercely and very angrily, and 
 told me to manage my affairs in my own way, and he 
 would manage his in his way ' — a rude reply, and one which 
 much 'grieved' his adopted heir. It was, however, even- 
 tually arranged that James should furnish 1,000 knights 
 at Easter, and a second 1,000 before Michaelmas; and, 
 after taking the opportunity to borrow 100,000 sols from 
 Sancho, for which he pledged four towns, the young king 
 returned to Barcelona ^. 
 Second ex- Here he heard that the King of Tunis was fitting out 
 MaUorca ° ^ ?^QQt for the recovery of Mallorca. He at once hastened 
 to Tari'agona, where he chartered ships and transports, and 
 sailed from Salou with 300 knights, being joined on starting 
 by the Infante Pedro of Portugal, who came with a few 
 knights. An agreement had been made, by which Pedro, 
 as the husband of Aurembiax, resigned his rights over the 
 county of Urgel, in exchange for Mallorca and Minorca, 
 which he was to hold as life fiefs. James had already 
 summoned the Infante by letter several times, and he had 
 ' answered fairly, but had done nothing ^.' At Soller they 
 heard that it was a false alarm, but James continued his 
 
 valueless, for not only was it un- as an understanding. The will of 
 
 constitutional, but it was annulled by Aurembiax, making Pedro heir to 
 
 James' own act. the county, is dated Aug. ii, 1231 : the 
 
 On the other hand, the king's char- Countess herself died Sept. 29, 1231 
 
 acter renders the second alternative (not 1230, asTourtoullon,ib.i.p. 257), 
 
 by no means improbable, especially if and the document making over Urgel 
 
 we suppose the whole story of the to the Crovm was signed on the same 
 
 reservation to have been invented at day. Parchments, 438 ; Monfar y 
 
 a later date, when the relations of Sors, Hisi. Urgel, ch. 56 ; Quadrado, 
 
 father and son had become strained, Bist. Conq. Mall. App. 5 ; Gayangos, 
 
 and when the former may have sought in Forster, i. p. 202. 
 
 to justify his conduct on this occasion. For Pedro's relationship to James, 
 
 ' Chron. 139-149. see the pedigree at the beginning of 
 
 ' As a matter of fact, the agreement chapter i. 
 seems to have existed, at the time, only 
 
SANCBO OF NAVARRE. S3 
 
 voyage and entered the capital, where he was gladly re- 123 1-2. 
 ceived. After giving orders that beacons should be erected ~'*~ 
 along the coast, to be lighted on the appearance of the 
 enemy, he busied himself by attacking the mountaineers. 
 Their chief, Xuaip, however, came to a parley, and it was 
 agreed that those who chose might stay in the island, as 
 free inhabitants, while Xuaip and his relatives were to 
 receive presents and ' inheritances.' Only 2,000 Moors now 
 held out. 
 
 This done, James returned to Catalonia, leaving the Rupture 
 island strongly garrisoned. But he was two months behind s^J,^i,o 
 the date fixed for his appointment with Sancho, and, though (June?). 
 he at once hastened to Tudela, he met with a cold recep- 
 tion, the offer even of an additional 200 knights failing 
 to propitiate the angry king. Accordingly, after waiting 
 a day in vain for an answer, James returned to Aragon. 
 In August he paid his first visit to Montpellier, where 
 he confirmed the privileges of the townsmen ^. 
 
 On May 6 of the following year the king again legiti- James' 
 mized his son Alfonso, making him heir, this time, to all *' ' 
 his dominions, the succession — in the event of Alfonso's 
 death before the age of fourteen, without lawful issue- 
 devolving on James' cousin, Raymond Beranger, Count of 
 Provence — a noteworthy provision, as already foreshadow- 
 ing the king's project of uniting the south under a single 
 sceptre ^. 
 
 Meanwhile the war in Mallorca had lasted all the winter 
 and spring till May, though the Moors were reduced to 
 ' graze on the grass on the mountains, like cattle.' They 
 now offered to surrender to the king, if he came in person, 
 and accordingly James lost no time in repairing to the 
 island. One of his first acts was to effect the submission 
 
 ' Chron. 108-114 and 149-153; after his minority ('post pupilarem 
 
 Germain, Hist. Montp. ii. p. 17; aetatem'), Ferdinand was to succeed 
 
 Aigrefeuille, Hist. Montp. v. 2, § 3. to tlie throne — a clause which was 
 
 James was baclc at Lerida on Sep- hardly likely to be carried into effect, 
 
 tember 29. Parchments, 438. in view of the Infante's advanced 
 
 ^ lb. 452. If Alfonso died childless age. 
 
54 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1232. of Minorca, by means of an ingenious stratagem. Having 
 " sent some envoys across, with a few knights and camp- 
 of Minorca, followers, he pitched a camp on Cape Pera, and lighted 
 up the bushes — a manoeuvre which quickened the sur- 
 render of the Minorcans, who thought that the king was 
 opposite with a large army. Under the conditions of the 
 treaty, the Moors were to pay a yearly tribute of 3,000 
 quarters of wheat, 100 cows, 500 sheep or goats, and 200 
 cwt. of butter, while Ciutadela and all the forts in the island 
 were to be held by the King of Aragon ^. 
 
 The Moors who had offered to surrender in Mallorca 
 James ' took as slaves,' and distributed them on various 
 estates in the island. Having spent June in Mallorca ^ he 
 returned home, leaving the island completely pacified, and 
 all traces of disaffection stamped out. 
 
 ^ Chron. 1 14-124. {Parch. 489), and was back at Huesca 
 
 ^ James was at Mallorca on July 7 on August 10 (ib. 466). 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 The Invasion of Valencia. 
 
 James was now at liberty to turn his mind to fresh 1232. 
 enterprises. The conquest of Mallorca had been effected in ~*^ 
 deference to Catalan ambition, and in defiance of the wishes valendan 
 of the Aragonese, who had urged the invasion of Valencia, enterprise. 
 It was, therefore, only to be expected that, on the final 
 reduction of Mallorca, James should turn his attention to 
 his southern neighbour. In fact it would have been sur- 
 prising if he had not done so. Though one of the smallest 
 provinces of Spain, in beauty and fertility Valencia yields 
 the palm only to Andalucia. A garden in itself, the 
 activity of the Moors had brought it to the highest state 
 of cultivation. Its produce was immense, and this result 
 was due especially to the hyflraulic ingenuity of the Moors 
 and their system of irrigating the land, which abounded in 
 flax, rice, wine, oil, and all kinds of fruit \ Besides the 
 expulsion of Zeid, the Christian king was furnished with 
 another pretext for a declaration of war. During the 
 campaign in Mallorca, Zian, who had supplanted Zeid on 
 the throne, had made a raid as far as Tortosa and Amposta, 
 besides attacking Ulldecona ; and, not content with this, 
 
 1 Early in the eleventh century the On the downfall of the Almoravids, 
 
 Governor of Valencia had revolted Valencia fell into the hands of the 
 
 from the Omeyyads of Cordova and Almohades, and, on their expulsion, 
 
 established an independent dynasty. Zeid must have risen up as an inde- 
 
 In 1094 the town surrendered to the pendent king. Gayangos, in Forster, 
 
 Cid, but in hot was recovered by vol. ii. App. E. 
 a lieutenant of the Almoiavid, Yusuf. 
 
56 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1232-3. when James requested him to keep the peace, and pay the 
 
 " tribute, in addition to 100,000 besants which were owing, 
 
 he refused to give more than 50,000. For the King of 
 
 Aragon this was a sufficient pretext for war, ' since he had 
 
 preferred 50,000 besants to my love ^.' 
 
 Hostilities broke out sooner, probably, than James had 
 expected. While at Exea, engaged in boar-hunting with 
 Azagra, he heard that the men of Teruel had taken Ares. 
 He at once rode to Alfambra, supped, and went on after 
 midnight, at dawn reaching the plain of Montagut. A little 
 beyond Vilaroja he heard that Blasco de Alagon had taken 
 Morella. The king had rashly promised him all the places 
 he could secure, and the news that so valuable a capture 
 had fallen to one of his nobles caused him extreme annoy- 
 ance. He at once resolved to set out for Morella, and 
 arrived there at nightfall, encamping on a hill near the 
 town. It was past Michaelmas, the weather was snowy, 
 and the mules could not bring the supplies up the hill, .so 
 that James had no food from the night of his supper at 
 Alfambra till ' vespers on the third day.' At sunrise Blasco 
 appeared, but was stopped and brought before the king, 
 who insisted on his surrendering the town, though he was 
 permitted to hold it in fee of the Crown, and was promised 
 a reward. After spending a day at Morella, the king 
 visited Ares and Teruel, at the latter of which places Zeid 
 did homage ^. In December a Bull of Gregory IX, making 
 the war a Crusade, was published at Monzon ; and on the 
 17th, at a Cortes held there, the Catalans granted 'bovage,' 
 and the Aragonese another tax ^. 
 Siege of Early in the following year a summons was issued to the 
 
 fMaTto nooles to meet the king at Teruel in the beginning of May, 
 July,i233). and about the same time (January 30) Zeid made over to 
 his champion all his claims on his former kingdom *. 
 
 ' Chron. 275. ' Zurita, An. iii. 15 ; Memorial 
 
 ' Chron. 130-137. Morella was His/orico Espanol, \. -p. "^i^. 
 
 afterwards (May 11, 1235) made over * Pmxhments, 480. 
 
 to Blasco for life. Parchments, 643, 
 
THE INVASION OF VALENCIA. 57 
 
 When May came, there met the king only the Bishop of 1233. 
 Zaragoza and Azagra, so that in all the invading army ""'*" 
 mustered only lao knights. With these James ravaged 
 the country of Exerica and Torres-Torres, and, after de- 
 stroying the crops, joined the Masters of the Temple and 
 Hospital and the Commanders of Alcafiiz and Montalvon 
 in the Segon valley, and laid siege to Burriana, battering it 
 with a 'fonevol' and a ' manganel.' The town lies on the 
 outskirts of a vast orange grove, and is by no means hard 
 of access, and the garrison consisted of only 100 foot 
 and seven horse, while James now had with him the Infante 
 Ferdinand, the Bishops of Zaragoza, Lerida, Tortosa, and 
 Segorbe, the Masters of the Temple and Hospital, Blasco 
 de Alagon, G. Cervera, G. Cardona, Lizana, Azagra, Eximen 
 Urrea, Cornel, Berenguer Guillen Entenza^, the Prior of 
 Santa Christina, the Commanders of Alcaiiiz and Montal- 
 von, and the men of Daroca, Teruel, Calatayud, Lerida, 
 and Tortosa. Yet for two months the town and its little 
 garrison baffled all the efforts of the besiegers. The siege 
 is interesting from several points of view. One of the first 
 steps of the besiegers was to bring up a tower of two 
 stories : it was dragged along on sleepers, which were 
 fastened into the ground by anchors. The men who drew 
 it were, however, received with such showers of stones that 
 they were forced to retire, and during the night the tower 
 was struck by the ' algarradas ' of the enemy more than 
 a hundred times, so that next day it had to be removed. 
 The resistance of the besieged, indeed, was such that the 
 nobles of Aragon came to James and told him that owing 
 to want of supplies they would have to leave him, hinting 
 also that Zeid would pay him handsomely to withdraw. The 
 suggestion was, of course, indignantly rejected, and, as the 
 king had the Catalans on his side, the siege was continued I 
 Among James' most loyal supporters on this occasion 
 
 1 A son of 'William VIII of Mont- 9) puts James' force at 25,000 foot 
 pellier and Agnes. Zurita, ib. and 2,000 horse. 
 
 " Chron.\ii-\10. M\edes {Fit/ac. 
 
58 
 
 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1233- 
 
 Surrender 
 of Penis- 
 cola and 
 other 
 towns. 
 
 were Perez de Tarazona, his brother Pedro Perez, justiciar 
 of Aragon, and Entenza. It happened once that the latter 
 was wounded by the Moors in a sortie : ' I myself,' says 
 James, ' took lint, dipped it in water, and put it to the 
 wound ; I then bound it up with a piece of the shirt of an 
 esquire who was there.' It was by such acts as these that 
 he endeared himself to his men. 
 
 At last, when the mines had got so far as to open into 
 the moat, a general assault was made and was repulsed. 
 But a few days later the Moors opened negotiations, and 
 it was agreed that they should leave the town with what 
 they could carry and be escorted to Nules ^. 
 
 Burriana contained 7,000 inhabitants, and the siege had 
 lasted till the middle of July. It was decided that the 
 town should be held by Blasco de Alagon and Eximen 
 Urrea till the middle of September, and from then till the 
 following summer by Pedro Cornel with 100 knights. 
 
 The king then returned to Tortosa, where Cervera and 
 the Bishop of L^rida made a vain attempt to induce him 
 to abandon his new acquisition. From Tortosa he went to 
 Teruel, where he heard from Urrea that Peniscola was 
 willing to surrender. He set out the same morning with 
 a few knights, and next evening reached the town, which 
 opened its gates without striking a blow. This was indeed 
 a compensation for the reverse suffered under the same 
 walls eight years previously. The inhabitants were allowed 
 religious liberty, with the enjoyment of their customs and 
 privileges ^. The example of Peiniscola was followed by 
 Chivert, Cervera, and Polpis ; and the king also captured 
 Castellon de Burriana, Borriol, the Caves of Avinroma, 
 Alcalaten, and Villa Hamez. From the middle of August 
 till Christmas he seems to have made Burriana his head- 
 quarters, waiting for the arrival of Cornel ^. 
 
 tionem Burriane fecistis et cotidie 
 facitis . . . datum in Burriana.' Parch- 
 ments, 494. 
 
 2 Chron. 170-184. 
 grata servicia . . . quae in adquisi- ' Chron. 182-190. 
 
 ^ Burriana was, apparently, in 
 James' hands by July 22, when we 
 have a donation, to the Temple, of 
 Xuverth Castle, ' attendentes multa et 
 
THE INVASION OF VALENCIA. 59 
 
 On February 20 of the following year, through the 1234. 
 medium of Gregory IX, James was betrothed to Yolande — -*^— 
 known to Spaniards as Violante — daughter of Andrew II of be™othed 
 Hungary, and granddaughter of Peter Courtenay, Emperor 0°^^''"^*^ 
 of Constantinople. Her dowry was to consist of 10,000 (Feb. to). 
 silver marks, and her rights in France and Namur ; but her 
 territorial claims were certainly never made good ^. 
 
 The rest of the year was taken up by difficulties with the 
 king's Christian neighbours, which seem to have prevented 
 him from prosecuting the war with the Moors of Valencia. 
 On April 7, had died James' former ally, Sancho of Navarre. 
 He was succeeded by his nephew, Theobald, Count of Difficulties 
 Champagne, but not without opposition from the King of j^j^gg ^f 
 Aragon, though it is improbable that an actual outbreak Navarre, 
 of hostilities took place. Eventually, the pope intervened, and 
 and on October 13 a peace for four years was concluded^. Castile. 
 In May a misunderstanding with France seems to have 
 taken the king to Montpellier ^. The exact nature of the 
 points at issue is unknown. They were, in any case, con- 
 nected with James' claims on Carcassonne and the neigh- 
 bourhood ; but here also the pope interfered and directed 
 
 ' Zurita, An. iii. 19 ; Gibbon, 61 ; Parchments , 513, 635. 
 
 Baldwin VIII Louis VI of France. 
 
 (Count of Flanders). | 
 
 I Peter = Elizabeth Courtenay. 
 
 I i ^1 I 
 
 Baldwin IX Henry Yolande = Peter Courtenay 
 
 (First Latin (Emperor, 
 Emperor of I206-l6). 
 Constantinople, 
 1204-6). 
 
 (Count of Auxerre, 
 Emperor, 1217-19). 
 
 I I 
 
 Yolande = Andrew II of Hungary. Robert Baldwin 
 
 I (Emperor, (Emperor, 
 
 Yolande = James I 1221-8). 1237-61)- 
 
 of Aragon. 
 
 ■' Parch. 612 ; Zurita, ib. 53; Pott- hoc maiora emergere gnerrarum peri- 
 hast AVp-.95iS-a letter of August 28, cula formidentur.' The peace was 
 from Gregory IX requesting certain renewed in 1243. /««^'-9^3- 
 clergy to mediate between the two ^ Ganel, Ser. Praes. Ma?. Ep. 1; 
 kings, 'cum super regno Navarrae AigrefeuiUe, lb. y. 2, § 4. 
 discordiae materia sit exorta, et ex 
 
6o JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1235. the Count of Provence to act as peacemaker — with, ap- 
 " parently, satisfactory results ^ With Castile^ too, James' 
 relations can hardly have been cordial since his engage- 
 ment to Violante had become known. Accordingly, on 
 September 17, an interview took place between the two 
 kings at the monastery of Huerta. on the frontier, at which 
 James made over Hariza to Leonor for her life, and under- 
 took not to demand Alfonso from his mother till he was 
 of full age ^. The previous year had witnessed few, if any, 
 operations against the Moors, the invaders, apparently, 
 contenting themselves with consolidating their newly 
 acquired possessions. But James was anxious to resume 
 hostilities, and accordingly, at a Cortes held at Tarragona 
 on March 17, the proclamation of the peace of 1228 was 
 repeated ^ ; and on May 5, arbitrators were appointed to 
 settle a difference which had arisen between the king and 
 Nuno Sanchez, the latter of whom had set up a claim to 
 certain rights over Provence, Conflant, Cerdagne, Nar- 
 bonne, Millau, and Trencavel *. Peace being thus ensured 
 at home, James left for Burriana, and in June, with Ferdi- 
 nand, the Bishop of Lerida, the Masters of the Temple and 
 Hospital, and other nobles — he advanced to beleaguer 
 CuUera, arriving before the town on the Vigil of S. John 
 the Baptist (June 23). Owing, however, to lack of stones 
 for the engines, and the opposition of Ferdinand and the 
 nobleSj he was forced to raise the siege in a few days, and 
 turned his efforts against the strong castle of Moncada and 
 the town of Museros, both of which soon surrendered ^. 
 Marriage This done, James returned to Catalonia, where other 
 Violante business required his presence. This was his marriage with 
 (Sept. 8). Violante, which was celebrated on September 8. The bride 
 
 ' Raynaldus, Ann. Eccl. 1234. price of corn. Bofarull, Doc. Ined. vi. 
 
 " Zurita, ib. 19 ; Marca, ib. 1428. 
 
 ' Other measures passed at this * James eventually consented to 
 
 Cortes included a confirmation of pay NuKo a sum of money. Parch- 
 
 clerical privileges, the enactment of tnents, 641 ; Zurita, ib. 
 
 certain sumptuary laws, and regula- ^ Chron. 192-195. 
 tions as to the rate of interest and the 
 
THE INVASION OF VALENCIA. 6 1 
 
 was only twenty-one years old and her beauty seems to 1235-6. 
 have captivated her husband — for the time^. The rest ~**~ 
 of the year was taken up by a dispute with Pons Cabrera, 
 who had revived his claims for the possession of the county 
 of Urgel. Peace was eventually concluded on January 21, 
 1336, when James ceded the county — with the exception 
 of Lerida — to his rival ^. 
 
 ' Zurita, An. iii. 20 ; Desclot, Hist, with the help of the Infante of Portu- 
 
 Cai. i. 13. James' donation to his gal, Niulo, and Berenguer de Santa 
 
 Queen consisted of Montpellier, Con- Eugenia, took possession of Iviza and 
 
 fiant, Cerdagne, Valespir, and Colibre. Formentaria, the latter of which was 
 
 Parchments, (>i<j,(i(i\. uninhabited. C/2ro«. 125, 126. 
 
 • In August of 1235 the sacristan of ^ Parch. 624 ; Monfar y Sors, Hist, 
 
 Gerona — who was primate elect — f/r^. Ivii. pp. 519-523. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The Fall of Valencia. 
 
 1236. The year 1235 may be said to close the first period of 
 
 ~**~ the Valencian war. So far, James had established his hold 
 
 on most of the country up to the Mijares, Burriana being 
 
 his chief outpost. It remained for him to cross the river, 
 
 and to establish himself within a few miles of the capital 
 
 Fortifica- itsclf. He was not long in finding a suitable spot. Puig 
 
 (June- "^ ^^ Cebolla, ' onion hill ' — called by the Moors Enesa — 
 
 ^ept.)- is situated about twelve miles from Valencia, and within 
 
 two from the sea ^. The Moors had foreseen the fearful 
 
 havoc that must be caused by a hostile settlement in the 
 
 midst of such a country, and had taken the precaution to 
 
 dismantle the castle which crowned this height ; but James 
 
 was not to be baffled, and had made up his mind that the 
 
 place should yet become the Decelea of Valencia. 
 
 Early in June, therefore — after extorting from the help- 
 less Zeid a confirmation of the treaty of 1229 ^ — he advanced 
 once more from Teruel for the Puig, with a force of 2,000 
 foot, 100 light, and thirty armoured, horse. The rebuilding 
 of the fort took two months ; and in September, after 
 leaving the position in charge of Entenza, with a hundred 
 knights, the king returned home ^. 
 Cortes at In October a well-attended General Cortes was held at 
 ( OctO°° Monzon, where — in return for a confirmation of the money 
 
 ' In reality Puig consists of three ^ Parch. 678. 
 
 low liills, all of which were probably ^ Chron. 206-216. 
 
 fortified by the invaders. 
 
THE FALL OF VALENCIA, 63 
 
 of Jaca — a house tax, called Menage, was voted by the 1236-7. 
 Aragonese, the king also directing that execution should -**- 
 be stayed against debtors who had taken the Cross, till ' 
 after their return from the war ^. December James spent 
 at Montpellier, where the conqueror of Mallorca did homage 
 for the town to the Bishop of Maguelonne ^. 
 
 Meanwhile it became evident that the Moors of Valencia Battle of 
 were not disposed to see the labour of years undone with- ^-P'^^ 
 out a struggle. In the following summer Zian collected an 1237)- 
 army of 40,000 foot and 600 horse, and marched on the 
 Puig. The garrison, however, had been warned of his 
 approach, and it was decided that Entenza should go to 
 meet the enemy with fifty knights and 1,000 foot, while 
 Aguilon was to stay by the castle and fall on the enemy in 
 the thick of the fray. The plan was acted on, and when, 
 after a desperate struggle, Entenza was forced to give way, 
 Aguilon charged down the hill, taking the enemy in front 
 and rear. Though their light horse soon took to flight, the 
 Moorish infantry fought bravely ; but a panic seized their 
 rear, and, on a fresh charge from the Christians, the rout 
 became general. The enemy were pursued to within half 
 a league of Valencia, and great numbers were slain, with 
 small loss to the victors ^. 
 
 The king heard the news at Huesca, where he had ' Te 
 Deum ' sung, and at once proceeded to the Puig, with 
 100 horse and his own retainers. He found that the 
 
 ' Zurita, An. iii. 26. militiae celestis." Historia Pinna- 
 
 2 Hist. Gen. Lang. vi. 25, § 10 and tensis, p. 157). According to Beuter 
 
 viii. p. 993 ; Gariel, ib. i. p. 347. The it was Aguilon who went to meet the 
 
 feudal claims of the Bishops of enemy ; and Desclot says that 10,000 
 
 Maguelonne over Montpellier dated Moors fell without a wound, 
 from the end of the tenth century. The date is approximately fixed by 
 
 Germain, ib. i. p. x. Eiago (ib. 17, 18), who cites a royal 
 
 ' Marsilio, iii. 25; Desclot, ib. i. grant made at Puig on July i. M. 
 
 14; Beuter, Cor. Esp. ii. 32; Zurita, TourtouUon (ib. i. p. 301) follows 
 
 An. iii. 2 7 ; Chron. 217,218; Miedes, Zurita in adopting August as the month 
 
 ib 10; Diago, An. Val.m. I7- The of the battle; but it is much more 
 
 accounts of the battle are meagre, and likely that the Moors would attack 
 
 S. George, as usual, plays a promi- early, in order to save their crops, 
 nent part ('cum magno exercitu 
 
64 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1237-8. garrison had lost eighty-six horses in the engagement, 
 — +*- and, after repairing this and other losses, he returned to 
 * Catalonia. 
 
 But he was recalled to Valencia sooner than he had ex- 
 pected. Towards the end of the year (December), while at 
 Zaragoza, he received news of the death of the gallant com- 
 mandant of Puig — Entenza — tidings which so affected him 
 that for some time he was unable to speak. To add to his 
 annoyance, the nobles, headed by Ferdinand, seized the 
 opportunity to urge him to abandon his new outpost, 
 alleging the expense of maintaining the garrison ; but 
 their proposals were rejected with scorn, and James lost 
 no time in setting out for Puig. Here he knighted 
 James' oath Entenza's son, a boy of ten or eleven, and was making 
 (Tan'if ^81 arrangements to provision the place till Easter, when he 
 received a warning from one of the chaplains that more 
 than sixty knights had threatened to desert, in the event 
 of his departure. James' vexation was extreme. Though 
 it was only January, during the night he 'turned more than 
 a hundred times from one side of the bed to the other, and 
 sweated as if in a hot bath.' But in that restless night his 
 resolve was taken, and next day, calling the knights together 
 in the chapel, he swore not to return to Catalonia or Aragon 
 till Valencia was his. He added that he should send for 
 the queen and his daughter ; and the former was at once 
 brought to Burriana, after making a vain attempt to induce 
 her husband to desist from his undertaking ^. Alarmed 
 at these signs of determination, Zian now sent an envoy 
 with a proposal to surrender all the castles from the 
 Guadalviar to Tortosa, and from Tortosa to Teruel; to 
 build the King of Aragon a palace in the citadel of 
 Valencia ; and to pay a yearly tribute of 10,000 besants. 
 To this magnificent offer James coolly replied that he in- 
 tended ' to have both the hen and the chickens.' Lent was 
 marked by the surrender of Almenara, Uxo, Nules, Castro, 
 
 ' Chi-on. 217-240. 
 
THE FALL OF VALENCIA. 6e, 
 
 and Alfandech. In most of these cases the king declined 1238. 
 to treat with the envoys till they were ' well warmed with -*^ 
 meat and wine,' and the terms usually included grants of 
 cattle, land, and clothes, to the chief men, and the con- 
 cession of their customs and religious freedom to the 
 citizens generally. James kept Easter with the queen at 
 Almenara, from whence he brought her to Puig. After 
 Easter came the surrender of Paterna, Betera, and Bulla. 
 
 James was now master of most of the country up to James 
 the Guadalviar, and there seemed to be no reason why Vakncia 
 he should not advance on the capital without further delay. (April). 
 The town lies in the plain, on the bed of the almost 
 exhausted Guadalviar, and at a distance of about three 
 miles from the sea. The Christian forces consisted, as 
 yet, of only about 200 knights, 150 Almogavars or light 
 cavalry, and 1,000 foot; and with this small army James 
 pitched his camp between the Grau, or port, and the city, 
 and waited for reinforcements. Next day, however, the 
 Almogavars and camp-followers occupied the Ruzafa, 
 or suburb, and the king was obliged to advance to their 
 support, Zian being posted at a tower half-way between the 
 city and Ruzafa, with about 10,000 men. The two armies 
 remained opposite one another all day, till evening, when 
 the Moors retired into Valencia, and did not re-appear out- 
 side the walls for several days ^. Meanwhile reinforcements 
 streamed in from all parts, among them Pierre Amyell, 
 Archbishop of Narbonne, with forty knights and 600 foot, 
 and — so it is said — English troops sent by Henry III". 
 At first, different opinions prevailed as to the plan of 
 
 ' C/^TOH. 240-259. The date of the pp. 179, 221. Cf. Jaume Febrer, 
 
 king's arrival before Valencia is ap- Prolech to the Trobes ; — 
 
 proximately fixed by a donation of ' Ab esta noticia de totes nacions 
 
 April 26, given before the walls. acudiren tants Richs-Homs de sa 
 
 Diago, ib. vii. 22. alcunya, 
 
 ^ In the Libra del Repartimiento there nobles, mesnaders, antichs Infanzons, 
 
 appear the names of a ' Sir Nichola, homens de remensa e contribucions 
 
 ingeniarius domini Regis,' and a ' J. de de Arago e Navarra e de Catha- 
 
 Lasceyles.' Bofarull, Doc. Ined. xi. lunya, 
 
66 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1238. attack to be followed. The archbishop wished the king 
 "**" to batter the Boatella gate, but this James declined to do, 
 for three reasons: (i) the enemy would not be able to 
 prevent the sappers from attacking the towers, if the 
 besiegers began at the spot already chosen, because the 
 wall there projected beyond the rest of the city wall ; 
 (a) if they attacked the Boatella, the Moors would sally 
 out, burn the engines, and speedily retreat through the 
 gate ; (3) the citizens would be able to cut the besiegers 
 off from the sea, if they shifted to the Boatella. These 
 reasons illustrate clearly enough the king's military skill ; 
 but the archbishop, ' who was a bold man ^,' was irritated 
 by this opposition to his wishes, and asked James why he 
 was there to do nothing ; to which the king replied that 
 he intended to wait till the rest of the army came up^. 
 A 'trebuchet' and two 'fonevols' now arrived and battered 
 the wall. They were protected by mantlets, pushed up to 
 some walls near the moat, which was full of water. Into 
 this wood was thrown, and three mail-clad sappers were 
 sent over, each making a hole in the wall that would 
 let in two men. While the besiegers were thus at work 
 there arrived off the Grau twelve galleys and six smaller 
 vessels from Tunis. On hearing this, the king set a force 
 of horse and foot in ambush a little distance from the 
 sea ; but, after waiting for two days without landing, the 
 Africans sailed away, and, when their attempt on Peiliscola 
 had failed, took to flight and were not seen again. The 
 besieging army had now increased to 1,000 knights and 
 60,000 foot, and so numerous were the merchants and 
 tradespeople in the camp, that there was nothing which 
 could not be bought as easily as in a town. The unruli- 
 
 Milords de Bretanya e de Ingala- The genuineness of this passage is 
 
 terra, of course impossible. 
 
 Gentils homs de Italia e Monsieurs ' In 1 243 he presided at a great 
 
 de Francia, holocaust of 200 heretics at Montsegur. 
 
 que es varen trobar pera aquesta Aigrefeuille, ib. v. 2, § 8. 
 
 guerra: ^ Chron. 259-262; Zurita, ib. 30. 
 
 seixantemil homens de diferent terra.' 
 
THE FALL OF VALENCIA. 67 
 
 ness of the Archbishop of Narbonne was, however, destined 1238. 
 still to bring the king trouble. On one occasion his ~**~ 
 men were drawn by the Moors towards the city walls, 
 and refused to obey the king's orders to retire. James 
 rode up, therefore, to bring them back himself, and, in so 
 doing, was hit by an arrow on the forehead. In anger 
 he struck it with his hand, and broke it, so that the blood 
 streamed over his face. Wiping it off with his mantle, he 
 returned laughing, so as to reassure the army ; but he was 
 badly wounded, and had to remain in his tent for several 
 days, during which his face was so swollen that he could 
 not see on the wounded side ^. 
 
 The next incident was not creditable to the king. Urrea 
 and Cornel had attacked a tower near the Boatella gate, 
 on their own account, and were repulsed. After reproving 
 them for their rashness, James consented to a general 
 attack on the tower, which was held by only ten men who 
 were quite pent inside by showers of missiles. On their 
 declining to surrender, the tower was set on fire ; and, 
 though its defenders now offered to yield, the king refused 
 to give quarter, and — in his own words — ' burned them all 
 alive there.' 
 
 In June there arrived an embassy from the pope, as well Italian 
 as from Milan, Bologna, Faenza, and Piacenza, begging for (j^jj^t'' 
 help from the conqueror of Mallorca against the emperor. 
 It was probably rather to gratify his own ambition, than 
 out of any real devotion to the Church, that, after consult- 
 ing the queen and his council, James undertook to go with 
 2,000 knights, for whose service he was to be handsomely 
 paid. The expedition, however, never took place ^. 
 
 About a fortnight before Michaelmas, the Moorish king 
 — fearing, no doubt, a repetition of the massacre of 
 
 ' The king carried the scar of his size, but also by the mark of an arrow 
 
 wound to his grave ; for when, in wound on the forehead. Ticknor, 
 
 1843, his body was removed from Spanish Literature, i. p. 288. 
 
 Poblet to Tarragona, it was easily ^ Chron. 262-270 ; Zurita, An. 
 
 distinguished, not only by its great iii. 32. 
 
 F a 
 
68 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1238. Mallorca — opened negotiations ; and, on the queen's advice, 
 
 Sarrend r J^^^^^ resolved to listen to his overtures, without, however, 
 
 of Valencia consulting the barons^. The envoy was Zian's nephew, 
 
 i^P • 2 J. Abulhamalec, and none were admitted to his interview 
 
 with the king but the queen and an interpreter. After 
 
 some discussion, James ended abruptly by saying that 
 
 he would not leave Valencia till the place was in his 
 
 hands, and that he did not wish the people to be killed. 
 
 At this plain statement, Abulhamalec returned to his 
 
 uncle, and on the third day re-appeared with an offer to 
 
 surrender, on condition that the inhabitants should be 
 
 allowed to take away their effects, and should be escorted 
 
 to Cullera — terms which, again on the queen's advice, 
 
 James accepted. 
 
 It now only remained for him to break the news to the 
 bishops and barons, who, on hearing it, ' lost colour, as if 
 some one had stabbed them to the heart,' and all murmured, 
 with the exception of some of the prelates. However, as it 
 was done, there was no help for it. On the following day 
 the royal standard was hoisted on one of the city towers : 
 on seeing it, James turned to the east, wept, and kissed the 
 ground. The treaty was signed on the Vigil of S. Michael 
 (September 28) : its terms included permission, for those 
 who liked, to stay ; for such as preferred to leave, liberty 
 to carry off their arms and moveable property, with 
 security for twenty days ; and a seven years' peace with 
 Zian, who was to keep Denia and Cullera, while all other 
 castles and towns north of the Xucar were to be surrendered 
 to the King of Aragon. On the day appointed 5o,coo 
 Moors were escorted out, and James kept his word so faith- 
 
 ' The queen's reasons for advising to which they did many things they 
 
 the king not to take the barons into should not do ; wherefore she well 
 
 his counsel illustrate well the jealous believed that since in small things 
 
 relations existing between James and they acted so, they would, with re- 
 
 his nobility : ' she had seen me take gard to Valencia, show their power 
 
 possession of other places and castles in such wise that I should not take 
 
 which my barons would rather see as it.' Chron. 271. 
 they were than in my power, and as 
 
THE FALL OF VALENCIA. 69 
 
 fully as to put to death some of his soldiers for violence to 1238. 
 the exiles ^. The entry of the Crusaders was made on —"'^ 
 October 9 ^. 
 
 The division of the land proved an arduous task, especially Division 
 as James found that he had already given away in grants q" thg^™*^^ 
 more than there was to divide. He determined, therefore, newly won 
 to make a redistribution, and a wrangle ensued with the ^ 
 nobles, who insisted on appointing the commissioners for 
 the division themselves. The task, however, proved too 
 much for them, and James' nominees — Assalit de Gudar, 
 and Eximen Perez de Tarazona, both 'learned in law' — 
 were re-appointed. Their final arrangement was that the 
 'yoke' of land should be depreciated from twelve to six 
 ' cafizadas,' each man being rewarded according to his 
 contribution to the expedition. The protection of the 
 town was entrusted to 380 knights, who received fiefs, 
 and were to keep guard in relays of 100 for every four 
 months. The greater number of the new settlers came 
 from Catalonia and L^rida, and the king endowed a 
 cathedral, the first bishop being Ferrar S. Martin, Provost 
 of Tarragona '. 
 
 Thus, at the age of thirty, James had established his Retrospect, 
 sovereignty over all his infidel neighbours. So far he had 
 not entered into intimate political relations with any 
 Christian powers ; but the prestige he had acquired by his 
 
 ' Chron. 271-3S3; Mem. Hist. iii- 33) ; but James nowhere says that 
 
 Esp. V. p. 166; TourtouUon, ib. i. the city was 'entered' on that day, 
 
 p. 37g. but only ' taken.' Villarroya {Cartas, 
 
 ' 'DieSabbati.viildusOctobris, in- p. 81 seq.) thinks that the 'material' 
 
 travimus civitatem Valentie ' (Register entry took place Sept. 28, and the 
 
 of allotments in Valencia, in Bofarull, ' formal ' entry Oct. 9, his theory being 
 
 Doc. Ined. ii. p. 222) ; 'en lo any de to some extent borne out by the case 
 
 nostre Senyor M.CC.XXXVin non dies of Murcia, where the mosques were 
 
 de Octubre pres lo Senyor en Jaume purified before the solemn entry was 
 
 ... la ciutat de Valencia ' {Fori made. Chron. 450. 
 Regni Valentiae, p. i). So too Tour- =' Chron. 285-294 ; Zurita, An. iii. 
 
 touUon, ib. i. p. 312, and Gayangos, ii. 34; Diago, ^«. Val. vii. 33, 34. A 
 
 App. E. The usual date assigned for 'cafizada' was the extent of ground 
 
 the entry is the same as that of the requiring a ' cafiz' of corn (12 bushels) 
 
 treaty, i. e. Sept. 28 (as in Zurita, An. as seed. Gayangos, i. p. 321, n. i. 
 
^0 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1238. conquests could not fail to bring him now into some sort 
 ~*^~ of connexion with Europe at large. And, as yet, he had 
 had little time to devote his energies to any definite home 
 policy. An attempt to remedy this last omission, as well 
 as to adopt a more definite foreign policy towards his 
 Christian neighbours^ will mark the third period of the 
 reign. 
 
Third Period: 
 THE STRUGGLE WITH FRANCE. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Toulouse and Xativa. 
 
 The settlement of Valencia seems to have occupied its 1239. 
 conqueror till the end of May of the following year. He ~**~ 
 then left for Montpellier ^, where — after terminating a dis- James at 
 pute which had arisen between his representative and some Uewfune- 
 of the local magnates — he held a Court, which was well October), 
 attended by the nobility of the neighbourhood, including 
 the Counts of Toulouse and Provence^. Raymond VII of 
 Toulouse had succeeded his unhappy father in 1222. The 
 death of the persecutor of the house, Simon de Montfort, 
 in iai8, had only released it from one enemy to let it fall 
 into the hands of another ; for Amauri, Simon's son, find- 
 ing himself unable to expel Raymond from the county, 
 made over his claims to the French king, Louis VIII, 
 and he, soon after the young Count's accession, resumed 
 hostilities, taking Avignon, Nimes, and Carcassonne, and all 
 the country up to the walls of Toulouse (1326). Resistance 
 was out of the question, and, on April 29, 1239, Raymond 
 found himself obliged to submit to the humiliating Peace 
 of Paris, by which he was stripped of almost all his posses- 
 sions outside the county, which itself, in the event of his 
 
 ' He entered the port of Lattes on June 2. Hist. Gin. Lang. xxv. § 29. 
 2 Chron. 295-305. 
 
72 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1239. death without other issue, was to go to his daughter, Jeanne, 
 " the wife of Alfonso of Poitiers ^. Rendered over-confident, 
 apparently, by his reconciliation with the French Crown, 
 dearly bought though it was, Raymond now sought to 
 compensate himself for his loss of territory by acquisi- 
 tions elsewhere. Besides waging war with the Count of 
 Provence for the possession of Marseilles, he allowed him- 
 self to be invested with Montpellier by James' suzerain, 
 the Bishop of Maguelonne, whose terms with his powerful 
 vassal were very strained at the time (August, 1238)^. 
 Raymond's presence, therefore, at James' Court of 1239 
 would imply that an understanding had been arrived at 
 between Count and king, and it is also probable that the 
 latter attempted to act as peacemaker between Raymond 
 and the Count of Provence — but with little success, for war 
 soon broke out again between the two Counts, who were 
 only reconciled by the mediation of S. Louis in 1241. 
 The Court James held on this occasion is, however, im- 
 portant, as being his first open and definite tentative towards 
 a confederation of the potentates of the south ^. 
 
 James had also another object in view in visiting Mont- 
 pellier — the raising of an aid. In this he was probably 
 successful, and towards the end of October he set sail for 
 Colibre, proceeding thence to Valencia *. On his arrival, 
 the Moors came to him with bitter complaints against 
 Aguilon — one of the heroes of Puig — who, during the king's 
 absence, had harried his new subjects, severely defeating 
 some Moors who came to the rescue. James was much 
 annoyed at this violation of the peace, and Aguilon was 
 
 ' Aigrefeuille, H. M. i. bk. v. depriving the bishop of his right to 
 
 §§ 8-10. assist at the election of the municipal 
 
 ^ Germain, H. M. ch. ix. p. 20; consuls. Hist. GJn. Lang. lixw. ^^ 22, 
 
 Gariel, Ser. Praes. Mag. i. pp. 352, 29. 
 
 355. The bishop complained of an ' lb. xxix. § 74 ; Balaguer, Hist. 
 
 ordinance of Feb. 4, 1238, by which Cai.y Ar. ii. p. 378 ; cf. TourtouUon, 
 
 James forbade the men of Montpellier ib. ii. p. 5. 
 
 to plead in any but the royal courts. ' Ckron. 295, 305 ; cf. Hist. Gen. 
 
 The king now took his revenge by Lang. xxv. § 29. 
 
TOULOUSE AND XATIVA. 73 
 
 forced to restore some of the prisoners and property taken, 1240. 
 though his own estate, being already mortgaged, could not ~*^~ 
 be seized. 
 
 Most of the spring and summer of 1240 James seems to Surrender 
 have spent in Valencia. In August came the surrender of "^^gu^'^t^^ 
 Bairen — quickened, no doubt, by the promise of ' fine Villena, 
 woollen red cloth to dress fifty men, besides one dress for Castillon. 
 himself (the governor) of scarlet cloth, and green ones for 
 his nephews.' In the same month the Infante Ferdinand, 
 accompanied by the knights of Calatrava, laid siege to 
 Villena, but was defeated and forced to retire, though soon 
 afterwards, at James' request, the town surrendered to the 
 Commander of Alcaiiiz '. The capture of Bairen and Vil- 
 lena satisfactorily effected, the king seems to have returned 
 to Catalonia and Aragon ^. But he cannot have been there 
 long, when he heard that certain of his knights had been 
 captured by the Moors in a raid against Xativa — a town 
 about eight miles south of the Xucar, the southern border 
 of his new kingdom. He at once returned to Valencia, 
 and, marching thence through the fertile plain, crossed the 
 Xucar, appeared before Xativa [October ?], and demanded 
 from the governor the surrender of the knights, at the 
 same time offering to make good what harm they had 
 done. In the meanwhile he surveyed the place from 
 a neighbouring hill, and was so struck with the beauty 
 of the scene — the town lying on the hillside above, and 
 the luxuriant Huerta beneath — that he at once made up 
 his mind to secure Xativa. So next day, when the 
 Alcaid said that the knights were sold, and that he had 
 not money enough to redeem them, James deferred his 
 reply, for in reality he ' thought more of getting Xativa 
 than of the knights who were prisoners there.' And, soon 
 afterwards, when the Alcaid offered to restore the captives, 
 the king sent the envoy back, and, giving out that the 
 governor had refused his demands, proceeded to ravage the 
 
 ' Chron. 307-315 ; Beuter, Cor. Esp. ii. 42 ; Parchments, 800, 807, 809, 810. 
 * Chron. 316. 
 
74 
 
 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1241. 
 
 James 
 at Mont- 
 pellier 
 (March- 
 Sept.). 
 
 land and destroy the mills and dams. Eventually, however, 
 it was agreed that the Moors should give up Castellon — 
 a fortress within a league of the town — accept the King of 
 Aragon as their lord, and undertake not to surrender the 
 town to anyone else. On this understanding, James with- 
 drew his forces, and returned to Aragon ^. 
 
 Towards the end of February of the following year we 
 find the king at Gerona, on his way to France, and by the 
 middle of March he was once more at Montpellier ^, where 
 some very important business was transacted — the outcome, 
 perhaps, of the Court of 1239. 
 
 The idea of a union of the south had now thoroughly 
 matured in James' mind, and a deliberate attempt to realize 
 it was made in a series of treaties concluded during this 
 visit. For an effective resistance to the growing encroach- 
 ments of the French Crown, a union of Provence and 
 Toulouse was a matter of the first importance. But before 
 anything could be done, it would be necessary to disarm 
 the suspicions of the papacy; and, accordingly, on April 18, 
 at Montpellier, James concluded an alliance with Raymond 
 of Toulouse for the defence of the Church — in her struggle, 
 that is, with the Emperor ^, and as a sequel to the promise 
 of aid already given under the walls of Valencia. But this 
 was only a preliminary : a few days later, on the a3rd, also 
 at Montpellier, another alliance was made between Count 
 and king, to last for two years ''; and on June 5, in the 
 
 ' C^ri7«. 316-327. In adopting the 
 date of 1240 for the first attack on 
 Xativa, I have followed Zurita {An. 
 iii. 19), and, apparently, M. Tour- 
 touUon (ib. ii. p. 31). Diago (An. Val. 
 vii. 35) assigns this attack to the end 
 of 1 241, when, however, the king 
 seems to have been in Catalonia 
 {Parchments, 854, 856, 857, 863), to 
 say nothing of the ' year and more ' 
 which he spent ' in Aragon and Cata- 
 lonia ' after the attack, and which, if 
 we adopt Diago's chronology, dwindles 
 
 down to eight months, as James had 
 reduced Artana by May, 1 242 (Diago, 
 ib. 37). But if we accept the date 
 of 1340, and suppose the expression 
 ' Aragon and Catalonia ' to include 
 Montpellier, the difficulty disappears. 
 
 " Marca, ib. 1433 ; Privileges of 
 Valencia, No. 11. 
 
 ^ Archives of France, J. 589 ; cf. 
 Hist. Ghi. Lang. viii. p. 1055 ; Tour- 
 touUon, ib. ii. p. 420. 
 
 * Hist. Gen. Lang. ib. 
 
TOULOUSE AND X AT IV A, 75 
 
 same town, James, acting as arbitrator, decided that Ray- 1241. 
 mond B6ranger should request Sancie, the present wife of '~**~ 
 the Count of Toulouse and the Conqueror's aunt, to solicit 
 a divorce, under pain of expulsion from Provence, whither 
 she had taken refuge — having long ceased to live with her 
 husband ; while the Count of Toulouse was also to demand 
 a divorce, pay down to his wife 1,000 silver marks, and 
 allow her an annuity of loo marks \ And finally, two 
 days afterwards, on June 7, the King of Aragon undertook 
 to procure Raymond's absolution for the part he had 
 played in the Albigensian wars, an exemption for him from 
 taking the Cross, and a dispensation for his marriage with 
 another Sancie, the daughter of the Count of Provence ^. 
 The whole scheme was now clear. Notwithstanding the 
 marriage of the eldest daughter of the Count of Provence 
 with Louis IX, a son born of a daughter of the Count of 
 Provence by Raymond of Toulouse would have inherited 
 not only the estates of his father, which the Treaty of Paris 
 had not reserved for Raymond's son-in-law, Alfonso of 
 Poitiers, but also the territories of the Count of Provence ^. 
 Such a son James would probably have married to his own 
 daughter, or, if a daughter were the issue of the marriage, 
 she would, no doubt, have become the wife of one of his 
 sons — in which case, the whole of the south from the 
 Durance to the Xucar, might have been united under the 
 sceptre of Aragon. Apart, therefore, from the immorality 
 of his action, which perhaps he did not realize, James de- 
 serves no credit for disinterestedness. To him, as he had 
 shown, there was nothing sacred in the bond of marriage : 
 its sole raisoii d'etre was the gratification of his lust and 
 
 " Parch. 845 ; cf. Tonrtoullon, ib. Prov. p. 105), heiress to his posses- 
 
 p. 423. sions, though a son of Sancie was to 
 
 ''■ Archives of France, J. 587 ; cf. precede in the succession a daughter 
 
 TourtouUon, ib. of Beatrice. We can only suppose 
 
 ^ TourtouUon, ib. ii. p. 48. As a that at present Raymond Beranger 
 matter of fact, Raymond Beranger's had no intention of giving Beatrice in 
 fourth daughter, Beatrice, was, by her marriage, so that she should not inter- 
 father's will of 1338 (Ruffi, Hist. Comt. fere with her sister's claims. 
 
76 -yA.VES THE rmST OF ARAGO.X. 
 
 1241-2. his ambition ; and, when tired of his p:a>-thing, he would 
 " fling it aside or trample it under foot. But, granting all 
 this, the already long separation of Sancie from her hus- 
 band, the importance of uniting Toulouse and Provence, 
 and, lastly, the readiness with which, in that age, a divorce 
 was accorded, go far to palliate James" action, unreservedly 
 condemned as it has hitherto been ^. 
 
 The luckless Sancie, whose one fault was that she had 
 had but a daughter, was. indeed, obstinate ; but she was 
 subsequently brought before an ecclesiastical court near 
 Aix, by her nephew and the Count of Provence, and the 
 divorce -was pronounced by the Bishop of Albi and the 
 Provost of S. SalW in that town, the victim remaining silent 
 during the proceedings (August n)". And, on the same 
 day, James, as proxy of the Count of Toulouse, married 
 the daughter of Raymond Beranger, on the understand- 
 ing that a dispensation would be granted by the pope^. 
 Unhappily, however, for the Conqueror's schemes, Gregorj' 
 died at this moment, the papacy remained vacant for more 
 than a year and a half, and in the meantime Sancie of 
 Provence married Richard of Comv\-all *. Thus all these 
 plans fell to the ground. The king seems to have returned 
 to Catalonia in September, and to have spent the rest of 
 the year there ^. 
 
 Partition of On Januar}' i of the following year James executed 
 his first wiU since his second marriage : by it Alfonso 
 was to inherit Aragon and Catalonia ; while Pedro, the 
 eldest son of Violante, was to have \"alencia, the Balearics, 
 and Montpellier — together with Roussillon, Conflant, Cer- 
 dagne, and Valespir, on the death of Xuno ®. The chief 
 obstacle to the execution of the last clause was removed 
 
 ' E.g. 'ad tnrpein et omni cede- Tourtocllon. ib. p. -5. 
 
 core ^mosam pacdo^em derenenmL' ^ He was back at Barcelona on 
 
 Zniita, InJ. p. 122. Oct. 10 ^fjrch. SfV and was there 
 
 ' Hist. Gin. Lcng. xrv. § 47. Xot. 2 ^ib. S = -' and Dec 3 ib. S \; . 
 
 - Ib. §;i ; Dacberv, .S^'it. -riii. 331. ' Fjrch. S67 ; ct Tovinotllon, 13. 
 
 * Mist. GM. Z,:fi^. xiT. § 44 : ii. p. 4-4. 
 Ai^refeniiie. i;7j.'. Mcr,:^. y. | S ; 
 
 the king's 
 
TOULOUSE AND X AT IV A. 77 
 
 soon afterwards, by the death of the Count (Jan. 19, 1242) 1. 1242-3. 
 This was the earliest of that series of wills, which brought -^^ 
 such trouble to the royal family and the nation. 
 
 For the present, however, the king was bent on com- 
 pleting the conquest of Valencia. By the end of May he 
 seems to have got possession of the Artana country, and 
 this was followed by the surrender of Algezira, a town on 
 an island encircled by two arms of the Xucar. The rest 
 of the year the king seems to have spent in Valencia, busy, 
 no doubt, in the organization of his conquests^. In the 
 following year, towards the end of February, we find him 
 at Perpignan, on his way to France ^, and he must have 
 arrived at Montpellier soon afterwards. Here, on May 30, 
 the queen was delivered of a second son, who received the 
 name of James — in memory, no doubt, of another birth in 
 the same town thirty-five years previously ; and on June 29, 
 the citizens, by the king's order, swore allegiance to the 
 boy and his mother *. This addition to the numbers of 
 the royal family necessitated a redistribution of the king- 
 dom. Accordingly, not long after James' return home, at 
 a Cortes of Aragon held at Daroca, an oath of allegiance 
 was taken to Alfonso as heir to Aragon, the boundary of 
 which was to be formed by the Segre, while Catalonia was 
 to go to Pedro, and the rest to the younger James'. 
 
 It must have been soon after this that an incident oc- 
 curred which gave James his much-wished-for opportunity 
 of renewing his conquests south of the Xucar. The Moors 
 of Xativa and other towns had fallen on a body of Almo- 
 gavars returning from a raid under Lizana, and had carried 
 off some mules and sumpter horses. This outrage afforded 
 a chance not to be missed, and the king at once repaired 
 
 " Hist. Ghi. Lang. xxv. § 30. ^ Znrita, An. iii. 40; cf. Parch. 
 
 ' Diago, ib. vii. 34; Chron. 329- 937. Hitherto the Catalan frontier 
 
 3:52, had been formed by the Cinca, but now 
 
 ' Marca, ib. 529 ; Massot-Reynier, it was to be carried backward to the 
 
 Cout. Perf. friv. 10. Segre, so that henceforth Lerida and 
 
 ' Hist. Gen. Lang. xxv. \ 76. Monzon would form part of Aragon. 
 
78 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1243-4. to Xativa, where, after ordering the Alcaid to surrender the 
 ~**~ town, he coolly proposed that the matter should be referred 
 to the arbitration of Ferdinand. This impartial offer being 
 declined, Xativa was promptly invested. The siege lasted 
 throughout December, and in January James was recalled 
 to Catalonia by troubles at home ^ 
 Discontent The cause was the partition of Daroca, which had 
 and CMa^ grievously offended the Catalans, who took special ex- 
 lonia. ception to the formation of the frontier by the Segre. 
 On January 21, therefore, at a Cortes at Barcelona, they 
 forced the king to recognize the old division, by which 
 Catalonia had included all the country between Salsas and 
 the Cinca, and Aragon all that lay between the Cinca and 
 Hariza ^. To please both parties, however, was impossible, 
 and the Aragonese were now discontented. Alfonso, who 
 was at Calatayud, was joined by Azagra, Ferdinand, the 
 Infante of Portugal, and a number of other restless spirits. 
 The heir of Aragon could count on the sympathy of the 
 King of Castile, whose son, another Alfonso, did not fail 
 to improve the occasion by intrigues on the frontier, as 
 James presently learned on his return to the siege of 
 Xativa ^. 
 James Here it was found that a kinsman of the Bishop of Cuenza 
 
 had managed to get into the town, under pretence of buying 
 a tent for the Infante of Castile. Seeing in this only 
 a stratagem to get the place into Castilian hands, James at 
 once issued a proclamation forbidding anyone to communi- 
 cate with the citizens without his permission ; and when the 
 luckless emissary afterwards fell into his hands, though a 
 knight, he was hung, without mercy — like an Andre of 
 later history. A month later the king heard that Enguera 
 and Muxent had opened their gates to Alfonso, and on the 
 inhabitants of the former town declining to expel its Cas- 
 
 ' Chron. 333-9. That the king was ^ Parchments, 935, 936; BofaruU, 
 
 at Xativa in November is evident from Doc. Ined, viii. 42. 
 
 Const. Cat. Prags. ii. tit. 3, const, i, ^ Zurita, ib. 40, 41. 
 which is dated Xativa, Nov. 30, 1243. 
 
 before 
 Xativa. 
 
TOULOUSE AND X AT IV A. 79 
 
 tilian garrison, he hung or beheaded seventeen men whom 1244. 
 he had caught in the fields outside '. Then, by way of "~^*- 
 retaliation on Alfonso, he set on foot an intrigue with 
 a knight of Calatrava, who held Villena, for the surrender 
 of that town, and of Saix, Capdets, and Bugarra — nego- 
 tiations in which he was completely successful. 
 
 Alfonso, whose conduct on this occasion, if irritating, was Arrange- 
 at least less violent than that of the Conqueror, at last sue- Alfonso' 
 ceeded in bringing about an interview between Almizra and of Castile 
 Capdets, where they had 'great rejoicing and love/ Next 
 day the Master of Ucles and Diago Vizcaya, on behalf of 
 the Infante, opened negotiations, and asked for Xativa as 
 a dowry for James' daughter Violante, who was to be be- 
 trothed to their master — a demand which produced the 
 retort that Leonor had brought with her no dowry ; and 
 the day after, when the Castilians told the king that Xativa 
 would surrender to them of its own accord, they received 
 the reply : ' whoever enters it must pass over my body.' 
 James then ordered his horses to be saddled, and it was 
 only with the greatest difficulty that the tears of the queen 
 and the entreaties of the envoys prevailed on him to stay. 
 It was finally agreed that matters should revert to the 
 status quo, Villena and the other towns which had surren- 
 dered to Aragon being restored to Castile, while Xativa 
 and Biar were given up to Aragon. 
 
 The siege of Xativa was now resumed with vigour, but Surrender 
 the town held out for two months longer, till June, when it ("june)'™ 
 was agreed that the lesser castle should be surrendered at 
 once, and the greater in two years from Whitsunday^. 
 James' conduct during the siege had not been creditable 
 to him. He had lost his temper in a way almost childish. 
 
 ' TourtouUon (ib. ii. p. 76) remarks ^ Chrott. 333-56. The geography 
 
 on this act of James : ' No debe olvi- of Xativa being somewhat confusing, 
 
 darse que los habitantes de Enguera a plan is subjoined of the castle and 
 
 eran considerados como traidores.' its environs. That the 'peaked hill 
 
 This defence might be applicable, if near the castle,' from which the king 
 
 it were the guilty and not the innocent enjoyed such a fine view during his 
 
 who suffered. first visit, is the point denoted by C, 
 
8o 
 
 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1244. In itself that would not have been a matter of much conse- 
 ~^*~ quence, and would only have afforded another interesting, 
 as well as amusing, study of a side of his character ; but 
 unhappily, he floundered at the expense of others. The 
 Castilian was hung, though the order which cost him his life 
 was issued after he had got into the town ; the Enguerans 
 were butchered, because their fellow-citizens had hesitated 
 to take the king's word for an obscure treaty of partition 
 made with Castile more than half a century previously ^ ; 
 and, lastly, the courtly Castilians were insulted by a display 
 of violence and boorishness. No wonder they asked : ' King 
 of Aragon, is it to your good to rage so greatly ? ' 
 
 there can be little doubt. The two 
 forts are marked A and B, A being 
 probably the lesser : the ground below 
 
 these consists of a series of terraces, 
 and the walls are still in good con- 
 dition. D is the gate by which James 
 
 H iii iiiMiniHii ii mnw 
 
 entered the precincts of the fortress. 
 Zurita (ib.) places the siege of Xativa 
 in 1248, but there can be no doubt 
 that the date adopted here — that 
 of Diago, An. Val. vii. 40 — is cor- 
 rect, as is proved by : (i) the date of 
 a royal grant, quoted by Diago (ib.), 
 Jan. 7, 1244, 'in obsidione Xative ' : 
 (2) the date in Bofarull, Doc. Ined. xi. 
 p. 385, 'datum in obiidione Xative, 
 iv kalendas Apriles anno MCC.XL 
 quarto': (3) a deed, dated Almizra, 
 March 25, by which James makes over 
 Enguera to the Master of Ucles, 
 Alfcnso's negotiator (Diago, ib.) : 
 
 (4) in Reg. xxvi. 127, the date of 
 May 10, 1 244, ' dat. in exercitu Xat.' : 
 
 (5) an inscription on a wall near the 
 gate by which James entered Xativa, 
 which I have copied, ' Dia 7 Junio del 
 ario 1244 entro en Jaliva por esta 
 puerta Uamada la Aljama el Rey D" 
 Jayme 1°' ('Esta antiguedad la re- 
 novo Eduardo Cardona en el aiio 
 1865 ')• 
 
 ' By an agreement of Alfonso II 
 of Aragon and the King of Castile, 
 Valencia, Xativa, Biar, and Denia 
 were to go to Aragon. Zurita, An. 
 ii- 37- 
 
TOULOUSE AND XATIVA. 8l 
 
 The king was back at Valencia in August, when a fresh 1244-5. 
 agreement was made with Pedro of Portugal, by which the -"^ 
 Infante ceded the Balearics to the Crown, the king grant- uon"^th 
 ing him in return Morella, Murviedro, Almenara, Segorbe, Pedro of 
 and Castellon de Burriana '. (Aug. 18). 
 
 In September James was once more busy at his con- Siege of 
 quests. This time it was Biar — a town about thirty miles 1244 to^'''' 
 south-west of Xativa — which claimed his attention, and Feb. 1245). 
 curbed his impatience, for five months. It surrendered in 
 February, and the only place of importance still uncon- 
 quered beyond the Xucar was Denia. The seven years' 
 truce with Zian would expire in September, and the 
 Moorish king had already been robbed of Cullera, in 
 direct violation of the treaty. Now, therefore, with the 
 enemy almost at his gates, he thought it best to surrender 
 this, his last refuge. For James the rest was but a trium- 
 phal progress, and all the country between the Xucar and 
 Murcia was soon in his hands. 'And so I had it all to 
 myself ^.' 
 
 ' Parchments, 961, 962. 'datum in exercitu de Biar, nonas 
 
 ^ Chron. 355-60. Tlie date of the Septembres A. D. millessimo CCXL 
 siege of Biar is proved by Parch. 967 : quarto.' 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 The Revolt of Valencia. 
 
 1242-4. While successful in Valencia, James' policy received 
 ^ /' , a crushing blow elsewhere. After the failure of his 
 
 t ortunes 01 ° 
 
 Raymond schemes in 1241, the fortunes of the Count of Toulouse 
 louse"" ^^*^ been varied. At first he had joined in a revolt of 
 (1242-5). a number of southern lords exasperated by the cruelties of 
 the Inquisitors, who had recommenced operations. The 
 rebels were headed by Hugo de Lusignan, Count de la 
 Marche, whose daughter Raymond married, and they were 
 joined by Henry HI of England, as well as by Trencavel, 
 the dispossessed. The latter, after the final loss of his estates 
 by the Peace of 1229, had lived an exile at the Court of 
 Aragon, but now suddenly appeared in the territory of 
 Narbonne with a miscellaneous army. For the moment, 
 the revolters were successful, the inquisitors were massacred, 
 Narbonne was delivered into the hands of the rebels by its 
 Viscount, and the archbishop fled to Beziers, whence he 
 launched a letter of excommunication against Raymond. 
 The plans of the insurgents, however, were shattered by the 
 flight of King Henry and the Count de la Marche at Taille- 
 bourg, before the overwhelming numbers of S. Louis' forces 
 (July, 1242); and soon afterwards Raymond repaired to 
 the French Court and made his submission (January, 1243). 
 Towards the end of 1243 the Count also visited Rome, 
 and, in December, obtained the pope's absolution. He 
 returned home in 1244, and his restless spirit was soon 
 busied in fresh intrigues — this time for a mariiage with 
 
THE REVOLT OF VALENCIA. 83 
 
 Beatrice, fourth daughter of Raymond Beranger, and 1245-6. 
 heiress of Provence. The plan even received the sanction ""**" 
 of the pope, and the marriage with Marguerite de la 
 Marche was annulled, at Lyons, on the ground of con- 
 sanguinity (July, 1245) ; but, once more, Raymond's plans 
 were frustrated by an unlooked-for occurrence — the death 
 of the Count of Provence, at Aix, on August 19. So far, 
 it is impossible to detect any participation by James in 
 Raymond's plans ; in any case he kept discreetly in the 
 background. On hearing, however, of the death of Ray- 
 mond Beranger, the King of Aragon lost no time in re- 
 pairing to Aix, hoping, no doubt, to secure possession of 
 the person of Beatrice ; but he had brought with him few, 
 if any, troops, and, on the advance of the French, he was 
 obliged to return to Montpellier. Meanwhile the pope was 
 induced by Blanche of France to withhold the dispensation 
 for Raymond's marriage, and, on January 3 1 of the following 
 year, Beatrice was wedded to Charles, brother of S. Louis ^. 
 Thus all hope of effecting a union of Toulouse and Provence 
 was lost. Provence had been swallowed up by the steadily 
 advancing tide of French aggression, and all that could be 
 done was to make every effort to save what was left of 
 Toulouse from the wreck of southern independence. But, 
 even in this, any plans formed by James were doomed to 
 failure. 
 
 The king was back in Aragon by November ^. The first James and 
 
 r 1 r 1 r 1, ■ 1 , • the Bishop 
 
 lew months of the followmg year he seems to have spent m of Gerona. 
 Valencia^. Towards the end of May we find him at 
 
 ' Hist. Gin. Lang. xxv. §§ 52, 58, that James took any part in the revolt, 
 
 66, 71, 91, 92; Martin, H. F. iv. despite the promise attributed by 
 
 p. 185 seq.; Wallon, .S. Louis, i. pp. Matthew Paris (ann. 1242) to the 
 
 140-175. The moving spirit in the Count de la Marche: ' promisitque 
 
 revolt of 1242 was really a woman (sc. Henrico) suum et aliorum mag- 
 
 — Isabella of Angouleme, formerly natum, utpote regis Arragonum et 
 
 Queen of England, whose pride was Comitis Tholosani . . . , consilium 
 
 roused by the indignity put on her efficax et auxilium.' 
 
 husband, the Count de la Marche, " He was at Calatayud on Novem- 
 
 of having to do homage to Alfonso ber 24. Parchments, 1016. 
 
 of Poitiers. There is nothing to show ^ lb. 1021, 1027. 
 
 G % 
 
84 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1246. Gerona^, and it was probably on this occasion that the 
 ""**" country was startled by a tragic event, which casts a sinister 
 light on the king's morals. The Bishop of Gerona, James' 
 confessor, seems to have disclosed — to whom, is doubtful — 
 the whole, or part, of a confession made by his royal 
 penitent — a confession, apparently, hardly fit for repetition. 
 On hearing of this, the king sent for the unfortunate 
 prelate, and, in a fit of passion, ordered his tongue to be 
 torn out. The offender was promptly excommunicated by 
 the whole body of bishops, and the pope wrote to him 
 (June 23), upbraiding him for his sin^, and adding that he 
 would send his penitentiary, Desiderius, to give the king 
 'wholesome counsel.' On August 5 the culprit proclaimed 
 his repentance^, and wrote submissively to the Holy 
 Father*; on September 32 Innocent, who was at Lyons, 
 replied that he was despatching the Bishop of Camerina as 
 legate, in company with Desiderius ^ ; and on October 14 
 James submitted to a public humiliation at L6rida, before 
 the bishops and barons, and received the apostolic absolu- 
 tion ^. By way of penance, he was to complete and endow 
 the monastery of Benifaza and the hospital of S. Vincent 
 at Valencia, and to found a daily mass at Genoa ''. 
 
 ' Parchments, 1030. of the Monastery of Benifaza, in Vil- 
 
 * ' Mens nostra nimium obstupuit lanueva, Viage Literario, iv. p. 324. 
 enornaitate flagitii.' Raynaldus, Ann. * Villanneva, ib. p. 326, 
 
 Ecd. 1246. ° Ib. p. 328. 
 
 * ' Recognoscimus in facto mntila- ' Ib. p. 330. 
 
 tionis linguae Episcopi Gerundensis ' Ib. pp. 324-332 ; Miedes, Vit. 
 
 graviter excessisse, et nniversalem Jac. 14 ; Aguirre, Concilia, v. p. 194 ; 
 
 matrem in eodem facto immaniter Raynaldus, Ann. Eccl. 1246; Pott- 
 
 offendisse ; animum nostrum ira et hast, Regesta, 121^1, 12177; Gams, 
 
 indignatio maxima perturbat ; propter Kirchengeschichte Spaniens, iii. § 45 ; 
 
 quod, dolentes contriti et humiliati a Parchments, 1059 (the absolution ; 
 
 Deo et a summo pontifice ejus vicario cf. Tourtoullon, ib. ii. p. 428). That 
 
 in terris veniam suppliciter postu- James accused the bishop of revealing 
 
 lamus, in signum verae contritionis a confession is evident from the words 
 
 nostrae promittimus quod per litteras of the papal letter : ' Porro eundem 
 
 nostras patentes a dicto Episcopo Episcopum tuae poepitentialis confes- 
 
 injuriam passo postulabimus veniam sionis secreta pandisse, non leviter 
 
 devote.' Document from the Archives credere nee asseverare constanter re- 
 
THE REVOLT OF VALENCIA. 85 
 
 On November 26, the king's eldest daughter, Violante, 1246-7. 
 was betrothed to Alfonso of Castile at Valladolid. It was ~*T, 
 hoped, no doubt, that the bonds between the two countries of Violante 
 would be drawn closer by the contract ; but any such ^^°"'- ^^'^■ 
 expectations were destined to be disappointed ^. 
 
 A Cortes held at Huesca, early in the following year, Cortes of 
 was made memorable by the publication, in a code, of q"^^j j_jj-) 
 a compilation of the Customs of Aragon. Now that the 
 king had completed his conquests, he had leisure to turn 
 his attention to the home interests of his kingdom, and to 
 undertake those great legislative enactments which form 
 one of the chief characteristics of the many-sided activity 
 of his reign ^. 
 
 But he was recalled from these peaceful occupations by Revolt of 
 an unlooked-for occurrence. Alazrak, a Valencian Moor, had and expul- 
 at one time enjoyed the king's fullest confidence ; but soon ^'O" of.'^^ 
 after the fall of Biar he had set an ambush for him, and Moors. 
 James had escaped only by a miracle. For this treachery 
 Alazrak was outlawed, and now news came of his having 
 collected a body of followers and seized on Serra, Pego, 
 
 galem decet prndentiam ; cum nee that the king was thwarted in an 
 
 verisimilitudinem habeat, nee ad id attempt to procure a divorce from 
 
 accedat credulitas aliorum.' (Ray- Violante, by the bishop's intervention, 
 
 naldus, ib.) James had also accused (Aguirre, ib.) James' further charge 
 
 the bishop of plotting against him against the prelate, of having plotted 
 
 (' alias quamplura contra te machi- against him, which seems to be the 
 
 nando,'ib.). The wording of the letter explanation of his action adopted by 
 
 seems to exclude the possibility of the M. Tourtoullon (ib. ii. p. 98), was 
 
 bishop having directly revealed the probably little more than an excuse, 
 
 king's confession to the pope himself, invented afterwards, to palliate his 
 
 but it is not improbable that he had misconduct in the first instance. The 
 
 utilized it, indirectly, to benefit the bishophimself died at Naples, in 1254. 
 
 party injured in one of the king's Quadrado, Cok^. Vlfo//. notes 85,87. 
 intrigues. This, indeed, seems to have ^Parchments, 1065; Mem. Hist. 
 
 been the general impression, but who Esp. i. i. It was merely a formal 
 
 the victim was is doubtful : some be- betrothal, ' solempniter per verba,' the 
 
 lieved that Teresa Vidaura, James' bride being not more than ten years 
 
 mistress, had got a schedule of the old, and the Bull of dispensation not 
 
 bishop's testimony sent to the pope, being issued till January 29, 1249. 
 
 to the effect that James had promised Mem. Hist. Esp. i. 2. 
 to marry her (Miedes, ib. ; Mariana, " Zurita, An. iii. 42. 
 
 De Rebus Hispaniae, xiii. 6) ; others 
 
86 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1247-8. Gallinera, and Penaguilla. Much disturbed by the danger, 
 ~**~ James lost no time in repairing to Valencia, and, on arriving 
 in the capital (December, 1247), ^t once announced his inten- 
 tion of expelling the whole Moorish population from the 
 kingdom. The nobles stood aghast at the proposal : under 
 Saracen industry their estates had thriven as they were 
 never likely to do in Christian hands, and they realized, 
 perhaps more fully than the king, the magnitude of the loss. 
 A leading member of the opposition was Pedro of Portugal, 
 who vowed that he would defend the Moors himself; and 
 the king might, perhaps, have been overborne, had not the 
 clergy and citizens taken his side. Pedro was afterwards 
 moUiiied by a bribe ^. 
 
 The edict of expulsion was published at Epiphany 
 (January, 1248) ; but, though the opposition of the Christians 
 had been overcome, it was not to be expected that the 
 victims themselves would submit tamely to be driven from 
 their homes. The people of Xativa offered a yearly tribute 
 of 100,000 besants for permission to stay ; but the king 
 was obdurate, and the messengers departed, 'weeping and 
 in great grief.' In many places the inhabitants broke out 
 into open revolt ; ten or twelve castles were seized by the 
 insurgents, and sixty thousand fighting men took up their 
 quarters at Montesa and in the Sierra of Eslida. Their 
 leader was Alazrak, who defeated three thousand Chris- 
 tians sent against him, and besieged Peilacadell, the key to 
 the pass of Cocentayna and Alicante. But the revolters 
 were gradually beaten back and forced to retire to the 
 mountains, where the war dragged on for several years, 
 till Alazrak prevailed on Alfonso of Castile to persuade 
 the king of Aragon to grant him a year's truce ^. 
 
 The desperation shown by the Moors in defence of 
 their homes had probably the effect of somewhat cooling 
 the king's ardour for the execution of his edict, which 
 was, apparently, by no means thoroughly carried out, as 
 
 ' Parch. H46. ' Chron. 361-372. 
 
THE REVOLT OF VALENCIA. 87 
 
 we may infer from subsequent papal admonitions addressed 1248-50. 
 to James on the subject. Many of the nobles seem to have ~**~ 
 been exempted from enforcing the decree, and even on 
 the Crown lands it was evidently not carried into effect \ 
 In all, however, a hundred thousand Moors are said to 
 have left the kingdom, and the work of eviction seems to 
 have tasked the king's energies during the greater part 
 of this and the following year ^. 
 
 Towards the end of 1 349 James visited MontpelHer ^, James at 
 where his presence was, no doubt, due to the death of the iier°(Dec. 
 Count of Toulouse, which had taken place at Millau on iH9)- 
 September 37. But once again he had arrived too late ; 
 the possessions of Raymond were seized by his son-in-law, 
 Alfonso of Poitiers, the supremacy of the French crown 
 was established in the south, and the whole fabric of James' 
 plans and ambitions in France fell, once and for all, to the 
 ground *. Thrice had death stepped in between the Con- 
 queror and the realization of his projects ; it had laid low first 
 Gregory IX, next the Count of Provence, and finally the 
 Count of Toulouse. Thus vanished all prospect of a united 
 nationality of the south effected through the medium of 
 its own princes ; and all that could be done now was for 
 the King of Aragon to take his stand on his own claims. 
 For the present, however, James does not seem to have His dis- 
 taken any active steps in pressing them. He was, indeed, ^"ggo^" 
 soon recalled home by those ever-recurring family troubles, Alfonso 
 for which he had chiefly himself to thank. On January 19, ^ '' 
 
 1 348, he had made a fresh will, by which Aragon, with the 
 
 ' Diago, ib. 58 ; Beuter, Cor. Esp. between James and Pedro, died in 
 
 ii. 47. In 1610 tliere were still some 1251: (3) on March 15, 1249, the 
 
 200,000 Moors left for Philip III to clergy granted an extra twentieth, in 
 
 expel. Zurita {An. iii. 50) gives 1254 return for the king's zeal in expelling 
 
 as the date of the expulsion of the the Moors. Parch. 1 1 50. 
 
 Moors. But (i) Peralta, Bishop of '^ BofaruU, Doc. Ined. xi. pp. 401, 
 
 Valencia, who is mentioned as having 423 ('in obsidione Luxen') ; Parchs. 
 
 been present when James announced 1136, 1146, 1152, 1160, 1164, 1165, 
 
 his decision, was translated to Zaragoza 1168. 
 
 in 1248 (Gams, K. S. iii. § 34) : (2) ^ Aigrefeuille, ib. v. 3, § i. 
 
 the queen, who acted as arbitrator * Hist. Gin. Lang. •i.-:Lv.% 114. 
 
88 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1250. Cinca as frontier, was assigned to Alfonso ; Catalonia and 
 ~**~ the Balearics to Pedro ; Valencia to the younger James ; 
 RoussiUon, Valespir, Conflant, Cerdagne, Castellnou, and 
 Montpellier, to Ferdinand, the king's third son by Violante ; 
 and a number of benefices to Sancho, who afterwards 
 became Archbishop of Toledo ^. By this arrangement 
 the position of Alfonso remained what it had been in 
 1 244 ; but he had taken advantage of his father's diffi- 
 culties in Valencia, and retired to Seville, abetted, as usual, 
 by the nobles, and the restless spirit of Pedro of Portugal. 
 
 To settle the dispute, early in the year 1 250 a General 
 Cortes was called to Alcaiiiz, where the king offered to 
 ' stand to right ' with the malcontents. A number of 
 nobles and bishops having been chosen as arbiters, 
 a deputation visited Seville, where Alfonso and Pedro 
 promised to accept their decision. Both sides now 
 seemed anxious to come to an agreement, and in May 
 the king granted a safeguard to Azagra and other nobles 
 who had accompanied Alfonso, and restored them their 
 estates ^. 
 
 But, even now, James could not conceal his partiality for 
 the children of Violante, and on August 8, at Huesca, 
 he entered into a secret understanding with the nobles 
 attached to his person, that the queen's sons should be 
 ' favoured and increased ' by every possible means ; while, 
 in return, he promised to advance and promote the chiefs 
 of his party, who did homage to king and queen ^. This 
 underhand transaction was, of course, kept a close secret, 
 but it is significant that three of the so-called arbiters — 
 Cornel, Romeu, and Foces — were privy to it. 
 
 The award when given bore the impress of a compromise : 
 Alfonso was to submit to his father, and to be governor 
 of Aragon and Valencia ; Catalonia was to fall to Pedro ; 
 and the Infante of Portugal was to be reinstated in his 
 
 ' Zurita, An. iii. 43. ' Zurita, ib. 45 ; Parchments, 1194, 1233. 
 
 ' Parch. 1197. 
 
THE REVOLT OF VALENCIA. 89 
 
 possessions, save those in Valencia, from which he had 1251- 
 waged war on the king 1. ""**" 
 
 This decision, apparently, satisfied Alfonso, who does 
 not seem to have raised any protest when, on March 26, 
 1 351, owing to the death of the Infante Ferdinand, the 
 king made a fresh will, by which the inheritance of his 
 deceased son was to be divided between Pedro and James, 
 each succeeding the other if he died without issue ^. This 
 arrangement, seemingly so unfair to Alfonso, was the last 
 public act of James in which the influence of the queen 
 appears. She died in October ^, and with her was removed 
 the chief obstacle to a reconciliation of father and son. On 
 her husband as conqueror her influence had been for good ; 
 but in the separatist policy, pursued by him in recent 
 years, her handiwork may be everywhere traced, and ■ 
 her death was, perhaps, the salvation of the country. In 
 any case, the almost immediate result was the complete 
 submission of Alfonso, who, on November 21, 1251, at 
 Zaragoza, gave his father full liberty to dispose of his 
 kingdom as he thought best *. 
 
 The following year, as far as is known, seems to have 
 been a period of unwonted quiet for James' dominions, 
 except for a private war in Catalonia, in which the Car- 
 donas and other nobles took part'. Alfonso's obedience, 
 and the temporary lull in the storm of family troubles, 
 gave the king an opportunity of coming to a reckoning 
 with Alazrak. Counting on the renewal of the truce, 
 the Moorish chief had allowed himself to be induced by 
 a treacherous kinsman, who had an understanding with the 
 
 ' Zurita, ib. 46. The date is un- est . . . Quin potius videtur redar- 
 
 certain. guendus Alfonsus ut ingratus ... si 
 
 '' Parch. 1244. profecti meminerimus quam facile at- 
 
 ' Chron.Sarc. 1211. For her will, que honesta fuisset Alfonsi ab universa 
 
 see /'a/-ir,4. 1264, and Tourtoullon, ib. haereditate depulsio; sed mrsum, 
 
 ii. p. 437. quam libera ingenuaque regis ac 
 
 ' Parch. 1261. On James' conduct nuUo jure coacta Alfonsi ad regnum 
 
 towards his son, Miedes {Vii./ac. 14) vocatio.' 
 
 remarks: 'neque omnino crudeliter et ' Parchments, 1305, 1349, 1350. 
 perfide cum Alfonso actum putahdum 
 
90 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1253. King of Aragon, to sell his stored corn and pay his troops. 
 ~**~ But the further armistice he had counted upon was refused, 
 of Alazrak and, when James attacked him at Easter, Alcala, Gallinera, 
 (May). ^jj(j eighteen other castles fell in a week, and further 
 resistance was almost impossible. Alazrak therefore pro- 
 mised to leave the country and never to return, and the 
 pacification of Valencia was complete ^. 
 
 1 Chron. 373-6. 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 Navarre and Corbeil. 
 
 The year 1252 had witnessed the death of James' saintly 1253. 
 contemporary — Ferdinand of Castile. He was succeeded ^ "T" 
 
 James 
 
 by his son, Alfonso, the ' Savant,' with whom the Conqueror relations 
 had already come into collision on the Valencian frontier, J^J^ ^^^^' 
 and who had secretly fomented the revolt of Alazrak. The Navarre. 
 ill-feeling between the two sovereigns was further deepened 
 by a passing desire on the part of Alfonso to repudiate his 
 wife ; and another event now lent fresh fuel to the flame. 
 
 In July had also died Teobaldo I of Navarre. On hear- 
 ing the news, James lost no time in hastening to the widow 
 Margarita at Tudela, and taking her and her two sons, 
 Teobaldo and Enrique, under his protection. His motives 
 were not, of course, purely disinterested, and, by a treaty 
 of August I, 1253, a marriage was arranged between his 
 daughter Costanza and the young king Teobaldo, each 
 party also undertaking not to marry into the royal family 
 of Castile. His rights to the Navarrese throne James kept 
 ' intact.' 
 
 To Alfonso of Castile this marrying and giving in 
 marriage could hardly be pleasing. His troops ravaged 
 the Navarrese frontier, and James hurried back to Aragon 
 to bring up reinforcements. The enemy now retreated 
 across the border, and in September the Conqueror was 
 able to return home^. It is clear, however, that early in 
 
 ' Zurita, An. iii. 48. For the treaty the death of Costanza or Teobaldo, 
 
 with Navarre see Parch. 1339, and their places were to be taken by Sancha 
 
 Arch. Nav. ii. 80 (printed in Bofarull, and Enrique. 
 Doc. Ined. vi. 20). In the event of 
 
93 
 
 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1254-7. 1254 hostilities had again broken out, for when, in April, 
 ~"~ James once more met Teobaldo and renewed the treaty, 
 he undertook not to make a truce with Castile without 
 the consent of his Navarrese ally^. That this consent 
 was subsequently given would appear from the armistice 
 presently effected between the Kings of Aragon and Castile, 
 by the mediation of certain bishops and barons. It was 
 to last till Michaelmas^, and the summer was employed 
 by the Conqueror in ensuring the support of suspected 
 malcontents at home ^, and in receiving and promising 
 assistance to Castilian deserters *. It is some testimony, 
 therefore, to the forbearance of Alfonso that, notwith- 
 standing James' action in abetting his rebellious subjects, 
 a peaceful meeting between the two monarchs was brought 
 about on the expiration of the truce, and an agreement 
 made that Navarre should continue under the protection 
 of Aragon '. 
 
 The peace, however, was not to be of long duration. 
 Alfonso again became refractory, and in May, 1255, James 
 was called to Calatayud by the news that his troublesome 
 son-in-law was collecting troops®. Whether any serious 
 outbreak of hostilities occurred, may be doubted ; but in 
 September, 1256, at Estella, the Conqueror received a con- 
 siderable accession of strength in the arrival of the Infante 
 Enrique, Alfonso's brother, and a number of nobles, all of 
 whom he undertook to help against the King of Castile''. 
 At last, in March, 1257, the two sovereigns met at Soria, 
 where they renewed their alliance, and Alfonso promised to 
 
 1 Parch. 1363 ; Arch. Nov. ii. 8i. 
 
 " Zurita, ib. 39. 
 
 ' Thus, on June 4, he secured the 
 friendship of Azagra by a timely 
 donation of fifty knights' fees {Parch. 
 1369) ; and, on June 15, Alfonso did 
 homage and promised to aid his father 
 in the event of a war with Castile 
 (ib. 1374). 
 
 * In August the king promised 
 Remiro Diez, Remiro Rodriguez, and 
 
 Lopez de Haro — Castilian nobles — 
 not to make peace with their master 
 till he had restored their estates. 
 Parch. 1380, 1383. 
 
 ' Zurita, ib. 5 1 ; Miedes, ib. 15; 
 Beuter, ib. 48 ; Diago, ib. 49. 
 
 ° Zurita, ib. ; Moret, An. Nav. 
 xxii. 3. 
 
 ' Parch. 1427, T428; Zurita, ib. ; 
 Moret, ib. 
 
NAVARRE AND CORBEIL. 93 
 
 deposit some castles with a third party ^ And in August 1257. 
 a commission was appointed to estimate the compensation — •*- 
 due for harm done by both parties on the frontier 2. 
 
 As in the case of Aurembiax, so in his deahngs with 
 Margarita of Navarre, James had appeared in the guise 
 of protector of the fatherless and widow; and, for the 
 present, he does not seem to have pressed his claims to 
 the Navarrese throne. His settlement of the succession 
 to Aragon on Alfonso and Raymond Beranger, in 1232, 
 during Sancho's lifetime, had indeed clearly amounted to 
 a cancelling of the treaty of 1 33 1 ; yet in 1 234, as we have 
 seen, he had distinctly asserted his claims, and he had 
 made them the subject of a special reservation in the treaty 
 of 1353. -^ question, therefore, arises as to his reasons in 
 not putting them forward at the present time. His motives 
 were, as usual, mixed. He was on the verge of a rupture 
 with France, and his relations with Castile were strained to 
 the utmost. Besides these considerations, thus to ' outface 
 infant state ' would undoubtedly have provoked the inter- 
 ference of Rome, especially as the pope had already taken 
 Teobaldo under his protection, and had ordered him to be 
 crowned^. For the present, therefore, discretion seemed 
 
 ' Zurita, /4».ui. 52. I have adopted however, to suppose that this is but 
 this date for the peace of Soria only another of Zurita's chronological in- 
 after much hesitation, and against the accuracies, the document, from which 
 authority of Zurita, who gives March, he drew his information as to the 
 1256, and is followed by M. Tour- peace of Soria, dating it by the year 
 toullon(ib. ii.p. 239). The objection 1256 of the Incarnation, i.e. 1257 of 
 to their chronology is to be found in the Nativity. And this view is borne 
 the fact that the agreement with the out by the fact that Alfonso was cer- 
 Castilian nobles is dated September tainlyatSoria on MarchiS, 1257, when 
 'era 1294,' i.e. A. D. 1256 ; and it is he was waited upon by an embassy from 
 improbable that James would have Pisa to salute him as emperor. (The 
 undertaken to help the Castilians document is printed in Ughelli, Italia 
 against their master a few months Sacra, iii. 435, and is dated 15 Kal. 
 after the conclusion of the treaty with April,i256 ; buttherecanbenodoubt 
 him. M.TourtouUon and Zurita evade that it refers to 1257, this being the 
 the difficulty by assigning the agree- year of Alfonso's election ) 
 ment with the nobles to the year 1255 " Reg. x. 56 ; Mem. Hist. Esp. i, 
 — presuming, apparently, the era to 57, 6^' 
 be miscalculated. It seems safer, ' Potthast, Reg. 15403, 17054. 
 
94 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1257-8. to be the better part of valour, and the Conqueror was 
 
 -*^ obliged to content himself with the remote prospect of 
 
 a union between the two countries by means of a marriage 
 
 alliance. 
 
 Difficulties James' relations with France have been mentioned. 
 
 France These were now in a critical condition. While the king had 
 
 and treaty ^jg hands full with his responsibilities in Navarre and his 
 
 (May II, difficulties with Castile, the Bishop of Maguelonne had 
 
 1258)- seized the opportunity to contribute his share to the 
 
 Conqueror's embarrassments. On April 15, 1355, he had 
 
 solemnly declared to the Seneschal of Beaucaire and Nimes 
 
 that Montpellier had always been held by his predecessors 
 
 in fief for the King of France, and in sub-fief by the King 
 
 of Aragon ^ ; and it is probable that it was about this time 
 
 that — in retaliation for James' intrigues with the Counts 
 
 of Toulouse and Provence — the French Crown put forward 
 
 its claims to the county of Barcelona and its appendages, 
 
 going back to the time of Charles the Great. On 
 
 the other hand, the King of Aragon was not without 
 
 counter-claims of his own, some of which he had indicated 
 
 in his will of January i, 1243, when he made over to Pedro 
 
 his rights in Carcasez, Termenois, Rasez, Fenoilledes, 
 
 Millau, and Gevaudan. 
 
 In May, 1255, the question was committed, therefore, to 
 the decision of the Dean of Bayonne and the Sacristan of 
 Lerida, whose conferences seem, however, to have had 
 little result^; and when a year had elapsed since the dean 
 and the sacristan had opened their sluggish negotiations, the 
 Infantes Pedro and James, impatient of the delay, ravaged 
 the territory of Carcassonne, but were recalled by their 
 father on the complaint of S. Louis ^. At last, on March 14, 
 1258, at Tortosa, the King of Aragon appointed commis- 
 sioners in the persons of the Bishop of Barcelona, the Prior 
 of S. Mary of Corneillan, and Roquefeuil, Governor of 
 
 ' Germain, ib. 4, preuve 6 ; Gariel, Corouae et Regnm Franciae.' 
 ib. p. 376 : ' est et fuit, a tempore '' Marca, ib. 1440. 
 
 cujus non extat memoria, de feudo ^ Hist. d'n. Lang. xxvi. §§ 32, 35. 
 
NAVARRE AND CORBEIL. 95 
 
 Montpellier, to settle the whole question with the French, 1258. 
 and to negotiate a marriage between his daughter Isabella """ 
 and Philip, second son of the King of France 1. The envoys 
 found the French Court at Corbeil, near Paris, and here 
 a treaty was concluded (May 11), by which S. Louis re- 
 nounced his claims on Barcelona, Urgel, Besalu, Roussillon, 
 Conflant, Cerdagne, Ampurias, Gerona, and Osona ; and 
 the commissioners, for the King of Aragon, all his rights in 
 Carcassonne, Agde, Foix, Beziers, Nimes, Albi, Redes, 
 Lauraguais, Termenois, Minervois, Sault, Narbonne, 
 Toulouse, Gevaudan, Quercy, Rouergue, Millau, Fenoilledes, 
 Queribus, Pierre-Pertuse, Puy-Laurens, and Castel-Fisel ^. 
 The marriage contract was also drawn up between Philip 
 and Isabella, on the eve of Whitsunday^; and both treaties 
 were confirmed on July 16 at Barcelona, by James *, who 
 on the following day resigned his claims on Provence in 
 favour of Marguerite, daughter of Raymond B^ranger, and 
 Queen of France °. 
 
 It remains to consider the full extent of the concessions 
 made by each party. 
 
 The pretensions of the French crown to the position of 
 suzerain over the county of Barcelona were, historically, 
 undeniable but of little practical value. It is true that 
 till towards the end of the twelfth century legal instru- 
 ments in Catalonia continued to be dated by the year 
 of the reigning King of France ; but at no time, since the 
 countship had become hereditary in the family of Wilfred 
 the Hairy, is there any trace of formal recognition by the 
 House of Barcelona of French claims to suzerainty, while no 
 
 • Parch. 1526 ; Archives of France, Conqueror's ratification of the treaty. 
 
 J. 587, nos. 5, 6. ^ Parch. 1531 ; Arch. Fr. J. 587, 
 
 ''■ Parch, lb. (cf. Bofarull, Doc. no. 8. 
 
 Ined. vi. 27, and Tonrtoullon, ib. ii. * Arch. Fr. ib. nos. 7, 8 ; Marca, 
 
 p. 439) ; Arch. Fr. ib. no. 7. The ib. 1444. 
 
 commissioners exceeded their powers " Arch. Fr. J. 291. For this refer- 
 in renouncing James' rights over the ence I am indebted to M. Tour- 
 county of Foix, which is not men- toullon, who prints the document 
 tioned in their credentials nor in the in vol. ii. p. 146. 
 
96 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1258. Catalan of the thirteenth century would be likely to 
 "**" yield his interests to pretensions however respectable, even 
 though they went back to the time of Charles the Great. 
 
 On the other hand, the rights of the King of Aragon over 
 certain parts of the south of France were founded on modern 
 precedents. Provence, as we have seen, had practically 
 occupied the position of a fief in the younger branch of the 
 House of Barcelona since the time of Ramon Berenguer III, 
 and James could also base prospective claims to the posses- 
 sion of the county on the will of Raymond Beranger IV, 
 which had placed the King of Aragon, or his heir, next in 
 succession to Beatrice and Sancie, in the event of their death 
 without issue ^. James' rights in Carcassonne, Carcasez, 
 Rodez, and I.auraguais rested on the repeated recognition 
 by the Trencavels, Viscounts of Beziers, of the suzerainty 
 of the House of Barcelona, while even Simon de Montfort 
 had done homage to Pedro II for Carcassonne in 1211^; 
 the Viscount of Nimes had sworn allegiance for his town 
 to Alfonso II, in iiSo^; and Narbonne and Beziers had 
 been made over as fiefs by Ramon Berenguer IV to his 
 son Pedro*. Gevaudan had been conferred, in 11 83, 
 by Alfonso II, on his brother Sancho^, and later pre- 
 sented by Pedro II, together with Millau, to Raymond VI 
 
 ^ Ruffi, Comt. Prov. p. 105. who had given up Carcassonne to the 
 
 ^ Hist. Gin. Lang. vi. p. 345. Count of Toulouse, restored it to 
 
 In 1 1 50 a Trencavel did homage to Alfonso II, receiving in fief Carcas- 
 
 Ramon Berenguer IV, and received sonne, Rodez, Sault, Termes, and 
 
 in fief Rodez, Lauraguais, and Car- Minervois (Zurita, An. ii. 38 ; cf. 
 
 cassonne (' donat . . . Trencavello BofaruU, ib. p. 65) ; and, as recently 
 
 Vicecomiti Biterrensi civitatem Car- as 1241, James himself had extorted 
 
 casone . . . civitatem que dicitur an act of homage from the Trencavel 
 
 Redes . . . et totum Laurages . . . whose territories had fallen to DeMont- 
 
 Propter hanc quoque donacionem . . . fort. Dupuy MSS. (in the National 
 
 predictus Vicecomes Trencavellus effi- Library at Paris) DCXXXV, p. 43 ; 
 
 citur homo jam dicti Comitis Bar- Hist. Gin. Lang. vol. viii., preuve 
 
 chinonensis et accipit omnem pre- 343. 
 
 nominatum honorem per manum suam ' Zurita, An. ii. 38. 
 
 ad fevum et ad fidelitatem suam.' • Ib. ii. 20; Marca, ib. 410. 
 
 Bofarull, Condes de Barcelona, ii. ' Bofarull, ib. p. 190. 
 p. 64); in 1179 the Viscount Roger, 
 
NAVARRE AND CORBEIL. 97 
 
 of Toulouse ^ ; and Fenoilledes and Pierre-Pertuse had been 1258. 
 granted as fiefs by the King of France, in 1236, to Nuno -*^ 
 Sanchez 2, to whom James probably claimed to succeed. 
 There can be no doubt, therefore, that the loser by the 
 treaty of Corbeil was the King of Aragon. Louis' claims, 
 though valid in the eye of the feudal lawyer, were too 
 obsolete to be effectually revived ; while, on the other 
 hand, not only were some of James' pretensions established 
 by continuous acknowledgment — especially those to the 
 Viscountcy of Beziers — but, what was of more importance, 
 they met with a general recognition in the countries con- 
 cerned. The King of Aragon was, in fact, widely regarded 
 as the champion of the south against the north, as is 
 shown by the lays of the troubadours^ alone, who lend 
 a voice to the antipathy of the latinized peoples of the 
 south, against the Franks, the barbarians of the north. 
 
 But the treaty of Corbeil dashed, once and for all, any James' 
 plans for the construction of a united Romance nationality ^° "^^" 
 of the south, to be bounded by the Durance and the Xucar. 
 To the feudal principle also it was a severe blow, amount- 
 ing, as it did, to the substitution of natural frontiers for the 
 claims of suzerainty. James' policy in the south had been 
 thwarted by a series of events over which he had no control, 
 and he wisely decided not to struggle against the inevitable. 
 Nationality and feudal claims must be sacrificed to con- 
 solidation, and consolidation must be determined by natural 
 limits. And, happily, the king did not go on to commit the 
 mistake, common in a later age, of identifying consolida- 
 tion with concentration, and of attempting to draw together 
 Aragon and Catalonia by means of a single Cortes, to the 
 suppression of national assemblies. 
 
 ' Hist. Gin. Lang. xxvi. p. 860. of the town, which the Infante was 
 
 * Henry, Hist. Rouss. i. p. 100. only prevented from doing by his 
 
 ' See p. 257. And in 1271, on father forbidding his subjects to help 
 
 the death of Alfonso of Poitiers, him. Zurita, An. iii. 79 ; Reg. xviii. 
 
 the citizens of Toulouse even invited 82. 
 
 James' son, Pedro, to take possession 
 
 H 
 
98 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1258. We have now come to the end of what may be called the 
 ~^*~ third period of the reign. It was a period of great political 
 activity. It had witnessed the whole course of the king's 
 policy in the south of France, beginning with the treaties of 
 1241, for the marriage of Raymond of Toulouse with Sancie 
 of Provence, continuing in the projected marriage of Ray- 
 mond with Beatrice of Provence, in 1344, receiving two 
 fatal blows in the deaths of the Counts of Provence and 
 Toulouse in 1245 and 1249 respectively, and, finally, being 
 formally abandoned in the treaty of Corbeil in 1258. 
 Another side of James' foreign policy had shown itself in 
 the cultivation of intimate relations with Navarre, in the 
 evident hope that the two kingdoms might one day be 
 united under one sceptre. And it is significant that this 
 policy towards Navarre was begun in 1253, some years 
 after the downfall of the king's French schemes, the method 
 adopted in each case being the same — a marriage alliance. 
 The king's home policy is marked by the expulsion of the 
 Moors and the partitioning of the kingdom. The latter 
 of these two mistakes cannot, however, be regarded as the 
 expression of any definite plan of action, but was merely 
 the result of the queen's influence working on the king's 
 weakness. James' policy then during this period may be 
 described briefly as national in its character. It sought to 
 unite in one federation the whole of the seaboard and 
 neighbouring country from the Durance and the Alps to 
 the Xucar and Valencia. Abroad the king sought to gain 
 this end by an alliance with the houses of Toulouse and 
 Provence, at home by the expulsion of the foreign element 
 of the Moors. In both his attempts he failed : the first half 
 of the project was never realized ; the second half was, 
 indeed, partially effected, but it brought loss, rather than 
 gain, to the kingdom. 
 
Fourth Period: 
 THE STRUGGLE WITH FEUDALISM. 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 Alvaro of Urgel and Costanza of Sicily. 
 
 At the end of the year 1258, we find the king at Mont- 1258. 
 pellier. He had not visited the town since 1349, owing to -"'*— 
 his strained relations with the inhabitants, arising from ia^ons 
 a dispute over the harbour dues of Lattes. The consuls Mont- 
 had been cited to his Court, but had refused to appear (Dec. 10). 
 (January, 1354), and had appealed to the Bishop of Mague- 
 lonne and the King of France, besides making an alliance 
 with the Viscount of Narbonne, who was James' enemy 
 and had defied him. There were, therefore, reasons suffi- 
 cient to make a visit to the town desirable, and accord- 
 ingly, in December, the king arrived outside the walls, and 
 there, in the presence of a number of bishops, he pardoned 
 the citizens ^. He seems to have spent about five months 
 
 ' Germain, Hist. Monip. ii. p. 331 ; contristatos absentia redderemus prae- 
 Hisf. Gen. Lang. xxvi. §§ 31, 32, 35. sentia laetiores, ad villain venimus 
 The grounds of ttie king's displeasure, memoratam, ante cujus ingressum 
 alleged in the preamble to the new congregate populo coram nobis, uni- 
 regulations as tothe election and duties versi et singuli se nostro beneplacito 
 of the bailiff, are vague: 'sane cum subgesserunt.' (Germain, ib.) The 
 ab hominibus villa Montispessulani pardon itself is contained in Gariel, 
 fidelibns nostris nos nee immerito ib. i. p. 380 : ' caeterum post multos 
 reputaremus offenses et ab ejusdem tractatus cum Praelatis et viris sapien- 
 ville dintius abstinuissemus ingressu, tibus habitos . . . Universitati Montis- 
 tandem ad requisitionem ipsorum, qui pessulani et singulis de Universitate 
 salubri ducti consilio nobis humiliter predicta omnes injurias et offensas 
 supplicarunt ut eosdem nostra diutina dicto vel facto nobis vel nostris liberis 
 
 H a 
 
100 
 
 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1259. 
 
 War with 
 the Count 
 of Urgel 
 and 
 Cardona. 
 
 at Montpellier, and, on December 18, the burghers took 
 an oath of fidelity to the Infante James as lord of the 
 town ^. The Conqueror was still there on April aa ^ but on 
 the a7th we find him at Perpignan ^, on May i at Gerona *, 
 and on the 1 3th he was once more at Barcelona *. 
 
 On his return he soon found himself involved in a serious 
 dispute with one of his nobles. He had asked Alvaro 
 Cabrera, Count of Urgel, to put into his hands the strongs 
 holds of Agramunt and Balaguer (July 12). This the Count 
 did, in the expectation that, according to Catalan custom, 
 they would be restored in ten days. At the expiration, 
 however, of the time, James refused to surrender the castles, 
 despite the Count's offer to ' stand to right.' The breach 
 widened, and Alvaro was joined by the Viscount of Car- 
 dona, the Cerveras, and the Cervellons ^. 
 
 Of the Count's supporters the most violent was Cardona, 
 who complained that the king had persistently infringed 
 the privileges of the Catalan nobility, and, in his own case, 
 had forbidden the use of a ' fonevol,' besides ordering him 
 to brick up a gate at Momblanc Castle. He ended by 
 renouncing his allegiance, and the other nobles followed 
 suit (November) '. To these charges James replied from 
 Lerida, in December, by offering to submit the matter to 
 arbitration, adding that the fonevol was a royal instru- 
 ment ', and that no king in the world had given his vassals 
 less cause for complaint than he had — a defence which was 
 certainly justified by the facts ^. The answer, however, 
 
 vel etiam nostris legatis vel eorum 
 familiis per homines Universitatis 
 ejusdem vel eorum aliquem vivum 
 atque defunctum hactenus irrogatas 
 remittimus bono animo liberaliter et 
 quittamus.' The dues of Lattes were, 
 however, surrendered by the king on 
 July 33, 1364. Reg. xiii. 302; cf. 
 Germain, ib. ii. p. 347. 
 
 ' Reg. ix. 74. 
 
 ■' Ib. X. no. 
 
 ^ Ib. ii. I"]. 
 
 * Ib. 
 
 ^ Ib. 78. 
 
 ' Zurita, ib. 58. 
 
 ' Reg. xi. 243, 244. 
 
 » Cf. Const. Cat. iv. 1, Us. 5 ; 
 • negun presumesca . . . combatre ab 
 ginys que los pagesos appellan fone- 
 vol.' 
 
 ' Reg. xi. 246, 247. The arbitra- 
 tors offered are vaguely described as 
 'jutges sens tota suspita.' 
 
ALVARO OF URGEL AND COST AN Z A OF SICILY. lOl 
 
 failed to satisfy the rebels, who attacked Barbastro and 1260. 
 ravaged the lands of the king's supporters ^. This was ~**~ 
 sufficient provocation for James to take up arms, and, 
 accordingly, on February 3, 1260, we find him at Cervera^ 
 from which we may conclude that the town had fallen 
 into his hands. By April a truce seems to have been 
 effected^; and, about the same time, Alvaro was ordered 
 to present himself at Barcelona on May 10, for the trial 
 of his case by the bishop and Oliver de Termes*. The 
 issue of the trial is unknown ; and a Cortes, which the 
 king afterwards held at Barcelona, is said to have effected 
 little beyond a temporary cessation of hostilities'. 
 
 While engaged in this contest with his rebellious vassals, Appeal 
 James received a call on his generosity from one who was A°fonso of 
 in far greater extremities than himself. Alfonso of Castile Castile, 
 was hard pressed by the King of Granada, and now in his 
 distress he wrote a pressing letter for aid to his father-in- 
 law. James had no reason to entertain any particularly 
 kindly feeling towards the petitioner, but his magnanimity 
 was not proof against the appeal, and he gave permission 
 (April 3) to his own knights and those of his barons, to 
 serve, though they were strictly forbidden to bear arms 
 against the King of Tunis, a rupture with whom would 
 mean a severe blow to Catalan commerce ''. But gratitude 
 — especially for what he doubtless regarded as a small 
 mercy — was not a prominent feature in Alfonso's character: 
 the limitation imposed on the number and action of his 
 allies served to irritate him, and it was only a practical 
 
 ' Zurita, ib. omens e los cavalleros que non tenyen 
 
 ^ Reg. X. 1 29 — a grant : ' excepta de vos terra ni honor ' (^Reg. xi. 1 71 ; 
 
 tamen hac praesenti guerra quam cnm cf. Mem. Hist. Esp. i. 73 ; BofaruU, 
 
 Comite Urgelli et aliis nobilibus Cata- Doc. Ined. vi. 34). James, in his answer 
 
 lonie habemus.' on the 29th, conceded a point ; ' a lo 
 
 ^ Reg. xi. 250. de los caveros de nuestio regno, qni 
 
 • Ib. 278. son vassallos de los richos hommes 
 
 ° Monfar y Sors, ib. 58. e de los qui son de nuestra mesnada, 
 
 ' Reg. xi. 1 70 ; cf. Mem. Hist. Esp. vos diziemos que nos place muyto que 
 
 i.72. OnAprili2,AIfonsorepliedfrom vos aynden.' Reg. ib.; Mem. Hist. 
 
 Soria, complaining : ' sacavades richos Esp. i. 75 ; BofaruU, ib. 
 
T02 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1260. consideration — the castles which he had deposited with 
 ~*^ a third party — that kept him from a rupture with his 
 father-in-law ^. 
 Death of The year was not uneventful for James from a domestic 
 Aragon °^ point of view. It witnessed the death of his eldest son, 
 Alfonso — the victim, for half his life, of his step-mother's 
 spite and his father's coldness ^. That he was indebted to 
 the Conqueror for his legitimation cannot, of course, be 
 denied ; but, once legitimized, he was the rightful heir to 
 Catalonia and Aragon, and, in equity, to Valencia also. 
 The defence that the king was not bound by any law of 
 primogeniture, and that the custom of the age prescribed 
 the division of an inheritance ^ does not apply to James' 
 position as head of the state. His action was unconstitu- 
 tional and suicidal. But the death of Alfonso only released 
 the Conqueror from one source of embarrassment to plunge 
 him into another. A dispute now broke out between the 
 Infantes Pedro and James, the latter being, apparently, 
 supported by his father, if we may infer this from the 
 statement privately made by Pedro, on October 15, at 
 Barcelona, in the presence of certain citizens and clergy 
 — among the latter being Ramon de Peiiafort — that he 
 regarded no oath as binding which his father should extort 
 from him to any new partition disadvantageous to himself*. 
 Juntas in What with the factions of the brothers and the turbu- 
 lence of the nobility, the country was now in a very 
 
 ' Zurita, ib. 53. thecase ofRamonBerengTierlVandof 
 
 ^ Zurita, ib. 59. Tourtoullon (ib. ii. Alfonso II, the eldest son is, as a matter 
 
 p. 260) falls into Zurita's error of of course, left heir to Aragon and Cata- 
 
 fixing Alfonso's death just before his Ionia ; and not only so, but, in the 
 
 marriage with Costanza Moncada. will of the last-named monarch, 
 
 Diago [An. Val. vii. 53) proves, by Roussillon and Beses are added. In 
 
 a will of the Infante dated 1256, that each case the inheritance of the second 
 
 he had been married at least four son is limited to certain fiefs, while 
 
 years. Alfonso's third son is relegated to 
 
 ' Tourtoullon, ib. p. 73. As a matter a monastery, 
 
 of fact, an examination of the wills of ^ Parch. 1636; cf. BofaruU, ib. 
 
 some of James' predecessors shows vi. 37. 
 that the reverse was the rule : thus, in 
 
 Aragon. 
 
ALVARO OF URGEL AND COSTANZA OF SICILY. 103 
 
 disturbed state. Brigandage was rife in the mountains 1260-2. 
 of Jaca, Sobrarbe, and Ribagorza, and even in the plain ~'*- 
 country. In 1 225 a like state of things had been met by 
 the League of Jaca ; and now a similar device was resorted 
 to in the formation of a 'Junta,' or association for police 
 purposes, by the people of Sobrarbe and Aynsa. The 
 example spread, and soon Aragon found itself divided 
 into six Juntas — those of Huesca, Sobrarbe, Tarazona, 
 Exea, Jaca, and Zaragoza — each being presided over by 
 a Sobrejuntero, a knight. They soon cleared the country ^ 
 
 Two hundred years later we find this organization 
 revived in the ' Hermandad ' of Ferdinand and Isabella. 
 Outside Spain it finds a parallel in the leagues of the 
 German cities against the lower nobility^. 
 
 But, despite social and domestic troubles, the ever restless Pedro 
 spirit of the Conqueror was still seeking fresh fields for its cost"nza 
 ambition. On July 28, 1260, a marriage contract had been of Sicily. 
 signed at Barcelona between the Infante Pedro and envoys 
 on behalf of Costanza, the daughter of Manfred, King of 
 Sicily, by Beatrice of Savoy ^. To Urban IV this unholy 
 aUiance was, not unnaturally, displeasing, and he spared no 
 effort to frustrate it. James, for his part, seems to have 
 shown every desire to conciliate the angry pope. Towards 
 the end of the year he even attempted to set sail for the 
 East on a crusade, but was driven back by a storm *, while 
 
 ' Zurita, ib. 62. The wording of prohibited the supplying of provisions 
 
 the agreement between Aynsa and the to the disbanded soldiers in the 
 
 other towns of Sobrarbe runs thus : mountains, punished with death any 
 
 ' videntes . . . rapinas, raubias, homi- of these who were caught, confiscated 
 
 cidia, et franctiones villarum eccle- the property of the challenger in a 
 
 siarum domorum et caminorum, et private quarrel if he refused to accept 
 
 destructionem totius terre de Supe- a legal decision, and outlawed him if 
 
 rardi . . . salva fidelitate domini Jacobi he were not arrested. Zurita, ib. 
 
 supradicti, facimus unitatem et junc- ^ Hallam, M. A. ii. p. 129. 
 
 turam ... ad festum Sancti Michaelis ' Parch. 1619 ; cf. Bofarull, Doc. 
 
 et ab ipso usque ad v anos continue Ined. vi. 35. Her dowry was to 
 
 completos.' {Reg. xi. 160; Feb. 1260 consist of 50,000 ounces of gold and 
 
 or 1261, and confirmed by the king precious stones, 
 
 in March.) The rules of the Junta in- * Particulars as to this attempted 
 
 sisted on the surrender of all robbers, crusade are wanting, but that it un- 
 
I04 
 
 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1262. various embassies, which included Ramon de Penafort ^ and 
 -**- the Bishop of Gerona ^, visited Rome to propitiate the Holy- 
 Father. The pope, however, was obdurate, and the envoys 
 brought back nothing but reproaches '. But, pious though 
 he was, the Conqueror's piety was not proof against the 
 prospect of the acquisition of another earthly kingdom, 
 even at the risk of the loss of a heavenly one. In June, 
 1262, the bride arrived at Montpellier, escorted by Fernan 
 Sanchez, James' natural son, and, on the 13th, the union, 
 which had created such sensation, and the marriage bells 
 of which were destined to be echoed in the death-knell of 
 the Sicilian vespers, was celebrated in the church of Our 
 Lady of the Tables, in the presence of the King of Aragon, 
 his sons, and a large and brilliant suite *. Costanza was 
 only fourteen years old at the time, and is described as 
 
 doubtedly took place may be inferred 
 from (i) a letter, dated Sept. 20, 
 1260, from Alfonso of Castile to his 
 father-in-law, urging him to abandon 
 his proposed crusade, and also the 
 Sicilian match {Parch. 1360; Bofarull, 
 ib- 36) ; (2) a letter, of Feb. 22, 1261, 
 from the king to a citizen of Barcelona 
 excusing him ' omnem petitionem et 
 demandam . . . ratione viatici quod ad 
 partes ultramarinas facere propone- 
 bamus' {Reg. xi. 208) ; (3) the king's 
 words during the crusade of 1269: 
 'it seemed our Lord did not wish that 
 1 should cross it (the sea) ; for I had 
 tried it once before without success.' 
 Ckron. 492. 
 
 ' Zurita, An. iii. 60. 
 
 * The bishop was sent ' ad agendum 
 defendendum excipiendum et repli- 
 candum, et ad gratias obtinendum cum 
 domino Papa.' Reg. xi. 196. 
 
 ^ As in a letter dated Viterbo 
 April 26, T262: ' celsitudinem tuam 
 affectuose rogamus quod sinistris ejus 
 suggestionibus non praestes auditum, 
 nee ipsius fraudibus te patiaris in- 
 volvi , . . Considera, igitur, fili, con- 
 
 sidera tui generis claritatem . . . 
 Quomodo igitur cadere potuit in cor 
 tuum, quomodo potuit animi tui sub- 
 limitas inclinari ut de contrahendo 
 matrimonio inter primogenitum tuum 
 illustrem et natam memorati Manfredi 
 verba etiam patereris audiri ? . . . O 
 quantum dedecus tali connubio tantam 
 generis dedecorareprosapiam! Oquam 
 detestabile tam devotum filium Ec- 
 clesie ipsius inimico et persecutori 
 manifesto vinculo tantae conjunctionis 
 astringi ! . . . Certe in te non bene 
 primis ultima respondent, sed ipsi 
 tibi omnino dissimilis appareres . . . 
 Absit, itaque, absit quod in gloria 
 tua maculam tantam ponas ! Absit ut 
 contra claram tuam et ejusdem generis 
 tui famam suspitio in te qualiscumque 
 succrescat . . . Placeat igitur Excel- 
 lentie tue paternis acquiescere monitis, 
 et nostris exhortationibus promptum 
 accommodare consensum, ut prose- 
 cution! conjunctionis hujusmodi am- 
 plius non insistas.' Escurial, ii. P. 7) 
 p. 2 ; cf. Raynaldus, Ann. Eccl. 1262. 
 ' Zurita, ib. 63 ; Hist. Gin. Lang. 
 xxvi. § 51, and vol. viii. p. 1501. 
 
ALVARO OF URGEL AND CO STANZA OF SICILY. 1 05 
 
 ' the most beautiful, discreet, and honourable maiden one 1262. 
 could find^.' ~**~ 
 
 Besides the Sicilian match, James had, at the same time. Marriage 
 another marriage on his hands. This was between his and Philip 
 daughter, Isabella, and Philip of France— now become °f ?''''^"<=^ 
 Dauphin, by his brother s death. At one time, indeed, it 
 seemed as if the marriage would never take place, for the 
 alliance of James with Manfred had created a coldness 
 between the French and the Aragonese courts, and the pope 
 even wrote to S. Louis congratulating him on his intention 
 of breaking off the match ^. Eventually, however, the 
 scruples of the holy king were overcome by an engagement 
 entered into by the King of Aragon that he would not 
 assist Manfred in his struggle with the papacy', and the 
 marriage took place at Clermont in Auvergne, in July*. 
 
 The marriage of Pedro and the death of Alfonso had Fresh 
 rendered a fresh partition of the kingdom necessary. On ^^j '^ug.) 
 August 21, therefore, at Barcelona, the king assigned to°f*^ 
 
 00 kingdom. 
 
 Pedro Aragon, Catalonia, and Valencia, and to James the 
 Balearics, Montpellier, Roussillon, Colibre, Conflant, Vale- 
 spir, and Cerdagne, though it was specially stipulated that 
 in the last four provinces Catalan money should circulate 
 and the usages of Barcelona be taken as the basis of legal 
 decisions. But even this arrangement failed to satisfy 
 Pedro, and the relations of the two brothers grew daily 
 
 ' Muntaner, Chron. 10, 11; Des- liberorum nostromm vel etiam subdi- 
 
 clot, Hist. Cat. 16. torum hoc facial.' Clermont, July 6 
 
 ^ Raynaldus, Ann. Eccl. 1262. {Arch. Fr. J. 587, no. 11). 
 
 ^ 'In ejnsdem Regis Francie pre- * Zurita {An. iii. 63), who is fol- 
 
 sentia . . . profitemur et dicimus quod lowed by M. TourtouUon (ib. ii. 
 
 eidem Matfredo vel suis contra Ro- p. 259), gives May as the month of 
 
 manam Ecclesiam vel quamcumque the marriage. It is far more pro- 
 
 personam vices gerentem ipsius vel bable, however, that the date of the 
 
 causam habentem ab ipsa nuUo tem- marriage was the same as that of the 
 
 pore per nos vel alios assistemus dower (Parchments, 1 709 ; cf Tour- 
 
 assumendo negotinm contra ipsam touUon, ib. p. 447) and the declaration 
 
 Romanam ecclesiam vel dando aliis cited above. And Molinier (in Hist. 
 
 consilium auxilium vel favorem; set Gen. Lang. xxii. § 51, note 2) seems 
 
 nee etiam snstinebimus quod aliquis to incline to this view. 
 
lo6 JAMES THE FIRST OF A R AGON. 
 
 1263. more strained 1. Even now, the Conqueror's match-making 
 ~^^~' ambitions were not satisfied, and, in May of the following 
 year, he despatched Roquefeuille, the Governor of Mont- 
 pellier, to the court of Savoy, to negotiate a union between 
 Beatrice, niece of the reigning Count, and the Infante 
 James ^. The marriage, however, never took place, and 
 eventually, in 1275, the Infante married Esclaramunda, 
 sister of Roger Bernard, Count of Foix ^. 
 
 ' Parchments, 1720; cf. Dachery, * Znrita, An. iii. 64, 65; Hist. 
 
 Spic. iii. p. 638. Gin. Lang, xxvi, § 51. The contract 
 
 ''■ Reg. xii. 33. The dower was with Esclaramunda is printed by 
 
 still under discussion in July, 1266. Dachery (ib. viii. p. 251). 
 Reg. XV. 21. 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 The Last Effort of Privilege. 
 
 For James, the year 1263 had been mainly taken up by 1263. 
 domestic concerns. Trouble was now impending from ^.Z*^~ 
 
 , . . . r , T^. r^ , Difficulties, 
 
 another quarter. At the mstigation of the Kmg of Granada, of Alfonso 
 the Moors of Andalucia had risen en masse; and, after °'^ *'^^"'^- 
 struggling desperately for two years against the combined 
 forces of Andalucia, Granada, and Tunis, Alfonso found 
 himself once more reduced to appeal to the King of Aragon. 
 Since 1260, when he had commented so rudely on the 
 nature of the assistance his father-in-law was prepared to 
 afford him, the relations of the two sovereigns had been the 
 reverse of cordial, and the tension had been increased of 
 late by a fresh outbreak of hostilities on the frontier^. 
 The state of Catalonia seems to have been becoming more 
 tranquil, and, at Zaragoza, on February 6, 1263, the king 
 pardoned the Cerveras, Guerao Cabrera, and Hugo Cer- 
 vellon ^. In Holy Week — a well-chosen moment — James 
 received from his daughter, the Queen of Castile, a letter 
 containing a pathetic appeal for help : ' the Moors had 
 taken possession of nearly all their country, except perhaps 
 a little.' This was the second call on his generosity, as 
 well as on his patience, made within the last three years by 
 the Conqueror's son-in-law. The temptation to leave 
 Alfonso to his fate must have been strong, and in any case 
 
 '■ Zurita, An. iii. 65. That James' Castile, given by G. Cardona in July, 
 
 relations with Alfonso had again be- 1261 {^Parch. 1664). 
 
 come strained is evident from a pro- ^ Keg. xii. 7. 
 mise of aid, in the event of war with 
 
I08 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1263-4. it seemed a good opportunity to exact reparation for past 
 ~**~ wrongs. The last was the course advocated by the barons 
 at a council held at Huesca : ' now let the king get back 
 the castles that he has so often demanded from Castile,' 
 said Fernan Sanchez. But James' conduct was more 
 honourable and more politic ; his words on this occasion 
 are remarkable for their insight and foresight : ' the king 
 of Castile has put my daughter to this use ; for the wrongs 
 he has done me, he dare not ask m.y help, but tries to get 
 it through my daughter. Should he find by letters from 
 her that I feel inclined, other prayers for help will certainly 
 endorse the first ^.' 
 
 But he had made up his mind not to reject the petition, 
 and that for three reasons : the first, because he could not 
 desert his daughter and grandchildren ; the second, because 
 it would be injudicious to make an enemy of the King of 
 Castile, especially in view of the possibility of Alfonso 
 conquering the Moors ; the third — but not the least — ' if 
 the King of Castile happen to lose his land, I shall hardly 
 be safe in mine.' 
 
 He therefore resolved to call the Cortes both in Catalonia 
 and Aragon, not indeed to ask counsel, but merely to 
 demand help, for ' I have had experience enough to know 
 that members are generally divided in opinion, and that, 
 whenever I asked them for counsel on matters of impor- 
 tance, they could never be made to agree ^.' 
 
 But before the Christian powers could co-operate, it was 
 necessary to remove all misunderstandings between the 
 two sovereigns, and for this purpose a commission was 
 appointed once more to fix the frontier (May 3) ^. James' 
 next step was to issue a proclamation authorizing his 
 subjects to injure the King of Tunis in every possible way 
 (October)* ; on January 24, 1264, he promised the men of 
 
 ' C^ro«. 378-82. of Barcelona: ' cum omnibus illis qui 
 
 ^ Chron. 382. vos sequi voluerint possitis armare et 
 
 ' Mem. Hist. Esf. i. 93. facere omne malum quod facere pote- 
 
 * It was addressed to Gruni, Bailiff ritis uUo modo Regi Tunicii et Regi 
 
THE LAST EFFORT OF PRIVILEGE. IC9 
 
 Barcelona, who were fitting out ships against the Saracens, 1264. 
 not to make peace for two years ^ ; and on the 26th the ~**~ 
 king's natural son, Pedro Fernandez, was appointed admiral dedares 
 of the fleet 2, while the defence of the frontier seems to have ^^'. , ^ 
 
 1 , , -.^ against the 
 
 been entrusted to Ramon Moncada and Roquefeuille 3. Moors 
 Most of the year T364 James doubtless spent making the ^^Jg"; 
 circuit of his kingdom, to collect aids for the expedition *. 
 
 The Cortes of Catalonia met at Barcelona in November. Cortes of 
 Matters did not go as smoothly as the king had probably ?nov')°"'' 
 expected. His old enemy, Cardona, seems to have been 
 present, and the Viscount's complaints formed the nucleus 
 for an opposition which grew so strong that James left the 
 Cortes in a passion. Afterwards he was waited on in his 
 palace by a deputation of the members, who offered 
 Bovage, and begged the king to promise Cardona redress. 
 The terms were, apparently, accepted, and James left for 
 Zaragoza '. 
 
 Here worse was in store for him. The Cortes met in Cortes at 
 the Dominicans' church, and, though the king's demands ,^l^\^^ 
 were backed by a Minorite Friar, who told how a brother 
 had been ' warned of the angel of the Lord in a dream ' 
 that ' the King of Aragon, named James, should be the 
 saviour of Spain,' it soon became apparent that the loyalty 
 of the nobility was not to be worked upon in such a fashion. 
 At the suggestion of Eximen Urrea — who said that dreams 
 were ' very good things,' but that they would first delibe- 
 rate — the nobles, who seem to have taken the leading 
 part in the Cortes, retired, and James returned to his 
 
 de Tirimoe et terre sue.' Debtors were haberemus in Yspaniam ire contra 
 
 to be free till their return. Reg. xii. Sarracenos pro tuenda terra nostra.' 
 
 126. In return they were exempted from 
 
 1 lb. 140. 'Herbage.' .ff«^. xiii. 233. 
 
 " lb. xiv. 47. '' Chron. 383-7 ; Zurita, Ind. p. 143. 
 
 ' To Roquefeuille he is said to have Cf. Reg. xiii. 243 (dated Barcelona, 
 
 given 10,000 sols for the payment of Nov. 12)— a royal acknowledgment 
 
 10,000 infantry and 2,000 slingers. that the aid of the Count of Ampurias 
 
 Diago, An. Val. iii. 57. is given 'gratis et spontanea voluntate 
 
 ' The clergy of the diocese of Elne et amore maximo ac puro gratuitu 
 
 gave 17,000 melgorian sols, ' com nos dono.' 
 
no JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1264. lodgings. Here they soon afterwards waited on him, and 
 ~"**~ met his demand for Bovage with a unanimous refusal. 
 ' We do not know in Aragon what Bovage is,' said Eximen 
 Urrea, and the others were equally obstinate, notwith- 
 standing James' somewhat dishonest proposal that they 
 should vote an aid, and contribute nothing themselves, so 
 that he might not lose what the clergy, the military orders, 
 the knights, and the citizens would pay. After another fruit- 
 less interview, the nobles withdrew to Alagon, and thence 
 to Mallen : they were led by Feman Sanchez, Entenza, 
 Ferris Lizana, and Eximen Urrea, and here they proclaimed 
 a Union, or League of the Nation against the royal power ^. 
 James himself withdrew to Calatayud, and here, in the 
 church of S. Mary, the envoys of the nobles presented 
 a list of grievances. The articles were twelve in number, 
 and were made up of complaints as to alleged violations of 
 the feudal privileges of the aristocracy, and the partiality 
 shown for Roman and Canon principles by the lawyers of 
 the king's court, to the exclusion of local custom^. To 
 
 ^ Chron. 387-94. The ' text of educate, marry, and knight the sons 
 
 Scripture ' with which James opened of the barons : (4) the nobles suffered 
 
 the Cortes of Zaragoza — ' non minor much from the tyranny of the royal 
 
 est virtus quaerere quam quae sunt ofi(iciaIs,who confiscated their Honours 
 
 parta tueri' — is really a line from without giving them a hearing, and 
 
 Ovid's Ars Amatoria (ii. 13), which violated their right of asylum : (5) the 
 
 the hypocritical king has disguised, king's sons by Teresa Vidaura were 
 
 and which should run : ' non minor not entitled to the possession of 
 
 est virtus quam quaerere parta tueri.' Honours : (6) every baron, knight, 
 
 Gayangos, ii. p. 507. and Infanzon, enjoyed the right of 
 
 ^ They asserted that : (i) the king freely transporting and selling his 
 distributed Honours to strangers and salt, if he possessed a mine, through- 
 Mesnaders (i.e. knights of the royal out the king's dominions: (7) the 
 household) instead of to the barons of attempt made to introduce the imposts 
 birth : (2) the nobles were not bound of Herbage and Bovage was a viola- 
 te serve outside the kingdom, and in tion of the customs of the kingdom : 
 wars that did not concern them : (3) (8) the pay of the Mesnaders was 
 the king did not do his duty towards insufficient : (9) Valencia should be 
 the wives and children of the barons, governed according to the customs of 
 the family of any baron or knight, who Aragon, instead of by a special code, 
 was compelled to leave the kingdom, and it ought also to be divided into 
 possessing a right to the protection of fiefs, for the benefit of the Aragonese 
 the Crown, which was also bound to nobility: (10) instead of deciding cases 
 
THE LAST EFFORT OF PRIVILEGE. Ill 
 
 these charges — which, in his opinion, ' had neither top nor 1265. 
 bottom ' — James replied in detail, and ended by promising -**— 
 on all occasions to respect the customs of Aragon, and 
 somewhat blasphemously comparing his treatment by the 
 nobles to the sufferings of our Lord at the hands of the 
 Jews ^. 
 
 But, however reasonable the king's position, the difficulty Cortes at 
 of the situation was intensified by the personal element /^^^ 
 that began to show itself. James' cousin, Berenguer de 1265). 
 Entenza, set up a claim to Montpellier, Ribagorza, and 
 Pallas ; and even of those who had been the king's most 
 faithful adherents — such as Guerao de Puyo, Ato Foces, 
 and Blasco de Alagon — each had his own grievance, while 
 the most violent of all was James' son, Fernan Sanchez. 
 Eventually, for the settlement of the dispute, a Cortes was 
 called to Exea, April, 1265, where the king made a number 
 of concessions, confirming the feudal privileges of the 
 nobles, and granting them the right of trial by their peers 
 in their differences with the Crown ^. 
 
 by national custom, the king based case of importance had ever come 
 
 his sentences on Roman law and the before his court in which the nobles 
 
 Decretals, besides surrounding him- had not acted as assessors, nor were 
 
 self with a body of lawyers, and not his decisions in civil cases based on 
 
 taking counsel of the nobles, accord- any code but the Fneros, though he 
 
 ing to time-honoured precedent : (11) was entitled to surround himself with 
 
 Ramon Berenguer IV had illegally a body of lawyers, owing to the 
 
 abrogated the ancient Fueros, which diversity of custom in his dominions, 
 
 should now be re-established: (12) Zurita, ib. 
 
 Ribagorza had been wrongly torn ^ The king's concessions were em- 
 
 from Aragon and united to Catalonia. bodied in ten articles: (i) Honours 
 
 Zurita, ib. 66. were to be the exclusive privilege of 
 
 '■ Chron. itjd, Z'il ; Zurita, ib. The the nobility of birth : (2) the nobles 
 
 king replied that he had a right to were perpetually exempt from Bovage 
 
 dispose of the Honours as he thought and Herbage ; (3) the testimony of two 
 
 fit, as well as to appoint the Justiciar disinterested knights should suffice as 
 
 of Aragon and local justices ; that he evidence of a man's nobility : (4) the 
 
 was ready to fulfil his obligations to possessors of salt mines should continue 
 
 the wives and children of the nobles ; to enjoy their traditional privileges : 
 
 that Valencia had been won by the (5) any noble knighting an unworthy 
 
 arms of others besides the Aragonese, subject should be declared incapable 
 
 to whom he had given a good portion of possessing an honour : (6) the sons 
 
 in the conquered land; and that no of Teresa Vidaura should not be 
 
Tia JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1265. Most of the insurgents seem to have been satisfied with 
 ~"~ the points they had gained ; but Fernan Sanchez, Entenza, 
 and Lizana continued their resistance. James summoned, 
 therefore, the nobles of Catalonia, and the men of the 
 neighbouring towns, to assist him, and took a few castles 
 belonging to the enemy. He had just begun the siege of 
 Pomar, Fernan's stronghold on the Cinca, when the rebels, 
 alarmed at his determination, offered to submit to the 
 decision of some bishops, if the siege were raised. To this 
 the king consented, and retired to Monzon, where the dis- 
 pute was referred to the Bishops of Zaragoza and Huesca, 
 the latter of whom, however, fell ill, and his colleague 
 refused to give sentence alone. But both parties had 
 grown weary of the contest, and, on the insurgents under- 
 taking to keep the peace during the king's absence on his 
 Moorish campaign, James granted them a truce (June 30) 
 till his return ^. 
 
 In the concessions wrung from the king at Exea feudal 
 privilege had attained the highest point it was destined 
 to reach in the Conqueror's reign. The demands of the 
 
 granted lands or Honours: (7) nobles The MSS., from which Zurita drew 
 
 might acquire immoveables, and in his account of these transactions, have 
 
 so doing maintain their privilege of disappeared from the Archives, 
 
 exemption from taxation : (8) in ^ Chron. 397-404. M. TourtouUon 
 
 judicial matters the aristocracy was (ib. ii. p. 273) falls into a serious 
 
 to be exempt from the ' Inquisition ' chronological error in his arrangement 
 
 of royal officials : (9) the Justiciar, of these events, which he places before 
 
 assisted by the nobles and knights at the Cortes of Exea, i.e. early in 1265. 
 
 court, should act as judge in all suits But : (i) the siege of Pomar did not 
 
 between Crown and nobles : (10) the take place till June, as is proved by 
 
 Justiciar should always be a knight, a royal document of June 20, given 'in 
 
 fo as to be liable to corporal punish- obsidione dePomarii' {Reg.-!X\\. 274I: 
 
 ment, from which the barons were (2) the truce to the three recusants at 
 
 exempt. (Zurita, ib.) It will be ob- Monzon is dated June 30 {Reg. viii. 
 
 served that the nobles entirely failed 69 ; cf. BofaruU, ib. vi. 44) : (3) in an 
 
 to obtain the concession of such im- interviewof Fernan and his two friends 
 
 portant points as the re-establishment with James, shortly before the siege 
 
 of the local Fueros, the division of of Pomar, they expressly complain of 
 
 Valencia into fiefs for the Aragonese the ' divisions ' the king had caused 
 
 nobility, exemption from foreign ser- among them at Exea — the only allu- 
 
 vice, and the remodelling of the royal sion to this Cortes in the Chronicle. 
 tribunal. 
 
THE LAST EFFORT OF PRIVILEGE. 113 
 
 barons were in no way national, but rather feudal, in their 1265. 
 character ; nor can Fernan Sanchez and Entenza be said in ~*^~ 
 any sense to have played the part of a Bohun and a Bigod. 
 Even the plea for the re-establishment of the local customs 
 would simply have meant a return to a state of unmitigated 
 feudalism, in which each lord and each community might 
 do what was right in their own sight — a return, in fact, to 
 anarchy. The result of the struggle was a compromise, by 
 which the nobility secured indeed the confirmation of the 
 privileges of their order, but otherwise failed to trammel 
 the king's liberty of action in any vital respect. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 The Fall of Murcia and the King's Crusade. 
 
 1265. The Conqueror's hands being at last untied, he was now 
 ~^*~ at liberty once more to draw his sword against the Moors. 
 But before doing so, he paid a visit to Montpellier — to 
 raise, no doubt, an aid — and thence returned to Valencia, 
 the rendezvous for the expedition. He had summoned, in 
 all, 2.000 knights ; but of these only 600 appeared, from 
 Aragon there coming but one — Blasco de Alagon — a fact 
 which seems to point to a continued or revived estrange- 
 ment between the king and his Aragonese nobility. The 
 Invasion of army crossed the frontier near Biar, and soon found itself 
 under the walls of Villena. The town had revolted from 
 Don Manuel— a brother of the King of Castile, and husband 
 of James' daughter, Costanza — but the citizens now con- 
 sented to open their gates to the Castilians, on the King of 
 Aragon undertaking to procure their pardon. Passing by 
 Elda and Petrer — both of which, at his request, submitted 
 to their Castilian masters — James proceeded next to Ali- 
 cante, where he met with no opposition from the inhabi- 
 tants. While he was here, there arrived envoys from 
 Elche, to sound his intentions ; but the king could play the 
 diplomat when he chose, and, at a private interview with 
 one of the Saracens, Mahomet, after promising to make 
 him and his family rich for ever, ' I dropped into the sleeve 
 of his gown 300 besants, which I had by me : he was 
 delighted, and promised on his law to do all he could for 
 my advantage.' And so successful were these tactics that 
 Elche surrendered a few days afterwards. 
 
THE FALL OF MURCIA. 115 
 
 From Elche the king advanced to Orihuela — a town 1265-6. 
 about fifteen miles from Murcia, and at the entrance of the "**- 
 great Huerta— and this was followed by the surrender of 
 all the country between Orihuela, Villena, and Alicante. 
 At Alcaraz he met the King and Queen of Castile, and 
 spent a week there, ' with great joy and disport.' Christ- 
 mas he kept at Orihuela, where he stayed till the end of 
 the year \ 
 
 At last, on January i, he advanced on the capital, up Siege of 
 the Huerta, and blockaded the town, which lies on the q^T-^ 
 Segura, in a plain surrounded by bare mountains, and in Feb. 1266). 
 the midst of a veritable garden. The citadel was held by an 
 Alcaid for the King of Granada, whom the citizens refused 
 to recognize. This state of things probably facilitated 
 negotiations, for when, at the end of a month, James offered 
 to procure Alfonso's pardon, the inhabitants accepted the 
 overture, and it was eventually agreed that the citizens 
 should be allowed liberty of worship and the enjoyment of 
 their own judicial system, while half the town was to be 
 peopled by Christians. A long and hot wrangle ensued 
 for the possession of the chief mosque, but ultimately the 
 Moors were obliged to give way, and, after being purified, 
 it was consecrated to S. Mary. This done, the whole 
 army made a grand entry, ' with crosses and with the 
 image of Our Lady,' the clergy dressed in ' cloaks of samit 
 (velvet) and other cloths of gold.' On entering the church, 
 the Conqueror embraced the altar, and wept ' bitterly and 
 heartily.' 
 
 After spending a few days in the town, James honour- 
 ably handed it over to Alfonso Garcia, for the King of 
 
 ' Chron. 406-433. The history of ii. App. H). It was in this year, 
 
 Murcia during this century is very apparently, that James received an 
 
 obscure. The Almohades seem to urgent letter from Clement exhorting 
 
 have been expelled about the year him to e.\pel completely the Saracens 
 
 1228, and an independent dynasty from his dominions, and sharply 
 
 established. About 1241 the Emir punish the Jews for their blasphemies, 
 
 became Ferdinand's vassal, but, later, Escurial, ii. p. 7 ; Zurita, Ind. p. 
 
 the town had revolted (Gayangos, ib. 145. 
 
 I 3 
 
Ii6 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1266-7. Castile, and returned to Valencia in April, leaving 10,000 
 
 -«— men-at-arms in the land ^. He seems to have found a state 
 
 of unwonted tranquillity prevailing at home. The few 
 
 remaining malcontents in Aragon had not, apparently, 
 
 Truce with ventured on open hostilities ; and, accordingly, after con- 
 
 {Tulv'22) eluding another truce with Teobaldo of Navarre, to last 
 
 till Michaelmas of the following year — a circumstance 
 
 that would imply a renewal of the coldness between the 
 
 two monarchs — James proceeded, in October, to Mont- 
 
 pellier, where he spent the rest of the year ^. 
 
 Challenge On his way back, in February of the following year, he 
 
 L^zana received, at Perpignan, two communications of very dis- 
 
 (Feb. similar character — the one an invitation to a crusade from 
 
 '^'' the Khan of Tartary, the other a letter of defiance from 
 
 Ferriz Lizana. To the Khan James sent an envoy — Jacme 
 
 Alarich, a citizen of Perpignan — and to Lizana he replied, 
 
 in Cambysean style, that it was not his habit to pursue 
 
 such small game : ' I am wont to hawk herons and bustards ; 
 
 but, since he wishes it, I will this time chase and take 
 
 a pigeon, if I can.' On arriving, therefore, in Aragon, he 
 
 lost no time in marching against the town of Lizana, the 
 
 castle of which he forced to surrender unconditionally 
 
 (May) in about a week, and hung or beheaded the whole 
 
 garrison. The chief culprit himself escaped, but he does 
 
 not appear to have been supported by the other nobles, and 
 
 — in Aragon, at least — quiet seems to have prevailed during 
 
 this and the following year ^. 
 
 Project of This was fortunate for the king, for he was now able 
 
 a Crusade, jq ^^^^ j^jg attention to the other message he had received 
 
 ' Chron. 433-456. According to 'in obsid. Li9ane,' May 21. With 
 
 Desclot (ib. i. 19) the Murcians were James' treatment of Lizana's garrison 
 
 reduced to eating carrion before they one may contrast the refusal of S. 
 
 surrendered. Louis, in similar circumstances, to put 
 
 James was back at Valencia by to death the garrison of Fontenay, on 
 
 April 7 {.Keg. xv. 12), and was at the ground that they were but obeying 
 
 Barcelona on May 15 (ib. 17). the orders of their lord. Guizot, 
 
 " Reg. XV. 21, 33 ; Chron. 456. Hist. Civ. iii. p. 248. 
 
 ^ Chron. 451-464 ; ci.Keg. xv. 56 : 
 
THE KING'S CRUSADE. 117 
 
 at Perpignan— the invitation from the Khan. P'or some 1267-8. 
 time he had wished to take the Cross, and, as we have ~**~ 
 seen, had even attempted a crusade about the time of 
 Pedro's marriage with Costanza. Later, the project was 
 revived, and the king had sounded Clement IV on the 
 subject, but had received, at the very moment of his 
 triumph over Murcia, a humiliating rebuff from the pontiff, 
 who sternly rebuked and threatened him for his licentious- 
 ness 1. But it was after this that the invitation from the 
 Tartars had arrived, and now the undaunted monarch was 
 supplied with a fresh excuse for undertaking the enterprise, 
 notwithstanding papal opposition. He was spending the 
 Christmas of 1268 at Toledo — whither he had gone to 
 assist at the first Mass of his son Sancho, the new arch- 
 bi.shop^ — and while there, he received a message from 
 Alarich, the envoy he had sent to the East from Perpignan, 
 to the effect that he had just returned, with two Tartars, who 
 brought an invitation to the King of Aragon to cross the 
 sea. The plan was discouraged by Alfonso, who, for once, 
 showed himself wiser than his father-in-law, warning him 
 that the Tartars were ' very deceitful.' But it was to no 
 purpose : the Conqueror's vanity was flattered, and he had 
 made up his mind to go. So he left Toledo without delay, 
 with a contribution of 60,000 besants from Alfonso, and 
 returned to Valencia, where he found the Tartars, as 
 
 ' The pope wrote: ' illius obse- ifi,i2(i6;'M.a.rtitne,Thes.Nov.Anecdot. 
 
 quiiim Crucifixus non recipit, qui in- ii. 440.) The lady alluded to was 
 
 cestuoso contubernio se commaculans DoJia Berenguela Alfonso, whom the 
 
 Se Ipsum iternm crucifigit. Idem se- KingandQueen of Castile had brought 
 
 renitati tuae, sicut alias, sic et nunc, with them to Alcaraz in 1265. [C.hron. 
 
 iterato familiariter rogamus ethor- 432.) She is said to have died at 
 
 tamur attente quatenus nobilem femi- Narbonne, in June 1272. Beuter, Cor. 
 
 nam Berengariam, quam in carnale Esp. ii. 54. 
 
 commercium, non absque nota in- ^ Sancho owed his archbishopric to 
 
 cestus et salutis tuae discrimine, admi- the double election of the Archdeacon 
 
 sisti, a te prorsus abjicias . . . Insuper of Talavera and the Dean of Burgos, 
 
 autem scire te volumus, nisi nostris As in the case of Langton, the pope 
 
 monitis acquieveris, nos te ad dimit- set aside both candidates. Mem. Hist. 
 
 tendam eandem per censuram eccle- Esp. i. 107. 
 siasticam compulsuros.' (Viterbo, Jan. 
 
Il8 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1269. well as an envoy from the Emperor Michael Palaeologus, 
 — *+— who also urged him to go, besides promising supplies ^. 
 
 It was necessary for the king, however, to leave, if pos- 
 sible, no enemy behind him. Accordingly, in January 
 1269, at the request of Alfonso, he made a truce with the 
 Sultan of Granada ^, and in August he referred a dispute 
 with the Cardonas, over the county of Urgel, to the arbitra- 
 tion of Pedro ^, besides making over his claims on Navarre 
 to his son*, who was to be Lieutenant-General of the 
 kingdom in his father's absence^. 
 
 Besides ridding himself of these responsibilities, the king 
 seems to have spent the first few months of the year in 
 visiting different parts of his dominions, to exact supplies* : 
 he even crossed to Mallorca and Minorca, from the former 
 of which he extorted 50,000 sols, from the latter 1,000 
 cows and oxen. Before starting, he had also to brave an 
 interview, at Huerta, with the Queen of Castile, and his 
 other children and grandchildren, who for two days prayed 
 him, ' weeping and crying,' not to depart. But prayers and 
 tears were of no avail, and the king returned to Barcelona. 
 The fleet he had got together seems to have consisted of 
 about thirty large ships and some galleys. It had on board 
 the Bishops of Barcelona and Huesca, the Sacristan of 
 Lerida, the Masters of the Temple and Hospital, the Com- 
 mander of Alcailiz, James' sons, Fernan Sanchez and Pedro 
 Fernandez, and a number of nobles. 
 James sets The crusaders set sail early in September, but had not 
 sail (Sept.) gQj^g f^j. when they fell in with the inevitable storm, which 
 
 back 
 
 1 Chron. 474-481. Archbishop of Tarragona and the 
 
 a Reg. XV. 130. Connt of Ampurias each an unstated 
 
 ^Parchments, 1989. See Appen- amount — the former ' ex mera libera- 
 
 dix A. litate,' and the latter ' gratis et spon- 
 
 * lb. 1991. tanea voluntate et amore raaximo ac 
 
 = Zurita, An. iii. 5-4. puro gratuitu dono.' {Reg. xiii. 173, 
 
 ^ Large sums were extorted from 243; Parch. 1794; cf. BofaruU, ib. 
 
 the Jews throughout the kingdom vi. 46.) These were not, of course, 
 
 {Reg. xvi. 152, 158, t6i). Barcelona the only contributions, and a number 
 
 gave 80,000 sols (ib. 159), and the of nobles promised troops. 
 
THE KING'S CRUSADE. 119 
 
 It seemed James' fate always to encounter, whenever he set 1269. 
 out on an expedition beyond sea. The gale became worse, ~'*^~ 
 increasing to a ' Temporal,' and the king saw a waterspout 
 rise and fall in the sea. At last he said to his knights : ' It 
 seems to me it is not our Lord's will that we should go 
 beyond sea, as once before, when we prepared.' The 
 ardour of the others had also been damped, and they 
 begged the king to make for land. This was done without 
 delay, and they put in at Aigues Mortes, landing at Agde, 
 where they put up thanks for their escape in the church 
 of S. Mary of Vauvert ^ Here James was met by the 
 Bishop of Maguelonne, who wished to go to sea with him, 
 saying that if he did not make a fresh essay ' people would 
 talk very much about it ' — to which the king retorted that 
 they talked a great deal too much already, and that he did 
 not care what they said ^. At Montpellier he asked for an 
 aid, and the citizens promised 60,000 sous Tournois, if he 
 put to sea again — a hardly complimentary way of framing 
 the offer, and one which called from the king the indignant 
 exclamation: 'you would actually give me more to leave 
 you, than to remain with you ! ' 
 
 From Montpellier the Conqueror returned to Catalonia James' 
 and Aragon. At Zaragoza he received an invitation from Bursros. 
 
 ' Chron. 482-490. The date given (i.e. DoHa Berenguela Alfonso), while 
 
 in Chron. 485 for the departure of the a like report reached the ears of the 
 
 fleet is ' the third or fourth day before contemporary historian Puy Laurens, 
 
 S. Mary's,' i. e. the Nativity of the who says : ' praemissa parte socionim 
 
 Blessed Virgin, September 8. This ipse revertitur, ut dictum fuit, consilio 
 
 does not, however, accord with Chron. mulieris, qnem revera Dominus in 
 
 487, where James says that on Oc- suum noluit holocaustum. Sic fecit 
 
 tober 6 they had been at sea seventeen Jupiter, qui, jiixta fabulam, coelum 
 
 days. deseruit sequendo vitulam, si vera 
 
 ^ People do seem to have talked : fuere quae publice dicebantur ' (cap. 
 
 Zurita {An. iii. 74) quotes Bemaldo 50). The storm was undoubtedly 
 
 Gnido as saying that the king turned severe, but it was not usual for the 
 
 back ' by a woman's advice,' and the Conqueror to be the first to propose 
 
 continuator of William of Tyre {Hist. a return, and the fact that part of the 
 
 Chi. Lang. xxvi. § 76) says that James fleet under Fernan Sanchez was able 
 
 declined to put to sea again, 'por to continue its course and to reach 
 
 I'amor de sa mie dame Berenguiere ' Acre safely, is certainly suspicious. 
 
130 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1269-70. Alfonso of Castile to attend the marriage of his son Ferdi- 
 " nand with Blanche of France at Burgos. Here he found 
 a large company assembled, and among them a far nobler 
 and purer man than himself, Edward of England, who 
 had married Alfonso's sister, Berengaria. During his visit 
 James received an offer of service from Gonsalvez de Lara, 
 one of Alfonso's great nobles, who was disgusted with his 
 master's eccentricities and misrule ; and accordingly, on his 
 way home, at Tarazona, the King of Aragon took the 
 opportunity to point the lesson to his son-in-law in six 
 counsels of perfection: (i) always to keep his word when 
 once given; (2) always to consider well, before signing 
 a grant ; (3) to keep the people in his love ; (4) in any case 
 to conciliate the Church and cities, with whose aid he could 
 crush the nobles, if necessary ; (5) not to infringe the grants 
 made to the settlers in Murcia, and to people it with 
 a hundred men of importance, giving them large allotments, 
 and letting out the rest of the land to artisans ; (6) not to 
 punish anyone in secret ^. 
 
 This statesmanlike advice contains the keynote to James' 
 policy throughout his reign, and the third counsel advocated 
 the course followed so successfully by the early Norman 
 kings of England. It would have been well for the King 
 of Castile if he had acted up to his father-in-law's advice. 
 
 Early in 1270 Alfonso and his queen returned the visit, 
 and were splendidly entertained at Valencia. The real 
 object of the visit, however, was to solicit James' aid 
 against the Infante Phelipe and a number of nobles, who 
 
 ' Chron. 490-499 ; Zurita, An. iii. primogenitum, quem cingulo accingi- 
 
 75. The statement of Beuter {Cor. mus militari . . . special! gratia pro- 
 
 Esp. ii. 52), that on this occasion sequimur et favore ' : (2) the words of 
 
 Alfonso knighted Edward of Eng- a MS. in the British Museum {Add. 
 
 land, is disproved by (i) a MS. in the eh. 24,804) consisting of a charter 
 
 National Library of Paris (Dupuy, from Alfonso to a hospital, dated Dec. 
 
 220, p. 47), containing the renuncia- 30, 1254, 'en en ai5o que don Odoart, 
 
 tion of his claims on Gascony by hijo primero e heredero del rey 
 
 Alfonso, on November i, 1254, at Henric de Anglia tierra, recibio caval- 
 
 Burgos, in which occur the words, leria en Burgos del rey don Alfonso 
 
 ' Eduardum, illustris regis Angliae sobredicho.' 
 
THE KING'S CRUSADE. 121 
 
 had revolted, with the connivance and support of the King 1270. 
 of Granada. The long-suffering King of Aragon seems to — +*- 
 have undertaken the defence of the Murcian frontier, the 
 garrisons of which he at once proceeded to strengthen 1. 
 
 In other respects the year seems to have been uneventful inquisition 
 
 , , , r ■ .... . , .in Cata- 
 
 at nome, except for a rigorous inquisition against heretics lonia. 
 in Catalonia^, and a royal decree once more declaring 
 Pedro heir to Aragon, Catalonia, and Valencia, and James 
 to the Balearics, Montpellier, Roussillon, Colibre, Valespir, 
 Conflant, and Cerdagne ^. 
 
 Abroad, the year was rendered notable by the deaths Deaths of 
 of S. Louis before Tunis, of Teobaldo of Navarre in and°"^^ 
 Sicily soon afterwards, of James' daughter the Queen of Teobaldo 
 France, and of Richard of Cornwall, who was murdered at 
 Viterbo by Gui de Montfort. Teobaldo's successor En- 
 rique does not seem to have been allowed to take possession 
 of the Navarrese throne without some opposition on the 
 part of his Aragonese rival ; but his troubles at home 
 again prevented James from interfering with effect, and in 
 1272 a truce for two years was concluded between the two 
 sovereigns *. 
 
 ' Chron. 499-502. According to * Zurita, An. iii. 82. On January 
 
 Beuter (ib.) the visit of Alfonso to 13, 1272, James granted Enrique a 
 
 Valencia cost James the incredible sum truce, to last till Michaelmas {Reg. 
 
 of a million morabitins (jC6oo,ooo). xiv. 140); and on August 2 it was 
 
 ^ Zurita, An. iii. 76. renewed for two years {Reg. xxi. 53). 
 
 ^ Parchments, 2018. 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 The Dispute with Pedro, and the Council of 
 
 Lyons. 
 
 1271-2. The last years of the Conqueror's long life were destined 
 -^^— to be clouded by troubles as great as those which had 
 marred his boyhood, and the cause was to be the same 
 — an unruly and selfish nobility. 
 Turbu- Artal de Luna had engaged in a quarrel with the men of 
 
 Luna. Zuera, a town in Valencia, and killed twenty-seven of them 
 
 by an ambuscade. The king heard the news at Onteniente, 
 and at once cited Luna to appear before his Court on the 
 Vigil of the Assumption^ (August 14). The dispute 
 dragged on during the rest of the year, which was taken 
 up with preparations against^, and citations of^, the. 
 offender, who was eventually condemned to pay a sum of 
 20,000 sols, by way of compensation, to the Zuerans, and 
 to go into exile for five years, while his accomplices were 
 sentenced to still longer periods of banishment * (March 12, 
 1272). Luna himself, however, for some reason unknown 
 to us, was pardoned in the following year, and half his fine 
 
 ' Chron. 503, 4. the nobles to be ready to help him at 
 
 ^ As on Oct. 31, when he writes Huesca, about Easter, was directed 
 
 from Zaragoza to the men of Almu- against Luna (ib. 84). 
 
 devar, Pertusa, Barbastro, and Cuera, ^ As on Dec. 8, when Luna was 
 
 for contributions ' ratione exercitus cited to appear at Zaragoza, on the 
 
 quem contra Artallum de Luna facere fourth day after Christmas, ' ad fir- 
 
 intendimus' {Reg. xviii. 20). We mandum in posse nostro de faciendo 
 
 also find him ordering 100,000 arrows jure nobis et hominibus nostris de 
 
 from Aragon, Catalonia, and Valencia Cuera.' Reg. -Ay. i^. 
 
 (ib. 27) ; and it is probable that the ^ Chron. 504 ; Reg. xxi. 16. 
 summons, of October 26, issued to 
 
DISPUTE WITH PEDRO. 1 23 
 
 was remitted ^. But this was only the beginning of troubles. 1272. 
 The king was also to be harassed by a repetition of the ~^^ 
 family broils that had disgraced the earlier years of his 
 reign. 
 
 Though their father had turned back from the crusade, Disputes 
 James' sons, Pedro Fernandez and Fernan Sanchez, had ^nd 
 continued their course with part of the fleet, and had Fernan. 
 arrived safely at Acre ; but, on finding that neither the 
 Emperor nor the Khan was disposed to give them any 
 effectual assistance, they decided to return home. On his 
 way back, Fernan Sanchez visited Sicily, where he made 
 friends with, and was knighted by, Charles of Anjou. This 
 intimacy with the conqueror of Manfred and the murderer 
 of Conradin was, naturally, the reverse of pleasing to the 
 son-in-law of the former, and the feuds of the two brothers 
 very soon set the kingdom in a blaze ^. On March 20, 
 accordingly, the king cited Pedro to appear before him at 
 a General Cortes at L6rida, in mid-Lent, for the settlement 
 of the dispute ; and, when the Cortes met, he deposed 
 his son from his post of Lieutenant-General, for having 
 attempted the life of his brother^. 
 
 While matters were in this critical condition at home, Troubles of 
 a question affecting his foreign relations called the king to of yov^. 
 Montpellier. Roger Bernard, Count of Foix — the only 
 great southern lord who had succeeded in keeping inde- 
 pendent of the French Crown — was hard pressed by the 
 new king, Philip III, who had found a pretext for hostilities 
 in Bernard's complicity with the Count of Armagnac in an 
 attack on the lord of Casaubon *. Bernard was James' 
 vassal, and, on June 1, at Boulbonne Abbey, an attempt 
 was made by the King of Aragon to effect a reconciliation 
 between the two parties. For a time the Count was 
 
 1 Heg. XX. 79. drawn swords had searched for him 
 ^ Zurita, An. iii. 74. under the bed, and under some hemp 
 ' Chron. 509; Reg. xviii. 19. Fer- there was there' {Chron. ib.). Fer- 
 nan complained that Pedro and his nan's wife was a daughter of Eximen 
 men ' had gone into the room, where Urrea. Parch. i<)t)i. 
 he and his wife actually lay, and with * Martin, H. F. iv. p. 350. 
 
124 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1272-3. obstinate, but at last — on the advice of his father-in-law, 
 ^^*~ the Viscount of Bearne, and the King of Aragon — he 
 submitted at discretion (June 5)1 ^-^d was imprisoned at 
 Carcassonne. 
 
 The case, however, had raised a question as to the 
 extent of the suzerainty of the House of Barcelona over 
 the county of Foix. It had formerly possessed undoubted 
 rights over the highlands, but the Seneschal of the lowlands 
 alleged that any such connexion had been severed by the 
 treaty of Corbeil. A long series of negotiations ensued, 
 and a request for the release of the Count only had the effect 
 of straitening his bonds ; but at last James gave way, the 
 debateable ground was formally ceded to the Seneschal of 
 Carcassonne (February, 1273), and the Count was released 
 soon afterwards. Thus was given the finishing touch to 
 the treaty of Corbeil ^. 
 Dispute The king left Montpellier about the middle of February 
 
 Cardona. ^"^^ returned home^. Here he at once found himself 
 involved in fresh perplexities. On the death in 1268 of 
 Alvaro, Count of Urgel, James had taken possession of 
 a number of towns in the county as security for the debts 
 of the late Count, which he had paid. The rights of 
 
 '^ Hist. Gen. Lang, xxvii. p. 16, as recently as 1245, had done homage 
 
 and vol. viii. p. 215 ; Reg. xxi. 92, to the Conqueror for certain castles 
 
 93. On November 5, the king de- and towns. {Parch. 998.) We need 
 
 spatched the Bishop of Barcelona and not, therefore, be surprised to find 
 
 the Master of the Temple to conduct a saving clause in the king's letter 
 
 negotiations {.Reg, xxi. 72), and on of renunciation: 'salvo jure nostro 
 
 the 25th he wrote to Ibe Count of remanente, quod in eis habemus, et 
 
 Koix that he could not "believe that sine prejudicio juris nostri.' {Reg. xxi. 
 
 the King of France would in any way 93.) On August 16, at Montpellier, 
 
 inconvenience him on account of the the king made a new will, in which, 
 
 castles he held of Aragon, which were while confirming the partition of 1 262 , 
 
 not to be surrendered, because— in he legitimized his sons by Teresa 
 
 his own significant words — 'nolumus Vidaura, and placed them next in 
 
 dominationem nostram diminuere set succession to those of Violante. Parch. 
 
 potius aucmentare.' {Reg. xxi. 137.) 2016 ; cf. Dachery, Spic. ix. p. 198. 
 As already observed, the commis- '^ He was at Montpellier Feb. 14 
 
 sioners to Corbeil in 1258 had ex- {Parch. 2140), and at Perpignan 
 
 ceeded their powers in renouncing Feb. 18 {Reg. xxi. loi). 
 James' rights to Foix, whose Count, 
 
DISPUTE WITH PEDRO. 325 
 
 Armengol, the eldest son of Alvaro by Cecilia of Foix, 1273. 
 were upheld by the Viscount of Cardona, a relative who -'*- 
 soon found an opportunity of seriously embarrassing the 
 king. James had ordered a levy, for Easter, of all his 
 feudatories in Catalonia and Aragon, to assist Alfonso of 
 Castile, who was again hard pressed by his Moorish 
 neighbours ^ ; and Cardona, with Pedro de Berga, refused 
 to follow, alleging as a reason that his property was largely 
 composed of alods. On March 20, the primate was 
 appointed umpire, but his decision, whatever it was, seems 
 to have had little more than a temporary eifect in pre- 
 venting an outbreak of hostilities ^. 
 
 The rest of the year was spent in preparations for the Reconciiia 
 war with the Moors and attempts to effect a reconciliation ^eAxo 
 with the Infante Pedro. Towards the end of the year (Dec.)- 
 James met his son at Burriana, and they went together to 
 Valencia, where the king besought the Infante to forgive 
 his brother ; but, in order to avoid having to give a reply, 
 this troublesome son escaped out of the town by night. 
 He afterwards sent a series of charges against Fenian, 
 which the king invited him to prove, offering to fix 
 a time and place for the hearing of the case. A general 
 Cortes was even convened to Alcira, and two deputations 
 visited the Infante at Corbera ; but their efforts were use- 
 less, the members of the Cortes begged to be allowed to 
 return home, and the irate king dismissed them with the 
 malediction : ' Go, and ill go with you.' What the Cortes 
 could not effect, the Bishop of Valencia was at last suc- 
 cessful in bringing about ; and, a few days before Christ- 
 mas, Pedro came in to the king at Xativa, threw himself 
 at his father's feet, and, after a touching scene, was fully 
 pardoned ^. 
 
 1 Zurita, ib. 84. he threw himself at my feet, kissed 
 
 ^ Parch. 2146; cf. BofaniU, ib. vi. them, and prayed me in God's name 
 
 ,g_ to forgive him. I was greatly moved, 
 
 ' ' I rose to meet him and received and sorrow for him seized me, so 
 
 him kindly and cheerfully, as I saw that I could not help tears coming 
 
 him come to me so humbly . . . Then into my eyes. I saw his great de- 
 
126 
 
 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1274. 
 
 Invitation 
 to a 
 Council. 
 
 As far as his son was concerned, James was now free 
 from embarrassment. In fact, he was sufficiently confident 
 of the state of affairs at home, to venture, in January, to 
 pay a visit to Murcia, where he spent about three weeks, 
 'hunting and disporting.' On his return, he found, at 
 Algecira, a papal envoy with an invitation to a council at 
 Lyons, to discuss the question of a fresh crusade to the 
 Holy Land. Clement IV was dead, and the conscience 
 of his successor, Gregory X, was less sensitive at the 
 prospect of the Conqueror's participation in a holy war. 
 The invitation, as may well be supposed, was flattering 
 to the old king's vanity, and he lost no time in responding 
 to it 1. 
 Last words Accordingly, after strongly garrisoning the frontier, he 
 Cardona. set out north on his journey to Lyons. But, before leaving 
 the country, he determined to make an effort to disarm 
 Cardona, who still refused to serve. On March 9, there- 
 fore, at Tarragona, he issued an order to the Viscount and 
 Pedro de Berga to surrender their castles, for default of 
 service^; and when, on the 19th, at Barcelona, Cardona's 
 attorney begged the king to restore the Honours and fiefs 
 he had confiscated, as his client was willing to ' stand to 
 right,' James refused to do so, until, in accordance with 
 Catalan custom, the recalcitrant nobles had paid him double 
 
 votion to me and his humility, and 
 I pardoned him.' {Chron. 521.) P"or 
 the whole of this account, see Chron. 
 510-521. 
 
 The official version of the recon- 
 ciliation is contained in Reg. xviii. 
 74: 'pridie Kal. Jan. anno dom. 1273 
 in Xat. dns. Infans P. assecuravit 
 Ferrandum Sancii et ejus vassallos ad 
 mandatum dni. Regis.' The recon- 
 ciliation was proclaimed on Decem- 
 ber 21 : * filius noster suo proprio 
 motu et voluntate venit ad nos apud 
 Xativam, die jovis ante instans festum 
 Natalis Domini, et, tanquam devotus 
 et bonus filius, petiit a nobis humiliter 
 veniam' (ib. 75). 
 
 M. TourtouUon's account of all 
 these transactions (ib. ii. p. 379) is 
 most defective and altogether devoid 
 of chronological exactness. TheCortes 
 of Alcira he places in 1272 (not- 
 withstanding the date given in Reg. 
 xviii. 53, 74), when the king was at 
 Montpellier. 
 
 ' Chron. 522, 523. 
 
 ^ Reg. xxii. 3. The rebels were 
 willing to surrender their strongholds 
 ' siniplament a custom de Barcelona ' 
 — i. e. to be restored in ten days — but 
 not ' per defalliment de servu.' (Re- 
 plies of Cardona and Berga on March 
 15 and 18 in Reg. xxii. 5, 6.) 
 
THE COUNCIL OF LYONS. 127 
 
 the value of the service due from them '. Overawed, appa- 1274. 
 rently, at his firmness, Cardona now offered to surrender all ~"*^~ 
 his castles except three ^ ; but even this concession did not 
 satisfy the king, who, on April 17, at Montpellier, issued 
 instructions to the nobles of Aragon and Catalonia to assist 
 Pedro in attacking the rebels ^. 
 
 It was with matters, therefore, in a state the reverse of James at 
 satisfactory at home, that the king left Montpellier towards /j^^t 
 the end of April to keep his engagement with the pope. 
 There accompanied him — besides the knights of his house- 
 hold — the primate, and the Bishops of Barcelona, Valencia, 
 and Mallorca. He reached Lyons on May 1 *, and was 
 met by the cardinals and a large gathering of bishops and 
 nobles, a league from the city, the concourse of people 
 being so great, that it took him from early morning till 
 noon to reach the pope's palace. The Holy Father was in 
 his chamber, but, on hearing of the king's arrival, he came 
 out in his full robes ; and, after doing him ' that reverence 
 which kings do to a pope,' the Conqueror was given a seat 
 on the pontiff's right hand. Every possible attention was 
 paid to the illustrious visitor : thus, next day, when, in 
 a private conference, he was rising to speak and was about 
 to take off his cap, ' the pope bid me not to do that, but to 
 remain as I was, and to put on my cap ; and, with one 
 voice the cardinals all said the same thing, and begged me 
 sit down.' 
 
 Soon afterwards a great council was held, at which were 
 present fully 500 archbishops and bishops : on this occasion 
 James sat next to the pope, and noticed with pride that the 
 chair of the latter was ' not a palm higher ' than his own. 
 At this council the pope made a speech in Latin, in which, 
 
 ' Parch. 2187; Const. Cat. iv. 27, A list of articles to be purchased 
 
 II, 5. at Lyons, 'for the use of the king,' 
 
 " Znrita, An. iii. 85. comprised ijo cows, 200 pigs, 3,000 
 
 ' Keg. xviii. 65, 66. rams, 3,000 fowls, 300 loads of corn 
 
 • The first session was held on and 1,000 of oats, and 500 casks of 
 
 May 7. Mansi, Sacrorum Conciliorum wine. Reg. xviii. 100. 
 
 Collectio, xxiv. 38. 
 
138 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 ^2j4.. after a general exhortation — prefaced by a reference to his 
 ~"^ own self-denial in coming, 'despite of storms' — he promised 
 indulgences to all intending crusaders, except for robbery 
 and usury, which, being sins that concerned others, he 
 could not forgive, without restitution being made. The 
 meeting then broke up. In a conference held with the 
 pontiff, next day, James offered i,ooo knights, and made 
 various warlike proposals. But — either because the offer 
 was not regarded as very generous, or because their 
 hearts were already failing them — all were silent when the 
 king sat down, no one even applauding his proposals. 
 After a long pause, the Master of the Temple and others, at 
 the pope's request, continued the discussion, but they were 
 so cautious and reticent, that at last James said in disgust : 
 ' Holy Father, since no one else will speak, let me go.' The 
 pope dismissed him with his blessing. It was not, how- 
 ever, the crusade alone that had brought the King of 
 Aragon to the council. Next day he sent a message to 
 the pope that he should hke to be crowned : ' it would be 
 a greater honour to me to receive the crown at that 
 council, than if I had actually gone to Rome for it. I had 
 the crown with me : he should set it on my head. Not so 
 good a one could be got in Lyons, it was made of gold, 
 and set with precious stones, worth more that 100,000 sous 
 Tournois.' But the pope's answer was other than he had 
 expected : Gregory replied that he would do as the king 
 requested, in return for the confirmation of 'a sort of 
 tribute,' which dated from the reign of Pedro the Catholic, 
 and the arrears of which amounted to about 11,000 sous. 
 The pope had reckoned, however, without his host : James 
 the Conqueror was no John Lackland, and his indigna- 
 tion was at once roused. He had done, he said, such 
 service to God and the Church of Rome, that these trifles 
 should not come between him and them. So the matter 
 remained as it was, and the coronation did not take place. 
 Before James' departure — in some degree to propitiate the 
 angry king — the pontiff announced that special prayer 
 
THE COUNCIL OF LYONS. 139 
 
 would be offered for him at High Mass throughout 1274. 
 Christendom, and that Mass of the Holy Ghost should — '*- 
 be said for him. Encouraged by this token of favour, 
 James seems to have resolved that, if the pope would not 
 gratify his temporal ambition, he should, at least, minister 
 to his spiritual necessities ; and, accordingly, in his farewell 
 audience, he took the pontiff aside, and said to him: 'I wish 
 to leave, but not, as the proverb says, " whoever goes to 
 Rome a fool, comes away a fool ; " let it not be so with 
 me. Holy Father, I never saw any pope but yourself, and 
 so I wish to confess to you.' The pope was ' much pleased 
 and content,' and heard him, James telling him his sins 
 and what he remembered of his good deeds. To the king 
 the penance imposed seemed light : it was to avoid evil for 
 the future and to persevere in good. He failed to see 
 its bitter irony ^. Next day James left Lyons — the scene 
 of the greatest religious assembly that the West had yet 
 witnessed. He had spent three weeks there, and the result 
 of their conferences can hardly have seemed satisfactory 
 to either party. The Conqueror's vanity had been flattered, 
 but his ambition had received a rebuff; while the pope 
 must have felt his dignity slighted by the curt refusal 
 of his demand for ' tribute.' And the cause of the crusade 
 had been retarded rather than advanced. 
 
 ' The whole story of the king's wrong. He promised, however, to 
 
 visit to Lyons is to be found in intercede for him (Chron. 540, 541). 
 
 Chron. 524-42. The Council broke up on July 17: 
 
 Before leaving, James interceded 500 archbishops and bishops, 70 ab- 
 for Enrique of Castile — Alfonso's bots, 1,000 priors, and a number of 
 brother — who had driven Clement IV other clergy, had taken part in it. The 
 from Rome, but was afterwards taken Patriarch of Constantinople arrived 
 by Charles of Anjou at the fatal towards the end of June, and the 
 battle of Tagliacozzo. The pope was imion of East and West was pro- 
 somewhat offended, and replied that claimed. Martin, H. F. iv. pp. 354, 
 Enrique had said of him many in- 355. 
 jurious things, and had done him 
 
 K 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 The Succession in Navarre, and the Revolt of 
 THE Barons. 
 
 1274. It was, probably, therefore, in no very amiable mood 
 
 ^.""t*" that, towards the end of May, Tames turned his steps 
 Thedispute, ' , , ,. "^ ■' , , , ~, 
 
 with homewards, where his presence was urgently needed. The 
 
 Cardona. condition of Catalonia, sufficiently critical at the time of 
 his departure for the council, had been aggravated in his 
 absence by the conduct of Pedro, who had set up a claim 
 to certain fiefs on the ground that they could not descend 
 to females \ and had thereby alienated the Counts of Pallas 
 and Ampurias, who now threw in their lot with Cardona. 
 With the exception, therefore, of the Moncadas, the king, 
 on his return, found all the great barons of Catalonia 
 arrayed against him, and the country in a ferment from 
 one end to the other. At Montpellier he fell ill ^, but he 
 was well enough to write to Cardona, on May 39, demand- 
 ing the production of any charters of exemption from 
 liability to surrender all his castles when required by the 
 Crown ^; and at Perpignan, on June 15, he sent letters to 
 the other nobles, undertaking not to violate the customs 
 of Catalonia *, and promising to make Pedro withdraw his 
 pretensions to female fiefs ^. Cardona, besides persistently 
 
 ' Chron. 543. ^ Rsg. xxii. 9. Cardona maintained 
 
 ' Hist. Gin. Lang, xxvii. § 42 ; that his family had held the town of 
 
 Henry, Hist. Rouss. i. p. 125. It Cardona for 300 years as a free alod. 
 
 was owing, no doubt, to the king's lb. 11. 
 
 illness, that, on June 2, the Infante * lb. 10. 
 
 James was made Governor of Mont- ' Chron. J43. 
 
 pellier. lb. 
 
THE SUCCESSION IN NAVARRE. 131 
 
 disobeying all citations to the king's court ^, had also 1274. 
 sheltered a certain Beltran de Canellas, the murderer of ""*" 
 the Justiciar of Aragon ^ ; and several months were taken 
 up with arguments on this and the other points at issue, 
 till at last the king, losing patience, seized the fiefs and 
 Honours of the malcontents ', and they sent in their 
 defiances *. 
 
 These anxieties did not, however, prevent James from Dealings 
 devoting some attention to occurrences in a neighbouring Navarre. 
 kingdom which could not but interest him. On July 22 
 had died Enrique, King of Navarre. He left one daughter, 
 Juana; and the country seems to have become forthwith 
 the battle-ground of three factions : the loyalists, who 
 favoured the rule of the Regent Blanca, a cousin of 
 S. Louis ; the Aragonese party ; and the adherents of 
 Castile. Though his hands were full at home, James found 
 time to send a demand that Pedro should be recognized as 
 king ' ; while Alfonso of Castile also made over his own 
 pretensions to his son, Ferdinand, who coolly solicited the 
 assistance of the King of Aragon in their prosecution — 
 a request which naturally met with a refusal and a counter- 
 statement of the Aragonese claims ". Meanwhile, in August, 
 Pedro had arrived on the Navarrese frontier, and was met 
 
 ' Reg. xxii. 10, 12. and that, in return, five castles had 
 
 ° Zurita, An. iii. 88. In his letter, been pledged to him. He ended by 
 
 of July 15, to Cardona, who insisted exhorting the Navarrese to place 
 
 on the right of giving sanctuary to themselves ' sub paterna et quasi socia 
 
 outlaws, the king claimed for himself libertate dominationis nostra.' Reg. 
 
 universal judicial jurisdiction in Cata- xxiii. 99. 
 
 Ionia. Reg. xxii. 11, 12. ^ The reply to Ferdinand based the 
 
 ' Chron. 548. Conqueror's claims to the Navarrese 
 
 * Reg. xxii. 14, 16, 17, 20-25. The throne on three grounds : (i) it had 
 
 defiance of the Count of Ampurias belonged to Aragon till the battle 
 
 ran : ' desixim nos de vos de fe ed of Fraga, when the Navarrese chose 
 
 natnra.' lb. 16; cf. ./?^^. xviii. 56. Sancho as king; (2) Sancho had 
 
 ' In his letter to the Navarrese, adopted James as his heir; (3) the 
 
 of July 29, besides putting forward kingdom had been pawned to James 
 
 the usual claims, James alleged that, for 60,000 silver marks. lb. 97; cf. 
 
 at great expense to himself, he had Mem. Hist. Esp. i. 136. 
 
 defended Teobaldo against Castile, 
 
 K 3 
 
13a JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1274. at Sos by the Bishop of Pamplona and a number of nobles. 
 
 ■""*" The regent fled to France, but Pedro — who had been 
 instructed by his father not to invade the country unless 
 certain of success — contented himself with making a truce, 
 and withdrew to Tarazona. From here he despatched to 
 the Cortes of Navarre an envoy, Garcia Ortiz de Azagra, 
 who, on October 3, presented letters from the Conqueror 
 and his son demanding the crown for the latter. As 
 a result, a deputation from the Cortes waited on the 
 Infante at Tarazona, and here he set forth his demands 
 and promises. He asked that Juana should be married to 
 his son, Alfonso, and undertook, in return, to protect the 
 kingdom, to observe its privileges, to raise the value of the 
 knight's fee from 400 to 500 sols, to choose as governors 
 the nominees of the Cortes, and to appoint only native 
 officials. And on November i the Cortes at Olit accepted 
 these terms 1. But Pedro was never destined to rule in 
 Navarre. He seems to have followed the regent to France, 
 to represent his claims to Philip, and is said to have had 
 a most friendly reception from that monarch, even com- 
 municating with him from the same Host. The value of 
 Philip's protestations of friendship was shown when the 
 Infante had barely recrossed the Pyrenees, by the betrothal 
 of Juana to a boy afterwards known as Philip the Fair (1275)^ 
 On a review of the Conqueror's dealings with Navarre 
 throughout his reign, it can hardly be said that his action 
 at any time was such as can fairly be cast in his teeth, 
 however questionable the validity of his claims. Four 
 times did he neglect his opportunity. Teobaldo I he 
 allowed to take possession of the kingdom without any 
 serious opposition, and, on his death, concluded a marriage 
 
 ' Zurita, An. iii. 89 ; Parchments, his own ignorance of the original 
 
 2305, 2206, 2207; cf. Bofarull, ib. vi. documents. 
 
 50-52; Arch. Nav. iii. 73. Moret ^ Desclot, ib. i. 22; Muntaner, ib. 
 
 (Ann. Nav. xxiv. 3) regards Zurita's 47 ; Hist. Gin. Lang, xxvii. § 43. 
 
 account of all these transactions as James set forth his claims to the 
 
 ' una congerie basta y hazina rebuelta throne of Navarre in a letter to Philip, 
 
 de cosas increibles,' thereby betraying dated April i, 1275. Reg. xxiii. 98. 
 
THE SUCCESSION IN NAVARRE. 133 
 
 alliance with the widow — which was never carried into 1274. 
 effect — besides protecting Teobaldo II against Castile. ""**" 
 On the death of Teobaldo II his brother Enrique took 
 his place, and some hostilities which broke out were soon 
 suspended. It was not till after the death of Enrique, that 
 the Aragonese pretensions assumed a seriously menacing 
 form. 
 
 We can only judge of the morality of James' policy by 
 his actions and not by his probable motives. None the 
 less it is clear that his moderation was by no means dis- 
 interested. On the death of Sancho he was busy with 
 Valencia; in 1353 ^^ '^^^ on strained terms with Castile, 
 war with which an invasion of Navarre would have rendered 
 inevitable; in 1271 his relations with his nobles were bad, 
 and in 1274 they were worse. 
 
 He would also, as we have seen, have been confronted 
 by another serious obstacle in any attempt to lay violent 
 hands on the kingdom — the opposition of the papacy. 
 There was, therefore, sufficient reason for the employment 
 of peaceful methods. An Edward III of England would 
 have overrun the country without a moment's hesitation, 
 and left it to his successors to reap the consequences of his 
 folly. James knew better: in Navarre, as in France, his 
 temperate policy was a failure; but the failure in each 
 case was due to circumstances which he was powerless 
 to control. 
 
 Meanwhile the king's dispute with his nobles was drag- The 
 ging out its weary course. The revolt had spread from jg^ok^" 
 Catalonia to Aragon, and Cardona, Fernan Sanchez, Artal spreads lo 
 de Luna, and other Aragonese barons, had met in Castile, 
 formed a league, and afterwards joined at Ager the Counts 
 of Pallas and Ampurias^ The latter, who was one of 
 James' most bitter opponents, towards the end of the year 
 attacked and burned Figueras, a town recently founded by 
 
 ' Zurita, ib. 93. Reg. xxiii. 75, complaining that he had received the 
 contains a letter from James to the conspirator, Cornel, 
 king of Castile, dated October 9, 
 
134 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1274-5. Pedro. In spite of this insult, James, who had displayed 
 ~"~ much forbearance throughout the struggle, allowed a fresh 
 truce (December, ia74)j and at last the rebels were induced 
 by the Bishop of Barcelona and the Master of Ucles to 
 come to Villafranca, where the king named the Primate, 
 the Bishop of Gerona, the Abbot of Fontfreda, and a 
 few nobles, to act as arbitrators. A General Cortes was 
 also summoned for mid-Lent, and, for the moment, there 
 was peace ^. The Cortes met at L^rida towards the end 
 of February or early in March, and there was present 
 a large gathering of bishops, nobles, and delegates from 
 the towns — the latter with estimates of the losses they had 
 suffered from the rebels ^ Cardona, Fernan, and their 
 allies, pretended that they were afraid to enter the town, 
 and lodged in a suburb. To the Cortes they sent two 
 knights, who insisted that, before anything could be done, 
 the king should restore to Fernan the lands that had been 
 taken from him ^. This demand, however, was ruled out of 
 order by the arbitrators, who handed the accusation to the 
 rebel's attorney ; the latter would not receive it, and threw 
 it on the floor. The Cortes then broke up, and, though 
 James offered to abide by the sentence of the arbitrators, 
 the rebels would not consent, and left the place, refusing 
 even to share the costs of the trial *. 
 
 The Cortes of Lerida had brought matters to a crisis, 
 and the king seems to have lost, at last, all patience. He 
 at once sent the Infante Pedro into Aragon with instruc- 
 tions to do all the harm he could to the enemy ^ while he 
 
 ' Chron. 545-7; Zurita, ib. gi, 92 ; discouraged the visit, but the head- 
 
 Miedes, ib. 19; Reg.m-sim. 15. strong Alfonso was not to be deterred. 
 
 Christmas James Icept at Barcelona, Chron. 547. 
 
 where he entertained the King and ^ Reg. xxiii. 15. 
 
 Queen of Castile. The former was ' The king had promised to restore 
 
 on his way to the Papal Court, to Feman's castles on January 20. Reg. 
 
 remonstrate with the pope for con- xxii. 204. 
 
 firming the election of Rudolf of * Chron. 547-50. 
 
 Habsburg to the empire. His more ' Chron. 550. Fernan had already 
 
 experienced father-in-law strongly received an ominous warning : 'ens- 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BARONS. 135 
 
 himself summoned his forces (March 29), and returned to 1275. 
 Barcelona ^. Here he waited till the troops had assembled ~**~ 
 and then advanced against the Count of Ampurias, to 
 whom he sent a defiance from Gerona (May 14) ^. 
 
 Meanwhile in Aragon Pedro's activity was such that his 
 brother soon found himself besieged in his castle of Pomar ^. 
 Fernan seems to have attempted to escape in disguise, but he 
 was caught, recognized, and at once drowned in the Cinca 
 (June), by the Infante's orders. The king heard the news Failure of 
 at Perpignan, whither he had gone to visit the Queen ^ '^^^° '' 
 of Castile, and this affectionate father was overjoyed : ' I 
 was very glad to hear of this ; for it was a very hard thing 
 that he, being my son, should have risen against me, who 
 had done so much for him, and given him so honourable 
 a heritage *.' 
 
 The death of Fernan gave the finishing stroke to the 
 revolt in Aragon : the Catalan barons only remained to be 
 dealt with. On his way back from Perpignan, the king 
 took and demolished Calabug Castle, the property of 
 Dalmao Rocaber, and then laid siege to Rosas, the strong- 
 hold of the Count of Ampurias (July). 
 
 The rebels were at Castellon : discouraged by the death 
 of Fernan, they now came to the kingj gave up the Count, 
 and undertook that he should make any reparation required 
 for the burning of Figueras. James accordingly returned 
 
 todiatis vos a nobis et a dicto filio remarks ' qnedo rendida naturaleza ' 
 
 nostro (sc. Petro), quod male fecistis, (^An. Val. iii. 27), and Zurita 'era 
 
 et malum venietvobis.' i?ii'^. xxiii. 96. menester que se escriviesse . . . para 
 
 ' Reg. xxiii. 22; Chron. ib. creerla.' (An. iii. 95.) 
 
 " Reg. xxiii. 29. M. TourtouUon (ib. ii. p. 394) 
 
 ' A deed by Pedro, of June I, thinks that the passage in question 
 
 is signed : ' in obsidione Pomarii.' contains a textual error, in the shape 
 
 Reg. xxxvii. 88. of a confusion between ' plazer ' and 
 
 * Chron. 550 ; Desclot, ib. i. 21. 'planher.' But, if this were so, there 
 
 The latter (ib.) actually says that would be no sense in the following 
 
 the king felt the death of Fernan ' as words : ' for it was a very hard thing 
 
 a father,' but that the consideration that he, being my son, should have 
 
 of his son's crimes ' helped to console risen against me.' To such straits 
 
 him.' Most other writers unite in are James' admirers driven in their 
 
 condemning James : thus Escolano efforts to vindicate his character ! 
 
136 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1275. to Gerona, where his prisoner and Berga begged him to 
 "~**~ call a General Cortes to L^rida, which he consented to do, 
 fixing it for All Saints' day ^. At Barcelona, the Count 
 offered to 'do right,' and to surrender all the castles the 
 king demanded, which were, however, to be restored by 
 Michaelmas ; while on the same day, September 3, he was 
 pardoned on condition that he compensated the parties 
 he had injured ^. And on September 6 James sent letters 
 of summons to the other rebels to be present at the 
 Cortes in November ^ 
 
 Meanwhile their cause had received another blow. Roger 
 Pallas, Galeran de Finos, and a number of other nobles, 
 were besieging Mombaulon Castle. Its owner, the Viscount 
 of Castelnou, appealed to Pedro, who collected troops, 
 sallied out from Figueras, defeated the rebels, and drove 
 them to the mountains *. The king and his son had thus 
 completely triumphed : the insurgents were crushed, but 
 for the present they continued obstinate. The second 
 Cortes of L6rida was as complete a failure as the first; 
 before it was opened, the rebels demanded that James 
 should make over to the Count of Pallas some property 
 bequeathed to him by Berga, who had recently died ; and 
 on his deferring his decision till the arrival of Pedro, they 
 left the Cortes in a body ^. But their resistance was prac- 
 tically at an end, and the nation was to be re-united before 
 a common danger. 
 Retrospect In reviewing the history of this, the Conqueror's last, 
 struggle, struggle with his nobles, it is easy to see that there were 
 faults on both sides, but that the barons were most to blame. 
 James' mistake consisted in pushing his legal rights too far : 
 it was hardly reasonable to expect Cardona to allow himself 
 to be stripped of all his resources by the surrender of his 
 
 ^ Chron. 550, 1. For the date of ' Zurita, An. iii. 97 ; Desclot, Hist. 
 
 the siege of Rosas, cf. Reg. xx. 268 : Cat. i. 23. Beuter {Cor. Esp. ii. 54) 
 
 ' in obsidione de Rosis,' July 1 1 . says that the castle besieged was that 
 
 "^ Reg. XX. 282, 3; XXV. 306. of Besalu. 
 
 ' Reg. xxiii. 33. = Chron. 552, 3. 
 
THE REVOLT OF THE BARONS. 137 
 
 castles and fiefs, and then to acquiesce in the king's sentence, 1275. 
 whatever it might be. And it was on this very point that -**- 
 the Viscount made the most prolonged resistance — a fact 
 which shows that he fully appreciated its importance. On 
 the other hand, that Cardona was bound to follow the king 
 when summoned to serve, there could be no doubt what- 
 ever, and his claim to shelter a murderer was equally unjus- 
 tifiable. In dealing with him, James erred in not pressing 
 these two last points, and in insisting, before all else, on the 
 surrender of his fiefs. 
 
 The grievances of the other barons were vaguer. They 
 began with the demand of Pedro for the reversion to the 
 Crown of ' female fiefs,' a claim which James appears to have 
 promised to make his son abate. The other complaints of 
 the recalcitrants consisted in vague charges against the 
 king for alleged violations of their ' good customs ' — viola- 
 tions which are not specified. And their unreasonable atti- 
 tude is shown by their abrupt departure from the second 
 Cortes of L^rida. There can, in fact, be little doubt that 
 the real motive of the revolt was the extortion by the 
 barons of Catalonia of concessions similar to those obtained 
 by the nobles of Aragon at Exea in 1 365. They failed in 
 their object ; but they had inflicted serious injury on the 
 country, and there was probably no contemporary sovereign 
 who would have treated them so leniently as the Conqueror 
 had done — traitors and rebels though they were. 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 The Death of the King. 
 
 1275. While the restoration of order at home was taxing all 
 ~"~ the energies of the King of Aragon, the neighbouring king- 
 in Castile, dom was the scene of events, which, in their bearing on the 
 future of Spain, seemed likely to call for the strong hand 
 of another Charles the Hammerer. 
 
 In November, 1274, the Conqueror had concluded an 
 alliance with Aben Jucef, King of Morocco^, who, according 
 to his own account, was fitting out an armament against 
 the Emir of Ceuta. The real object of the treaty — so far, 
 at least, as Aben Jucef was concerned — soon became evi- 
 dent : it was meant to disarm the suspicions of the Kings 
 of Castile and Aragon; and in March, 1275, an army of 
 Arabs crossed the straits and poured into Andalucia. 
 They had come, of course, at the invitation of the King of 
 Granada, and a series of disasters to the Christians followed. 
 Alfonso was absent, prosecuting his claims to the imperial 
 throne, while his own was in jeopardy. In May Gonzalez 
 de Lara, Governor of Cordova, was defeated and killed at 
 Ecija ; James' son, the Archbishop of Toledo, shared 
 a like fate at Torre del Campo soon afterwards ; and the 
 Infante Ferdinand, Alfonso's heir^ died at Villareal, on 
 his way against the invaders. James heard the news 
 at Gerona, soon after his triumph at Rosas, and it 
 caused him 'great grief.' The Cortes of L6rida over, he 
 despatched his son Pedro, with 1,000 horse and 5,000 
 foot, to the aid of the Infante Sancho, Ferdinand's brother, 
 
 ' Capmany, Memorias, iv. p. 1- 
 
THE DEATH OF THE KING. 139 
 
 who had taken the reins of government into his own 1275-6. 
 hands. — ►+- 
 
 But the Conqueror himself was presently confronted by Disturb- 
 new and unlooked-for embarrassments in his own kingdom. Valencia. 
 Disturbances had broken out in different parts : even at 
 Zaragoza a jurat and a number of citizens had been mas- 
 sacred ; and at Valencia the houses of some of the chief 
 men were wrecked, the royal officials were expelled, and 
 a number of bad characters collected under a certain 
 Miguel Perez, and committed depredations in the country. 
 On hearing of this, the king lost no time in repairing to 
 Valencia, where he punished the guilty, and sent his son, 
 Pedro Fernandez, against Perez and his troop, who left 
 the kingdom^. 
 
 But worse was yet to come. The Moors in the neigh- Revolt of 
 bourhood of Alicante revolted, and seized more than forty (1276). 
 castles. They were assisted by bands from Barbary and 
 Tunis, and the revolt soon spread to Tous, Gallinera, 
 Alcala, and other parts of the country near Xativa. Hap- 
 pily, at this juncture, the Count of Ampurias once more 
 came in and offered to ' do right,' so that James was able 
 to devote an undivided attention to the rebellion. Accord- 
 ingly, in March, after summoning the nobles of all three 
 countries to come to his assistance at Easter^, he 
 advanced to Xativa, and busied himself with garrisoning 
 Cocentayna and Alcoy. An attack also by the Moors on 
 the latter place was repulsed, among the slain being James' 
 old enemy, Alazrak, who had re-appeared at the moment 
 of his rival's embarrassment ; but in following up their 
 advantage, the Christians fell into an ambuscade, and were 
 
 ' Zurita, ib. 98, 99 ; C/iro«. 552-4 ; the country all the harm they possibly 
 
 Reg. XX. 300. could. The towns mentioned were 
 
 On December 13 the king sent also to send men to Xativa in the 
 
 letters to most of the chief towns second week of January, ready to 
 
 of Valencia directing the citizens to serve for twenty days. Reg. xxiii. 43. 
 
 punish corporally any one in their ^ j^^j-. xxiii. 45,48, 49 ('quod posse 
 
 neighbourhood in league with certain Sarracenorum crescit '). 
 Christian malefactors, who were doing 
 
140 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 1276. nearly all captured or slain. This success encouraged the 
 —**— insurgents, who seized on some more castles ; and a victory 
 of Azagra over a thousand Moors, who were ravaging the 
 plain of Lyria, was counterbalanced soon afterwards by 
 the total defeat of an army of Christians at Luxen, in 
 which Entenza and Lizana were slain, and the Master of 
 the Temple was taken prisoner. This was the worst reverse 
 the Conqueror's arms had ever experienced, and the old 
 king felt it severely. Soon afterwards Pedro and a number 
 of nobles arrived at Xativa, and James returned to Alcira 
 to procure supplies ^. 
 7n^^ii"^ Here he fell seriously ill : 'the sickness again pressed on 
 and dies at me and grew in such wise, that, by the grace of our Lord 
 TiUy"".^' Jssus Christ, being of very good and full understanding, 
 I confessed myself several times to bishops and Dominican 
 and Franciscan friars, with great contrition for my sins, 
 and with great weeping. Then, being purged of my 
 worldly sins by the said confession, with great joy and 
 content I received the body of our Lord Jesus Christ' 
 He also made two codicils to his will ^, and sent for Pedro, 
 his advice to whom — given after Mass, in the presence of 
 the nobles and citizens — is a fitting commentary on that 
 long life's fever of heartless sins and selfish aims, chequered 
 and relieved at times by softer impulses and religious in- 
 fluences. He reminded his son how God had honoured 
 him in this world, and made him to reign longer than any 
 king since David and Solomon ; how he had loved Holy 
 Church, and had enjoyed the honour and affection of his 
 people; and how all this had come to him from the Lord 
 
 ' Chron. 555-60; Zurita, ib. 100. ments, 2287, 2289; cf. Tourtoullon, 
 
 Desclot (ib. i. 20) says that the revolt ib. ii. pp. 455, 460). They both cou- 
 
 of the Moors of Alicante was due to sist mainly of bequests and arrange- 
 
 an attack of the Almogavars, who ments for the payment of debts : the 
 
 overran the country. first specially enjoins on Pedro the 
 
 The king seems to have remained fulfilment of his father's promise to 
 
 in Xativa and its neighbourhood the pope to expel the Moors, and 
 
 from March to July. Regs, xx, xxii, commends to him, among others, a 
 
 passim. certain ' Dompna Sibilia de Saga.' 
 
 ^ Dated July 20 and 23 {Parch- 
 
THE DEATH OF THE KING. 141 
 
 Jesus Christ, Whose way and commandments he had striven 1276. 
 to follow ' on the whole, or for the greater part at least.' -*^ 
 He then adjured the Infante to take example of him, and 
 to love and honour his brother James ; commended to him 
 his council, and especially the Bishop of Huesca, his chan- 
 cellor ; urged him to expel all the Saracens from Valencia, 
 and to put the castles in a state of defence ; and directed 
 that his body should be buried in the Abbey of Poblet. 
 This done, he resigned the crown, and put on the habit of 
 a Cistercian monk, dismissing Pedro to the frontier, all the 
 barons and knights taking leave of him ' with great lamen- 
 tations and tears.' James then left Alcira on his way to 
 Poblet, but expired at Valencia, on July 37. He was in 
 the sixty-ninth year of his age, and had reigned for sixty- 
 three years 1. 
 
 The object, so far, of this work has been to set forth, as James' 
 clearly as possible, the chief incidents — hitherto, in many 
 respects, ill-arranged and imperfectly elucidated — of a long 
 and important reign. It has been said somewhere that the 
 best book which could be written would be a book consist- 
 ing of premises only, from which the readers should draw 
 their own conclusions ; and, on this principle, the facts of 
 James' life have been allowed here to speak for themselves, 
 without being rendered inaudible by a buzz of needless 
 comments. Now, perhaps, some estimate of his life and 
 work will not be out of place. 
 
 James was a great king : that is to say, in talent and in 
 genius as an administrator, he towered above any of his 
 contemporaries, not excepting Alfonso X and Louis IX. 
 Like so many great men — like Wallenstein — he had an 
 endless capacity for detail ; and it was this last quality that 
 enabled him to set on foot a far-reaching and consistent 
 home and foreign policy. Yet, great legislator and great 
 administrator though he was, his rule was more than once 
 
 ' Chron. 560-6 ; Zurita, An. iii. Martene, Thes. Nov. Anecdot. ii. 
 loi. The king's resignation is dated iiS,";. 
 July 21. Dachery, Spic. iii. 683; 
 
143 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 shaken to its foundations by ' lack of governance,' and he 
 cannot be said to have solved the twofold problem which 
 was ever presenting itself : the maintenance of order among 
 a turbulent aristocracy, and the preservation of harmony 
 between two of the most high-spirited nations of Europe. 
 Here his success was but partial. It is true that he 
 weakened and thwarted the feudal opposition by his alliance 
 with the towns and the Church, and that by his foreign 
 wars he turned the play of their spirits on his Moham- 
 medan neighbours. And it is also true that no actual 
 disruption of the kingdom took place in the course of the 
 reign. More than this can hardly be said in James' favour. 
 Through its whole length the reign witnessed a protracted 
 struggle between the king and his nobility — at times de- 
 sultory and intermittent, and at times blazing out with 
 exceptional fierceness. In maintaining the union of Aragon 
 and Catalonia James was more successful ; yet, more than 
 once, in his partitions, he adopted a separatist policy, and 
 thereby strained the relations of the two countries to the 
 utmost. 
 
 Apart from his conquests, still less successful was the 
 king's foreign policy. James was, perhaps, the first sove- 
 reign, since Charles the Great, to realize the possibilities 
 presented by a union of the south under one sceptre. For 
 the attainment of this end he spared no efforts, his object 
 being to establish a powerful bulwark against the growing 
 pressure of France. His policy was a failure, owing to 
 events over which he had no control. Yet in his change 
 of policy he was in no way inconsistent. He simply ceased 
 to struggle against the inevitable. He abandoned the claims 
 of nationality to shelter himself behind natural defences, 
 and he sacrificed extension to consolidation. 
 
 James' policy, therefore, at home and abroad, was not so 
 successful as is generally asserted. Abroad it was a failure, 
 through no fault of his own, and even the attempted 
 colonization of Valencia by Christians was not a success. 
 At home the elaborate machine of government, which the 
 
THE DEATH OF THE KING. 143 
 
 king had set working, was too often thrown out of gear by 
 his vacillation in his dealings with his nobles^ and his 
 infatuation in allowing the queen to dictate the partition 
 of his dominions. Great conqueror and great statesman 
 though he was, the results of James' military and adminis- 
 trative ability were not such as might have been expected ; 
 and, all things considered, the truest estimate of his work 
 is that which regards his government and his legislation as 
 having been in advance of the condition of his subjects ^. 
 
 When we leave his work, and turn to the man himself, Jfmes' 
 
 character. 
 
 it is equally difficult to pronounce an unqualified verdict. 
 There is much in James to remind us of Victor Emmanuel, 
 the first king of united Italy : both were great statesmen 
 and great warriors, both were ardent lovers of their people, 
 and both — especially James — were men of strong passions. 
 But James, though, perhaps, his inferior in genius, was 
 possessed of talents far more brilliant than those of the 
 Italian monarch ; and it is in this light that we must con- 
 sider him — that is, as one who, in intellectual ability, stood 
 on an altogether higher level than the mass of his fellow 
 men, and from whom, therefore, the more might be expected. 
 ' It is a pure perversion of history to apply latter-day codes 
 of morality to the heroes of by-gone ages^.' Looked at 
 from one point of view, this observation is the expression 
 of a profound truth, from another it appears almost a 
 common-place. The former has reference to the objective, 
 the latter to the subjective^ method of viewing a character ^ 
 The historians of Spain have hitherto contented them- 
 selves with regarding James of Aragon from the objective 
 point of view — the method which consists in checking 
 a man's actions by reference to the Decalogue, and in 
 summing up with a list of good and bad deeds, with, as 
 a rule, no conclusion whatever as to the man himself, but 
 merely a general statement as to his ' character,' which is 
 supposed to be the sum total of his virtues and vices, and 
 
 ' Ticknor, Hist, Span. Lit. i. ^ Lane-Poole, Moors in Spain, 
 
 p. 288. p. 194. 
 
144 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 the estimation of which varies with the moral code of the 
 day. But a man's only judge on earth is himself: from 
 that court there is no appeal, and it admits of no assessors. 
 All attempts, therefore, on the part of onlookers, to deliver 
 a verdict on any man, can only be indirect, and must be 
 drawn from the point of view of his own subjectivity. 
 
 James' character is essentially and attractively human. 
 His very faults interest, and, in a sense, fascinate, us. The 
 thirteenth century has been called the age of heroism ^ — 
 an epithet which, at the best, can only be applied to society 
 as it then existed in Northern Europe. To heroism a basis 
 of disinterestedness or self-forgetfulness is essential ^, and, in 
 the south of Europe, it was precisely this necessary quality 
 which was wanting. In this respect it is hard to exaggerate 
 the evil effects of the Albigensian wars on a country already 
 honeycombed with every sort of vice. Men like Simon de 
 Montfort and James the Conqueror are typical of the age. 
 Servants though they are of the Church, their conscious- 
 ness gradually finds itself confronted by a duality of motive. 
 The century is the age of attempted self-deception : men 
 are willing, indeed, to die for Christ, but they are becoming 
 more and more reluctant to live for Him. In the fourteenth 
 century the imposition can no longer be kept up, and it 
 bursts out in the shameless and heartless ' chivalry ' of the 
 day. James' life was a series of more or less conscious 
 attempts at self-deception. A religious opportunist, he 
 ended by adopting, or rather trying to adopt, the con- 
 venient theory that in his acts of vengeance and cruelty he 
 was but the instrument of the Divine will ^. And the 
 consciousness of this attempted self-deception made the sin 
 
 ^ Stubbs, Const. Hist. ii. on the other I was pleased, for it 
 
 ^ To ivriBes, ov rb yivvaZov Tr\et(TTov afforded me a good opportunity of 
 
 /ncTex". Thucydides, iii. 83. taking revenge on, the Saracens.' But, 
 
 ^ The king's real and alleged later, he says to the nobles : ' it seems 
 
 motives for the expulsion of the to me as if the thing were the work 
 
 Moors from Valencia are a good in- of our Lord, and that He wills that 
 
 stance of this : ' on the one hand. His sacrifice be over the whole king- 
 
 I was greatly annoyed at the affront, doin of Valencia.' Chron. 363, 364. 
 
THE DEATH OF THE KING. 
 
 145 
 
 all the greater. His sins were sins against knowledge. As 
 a champion of the Church, he seems even to have thought 
 himself entitled to a larger share than his fellows in her 
 ' treasures.' His licentiousness was the scandal of Christen- 
 dom, and he knew it ; yet in the very year before his death 
 this 'hoary-headed hypocrite' was guilty of a more flagrant 
 act of profligacy than ever. 
 
 It is, indeed, very questionable whether there were any 
 means to an end which James could not have brought him- 
 self to adopt. To fling aside Leonor, and to carry misery 
 into the home of the Count of Toulouse, was to him a matter 
 of small concern ; and for the gratification of his own selfish 
 ambition any excuse sufficed. In many ways an unworthy 
 instrument for good, he had in him the making of a very 
 noble character, and of this he was aware. But he turned 
 aside from this better part, and, when the evil was pleasant 
 and convenient, he deliberately chose the evil. And, in so 
 doing, he was false to himself, and false to his God '^. 
 
 ' It is needless to recapitulate here 
 the extravagant eulogies showered on 
 James by historians, from the monk 
 of Ripol — who favours the Conqueror 
 with the style of ' princeps excellens, 
 strenuns, gratus, benignus, pius et 
 mirabilis preliator, pater orphauonim, 
 deffensio viduarum' — to the innocently 
 ironical comment of Blancas : ' nullns 
 in voluptates delapsus temperantior.' 
 The attack of Sr. Victor Balaguer on 
 Dunham, for his strictures on James, 
 is amusing : ' Qu^ virtud intachable 
 ha existido, que la calumnia no 
 haya procurado destrozar ? El ingles 
 Dunham y otros historiadores le han 
 atacado con indigna violencia. El 
 primero habla de el como pudiera de 
 un D. Juan Tenorio, y despues de 
 citarle por su ' perfidia, su lascivia 
 desenfrenada, su crueldad barbara, 
 su desordenada aficion a las mujeres, 
 no teniendo,' dice, ' respeto a ningun 
 vinculo de honor 6 religion, por 
 
 satisfacer sus apetitos,' acabar por 
 manifestar que el favor, conque esta 
 mirada su memoria, se debe princi- 
 palmente a haberse cruzado y a haber 
 llegado a embarcarse para Tierra 
 Santa' {Hist. Cat. y Ar. ii. p. 486). 
 
 The estimates of Zurita and M.Tour- 
 toullon are more temperate, though 
 the latter adopts a somewhat elevated 
 view of his hero's character, when he 
 writes : ' sin inquietarse por adqnirir 
 la gloria 6 acrecentar su poderio, 
 marcha resueltamente por el camino 
 que le seSala la luz superior ' (ib. ii. 
 p. 407). 
 
 The enthusiasm of Spanish histo- 
 rians for their national hero received 
 a severe rebuff in the seventeenth 
 century, when the project for his 
 canonization was rejected by Rome, 
 and James the Conqueror, with all 
 his ' unassailable virtue,' was denied 
 the honour accorded to even a Pedro 
 Arbues. 
 
146 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 Elegy of Mateo de Quercy on Jambs'^. 
 
 Joya-m sofranh e dols mi vey sobrar 
 
 e no trop res que-m fassa be ni pro. 
 
 Quan mi sov6 del bon rey d' Arago, 
 
 adonx mi pren formen a sospirar, 
 
 e prezi '1 mon tot atrestan com fanha. 
 
 Quar era francx, humils, e de paucs motz, 
 
 e de grans faitz, si que sobr' els reys totz, 
 
 que hom aya ja trobatz en Espanha. 
 
 Era plus alt per valor conquerer ; 
 
 e pus que' 1 rey tan sabia valer, 
 
 razos requier que tot lo mon s'en planha. 
 
 Tot lo mon deu plinTier e doloyar 
 
 la mort del rey, per drech e per razo. 
 
 Quar anc princeps negus mellor no fo 
 
 ^1 nostre temps e sa ni de la mar, 
 
 ni tan aya fach sobre la gen lanha, 
 
 ni tan aya eyssausada la crotz, 
 
 on Ihesum Christ fon passatz per nos totz. 
 
 Ay Aragds, Cataluenlia, e Sardanha, 
 
 e L^rida, venetz ab mi doler 
 
 que ben devetz aitan de dol aver, 
 
 com per Artus d.gron eel de Bretanha. . . 
 
 E Fan . . . qui ben los sap contar, 
 
 que Ihesum Christ pres encarnacio 
 
 cc e mais Ixxvi, que so 
 
 lo reys Jacmes, e '1 setd kalendar 
 
 d' Agost fenf ; done preguem que s' afranha 
 
 Ihesum's a lui, e '1 gart del preon potz, 
 
 on Dieus enclau los dngels malvatz totz, 
 
 e '1 do los gauchz en que 1' arma's refranha, 
 
 e '1 corone e '1 fassa lai vezer 
 
 en sel regne, on non a desplazer, 
 
 quar aitals locx creys que de lui se tanha. 
 
 A tota gen don' eyssampl' en paucx motz, 
 lo rey Jacmes es apellatz per totz. 
 
 1 Mila, Trovadores en Espafia, p. 192 [amended]. 
 
THE DEATH OF THE KING. 147 
 
 E Dieus a '1 mes ab Sant Jacm' ab companha, 
 qu' en 1' endemi de Sant Jacme per ver 
 lo rey Jacmes feni, qu' a drey't dever 
 de dos Jacmes dobla festa-ns remanha. 
 
 Matiens a fait per dol e per corrotz 
 son plan del rey qu' amava mas que totz 
 los altres reys, e que tot hom s' en planha ; 
 e qu' el sien nom puesca il mon remaner, 
 e qu' en puesca dels filhs del rey aver 
 e dels amies plazers, en que-s refranha. 
 
 Epitaph on James' Tomb at Poblet\ 
 
 Anno Domini m.cc.lxxvi. 
 
 Vigilia B. Mariae Magdalenae 
 
 Illustrissimus ac virtuosissimus 
 
 Jacobus Rex Aragonum, Majori- 
 
 carum, Valentiae, Comesque Barcinonae 
 
 at Urgelli, et Dominus Montispesulani, 
 
 accepit habitum Ordinis Cisterciensis 
 
 in villa Algecirae, et obiit Valentiae 
 
 VI. Kal. Augusti. Hie contra 
 
 Sarracenos semper praevaluit, 
 
 et abstulit eis Regna Majoricarum, 
 
 Valentiae et Murciae, et regnavit 
 
 LXII. annis, x. mensibus, et xxv. 
 
 diebus : et translatus est de civitate 
 
 Valentiae ad Monasterium Populeti, 
 
 ubi sepultus fuit praesentibus Rege 
 
 Petro filio suo, ejus uxore Constantia 
 
 Regina Aragonum, et Violante 
 
 Regina Castellae filia Domini 
 
 Regis Jacobi praedicti, et Archiepiscopo 
 
 Terraconae, et multis Episcopis, et 
 
 Abbatibus, ac Nobilibus viris. 
 
 Hie aedificavit Monasterium Bonifazani, 
 
 et fecit multa bona dicto Monasterio Populeti. 
 
 Ejus anima requiescat in pace. 
 
 Amen. 
 
 ' Bofarull, Condes de Barcelona, 1835, the Conqueror's remains being 
 ii. p. 241. The monastery of Poblet subsequently transferred to the Cathe- 
 was destroyed in the disturbances of dral of Tarragona. 
 
 L a 
 
> 
 
 
 J 
 
 
 HH 
 
 
 § 
 
 >-H 
 
 < 
 
 CO 
 
 &H 
 
 W 
 
 
 S 
 
 In 
 
 < 
 
 W 
 
 >— 1 
 
 ^ 
 
 
 < 
 
 
 _ J < by Berenguela 
 
 .Fernandez j ^Fe.naiidez. 
 
 -F. Sanchez ] H^„4'^fi„°illon! 
 
 —Pedro 
 
 — Jaime 
 
 by Teresa Vidaure. 
 
 By Violante. 
 
 — Isabella = Philip III of France. 
 
 -Sancho, Archbishop of Toledo, 
 killed 1275. 
 
 —Fernando, Cont of Roussillon. 
 
 — Leonor {d. unmarried). 
 
 — Jaime, King of Mallorca. 
 
 — Maria (d. unmarried, 1248). / 
 
 — Sanoha, who went as a nurse to 
 Jerusalem. 
 
 -Costanza = Manuel, brother of 
 Alfonso ot Castile. 
 
 -Violante {b. 1237, d. isoo)- 
 Alfonso X of Castile. 
 
 -Pedro III (i. 1236, d. 1285). 
 
 Alfonso [d. 1260) =Costanza of ) -r, t 
 
 Bearne. | By Leonor. 
 
 Cf. Bofarull, Condes de Barcelona, ii. pp. 236-9. 
 
Part II. 
 SOCIAL HISTORY, 1213-1276. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 The Government of James' Dominions. 
 
 The elaborate system of government which we have 
 seen at work in the Conqueror's dominions may, perhaps, 
 be examined most conveniently in three of its aspects : the 
 Crown and its Officers, the Cortes, the Local Government. 
 
 In no mediaeval state was the royal authority regarded I. The 
 with greater jealousy and suspicion, by nobles and burghers '°^"' 
 alike, than it was in the countries subject to the Crown of 
 Aragon. So far from possessing the prestige enjoyed by 
 the ancient rulers of the land — the Visigothic kings ^ — or 
 by the contemporary monarchies of France and Castile ^, 
 in the eyes of his nobility James was little more than ' first 
 among equals,' and in the Constitutions mention is rare of 
 any act regarded as treason towards the sovereign, beyond 
 
 ' By the Visigothic Code, all who noticed later, 
 delayed to take the oath of allegiance ^ In Castile the Prince was regarded 
 
 to a new sovereign might be dealt as ' God's vicar on earth ' {Siete Par- 
 
 with by him at his discretion. (' Cnm tidas, ii. 13, i) ; within thirty days 
 
 divinae voluntatis imperio principale after his accession all holding castles 
 
 caput regnandi sumat sceptrum, non of him were bound to come and do 
 
 levi quisque culpa constringitur, si in homage (ib. 22); and over all his sub- 
 
 ipso suae electionis primordio . . . jects he possessed ' mernm imperium,' 
 
 jurasse, nt moris est, pro fide regia i.e. the power of 'judging and com- 
 
 differat . . . Quicquid de eo vel de om- manding' (ib. iv. 25, 2). In France 
 
 nibus rebus suis principalis auctoritas the king's pleasure was law, all juris- 
 
 facere vel judicare voluerit, sui sit diction emanated from him, and all 
 
 incnnctanter arbitrii.' v. 17,9.) The could be cited to his court. Martin, 
 
 different forms of treason will be //. F. iv. p. 567. 
 
I50 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 the ordinary treasons of which a vassal might be guilty 
 towards his lord ^. This view of the king's position comes 
 into striking prominence at the Cortes of Exea, in 1265, 
 where James is clearly regarded by the barons of Aragon 
 as little more than their feudal superior, with definite duties 
 towards their widows and children, and a limited right of 
 leading them to battle. 
 
 Even the king's judicial powers over his nobles were 
 restricted ; and for aids on anything like a large scale he 
 was entirely dependent on the humour of the Cortes. 
 
 The Usages of Catalonia, again, were permanent and 
 general in character, and included rules as to the nature of 
 proofs, the length of the prescription required to constitute 
 ownership of property, and the duties of witnesses. They 
 were, in fact, national customs, the ' common law of the 
 realm,' and could only be altered by national consent. 
 
 Such were some of the initial disadvantages of James' 
 position. But he had in him all the capacities of an abso- 
 lute monarch, and as such he really ruled, though he knew 
 how to assume the guise of a constitutional sovereign, when 
 convenient. And, despite the opposition of his nobility, 
 the Conqueror's many-sided activity invested him with a 
 formidable array of powers, which we will now briefly pass 
 in review. 
 (a") Its In his legislative capacity — apart from the Fueros and 
 
 legislative „ .. ,,.,.„ 
 
 powers. Constitutions, or laws promulgated in the Cortes of Aragon 
 and Catalonia respectively — the king's acts may be divided 
 into two classes : Ordinances or Pragmaticas ; Privileges. 
 
 Of these, Pragmaticas or Ordinances affected the Catalans 
 alone, and were usually interpretative in character, being 
 such as those defining the status of minors who entered 
 a religious order, or married, without their parents' consent, 
 
 ' The greatest advance was made ix. 9, i). And in the Catalan code 
 
 in the Valencian code, where those the subjects of a baron are forbidden 
 
 who injure the Prince's castles or to help their lord against the Prince, 
 
 towns, help his enemies, or coin money as the former, in rising against his 
 
 without his licence, are guilty of ' lesa sovereign, is guilty of ' lesa Majestat.' 
 
 Majestat' and lose their heads {^Furs, Const. Cat. iv. 27, 4, 38. 
 
THE GOVERNMENT OF JAMES' DOMINIONS. 151 
 
 the relations of the Vicar to the Council of Barcelona, and 
 the nature of the laws to be referred to in the Courts. 
 
 Privileges were conferred on the inhabitants of both 
 countries alike, and comprised municipal charters, grants, 
 legitimations, pardons, emancipations, and exemptions ^. 
 
 It will thus be seen that the legislative power, which the 
 king had won for himself, was almost as extensive, in 
 practice, as that possessed by the Cortes of sanctioning or 
 rejecting laws presented for its approval. And, even in the 
 latter sphere, the influence of the Crown was paramount : 
 the Code of Aragon was sanctioned indeed by the Cortes, 
 but it was initiated by the king and formulated by a body 
 of lawyers ; and the same may be said of the ' Furs ' of 
 Valencia. 
 
 Of still greater importance than his legislative powers {b) its 
 was the king's position as head of the executive. In this po^yeV^ 
 sphere his judicial authority alone was fully co-extensive 
 with his legislative functions. In Aragon^, Catalonia^, and 
 Valencia *, the sovereign only, or his representatives, 
 
 ' M. Tourtoullon — whose classifica- ' 'Dels Magnats, 90 es Vescomtes 
 
 tiondifferssomewhatfrommine — limits Comdors, e Vavessors, negu presu- 
 
 a privilege to a grant conferred on an mesca de aci avant en neguna manera 
 
 individual (ib. ii. p. 120). B«t the tormentar ni punir los culpables, 90 
 
 municipal charter of Valencia is styled es a saber penjar per justitia ' (Const. 
 
 ' aureum opus privilegiorum ' ; and Ca^., lib. x, tit. i, Us. 5). 'Fer justitia 
 
 Alfonso the Savant defines a privilege dels malfaytors es donat solament 
 
 as ' ley que es dada et otorgada del a las Potestats ' (ib. 6). And even 
 
 rey apartadamente a algunt logar 6 a though these Usages may not belong 
 
 algunt home, por le facer bien et to James' reign, they were certainly 
 
 merced.' Siete Partidas, iii. 18, 2. not abrogated by him, the claim being, 
 
 ^ ' Poena vero homicidii, flagitiorum in fact, reasserted by the king in his 
 
 aequalium vel majorum . . . ipsius struggle with Cardona : ' tots les 
 
 Regis esse . . . omni tempore dignos- Justeyes de Catalunya son nostres 
 
 cuntur.' (Vidal, ap. Blancas, Com- segons I'usatge.' Reg. xxii. 12. 
 
 mentarii, in Schott, Hispania Illus- * ' Alcun rich horn o noble o 
 
 U-ata, vol. iii. p. 728.) ' Justitiae aut cavalier o ciutada o prelat clergue 
 
 extemae corporum et membromm spe- o alcuna persona religiosa o seglar 
 
 cialiter sunt et spectant ad dominum ningun temps no pusque per nenguna 
 
 Regem et ad suos.' Fueros, lib. iii, cosa ne per nenguna raho a dret o a tort 
 
 tit. ' de jurisdictione omnium judi- fer alcunes justicies de sanch o personal 
 
 cum.' justicies ... La Cort en la Ciutat de 
 
153 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 possessed the right of employing torture or inflicting punish- 
 ment, and in all three countries appeals went before a royal 
 court ^ ; while, as their feudal superior, the king could cite 
 his nobles before him for offences committed against a third 
 party ^. His position, in fact, was that of supreme judge, 
 and as such he was regarded by the jurists ^. 
 
 It is not surprising, therefore, that the number and 
 diversity of the suits, which came before the royal court, 
 was very great, and compelled the king to take about 
 with him a body of lawyers for consultative purposes, as 
 well as for the trial of 'delegated' cases, i.e. appeals the 
 hearing of which James had committed to one of his ad- 
 visers *. And this was his defence to the rebels at Exea : 
 ' every king's Court ought to be accompanied by Canon 
 and Fuero lawyers ; for there were lawsuits in all those 
 branches. If I had not with me those who could judge and 
 sentence such suits-at-law, it would be a shame to me and 
 to my Court *.' From this it would seem that James was 
 
 Valencia, qui en aquell temps sera, authority from the king, but in his 
 
 oia los pleyts de justicia de sanch, e presence the functions of all minor 
 
 ab consell dels Prohomens de la Ciutat officers were suspended : 'eo praesente, 
 
 determen e jutge.' Furs, iii. j, 72. omnia minora ofificia conquiescunt et 
 
 ^ This is evident from the delega- omnia debent per suam excellentiam 
 
 tion, by the king, of the trial of pertractari.' lb. p. 728. 
 appeals to his lieutenants, whenever * 'Potest ipse Rex illico, si placu- 
 
 he left the country. In Valencia it erit, unam caussam vel plures, si sibi 
 
 was the second appeal that went be- visum fuerit, delegare ' (ib. p. 783). 
 
 fore the king's court. Priv. 54. These delegated judges, for the trial 
 
 ^ As in the case of the Enguerans of special cases, also existed in Castile, 
 
 against Luna. where they could be appointed by any 
 
 ^ The language of Bishop Vidal is ordinary justice. Siete Partidas, iii. 
 
 particularly high-flown on this sub- 4, i. 
 
 ject : ' ut diadema in capite Aharon, ° Chron. 396. When sitting as judge 
 
 et splendor in medio firmamenti illu- himself, the king could call on the 
 
 minans totam machinam mundanalem, nobles for advice (,'tenetur etiam 
 
 sic splendet jurisdictio in Regia Ma- vocatus [sc. Ricus homo] ad Regis 
 
 jestate. In quo est sic totaliter con- curiam accedere, quotiescunque ab 
 
 stituta, ut, quasi a fonte in rivos, ipso Rege fuerit evocatus, et sibi dare 
 
 oportet ab ipso in omne's alios ipsam consilium secundum discretionem sibi 
 
 jnrisdictionem et ejus exercitium de- a Deo datam.' Vidal, ib. p. 728). 
 
 rivari ' (ib. p. 722). And not only were In Luna's case sentence was passed by 
 
 all judges regarded as deriving their the king, 'habito consilio multorura 
 
THE GOVERNMENT OF JAMES' DOMINIONS. 1 53 
 
 attended by a body of lawyers, as complete, perhaps, as 
 that attached to the court of a Norman king of England, 
 or of S. Louis himself. 
 
 In one class of cases, however, the king possessed no 
 jurisdiction — differences between himself and the nobles 
 of Aragon. The trial of these he had conceded at Exea 
 to the Justiciar, with the nobles and knights at court 
 acting as assessors. The Catalan magnates, on the other 
 hand, were, nominally, directly subject to the Crown in 
 judicial matters ^ ; but, as we have so often seen, in prac- 
 tice they perpetually resisted the authority of James' 
 tribunal ^. 
 
 But the exercise of his judicial authority was not the 
 only important executive function discharged by the king. 
 To enumerate his other activities in this sphere would be 
 but to repeat the story of James' life. It is enough to 
 mention his power of declaring war ^ and making peace *, 
 of concluding treaties ^, and of convoking the Cortes. 
 
 The last branch of James' powers may be said to consist (^) Various 
 of his claims as a feudal lord, which included the right of rights, 
 depriving the nobles of their fiefs and Honours, for lawful 
 
 richorumhominumAragonumetetiam the Count of Urgel is to submit to 
 
 Catalonie in nostra curia tunc exis- the decision of the Bishop of Huesca 
 
 tentium et etiam militum et electis and Oliver de Termes; and in 1275 
 
 Oscensibus (?) et multorum clericorum the arbitration in the dispute with 
 
 et peritorum ac etiam multorum Fernan Sanchez, Cardona, and the 
 
 aliorum ibidem existentium ' (^(!f. xxi. Count of Ampnrias, is entrusted to 
 
 16). The forgers of Tarazona the the Cortes of Lerida. 
 king seems to have tried and sentenced ^ The wars with both Valencia and 
 
 on his own responsibility. Murcia the king seems to have under- 
 
 ^ ' Pledejar deuen ab Comte los taken on his own responsibility — in 
 
 Vescomtes, els Comdors, els Varves- the first instance at any rate — though 
 
 sors, els altres Cavaliers.' Const. Cat. in each case he solicited an aid from 
 
 iii. 2, Us. i. the Cortes. In the case of the Murcian 
 
 ^ The ill-defined nature of the king's war he was careful to disclaim any 
 
 judicial relations to his Catalan barons intention of consulting the Cortes, 
 is shown by the varying composition * As with Valencia — a private trans- 
 
 of the arbitrating tribunal : in the action — and Murcia. 
 struggle of 1259 and 1260 the judges ^ Such as those with Navarre, 
 
 oiTered to Cardona are vaguely de- France, Toulouse, and Provence, 
 scribed as 'jutges sens tota suspita'; 
 
154 
 
 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 cause, of exacting regular military service, and of imposing 
 certain dues '^. 
 
 When leaving the kingdom for any length of time, or 
 during some crisis which called for his undivided attention, 
 it was James' practice to place the country in charge of 
 one or more Lieutenants or Procurators. The office was 
 usually discharged by a noble or one of the king's sons, 
 who enjoyed full administrative and judicial authority in 
 the sovereign's absence. During the last few years of the 
 reign Pedro, as heir to the throne, seems to have been 
 associated with his father in the government— an innova- 
 tion which, under succeeding kings, became a custom ^. 
 
 In the legislative and executive departments of his acti- 
 vity, therefore, the position of the sovereign was such as 
 to render him practically supreme, while his rights as a 
 feudal suzerain were also considerable. As chief judge, 
 chief legislator, and chief commander, he possessed, in- 
 
 ^ The nature and extent of these 
 feudal and taxative rights are noticed 
 later. 
 
 ^ Thus — to omit the various re- 
 gencies of the king's minority — in 
 1245 the Infante Ferdinand appears 
 as ' Procurator of Aragon ' {Parch. 
 ion) ; in 1253, when James' relations 
 with Castile were strained, a like 
 position is enjoyed by Eximen Foces 
 (ib. 1329); and in 1257, during, ap- 
 parently, a struggle with Castile and 
 Navarre, the same noble was appointed 
 ' Procurator of Valencia,' with ' first 
 appeals in all cases,' and with Pedro 
 occupying the same position in Cata- 
 lonia {Reg. ix. 34, 36 : ' ita quod 
 possitis judicium cum misericordia 
 temperare, concedentes vobis plena- 
 riam et liberam potestatem audiendi 
 et determinandi, per vos vel per judices 
 a vobis delegatos, causas omnes tam 
 civiles quam criminales quas vos curii 
 aliquibus subjectis nostris habueritis. 
 Et damns licentiam vobis ac potesta- 
 
 tem instituendi et destituendi Vicarios 
 omnes, prout discretioni vestre vide- 
 bitur'; cf. Bofarull, Doc. Ined. vi. 25). 
 In 1267, during the dispute with 
 Lizana, Pedro Fernandez acts as the 
 king's lieutenant (' locum tenens ') in 
 Valencia {Reg. xiv. 87); in 1269, 
 during James' crusade, Pedro is lieu- 
 tenant-general of the kingdom, with 
 Ato Foces as ' Procurator-General ' of 
 Aragon (Zurita, Aa. iii. 74) ; in 1271 
 the Infante is alluded to as ' Procurator 
 of the kingdom of Valencia' {Reg. 
 xxxvii. 19), an office from which he 
 was degraded by his father at the 
 Cortes of L^rida, in March, 1272 
 {Chron. 509); and in 1273, during 
 the dispute with Pedro and Cardona, 
 Ramon Moncada was appointed ' Pro- 
 curator' of Aragon and Catalonia, 
 with the primate to hear appeals 
 {Reg. xxi. 118, 119, 126, 127). Cf. 
 Securitas Pacis respecting ' capitalis 
 justiciarius noster,' in the king's 
 absence from England. 
 
THE GOVERNMENT OF JAMES' DOMINIONS. 155 
 
 evitably, powers of initiation which the Cortes could never 
 acquire ; and it was here that the strength of his position 
 lay. Hence it was that the home and foreign policy of the 
 reign was entirely shaped by the Conqueror's genius. 
 
 Two constitutional obstacles alone — both of them of 
 feudal origin — hampered the king in the exercise of his 
 power : the liability of the Crown to arbitration in its 
 differences with the nobility, and its dependence on the 
 same order, when assembled in the Cortes, for the grant 
 of anything like a large aid. In both of these respects 
 the Crown was dependent on its subjects ; both were a 
 real check on James' activity; both, in fact, alone prevented 
 him from enjoying the throne of an absolute monarch. In 
 practice the king surmounted these obstacles by his own 
 indomitable spirit ; but the long-protracted and constantly- 
 repeated conflict wasted his best energies and embittered 
 many years of his life. 
 
 Besides the body of lawyers attached to the Court, there 
 were, of course, the great officers of state, chief of whom 
 were the Justiciar and the Majordomo of Aragon, the 
 Chancellor and the Seneschal of Catalonia. Of these the The 
 
 -, T • • r A T ■ Justiciar. 
 
 most important was the J usticiar of Aragon. Later writers, 
 when the office had reached the height of its glory, carried 
 back its institution to almost mythical times ^ ; but, in any 
 case, it would seem to have been already ill existence in 
 the twelfth century, and was, no doubt, created to provide 
 the king with a competent lawyer to assist him in judicial 
 business, and to fill his place in his absence ^. The first 
 
 ' Their authority seems to have certainly no trace of the Justiciar's 
 
 been the Justiciar Sagarra who lived action as ' intermediate judge,' before 
 
 towards the end of the thirteenth the Cortes of Alcailiz in 1250; and it 
 
 century, and who explicitly says that was not formally recognized till 1265. 
 
 the office originated in Sobrarbe, in ^ The difficulty of investigating the 
 
 the shape of a 'judex medius . . . qui origin of the office is increased by 
 
 judicaret et esset judex inter ipsum the constant application of the title 
 
 [sc. Regem] et ejus vasallos ' (Blancas, 'justitia' to local justices, of whom 
 
 CoOTzn. pp. 657, 671). It is probable, the one most frequently mentioned in 
 
 however, that Sagarra is merely glori- early documents is the Justitia of 
 
 fying his own office, and there is Zaragoza. According to Bishop Vidal, 
 
156 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 definite and authentic allusion to the Justiciar, under his 
 full title, is, however, not to be found till the year 1225 S 
 in the person of Pedro Perez ^, who came into prominence 
 later at the siege of Burriana. But during the greater part 
 of James' life little is heard of the office, and it was only 
 towards the close of the reign that its powers seem to have 
 become sufficiently developed to render it obnoxious to the 
 nobles, who, at Exea in 1265, wrung from the king the 
 concession that the Justiciar should always be a knight, and 
 not a Ricohombre, the latter being exempt from corporal 
 punishment ^. 
 
 The most important functions of the Justiciar comprised 
 the duty of arbitrating between king and nobles, as well as 
 in suits between the nobles themselves : on all occasions, 
 however, he seems to have done little more than pronounce 
 the sentence ' put into his mouth ' by his assessors, who in 
 the one case consisted of the knights and barons at court, 
 in the other of the king, nobles, knights, and Infanzons, if 
 disinterested parties *. 
 
 the Justiciar of Aragon was known in higher justice on their estates. 
 
 the twelfth century as the ' justitia ^ ' Semper Justitia Aragonum sit 
 
 mayor ' ; and in a deed of 1172 or miles.' Fueros, i. ' de officio Justitiae 
 
 1 173, cited by Blancas, mention is Aragonum.' 
 
 made of a 'justitia per manum domini ' 'In omnibus causis, quae erunt 
 
 Regis in Aragonia ' (ib. pp. 782, 791, inter ipsum Regem vel snccessores 
 
 792). Zurita begins his list of Justi- suos et Riches homines, Filios dalgo, 
 
 ciars as early as 1114. /»</. p. 36. et Infantiones, quod Justitia Arago- 
 
 ' ' Justicia Aragonis ' (Parch. 276). num judicet cum consilio Richorum 
 
 M. TourtouUon (ib. ii. p. 147), in hominum et militum qui erunt in curia, 
 
 placing the first allusion to the office In omnibus aliis causis, quae erunt 
 
 in 1231, had evidently overlooked this inter Richos homines, Milites, et In- 
 
 document. Indeed, if Blancas may be fantiones, judicet Justitia Aragonum 
 
 trusted, the same Pedro Perez is styled de ipsius Regis consilio, et de consilio 
 
 'justicia de Aragon ' in a document of Richorum hominum, militum et Infan- 
 
 1 208. Ib. p. 795. tionum, qui erunt in Curia dummodo 
 
 ^ 'Primus Justitia Aragonum assidue non sint de partida' (Fueros, ib.). 
 
 vocari coeptus fuerit ' (ib. p. 794). 'Quotiescumqueinterloquutoriaveldif- 
 
 According to Zurita (An. ii. 64), a finitiva sit sententia proferenda, domi- 
 
 great accession of influence had fallen nus Rex et Barones, hoc est Episcopi 
 
 to the Justiciar through the cession et Duces Militum, qui Richi homines 
 
 by the Ricoshombres, under Pedro II, appellantur, qui in Curia fuerint tunc 
 
 of their right to the administration of praesentes, super ilia deliberent in 
 
THE GOVERNMENT OF y AMES' DOMINIONS. 157 
 
 Besides his position as arbiter, or rather as the mouth- 
 piece of his assessors, in causes which concerned the king 
 and nobles, the Justiciar seems to have exercised a more 
 general judicial authority, when specially commissioned by 
 the king. He could, however, try no suit of importance 
 without the advice of assessors ^, and from him appeals lay 
 to the Crown, which could delegate another judge to re-hear 
 the case ^. 
 
 Lastly, the Justiciar was appointed by the Crown, en- 
 joyed the right of maintenance at the court, might hold 
 office for life, and could only be dismissed for weighty 
 reasons ^ 
 
 This is all that we know of the position occupied by the 
 Justiciar of Aragon during the first three-quarters of the 
 thirteenth century, and the extremely limited nature of his 
 functions will be evident. In trying cases that affected the 
 king or nobles, he was merely the mouth-piece of his asses- 
 sors ; and, in acting as a judge delegate, he tried no suit of 
 importance without the help and advice of assessors after 
 the fashion of other Courts. He possessed, in short, no inde- 
 pendent authority, and his powers were even less extensive — 
 
 commani. Et quod dominus Rex et ' Zurita, An. ii. 64. In Feg. xii. 
 
 major pars Baronam, vel, si dominus 117, is contained the confirmation 
 
 Rex noluerit interesse consilio, major by the king of a sentence passed by 
 
 pars Baronum, in Justitiae os posuerit the justiciar : ' nisi pars adversa a pre- 
 
 proferendum, ipse Justitia id pronun- dicta sententia appellavit.' 
 
 tiet sententialiter et declaret, nullam ^ 'Regis est ergo judices et justitias 
 
 poenam ex pronuntiatione hujnsmodi ordinare, et, quando sibi placuerit, 
 
 metnendo. Nam non ipse sed ipsi, revocare, et eos perpetuo ponere, vel 
 
 quibus in hac parte eum oportet neces- ad tempus. Inter quos judices, Justitia 
 
 sario obedire, ipsius sententiae sunt semper est unus principalis in Ara- 
 
 latores.' Vidal, ib. p. 722. gonia constitutus; qui, ex quo semel 
 
 ' Justitia autem Regis numquam de- a domino Rege fnit constitutus, non 
 
 bet sine consilio Baronum, et ipsorum consuevit, nisi ex causa justa et culpa 
 
 qui pro tempore in Curia vel praesentes condemnabili, removeri. Cujus est 
 
 fuerint, aliquid in arduo negotio judi- officium ut, quamdiu Rex infra fines 
 
 care' (ib. p. 728). 'In praesentia Aragonum fuerit constitutus, in Regis 
 
 domini Regis, vel, de ejus imperio, Curia commoretur, subministrandis 
 
 sine eo, caussas examinet et auscultet.' sibi ab ipsa Curia alimentis.' Vidal, 
 
 Ib. 722. ib. 722. 
 
158 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 in James^ reign, at least — than those of a Chief Justice 
 of England under Edward I ^. 
 
 The names of most, if not of all, of the Justiciars of 
 the reign seem to have been preserved ; but they are 
 little more than names. The first, Pedro Perez de Tara- 
 zona, is said to have been a ' Mesnader,' or knight of the 
 royal household. His brother was Eximen Perez de Tara- 
 zona, the first 'Rico-hombre de Mesnada,' on whom the 
 king bestowed the barony of Arenos. Pedro Perez is 
 last mentioned at the Cortes of Huesca, in 1247; and, of 
 his three sons, Juan Perez is said to have succeeded him as 
 Justiciar, while the other two, Pedro and Belasco, came to 
 an untimely end, being condemned for coining money at 
 Lerida. Of the Justiciarship of Juan Perez nothing is 
 known, and in 1250 we find a certain Artassona presiding, 
 as Justiciar, at the Cortes of Alcaiiiz, when an attempt was 
 made to effect a reconciliation between James and his son 
 Alfonso — circumstances in which the king would naturally 
 resign for the moment his presidential position. Of Artas- 
 sona nothing else of importance is known, except that he 
 acted as commissioner to fix the Castilian frontier in 1257, 
 and that he is said to have taken a leading part, for the 
 king, in the hostilities against Alvaro Cabrera. He was 
 succeeded by Pedro Sanchez, to whom, in 1266, James is 
 said to have granted the right of taking cognizance, where- 
 ever present, of the first hearing of all cases whatever, as 
 well as of appeals from ordinary judges, before they reached 
 the king. Artassona's successor, in 1269, was Rodrigo 
 Castellezuelo, who was murdered in 1274 by Beltran de 
 Canellas, the assassin taking refuge, as we have seen, with 
 Cardona. Castellezuelo's successor was, apparently, For- 
 tunio Ahe, of whom all that is known is his energy in 
 suppressing the rioters of Zaragoza, in 1276 ^ 
 
 ^ On the Justiciar the remarks of from those of the Chief Justice of 
 
 Hallam (Af. .<4.ii. p. 71) are, as might England, divided, from the time of 
 
 be expected, both cautious and judi- Edward I, among the Judges of the 
 
 cious : ' I do not see that his functions King's Bench.' 
 were in any essential respect different ''■ Blancas, ib. pp. 795-7. 
 
THE GOVERNMENT OF JAMES' DOMINIONS. 1 59 
 
 The Chancellor, who was always a bishop, seems to have The 
 acted as Treasurer-General of the whole kingdom ^. He 
 probably had charge of the royal seal, and it is with James' 
 reign that the series of Chancery Registers begins, with 
 their miscellaneous contents. The greatest of James' 
 Chancellors was the famous jurist, Vidal de Canellas, 
 Bishop of Huesca. 
 
 Another important functionary was the Majordomo of Major- 
 Aragon, who possessed judicial powers perhaps even more ^°™° „ 
 extensive, in ordinary suits, than those of the Justiciar^. 
 His special sphere of action seems to have consisted of the 
 cognizance of suits in which Infanzons were concerned, and 
 he is also said to have possessed the right, in urgent cases, 
 of citing any layman to his tribunal, as well as of suspend- 
 ing, by his presence, the action of any local court. In all 
 causes, however, he was bound to associate with himself 
 the Justiciar of Aragon, or some local justice, as assessor, 
 the latter giving sentence ^. 
 
 Apart from his judicial functions, the Majordomo acted 
 
 ^ This is evident from the frequent, and Governor of the city and kingdom 
 
 though somevfhat spasmodic, entries of Valencia, simultaneously {Regs. 
 
 in the Registers of accounts rendered xxii. 74, 75 ; xxiii. 15), collecting, 
 
 by the Bailiffs of different towns to probably, the revenues of Aragon and 
 
 the Chancery. They include especially Valencia. Yet in 1261 he rendered 
 
 'Redemptions 'and other taxes imposed his accounts for Aragon to the Chan- 
 
 in a crisis, the amount given by each eery, into which he also undoubtedly 
 
 town being specified, and, sometimes, paid the revenues he collected in 1276, 
 
 the total contributed by each country. though only the sum raised in Zara- 
 
 Their number and variety set beyond goza is specified {Reg. xx. 334, 335). 
 
 doubt the importance of the Chancel- It is clear, therefore, that the name of 
 
 lor's duties in this department — in Treasurer-General is a misnomer, 
 
 other words as Treasurer-General ; Jahuda being always liable to the 
 
 and it would seem, therefore, that Chancery audit. 
 
 M. TourtouUon (ib. ii. pp. 301, 322) ^ 'Postregemautem . . .Majordomus 
 
 is inexact in claiming this title for in judicando obtinet principatum' 
 
 Jahuda, who rather occupied the (Vidal, ib. p. 7^2). It is hard to 
 
 position of Collector-General. He reconcile this last expression with 
 
 filled this office in Aragon in 1261 Vidal's own definition of the position 
 
 {Reg. viii. 51), and was Bailiff of of the Justiciar: 'inter quos judices 
 
 Zaragoza at the same time (ib. 27); Justitia semper est unus principalis' 
 
 while in 1276, besides occupying the (above), 
 same post at Zaragoza, he was Bailiff ^ Ib. p. 782. 
 
t6o 
 
 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 Seneschal 
 of Cata- 
 loriia. 
 
 as Constable, commanding the cavalry in battle ^ ; and in 
 Aragon he seems also to have occupied the position of 
 steward of the royal household ^. 
 
 The Seneschal acted as commander-in-chief of the Catalan 
 army, his military duties being much the same as those of 
 the Majordomo of Aragon. The office was hereditary in 
 the Moncada family ^. 
 Major- Lastly, the Majordomo of the Palace should be carefully 
 
 thrPakce. distinguished from the Majordomo of Aragon. The ap- 
 pointment was in the gift of the Seneschal of Catalonia, 
 and it was, therefore, a purely Catalan office. The holder 
 seems to have acted as steward of the royal household in 
 Catalonia, to have been entitled to certain perquisites, and 
 to have possessed certain rights in duels of the nobles 
 before the king *. 
 
 Turning to the parliamentary system of Aragon and 
 Catalonia, we find that the first known General Cortes of 
 the two countries was held in 1162, when were present the 
 prelates, nobles, and burghers ' ; while a Cortes convened 
 by Alfonso II at Jaca, in 1169, was similarly constituted — 
 though on this occasion no mention is made of representa- 
 tives from the towns of Catalonia ^. The national assembly 
 
 II. The 
 Cortes. 
 
 ^ ' Majordomus quidem Regni am- 
 plissimo Connestabili munere funge- 
 batur . . . Cujus ea fere dignitas vide- 
 tur fuisse . . . nempe ut Eqaitatui 
 praeesset.' Blancas, ib. p. 785. 
 
 ^ 'Dispensatordomusregiae'. Vidal, 
 ib. p. 782. 
 
 ^ Blancas, ib. ; Zurita, An. ii. 64 ; 
 Gayangos, ii. pp. 700, 701. In 1366 
 R. Moncada figures with the additional 
 title of Seneschal of Valencia. Reg. 
 xiii. 255. 
 
 ' Cf. Gayangos, ii. p. 701. As late 
 as 1263, when P. Moncada was Major- 
 domo, the nature of his perquisites 
 was a subject of dispute, and the whole 
 question was referred to a commission 
 of four knights, who decided that in 
 duels the Majordomo of the Palace 
 
 could claim certain fees, besides the 
 horse and trappings of the defeated 
 party, while his position in the royal 
 household entitled him to 'wax and 
 pepper,' as perquisites, as well as to 
 a ' present ' of fifty sols on each of the 
 three great festivals. Parch. 1 760 ; 
 cf Bofarull, Doc. Ined. vi. 40. 
 
 ' Zurita, An. ii. 20. 
 
 ' Besides the Barons of Aragon 
 and Catalonia, there were present 
 the Bishops of Barcelona, Zaragoza, 
 Hnesca, Tarazona, and Lerida, with 
 delegates from Zaragoza, Calataynd, 
 Daroca, Ricla, Belxit, Alagon, Borja, 
 Aranda, Epila, Tarazona, Huesca, 
 Loaire, Bel, Lnsia, Sos, Barbastro, 
 Alquecer, and Monclns. Bofarull, 
 Doc. Intd. viii. 1 3. 
 
THE GOVERNMENT OF JAMES' DOMINIONS. l6[ 
 
 of Aragon was of still earlier origin. A Cortes held at 
 Borja, in 1133,13 said to have included both nobles and 
 commoners 1; a similar gathering at Zaragoza, in 1163, 
 was attended by bishops, nobles, and townsmen ^ ; while 
 a Cortes of T164 — called by Alfonso to proclaim a 'host' 
 against certain malefactors — also comprised representatives 
 of the three estates ^ Of the early Cortes of Catalonia 
 less is known. It must, in any case, have been a develop- 
 ment of the assembly of the Count's feudatories, and cannot 
 have included representatives of many towns before the 
 conquest of Tortosa and L^rida from the Moors in 1148 
 and 1 149. On no occasion does it come into prominence 
 before James' reign. 
 
 The development, then, in Aragon, of parliamentary 
 institutions — especially the representation of the third 
 estate — was unusually precocious : in fact ' popular repre- 
 sentation was more ancient in Aragon than in any other 
 monarchy*.' It is true that in Castile the first known 
 representation of the burghers in the Cortes dates from 
 1169 — only a few years later than their appearance in 
 the Aragonese assembly ' ; but in England the towns 
 generally did not send delegates to Parliament till 1265, 
 while in France the States General did not come into 
 existence till 1303. Anything in the nature of an attempt 
 to ascertain the cause of this early development of popular 
 representation can be little more than conjecture, with our 
 present scanty information as to early Aragonese history. 
 It is clear that the towns must have attained to considerable 
 importance by the middle of the twelfth century, a circum- 
 
 ' Zurita, An. i. 53. This Cortes to have proceeded from the nobles 
 
 included ricos-hombres, mesnaders, alone. lb. i. 56. 
 
 knights, and ' procnradors ' of cities ' Bofarull, ib. viii. 20. The towns 
 
 and vills. ' mentioned as sending delegates are 
 
 ^ Ib. ii. 24. The towns represented Zaragoza, Huesca, Jaca, Calatayud, 
 
 were Tarazona, Huesca, Calatayud, and Paroca. 
 
 Daroca, and Jaca. The acceptance, * Hallam, M. A. ii. p. 83. 
 
 in 1 137, of Ramon Berenguer IV of ° Ib. p 29. 
 Barcelona, as King of Aragon, seems 
 
1 6a JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 stance which may, perhaps, be explained by the fact that 
 the Moor and the bandit were still in the land, strong walled 
 towns being the only shelter for the peaceably disposed. 
 And, as we have just seen, the avowed object of the Cortes 
 of 1 1 64 — in which all the chief towns were represented — 
 was an expedition against brigands. 
 
 James had not a high opinion of parliamentary institu- 
 tions. He considered that ' in no country in the world have 
 such assemblies of men the sense and worth required ^.' 
 He found the Cortes of use, however, in granting supplies, 
 and in bearing a share of his responsibilities ; and on this 
 account he tolerated and even encouraged them. Besides, 
 they afforded him a means of adding to the prestige of the 
 towns, as a counterpoise to the power of the nobles. 
 Business of The business transacted in a General Cortes may be 
 °^ ^^' classified as: political, including mediation between king 
 and nobles, especially towards the end of the reign ; and 
 financial, i. e. the granting of a large aid by both countries, 
 as in 1236, for the Valencian war. 
 
 A National Cortes was convoked for like purposes, as 
 well as for a third object — the efiactment of laws or a code 
 of laws as at Barcelona and Tarragona in 1238 and 1235 
 respectively, and at Huesca in 1247. But this enactment 
 consisted of little more than assent given to laws drawn up 
 under the royal direction, and brought before the deputies 
 for their consent and approval. 
 
 It will be seen, then, that, notwithstanding the bold show 
 sometimes made by the members, the sphere of the Cortes' 
 activity was a comparatively limited one. In undertaking 
 the three great wars of the reign, the king, on each occa- 
 sion, had already made up his mind, notably in the case of 
 Murcia, where he expressly disclaims any desire for advice : 
 ' I shall not ask counsel ... I will apply for aid ^.' In 
 practice, therefore, the Cortes was reduced to the position 
 of little more than a court of arbitration and a source of 
 supplies — not even excepting the Cortes of Exea, which 
 
 ' Chron. 382. 
 
THE GOVERNMENT OF JAMES' DOMINIONS. 1 63 
 
 marked rather the triumph of baronial privilege, than 
 the victory of the parliamentary over the monarchical 
 principle. 
 
 When we come to the composition and procedure of the Catalan 
 Cortes, we find that the Catalan assembly consisted of''""^*' 
 three orders or ' arms ' (brazos) — the clergy ^, the military 
 arm (including nobles and knights), and the citizens. In 
 the Cortes of 1228 the orders deliberated apart, and re- 
 assembled on the third day, when they gave their reply to 
 the king's proposals ; and in 1264 much the same procedure 
 was followed. At Barcelona, the place of meeting seems to 
 have been the old palace of the Counts ^. 
 
 The Cortes of Aragon also consisted of clergy, nobles, Cortes of 
 and burghers, who probably deliberated apart ^. The ■'^'^'^y'^"- 
 Cortes of Zaragoza, in 1364, met in the Dominicans' 
 church, but the members retired to deliberate, and the 
 nobles, who played the leading part on this occasion, after- 
 wards waited on the king in his lodgings. Other places of 
 meeting, besides Zaragoza, were Daroca and Huesca. 
 
 ^ Including bishops, abbots, and the Aragonese Cortes consisted of 
 
 syndics of Chapters. BofaruU, Cond. three arms — the clergy, knights, and 
 
 Bare. i. p. 168. citizens ; and a careful perusal of 
 
 " Chron. 48. James' account of the proceedings of . 
 
 ^ The disputed point of the number the Cortes of 1264 {Chron. 390 seq.) 
 
 of orders in the Aragonese Cortes will lead to the conclusion that the 
 
 really resolves itself into the question barons were acting as spokesmen for 
 
 of whether the nobility had as yet the whole body of the nobility, 
 formally divided itself, for parlia- Blancas' statement {Coinm. p. 763) 
 
 mentary purposes, into the two orders that up to the year 1300 the Aragonese 
 
 of an upper and lower chamber — the Cortes consisted of the three orders of 
 
 first including the Ricos-hombres, the the Patrician — or Ricos-hombres — the 
 
 second the Mesnaders, Knights, and Equestrian — or knights and Infanzons 
 
 Infanzons. On the whole, it .may be — and the Civic, is reasonably dis- 
 
 doubted if the parliamentary system credited by Hallam (j1-/. ^. ii. p. 83) on 
 
 of Aragon had as yet attained sufficient the ground that it excludes the clergy, 
 
 uniformity in its details to admit of who, as we have seeen, regularly took 
 
 such a division into four orders, though part in the deliberation of the Cortes, 
 
 this became the rule in the fourteenth M. TourtouUon (ib. i. pp. 108-110) 
 
 century. This conjecture is supported seems to follow Blancas, adding that 
 
 by the distinct statement of Desclot the clergy were not reckoned as a 
 
 {Hist. Cat. i. 19), who lived towards separate order, but sat in virtue of 
 
 the end of the thirteenth century, that their temporal power — a theory which 
 
 M a 
 
164 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 In Valencia the representative principle was not, as yet, 
 acknowledged in practice — so far, at least, as the existence 
 of a National Cortes was concerned^. The country was 
 sparsely populated by Christians, and the great nobles had 
 their seats in the Catalan or Aragonese assemblies. When 
 necessary, the Valencian towns could be represented in 
 a General Cortes, as we shall see was the case in the Cortes 
 of 1275. 
 The The General Cortes held during James' reign were both 
 
 Cones. numerous and important. It is improbable that they were 
 composed of more than three orders — clergy, nobles, and 
 citizens. At the Cortes of Monzon, in lai/, were present 
 the bishops and nobles, as well as ' many other clergy, 
 citizens, and burghers, of Aragon and Catalonia ^ ' ; and at 
 the same place, in 1236, there assembled the nobles and 
 clergy ^, with delegates from a number of towns * in both 
 countries, the townsmen in each case representing the 
 local ' Council.' The Cortes of Alcaiiiz ^ and Ldrida " held 
 in 1250 and 1257 respectively, were attended by the clergy 
 
 is disproved by the nature of the Jaca, and Barbastro (Zurita, ib.). It 
 
 clerical representation in the General is remarkable that no mention is made 
 
 Cortes of 1236 and 1257 (below). of delegates from Barcelona and 
 
 ^ So too TourtouUon, ib. ii, p. 189. Tarragona. 
 
 The Cortes of Alcira, in 1273, was, as '•Parch. 1194. The Justiciar of 
 
 we have seen, held under exceptional Aragon is said to have presided, the 
 
 circumstances, and was not specially Cortes being regarded, no doubt, as 
 
 representative of Valencia, being little little more than a court of arbitration 
 
 more than a court of arbitration. between the king and the Infante 
 
 ^ Parch. 78 ; cf. Tourtonllon, ib. i. Alfonso. Blancas, ib. p. 796. 
 
 p. 367. ' The clerical representation con- 
 
 ' I.e. the bishops and abbots, sisted of the bishops of both countries, 
 
 together with ' other prelates of with those of Elne and Pamplona, 
 
 churches representing their own com- the Masters of the Temple and 
 
 munities,' the Masters of the Temple Hospital, the Abbots of RipoU, Pob- 
 
 and Hospital, and two representatives let, Cuxano, Montaragon, PeiSa, the 
 
 of the Dominicans and one of the Provost of Tarragona, and ' many 
 
 Franciscans. Zurita, An. iii. 26 ; other prelates of churches, religious 
 
 Fueros, vii. : ' de confirmatione mo- men, and clergy ' {Const. Cat. i. 3, 
 
 nete.' 4j ')• The occasion was the confirma- 
 
 ' Lerida,Tortosa, Zaragoza, Teruel, tion of clerical privileges. 
 Daroca, Calatayud, Tarazona, Huesca, 
 
THE GOVERNMENT OF JAMES' DOMINIONS. 165 
 
 and nobles, but no mention is made of the towns. It 
 would be rash, however, to conclude that they were not 
 represented, though it is unlikely that the presence of the 
 burghers was considered necessary to constitute a Cortes. 
 
 To the Cortes of Alcira, in 1273, besides the clergy and 
 nobles, were summoned four men of each town ^ ; and, 
 lastly, to the crowded gathering at L6rida, held early in 
 1375, there came not only a number of prelates and nobles, 
 but also representatives of the towns in all three countries ^, 
 as well as twelve ' porters ^Z and a few other persons 
 specially named ; in addition to whom, a number of towns, 
 communities, and officials, in Aragon and Catalonia*, were 
 ordered to send each a proctor to the Cortes, with estimates 
 of the loss they had suffered at the hands of the rebels. 
 
 The General Cortes were usually held at Lerida or 
 Monzon, which lay in the debateable ground between the 
 two countries. The Cortes of Alcira in Valencia (1273) 
 was convened under exceptional circumstances ^ 
 
 ' Chron. ^i"]. Besaldun, Aygualada,Piades, Cervera, 
 
 'I.e. four good men of Zaragoza, M inorisa, S. Pedro of Auro, Tarrega, 
 
 Huesca, Calatayud, Teruel, and Da- Villagrassa, Toyr, Agramont, Bala- 
 
 loca, with the Zalmedina and Bailiff guer, and Apiera ; the Vicars of 
 
 of Zaragoza ; the Bailiffs of Tortosa, Gerona, Camprodon, Conflant and 
 
 Valencia, Burriana, Morella, Xativa, Cerdagne, Roussillon, Prades, Vich, 
 
 and Alfanda ; and the Alcaids of and Cervera ; and the Bailiffs of Per- 
 
 Denia, Gallinera, Alcoy, Tarbena, pignan,Lerida,andUrgel. ^ef.xxiii.i6. 
 
 Biar, and Gandia. Keg. xxiii. 15. ° The most memorable General 
 
 ^ These ' porters ' do not come into Cortes of the reign were the Cortes of 
 
 prominence in James' reign : they are Lerida, in 1214, where the first oath 
 
 defined by Du Cange (s. v.) as ' exe- of allegiance was taken ; that of 1218, 
 
 cutoresRegiae voluntatis'; of. Fueros, at the same place, when Sancho was 
 
 i. ' de portariis.' dejDosed, and the money of Jaca was 
 
 * These were: in Aragon — Bar- confirmed; those of 1232 and 1236 
 
 bastro, Aynsa, Huesca, Jaca ; the at Monzon, when large subsidies were 
 
 Merinos of Barbastro, Huesca, and voted for the Valencian war ; that of 
 
 Jaca ; the Justiciar of Ribagorza and Alcaiiiz, in 1250, to reconcile Alfonso 
 
 Pallas; the Bailiff of Zaragoza ; the andhis father; that of Lerida, in 1272, 
 
 ' official ' of the Bishop of Huesca ; when Pedro was deposed from his 
 
 and the Abbots of Veruela and Pefia : post of Lieutenant-General ; and the 
 
 in Catalonia — the towns of Gerona, two mediatorial Cortes of Lerida, held 
 
 Perpignan, Salsas, S. Laurence, Pui- in 1271;. 
 
 gcerda, Villafranca in Cerdagne, The most important Catalan Cortes 
 
i66 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 We have thus found the parliamentary representation of 
 clergy, nobles, and commons, in full working order through- 
 out James' reign ^. In its details the representation of the 
 different orders varies from time to time, and it is probable 
 that the presence of the Commons was not, as yet, con- 
 sidered necessary to constitute a Cortes. But, though the 
 procedure is still primitive and the action of the Cortes 
 limited, the representative principle is fully acknowledged, 
 and, for the granting of a great aid^, the Crown has 
 recognized the binding nature of the axiom : ' what touches 
 all should be approved of all.' And, purely selfish though 
 their action was, to this result the resistance of the nobles 
 at Barcelona and Zaragoza had contributed not a little. 
 III. Local When we leave the subject of the central administration, 
 menL™ ^^^ turn to the municipal government, we find at the 
 outset that the sympathy with which James regarded the 
 welfare of the towns is unmistakably attested by his own 
 boast : ' I have in my favour all the cities and citizens of 
 Aragon and Catalonia.' And the trend of the king's 
 policy is also shown by his counsel to Alfonso of Castile 
 — by all means to conciliate the church and cities, for with 
 their aid he would be a match for the nobles. 
 
 Up to James' reign the charters conceded to towns 
 
 were that held at Barcelona in 1228, codified; in 1264, at Zaragoza, the 
 
 when war was decided on against nobles refused Bovage ; and in 1265, 
 
 Mallorca, Bovage was granted, peace at Exea, the king granted them certain 
 
 was proclaimed over the land, and concessions. 
 
 clerical privileges were confirmed ; ' A Cortes of one or both countries 
 
 the Cortes of Tarragona, in 1235, seems to have been held at least once 
 
 when the privileges of the clergy were every three years in the course of the 
 
 again confirmed, and various laws reign. 
 
 were e. acted ; the Cortes of 1244, at '' The equivalent to Bovage, granted 
 
 Barcelona, to define the frontier of by the Catalan towns, it is impossible 
 
 Aragon and Catalonia ; and the Cortes to specify. In any case it is improb- 
 
 of 1264, also held at Barcelona, when able that some special effort was not 
 
 Bovage was granted for the Murcian made by the burghers on the occasion 
 
 war. of such a grant by the privileged 
 
 The notable Cortes of Aragon were classes. At the Cortes of 1228 the 
 
 not so numerous ; in I22i,at Huesca, townsmen present made an offer of 
 
 the money of Jaca was confirmed ; in all the ships in harbour. 
 1247, at Huesca, the Fueros were 
 
THE GOVERNMENT OF JAMES' DOMINIONS. 167 
 
 consist of little more than grants of land and sanctions (<j) Munici- 
 conferred on certain local customs ^. None the less, igtration. 
 a municipal system had evidently been growing up, and by 
 the time we come to the thirteenth century it has reached 
 a state of considerable development. 
 
 In Aragon the system was fairly uniform. In the towns Aragon. 
 the Crown was represented by a bailiff, who was respon- 
 sible for the collection of the royal revenues. The brunt 
 of the local government fell on a body of ' jurats,' or ' good 
 men,' chosen yearly, who were generally assisted by 
 a ' Council,' representing, apparently, the people at large ^. 
 The judicial government, as we shall see, was in the hands 
 of a justiciar. 
 
 In Barcelona the form of the municipal government Catalonia, 
 underwent several changes in the course of James' reign. 
 Up to 1249 the city preserved the primitive constitution of Barcelona, 
 its Counts, a vicar acting as judge for the nobility, and 
 a Bailiff for the people, while the latter could assemble to 
 deliberate on local affairs under the Seneschal or Bailiff. 
 In 1249, however, a royal charter enacted that the Crown 
 should in future name four ' paeres ' (paciarii), who were to 
 choose an unspecified number of councillors for the good 
 government of the city, the executive power being vested 
 in the vicar ^. But this arrangement lasted only till 1258, 
 when it was changed for one by which the king appointed 
 eight councillors, who, with the vicar's assistance, were to 
 
 ' As in MuHoz, Fueros, passim, 'good men' and another body of twenty 
 
 and in Bofarull, Doc. Ined. viii. members, probably councillors ; and 
 
 ^ James' charter to Zaragoza was on the expiry of their term of office 
 
 granted in 1272. Here the jurats are they rendered account to the electors, 
 
 twelve in number, and choose their {Reg. xi. 204. The MS. is imperfect.) 
 
 successors, the election being notified Jaca also was governed by jurats 
 
 each year to the king or his bailiff. andaCouncil(Maiioz,/>«r(;j, p. 345) ; 
 
 No mention is made of an assisting and so too Daroca {Reg. xi. 157); 
 
 Council. {Parch. 2098 ; cf. Bofarull, Fraga {Parch. 903) ; Almudevar, 
 
 Doc. Ined. vi. 48.) This document is Barbastro, Sos, Cuera {Reg. xviii. 20) ; 
 
 wrongly assigned by TourtouUon (ib. and, apparently, Calatayud. Muiloz, 
 
 ii. p. 326) to 1271. ib. p. 460. 
 
 Huesca was governed by eight ^ Capmany, Memorias, ii. App. 
 
 jurats, who were chosen by twenty no. 24, and Col. Dipt. 239. 
 
l68 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 choose 200 good men— the eight councillors, who met 
 weekly, forming a consultative body for the vicar, who was 
 bound to follow their advice, while the 200, or grand 
 council, who took an oath of secrecy, acted, when required, 
 as assistants to the vicar and his council. The government 
 of the city seems, in fact, to have rested mainly with the 
 eight, who could even compel the vicar to call a parlia- 
 ment, or public meeting of the citizens. The outgoing 
 eight elected their successors yearly, and the latter a new 
 grand council ^. 
 
 From this charter of 1258 the mediaeval system of 
 municipal government in Barcelona may be said to date, 
 though varieties of detail occurred from time to time. 
 Thus, in 1260 the eight were reduced to six ^ ; in 1265 to 
 four, and the grand council from 200 to 100^. In 1274 
 a change was made in a more democratic direction, the 
 four councillors becoming five, while the election of a new 
 five was committed to twelve electors chosen by the old 
 hundred, the five choosing a new hundred *. 
 Perpignan. The government of Perpignan had been placed by 
 Pedro II, in 1197, in the hands of consuls elected yearly '\ 
 In the town itself the judicial authority, as we shall see, 
 was in the hands of a justiciar, while the revenues were 
 managed by the bailiff. Outside the town, jurisdiction 
 was in the hands of a vicar ^. 
 
 The municipal system of the other towns of Catalonia was 
 conducted, probably, on much the same lines as in Aragon 
 
 ' Reg. ix. 14 ; cf. Capmany, ib. Col. revenues and taxes, the cognizance of 
 
 Dipl. 299, and Bofarull, Doc. Ined. suits between Jews, and matters con- 
 
 viii. 46. nected with the sea, the market, mills, 
 
 ^ Capmany, ib. App. no. 24. weights, and measures. The vicar 
 
 ' Reg. xiii. 280 ; cf. Capmany, Col. was to concern himself with suits 
 
 Dipl. 300, and Bofarull, ib. 55. between Jews and Christians, capital 
 
 * Reg. xvL 192 ; cf. Bofarull, ib. 58. cases, and cases generally which did 
 
 In 1 266, owing, no doubt, to a con- not come within the jurisdiction of the 
 
 flict between the two officials, a royal bailiff. Reg. xv. 33. 
 
 decree was issued sharply defining the ' Henry, Hist. Rouss. p. 516. 
 
 duties of the vicar and bailiff. To " Massot-Reynier, Cout. Ferp. No. 
 
 the latter fell the supervision of the 56 ; Reg. viii. 20, 24. 
 
THE GOVERNMENT OF JAMBS' DOMINIONS. 169 
 
 and at Barcelona — that is, by a small body of citizens 
 assisted by a larger council, the administration of the 
 revenues and of justice residing with a bailiff and a vicar. 
 
 The municipal government of Valencia was directed, Valencia. 
 as in Aragon, by a body of jurats, four in number, who 
 chose an indefinite number of councillors to act as their 
 assistants, the jurats themselves being elected yearly by 
 their predecessors and the council ^. The bailiff, as we shall 
 see later, was responsible for the royal revenues, and was 
 regarded as the king's representative, the jurats taking 
 their oath of good conduct to him ; while the administra- 
 tion of justice rested with a justiciar, who also rendered 
 account to the bailiff, and was chosen by ' the council of 
 good men.' 
 
 In Mallorca there were six jurats, who governed the Mallorca. 
 whole island, chose a council of assistants, and, each year, 
 in the presence of the bailiff and with the advice of the 
 council, appointed their successors. Here too a move in 
 a more democratic direction was made in 1273, when the 
 election of the jurats was transferred to the ' good men ' of 
 the capital^. 
 
 At Montpellier the communal authority was summed Mont- 
 up in the twelve consuls, who possessed the right ofP 
 making any alterations in the municipal constitution that 
 they chose, and whose counsel both the lieutenant and 
 the bailiff were bound to adopt '^. In matters of impor- 
 
 ' Privs. 18, 35, 71. In each parish 43. The change of 1273 is not noticed 
 
 a 'good man' was also chosen quarterly by M. TourtouUon (ib. ii. p. 330), 
 
 ' super regendis officiis carrariis albel- who, instead of trusting to his own 
 
 lonibus et cequis . . . et super omnibus researches, relies on the far less trust- 
 
 aliis negotiis pertinentibns communi- worthy authority of Bover's History of 
 
 tati ' {Reg. ix. 25 ; Priv. 56) ; while Mallorca. 
 
 the local rates were collected by four '' Germain, Hist. Montp. i. pp. 1 56- 
 
 ' good men.' Priv. 64. 161. The consuls first appear in 
 
 It is strange that Schmidt should 1141, when they had a share in 
 
 have described the Valencian consti- the expulsion of William VI, being 
 
 tution on the comparatively worthless designated by Innocent II as ' hnjus 
 
 authority of Beuter and Escolano. malitiae capita' (ib. pp. 12-14). I" 
 
 Ceschichte Aragonien's,-p. ■i()'3iSt(\. the Charter of 1204, granted by 
 
 '' Regs. xxvi. 156 (1249) and xix. Pedro II, they seem to be alluded to 
 
170 
 
 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 tance they could confer with a ' secret council,' as well as 
 with the heads of the different trades ^ ; and they were 
 elected, each year, by their predecessors and a committee 
 of seven citizens, one from each of the chief trades^. 
 
 The judicial business of the town rested, as we shall see, 
 mainly with the bailiff, who was chosen by the lieutenant 
 and consuls, and from whose court appeals went to that of 
 the lieutenant, the latter acting as the king's representative, 
 and receiving the oaths of the newly elected consuls ''. 
 
 in the expression ' the good men ' ; 
 and in the laws of 1205 (art. 9) their 
 status is clearly defined, as that of 
 governors of the town and advisers of 
 the lieutenant and bailiff. (' Statutum 
 est ut duodecim probi et legales viri 
 Montispessulani electi ad consulendam 
 communitatem Montispessulani jurare 
 debent quod bona fide consulant et 
 utiliter provideant toti communitati 
 Montispessulani, et earn fideliter re- 
 gant et gubernent, et quod similiter 
 bona fide consulant domino et bajulo 
 curie, et ei quem dominus loco suo 
 statuerit in hac terra, qui tenetur 
 requirere consilium dictorum XII, et 
 eorum stare consiliis de omnibus que 
 ad communitatem Montispessulani et 
 terrim Montispessulani spectant . . . 
 et isti duodecim viri habent plenam 
 potestatem statuendi, distringendi, et 
 corrigendi omnia, que eis visum fuerit 
 pertinere ad utilitatem communitatis 
 Montispessulani . . . et unusquisque 
 istorum XII debet habere et percipere 
 tempore sui officii cc solidos de re- 
 publica,' ib.) The consuls were not 
 blow to avail themselves of their 
 extensive powers, and in 1223 issued 
 some stringent regulations as to the 
 election of the bailiff, and even 
 annulled the statutes of their prede- 
 cessors. Ib. p. 321. 
 
 ' As in the preamble to some con- 
 sular statutes of 1267; 'habito dili- 
 genti consilio et tractatu cum nostro 
 secreto consilio et cum consilio gene- 
 
 rali et consulum officiorum seu 
 misteriorum congregatis ad sonum 
 campanarum, prout moris est.' Ib. 
 
 P- 343- 
 
 '^ On March i the consuls and seven 
 electors chose sixty good men of fair 
 repute, who retired into twelve different 
 rooms and chose, by lot, twelve new 
 consuls. No one was allowed to act as 
 consul again within three years (ib. 
 156). From 121 1 to 1239 the Bishop 
 of Maguelonne was entitled to take 
 part in the election of the consuls, the 
 electors taking an oath to him to 
 choose 'good men,' and the appoint- 
 ment — if they disagreed — falling to 
 him. In 1239, however, he was com- 
 pelled by the king to cede this right 
 (Gariel, Sa-. Praes. Mag. p. 355), and 
 in 1247 the consuls formally trans- 
 ferred it to the Crown. Germain, ib. 
 
 P- 352- 
 
 ' Germain, Hist. Montp. i. p. 156. 
 The consuls at times presumed on 
 their p'osition : in 1239 we find them 
 engaged in a bitter feud with the 
 king's bailiff, Atbrand, whose house 
 they were about to pull down with 
 a ' great hook on a pole, and at the 
 end of it a beam armed with iron, 
 with rings on each side to receive 
 ropes.' Atbrand, however, seems to 
 have had the support of the citizens, 
 and in the end the leading malcontents 
 were banished by the king and their 
 houses demolished by their own en- 
 gine (C^?-i)«. 296-304). In 1255 the 
 
THE GOVERNMENT OF JAMES' DOMINIONS. 17 1 
 
 In the judicial system in use throughout James' dominions {b) Judicial 
 we find — so far, at least, as the essentials and the general ^^^^ 
 plan are concerned — a uniformity which was hardly 
 general in other countries. 
 
 In Aragon each town of importance possessed its own Aragon. 
 judge, who enjoyed full judicial power in all civil and 
 criminal cases \ and was generally known as the justiciar^. 
 
 Police officials — each in charge of a district — were the 
 Merino and the Sobrejuntero, the former of whom was 
 specially concerned with the execution of judicial sentences ", 
 the latter with the maintenance of order generally *. 
 
 Appeals, as we have seen, went to the king, who could 
 nominate a lawyer to re-hear the case. The appointment 
 of the local justices rested either with the Crown ^ or the 
 
 consuls declined to appear to James' 
 peremptory citation to Iiis Court at 
 Barcelona, and, during their difference 
 with the king, chose two bailiffs, 
 without the assent of the governor — 
 ' imo potius eo contradicente et aliiim 
 nominante.' Germain, Hist. Mo7iip. 
 
 "• PP- 331, 332- 
 
 * Vidal, ib. p. 7^3 ; as in the case 
 of the Justiciar of Zaragoza ; 'judicet 
 et dififiniat omnes causas ' {Parsh, 
 1449 ; cf. Bofarull, Doc. Ined. viii. 43). 
 Such powers are usually taken for 
 granted in the patents of appoint- 
 ment. 
 
 ^ Some varieties in the title of the 
 local justice are, however, found : at 
 Zaragoza he was known as the Zaval- 
 medina or Zalmedina (ib.), and so too 
 at Huesca {^Reg. xxxv. 44) ; and another 
 title was that of Alcaid, which, how- 
 ever, was commoner in Valencia. 
 Vidal, ib. p. 783 ; Reg. xii. 143. 
 
 ^ 'Tales officiates debent compul- 
 siones facere, et mandata Regis ac 
 sententias judicum vel judiciorum exe- 
 cutioniviriliterdemandare'(Vidal,ib.). 
 The following towns were each the 
 centre of a ' merinoship ' : Zaragoza, 
 Huesca, Jaca, Exea, Barbastro, and 
 
 Aynsa. Regs, xviii. 102-4, ''"• 7'' 
 
 * The Sobrejuntero was a knight in 
 command of a Junta, or federation of 
 towns for police purposes. These 
 Juntas, as we have seen, were origin- 
 ally formed in 1260, to cope with an 
 outburst of brigandage, but they seem 
 afterwards to have become permanent. 
 The centres, in 1260, were Huesca, 
 Sobrarbe, Exea, Tarazona, Jaca, and 
 Zaragoza (Zurita, An. iii. 62), but 
 others seem to have been created from 
 time to time, as those of Teruel and 
 Alcarliz (cf. a privilege, of 1273, to 
 Morella : ' sitis de cetero in junta cum 
 concilio Turolii et de eadem junta 
 Turolii, et non de junta Alcanicii,' 
 Reg. xxi. 143). Cf. Vidal, ib. p. 784: 
 'sunt etiam Suprajunctarii super Junc- 
 tas, id est populorum turmas, a domino 
 rege, quasi Paciarii,constituti. Quorum 
 est ipsas Junctas, cum necesse fuerit, 
 evocare, et, si eas exercitum faeere 
 contigerit, vel repentinum concursum, 
 appellitum vulgariter appellatnm, ipsas 
 Junctas sive populum gubemare.' 
 
 ■'' The Council of Calatayud had 
 been aathorized to choose its own 
 judge each year, as far back as 11 31, 
 by Alfonso I (Mui5oz, Fueros, p. 460), 
 
372 
 
 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 good men of the town ^ : if with the former, the office was 
 conferred for life ^ or ' during pleasure ^ ' ; if with the latter, 
 for one year*. Towards the end of the reign the king's 
 policy seems to have been to get the appointment of the 
 justiciars into his own hands ^. 
 
 In the towns assigned to them the barons had their 
 bailiffs or Zalmedinas, who took cognizance of petty cases ^, 
 
 but in 1271 we find him appointed by 
 the down, 'dum nobis placuerit' 
 {Reg. xiv. 109). The Justiciars of 
 Pina, Sexona, and Magallon, were 
 also appointed by the Crown {Regs. 
 xi. 222, xvi. II, and xxi. 15), and, 
 towards the end of the reign, the Zal- 
 medina of Zaragoza {Reg. xvi. 168). 
 This was probably the general rule ; 
 cf. Vidal (ib. p. 783) : 'sunt praeterea 
 in singulis civitatibus et singulis mag- 
 nis Villis regalibus per ipsnm Regem 
 singuli Justitiae constituti.' 
 
 ' Thus, in 1259, the jurats and 
 Council of Daroca were empowered 
 to choose a justiciar yearly, ' ad con- 
 suetudinem Caesarauguste ' {Reg. xi. 
 157), and in 1264 this arrangement 
 was changed for one by which the 
 Darocans were to choose each year 
 three natives, one of whom was to be 
 nominated by the king {Reg. xii. 145). 
 A somewhat similar arrangement pre- 
 vailed at Zaragoza, where, by a charter 
 of 1256, the Zalmedina was to be 
 chosen each year by the king from 
 six citizens selected by an elaborate 
 process of parochial rotation by their 
 fellow-townsmen {Parch. 1449; cf. 
 BofaruU, Doc. Ined. viii. 43). Yet in 
 1269 we find James selling the office 
 for 300 morabitins. Reg. xvi. 168. 
 
 ^ As at Pina and Sexona (above). 
 
 ' A reservation as to good conduct 
 was usually attached, as in the appoint- 
 ment of the Zalmedina of Zaragoza, 
 in 1271 {Reg. xvi. 168), and of the 
 Justiciars of Calatayud and Magallon. 
 Regs. xvi. 171 and xxi. 15. 
 
 ■* As at Daroca {Reg xi. 157) and, 
 originally, at Zaragoza. Parch. 1449. 
 
 ' As at Calatayud, Daroca, and 
 Zaragoza (above). The Justiciar of 
 Calatayud was evidently a very con- 
 siderable personage : suits in the 
 neighbouring villages might indeed 
 be adjudicated on ' in posse juratorum 
 vestrorum de unaquaque villa,' but the 
 second appeal went to the Justiciar of 
 Calatayud, who, moreover, was to try 
 all cases of ' corporal justice ' {Reg. 
 xxxvii. 12). And not only so, but we 
 find him, in 1271, accounting for a 
 number of items which are usually 
 included in the bailiff's department — 
 in fact, collecting the revenues {Reg. 
 XX. 223). The salary of the office of 
 course varied : the Justiciar of Tara- 
 zona received 1,000 Jaccic sols yearly 
 {Reg. xiv. 7), and the corresponding 
 official at Algecira 300 Valencian sols 
 a year. Reg. xix. loi. 
 
 * ' Ipsi Rici homines in sibi civitati- 
 bus assignatis Zavalmedinas, et in villis 
 Bajulos, quos sibi placuerint, debent 
 ponere. Qui Zavalmedinae et Bajuli 
 teneant et regant Curias ipsorum 
 locorum pro Ricis hominibus praeli- 
 batis, et respondeant eis de caloniis, 
 hoc est de poenis pecuniariis et aliis 
 juribus, quae ipsorum locorum Curiae 
 sunt recipere assuetae. Pecuiiiariae 
 enim poenae, usque ad mediam morti- 
 ficaturam et fractionem cultelli inclu- 
 sive, et similia vel minora, ad ipsum 
 Ricum hominem vel ejus Curiam dig- 
 noscuntur sine dubio pertinere.' Vidal, 
 ib. p. 728. 
 
THE GOVERNMENT OF JAMES' DOMINIONS. 173 
 
 but were strictly forbidden to exercise 'justice of limbs or 
 blood ^' As some compensation, however, for their loss of 
 the latter right, the nobles were conceded the peculiar 
 privilege of starving to death any of their subjects con- 
 victed of the murder of one of his fellows. Thus the 
 letter of the law was obeyed in the spirit of that tender 
 mercy which prompted the clergy to carry the mace in 
 battle, and to hand over the heretic to the secular arm 
 with the petition that blood might not be shed ^. 
 
 In Catalonia cases seem to have been usually settled Catalonia. 
 by the local bailiff, though at Barcelona criminal — and, 
 apparently, most civil — jurisdiction belonged to the vicar, 
 or Veguer ^. As far as it is possible to ascertain the rela- 
 tions of the two officers, the general rule seems to have been 
 that the vicar carried into effect the sentence of the bailiff, 
 being forbidden to put anyone to the torture unless 
 authorized by the judge*, or, in the bailliages round Bar- 
 
 ' ' Quicumque Infantio ant alius 
 homo, qui non tenuerit honorem aut 
 Bajuliam pro domino Rege, fecerit 
 justitiam aut extemam de aliquo 
 homine regis, quia fecit contra Forum, 
 peytat de calonia mille solidos pro 
 Tinoquoque niembro, aut sit de illo 
 facto ad mercedem Regis ; quoniam 
 justitiae aut extemae corporum et 
 membrorum specialiter sunt et spec- 
 tant ad dominum Regem et ad suos.* 
 Fueros, lib. iii. tit. ' de jurisdictione 
 omnium Judicum.' 
 
 ^ 'Si homo Infantionis occiderit 
 hominem Infantionis, talem hcmi- 
 cidam potest dominus ejus occidere 
 in captione, fame, siti, aut frigore, 
 non faciendo de illo aliquam justitiam 
 vel estemam. Quod si Justitia cor- 
 poralis habeat fieri de illo, tradatur 
 bajulo Regis, quia omnes justitiae, 
 aut estemae corporales, spectant ad 
 dominum Regem vel ad suos bajulos ' 
 (^Fueros, lib. ix. tit. 'de homicidio'\ 
 III Obs. vi. ' de privilegiis militum,' 
 the same privilege is expressly as- 
 
 serted to be inherent in ' any lord of 
 a place.' 
 
 If, however, the murder were com- 
 mitted on the king's property, justice 
 was, of course, done by the king or 
 his representative; and, in the event 
 of the crime being compounded for, 
 half the money went to the Crown 
 and half to the lord of the murdereri 
 Fueros, ix. ' de homicidio.' 
 
 ^ Above, p. 168, note 4, 
 
 * Const. Cat. i. 43, 13. Elsewhere 
 (ib. i. 3, 17, i) the vicars, together 
 with the bailiffs, are directed to swear 
 to the bishops to do justice singly, 
 and the former are forbidden to lodge 
 forcibly in religious houses. Ib. 3, 
 I, 17. 
 
 At Perpignan three officials were to 
 be found — the justiciar, the bailiff, 
 and the vicar. Of these, the bailiff 
 seems to have been supreme within 
 the town itself, and the vicar outside. 
 (' Item omnia que sunt in villa Pef- 
 piniani spectant ad jurisdictionem 
 bajuli : que vero fiunt extra ad vica- 
 
X74 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 celona, to do execution at all, without the consent of the 
 local bailiff^. If this was the case, the vicar corresponded 
 in fact to the Sobrejuntero or Merino of Aragon ; though 
 in places he undoubtedly possessed judicial powers ^. 
 
 The vicars had under them sub-vicars ^ and the bailiffs 
 probably sub-bailiffs, appeals going, of course, eventually 
 to the king, though they would first pass, no doubt, from 
 the local bailiff to the bailiff of the district *. The bailiff— 
 as the king's representative, and owing to his financial 
 duties — was nominated by the Crown '. 
 
 The nobility, as in Aragon, were strictly debarred from 
 the exercise of justice involving corporal punishment". 
 
 rium spectant, qui nuUo casu in villa 
 Perpiniani vel terminis suam potest 
 jurisdictionem exercere,' Customs of 
 Perpignan^ no. 56, in Massot-Reynier, 
 Cout. Perp.) In 1256, however, in 
 defiance of this regulation, the vicar 
 and his sub-vicar seem to have in- 
 truded into the town, and with disas- 
 trous results to themselves, for in that 
 year Pedro was sent as commissioner 
 to open an inquiry ' super invasione 
 injuria percussionibus et vulneribus 
 factis vicario et sub-vicario nostris in 
 villa Perpiniani' {Reg. ix. 5). The 
 justiciar of the town probably relieved 
 the bailiff of his judicial functions, 
 being appointed ' dum bene et fideliter 
 vos habebitis in ipso [sc. officio] et 
 dum nostre placuerit voluntati.' Reg. 
 xiii. 160. 
 
 The title of justiciar appears to have 
 been fairly common in this part of the 
 country, there being also a justiciar 
 for Capdets, Conflant, and Cerdagne, 
 who was appointed to hold office for 
 life, if his conduct continued good. 
 Reg. XV. 141. 
 
 On the other hand, at the new town 
 of Figuera, justice was administered 
 by a bailiff. Bofarull, Voc. Ined. viii. 
 49. 
 
 ' ' Algun Veguer no pnga fere 
 alguna demanda en algims Iocs per- 
 
 tanyents a la Ballia de Barcelona o a 
 las ballias pertariyents a aquella, ne 
 als homens de aquellas, axi per raho 
 de pau e treua trencadas, com per 
 algun crim, o batiment, o mort, en 
 altra manera, sino tant solament en 
 poder del balle de Barcelona e de 
 aquells qui seran en ditas ballias per 
 ell constituits. Manant fermament 
 a tots los homens de ditas ballias que 
 no respongan en alguna cosa als dits 
 Veguers, sino en poder del balle de 
 Barcelona e altres balles constituits 
 en ditas ballias.' Const. Cat. iii. 
 I, I. 
 
 '^ As at Perpignan, and at Villaroya. 
 Parch. 1 7 19. 
 
 ' Const. Cat. i. 3, 4, and 3, 3, 
 cap. 10. 
 
 • As in the case of the men of 
 Fontrubea, who could appeal from 
 their own bailiff to the corresponding 
 official at Barcelona. Parch. 854. 
 
 ^ Thus, in Reg. xiii. 271 we have 
 a Jew appointed by the Crown as 
 bailiff of Tortosa; in Reg. xii. 123 
 a bailliage is conferred for life, and 
 without any reservation ; and in Reg. 
 xvl. 160 the bailliage of Perpignan 
 and Colibre is granted for three years ; 
 and so, too, passim. 
 
 * ' Dels Magnats, 90 es Vescomtes 
 Comdors e Vavassors, negu presu- 
 
THE GOVERNMENT OF JAMES' DOMINIONS. 175 
 
 The judicial system of Valencia resembled rather that of Valend; 
 Aragon than of Catalonia. In the capital itself a justiciar, 
 chosen yearly by the king or his bailiff from three nominees 
 of the council of ' good men,' decided, with the advice of 
 the same body, all suits affecting the inhabitants of the 
 town and neighbourhood. On appeal, another judge was 
 delegated by the justiciar to re-hear the case, the second 
 appeal going to the king or his lieutenant. At the end of 
 his year of office, the justiciar rendered account to the 
 bailiff^, who was strictly forbidden to administer justice ^. 
 
 mesca de aqui avant en neguna manera 
 tormentar ni punir los culpables, 90 
 es a saber, penjar per justitia . . . Fer 
 justitia dels malfaytors es donat sola- 
 ment a las Potestats ' {Const. Cat. lib. 
 X. tit. I. Uss. 5, 6). James was very 
 jealous of the rights of the Crown in 
 this particular : thus we have a stern 
 citation by Pedro, in 1 262 — acting, no 
 doubt, as his father's lieutenant — to 
 the Abbot of RipoU, to appear before 
 him at Barcelona and show cause why 
 he had hung a man, ' vel utaminl 
 mero imperio faciendo justicias cor- 
 porales ' {Heg. xvii. 116). And when 
 a grant is made of civil and criminal 
 jurisdiction, the latter term merely 
 confers the right of receiving the 
 composition money in criminal cases 
 in which corporal punishment was not 
 resorted to — as in a grant of a number 
 of villages to the monks of Poblet, 
 who ' possunt habere penam homi- 
 cidii secundum usaticum Barchinone. 
 Non tamen possunt facere de eis 
 justiciam corporalem vel mutilationes 
 membrorum. Si vero infra xv dies 
 predictos religiosi non fecerint, de 
 inde Vicarii nostri procedant contra 
 illos homines ' {Reg. xxi. 11). So too 
 in a grant of the town of Puget, crimi- 
 nal jurisdiction is allowed, ' si pro 
 justiciis criminalibus . . . recipientur 
 denarii ' {Reg. xxi. 68) ; and when a 
 donation is made to the Abbey of 
 
 S. John of half of the proceeds in the 
 way of fines inflicted in criminal cases 
 at Villaroya, 'justice of blood' is 
 executed by the king's vicar {Parch. 
 1719). And even after conceding, as 
 a privilege, to the Viscount of Beame, 
 that no vicar shall enter his territory 
 without giving twenty days' notice, 
 James is careful to issue orders to his 
 vicars that they are to exercise their 
 usual jurisdiction ' super roberiis vero 
 notariis ant manifestis et homicidiis 
 comissis a militibus vel aliis homini- 
 bus de terra Gastonis ' {Reg. xxiv. 90). 
 The utmost concession ever made was 
 that the bailiffs of both the lord and 
 the king might preside at trials toge- 
 ther, as in a grant of Montalvon to R. 
 Cardona, where ' ducantur causse et 
 terminentur praesentibus Bajulo nostro 
 et vestro,' though even here Cardona's 
 bailiff would not be allowed to pass 
 sentence of corporal punishment {Reg. 
 xxiv. 90). At Camprodon, too, the 
 king and the abbot had each his own 
 bailiff. Parch. 1245. 
 
 ' Privs. 28, 35, 54, 72 ; Purs, lib. i, 
 ■Ruhr. 3, caps. 6, 16, 91, vii. 8, 25. 
 
 ^ His sphere of action was as clearly 
 defined as that of his fellow bailiff at 
 Barcelona : ' lo Batle ... no hoje ne 
 determen ne jutge ne defenesca algunas 
 pleytas criminals o civils, si non tant 
 solament los pleyts e les demandes 
 que seran sobre los censuals nostres o 
 
Mont- 
 pellier. 
 
 176 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 Outside the capital each town was subject to its own 
 justiciars who possessed full jurisdiction in civil and 
 criminal cases, the nobles and clergy being forbidden to 
 exercise ' justice of life or limb ' as explicitly as in Aragon 
 or Catalonia^. The choice of the justiciar, in most towns, 
 probably rested with the bailiff, as was the case at 
 Valencia^ and Morella*. 
 
 At Montpellier the judicial system was somewhat more 
 elaborate. The bailiff, who was chosen by the lieutenant 
 and consuls, could take cognizance of all civil and criminal 
 cases, his court being arranged in three divisions ; (i) that 
 of the bailiff and his judge — the highest ; (2) that of the 
 sub-bailiff and sub-judge ; (3) that of the vicar and his 
 assessors. Appeals went to the court of the lieutenant or 
 
 les altres rendes nostres' {Furs, ib. 
 62). An exception to this rule was 
 made in 1275, when jurisdiction, in, 
 apparently, capital cases, over Jews 
 and Saracens — which had previously 
 belonged to the justiciar — was trans- 
 ferred to the bailiff. Reg. xx. 2 25, 242 ; 
 of. Reg. XV. 81. 
 
 ' Furs, lib. iii, Ruhr, v, cap. 71. 
 ^ ' Alcun rich horn o noble o cavalier 
 o ciutada o prelat o clergue, o alcuna 
 persona rel igiosa o seglar, nengun temps 
 no pusque per nenguna cosa ne per 
 neguna raho a dret o a tort fer alcunes 
 justicies de sanch o personal justicies 
 en alcuns o en altresqualsque fortalces, 
 sien del regne de Valencia o dins lo 
 terrae de la ciutat de Valencia, feyts 
 o a fer. E nengun privilegi, qui de 
 nos ni dels nostres sera donat o sera a 
 donar contra aquell nostre stabliment 
 perdurable, neguna valor ne fermetat 
 no haja. Mas en tots los lochs dins 
 lo terme de la ciutat, la Cort de la 
 Ciutat de Valencia, qui en aquell 
 temps sera, oia los pleyts de justicia 
 de sanch e ab consell dels prohomens 
 de la ciutat determen e jutge e faya 
 aquelles justicies corpo als e aquellas 
 
 de tot en tot seguesca e men a exe- 
 cucio ' {Furs, ib. 72 ; cf. Priv. 35). 
 In grants, therefore, the right of in- 
 flicting corporal punishment is either 
 explicitly or implicitly reserved, as in 
 the donation of Denia to Teresa 
 Vidanra, where the king includes 
 ' justicias civiles et criminales, exceptis 
 illis qui ad mortem fuerint condemp- 
 nati vel ad mutilationem membrorum 
 de quibus volumns quod pecunia reci- 
 piatnr' {Reg. xi. 197); and in the' 
 grant of Palma in Valencia to Amaldo 
 de Romanino, when the conditions 
 are : ' si jnstitie criminales contigerint 
 debere fieri . . . justitia nostra de hoc 
 cognoscat et facial ipse, si fuerint 
 faciendas \sic\. Set si denarii inde 
 exierint vobis et vestris ipsos penitus 
 habeatis' {Reg. xvi. 181). So too, 
 when Tarbena Castle is conferred on 
 Sibilia de Saga, with civil and criminal 
 jurisdiction, by the latter term we 
 must understand criminal cases in 
 which composition was allowed. Reg. 
 XX. 206. 
 
 = Priv. 72. 
 
 * Reg. xvi. 169. 
 
THE GOVERNMENT OF JAMES' DOMINIONS. 177 
 
 governor, which was composed of a Justitia Major, an 
 advocate, a proctor, and an attorney. Below both of these 
 courts was the tribunal of the consuls, who had jurisdiction 
 in petty cases ^. 
 
 The exact nature of the judicial arrangements of Mallorca Mallorca. 
 it is difficult to ascertain with any certainty. The Charter 
 of 1 231 created local vicars, who decided cases with the 
 advice of the Good Men of each town ^ ; while appeals 
 seem to have gone to the king's representative, who was 
 assisted by a similar body of assessors ^. 
 
 In reviewing the system of local government in use in General 
 James' dominions, it will be found that in all essential respects ^^^^^'^' 
 
 ' Germain, H. M. vol. i. pp. 54- 
 125 ; with arts, i, 44, 85, 121-123, 
 of the charter of 1 204, and App. iv. 
 pp. 280, 282. As for the mode of 
 electing the bailiff, by the charter of 
 Dec. 10, 1258, in the event of no can- 
 didate named by the lieutenant or 
 consuls getting the votes of a majority 
 of the consuls, or if the lieutenant 
 objected to the candidates, the former 
 was entitled to present four candidates 
 himself, from whom, in the event of 
 the consuls still disagreeing, he chose 
 one. This charter modified article 9 
 of a Constitution of 1205, by which 
 the lieutenant and bailiff were com- 
 pelled to adopt the advice of the 
 consuls in all matters affecting Mont- 
 pellier (Germain, H. M. i. pp. 280-2). 
 The office of bailiff was viewed with 
 great jealousy by the townsmen : he 
 might not be a Jew (ib. p. 61); he 
 must be a native (ib. pp. 117, 193); 
 he was only re-eligible after an interval 
 of two years (ib. p. 122), might not 
 even acquire an immoveable of the 
 lord during his year of office (ib. 
 p. 96), and was bound to render ac- 
 count to the governor. Ib. p. 54. 
 
 The question of the extent of the 
 judicial powers of the Bishop of Ma- 
 guelonne, as represented by his rector. 
 
 constituted, as we have seen, a fertile 
 source of discord. Eventually, on 
 March 12, 1241, the bishop made two 
 important concessions, by which he 
 ceded to the royal courts the trial of 
 all appeals, as well as of cases involv- 
 ving 'justice of blood.' Ib. ii. pp. 74, 
 137; cf. TonrtouUon, ib. ii. p. 45, 
 note 5. 
 
 Lastly, we have seen how in 1254 
 the consuls had refused to appear 
 before James in person, on the ground 
 that they were not bound to plead 
 before any judge outside Montpellier. 
 On Sept. 27, 1272, James undertook 
 not to cite any citizen of Montpellier 
 outside the town. Ib. ii. p. 93. 
 
 2 * Omnes questiones, que infra 
 habitatores fuerint civitatis, agitentur 
 in locis publicis, ubi Vicarius fuerit, 
 cum probis hominibus civitatis, et 
 non venietis ad domum Curie vel 
 Bajuli pro placito terminando' {Reg. 
 xxiv. 120). Cf. ib. 118: * omnia male- 
 facta, quae fuerint inter habitatores 
 civitatis, possint probi homines paci- 
 ficare et diffinire antequam sit clamor 
 vel firmamentum ad curiam factum.' 
 
 ^ * Judicia omnia causarum et eri- 
 minum judicabit curia cum probis 
 hominibus civitatis.' Ib. 121. 
 
 N 
 
178 JAlUES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 its features are much the same in each of the countries subject 
 to him. In each large town or district the Crown is specially- 
 represented by a bailiff, whose duty is the collection of his 
 master's revenues and the formal bestowal of his sanction 
 on the annual election of the municipal officers ^. Local 
 administration generally is carried on by a small body of 
 jurats or consuls, which, however, is the reverse of oligarchic 
 in its government, being usually assisted by a larger 
 Council — as at Barcelona, Valencia, Montpellier, and 
 probably Zaragoza. The administration of justice is in 
 the hands of an official known in Aragon and Valencia as 
 the justiciar, in Catalonia^ and Montpellier as the bailiff; 
 while the right of the Good Men to a voice in the sentences 
 of the judge gave them the enjoyment of what was, in 
 practice, little less than the jury system ^. In spite, there- 
 fore, of superficial variations, the local organization of James' 
 government was singularly uniform in its various features. 
 Two important principles predominate : the autonomy of 
 the burghers in municipal matters, and the supremacy of 
 the Crown in the administration of justice. And further, to 
 obviate any possibility of a division of the executive into 
 anything like two opposing camps, on the one hand the 
 sanction of the bailiff, as representing the Crown, is 
 required to confirm the election of each new body of jurats ; 
 and on the other hand, in accordance with James' maxim 
 that justice should be done in public, the Good Men of the 
 locality are allowed to participate in the decisions of the 
 judge. With this interlacement in the operation of the 
 royal and the popular authority, independent action on the 
 
 ' Except at Montpellier, where the ciar decided cases with the advice of 
 
 Crown was represented by the lieu- the good men, and in Mallorca. At 
 
 tenant, who was responsible for the Montpellier the bailiff was bound by 
 
 collection of the revenues. Regs. the advice of the consuls, who prob- 
 
 passim. ably also shared his judicial jurisdio- 
 
 ^ With the exception of Barce- tion ; and the relations of the eight to 
 
 lona, where the chief judge was the the Vicar of Barcelona would seem 
 
 vicar. to have been much the same. 
 
 ' As at Valencia, where the justi- 
 
THE GOVERNMENT OF JAMES' DOMINIONS. 179 
 
 part of the one or the other was impossible, and the whole 
 machine of local government seems to have worked with 
 a smoothness which was seldom interrupted. 
 
 For a proper appreciation, however, of James' work in Corre- 
 this sphere of his activity, we must glance at the correspond- jj^^tg ^"^ 
 ing state of things elsewhere. In England the townsmen things in 
 had secured free election of their magistrates, independent 
 exercise of jurisdiction by their courts in petty cases, and 
 the right of directly negotiating, in financial matters, with 
 the Exchequer. They were bound, however, to attend 
 before the Justices Itinerant in the County Courts, where 
 were tried all the more important cases — in fact most 
 felonies ; and the jurisdiction of the baronage, with the 
 exception of the Palatines, was equally slight. In short, 
 the action of the- town courts, the hundred courts, the 
 baronial courts, and, on ordinary occasions, even the 
 county courts, was as a rule confined to suits of comparative 
 unimportance, more weighty cases being reserved for the 
 king's representatives — the Justices Itinerant. Moreover, 
 it was enacted by Magna Carta that no sheriff, constable 
 of castle, or local bailiff, should exercise, in his own right, 
 criminal justice at alP. 
 
 In France S. Louis had to contend with a much more France, 
 powerful landed nobility than any that was to be found in 
 England or Aragon, and one whose feudal claims upon the 
 towns were very extensive. The conduct of municipal life 
 seems to have been organized on comparatively oligarchic 
 lines, a mayor, with the assistance of two notables, being 
 generally responsible for the local government. This officer 
 appears to have been usually elected by his fellow-townsmen, 
 though in the case of the Communes of Normandy the king 
 chose one out of three candidates presented. The towns which 
 had not yet reached the position of Communes were governed 
 by the officers of the king or the lord. The judicial system 
 
 ' Gneist, English Constitution, i. M. A. ii. pp. 434, 482 ; Stubbs, Const. 
 pp. 176, 177, 180, 302; Hallam, //wA i. p. 639, and ii. p. 219. 
 
 N 3 
 
l8o JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 was fairly elaborate : justice was administered by local 
 provosts, vicars, and other judges, from whom appeals lay 
 to the bailiff or seneschal of the county — the king's repre- 
 sentative — who in parts of France held monthly assizes in 
 the chief town of each judgeship^, and also possessed 
 criminal jurisdiction of first instance in the case of crimes 
 ' against the public safety ' ; while from the court of the 
 seneschal or bailiff another appeal lay to one of the branches 
 of the royal Parliament or Supreme Court. For the 
 purposes of this organization, France was divided into 
 bailliages — in the west and south into seneschalties — 
 which included in their limits even the great fiefs ; and for 
 the military and financial administration of their provinces 
 the bailiffs and seneschals were also responsible ^. The jury 
 system was generally prevalent, especially in criminal 
 cases, not only on the land of a lord, whose representative 
 presided over a court composed of men of the fief^, but 
 also in most of the large towns — at least in the south — 
 where the municipal council, or their nominees, acted as 
 judges*. 
 
 With regard to the jurisdiction of the feudal courts, the 
 barons usually possessed the administration of lower and 
 
 ' In the south of France the sene- Hist. Gin. Lang. vii. pp. 490-526. 
 
 schal presided over a court at the chief In Normandy, Champagne, and Lan- 
 
 town of the Seneschalty, called ' curia guedoc, commissioners of the Icing's 
 
 domini Regis.' It must be remem- parliament went on circuit. Beau- 
 
 bered, however, that the jurisdiction manoir, p. 39. 
 
 of the seneschal and bailiff only ex- The higher bailiff — the official who 
 
 tended to the king's men : when the corresponded in the north to the 
 
 defendant did not depend on the royal seneschal of the west and south — must 
 
 jurisdiction, the seneschal or bailiff be carefully distinguished from the 
 
 could only request the suzerain, in the lower bailiff — a southern police 
 
 king's name, to do justice to the plain- official, who ranked below the vicar, 
 
 tiff {Hist. Gen. Lang. vii. p. 493). and whose principal duty was the 
 
 The provost or vicar played much execution of the sentences of higher 
 
 the same role as the bailiff or sene- officers. Hist. Gen. Lang. p. 501. 
 
 schal, only on a smaller scale. lb. ^ Wallon, ib. pp. 79, 146, 151. 
 
 p. 496. ' Hist. Gin. Lang. p. 521. In- 
 
 ^ Wallon, 5'. Louis, vol. ii. pp. 68- stnnces were Toulouse, Nimes, Car- 
 
 92,146-167; Martin, jy./^. iv. p. 296; cassonne, and Agen. Ib. 
 
THE GOVERNMENT OF JAMES" DOMINIONS. 1 81 
 
 higher justice^, but S. Louis is credited with having 
 introduced a number of 'Crown pleas reserved,' and with 
 having authorized appeals from the baronial courts". His 
 severity towards the lord of Coucy, for the execution of 
 some poachers, is typical of his attitude on the subject 
 of the administration of criminal justice by the nobles. 
 
 In Castile the history of the development of municipal Castile, 
 life is an obscure subject. The earliest instance known of 
 the creation of a chartered town is to be found in the grant 
 of a regular code to Leon by Alfonso V in 1020 ; and other 
 towns received charters in the same century ^. Most of these 
 early charters are petty codes, and are not concerned with 
 the organization of any municipal body at all. They are, 
 however, granted to a local council * — a circumstance 
 from which we may infer that as early as the eleventh or 
 twelfth century the burghers generally had got the municipal 
 government into their own hands. The Crown seems to 
 have been usually represented by a Merino or Governor ^. 
 In regard to the judicial organization, in an important town 
 like Toledo* — and, probably, elsewhere — the jury system 
 prevailed. In each locality the judge was generally a lesser 
 Merino or an Al-guacil, the duties of these two officers being 
 limited'', i.e. confined, no doubt, to petty cases. More 
 
 ' Hallam, M. A. i. pp. 211, 275. Mem. Hist. Esp. i. pp. 14, 18, 26, 
 
 In the county of Clermont all the 37. 
 
 barons possessed high and low justice. ° As at Burgos and Santander. lb. 
 
 Beaumanoir, p. 54. pp. 80, 207. 
 
 ^ Guizot, Civilization in Europe, '• ' Omnia judicia eornm, secundum 
 
 i. p. 256 ; Kitchin, France, i. p. 342. librum judicum, sint judicata coram 
 
 ' Hallam, ib. ii. p. 9. decern ex nobilissimis et sapientissimis 
 
 ' As in the charter to the Concilium illorum qui sedeant semper cum judice 
 
 or Concejo of Leon, by Urraca, in civitatis ad examinanda judicia popu- 
 
 1109; of Toledo, by Alfonso VII in lorum.' Charter of 11 18 to Toledo, 
 
 1155; of Escalona, by S. Ferdinand by Alfonso VII (Mniioz, ib. p. 363). 
 
 in 1226; of Seville, by Alfonso X in In the charter to Santander (1255) 
 
 1253; of Badajos and Cordova in jurats are mentioned. Mem. Hist. 
 
 1254; and of Burgos in 1263. Lastly, £.tj>. i. p. 80. 
 
 a royal proclamation of 1254 is issued ' ' Non pueden facer justicia smon 
 
 ' a todos los concejos de mios regnos.' sobre cosas seilaladas.' Siete Partidas, 
 
 Mui5oz, Fueros, pp. 94, 377, 490 ; ii. 9, 23 ; cf. ib. 20. 
 
]8a JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 important suits were settled, apparently, by the greater 
 Merino — who was also a local judge, and would seem to 
 have corresponded to the French vicar or provost — as 
 well as by the Adelantado, who was at the head of all the 
 judges in his province, and who seems to have occupied 
 much the same position as the French bailiff or seneschal ^. 
 Appeals lay to the judges, delegated or ordinary, of the 
 king's Court ^. The jurisdiction of the barons depended 
 on the nature of the privilege accorded in each case, or on 
 long-established custom ^. 
 Compari- The main points of difference between the local organi- 
 Aragon. zations of these countries will now be evident. In the 
 territories of the crowns of Aragon and of England, the 
 actual municipal development of the towns would seem to 
 have reached much the same point, as far as their autonomy 
 — the government of the citizens by the citizens — was 
 concerned. There were, however, points of difference : in 
 England, for the assessment of their taxes, direct negotia- 
 tion with the Exchequer was in vogue — on the part, at 
 least, of the more important towns, which had succeeded in 
 excluding the sheriff; in Aragon and its sister countries 
 the taxes were collected by a bailiff, who was always on the 
 spot and was specially regarded as the king's representa- 
 tive. Another point of difference is to be found in the 
 absence, in James' dominions, of any oflScial who can be said 
 to correspond to the mayor — the figure-head of the 
 municipality in both England and France : he would have 
 been regarded, no doubt, as a superfluous functionary. In 
 
 ' The Greater Merino is reported jnJge to hear a case, 
 to have had as much power as an ^ ' Ha poderio cada uno dellos en 
 
 Adelantado, of whom it is said : su tierra de facer justicia en todas las 
 
 ' es puesto por mano del rey sobre cosas que han ramo de seHorio, segunt 
 
 todos los merinos . . . Se extienden dicen los previllejos que ellos han de 
 
 por todas las tierras de su seilorio a los Emperadores et de los reyes, que 
 
 recabdar los malfechores para facer les dieron primeramente el seiSorio de 
 
 justicia dellos.' Siete Partidas,\\. % la tierra, 6 segunt la antiqua costumbre 
 
 22. que usaron de luengo tiempo.' lb. ii. 
 
 ^Ib.iii.4,1. As we have seen, any 1,12. 
 ordinary judge could delegate a special 
 
THE GOVERNMENT OF JAMES' DOMINIONS. 1 83 
 
 all three countries the selection of the governing corpora- 
 tion was practically in the hands of the citizens ; though in 
 France the corporation — in numbers, at least — was of 
 a comparatively oligarchic character, and municipal life was 
 altogether less developed. 
 
 In the judicial organization, however, while England had 
 much in common with France, and Castile with Aragon, 
 between the systems of the northern and southern countries 
 a great gulf was fixed. The monthly circuits of the French 
 bailiff or seneschal find a fairly exact counterpart in the 
 periodical sheriffs tourns and perhaps in some respects to 
 the visits of the English Justices to the county court ; 
 while in both countries the powers of the local tribunals 
 were limited. In France the jurisdiction of the nobility 
 was still far wider than it was in England ; but even 
 here a rapprochement between the systems of the two 
 countries is to be found in the introduction by S. Louis of 
 something corresponding to the ' Crown pleas reserved ' of 
 English legal phraseology. 
 
 In Castile and Aragon, on the other hand, we find no trace 
 of anything like the circuit system of France and England ; 
 and, as a consequence, the powers of the local and district 
 courts are far more extensive, appeals lying ultimately to 
 the Crown. One important point of contact between the 
 judicial systems of Aragon and England may, indeed, be 
 found in the extremely limited nature of the jurisdiction 
 allowed, in both, to the nobles ; but this was a boon secured 
 to England by the strong hand of her Norman kings a cen- 
 tury before it was enjoyed in the territories of Aragon. 
 
 It is impossible to leave the subject of the system of 
 government at work in James' dominions, without carrying 
 away the impression that the corner-stone of the edifice was 
 the king, and that without his master-hand the uniformity 
 of the whole would never have been secured. And yet the 
 rule of such an administrator, more than once, was seriously 
 imperilled by ' lack of governance.' 
 
CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 The Feudal System in James' Dominions. 
 
 Democratic WiTH the thirteenth century the reign of feudalism was 
 thirteent'h ^ beginning — slowly, but none the less surely — to draw to 
 centary. a close ^. In the south of Europe the system was being 
 reduced to a struggle for existence. The chief contributing 
 cause of this decadence lay in the growth of the democratic 
 spirit, fostered by the daily increasing wealth and intelli- 
 gence of the burghers : of this spirit the troubadour is the 
 typical product. In Catalonia, as in Southern France, the 
 mutual approximation of the classes was very rapid, and 
 the aristocracy of commerce was already beginning to take 
 its place by the side of the aristocracy of birth. Even 
 James' Court does not disdain the hospitality of a wealthy 
 ship-owner of Barcelona — En Pere Martel — who, it will be 
 observed, receives the Catalan title of nobility^. 
 Catalonia. In Catalonia the aristocracy of birth was divided into 
 the two great classes of a higher and a lower nobility, 
 though the line of demarcation between the two was not so 
 sharply drawn as in Aragon. The higher nobility included 
 the barons or magnates, i.e. counts^, viscounts, and vavassors 
 
 ' The remark of Hallam {M. A. i. 
 pp. 321, 322) that feudalism diffused 
 a spirit of ' honourable obligation,' 
 but that the ' peace and good order of 
 society were not promoted by this 
 system ' — is justified, on the whole, by 
 the facts. His opinion as to the dis- 
 turbing effects of feudalism is also 
 shared by M. Guizot {Civilization, i. 
 
 P- 133)) who observes that it gave to 
 all who participated in it ' the example 
 of continued resistance.' 
 
 ' The Catalan 'En' and 'Na' 
 correspond to the Castilian Don and 
 Doiia — formerly titles of nobility. 
 
 ' These were four in number : 
 Urgel, Ampurias, Pallas, and Foix. 
 Chron. 392. 
 
THE FEUDAL SYSTEM IN JAMES" DOMINIONS. 1 85 
 
 or tenants-in-chief; while the lesser aristocracy was com- 
 posed of the Hombres de Paratge — or descendants of the 
 warriors who assisted Borrell II during the siege of 
 Barcelona by the Moors — Donzells, or sons of knights, 
 and knights 1. 
 
 For their fiefs and ' Honours ' ^ — the latter consisting of 
 the revenues of certain places — the nobles were bound to 
 serve the ' Prince ' on three occasions : when he was acting 
 on the defensive, when he was besieging his enemies, in his 
 expeditions against the Moors ^. 
 
 The value of the knight's fee was 833 sols of Barcelona *, 
 and the period of service one month, after which the king 
 was obliged to defray any expenses incurred by his feuda- 
 tories ^ There is no trace of anything in the nature of the 
 ' Reliefs ' or the ' three feudal aids ' common in England 
 and France, the only due to which the nobles were liable 
 being the Redemptions^, for default of service — correspond- 
 
 ' Bofarnll, Cond. Bare. i. p. i68. 
 
 '' Nearly all the great Catalan 
 families were possessed of ' Honours ' 
 (^Reg. xxiii. 45, 46) which were also 
 not unknown in Castile, being defined 
 by Alfonso as ' aquellas maravedis 
 que les pone [sc. el rey] en cosas 
 sefSaladas que pertenescen tan sola- 
 miente al senorio del rey, asi como 
 todas las rentas de alguna villa 6 
 castello.' Siefe Partidas, iv. 26, 2. 
 
 ^ Const. Cat. i. 10, i, 3 ; iv. 27, 4, 
 37. In Reg. xviii. 13, 14, the sum- 
 mons is sent to the nobles and knights 
 holding of the Crown in the vicariates 
 of Cervera, Lerida, Tarragona, Barce- 
 lona, Gerona, Roussillon, Ribagorza, 
 and Pallas. 
 
 ' This is nowhere stated in James' 
 laws, but there can be little doubt 
 that this was the value of the fee. 
 Villafrancha de Penades realized an 
 annual income of 25,000 sols of Bar- 
 celona, for which Cardona was bound 
 to serve with thirty knights, i.e. 
 a knight for every 833 sols of rent 
 
 {Pareh. 1 389). The fee also in Aragon 
 was worth 500 Jaccic sols, which is 
 exactly 833 sols in money of Barce- 
 lona. 
 
 ° As in the grant of Tagamanent 
 Castle to R. Cardona, on a lease of 
 ten years and for a service of one 
 knight fully equipped with horse and 
 arms, to serve, when required, for one 
 month, after which the king will supply 
 his necessaries {Reg. xii. 37). A like 
 condition is attached to the service of 
 five knights supplied by R. de Urgel 
 for Toyr. Parc/i. i^SS. 
 
 *• The amount of the fine due for each 
 knight absent was probably the value 
 of the fee — 833 sols — as was the custom 
 in Aragon. But any one who declined 
 to serve, when called upon by his 
 lord, was liable to pay double the 
 value of his service, or the amount of 
 the damage and expense incurred by 
 his suzerain owing to his absence. 
 ('Qui falra host ne cavalcadas a son 
 senyor, aqui fer las deu, o las li esmen 
 en doble, sil senyor ho vol, o li esmen 
 
Missing Page 
 
Missing Page 
 
1 88 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 a knight for every 500 Jaccic sols {£'^5) of rent ^. James, 
 however, as we have seen, introduced a new order of 
 ' Barons of the Household ' — Ricoshombres de Mesnada — 
 who were specially attached to his person ^ ; but the inno- 
 vation caused much ill-feeling, and at Exea the king under- 
 took to bestow ' Honours' in future on none but the nobility 
 of birth. Both ' Honours' and fiefs were hereditary^. Up 
 to the year 11 96 the Crown had possessed the right of re- 
 distributing the ' Honours ' at the beginning of each reign. 
 But when Pedro H wished to revive the practice, he met 
 with such opposition that a compromise was agreed on, by 
 which ' Honours ' were to be hereditary for the future, in 
 return for the cession, by the nobles, of the higher justice* ; 
 though, at the same time, the sovereign maintained his 
 right to resume possession of an ' Honour ' — in the event, no 
 doubt, of misconduct on the part of its holder^. Besides 
 his privileges — which included the right to trial by the 
 king and his peers, as well as exemption from corporal 
 punishment ^ — the Ricohombre was not without his duties, 
 being bound to repair to Court when his advice was 
 required, and also to serve the king in his expeditions for 
 two months, at the end of which he could be detained on 
 payment of his expenses'. A 'privilege,' of which both 
 
 minores, Ricis hominibus pro suis prout eis ab ipso rege vtl a suo 
 
 stipendiis assignari.' Vidal, ib. p. 727. Merino tradita extitenint.' {Fueros, 
 
 ' lb. p. 728. An 'Honour' bringing vii 'de stipendiis et stipendiariis.') 
 
 in an income of 40,000 sols was con- Cf. Vidal (ib. p. 728): 'quomodo- 
 
 sidered very valuable. Chron. 392. cumque sibi placuerit et quotiescumque 
 
 ^ By 1 260 the Ricoshombres de eos [sc. rex] destituat.' 
 
 Mesnada v^ere already six in number : ' Fueros, i ' De Officio Justiciar 
 
 Antillon, Sese, Maza, Arenos, Puyo, Aragonum.' 
 
 Ahones. Reg. viii. 68 ; cf. Bofarull, ' Vidal, ib. The amount due for 
 
 Doc. Ined. vi. 33 ; Tourtoullon, ib. i. each knight absent viras the value of 
 
 p. 223. the fee — 500 sols (Parch. i-;33 ; Reg. 
 
 '' Blancas, ib. p. 742. The holder xx. 231). For the generality— i. e. no 
 
 of an Honour could transfer it to any doubt, those vplio could only come on 
 
 one he liked. Chron. 543. foot — the ' Redemption ' was 60 sols, 
 
 ' Zurita, An. ii. 64. the same amount as was exacted in 
 
 ° ' Magnates regni debent regi ho- the law of the Ripuarian Franks 
 
 nores reddere seu castra commissa, tCoulanges, Inst. Polit. ii. p. 293). 
 
THE FEUDAL SYSTEM IN JAMES' DOMINIONS. 189 
 
 higher and lower aristocracy, in Catalonia and Aragon, 
 were pecuHarly tenacious, consisted of the right to the 
 renunciation of allegiance to the sovereign (' desnaturaliza- 
 tion '). Of this practice we have seen instances in both 
 countries. And, as war with the sovereign was permitted, 
 it will be no surprise to find that provision was also made 
 for private wars among the nobles themselves. The exist- 
 ence of such wars is assumed in the statute-books ; but no 
 noble was permitted to commence hostilities against another 
 without a formal defiance issued ten days beforehand, in 
 the presence of three knights for the opposite side, and 
 both parties were bound to suspend operations when 
 ordered by the king to stand to right, or when one of them 
 offered to do so ^. 
 
 When we leave the aristocracy and turn to the middle The 
 and lower classes, we find that in Barcelona — and, perhaps, 
 the towns generally — the burghers were divided into 
 the three ranks of the ' honoured citizens ' (' ciutadanos 
 honrados'), who formed what was called the Greater 
 Hand (ma major) ; the ordinary merchants, or Middle 
 Hand (ma mitjana) ; the artizans, or Lesser Hand (ma 
 menor) ^. 
 
 In Aragon the citizens — properly so called — were such 
 townsmen as did not engage in manual occupations, besides 
 advocates, doctors, surgeons, bankers, and the sellers of 
 fine or ' precious ' cloth ^ 
 
 In 1275 the 'Redemption' fixtd for ' de forma diffidamenti ' ; Const. Cat. 
 
 the Valencians was 100 sols for each viii. 2, Us. 2 ; x. i, Us. 2. The right 
 
 horse-soldier, and 50 for each foot- to renounce allegiance to a suzerain 
 
 man (./?^j. xxiii. 42). The period of was common in Europe: thus Henry II 
 
 service was, it will be noticed, a month disowned the King of France before 
 
 longer than was usual in Catalonia. the outbreak of war, the Count of 
 
 In France it was raised by S. Louis Brittany acted in lilie manner towards 
 
 from forty to sixty days (Martin, H. F. S. Louis, and the custom was author- 
 
 iv. p. 129 ; Hallam, M. A. ii. p. 178\ ized by the Etablissements. Hallam, 
 
 while in England it was forty days. M. A. i. p. 175; Siete Partidas,\i. 
 
 Cunningham, Commerce, p. 144. 2.5, 7. 
 
 ' Fueros, vii ' de expeditione In- '' Parch. 2f)0; cf TourtouUon, ib. i. 
 
 fantionum'; ix 'de pace et protec- p. 106. 
 tione regali,' 'de confirmatione pacis,' ^ Vidal, ib. p. 729. 
 
190 JAMES THE FIRST OF A R AGON. 
 
 The What the position of the Villan was it is impossible to 
 
 ' ^^' ascertain with any certainty. In Aragon it was better 
 than it had been ', intermarriage with the free and even 
 titled classes being, with certain restrictions, allowed ^, 
 though magnates were still strictly forbidden to knight 
 the son of a villan, under pain of losing their Honours ^. It 
 would seem, therefore, that the condition of the villan ia 
 Aragon was in a state of transition ; and we hear nothing 
 of the wholesale enfranchisements common in France 
 during the century. Slavery was by no means unknown *, 
 and was encouraged by the king^. 
 The The military organization of the kingdom differed in no 
 
 sTstetiP' important respect from the ordinary mediaeval system 
 which then obtained in the rest of Europe. The main 
 constituents of James' army were three in number: the 
 feudal levies, the municipal troops, the mercenaries. 
 
 The first of these three groups was arranged, apparently, 
 in the usual way, a lord's vassals following his banner. It 
 is improbable that the townsmen were bound to serve 
 outside the kingdom ^, the part they took in the expedition 
 
 ' ' Villani autem sunt dicti a villa, ditione Infantionatus.' 
 
 eo quod in villis commorantur ... 'lb. 'de creatione militum.' 
 
 Fuenint etiam quandoque Villani qui * In Parch. 209 five Saracens are 
 
 Collaterii vocabantur. Qui tam crudeli pledged for 100 macemutins. Else- 
 
 erant subditi servituti, ut etiam inter where, two ' white Saracens ' are sold 
 
 filios dominorum suorum ducerentur for 460 sols ' ad usum et consuetu- 
 
 gladio dividendi. Qui quondam, con- dinem Barchiuonem' (ib. 1674), and 
 
 dicione cogente pestifera eorundem, two others fetch 110 and 130 Jaccic 
 
 contra suos dominos insurgentes tan- sols respectively (ib. 1904, 1914). 
 
 dem composuerunt cum eis com- ° In 1 2 74 the king gave full ' licence 
 
 muniter et ultronea voluntate certa and power' to three men to import and 
 
 tributa et condiciones supra se et suis sell Saracens from Africa. (' Si in 
 
 filiis assignantes. Qui post composi- partibus de Tirimee . . . venduntur 
 
 tionem hujusmodi Villani de Parada vobis Sarraceni vel Sarracene . . ■ 
 
 taliter nuncupate' Ib. possitis ipsos emere et recipere et apud 
 
 '' Thus, a villan, who married a lady Barchinonam vel alibi in terra nostra 
 
 (Infantiona), was enfranchised, but his anducere libere ac ibidem vendere 
 
 children became the king's villans ; absque impedimento nostro ac ali- 
 
 while, on the other hand, the children quorum ofiScialium nostrorum.' Reg. 
 
 of an Infanzon and a villan woman xix. 162.) 
 
 were Infanzons. Fueros, vii ' de con- '• So too TourtouUon, ib. i. p. 22". 
 
THE FEUDAL SYSTEM IN JAMES' DOMINIONS. 191 
 
 to Mallorca being a purely voluntary one ; but they could 
 certainly be called on to bear arms within the limits of 
 their own country, against malcontents like Cardona or 
 foreign foes ^. Their duties, in fact, were probably limited 
 to the supply of a militia in case of need. 
 
 It is the third group of the levy — the mercenaries — 
 which most claims our attention. Besides the usual bands 
 of adventurers, Aragon possessed a special body of hired 
 soldiers in the Almogavars^, one of whom was caught in 
 the Sicilian wars of Pedro III by the French, who regarded 
 him as a curiosity and took him before the Prince of the 
 Morea : ' his dress was a short frock girt round him with 
 a rope ; a bonnet of undressed leather, with buskins and 
 shoes of the same ; and this was all. He was lean and 
 sunburnt, his beard long, and his hair black and bushy ^.' 
 In charging a mounted enemy, the tactics of the Almo- 
 gavar were to fling a dart at the horse of his adversary, and 
 then to spring on the latter while he was on the ground and 
 endeavouring to extricate himself ; or else he would place 
 his lance in the stirrup, steadying it with one foot, and thus 
 pierce the chest of his opponent's horse *. Such were the 
 wild beasts let loose by the Conqueror on his Mohammedan 
 neighbours. 
 
 The vice of insubordination, always a characteristic of 
 the feudal levy, existed — at least in the early part of the 
 reign — no less in the armies of Aragon than in those which 
 had lost the fields of Nicopolis and Mansoura. It was the 
 insubordination of the infantry — in leaving the camp with- 
 out orders — as well as the wrangling of the Moncadas and 
 Nuiio, that almost lost the battle of Santa Ponza ; while, 
 
 ' In 1255, when the citizens were 3-10, 42, xvii. 1-8. 
 
 called on to pay ' redemptions,' James ^ The word is said to be a coriup- 
 
 was on strained terms with Castile tion of the Arabic ' al-mughawer,' or 
 
 (Reg- ix. 17-24) ; and in 1275, when 'ravager.' Gayangos, ii. App. B. 
 
 a similar call was made, it was to ' Dunham, Spain, iv. p. 64. 
 
 carry on the war against the Catalan ' lb. Cf. Escolano, Hist. Val. iii. 5 ; 
 
 barons, as well as to hunt down certain Desclot, Hist. Cat. i. 79. 
 malefactors in Valencia. Regs, xxiii. 
 
19a JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 in like manner, the rashness of the French before Valencia 
 very nearly cost the king an eye. To this evil the offices 
 of Majordomo and Seneschal — who were next in command 
 under the king over the troops of Aragona and Catalonia 
 respectively — were ' mere palliatives ^.' It was the age of 
 the supremacy of feudal cavalry, and of the utter insignifi- 
 cance of infantry. Battles are remarkably few : during the 
 ten years of James' career of conquest, only two pitched 
 engagements were fought, and, unhappily, the accounts of 
 both are imperfect. The fight of Santa Ponza seems to 
 have been won by a charge up hill ; and as there was, 
 happily, no ditch or palisade to cut short their career at 
 the top, the crusaders succeeded in overbearing the Moors 
 by the sheer weight of their mail-clad line. The battle of 
 Puig was, apparently, won by the 'refinement'^ of a reserve, 
 which charged down the hill in the thick of the fray. 
 
 Sieges form an important feature of the military history 
 of the period. The success of the Crusaders in eventually 
 storming Mallorca would seem to have been due to their 
 mines, which had shaken down a large part of the wall ; 
 while Valencia and IMurcia capitulated rather than endure 
 the hardships of a siege and a possible massacre at the 
 end. In some of the most important sieges the engines 
 were a failure : at Mallorca one of James' largest machines 
 stuck fast in the mud, while another was much damaged 
 by a catapult of the enemy ; and much the same happened 
 at Burriana, where an engine was disabled by the showers 
 of stones with which the besieged received it. 
 James' But while the military system of Aragon was charac- 
 
 rbiiity7 terized by the same imperfections as those which so 
 seriously impaired the whole art of war under the feudal 
 regime, these defects were materially counterbalanced by 
 the strategical ability of the Conqueror. James was one 
 of the first generals of the Middle Ages ; his ever-watchful 
 vigilance probably saved the army during the last days of 
 
 ' Oman, Art of War, p. 50. ^ lb. p. 51. 
 
THE FEUDAL SYSTEM IN JAMES' DOMINIONS. 193 
 
 the siege of Mallorca, and the selection of Puig to be 
 the Decelea of Valencia shows that he was a strategist 
 who worked with a definite plan of operations ^. In his 
 Valencian campaigns he had two strategical points — 
 Burriana and Puig. He first conquered the country north 
 of the Mijares — a process which was facilitated by the 
 excellence of his siege-train and his own skill in ' Polior- 
 cetics' — and, this done, he established his headquarters at 
 Burriana, on the south bank of the Mijares, whence he 
 could command the country in his rear. His second step 
 was the occupation of Puig, from which he could ravage 
 the Huerta of Valencia. And when the toils, so carefully 
 laid, had closed round the doomed city, his general's eye 
 is once more proved by his plan of attack on the walls. 
 The systematic nature of the whole campaign shows that, 
 as a general, he was far in advance of his age. 
 
 In a survey of the system of land-tenure in vogue in Land- 
 James' dominions, the point salient above all others is Aragonand 
 the restricted liberty of transference to the privileged Catalonia, 
 classes. Taking Aragon and Catalonia first, it will be 
 found that, though at Exea, in 1365, the king had conceded 
 to the nobility of Aragon the right of acquiring property 
 from his own vassals, and of holding it free from the usual 
 imposts ^, his policy, none the less, was to restrict, as far as 
 possible, the transference of land to the privileged orders, 
 and this in two ways : firstly, by a prohibition, usually 
 appended to each grant, against the transference of the 
 immoveable in question to any of the clergy, religious 
 orders, or knights (including the nobility generally ^ ) ; 
 
 ' But cf. Oman (ib. p. 52): 'an siones, qiias emerint ab eis, sint de 
 
 invading army moved into hostile caetero Infantionae franchae et liberae 
 
 territory, not in order to strike at ab omni regali servitio.' Fueros, vii 
 
 some great strategical point, but ' de immunitate militum.' 
 merely to burn and harry the land.' ^ Archives, passim. The formula 
 
 ^ ' Omnis Infantio de caetero possit restricting alienation generally ran 
 
 libera emere ab hominibus Regis hae- something as follows : ' exceptis 
 
 reditates et possessiones, prout regales militibus clericis et personis religiosis' 
 
 homines possunt ab hominibus Infan- [sc. alienandum] {Parch. 1583) ; or 
 
 tionum : et haereditates sive posses- ' sub condicione scilicet, quod . . . non 
 
194 
 
 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 secondly, by the absolute prohibition to alienate crown fiefs 
 and Honours to anyone at all without the royal licence ^ 
 ^an offence especially rife in Catalonia, where commissions 
 of investigation were frequent^, their object being the 
 same as that of the ' Hundred Rolls ' of Edward I — to 
 inquire into losses by subinfeudation and alienation on the 
 part of the tenants-in-chief ^. The transference of alods 
 
 possetis vendere, dare, vel alienare, 
 militibus Sanctis vel personis reli- 
 giosis. Reg. xx. 299. 
 
 ' Const. Cat. iv. 27, Us. 17, and 
 ib. const. 4, cap. 43 ; Fueros, vii ' de 
 stipendiis et stipendiariis.' 
 
 2 Thus, in 1263, R. de Pompiano, 
 James' bailiff in Besaldum, was ap- 
 pointed ' Inquisitor feudonim et ho- 
 norum censualium ifl Gerona, Besal- 
 dun, et Petralata,' witli power to 
 seize ('emparare') fiefs alienated 
 without the royal licence {Reg. xii. 
 80) ; and in the same year he was 
 authorized to receive * compositiones 
 ab illis laycis qui sub strepitu judiciali 
 voluerint recognoscere ea que sunt de 
 feudo nostro, et dare vobis quitaciam 
 de ipsis ' {Reg. xiii. 160), as well as to 
 investigate all cases of alienation to 
 clergy in Conflant and Cerdagne {Reg. 
 xii. 53). In 1264 Salvator, a canon 
 of Barcelona, appears as commissioner 
 for a like purpose in Roussillon (' pro- 
 curator constitutus a domino Rege . . . 
 super inquisitione feudorum et com- 
 posicionibus diffinitionibus faciendis 
 et laudandis et firmandis dictis feudis.' 
 Parch. 1777); and in 1267 at least 
 three commissioners were at work : on 
 February 3, Blacus, a lawyer, was 
 appointed to conduct a searching in- 
 quiry, in Montpellier and the province 
 of Narbonne, into the nature of the 
 instruments under which property was 
 held, as well as to recover royal fiefs 
 which had been improperly alienated 
 {Reg. XV. 44) ; on March 1 7, Arnaldo 
 de Grevalosa, James' commissioner in 
 
 the diocese of Vich, was empowered 
 to confirm all ' Honours' as free alods, 
 though alienated royal fiefs were 
 to revert to the Crown {Reg. xv. 50) ; 
 while on August 20, Berenguer 
 Forax (?) was appointed 'Commis- 
 sioner of Fiefs ' in Cerdagne, Con- 
 flant, Prades, and Ripoll (ib. 65). 
 In 1270, Salvator again appears as 
 commissioner in Roussillon and Vale- 
 spir (' procurator ... in negociis feu- 
 dorum et alodiorum et aliorum jurium 
 ad eundem domiunm Regem spectan- 
 cium.' Parch. ■2,020') \ and in 1276 we 
 have a document consisting of an 
 acknowledgment made by a knight to 
 Jaspert de Bothenaco, Sacristan of 
 Gerona, and Pedro's commissioner, 
 that he holds certain lands of the 
 Infante. Parch. 2274. 
 
 ^ Hallam's observation, therefore, 
 that in Catalonia there were no arriere- 
 fiefs, is true in theory, if not in fact 
 {M. A. i. p. 202). Sometimes the 
 king would cut the knot by confirming 
 the possession of property acquired 
 previously to some given date ; thus, 
 in 1264, 1265, and 1272, he confirmed 
 the clergy of the diocese of Gerona, 
 the monks of Ripoll, and the men of 
 Gerona, in all property they had held 
 for the last forty years {Regs. xiii. 259, 
 xxi. 357, Parch. 1801); and in 1268 
 a like privilege was conferred on 
 a monastery for all its possessions 
 acquired previously to the last half 
 century. Reg. xv. 113. 
 
 For the religious orders investiture 
 in their temporalities was required, if 
 
THE FEUDAL SYSTEM IN JAMES' DOMINIONS. 195 
 
 to the church in Catalonia was, nominally, allowed ^ — 
 though with a reservation of the king's ' right and general 
 lordship and the ancient statutes ^ ' — and it was not pro- 
 hibited in Aragon ; but in the latter country, and probably 
 therefore in Catalonia, the clergy themselves might not 
 even execute a public instrument ^ On clerical property, 
 indeed, the thirteenth century — like the nineteenth — was 
 an age of continued onslaughts by the secular power. In 
 Catalonia we have James' commissions, in England the 
 statute of Quia Emptores, and in France provisions, of the 
 same import, in the Etablissements. It does not seem to 
 have occurred to legislators that a simple solution of the 
 difficulty would have been found in universal liberty of 
 transference and universal liability to taxation. 
 
 In Valencia the history of tenure during James' reign Valencian 
 15 considerably more complicated. After the conquest the la'i<i-te»™s- 
 land had been subjected to a threefold partition into the 
 ' Honours ' and fiefs of the nobles ; the fiefs of the 380 knights 
 appointed to garrison the country ; and the bulk of the 
 territory, which was distributed among all who had taken 
 part in the expedition, according to their contributions *. 
 
 It would seem, however, that a good deal of land soon 
 found its way into the hands of the privileged orders, for, 
 in 1246, though confirming such alienations, the king 
 enacted that the usual dues should be paid on property so 
 
 we may infer this from James' claim, Tarragona in 1234. lb. iii. 2, 17. 
 
 in 1251, of the town of Camprodon, ^ Fiieros, iv ' de tabellionibus.' 
 
 from the Abbot Guido, on the ground In Reg. xx. 251, permission is granted 
 
 that for more than thirty-six years the to a priest to buy ' possessions ' to the 
 
 abbots had not sought investiture. value of i ,000 sols, and in Reg. xi. 
 
 Parch. 1239. 165, the monastery of Santas Cmzes, 
 
 ' ' Manam que si algun alodiari, in Catalonia, is authorized to buy some 
 
 cavalier, o pages, son alou volra houses; yet in Reg. x. 115, some 
 
 donar, o vendre, a la esgleya, o mo- property bequeathed by a priest of 
 
 nastir o algun, licentia ne haia.' Calatayud to a monastery, without the 
 
 Const. Cat. i. 3, Us. i (Cortes of royal licence, is diverted to his rela- 
 
 1228). tives. 
 
 2 ' Salvat nostre dret et seJiorio * Chron. 292 ; cf. TourtouUon, ib. 
 
 general e statuts antics' added at ii. p. 195. 
 
 o a 
 
ig6 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 acquired; and forbade such mortmain for the future ^. 
 Violations, however, of the statute continued frequent, and 
 in 1 250, on the pubhcation of the Valencian code, the pro- 
 hibition was renewed^; but in 125a the king once more 
 confirmed all such alienations, besides making the concession 
 that in future knights might acquire property situated out- 
 side the territory of the capital, on obtaining, in each case, 
 the royal licence ^ ; while in 1369 they were authorized to 
 alienate to one another*. Finally, in 127a, James found 
 himself obliged to ratify all alienations by the nobility in 
 the past, and to permit them for the future^, the clergy, 
 however, remaining in the position they had always occu- 
 pied ^. The revised code confirmed this alteration, and 
 authorized the owner of landed property to dismember it 
 as much as he pleased ''. 
 Charac- When we glance at the feudal system as a whole, as it 
 
 tenstics of . , . - , , . . ... ., , , 
 
 the social existed m James dommions, it is impossible not to be 
 
 system. struck by two prominent characteristics : the great freedom 
 
 enjoyed by all ranks of the nobility from oppressive dues and 
 
 ' Priv. 21, wrongly assigned to 1245 venditionum, qne inter quoslibet 
 
 by Tourtoullon (lb. p. 197). milites fient de hereditatibus suis in 
 
 The royal licence could, of course, regno Valencie, non opponatis illam 
 admit of exceptions, as in Reg. xi. 201 , clausulam, quam in cartis venditionum, 
 where a knight is permitted to buy que inter eos fiebant, apponere con- 
 property in Valencia to the value of snevistis,videlicet"exceptismilitibus," 
 1,000 sols, 'non obstante foroValentie, set apponatis istam clausulam, "ex- 
 in quo continetur quod milites clerici ceptis clericis et personis religiosis." 
 vel persone religiosi non possint emere Quoniam volumus et placet nobis ut 
 aliquid de Realenco,' and in Reg. xii. milites militibus possint ad invicern 
 35, where similar licence of acquisition suas hereditates vendere et obligare 
 is granted to a monastery. et etiam permutare. Et hoc aliqua- 
 
 2 Furs, iv. 19, 8 ; vi. 4, 37 : 'coses tenus non mutetis.' Reg. xvi. 179. 
 no mobles o sehents no sien donades ° R^g- xxi. 23 ; cf. BofaruU, Doc, 
 
 a lochs religiosos o a clerques.' Ined, xi. p. 145. This confirmation in 
 
 ' Priv. 47. their estates cost the knights 13,366 
 
 * ' Fidelibus suis universis notariis sols. Reg. xix. 31. 
 sen publicis scriptoribns civitatis Va- ' Thus, the Bishop of Valencia was 
 
 lencie presentibus et futuris salutem not allowed to hold any fiefs whatever, 
 
 et gratiam. Volumus et mandamus Furs, iv. 23, 1. 
 vobis firmiter quatenus, visis preseu- ' lb. iv. 19, 9-1 1. 
 
 tibus, de cetero ad vestras cartas 
 
THE FEUDAL SYSTEM IN JAMES' DOMINIONS. 197 
 
 services ; and the consequent struggle between the Crown 
 and the aristocracy for the possession of the land. Dues 
 common in other countries are conspicuous by their absence ; 
 and, so far from the king utilizing his nobility as a source 
 of revenue, in Aragon, at least, the reverse was the case, 
 the law obliging the sovereign to subsidize — by the grant 
 of ' Honours ' — barons who were entitled to demand the 
 maintenance of their families by the king, when themselves 
 at war with him. Absolutely the only claims James could 
 make on his barons were military service — or the corre- 
 sponding redemptions — and, in some cases, the right of 
 entertainment, or composition for it. Other taxes, such 
 as Bovage and Monage, could only be imposed by the 
 consent of the nobles themselves, and were regarded as 
 altogether extraordinary. 
 
 , The extensive nature, therefore, of this immunity inten- 
 sified the struggle for the possession of the land. The 
 conflict seems to have been confined to Catalonia and 
 Valencia, and there are no traces of it in Aragon, where 
 the aristocracy had extorted a legal right to the acquisi- 
 tion of immoveables. In Catalonia the persistence of the 
 king would seem to have won the day ; but in Valencia 
 the powerful nobility of both nations, planted by James 
 in the land as a garrison, proved too strong for him. 
 
 When we come briefly to compare together the social Compari- 
 systems of Aragon and Catalonia, the more aristocratic ^^j °/ '''^ 
 nature of that which obtained in the former is at once systems of 
 apparent. Both countries possess a higher and a lower and^°" 
 nobility ; but the line drawn between the two is much Catalonia, 
 more clearly defined in Aragon, where the barons of birth 
 form almost a separate caste, in contrast to the correspond- 
 ing state of things in Catalonia, where the tenants-in-chief 
 rank with the counts and viscounts, sharing with them the 
 title of baron. Yet the longest and keenest opposition to 
 the king came from Catalonia, from such nobles as Cardona 
 and the Count of Ampuriasj and, apart from the more 
 turbulent character of the people, the reason for this is, 
 
198 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 perhaps, to be found in the possession by the Catalan 
 aristocracy of large fiefs, in addition to the 'Honours' which 
 seem to have satisfied the ambition of the Aragonese 
 nobility. But which of the two nations lay nearest to the 
 Conqueror's heart, despite the obstinacy of individual 
 nobles, is shown unmistakably by James' own bitter 
 words at Zaragoza, in 1264: 'by my faith in God . . . the 
 people of Catalonia ... is the better sovereignty, and the 
 most honourable, and the most noble ; for there are four 
 counts . . . besides so many barons, that for one here 
 there are four in Catalonia, and for one knight you have 
 here there are five there, and for one clerk there is here 
 there are ten there, and for one substantial citizen you can 
 show there are five in Catalonia^.' The comparison, no 
 doubt, was odious, but it was probably true. 
 
 ' Chron. 392. 
 
CHAPTER XX. 
 
 James as a Legislator. 
 
 ' That they may help me when necessary, I have lawyers Diversity of 
 with me, wherever I go, especially on account of my t^^°^ "^ 
 different states not being under one Fuero or custom \' dominions. 
 That the king had good reason for this practice is evident 
 from the fact that his dominions fall, legislatively, into at 
 least three classes : (i) the countries of Catalan law, in- 
 cluding Catalonia and Mallorca ; (a) Aragon and Valencia, 
 which received special codes from the Conqueror ; (3) the 
 countries of Roman law, consisting of Montpellier and 
 Perpignan ^. 
 
 In a survey of the laws of Catalonia we shall do best to I. Cata- 
 go back first to the fountain head — the Visigothic code, pub- °"'''' 
 lished by Alaric II at Toulouse in 506. It was permeated 
 by Roman principles, being mainly based on the Theo- 
 dosian code and the Institutes of Gaius ; and when a later 
 Gothic king, about the middle of the seventh century ^ 
 proscribed the use of Roman law drawn from any other 
 source, the customs of the nation were already so impreg- 
 nated with imperial ideas, that it was impossible for later 
 additions to the Gothic law-book to be uncontaminated *. 
 This is hardly the place in which to embark on a discus- 
 sion of the characteristics of the great Gothic code. One 
 of them is certainly the graduated system of fines for 
 
 ' Chron. 396. * Savigny, Cesch. Rom. Recht. ii. 
 
 2 Cf. Tourtoullon, ib. ii. p. 107. § 26 ; cf. Sempere, Hist. Der. Esp. 
 
 s Bradley, The Goths, p. 340. p. 45. 
 
300 
 
 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 various offences, except for deliberate homicide, which is 
 punished by death ^ — a notable exception, and one which 
 emphasizes the Roman origin of the code^. Torture is 
 restricted, and the only ordeal is that of the boiling water. 
 The civil side is almost entirely Roman. 
 
 Viewing the code as a whole, it is impossible not to be 
 impressed by its fairness to all classes alike, as well as by 
 the mildness of its provisions generally *. Such codes as 
 the Visigothic and the Salic law were, in fact, milder than 
 any that Europe was destined to experience throughout 
 the whole course of the dark and middle ages. In the 
 case of the Visigothic law this leniency may be attributed, 
 primarily, to two causes : the still lasting influence of 
 Roman civilization, and the authority of the clergy, whose 
 hand is to be traced, above all, in the substitution, where 
 practicable, of composition, for corporal punishment. Such 
 a code, however, which professed to judge all men ' with 
 
 ' 'Omnis homo, si voluntate non 
 casu Occident liominem, pro homicidio 
 puniatur.' vi. 5, li. 
 
 ^ 'La grande difference entre le 
 droit Romain et la coutflme Ger- 
 manique etait que le premier n'autori- 
 sait pas la composition en cas de 
 meurtre.' Coulanges, Institutions 
 Politiques, ii. p. 477- 
 
 ^ For the distinction between 'in- 
 genuus,' 'libertus,' and 'servus,' we 
 must, of course, be prepared, the 
 ' wergeld ' of a slave being only half 
 that of a freeman (yI. 5, 9). But, 
 even here, every care is taken to pro- 
 portion the penalties as evenly as pos- 
 sible — as in cases of coining, for which 
 a freeman loses half his property, 
 a freedman his freedom, and a slave 
 his right hand (vii. 6, 2). It is be- 
 cause he has failed to appreciate the 
 inevitable distinction drawn by the 
 already Romanized Goth between the 
 three social classes, that Dunham — 
 despite his exhaustive analysis — has 
 so seriously misconceived the spirit of 
 
 the Visigothic code. ' I,ittle does this 
 code,' he says, ' deserve the outrageous 
 commendations passed on it — out- 
 rageous alike to truth and common 
 sense. It everywhere draws the most 
 insulting distinction between rich and 
 poor ' {History of Spain, iv. p. 94). 
 The verdict of M. Guizot is far juster : 
 ' the Visigothic code is evidently the 
 work of the ecclesiastics ; it has the 
 vices, and the merits, of their spirit ; 
 it is incomparably more just, mild, 
 and exact ; it understands much better 
 the rights of humanity, the duties of 
 government, and the interests of 
 society; and it strives to attain 
 a much more elevated aim than any 
 other of the barbarous legislations.' 
 Civilization in Europe, i. p. 488. 
 
 The one black spot in the code is 
 to be found in the oppressive measures 
 against the Jews, who were forbidden 
 to marry ' after their fashion,' to cele- 
 brate the Passover, or to practise cir- 
 cumcision, xii. 5, 6, 7. 
 
JAMES AS A LEGISLATOR. 201 
 
 equality, and decided nothing between lord and vassal^,' 
 was obviously unsuited to the feudal system, which in 
 course of time spread its meshes over Catalonia, as it did 
 over the rest of Europe. There was also the gradual 
 expansion of local custom, to supplement the deficiencies 
 of the law — a state of things which would inevitably lead 
 to much inconvenience and confusion. The object of the 
 code published by the Catalan Count, Ramon Berenguer I, 
 in 1068, was to obviate these anomalies ^. 
 
 In the state of society for which the Usages were intended. Usages of 
 the three old distinctions of freeman, freedman, and slave, ggj^ng^^gr I 
 have disappeared, rank now varying from the count or (1068). 
 prince to the villan. The value of a man's life depends on 
 his rank, and composition is made applicable to murder ^, as 
 well as to acts of violence generally *. The list of mutila- 
 tions is a long one, the Count possessing the right to ' cut off 
 the hand and foot, tear out the eyes, keep for a long time 
 in prison, and even hang, if necessary. As for the women, 
 he may cut off the nose, ears, breast, and, in fine, burn 
 them in fire ^.' The ordeal of boiling water is supplemented 
 by the other ordeals for villans ^, and also by trial by battle 
 — ' that monstrous birth of ferocity and superstition '' ' — for 
 
 ' Const. Cat. lib. i. tit. 13, Us. 2. German Salic Law, which was, 'above 
 
 '^ cf. TourtouUon, ib. ii. p. 116. all, a tariff of compositions.' Under 
 
 ' The' wergeld' of a citizen, among Charlemagne and Louis the Pious the 
 
 citizens, was the same as that of system was in full vigour — a circwn- 
 
 a knight, i.e. 12 ounces of gold: in stance, which, no doubt, promoted its 
 
 the eyes of the judge (Potestat), how- growth in the Spanish mark, when 
 
 ever, his value amounted to that of the country was a fief of the French 
 
 a vavassor (Const. Cat. ix. 15, Us. 8). Crown (cf. Coulanges, Inst. Polit. ii. 
 
 The 'wergeld' of a subdeacon was p. 475). 
 
 300 sols, of a priest 600, of a bishop * A blow, to the effusion of blood, 
 
 900 (ib. ix. 3, Us. i), and of a rustic, cost the offender 20 sols, to take 
 
 or anyone else without ' other dignity,' a man by the beard, the same sum, 
 
 6 ounces (ib. 10), the relatives of the and to knock him down, 15 sols, 
 
 deceased being authorized to follow up Const. Cat. ix. 12, Uss. 12, 15. 
 
 the assassin and exact the composition ° Ib. x. i , Us. 6. 
 
 themselves (ib. ix. i, Us. 2). Com- " Ib. ix. 8, Us. 2 ; Const. Superjl. 
 
 position for murder, though not ad- iv. i, Us. 2, and x. 6, i. 
 
 mitted by the Visigothic or Burgun- ' Hallam, M.A. i. p. 275. 
 diau codes, was allowed by the more 
 
aoa JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 the nobles and burghers ^, and even for women accused by 
 their husbands of adultery ^ ; while the growth of the 
 feudal spirit is still further shown in the power attributed 
 to each lord of judging his vassals^. The civil side of the 
 code is extremely meagre, judges, in fact, being authorized 
 to ' employ equity *.' 
 James' This slight sketch of its legislative antecedents was 
 
 laws ^° necessary for anything like a proper appreciation of the 
 position occupied by James' work. The code of Ramon 
 Berenguer was still in force when he came to the throne, 
 and the needs of the people had hardly, as yet, outgrown 
 it. The king contented himself, therefore, with a few addi- 
 tions of his own ; and, conscious, no doubt, that the direct 
 introduction of Roman principles would have met with 
 the determined opposition of the whole nation, he even 
 went so far as to include Roman, Gothic, and Canon law, 
 in one sweeping proscription, with the further proviso that, 
 where the Usages or local custom were in default, recourse 
 should be had by the judges to 'natural sense ^.' Such 
 
 ' Const. Cat. iv. i, Us. 6. cort secular advocar, sino en causa 
 
 ^ lb. ix. I, Us. 2. Wqmen so ac- propria, axi que en la dita causa no 
 
 cused were to clear themselves ' per sien allegadas leys o drets sobredits ; 
 
 lur allagant, per sagrament, e per mas sien fetas en tota causa secular 
 
 batalla . . . Muller de cavalier per allegations segons los Usatges de 
 
 sagrament, mes avant per cavalier. Barcelona, e segons las approvadas 
 
 MuUers de ciutadans e de burgesos e costumas de aquell loc, ahont la causa 
 
 de nobles balles, per pedon. MuUers sera agitada ; e en defalliment de 
 
 de pagesos per cantera, ab lurs pro- aquells sie proceit segons seny natural 
 
 prias mans. Si la muller venp, retenga Los jutges encara en las causas secu- 
 
 la son marit honradament.' lb. lares no admeten legistas advocats, 
 
 ^ ' Quiscun pledeig ab son senyor.' axi com dessus es dit ' {Const. Cat, 
 
 lb. iii. 2, Us. I. Superfl. i. 8, i, 3). Tliis was, in fact 
 
 * ' Los jutges deuven usar de an emphatic confirmation of an Ordi- 
 
 equitat.' lb. iii. i, Us. 4. nance of 1243, which forbade advo- 
 
 '' This important constitution, which cates to refer to 'laws,' where local 
 
 was promulgated at Barcelona on custom sufficed. Const. Cat. Prags. 
 
 March 30, 1251, runs as follows : ii. 3, I. 
 
 ' encara statuim, ab consell dels sobre- It is interesting to note that in the 
 
 dits, que leys Romanas, o Gotigas, Urgel case the Countess' attorney was, 
 
 drets e decretals, en causas seculares apparently, an offender in this respect, 
 
 no sien rebudas, admesas, judicadas, to judge from Cardona's taunt : ' do 
 
 ne allegadas; ne algu legista gos eu you suppose for a moment that through 
 
JAMES AS A LEGISLATOR. 203 
 
 a proscription, however, he could afford to regard with 
 equanimity, for the very deficiencies of the code and of 
 local custom would, as he was aware, inevitably lead to 
 a gradual infiltration of imperial principles, especially 
 when the only competent interpreters of what constituted 
 'natural sense' were Roman jurists. 
 
 Apart from his additions to, and emendations of, the James' 
 
 TT T I 1 • 1 • 1 • 1 legislative 
 
 Usages, James own legislative acts are arranged in the acts, 
 statute book in two classes : (i) Constitutions, or laws 
 promulgated in the Cortes, among them statutes relating 
 to the Church, the vicars, Jews, and the rate of interest^ ; 
 (2) Ordinances, or Pragmatics, usually interpretative in 
 their nature, as those defining the status of minors who 
 entered a religious order, or married, without their parents' 
 consent, the relations of the vicar to the Council of Barce- 
 lona, and the nature of the laws to be referred to in the 
 courts ^. 
 
 There is an unmistakable Roman ring in James' laws, and 
 they contain certain Roman principles and expressions ^ 
 Of feudal law comparatively few traces are to be found, 
 but, in the course of the reign^ a Canon of Barcelona, by 
 name Pere Albert, drew up a compilation of the feudal 
 customs in vogue at the time, which was inserted in the 
 statute book in the reign of James II *. 
 
 Only a few sahent points in James' Catalan legislation 
 can be referred to here. The peculiar system of succession 
 to immoveables, unknown to both Roman and Gothic law, 
 reappears : by it the property of an intestate reverts to 
 the line from which it came, up to the fourth degree, 
 beyond which it returns to the mother or son of the 
 deceased. Her dowry, of course, the woman kept '. In 
 cases of disputed titles to property, Constantine's prescrip- 
 
 yonr specious pleading, which you 23, 1 ; ii. 3, i. 
 
 learned at Bologna, the Count will ^ Tourtonllon, ib. ii. p. 122. 
 
 lose his countship ? ' Chron. 36. * Const. Cat. iv. 27, 4. 
 
 1 Ib. i. passim. ' lb. vi. 2, I, Unic. 
 
 gs. i. 6, I, I ; i. I, I, I ; i. 6, 
 
204 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 tion of thirty years is usual ; and if, after that period, the 
 case be revived, the claimant is to pay down a pound of 
 gold 1. 
 
 . Turning to the family, we find that \.h.e paternal authority 
 continues to exist in a modified form, any below the age 
 of twenty-five, who marry, or enter an order, without their 
 parents' consent, being liable to the loss of their inherit- 
 ance ^. 
 
 Judicial proof consists of witnesses, documents, argu- 
 ments, or circumstantial evidence ^ ; and witnesses can be 
 compelled to give evidence *. 
 
 To the criminal side of Ramon Berenguer's code abso- 
 lutely no additions appear, beyond a law regulating the 
 application of torture^. The system of compositions is, 
 as we have seen, kept up, and was, of course, viewed with 
 favour by the nobility. Ordeals may be safely presumed 
 to have fallen into disuse, since the issue of the Vatican 
 decrees. 
 
 It will thus be seen that James' permanent additions to 
 the code of Ramon Berenguer were but slight. His Con- 
 stitutions were mostly temporary in their nature, and so 
 also many of his Ordinances. The other subjects with 
 which they deal have been discussed elsewhere, each in its 
 proper place. 
 Fuero of The ' Fuero ' of Mallorca was mainly based on that of 
 Barcelona ^. Its object was to attract settlers, and hence 
 the inhabitants were expressly exempted from all ordinary 
 taxation, as well as from the judicial duel and ordeals ''. 
 
 ' Const. Cat. vii. 2, Us. 2. Visigothic code: 'quia non minor 
 
 ^ lb. V. i. I, I ; i. 6, l, 2. reatus est vera snpprimere qaam falsa 
 
 ' ' Prova se fa o per testimonis, o confingere' (ii. 4, 2). 
 
 per cartas, per arguments, o indicis ^ The vicars were not to apply it 
 
 versemblants ' (ib. iii. 14, Us.). M. without the consent of the judge or 
 
 TourtouUon (ib.) remarks on the prince. Const. Cat. i. 43, 6. 
 
 Roman ring of this passage. ' ' In causis injuriarum, dampnis, 
 
 ' ' Car no es menor culpa las cosas vulneribusillatis,procedatur secundum 
 
 de res callar que las falsas exprimir ' Usaticum Barchinone.' Seg. xxvi. 
 
 (Const. Cat. ib. iii. 15, Us. 8) — an 118. 
 
 exact translation of the words of the ' Ib. 119. In England a like ex- 
 
 Mallorca. 
 
JAMES AS A LEGISLATOR. 205 
 
 Unlike their Catalan neighbours, up to the year 1 247 n. Aragon. 
 the .Aragonese were entirely destitute of a code in any 
 form whatever. The existence is doubtful of the so-called 
 Fuero de Sobrarbe, which legend associated with the 
 Christians in the mountains of Navarre — refugees from the 
 Arab invasion 1. None the less it formed a never failing 
 cruse from which the nation drew its claims to liberty and 
 a constitutional government ; though, in any case, the 
 Fuero seems to have done little beyond defining the general 
 relations of Crown and people ^ private law remaining of 
 a purely local character. The inconveniences resulting 
 from this state of things — which found its analogy in the 
 like state of confusion reigning in Catalonia before the 
 publication of the Code of Ramon Berenguer — are obvious, 
 and are alluded to in the preamble to the Fueros of 1247, 
 whose object was to revise, supplement, and codify, as far 
 as possible, the existing local customs ^. 
 
 In form, at least, the Fueros, as compiled at Huesca, in 
 1247, wear a strongly marked Roman aspect. They are 
 arranged under titles drawn from the Code of Justinian and 
 the Digests, though much less complete in themselves than 
 their models — a defectiveness which may easily be ex- 
 plained by the jealousy with which the Aragonese would 
 
 emption from the duel was granted to agere, remve aliam magni momenti 
 
 London, Winchester, and other towns. pertractare, caveto rex, praeterquam 
 
 Stubbs, Const. Hist. i. p. 627. seniorum annuente consensu . . . Ne 
 
 ^ It would seem, however, that quid autem damni detrimentive leges 
 
 Blancas had seen more than one copy aut libertates nostrae patiantur, judex 
 
 of what claimed to be the Fuero of quidam medius adesto, ad quem a rege 
 
 Sobrarbe, from which he says that provocare, si aliquem laeserit, injurias- 
 
 many of the Observantiae of the Ara- que arcere, si quas forsan reipublicae 
 
 gonese statute-book were taken, word intulerit, jus fasque esto ' (ib. p. 588). 
 
 for word. (' In nostris quas vocamus All these passages savour strongly of 
 
 Observantias . . . plurimae invenientur the political theories of a later age, 
 
 de verbo ad verbum omniuo sumptae especially the reference to the ' judex 
 
 a legibus quae hodiema die sub medius.' 
 
 Suprarbiensis fori nomine passim ex- ' ' Quosdam [sc. Foros] amovimus, 
 
 Etant conscriptae.' Comm. p. 656.) correximus, supplevimns, ac eornm 
 
 ' E.g. ' Jura dicere regi nefas esto, obscuritatem elucidavimus.' It will 
 
 nisi adhibito subditorum consilio ... be noticed that there is no mention of 
 
 Bellum aggredi, pacem inire, inducias the ' Fuero of Sobrarbe ' here. 
 
2o6 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 regard anything like intrusion of Roman doctrines, to the 
 exchision of their own customs^. As it was, when the 
 Fueros failed, the difficulty was met — as in Catalonia — by 
 reference to ' natural sense ' or ' equity ^ ; ' though even this 
 was in reality a victory for Roman law^ as Roman jurists 
 would be the only competent interpreters of the alternative 
 offered. In fact it is extremely probable that such was the 
 basis of the decisions of the king's court, and this would 
 account for the complaints of the nobles as to the personnel 
 of the staff of judges. 
 
 The pledge (' fianza ') is the key to all Aragonese pro- 
 cedure ^. It is thus that the defendant goes bail to appear 
 and conform to a sentence (' fidantia de directo ') — a step 
 without which the prosecutor can seize his goods*. To 
 this the prosecutor replies with the ' fianza de redra,' which 
 binds him to repair the harm done to the defendant in the 
 event of an unjust process ^. 
 
 Of proofs there are four classes : witnesses, documents, 
 oaths, and duels. Two witnesses are necessary ®; and they 
 can be compelled to give evidence ^. 
 
 The Roman side of the code comes out clearly in the 
 law of inheritance. Primogeniture disappears, and property 
 is equally divided, though father and mother, during their 
 lifetime, can present one of the children with a moveable 
 or immoveable object. In cases of intestacy, property 
 returns to the line from which it came, as in Catalonia *. 
 
 Paternal aiitJiority appears in a modified form, a father 
 being authorized to disinherit his son only in extreme 
 cases ". Minority terminated at the age of fourteen ^''. 
 
 ' Cf. Tourtoullon, ib. ii. p. 140. ^ lb. lib. viii ' de donationibus.' 
 
 ^ Preamble to Fueros. ' I.e. if the son struck father or 
 
 ' Tourtoullon, ib. p. 160. mother, caused them to lose their 
 
 * Fueros, vol. iii, lib. i, tit. ' quod property, gave them the lie in public, 
 
 cujusque universitatis.' dragged them by the hair, or caused 
 
 ^ Ib. tit. 'de satisdando.' his father to swear. Fueros, ix. 'de 
 
 ' Ib. vol. i, lib. iv, tit. 'de testibus' exhaeredatione filiorum.' 
 
 and ' de fide instrumentorum.' '" Ib. v ' de contractibus minorum.' 
 ' Ib. ' de testibus cogendis.' 
 
JAMES AS A LEGISLATOR, iO'j 
 
 The position of the married woman was a comfortable 
 one. She was to receive a dowry from her husband, 
 varying with his rank^, and none of the property of 
 husband or wife could be alienated without the consent 
 of both 2. 
 
 Of wills there were two kinds— the written and the 
 verbal. It is with the second of these only that the Fueros 
 are concerned, but the existence of the first can be inferred 
 from their language ^. 
 
 A prescription of thirty years is reckoned a sufficient title 
 to an immoveable, if the possessor can base his claim on 
 a document^ or prove that during the period in question 
 the claimant ' went in and out ' of the place where the 
 immoveable lay *. 
 
 When we come to the criminal side of the code, we find 
 composition usual for violence ^ ; and it is even allowed for 
 homicide ^, except where — by a curious distinction — the 
 victim is not a personal enemy of the murdererj in which 
 case the latter is treated as a traitor and suffers corporal 
 punishment ''. The highway robber taken flagrante delicto 
 is hanged on the spot *, and poisoners also suffer the capital 
 
 ' Fueros, ' de jure dotium.' The bus.' The written will is clearly 
 
 position of the villan woman seems to alluded to in the following sentence ; 
 
 have been an extremely comfortable ' super testamento facto ab aliquo, et 
 
 one ; ' villana debet habere per suas postremo sine carta, tamen, sponda- 
 
 dotes tinam domum coopertam, in qua lariis convocatis, eorum stabitur testi- 
 
 sint duodecim bigae, et unam areu- monio.' lb. ' de testamentis.' 
 zatam vinearum, et unum campum, in ' lb. vii' depraescriptionibus.' The 
 
 quo possit seminare unam arrovam same prescription was usual in Valen- 
 
 [i. e. amphoram, Du Cange, C&w. S.V.] cia. Fiir5,v\\. \, ^. 
 in voce linaris [i.e. agri lino consiti, ^ Fueros, lib. ix ' de injuriis.' The 
 
 ib.], et suas vestes integre, et suas usual penalty for a violent assault was 
 
 joyas, et unum lectum bene paratum 250 sols (ib.), though in a ' walled 
 
 de melioribus pannis, qui sint in domo, town ' a blow with a sword or knife 
 
 et duas meliores bestias , de domo, cost the offender 500 sols. Ib. ' de 
 
 aptas ad laborandum, cum omnibus poenis.' 
 
 suis apparamentis ' (ib.). It is to be » In a 'walled town' the amount 
 
 feared, however, that this is little more was 1,000 sols. Ib. ' de poenis.' 
 than an ideal picture. ' Ib. ' de proditoribns.' 
 
 2 Ib. iv ' nee vir sine uxore.' * Ib. ' de confirmatione pacis.' 
 
 ' Ib. v ' de tutoribus, manumissori- 
 
ao8 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 penalty'. The adulterer seems to have escaped punish- 
 ment altogether, but an adulteress lost her dowry ^. 
 
 There were three general forms of treason : (i) the murder 
 of a lord by his vassal, or incestuous relations established 
 by the latter with his lord's wife : (a) the homicide of a 
 personal enemy in time of truce, i. e. without a challenge : 
 (3) the homicide of anyone not the personal enemy of the 
 aggressor. The first class, in default of witnesses, was 
 proved by battle between champions of equal physical 
 strength (' per consimilem '), and the second by battle 
 between equals in rank and strength ('per parem'), the 
 penalty being death and confiscation in both cases. Offen- 
 ders in the third class also — as we have seen — suffered 
 corporal punishment ^. 
 
 Torture would seem to be included in the proscription 
 of the system of 'inquisitions*,' while all ordeals were 
 expressly abolished ^. 
 
 On the other hand, the duel is in vogue, though its 
 application is limited to cases in which the object of 
 litigation is an article ' of some value ^.' 
 
 Private vengeance also was not unknown : it was, in fact, 
 
 ' Ftieros, ' de veneficiis.' aliqua re dnellura firmatur coram 
 
 ^ lb. ' de adulterio et stnpro ' : v ' de justitia inter duos, reptatus habeat 
 
 jnre dotium.' duos pedites, eo existente tertio, si 
 
 ' lb. ' de proditionibus ' and ' de aptus fuerit ad duellum, et qui reptat 
 
 proditoribus.' habeat pedites quotquot habere po- 
 
 ' lb. lib. iv ' de testibus ' : ' nuUam terit : quo facto, fideles ex utraque 
 
 pesquisam habemus secundum forum parte electi existiment cum justicia, 
 
 contra aliquem super aliqua causa, qui pares esse poterint metiendo, et 
 
 sed habemus testes juramenta et bel- qui pares fuerint inventi duellum fa- 
 
 lum, si franchus est.' So too Tour- ciant. Cum enim alter eorum con- 
 
 toullon, ib. i. p. 168. victus fuerit, solvat qui eum posuit 
 
 ^ ' Ad honorem Ejus qui dixit " non integre secundum tenorem facti de 
 
 tentabis Dominum tuum," candentis placitis non observatis, idem quod in 
 
 ferri judicium, necnon et aquae fer- foro, preter quod termini sunt de x in 
 
 ventis, et similia, penitus in omni x diebus. Et sciendum est quod si 
 
 casu et quolibet abolemus.' Ib. lib. reptatus potest in campo invictus 
 
 ix ' de candentis ferri judicio abo- existere per tres dies, pro victo habe- 
 
 lendo.' tur qui eum reptavit.' The duel was 
 
 * Ib. iv ' de probationibus ' ; condemned by PeiSafort (Smnma, ii 
 
 cf. viii 'de duello': 'Cum super 'de duello'). 
 
JAMES AS A LEGISLATOR. 209 
 
 permitted after a formal defiance before three witnesses ^ ; 
 and in certain cases the relatives of a murdered man were 
 expressly authorized to take vengeance on the assassin ^. 
 
 The last, but not the least, of James' great legislative The 
 works was the code of Valencia. Here there were no ^^^^""^"^ 
 pre-existing customs to fetter the king's action ; and any- 
 such code — written, so to speak, on a clean surface— might 
 reasonably be expected to bear, to some extent, the 
 impress of the Conqueror's own personality. 
 
 The king's plan, however, of a special code for his newly 
 acquired kingdom did not pass without opposition. As 
 soon as the nobles of Aragon ascertained his intentions, 
 they protested so vigorously that eventually James found 
 himself obliged to concede them the use of the customs of 
 Aragon on their own estates. The application of the 
 ' Furs,' therefore, was by no means universal ^. 
 
 The code itself was first published in 1250*, and was 
 revised and enlarged in 1271 ^. It was saturated with 
 Roman principles, especially on its civil side, though not 
 wholly free from Gothic influences. It took Justinian's 
 code as its basis, besides drawing from the Digest and 
 Institutes, and the preamble contains a translation of 
 
 ' Fueros, ix ' de forma diffidamenti.' regno Valenciae.' 
 
 ^ 'Si infantio occiderit hominem • Furs, preamble, p. i. The code 
 
 signi Regis, solvat caloniam homicidii was drawn tip on the advice of a 
 
 secundum Forum loci, ubi homicidium number of prelates — including Bishop 
 
 fuerit perpetratum, et caveat sibi a Vidal — nobles and commoners of 
 
 consanguineis interfecti ' (ib. ' de Aragon and Catalonia. By the six- 
 
 homicidio '). ' Quicunqne civis aut teenth century — as M. Tourtoullon 
 
 villanus . . . si in abenis militis manus has observed (ib. ii. p. 431) — it had 
 
 injecerit violentas, solvat de calonia sunk to the position of a mere muni- 
 
 quingentos solidos. Si vero eum occi- cipal charter, of force only in the 
 
 derit, non solvat inde caloniam, caveat capital. 
 
 tamen sibi ab inteifecti consanguineis ' Reg. xvi. 265 ; Parch. App. 35, 
 
 et amicis.' Ib. ' de injuriis.' which contain the king's confirmation 
 
 ^ Miedes, Vit. Jac. 12. In 1461 of the revised code, 'cum omnibus 
 
 John II ordered the governors of the addicionibus, correccionibus, diminu- 
 
 Aragonese towns in Valencia to swear cionibus, et emendis.' The date of 
 
 to maintain their Fueros. Fueros, i the revision is wrongly given by 
 
 'de populatis ad Forum Aragonum in M. Tourtoullon as 1270 (ib. p. 189). 
 
210 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 Ulpian's precept : ' honeste vivere, alterum non laedere, 
 suum cuique tribuere^.' The language, indeed, in which 
 the code was published was Proven9al or Lemosin ; and, 
 still further to satisfy popular sentiment^ no ' advocate or 
 jurist' — i.e. in Roman law — was to be allowed to plead in 
 any Valencian court, while all disputed points of law were 
 to be settled ' according to the discretion of the justiciar 
 and good men of Valencia and the kingdom, to the exclu- 
 sion of Canon and Civil law ^.' 
 
 On the subject oi paternal authority the 'Furs' are in 
 a state of transition from Roman to modern ideas. The 
 father has jurisdiction over the whole household, and may 
 punish the guilty, but may not administer justice of blood ^. 
 Over the sons this jurisdiction ceases when they have 
 attained their majority (twenty-two), marry, and are eman- 
 cipated or ill-treated by their father *. It is only for gross 
 misconduct that a son can be disinherited by his father^, the 
 latter, in ordinary circumstances, being bound to bequeath 
 a certain proportion of his property to his children *. 
 
 From the age of fifteen to that of twenty, children 
 incapable of managing their property are liable to the 
 control of a guardian or 'curador' — the exact counterpart 
 of the Roman ' curator '.' 
 
 ' 'Honestament viure, e a altre no ^ Furs, vi. i, 13; cf. Tourtoullon, 
 
 agieujar, e son dret a cascu donar.' ib. ii. p. 207. 
 
 Preamble, ib. cf. Institutes, i. I, 3. ■> Ib, vi. 2, 3 and 5, viii. 6, 3. 
 
 ''■ 'Aliquis jurista, advocatus, vel ° 'Nengu no pnsque deseretar sos 
 
 aliquis jureperitiis, non advocent in fills ledesmes, si donchs no fiiran son 
 
 curia civitatis Valencie nee in aliqua pare o samara o no desmentranaquells, 
 
 curia totius regni Valencie . . . et ita o si aquells seran catius e nols voldran 
 
 fiant deinde perpetuo omnes actiones rembre de lur patrimoni, si jauran 
 
 [acta?] et sentencie in Romancio ... ab lur madastra, si seran heretges 
 
 Statuimus etiam quod, si forte aliqua o renegats, o si accusaran lur pare 
 
 dubitatio orta esset vel orirentur super lur mare dalcun crim, exceptat e levat 
 
 dubitatione alicujus fori, ilia dubitas crim de heretgia.' Ib. vi. 9, 15. 
 
 declarentur secundum cognicionem « One-third, if he had less than 
 
 Justicie et proborum hominum civi- five children, and half, if more than 
 
 tatis Valencie et regni ejusdem, ex- five. Ib. vi. 4, 49. 
 
 clusis jure canonico et civili et omni ' Ib. v. 6, 10 ; cf. Institutes, i. 23. 
 forma legum.' A'«,f. xiii. 182 (1264). 
 
JAMES AS A LEGISLATOR. 211 
 
 There were three kinds of will: that drawn up by 
 a notary before three witnesses ; the verbal will ; and the 
 ' holographic ' will. Of these the first two were, of course, 
 imperial in their origin, while the last was taken from the 
 Visigothic code ^. To the same Gothic source may also be 
 traced the peculiar provision that in cases of intestacy sons 
 excluded grandsons, if the father of the latter were dead ^. 
 
 The position of the married woman was carefully safe- 
 guarded, the husband being bound to present her with an 
 augment (' creix ') half the value of her dower. The latter 
 could not be alienated without the wife's consent, and could 
 be claimed by her in the event of her husband's adultery, 
 or at his death ; but if, in the latter contingency, she were 
 to marry a second time, the usufruct of the augment, 
 conferred on her by her first husband, was to return, on her 
 own death, to his heirs ^. 
 
 In civil suits the duel and ordeals were forbidden, the 
 oath of the defendant being accepted in default of sufficient 
 evidence* ; but in criminal cases the duel could be resorted to, 
 for lack of evidence ^ if both parties were of equal rank and 
 strength *. Witnesses could be compelled to give evidence ''. 
 
 Imprisonment does not seem to have been resorted to as 
 a penalty, the only form it took being that of ' preventive,' 
 i. e. temporary, incarceration, to prevent the delinquent from 
 evading justice ; and even thus the accused might not be 
 detained beyond thirty days, except when the facts of the 
 case called for special inquiry*. 
 
 ' Furs,'n. 3-10. The"' holographic ' ' lb. iv. 9, 4. 
 
 will was one which was made at ° lb. ix. 32, 2. 
 
 a time when no witness could be ° ' Aquells qui combatran sien pars 
 
 present, and was held to be valid if e eguals de linatge e de riques, e sien 
 
 the signature of the legatee could be mesurats per les spatles e per los brafos 
 
 proved, within thirty years and six e per les cuxes e en altea e en grossea ' 
 
 months, before a bishop or judge. (ib. 3). Minute rules as to arms and 
 
 Visigothic code, ii. 6, 16. measurements are given. Ib. rubr. 22. 
 
 ^ Ib. iii. 18, 3, from the Visigothic ' Ib. iv. 9, 14. 
 
 code, iv. 2, 2. ' ' Manam que alcu, que sia pres per 
 
 = Ib. iv. 19, 28 ; V. I, 2, and J, accusacio dalcun crim malefici, 
 
 30. quantque aquell crim sia gran, no sia 
 
 p a 
 
3ia 
 
 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 Composition was allowed for ordinary assaults ^ ; but wilful 
 murder was punished by death ^, though even here an 
 exception was made in favour of an assassin of 'dis- 
 tinguished ' rank, whoj for the murder of anyone of humble 
 birth, was incarcerated and thrown on the sovereign's 
 mercy ^. 
 
 The stake was the ptmishment of heretics, poisoners, 
 sodomites^ and infanticides, as well as of Jews holding carnal 
 intercourse with Christian women, and of Christians forming 
 the same connexion with Jewish women*. An assassin 
 convicted of the murder of a near relative was buried alive 
 under the body of his victim ^. Forgers were hanged ^, 
 and adulterers were driven through the streets''. 
 
 TorUire reappears. Nobles and distinguished citizens 
 are, indeed, exempt from it ; but those of inferior rank can 
 be submitted to it in criminal cases, and in civil cases when 
 their evidence is manifestly contradictory and false *. 
 
 detengnt pres en la carcre oltra trenta 
 dies, si donchs la Cort els prohomens 
 no conexeran que hom lo degues tenir 
 dagui enant per scobrir veritat dalcuns 
 feyts.' Furs, ix. 28, 32. 
 
 ' Thus, a stab with a dagger or 
 other weapon entailed a fine of ten 
 morabatins in the town and of five in 
 the country, the offender, in default of 
 payment, being beaten (ib. ix. 7, 39) ; 
 while a blow in the mouth cost the 
 assailant 300 sols for each tooth lost 
 from the ' first seven,' and 100 sols 
 for any one of the others. Ib. 
 
 Mutilation was resorted to if the 
 blow Caused the loss of a limb, though 
 an offender of rank was thrown on 
 the mercy of the court. Ib. ix. 7, 38 
 and 39. 
 
 ^ ' Si peraventura acordadament alcu 
 matara allre, que muyre sens tot 
 remey' (ib. 42). For a homicide 
 committed in a dispute, a fine of 200 
 morabatins was admitted. Ib. 
 
 = Ib. 
 
 * Ib. ix. 7, 63 and 79 ; ix. 9, 9 and 
 
 10. The property of heretics and 
 sodomite? was confiscated (ib. vii. 8, 
 12) — a contrast to the clemency of 
 the Siete Partidas, which allowed 
 a heretic's property to go to his chil- 
 dren (vii. 6, 22). 
 
 " ' Viu sia posats sots lo mort ' 
 I^Furs, ix. 7, 78). In Castile this 
 punishment was inflicted on a criminal 
 of low rank guilty of committing 
 a murder in any place where the king 
 was present at the time {Partidas, ii. 
 16, 3) ; while, for the offence in ques- 
 tion, the penalty was the Roman 
 punishment of death by drowning, in 
 company with a dog, an ape, a cock, 
 and a viper (ib. viii. 8, 12). 
 
 ' Ib. ix. 3, 12. 
 
 ' Ib. ix. 2, 6. By the Siete Partidas 
 an adulterer suffered death, and an 
 adulteress was beaten and sent to 
 a monastery, besides losing her dower, 
 vii. 17,3. 
 
 * Ib. ix. 6, I, 3, 4. 
 
JAMES AS A LEGISLATOR. 313 
 
 Even private vengeance may be resorted to, the relatives 
 of a man killed in a quarrel being authorized to slay the 
 assassin, if, after paying the usual composition, he ever 
 returns to the scene of the murder 1. Private war too — 
 i. e. private vengeance on a large scale — is assumed as 
 existent by the ' Furs,' though it is only to extend to the 
 persons, and not to the property, of the combatants. 
 It was forbidden, however, if either party were willing 
 to 'do right,' and a truce of ten days — after a formal 
 defiance in the presence of three witnesses for the oppo- 
 site side — was required before the commencement of 
 hostilities ^. 
 
 Treason consists of: — ^^(i) the murder, or connivance 
 at the murder, of the lord or members of his family, 
 or the desertion or attacking of him in battle ; (a) 
 illicit intercourse with a suzerain's wife or daughter; 
 (3) a refusal by the vassal to surrender his fief, when 
 required by the lord ; (4) the deliberate murder of a 
 near kinsman or companion. For the first three forms, 
 the delinquent suffers an indeterminate corporal penalty 
 with confiscation of his property, and for the last 
 death ^. 
 
 ^ Furs, ix. 7, 42. o loch ell tendia per ell, o si abaquell 
 
 ° lb. 8, 16 and 14. senyor ab aquell castell que per ell te 
 
 ' ' Traydor es qui ociura son senyor querrejara tant solament, sia traydor 
 
 o qui dara consell ne ayuda ne con- quant en aquella contradictio que no li 
 
 sentra en la mort de son senyor, o quil volra donar postal en aquella guerra 
 
 lexara en camp, o qui ab sa muller que li fara ab lo castell que per ell 
 
 o ab sa filla de son senyor jaura car- tenra e stara. E ex aquestes dos cases 
 
 nalment, o qui sera contra ell en no perda alcuns bens ne sostenga pena 
 
 batalla campal, o qui ociura son fill corporal, si ell es apparellat de retre 
 
 o sa filla o sa muller o son pare o sa lo castell' (ib. 10, i). 'Sil pare 
 
 mare o son senyor. E qui fara alguna ociura lo fill ol fill lo pare, ne frare 
 
 cosa daquestes coses damunt dites sia a frare, ne oncle a nebot, o nebot 
 
 punit personalment e tots los bens a oncle, o cosin germa a cosin germa, 
 
 daquell sien confiscats e encorreguts, o companyo a son companyo, acorda- 
 
 salvus empero lo dret a les mullers dament en fe menys de baralla, que 
 
 els deutes els contrats primerament sia daquell feyta justicia corporal, axi 
 
 feyts . . . Encara aquell qui castell o com de traydor, mas pusque fer testa- 
 
 postat de castell o de loch contradira ment de tots sos bens.' Furs, ix. 
 
 de donar a son senyor, lo quel castell 10, 2. 
 
ai4 
 
 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 High Treason, or ' Laesa Magestat,' included : — (i) help 
 given to the sovereign's enemies in any way what- 
 ever, as well as attempts to seize his castles or towns; 
 (a) the coining of money without the royal licence. The 
 penalty for both of these offences was death and con- 
 fiscation ^. It is noticeable that the taking or attempting 
 of the king's life is not included, perhaps because the 
 sovereign was regarded as little more than ' first among 
 equals ^.' 
 
 ^ ' Aquell fa crim de lesa Magestat, 
 qui vol liura la ciutat als enemichs o 
 qui aquella volra de tot en tot de- 
 stroiiir, o qui seu passara als enemichs, 
 o qui donara a aquells ajuda darmes 
 daver o de consell, o qui sesfor9ara 
 qui fa9a los castells o los viles que 
 son sotmeses al Princep rebelles, o qui 
 fabricara falsa moneda, o aquella sens 
 manament del Princep batra, o qui 
 fortalces liurara als enemichs o letres 
 o misatge o alcun senyal a ells tra- 
 metra ols fara . . . E qui afo fara ne 
 fara 90 que en les altres cases con- 
 tengiTt en aquest fur, jutgam que haja 
 fet crim de lesa Magestat, e que perda 
 lo cap e tots sos bens que haura en 
 nostra terra,levat lesposalici et dret de 
 la muUer els altres deutes ' {Furs, ix. 
 9, i). By the Siete Partidas (vii. 2, i) 
 high treason, or ' laesae Majestatis 
 crimen,' was defined as ' traycion que 
 face home contra la persona del rey. 
 Et traycion es la mas vil cosa et la 
 peor que puede caer en corazon de 
 home.' It is arranged under as many 
 as fourteen heads : (i) connivance at 
 the king's death ; (2) helping his foes ; 
 
 (3) inciting his subjects to revolt; 
 
 (4) preventing some foreign lord from 
 committing his land to the protection 
 of the king, or from paying tribute ; 
 
 (5) surrendering a town or fort to the 
 enemy, losing such fief by one's own 
 fault, fortifying it against the king, 
 holding some castle or town inde- 
 
 pendently of the king, or, in fine, 
 rebelling against him ; (6) deserting 
 the king in battle, leaving the army 
 while bound to serve, or intriguing 
 with the enemy; (7) making con- 
 spiracies in the kingdom ; (8) killing 
 the royal governors, councillors, 
 judges, or knights of the household ; 
 
 (9) violating the royal safeguard; 
 
 (10) killing or putting to flight men 
 who have given hostages to the king ; 
 
 (11) assisting the flight of any accused 
 of treason; (12) refusing to surrender 
 an office; (13) mutilating the royal 
 ' images ' ; (14) falsifying the king's 
 money or seal (ib.). Any one guilty 
 of any of the above offences was liable 
 to death and confiscation, while his 
 sons could never be knighted or hold 
 office (ib. 2). 
 
 ^ The statute relating to high 
 treason, in the Visigothic code, runs 
 as follows ; ' Quicumque ex tempore 
 reverendae memoriae Chintiliani prin- 
 cipis, usque ad annum regni nostri 
 Deo favente secundum, vel amodo et 
 ultra, ad adversam gentem vel ad 
 extraneam partem perrexit sive per- 
 rexerit, aut etiam ire voluit vel quan- 
 doque voluerit, ut sceleratissimo ausu 
 contra gentem Gothorum vel patriam 
 ageret, aut fortasse conetur aliquatenus 
 agere, et captus sive detectus extitit 
 vel extiterit, seu ab anno regni nostro 
 primo vel deinceps quispiam intra 
 fines patriae Gothorum quamcumque 
 
JAMES AS A LEGISLATOR. 
 
 315 
 
 At Montpellier Roman law may be said to have won its lii. Mont- 
 triumph in the code wrung by the burghers from Pedro II ^o^e of 
 in 1304, to the exclusion of any possible influx of Catalan 1204- 
 law and custom. But, though this municipal charter is 
 permeated by Roman principles, decisions given in the 
 court of the bailiff were to be based on local custom, and, 
 only in default of this, on Roman law ; while some consular 
 ordinances of 1223 enacted that no jurist in Roman or 
 Canon law should plead in the bailiff's court, except with 
 the consent of both sides ^. 
 
 Among the chief characteristics of the code itself are 
 simplicity of will-making'^; the facilities given to the 
 transference of property ^ ; and its devolution, in cases of 
 intestacy, to unmarried, in preference to married, children * ; 
 the despotic power of the father of a family ° ; severity 
 
 contnrbationem regni nostri vel gentis 
 facere voluerit, sive ex tempore nostri 
 regiminis tale aliquid agere vel dis- 
 ponere conatus est ant fuerit, atque, 
 quod indigtram dictii videtur, in necera 
 vel abjectiouem nostram sive snbse- 
 quentium regiim intendere vel inten- 
 disse proditus videtur esse vel fnerit : 
 horum omnium scelemm,vel unins ex 
 his, quisque reus inventus irretractabili 
 sententia mortem excipiat, nee uUa ei 
 de caetero sit vivendi indulta libertas. 
 Et si nulla mortis ultione plectatur 
 ct pietatis intuitu a principe illi fuerit 
 vita concessa, effossionem perferat 
 oculorum, secundum quod inlegehac 
 hucusque fuerat constitutum, decalva- 
 tns tamen c flagella suscipiat et sub 
 certiori vel perpetuo erit religandus 
 exilio poenae,et insupernuUo unquam 
 tempore ad Palatini officii reversums 
 est dignitatem, sed servus principis 
 factus, et sub perpetua servitutis ca- 
 thena, in principis potestate redactus, 
 aetema tenebitur exilii religatione ob- 
 noxius, quatenus nee excidium videat 
 quo fuerat nequiter delectatus, et ama- 
 rissimam vitam ducere se perenniter 
 
 doleat. Res tamen omnes hujus tam 
 nefarii transgressoris, vel ejus qui 
 morte est pro tali scelere perimendus, 
 vel illius cui vita propter suam ne- 
 qiiitiam infoelicissime reservabitur, in 
 regis ad integrum potestate consistant ' 
 (ii. I, 7). 
 
 ^ Germain, Hist. Montp. i. pp. 1 33, 
 322. 
 
 ^ ' Omne testamentum, et omnis 
 quaelibet ultima voluntas, inter liberos 
 et parentes vel inter extraneos, in 
 scriptis aut sine scriptis, factum coram 
 tribus testibus,rogatisvel non rogatis, 
 idoneis, solemnitate adhibita vel 
 omissa, valet.' Art. 53, in Aigrefeuille, 
 Hist. Montp. pp. 494 seq. 
 
 ' ' Homines Montispessulani, quo- 
 tiescumque volnerint, universa bona 
 sua vendere et pretium secum deferre 
 possunt, et abire ubicrimque voluerint 
 sine impedimento.' lb. art. 11. 
 
 * lb. art. 58. 
 
 ° He was vaguely authorized to chas- 
 tise domestic offences, and daughters 
 might not marry without his consent, 
 lb. arts. 65, 85. 
 
ai6 
 
 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 Code of 
 Perpigaan. 
 
 Review of 
 
 James' 
 
 legislation 
 
 against debtors ^ and adulterers ^ ; and the prohibition of the 
 dziel and ordeals, except when admitted by both parties ^. 
 
 The code, in fact, was one of the triumphs of Roman 
 law over Feudalism. The rights of the lord were reduced to 
 a minimum. He could levy no forced contribution on the 
 citizens *, nor arrest individuals and interfere with the order 
 of justice ^, nor cite a burgher before any court outside the 
 town^. And in 1231 the code was confirmed by the 
 Conqueror ''. 
 
 The Customs of Perpignan were compiled towards the 
 end of the twelfth century ^, and were confirmed by James 
 in 1243 '■ Civil law occupies but little space in them^": on 
 the criminal side ordeals were subject to the same limitation 
 as was in force at Montpellier ", and adultery went un- 
 punished ^^. The Crown could, of course, interfere with 
 greater impunity than in the French town ; and in 1 243 
 James declined to confirm a custom permitting witnesses 
 to refuse to give evidence ^^, while in 1250 he annulled 
 a statute on the ground that it violated Catalan custom 1*. 
 
 A review of James' great legislative works for the 
 
 ' ' Debitores qui fuerint non sol- 
 vendo creditoribus Christianis tradi 
 debent, eo tenore quod de villa ista 
 non trahantur ; qui creditores non 
 coguntur in aliquo illis victum pro- 
 curare, nisi eis qui non haberent unde 
 viverent, quibus dabitur reffectio arbi- 
 trio curiae. Si tamen aliquo fortuito 
 casu sine eprnm culpa facti sunt non 
 solvendo, decernere debet curia, utrum 
 sint tradendi creditoribus.' Aigre- 
 feuille, Hist. Monip., art. 35. 
 
 ''■ They were beaten through the 
 town. lb. art. 21. 
 
 ' ' Duellum vel judicium candentis 
 ferri vel aquae ferventis vel alia ca- 
 nonibus et legibus improbata nuUa- 
 tenus in curia Montispessulani rata 
 sunt, nisi utraque pars convenerit.' 
 ib. art. 62. 
 
 * Ib. art. 6i. 
 
 ' Ib. art. 92. * See p. 99. 
 
 ' Aigrefeuille, ib. v. 2, § 3v 
 
 ' Massot-Reynier, Cout. 
 introd. p. xxix. 
 
 ' With the reservation of ' illas 
 videlicet que sint bone et idonee.' Ib. 
 Priv. 10. 
 
 '" Tourtoullon, ib. ii. p. 112. 
 
 '' Priv. I, dating from some time 
 previous to 1 162, 
 
 12 Co«i. 18. 
 
 ^' Ib. introd. p. xliii. 
 
 " Ib. p. xliv. And in 1251 the king 
 ordered the local judges to base their 
 decisions on the Usages of Barcelona 
 (ib.) — a flagrant violation of art. i of 
 the code he had himself confirmed; 
 ' homines Perpiniani debent placitare 
 et judicari per consuetudines villa et 
 per jura, ubi consuetudines deficinnt, 
 et non per Usaticos Barchinone neque 
 per legem Goticam, quia non habent 
 locum in villa Perpiniani.' 
 
JAMES AS A LEGISLATOR. 217 
 
 countries under his rule sliows with sufficient clearness 
 that the code of Aragon, regarded as the product of 
 a civilized community, was far in advance of the corre- 
 sponding arrangements in Catalonia and Valencia. In 
 spite of the selfish nature of the feudal opposition, the 
 result of their action was at least the saving of Aragon 
 from the imposition of such a code as the ' Furs ' of 
 Valencia, the severity of which is unmistakably attested 
 by its unpopularity ; while in the absence of torture and 
 mutilation, as well as in the comparative mildness of their 
 criminal provisions generally, the Fueros of Aragon stand 
 far in advance of the Valencian and Catalan codes. In fact, 
 James' legislation for Valencia, it is to be feared, must be 
 taken as expressive of the bent of his own social ideas. 
 The mutilations, the prominence of the stake, the frequent 
 application of torture, and the punishment inflicted for the 
 murder of a near relative, all disgrace the Valencian laws. 
 The Catalan code was, indeed, but little more humane ; 
 but, as the majority of its criminal provisions date from 
 the time of Ramon Berenguer, its severity can hardly be 
 laid to James' account. But, when compared with even the 
 Usages of Ramon Berenguer, the Valencian code indicates 
 in many ways a distinct social retrogression, just as the 
 Usages themselves are infinitely less humane than the law 
 of the Visigoths. 
 
 Though, however, James' work may be said to compare 
 as unfavourably with the Visigothic code as the English 
 criminal law of the eighteenth century with that of the 
 nineteenth \ yet, when we come to view the laws of the 
 Conqueror side by side with those of contemporary 
 monarchs, our verdict is, of necessity, more qualified. His 
 legislation would seem, in fact, to occupy a position midway 
 between that of Alfonso the Savant and of Louis the Saint. 
 In form there can be no question of the vast superiority of 
 
 ' Another instance of the mildness which on no account was to cause 
 of the Visigothic code may be ob- death or weakening of the limbs, 
 served in the regulations as to torture, i. i, 2 ; ii. 3, 4. 
 
ai8 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 the Valencian code to the productions of the holy king of 
 France ; and even in their provisions there is little to 
 choose between the 'Furs' and the Ftablissements, the latter 
 being almost as severe as the former on the criminal side^ 
 In one respect, however, the work of S. Louis stands un- 
 doubtedly in advance of that of his contemporary — in the 
 total prohibition of the duel and private war on the royal 
 domain^. In James' territories the duel, as we have seen, 
 was general, and private war was allowed with certain 
 limitations. And we shall realize, to some extent, the 
 nuisance into which this very questionable privilege had 
 degenerated, when we remember that the suppression of the 
 practice was one of the first objects of the confederation of 
 Aragonese towns in 1360 and 1261. On the other hand, 
 it cannot be said that James' legislation is inspired by 
 anything approaching the religious, and comparatively 
 humane, spirit which pervades the code of Alfonso of 
 Castile. We have already noticed that the Siete Partidas, 
 though, as usual, consigning the heretic to the flames, 
 permitted him to bequeath his property ; and the same 
 tendency to a milder spirit is shown in the limitations 
 placed on the application of torture ^. Of private vengeance 
 — as distinct from private war — there seems to be no trace, 
 while mutilation is only inflicted on notorious robbers *. The 
 whole spirit of Alfonso's legislation is far more humane ; 
 the punishments are far less excessive and grotesque than 
 those of the Valencian or Catalan codes ; and it is only 
 
 ' Murder, rape, and highway- Martin, ib. 
 
 robbery, were punished by the gibbet, ' It might not be applied to knights, 
 
 and other forms of robbery by mutila- learned men, royal or municipal coun- 
 
 tion ; while torture was allowed on cillors, the sons of any of the above, 
 
 the evidence of two witnesses. Martin, children under fourteen, or pregnant 
 
 H. F. iv. p. 307. women (vii. 30, 2). The penalty 
 
 2 Hallam, il/. ^. i. p. 280 ; Martin, inflicted on jailors, for ill treatment 
 
 ib. pp. 299, 301. Outside the royal of their prisoners, was death (vii. 29, 
 
 domain private war was permitted if 8) ; while recourse to the judge was 
 
 preceded by a truce of forty days, the always open to serfs who were ill 
 
 weaker party moreover always pos- treated by their masters, iv. 22,6. 
 
 sessing the right to refer the point at * vii. 14, 18. 
 issue to the decision of the suzerain. 
 
JAMES AS A LEGISLATOR. 319 
 
 where the royal prerogative is concerned that the Castilian 
 code can be said to exhibit a spirit which is altogether out 
 of harmony with that pervading the rest of the work. But 
 while, in its comparative humaneness, the Siete Partidas 
 stands on an altogether higher level than James' legisla- 
 tion, the form, again, of the latter is far superior to 
 that in which the productions of Alfonso, as of S. Louis, 
 were clothed. The Siete Partidas is vague : much space 
 is devoted to general topics — such as the mutual duties of 
 a ruler and subject — and it wears the appearance of a long 
 moral and religious treatise, rather than of a compilation 
 of laws 1 ; while the Etablissements can hardly be called 
 a code at all, the articles on civil and criminal law being 
 thrown together without any attempt at order, and the 
 whole little more than a supplementary collection of Roman 
 law, the Decretals, and Feudal customs ^. 
 
 James' legislation was essentially national. He had found 
 a struggle of life and death raging between Roman law and 
 local custom, the one invading, the other resisting. A certain 
 infiltration of Roman law was both inevitable and desirable ; 
 but, to satisfy national prejudice, further encroachments, 
 beyond such as had already been permitted, were guarded 
 against by a series of prohibitions. In future the only loop- 
 hole for Roman law was to be found in the reference to 
 ' natural sense and equity,' where the Fueros or local custom 
 failed. The king's work, therefore, was a compromise. But, 
 though a compromise, it was far more original than the 
 productions of any of his contemporaries. Legislative 
 unity was not, indeed, to be the good fortune of the 
 Aragonese countries ; but in its nature, as well as in the 
 very diversity of its parts, the whole was in entire harmony 
 with the keynote of the Conqueror's home pohcy — the 
 development of national and popular liberties to the 
 depression of Feudalism. 
 
 ^ Thus, Part i, tit. 3 contains a dis- tlie power conferred on S. Peter, 
 quisition on the Trinity, the Sacra- ^ Martin, H. F. iv. p. 306 ; Tour- 
 
 ments, the articles of the Faith, and touUon, ib. ii. p. 230. 
 
CHAPTER XXI. 
 
 revenue. 
 
 Revenues and Commerce of James' Dominions. 
 
 The royal revenues may, perhaps, be best examined 
 under two heads : the ordinary, and the extraordinary. 
 I. Ordinary -phe first will Comprise : — (i) the proceeds of the royal 
 domains throughout the kingdom, including salt mines', 
 mills and factories ^, and the king's staple at Tunis ^ ; (2) the 
 differeiit forms of direct taxation, chief among them being 
 Herbage^ and Carnage ^ — taxes on cattle ; (3) the indirect 
 taxes, consisting of dues on merchandise ^ ; (4) the pro- 
 
 334. 335 ; and passim. 
 
 ' In 1 26 1 it was let for two years 
 (Reg. xi. 206), and in 1267 on a lease 
 of five years. Reg. xv. 66. 
 
 * Herbage is said to have been 
 a tax of a denier on each sheep or 
 goat, and of four deniers on each ox 
 or horse (Asso, Econ. Polit. p. 479). 
 It v^as evidently of ordinary applica- 
 tion, exemptions being frequent ; and 
 it was not confined to Catalonia (as 
 TourtouUon, ib. ii. p. 332), having 
 been collected, in 1262, in Aragon, 
 Catalonia, and Valencia. Reg. viii. 
 76. 
 
 ° A tax imposed on cattle on their 
 way down from the uplands to the 
 lowlands. Asso, ib. p. 480. 
 
 ' These will be glanced at later. 
 An important source of revenue con- 
 sisted of a tax imposed on each vat 
 used by dyers (' violaria '), which at 
 Lerida alone brought in an income of 
 14,000 sols per annum. Gayangos, i. 
 p. 76; Reg. XV. no. 
 
 ' Thus, in 1263 the inhabitants of 
 Cervera, Morella, Albalat, and other 
 towns, were ordered to use the salt of 
 Pefiiscola only {Parch. 1754) ; and in 
 1257 Daroca was exempted, till S. 
 Andrew's day, from the compulsory 
 purchase of royal salt ijReg. ix. 37). 
 In Valencia, north of the Xucar, salt 
 was a royal monopoly, all Saracens 
 and Christians, from the age of seven 
 upwards, being compelled to receive 
 a certain amount per annum {Reg. xix. 
 104). Some of the salt was extracted 
 from a lagoon ('albufera') at Valencia 
 {Reg. XX. 227) ; while the mines of 
 Xativa were let at a rent of 8,000 
 sols a year {Reg. xiv. loi). In Aragon 
 there were mines at or near Zaragoza 
 {Reg. XX. 335). 
 
 This salt monopoly was common in 
 mediaeval kingdoms, and it can be 
 traced back to the time of the Roman 
 Republic. Coulanges, Inst. Polit. i. 
 p. 189. 
 
 '' Parch. 3040 ; Regs. xi. 198, xv. 
 
REVENUES AND COMMERCE. 
 
 221 
 
 ceeds of the administration of justice, which took the 
 
 shape of fines, confiscations, money for the confirmation 
 
 of titles to property ^, and legitimations ^, &c. ; (5) taxes 
 
 imposed on Jews ^ and Saracens * ; (6) the proceeds of the 
 
 coinage ^. 
 
 These revenues — especially those accruing from the 
 
 administration of justice — were often farmed out for a lump 
 
 sum ^. The system must have lent itself to a good deal of 
 
 oppression, and may have been one of the causes of James' 
 
 financial embarrassments. 
 
 Extraordinary revenues consisted of: — (i) aids voted by ll. Extra- 
 ordinary 
 
 revenues. 
 
 ' Their confirmation in their pro- 
 perty, in 1272, cost the Valencian 
 knights 13,366 sols. Reg. xix. 31. 
 
 ^ As in Reg. xx. 258, where a legi- 
 timation cost the applicant 50 sols ; 
 and ib. 306, where a priest pays 230 
 sols for the legitimation of his two 
 sons. 
 
 ^ The Jews of Barcelona, Tarra- 
 gona, and Villafranca, paid a fixed 
 annual 'tribute' of 21,250 sols {_Reg. 
 XV. 124). In 1273 the Jews of Mont- 
 pellier raised 10,000 sols {^Reg. xxi. 
 88); and in 1269 — the year of the 
 king's crusade — their brethren of Ge- 
 rona and Valencia paid 10,000 sols 
 respectively, and those of Zaragoza 
 20,000, in return for which they were 
 exempted from all royal exactions for 
 three years. Reg. xvi. 152, 158, 161. 
 
 These contributions, however, at 
 times were wrung from the victims 
 only by dint of considerable pressure, 
 the Jews of Gerona and Besaldun, in 
 1272, paying their tax ' conpulsi et 
 districti a nobis ' {^Reg. xxi. 37) ; and 
 reductions, on the ground of alleged 
 poverty, were frequent, as in the cases 
 of the Aljamas of Barbastro, Huesca, 
 Jaca, Gerona, and Besaldun. Regs. 
 ix. 51, 33; xi. 177, 228. 
 
 ' The Saracens were subject to a tax 
 of one-fifth. In 1260, for the payment 
 
 of an annual sum of 7,200 sols, the 
 bailiff of Barcelona let, for two years, 
 ' omnes lezdas et quintale domini regis 
 Barchinone et licitus Sarracenorum ' 
 (Parch. 1615) : in 1262 the same items 
 had fallen in value to 5,500 sols a year 
 (ib. 1682 ; cf. TourtouUon, ib. ii. 
 P- 333)- III Aragon Jews and Sara- 
 cens also paid a tax of a tenth on all 
 bequests and on all property held of 
 Christians. Fueros, iv ' de Judaeis et 
 Sarracenis,' viii ' de decimis Judae- 
 orum et Sarracenomm.* 
 
 ^ The coinage of the new Valencian 
 reals was let, in 1249, ^°^ ^^^ 5'^™ °f 
 60,000 reals a year {Parch. 1152); 
 and in 1270 the money of Jaca was 
 farmed to the Temple for one year, at 
 the rent of 40,000 sols. Reg. xiv. 
 105. 
 
 ° Thus, in 1276, the revenues and 
 administration of justice in Perpignan 
 and Colibre were farmed, for two 
 years, for the sum of 100,000 sols — 
 ' treasure-trove,' the property of here- 
 tics, and ' crimina lese majestatis,' 
 being excepted {Parch. 22'ji). The 
 town of Denia, let for ten years, with 
 the administration of civil and criminal 
 justice (' exceptis illis qui ad mortem 
 fuerint condempnati vel ad mutila- 
 tionem membrorum, de quibus volumus 
 quod pecunia recipiatur ') realized 
 
232 
 
 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 the Cortes, when the privileged classes consented to waive 
 their right to exemption from taxation, the Aragonese voting 
 Monage — a property tax^ — and the Catalans Bovage^ 
 a tax on the yoke of oxen; (3) extra-parliamentary grants, 
 wrung by the king from all classes alike, for some enterprise, 
 as the Crusades of 12692; (3) the king's feudal dues, 
 consisting of Redemptions for default of service *, as well 
 as of certain imposts (' cenae ') exacted for the sovereign's 
 right of entertainment '. 
 
 10,000 sols per annum {Reg. xi. 197) ; 
 the revenues of Montpellier, disposed 
 of in 1263 to Rocafull, for three years, 
 150,000 sols {Reg. -sJa. ^2) ; and the 
 Bailliage of Valencia 50,000 sols 
 a year. Regs. xiii. 282, xvi. 178. 
 
 ' Monage was first granted at 
 Monzon, in 1236, for the Valencian 
 war, and consisted of a tax of a mora- 
 batin, payable every seven years by 
 each owner of a house worth ten 
 golden sols and upwards (Zurita, An. 
 iii. 26). In May, 1271, the tax was 
 to be raised in Valencia, at the rate of 
 one morabatin on property worth 
 from 15 to 100 morabatins, at two 
 morabatins on what was worth from 
 100 to 300 morabatins, and at three 
 on all valued above 300 morabatins. 
 Reg. xviii. 80. 
 
 ^ Other cattle — beside oxen — were, 
 perhaps, liable to the imposition of 
 Bovage (Zurita, Ind. p. 100), and, if 
 this was so, it was an impost of much 
 the same nature as Herbage, differing 
 from the latter only in its incidence. 
 In any case, the sovereign could claim 
 it, legally, only once in the course of 
 his reign, though the Catalan nobility, 
 as a great favour, granted it to the 
 king for the expeditions to Mallorca 
 and Murcia. Chron. 50, 387. 
 
 ' Such grants were, of course, purely 
 voluntary : thus, the Primate and the 
 Count of Ampurias contributed, with 
 
 others, to the expedition of 1 269, the 
 former ' ex mera liberalitate ' {Reg. 
 xvi. 173), the latter 'gratis et spon- 
 tanea voluntate et amore maximo ac 
 puro gratuitu done' Reg. xiii. 243. 
 
 * These ' Redemptiones ' or ' Caval- 
 catae ' are of fairly frequent occur- 
 rence, but it is improbable that they 
 were exacted except in time of war, 
 as in 1255 {Reg. viii. 21, 24), when 
 James' relations with Castile were 
 extremely strained, and in 1275, for 
 the war against the rebels and the 
 Moors {Regs. xvii. 1-8, xxiii. 3-10). 
 In the latter year, in Aragon, the list 
 is headed by Calatayud ('cum Al- 
 deis') with 45,000 sols, Zaragoza and 
 Daroca coming next with 30,000 each, 
 and after them Teruel, with 25,000; 
 in Valencia, the capital contributed 
 19,440 sols, and Xativa 5,000 ; while 
 the Jews of Zaragoza gave 15,700, 
 and those of Calataynd and Valencia 
 10,000 and 5,000 respectively. The 
 total for Aragon amounted to 195,000 
 sols, and for Valencia to 64,740. Reg. 
 xxiii. 3-10. 
 
 The amounts for Catalonia on this 
 occasion are not given; but in 1255 
 Barcelona contributed 100,000 sols, 
 Gerona, Lerida, and Perpignan, 30,000 
 each. Reg. viii. 21, 24. 
 
 ' 'Cenae ' were raised in 1252 and 
 1253 — a time of estrangement towards 
 Castile — in Zaragoza, Barbastro, and 
 
REVENUES AND COMMERCE. 
 
 Exemptions 
 1 
 
 from 
 
 taxation were numerous. 
 Mallorca ^ was freed from all the usual imposts, and 
 Montpellier ^, Barcelona ", and Valencia *, from all taxes on 
 merchandise in the king's dominions ; while the nobles and 
 clergy paid, as we have seen, nothing beyond such aids as 
 they chose to vote from time to time, together with the 
 military service due for their fiefs, or the corresponding 
 money payment ^. 
 
 223 
 
 Thus, Exemp- 
 
 Huesca {Reg. viii. 11, 13), as well 
 as in 1275, when they appear to 
 have been exacted in kind, being 
 defined as ' panis scilicet . . . et vini 
 et carniam piscium et aliorum neces- 
 sariorum sibi et familie sue ' {Reg. 
 xxiii. 18). It would seem, however, 
 that they could be enforced as an 
 ordinary tax, when this was specified 
 as a condition in a charter, as in the 
 grant of Albalat, which contains the 
 stipulation : ' retinemus . . . cenam 
 quaudocumque ibi personaliter fueri- 
 mus.' Parch. 1053. 
 
 ' 'Ab omni lezda, pedatico, porta- 
 tico, mensuratico, et penso, et ab omni 
 questia, tolta, forcia, et prestito hoste 
 et cavalcata, et earum redemptione.' 
 Reg. xxvi. 117. 
 
 ^ ' Concedo in perpetuum omnibus 
 hominibus Montispessulani presentibus 
 et futuris immunitatem et franchezam 
 in tota terra mea, et per totam terram 
 meam, in toto posse meo, et per 
 totum posse meum, tam in mari quam 
 in terra, de pedaticis, lesdis, et cos- 
 tumis.' Charter of June 15, 1204, in 
 Germain, Montp. i. p. 318. 
 
 ^ Capmany, Mem. vol. ii. no. 6. 
 
 * Priv. 7. And when, in 1270, 
 James urged the men of Barcelona to 
 colonize Valencia — there being only 
 30,000 Christians in all that kingdom 
 — he offered, as a bribe, a complete 
 franchise for five years. Capmany, 
 ib. p. 35. 
 
 Other towns also enjoyed various 
 
 immunities : thus, Perasels was ex- 
 empted from all dues whatever — even 
 including ' Redemptions ' — in return 
 for the payment of a sum of 400 sols 
 a year {Reg. xii. 4) ; and Villanueva 
 from all tolls for ten years, and from 
 all feudal dues in perpetuity {Reg. 
 xix. 151). The new town of Figueras 
 was to be free from Bovage, Herbage, 
 and taxes on merchandise {Reg. xv. 
 56) ; [while Miranda was exempted 
 ' ab omni peyta questia pane tolta 
 forcia et omnibus aliis serviciis et 
 exaccionibus, que dici possunt vel 
 nominari, que vos unquam nobis vel 
 alicui seniori estis facere consueti, 
 retinendo nobis etnostris successoribus 
 hostem cavalcatam et eorum redemp- 
 cionem, homicidia calonias et cetera 
 nostre jurisdiccioni pertinentia ac 
 monetaticum cum censu L solidorum 
 denariorum jaccensis monete ' {Parch. 
 1670 ; cf. BofaruU, Doc. hied. viii. 41). 
 The tenants of the Temple in Valencia 
 were also free from all royal exactions 
 {Reg. XX. 318), while both Temple 
 and Hospital enjoyed the right to free 
 trade in James' dominions {Reg. xxl. 
 71 ; Parch. 1021) — a privilege, which, 
 as we shall see, was also conferred on 
 certain foreign towns. 
 
 ' That the clergy were liable to 
 military service for their fiefs is clearly 
 shown by Reg. xxiii. 27, where the 
 Bishop of Elne, in 1275, pays 3,000 
 sols as 'redemption' money for the 
 service of six knights ; as well as by 
 
224 
 
 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 James' 
 indebted- 
 ness. 
 
 The farming of the revenues had developed, as we have 
 seen, into a regular system ; and, as the king was usually 
 in debt, he was also often reduced to pledge his revenues 
 to his creditors — some of them Jews^ — a state of things 
 which must almost have reproduced some of the worst evils 
 of the Roman Republican system 2. We even find the 
 Conqueror pawning his shield ^ and jewels* : his generous 
 nature was, no doubt, one cause of his financial embarrass- 
 ments ; and, in the year before his death, he bequeathed— 
 
 Reg. xxiii. 49, where the bishops of 
 all three countries are summoned to 
 serve (1276). The privileges of the 
 clergy were confirmed at the Cortes 
 of Lerida, in 1257 : 'item volem e 
 otorgam a vosaltres, que no sie exigit 
 de vosaltres ne de altres Prelats e 
 clerques e homens religiosos, en tota 
 la terra nostra o en mar, leuda o 
 peatge, per las cosas vostras, e a us 
 vostre compradas tantsolament . . . 
 Item atorgam que los veguers e sot- 
 suegers, balles, e sobrejunters nostres, 
 no facen questa ne exactio de blat, de 
 ovellas, ne de altra qualseuol cosa a 
 vosaltres o altres clerques o homens 
 religiosos o homens vostres o lurs.' 
 Const. Cat. i. 3, 4. 
 
 It will be noticed that, while this 
 privilege exempts the clergy from the 
 usual dues and tolls, the exemption 
 only extends to their private property, 
 bought for their own use. They were 
 not, therefore, allowed free trade ; 
 and, in this respect, the position of 
 the nobles was, of course, the same, 
 as indeed is proved by the special 
 privilege of free trade granted to the 
 Temple and Hospital (above). 
 
 In England the landed property of 
 the clergy was subject to the same 
 dues as secular fiefs, though a num- 
 ber of monastic estates enjoyed immu- 
 nity, as ' tenures of frankalmoign,' 
 part of the feudal services being 
 
 excused. Gneist, Eng. Const, i. 
 PP- 233, 234. 
 
 In France the personal property of 
 the clergy was subject to the same 
 dues as that of the laity ; and, though 
 clerical lands were exempt from im- 
 posts, the clergy were bound to pay 
 aids for any war in which the Church 
 was thought to have an interest, such 
 wars, between 1247 and 1271, being 
 renewed twenty-one times. Wallon, 
 ib. ii. p. 90. 
 
 ' Thus, in Parch. 1379, we have a 
 receipt to a Jew of Huesca for i ,000 
 sols, in payment of which James 
 makes his creditor bailiff of a place 
 near Huesca, till he shall have repaid 
 himself; in Reg. xiv. 22, for a loan of 
 88,829 sols, the king pledges to Ja- 
 huda the revenues of all the towns in 
 Aragon for which he is responsible ; 
 in Reg. xiv. 25, for 20,000 sols, 
 Peiiiscola, ' cum gabella sails,' is 
 pawned to a Jew ; and in Reg. xiv. 15, 
 security for a debt is given ' in homi- 
 cidiis et caloniis Caesarauguste.' 
 
 ° The Valencians evidently felt it 
 a hardship, for in 1268 they extorted 
 from the king a promise that he would 
 never sell the justiciarship of the 
 capital. Reg. xv. 81. 
 
 ^ Reg. xiv. 133 ; cf. Tourtoullon, ib. 
 ii. p. 452. 
 
 * ' Pro joyis redimendis que erant 
 pignori.' Reg. xiv. 105. 
 
REVENUES AND COMMERCE. 225 
 
 from the revenues of different towns — the sum of twenty 
 sols a year to each of a thousand paupers \ 
 
 Lastly, the revenues were usually collected by the local 
 bailiffs^, who transmitted them to the Chancellor, either 
 directly ^, or through the medium of a collector-general, like 
 Jahuda*. 
 
 The royal finances were, of course, largely dependent for ll. Com- 
 their condition on the commercial prosperity of the nation, "'^'''^^■ 
 especially such as took the form of indirect taxes. The 
 great commercial centres were Barcelona and Montpellier, 
 and in each of these we find industrial life in full vigour. 
 At Barcelona the Council of 1258 contained 114 representa- 
 tives of the trades ^, the rest consisting of Doctors of Law 
 and Medicine and other citizens ^. 
 
 As early as 1227 voyages to Egypt, Ceuta, and other 
 ports of Barbary, were so frequent, that a royal order was 
 issued to the effect that all traffic with the places men- 
 tioned should be carried on by ships of Barcelona alone, 
 to the special exclusion of foreign vessels''. In 1243 the 
 trade of the port had so increased that it was found neces- 
 sary to enlarge the harbour. In 1258 the 'good men' 
 of the town were empowered to elect a superintendent 
 of the coast, acting on whose advice they might take 
 
 '^ Parch. 2242. ° These were: six cloth-merchants, 
 
 ° This appears from a proclamation four money-changers, eight druggists 
 of September 1274 alone, by which and apothecaries, nine wool-dealers, 
 the bailiffs throughout the kingdom nine tanners, eleven mattress-makers, 
 are directed to forward any revenues four harness-makers, three brass- 
 still due ' absque mora.' Reg. xviii. founders, six purse-makers, eight sad- 
 62. dlers, two armourers, five shoemakers, 
 
 ' This seems to have been the usual four flax weavers, two dyers, three 
 
 system, the country being divided into tailors, two crossbow-makers, four 
 
 a number of districts, the bailiff in the smiths, four carpenters, two potters, 
 
 largest town of each being responsible four coopers, three masons, four 
 
 for the collection of the revenues in cotton-spinners, one leather-dresser, 
 
 the district. Regs. viii. 17-24, xviii. two hucksters, two gardeners, two 
 
 49. auctioneers. Capmany, Mem. ii. 
 
 * In 1274 the Bailiff of Burriana App. p. 119. 
 
 collected for Valencia north of the ° lb. i. part 3, p. 19. 
 
 Xucar. Reg. xx. 226. ' lb. ii. p. 4. 
 
226 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 measures for its defence against Christians and Moors by 
 sea and by land — in other words, a coastguard was created ^ ; 
 and in the same year a Board (' Junta ') of ' good men ' 
 issued the first of a series of ordinances for the good 
 navigation of the port^. In 1266 the municipaHty was 
 authorized to choose ' consuls ' yearly, for the ships that 
 'went beyond sea^' ; and in 1272 we find the city repre- 
 sented by its consul at Alexandria, for the administration 
 of justice to the king's subjects in those parts *. 
 
 The extensive nature of her commercial activity is at- 
 tested further by the intimate relations of Barcelona with 
 the great trading powers of the Mediterranean. A brisk 
 trade was kept up with the East and especially with 
 
 Trade with Egypt : in 1 262 Bernat Porter and Ramon Ricart were 
 ^^^' despatched on a mission to the new Mameluke Sultan of 
 Alexandria, who gave them a friendly reception, and whose 
 son was knighted by Porter ^ In May, 1264, Ramon 
 Conques was sent as envoy to Alexandria with power 
 to appoint a consul there, to administer justice to James' 
 subjects trading in the country^; but almost immediately 
 a misunderstanding arose with the Sultan — the cause being 
 the seizure by the latter of merchandise belonging to some 
 of the Conqueror's subjects — and the same envoy was 
 instructed to inform the Sultan that his master would not 
 be responsible for any harm done in retaliation, as well 
 as to order all Catalan traders in Alexandria to leave 
 the town with their property^. By 1268, however, a good 
 understanding had been once more arrived at, and two 
 citizens of Barcelona were commissioned as envoys to 
 Alexandria, with power to appoint a consul *. 
 
 Trade with The king had also a factory of some sort at Tunis, 
 
 Tunis. 
 
 ' Some of the words of the decree ' lb. p. 13. 
 
 are significant : ' quia civitas Barchi- * lb. p. 247. 
 
 nonae, Divina dementia favente, de ^ Zurita, Ind. ann. 1262 ; of Reg. 
 
 bono in melius quotidie ampliatur, xii. 149. 
 
 propter frequenlem usum navinm et ' Reff. xiii. 176. 
 
 lignorum.' Capmany, Mem. ii. p. 7. ' lb. 208. 
 
 ' lb. p. 10. 8 lb. XV. 76. 
 
REVENUES AND COMMERCE. 327 
 
 to which allusions are numerous. An overture had been 
 made by the Emir, in 1260, which took the shape of 
 a present of clothes for the king of Aragon ^ ; and in the 
 next year we hear of a factory or emporium acquired in 
 the town by the Conqueror, which was at once let to 
 a citizen of Denia on a lease of two years ^. In July, 1363, 
 on the expiration of the lease, Gruni, of Baixelona, was 
 appointed consul * ; but here, too, as at Alexandria, a mis- 
 understanding arose, and in October of the same year 
 Gruni was authorized to inflict any harm he could on 
 the Emir and his subjects* : an agreement, however, must 
 have been eventually arrived at, for in 1267 both consulate 
 and factory were once more let for five years*. In 1272 
 or 1273 ^"^ embassy was sent to Tunis, with a present of 
 falcons for the Emir^ ; but again, in February, 1274, some 
 subject of dispute had arisen, and Romeo de Castelleto 
 was authorized to seize the men or goods of the Emir 
 with his armed ships ''. Peace, however, was quickly con- 
 cluded by the arrival of the King of Tunis in person at 
 Barcelona, where a treaty of alliance was made between 
 the two sovereigns, and James undertook to help his 
 Mohammedan friend against the governor of Ceuta *. The 
 real object of the treaty, so far at least as the Emir was 
 concerned, we have already seen. 
 
 But the leading commercial power of the Mediterranean, Trade with 
 with whose subjects the traders of Catalonia came into ^^°^' 
 frequent contact — and that not always of the most friendly 
 nature — was Genoa. As early as 1230, at Mallorca, James 
 had confirmed all treaties made by his predecessors with 
 the Italian town, and had granted its traders permission 
 to visit his kingdom ' with freedom and security,' besides full 
 liberty of trade, with exemption from tolls and harbour dues ; 
 while the Genoese, in return, took under their protection 
 
 1 Reg. xi. 235. 
 
 = lb. XV. 66. 
 
 = lb. 232. 
 
 ' lb. xix. 48. 
 
 2 lb. xii. 93. 
 
 ' lb. 95- 
 
 * lb. 126. 
 
 ' Capmany, Antiques Tratados, 
 
 
 Q2 
 
238 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 all subjects of the crown of Aragon from the Rhone 
 eastwards, and promised them similar privileges^. And 
 in 1233, Genoese merchants were allowed to have their 
 consuls and a civil court in every seaport, appeals going 
 to the vicar or bailiff^. 
 
 But collisions between the grasping Catalan and the 
 astute Genoese were not unknown, and, indeed, were 
 inevitable. In 1258, one of James' subjects is authorized 
 to exact a due on each pound of Genoese merchandise 
 found in Barcelona, Majorca, and S. Felix de Guixols, 
 till he has repaid himself for some service rendered to the 
 Italian town, and for which its municipality had refused 
 recompense^; in 1264 the king requests the ' Podesta and 
 townsmen of Genoa ' to restore the property of one of his 
 subjects, under pain of the seizure of their merchandise* ; 
 and in 1373 ^ citizen of Barcelona is authorized to seize 
 the goods of some Genoese who had robbed him ^. The 
 country was, in fact, overrun by the traders of more than 
 one Italian town. They can hardly have been popular, 
 for in 1265 an order of wholesale expulsion was issued 
 against all ' Lombards, Florentines, Sienans, and Luccans,' 
 trading at Barcelona"; and in 1268 all strangers were for- 
 bidden to possess banks in the same town, or even to 
 load foreign ships with native merchandise''. 
 Trade with France was represented by the traders of Marseilles *, 
 England, and Others came from Bayonne^, there being a regular 
 
 ' Reg. xxiv. 49. In Reg. xvi. 179 ' Capmany, Mem. ii. p. I3. 
 
 is a safeguard to a Genoese merchant ' lb. p. 34. Other Italian states 
 
 and his wares ; and Reg, x. 1 1 contains trading in Catalonia were Pisa (Regs. 
 
 a licence to a Genoese trader to xi. 189, xii. 121) and Piacenza [Reg. 
 
 export 7,000 quarters of corn (1257). x. 12). 
 
 ^ lb. 53. They seem even to have * lb. 2. 
 
 been allowed, by special licence on ' lb. 12. In Reg. xi. 232, we have 
 
 each occasion, to acquire land, as in a letter, of August 1261, from the 
 
 Reg. xvi. 163, where we have a grant king to the mayor and jurats of 
 
 toaGenoeseof landat Algecira(i269). Bayonne alluding to the murder, at 
 
 2 lb. x. loi. * lb. xiv. 92. Tarazona, of one of their citizens, 
 
 ' lb, xix. 53. This system of re- whose assassins James had hanged, 
 
 dress by seizure was common in handing over the dead man's property 
 
 England and other countries. to John Norton, their representative. 
 
REVENUES AND COMMERCE. 229 
 
 overland route between Aragon and Gascony^. Even 
 English merchants, with cloth from Stamford and else- 
 where, were not unknown ^. 
 
 The exports included salt, flour, lead, iron, steel, arms, Exports 
 wine, honey, saffron, and fruit. Tortosa was the centre imports. 
 for the delivery of wheat coming down the Ebro from 
 Aragon, while the most important Catalan export was 
 wool, and the chief centres of its manufacture were Gerona, 
 Perpignan, and Tortosa ^ At Huesca, Jaca *, Daroca, 
 L^rida, Valencia ®, and Barcelona, the dyeing of cloth was 
 an important industry : Lerida, indeed, was noted for its 
 cloth ^, and at Barcelona the noise coming from the factories 
 was so deafening, that, at the petition of the citizens, the 
 workers were assigned special secluded quarters''. The 
 imports included pepper, ginger, indigo, alum, silk, sugar, 
 and incense '. 
 
 The system of guilds or ' mysteries ' was certainly already Guilds. 
 in existence at Valencia ^, and we may safely conclude, from 
 the number of the trades represented on the Grand Council, 
 that the same was the case at Barcelona. There is no 
 trace, however, of any organization at all corresponding to 
 the English merchant Guild, which in many cases ultimately 
 
 ' Reg. ix. 46 — a safeguard to ' ' Cum officium bateteriae fusta- 
 travellers to and from Gascony ' per nconim et quorumlibet aliorum pan- 
 vallem deTena' (?Teria). norum esset damnosum seiiis [sic] 
 ^ This appears from a charter to et infirmis die noctuque, propter in- 
 certain merchants containing the tolerabiles percussiones, quas cum 
 proviso: 'sit pannus integer de uno massis suisbatetores et tintorarii facie- 
 capite ad aliud, quod non habeant bant.' (Order by the bailiff of Nov. 1 8, 
 modo toltum de longo, exceptis Stam- 1255.) Capmany, ib. ii. p. 9. 
 fortis pilosis et tota draperia de * Ib. i. pp. 241, 252, 253. 
 Anglia' {Parch. 521). This goes far ' By a royal order of Oct. 23, 1270, 
 to contradict Capmany's assertion the jurats were authorized to choose 
 (ib. p. 137): 'antes del reynado de two good men 'in unoquoque officio 
 Eduardo III todas las lanas de la isla ministerio et mercaderiis Civitatis, 
 . . . se vendian a los Flamencos y qui sit [sic] de eodem officio seu mer- 
 Lombardos.' caderiis. Qui duo probi homines 
 ' Capmany, ib. i. pp. 241,252, 253. videant et custodiant ne fraus aliqua 
 * Asso, ib. pp. 200, 207. fiat in predictis officiis mysteriis et 
 ' Segs. xiv. 47, XV. no, xi. 224. mercaderiis.' Reg. xvi. 227, 
 ' Capmany, ib. 
 
to trade. 
 
 230 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 became co-extensive with the municipal corporation. The 
 position of the Catalan guilds was rather analogous to 
 that of the English craft guilds, which 'exercised their 
 powers under the constant and friendly supervision of the 
 city authorities ^,' and which were called into existence by 
 the necessary inability of the merchant guild to monopolize 
 every fresh opening for the market. At Barcelona, the 
 guildsmen, as we have seen, possessed seats in the Grand 
 Council ; but the latter was representative of the whole 
 body of citizens, and each guild was subject to its control. 
 Obstacles The commercial interests of the country must have 
 suffered considerably at times from private wars and out- 
 bursts of brigandage ^, as well as from clerical prohibitions 
 of trade with the Saracens. As early as 1329 a provincial 
 council had excommunicated all who sold weapons, iron, 
 and horses, to the Moors ^ ; and Gregory X wrote to James' 
 confessor complaining of the king's remissness in enforcing 
 the prohibition of such trade by Clement IV*. In 1372 
 a similar letter was sent to the men of Montpellier ^ ; and 
 it was probably these complaints which induced the king, 
 in an order of August 3, 1274, to prohibit the conveyance, 
 to Saracen countries, of iron, arms, wood, lead, fittings, 
 
 ^ Cunningham, Commerce, p. 313. nimiter ad invicem se defendant. Qui- 
 
 '' In 1258 the neighbourhood of cumqne autem ex eis non exierit ad 
 
 Barcelona was in a very disturbed sonum sive ad deffensionem predictam 
 
 state, and the king issued what was solvat xx solidos pro pena' {Reg. ix. 
 
 practically an assize of arms: 'at- 14; of. Bofarull, Z'of. /««</. vi. 23). The 
 
 tendentes quod rustici et homines outbreak of brigandage in Aragon in 
 
 forenses dampnificanturraubantur sive 1260 had been grappled with effectu- 
 
 depredantur per fures raptores et per ally by the formation of Juntas ; but 
 
 alias personas . . . mandamus quod in 1275, as we have already seen, a 
 
 omnes predict! rustici sive homines large number of towns in both Aragon 
 
 constituti per parrochias . . . teneant in and Catalonia were ordered to send 
 
 domibus eorum arma, scilicet ballistas representatives to the Cortes of Lerida 
 
 vel enses et lanzeas, ex quibus possint with estimates of the damage they 
 
 se deffendere, et quod quilibet eorum, had suffered at the hands of the 
 
 si dampnificatur raubatur depredatur rebels. 
 
 ab aliquo fure raptore vel alio, emitat ' Gams, K. S. vol. iii. xi. 6, § 36. 
 
 sonum, et omnes homines comorantes * Escurial, iii. d. 3. 
 
 in eisdem parrochiis teneantur exire ' Potthast, Reg. 20594. 
 ad sonum predictum, et quod una- 
 
REVENUES AND COMMERCE. 231 
 
 hemp-thread, corn, ships, or any materials for cordage. And 
 all trade to the territories of the Sultan of Alexandria was 
 unreservedly forbidden ^. 
 
 At Montpellier the affairs of the port of Lattes were Trade of 
 in the hands of four ' consuls of the sea,' who were nomi- °^l^ 
 nated by the greater consuls. Their duties included the 
 maintenance of the road from Montpellier to Lattes, the 
 suppression of piracy, and the general supervision of the 
 commercial interests of the town. Each of the seven great 
 trades had also its consul, who superintended his own 
 corporation, besides joining in the election of the twelve 
 greater consuls ^. 
 
 The native industries of the town were, in all probability, 
 neither numerous nor flourishing. The chief were dyeing 
 and the manufacture of drapery ; but the products of neither 
 were much appreciated, and were much less esteemed than 
 similar manufactures of Marseilles, Genoa, and Lucca ^. 
 It was not, therefore, to its own productions that the 
 town owed its prosperity, but to its position as the chief 
 Mediterranean port of France. The extent of its trade 
 may be gauged by numerous commercial treaties, such as 
 those with Marseilles, Aries, Ventimiglia, Hyeres, Antibes, 
 Nice, Toulon^ Pisa, and Genoa ; while privileges or safe- 
 guards were granted by Venice, Cremona, Pavia, Piacenza, 
 the Couiit of Provence, Charles of Anjou as King of Sicily, 
 and Bohemond V of Antioch *. 
 
 ' Capmany, Mem. ii. 1 7. ' toto consilio et consulibus officiorum 
 "^ GtimciinjI/ist. Montp.i.-p-p. 166- ... ad sonum campananim more 
 170; 156-161. The ' consuls of the solito congregatis.' lb. ii. p. 346. 
 sea, 'among otherduties,wereentrusted * *Panni in Montispessulano tincti 
 with the collection of the ' Obols of appreciantur multo minus et minora 
 Lattes' — a tax levied on each pound pretio venduntur quam panni qui tin- 
 of merchandise ' pro securitate ipso- guntur apud Januam, Lucam, et Mas- 
 rum et conservatione portus ejusdem siliam' — a striking confession in a 
 a frequentibus incursionibus pira- royal proclamation of June 3, 1265. 
 tarum' (Germain, ib. i. p. 337). The Germain, ib. p. 203. 
 excitement produced by James' claim * Ib. ii. pp. 426-521. One article 
 on this due we have already noticed : in the treaty with Genoa shows the 
 his letter abandoning it was read independent spirit of the burghers of 
 
23* JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 It was unlikely, however, that so ambitious a power would 
 never come into collision with any of its maritime rivals, and 
 wars of considerable ferocity were waged with Ventimiglia 
 and Marseilles ; and at one time, at least, the relations of 
 the town with its great Italian rival, Genoa, were somewhat 
 strained ^. 
 
 But, notwithstanding occasional conflicts with its neigh- 
 bours, Montpellier was probably the most prosperous town 
 in the south of France ^, and, indeed, in all James' dominions. 
 This was largely due to its unswerving Catholicism, which 
 saved the prudent burghers from the horrors of the Albi- 
 gensian wars, and which, perhaps, may justify the Con- 
 queror's boast, that in his day the town was reckoned ' one 
 of the best in the whole world ^.' 
 Duties on Trade was by no means free, though, as we have noticed 
 dis^ ^°' elsewhere, the merchants of Montpellier, Barcelona, Valencia, 
 and Mallorca, were exempt from duties on wares delivered 
 by them at any port in James' dominions. Their special 
 exemption is proof in itself that duty was paid by the 
 others, and indeed tariffs of dues on imports, including even 
 foreign corn and wheat, are still preserved*. Conversely, 
 
 Montpellier — that in which the Re- melioribus villis totius mundi hodie 
 
 public undertakes not to hold the reputatur.' Archives of Montpellier 
 
 men of the French town responsible in Germain, ib. p. 49. 
 
 for any acts of the King of Aragon. * By a commercial treaty between 
 
 ' In 1262 James had occasion to the King and Mediona, in 1221, 7 sols 
 
 request the ' captain of the town of were to be paid on each piece of white 
 
 Genoa ' to compensate some men of cloth, and on each cargo of pepper ; 
 
 Montpellier, whose merchandise had 5 sols on every sale of the same, and 
 
 been stolen from their ship by the on each sale of grain ; and a tax, of 
 
 Genoese after the fall of Constant!- unknown value (one ' pesa,' see Du 
 
 nople. Reg. xii. 49. Cange, Gloss, s.v.), on each cargo of 
 
 ^ In 1 2 7 3, when Gregory X thought foreign wheat (Capmany, ib. vol. ii. 
 
 of holding a council at Montpellier, col. dipl. 3). At Valencia a cargo of 
 
 the consuls reported that the town grain paid 3 morabatins ; of pepper, 
 
 contained 10,000 houses. Germain, wax, and sugar, one each {Furs, ix. 34, 
 
 ib. vol. ii. p. 45. 18). At Tortosa the dues amounted 
 
 ^ ' Que villa, sub umbra domina- to one-sixtieth on all merchandise 
 
 tionis nostre, divina potentia condo- entering the town by sea or by land, 
 
 nante, crevit nostris temporibus quo- or down the Ebro. Parch. 1454. 
 dammodo in immensum, et una de 
 
REVENUES AND COMMERCE. 233 
 
 too, the exportation of corn without the royal licence was 
 strictly forbidden — as appears from some royal letters of 
 1257, directed to nearly every important town in Aragon 
 and Catalonia, unreservedly prohibiting the exportation 
 of corn to foreign parts, as an offence which caused the 
 king ' much displeasure ^.' 
 
 More than one attempt was also made to fix the price 
 of corn ^ ; while at Valencia anything in the nature of a 
 combination among merchants, to keep up prices, was 
 strictly forbidden ^. 
 
 From attempts to fix the price of corn to statutes Rate of 
 
 ... . . , interest. 
 
 regulatmg the rate of mterest, the step was an easy one. 
 The limit was fixed at twenty per cent. ' to curb the in- 
 satiable avarice of the Jews,' who were also prohibited from 
 exacting interest on interest due *. The Jews were, 
 apparently, the only money lenders, royal officials — as 
 in France — having received special instructions not to 
 compel Christians to pay ' usury ' to Christians ^. 
 
 It is probable that, whatever degree of prosperity it may \^f^^ °^ 
 
 dom. 
 ' ' Intelleximns quod bladum de terra the next seven months, of the bushel 
 
 nostra extrahitur . . . quod nobis mul- of wheat in Conflant and Cerdagne 
 
 turn displicet' {Reg. x. 4). In Reg. was fixed at 20 sols, and of corn at 25 
 
 ix. 46, the men of Exea and Tahuste sols. Reg. x. 13. 
 
 are forbidden to export bread from ' ' Mercaders no sien osats fer al- 
 
 the kingdom. gunes convinences entre ells, que cosas 
 
 As instances of special licence to o mercaderies compreu venen a cert 
 
 export corn may be cited the permis- preu.' Furs, ii. 3, 3. 
 
 sion given to some Jews, in Reg. ix. ' Const. Cat. Stiperjl. iv. 6, i, 20; 
 
 34; to the men of Perpignan ('ex- Const. Cat. i. 5, 2, i, iv. 6, 6. And 
 
 ceptis terris Sarracenorum,' Reg. xix. the sum of the interest was not to 
 
 123) : to the men of CuUera (with the exceed the principal. In England the 
 
 same limitation, Reg. x. 105) ; to the rate was limited by Edward I to 
 
 Hospital {_Reg. xxi. 71) ; to a mer- forty-two per cent. Cunningham, 
 
 chant of Genoa, to export 7,000 Commerce, p. 191. 
 
 quarters of corn {Reg. x. 11) ; and to * Const. Cat. Frags, iv. 6, i ; Fu- 
 
 some traders of Piacenza and Bayonne eros, iv ' de usuris ' ; Wallon, ib. ii. 
 
 to export wheat (ib. 12). p. 187. The king's practice of pro- 
 
 ^ Thus, the Cortes of Barcelona in longing the time for payment seems 
 
 1235 fixed the price of the cafiz of to have caused the Jews a good deal 
 
 corn at 25 Jaccic sols, and o the of inconvenience, and promises to 
 
 quarter at 20 sols (BofaruU, Doc, different Aljamas not to do so are 
 
 Ined. vi. 19). In 1257 the price, for frequent. Regs, passim. 
 
234 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 have reached in some respects, the general condition of the 
 kingdom was still one of comparative poverty. It is true 
 that in many cases the amount paid in taxes by different 
 towns shows a steady growth ^ ; but the Crown itself was 
 always in a state of indebtedness, and the remark contained 
 in a letter of ia68 from Clement IV to the King of France 
 — that the sum of the tithes in all James' dominions barely 
 reached ;^ioo,ooo — is of itself proof that the kingdom 
 was regarded as relatively poor^. Even such a fertile 
 country as Valencia does not seem to have realized all that 
 was expected of it ; and in 1470 the king found it necessary 
 to urge the men of Barcelona to colonize his conquest, as 
 there were only 30,000 Christians in the kingdom, when 
 there should be 100,000^. 
 
 ^ Between 1239 and 1240 the royal ''■ Martene y Durand, Thes. Nov. 
 
 revenues derived from Barcelona rose Anecdot. ii. col. 564. 
 
 from 24,126 to 25,640 sols {Parch. ' Capmany, ib. li. p. 16. Before 
 
 809). In 1235 Zaragoza paid as Re- leaving this subject we can hardly 
 
 demptions 20,000 sols, Huesca 12,000, pass over without mention the famous 
 
 Jacaio,ooo, Barcelona 20,500, Gerona ' Maritime Laws ' of Barcelona. They 
 
 8,800, and the kingdom of Valencia seem to have embodied the maritime 
 
 88,500 {Reg. viii. 19, 20, 31, 34) : in customs of Venice, Genoa, Naples, 
 
 1273 these items had risen respec- Sicily, Provence, Cyprus, and the 
 
 tively to 34,800, 21,790, 11,300, Greeks, and were compiled by the 
 
 21,760, 10,800, 90,950 {Reg. xviii. Catalans by the middle of the thir- 
 
 49). In the case of Barcelona and teenth century. See Capmany, ib. i. 
 
 Valencia the rise is by no means what part 2, pp. 175-180. 
 might have been expected. 
 
CHAPTER XXII. 
 
 The Church, Jews, and Saracens. 
 
 The history of the ecclesiastical province of Tarragona I- Crown 
 during the Conqueror's reign will be best reviewed if we church, 
 consider first the external relations of the native Church, 
 and afterwards its internal organization and character. An 
 important item of the advice given by James to his son- 
 in-law Alfonso had been a warning to ' keep the Church in 
 his love ' ; and the Conqueror's policy towards the Spiritual 
 Estate is, indeed, the true reflection of his character, 
 presenting us, as it does, with an interesting exhibition of 
 the interaction of his mundane and religious impulses. 
 
 As the persecutor of the Moors James started with the 
 marked advantage of a reputation for devotion to the 
 Church ; and when he died, it was in the odour of sanctity, 
 and as the founder of no less than a,ooo churches in the 
 conquered countries \ Yet the relations of King and 
 Church were not always happy. As early as 1237 James 
 had been excommunicated by the pope for barring the 
 passage of the Bishop-elect of Zaragoza to Tarragona, to 
 be consecrated ^ ; while the painful incident of 1 346 can 
 hardly have tended to improve the relations of king and 
 clergy. Cordial feelings, indeed, could hardly be looked 
 for towards a sovereign, who — whatever his services to the 
 Church might have been — was always ready to repress any 
 tentatives of the clergy in the direction of an increase of 
 their temporal power. This is well illustrated by the king's 
 
 ' Miedes, Vit. Jac. 20. ' Potthast, Reg. 10293. 
 
236 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 action in 1257, when the Primate, Rocaberti, was charged 
 by a royal proctor with several serious offences against 
 the royal authority^. The issue of the dispute between 
 the Crown and this almost second Becket is not known ; 
 but in 1266 James received a letter from Clement IV, full of 
 reproaches, and censuring him for imposing Bovage and 
 other taxes on ' the churches/ as well as for demanding the 
 production of the title-deeds to ecclesiastical estates, and 
 stinting the Church of Valencia in her endowments ^. 
 
 In the statute-books, too, the position of the Church was 
 inconsistent and ill-defined. Persons entering religious 
 orders, without the consent of their parents, were liable to 
 be disinherited ^, and in cases of intestacy religious claimants 
 were altogether supplanted by their secular rivals*. We 
 have already noticed the relentless warfare waged by the 
 king against any form of mortmain in Catalonia and 
 Valencia, and seen how in Aragon the clergy were forbidden 
 to execute any public instrument at all. Yet, on the other 
 hand, they enjoyed immunity from taxation, and the royal 
 vicars were strictly forbidden to lodge by force in, or take 
 anything from, religious houses ^ ; while at Lerida, in 1257, 
 the privileges of the clergy were confirmed — though with 
 
 ' Rocaberti was charged with : — actionibus omnino indebitis, et in eo 
 
 (i) usurping the Icing's jurisdiction in potissime quod ab illis que annorum 
 
 town and country, and two-thirds of XL ultra [?] spatio et interdum a tern- 
 
 its revenues; (2) raising difficulties pore, cujus non existit memoria, pos- 
 
 about receiving the oaths of the siderunt titulum sue, proponis contra 
 
 king's vicars ; (3) liberating a criminal rationem et legitimas sanctiones ex- 
 
 from the public prison ; (4) attack- quiris, quem, nisi probaverunt, pro- 
 
 ing James' ally, the King of Tunis. pones occupare, juris ordine non 
 
 Parch. 1498. servato.' Yet the necessity of the 
 
 ^ Diago, An. Val. vii. 58 ; Ray- forty years' prescription was acknow- 
 
 naldus, Ann. Eccl. 1266. This is, ledged even by Peilafort: 'contra 
 
 apparently, the letter preserved in a ecclesias vero omnino est necessaria 
 
 fourteenth century MS. in the Escurial praescriptio quadraginta annorum.' 
 
 (ii. p. 7), the passage relating to the Summa, ii ' de praescriptionibus,' 
 
 king's exactions running as follows : § 29. 
 
 ' rogamus ut ab injuriis ecclesiarum ^ Const. Cat. i. 6, i, 2. 
 
 abstineas, quibus in partibus tuis in- * Furs, vi. 5, 5. 
 
 juriari diceris supra modum, tam in ° lb. i. 3, i, 15. 
 bovaticis et albergis quam in aliis ex- 
 
THE CHURCH, JEWS, AND SARACENS. 237 
 
 a general reservation of the ' right and law of the kingdom 
 of Aragon,' — the bailiffs and vicars being ordered in every 
 case to take an oath to the bishop that they would ad- 
 minister justice impartially and defend the clergy 1. In 
 other respects, too, the position of the Church was an 
 honourable one : the Chancellor — as in other mediaeval 
 monarchies — was always a bishop ; bishops acted as the 
 king's lieutenants ; and, in both Aragon and Catalonia, the 
 clergy formed a separate order in the Cortes. Nor does 
 the question of the jurisdiction of ecclesiastical courts seem 
 to have given rise to any of the formidable complications 
 that it developed elsewhere : in Aragon, at least, the 
 general rule was that grievances of clergy against laity were 
 settled in a secular court, grievances of the laity against 
 the clergy in the bishop's court ^. 
 
 What then was the cause of the honourable and yet un- 
 satisfactory nature of the position in which the clergy found 
 themselves ? The answer is undoubtedly to be found in the 
 determined efforts of the king to restrict, as far as possible, 
 the devolution of property to the privileged orders. Hence 
 arose the complaints of the pope as to the poverty of the 
 see of Valencia, the attack on religious heirs in the Catalan 
 and Valencian codes, and the frequent commissions for the 
 examination of clerical title-deeds. On the other hand, the 
 persons of the clergy were specially taken under the royal 
 protection'', and, in other respects, no attempt whatever 
 
 ' Const. Cat. i. 3, i, 15 and 17. laico, debet ire ad justiciam secularem. 
 
 The confirmation of clerical privi- Et si laicus habuerit clamum de 
 
 leges runs as follows : ' item atorgam clerico, debet ire ad Episcopum ' 
 
 e confirmam a vosaltres esgleyas, e {Fueros, iii 'de foro competenti '). 
 
 monastirs, Iocs religiosos, e altres, Considerable confidence, however, 
 
 Bisbes, e Abbats, Prelats, e Clerques, was placed in a clerical oath : ' in 
 
 e homens religiosos, ehomensvostres, omni petitione quae fiat clerico vel 
 
 e lurs, tots privilegis e libertats per religioso statur suo juramento, ncc 
 
 nos o per predecessors nostres a judex secularis debet se intromittere 
 
 Tosaltres e a aquells atorgats, si doncs de negotiis clericorum vel religioso- 
 
 no eren tals privilegis, que de dret rum, nisi forte de laicis conqnerantur.' 
 
 e de for del Regne de Arago fossen lb. iv ' de Sacramento deferendo.' 
 
 no sens causa revocadors.' lb. i. 3, 4. ' As in the various Confirmations 
 
 * ' Si clericus habuerit clamum de of the Peace. 
 
238 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 was made to curtail any of their privileges. And it is 
 a significant fact that — except on two memorable occasions 
 — the king seems to have possessed the unhesitating support 
 of the clergy throughout his long reign, and at no time do 
 we find them driven to rise in defence of their temporal 
 privileges as a whole. But, though he could count on their 
 support, the love of the clergy the Conqueror could never 
 have had. 
 Crown and The relations of the local Church to the Papacy were, 
 ^^^'^^' naturally, mainly dependent on the relations of king and 
 papacy. Originally, these seemed likely to be close. 
 Pedro II had made his kingdom tributary to the Holy See, 
 and to the Holy See James owed his crown. But the 
 demeanour of the Conqueror towards the occupant of 
 S. Peter's chair was less subservient than that of his 
 father : the spiritual authority of Rome he was always 
 ready to acknowledge : he even submitted to the shelving 
 of his arrangement with the Bishop and Chapter of 
 Barcelona for the appointment of a bishop to the Balearic 
 islands \ as well as to the rejection of the candidate elected 
 by the church of Tarragona to occupy the Metropolitan's 
 chair — a vacancy for five years being the result ^. 
 
 ' Gams, K. S. iii. 11, 6, § 33. By nating Raymond of PeKafort, who 
 the original arrangement the first declined the honour thrust on him. 
 bishop was to be nominated by the The next step was the selection by 
 Crown, and his successors by the the native clergy of the Sacristan of 
 Bishop and Chapter of Barcelona. Gerona, who remained content with 
 In spite of this, however, the first the title of ' Administrator ' of the 
 bishop was nominated by the pope's See ; till at last, in 1238, the dead- 
 representatives — the Bishops of Lerida lock came to an end with the selection 
 and Vich, with Raymond of Peiiafort of Pedro de Albalat, Sacristan of 
 — and his successors in like manner. Lerida, and his confirmation by the 
 
 ^ In February, 1234, eleven months pope. Gams, ib. iii. II, 7, §§ 38, 
 
 after the death of Archbishop Sparago 39. 
 
 (12 15-1 233), the Bishop of Barcelona Another powerful enemy to the See 
 
 was elected by the Chapter to the of Tarragona was the Archbishop of 
 
 vacant Primacy. The choice, how- Toledo, who, on the capture of 
 
 ever, was not confirmed by the pope, Valencia, demanded the recognition of 
 
 and in May, 1234, the Spanish clergy his Primacy by the new bishop, basing 
 
 proposed the Cardinal Deacon of SS. his claims on the inclusion of Valencia 
 
 Cosmas and Damian, the pope nomi- in the province of Toledo in the time 
 
THE CHURCH, JEWS, AND SARACENS. 239 
 
 In matters temporal, however, the attitude of the king 
 to the Holy See was not so filial. The connexion with 
 Manfred had, as we have seen, caused great offence at the 
 papal court ; while a further rebuff was received by the 
 pope at Lyons in the king's curt refusal to pay ' a sort of 
 tribute.' The licentiousness too, which formed so prominent 
 a feature in the Conqueror's character, brought him into 
 serious collision with more than one Holy Father^ ; while his 
 treatment of the clergy and his toleration of Jews and 
 Saracens ^, were viewed at Rome with equal disfavour. 
 
 There was therefore much in the king's action calculated 
 
 of the Goths. The pope finally decided 
 against him in 1243. For the time, 
 however, the Archbishop did not abate 
 his pretensions, and in May, 1240, a 
 Provincial Council at Tarragona had 
 to protest against his action in having 
 his primatial cross borne before him 
 in the territory of Aragon and giving 
 indulgences. On a repetition of the 
 offence, they threatened to lay the 
 land, through which he passed, under 
 an interdict. Gams, ib. iii. 11, 7, 
 §§ 39, 40; Diago, An. Val. vii. 26. 
 
 ' In a letter to the king, dated 
 Viterbo, July 5, 1266, Clement IV 
 complains : ' a propria came sic 
 vinceris ut, divino timore postposito, 
 illicitam tibi copulam non tuae statuens 
 mulieris, cum multorum scandalo cir- 
 cumducas adulteram, et incestu cumu- 
 lans adulteriumgraviter oculos Divinae 
 Majestatis offendas. O quantum in tua 
 gloria ponis maculum ! O quantum 
 sanguinituo detrahis ! Quantum honori 
 detrahis regiae majestatis ! ' (Martene 
 y Durand, ib. ii. 509). The lady 
 alluded to was DoiSa Berenguela 
 Alfonso {Chron. 426), and it was 
 probably James' attachment to her 
 that prompted his petition for a divorce 
 from Doiia Teresa, on the ground of 
 leprosy — a request which drew on 
 him an indignant refusal from Clement 
 
 ( ' miramur plurimum qua licentia, quo 
 instinctu, nobis petitionem obtuleris 
 Deo contrariam,abominabilem angelis, 
 et hominibus monstruosam. Non enim 
 credere debuisti quod varum matri- 
 monium vellemus dissolvere, et con- 
 junctionis illicitae pollui participio 
 ex consensu. Scire quidem ab olim 
 te credimus quod, cum nobilem mulie- 
 rem Terisiam per verba de futuro, 
 prout tua littera continet, desponsasti, 
 ut verum et consummatum fieret car- 
 nali copula snbsequuta. Quos ergo 
 Deus conjunxit, Dei Vicarius quo- 
 modo separaret ? . . . An credis quod, 
 si omnes reginae per mundi climata 
 constitutae leprosae fierent, daremus 
 regibus ob hanc causam licentiam cum 
 aliis mulieribus contrahendi ? . . . Ea 
 propter, fill carissime . . . ne addas 
 incestui adulterium.' Martene, ib. 277). 
 We have also a strongly- worded letter 
 from Gregory X, dated Sept. 22, 1275, 
 ordering the king to put away the 
 wife of one of his subjects : ' alioquin 
 personam tuam excommuuicationis, 
 terram vero, ad quam te aut ipsam 
 adulteram pervenire contigerit, donee 
 inibi fueris tu vel ipsa, interdicti sen- 
 tentiis . . . volumus subjacere.' Pott- 
 hast, Reg. 21075 ; cf. 21057, 21076. 
 ' See pp. 115 note, 252. 
 
340 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 to alienate the sympathy of a mediaeval papacy : indeed 
 his uncompromising attitude in this respect saved the 
 kingdom from sinking into the position of a 'milch cow' 
 of Rome. 
 II. State of When we come to glance at the life itself of the Church 
 
 the Church . ,,..,. 
 
 itself. in J ames dommions, the picture presented is not altogether 
 an attractive one. It is only too evident that the Spanish 
 clergy were by no means untainted by that moral deteriora- 
 tion, which, in this century, fell, like a blight, on the people 
 of the south — clergy and laity alike — and for which the 
 promoters of the Albigensian wars were largely responsible. 
 In fact — whatever its good qualities — cruelty, bigotry, and 
 rapacity were certainly some of the most marked character- 
 istics of the Church of Tarragona in the thirteenth century. 
 The rejection of the terms offered by the besieged at 
 Mallorca was due to the opposition of the bishops and 
 barons ; the auction held on the capture of the city was the 
 work of the same two orders ; and it was the house of the 
 Provost of Tarragona which was sufficiently tempting for 
 the rioters to sack. One of the forgers of Tarazona was the 
 Sacristan of L^rida ; and, in 1 254, Pons, Bishop of Urgel, 
 was degraded for simony, incest, adultery, and other 
 crimes ^ The famous abbey of Ripoll — second only to 
 that of Poblet— was heavily mortgaged to Jews ^ ; and in 
 1257 the Abbot of Santas Cruzes and Pons de Villanova, 
 a Dominican, were commissioned by the pope to ' correct 
 and reform ' it ' in head and members ^' At .the synod of 
 1229, besides the enactment of a canon against pluralities, 
 it was found necessary to take measures against clerical 
 profligacy*, while legitimations of the sons of clergy are 
 by no means unknown in the Chancery Registers. And 
 
 ' Potthast. Reg. 14534 (papal com- tern et precium specialiter obligatum.' 
 
 mission to Penafort of March 15,1252). Reg. xix, 146 (1274). 
 
 Sentence was passed in 1254 by the * Potthast, Reg. 16775. 
 
 Bishop of Praeneste, and was con- * Gams, K. S. iii. book xi. ch. 7, 
 
 firmed by the pope in January, 1255. § 39; Aguirre, Concilia, v. p. 188. 
 
 lb. 1 5621. Allusions to clerical profligacy are 
 
 " ' Judeis ... in magnam qnantita- frequent b PeJiafort's Summa. 
 
THE CHURCH, JEWS, AND SARACENS. 241 
 
 at a provincial council of 1274, the extreme luxury of some 
 ecclesiastics is evidenced by a canon forbidding clerks 
 to wear elaborately woven robes, gold or silver buckles 
 to their clothing, sewn shoes with pointed toes, striped 
 garments, or clothes with long hoods ^. 
 
 In Montpellier, the orthodox, the manners and morals 
 of the clergy were, if possible, even more depraved. 
 A canon issued at a provincial council of 1258, held by the 
 Archbishop of Narbonne, forbade the clergy to own shops 
 or to engage in trade ; secular officials were authorized to 
 arrest ecclesiastics taken in flagrante delicto of homicide, 
 incendiarism, burglary, and rape ; while bishops were 
 forbidden to ordain, unless satisfied as to the knowledge 
 and devotion of candidates ^. As early as 1238, Gregory IX 
 had complained that many priors and rectors ' scorn to be 
 raised to the priesthood^' ; and in 1267 Clement IV wrote 
 to the Bishop of Maguelonne urging him to compel the 
 rectors of churches to take orders at the proper time, and 
 to reside at their churches *. In a bull of February 15, 1256, 
 Alexander IV complains that ' the canons . . . are said 
 sometimes to commit actions which offend the eyes of the 
 Divine Majesty °' ; and in 1267 Clement IV was compelled 
 to rebuke the clergy for their avarice in stretching out 
 ' greedy hands ' to exact tithes from the glebes of the poor ^, 
 while in the same year he wrote to the priors and abbesses of 
 convents forbidding them to 'drag' into their orders young 
 boys and girls for the sake of their property''. The Chapter 
 of Maguelonne was on the verge of bankruptcy ^ ; and if 
 
 ^ ' Omnes clerici provincie nostre, in longum fusis.' Parch. 933. 
 
 sive sunt in sacris sive in minoribus ^ Germain, //. M. vol. ii. p. 53. 
 
 ordinibus constituti, non portent nee ' lb. p. 51. 
 
 induant camisias tunicas vel alias ■■ Potthast, Reg. 19982. 
 
 vestes cordatas, nee botones aureos vel '■" Germain, ib. p. 51. 
 
 argenteos vel alicujus alterius metalli '^ Potthast, ib. 19994. 
 
 deferant in pectore nee in manicis nee ' Germain, ib. p. 58. 
 
 in aliqua parte vestis, nee portent ' In a letter of August 23, I2?7, 
 
 sotulares consuticios nee rota tractos Innocent IV says: 'nuper nostris 
 
 nee aliquas induant sen portent vestes exstitit auribus intimatum quod capi- 
 
 virgatas nee aliquas vestes cum capiciis lulum, prepositura, et alia administra- 
 
243 
 
 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 Persecu- 
 tion of 
 heretics. 
 
 we add to all this the hatred with which the rival orders 
 of the Dominicans and Franciscans already regarded one 
 another ^, we shall form some idea of the state of Church 
 life at Montpellier at this time. Papal remonstrances were 
 probably vain ; and when, in 1 249, a new bishop — Rayner, 
 an Italian monk — attempted to reform his degenerate 
 flock, he was promptly removed by the help of a poisoned 
 Host ^. No wonder that in 1267 Clement IV found it 
 necessary to request the men of Montpellier to abstain 
 from harassing and vexing the clergy — into such contempt 
 had the latter fallen ^. 
 
 Quite in keeping with the character of the clergy of 
 Catalonia and Montpellier were the measures taken, with 
 the approval of the king, against heretics. As early indeed 
 as 1213, Pedro II had outlawed the excommunicated who 
 continued contumacious for more than a year *, and in the 
 Conqueror's reign the policy of persecution to silence argu- 
 ment was still more fully developed. The series of measures 
 against heresy, which disgrace the reign, seems to have 
 begun in 1234 at a Council held at Tarragona, in obedience 
 to a papal bull, of May 1232, ordering an inquisition against 
 heresy in the province ^ By the decrees of the Council, 
 laymen were forbidden to dispute publicly on the Catholic 
 faith ; translations of the Bible into Romance were to be 
 given up to the Bishop ; the houses of those who knowingly 
 
 tionis ac ecclesie Magalonensis capi- 
 tuli tanto premuntur onere debitorum, 
 quod, nisi usurarum voragini, que 
 penitus omnes ipsorum absorbet reddi- 
 tus, per sedis apostolice providentiam 
 celeri remedio fuerit obviatum, dictum 
 capitulum merens dicere poterit cum 
 profana, se infixum in limo profundi 
 et substantiam jamnon esse.' lb. p. 56. 
 ' 'Aegre ferimus et amaro animo 
 vobis admodum recensemus, quod 
 multis nuper accepimus quosdam 
 scilicet ex vestris fratribus in tam illi- 
 citam prorupisse licentiam, ut invicem 
 se occulte mordeant et, quod est 
 
 gravius, etiam in sermonibus ad clernm 
 habitis vel ad plebem verba effundere 
 praesumerint detractoria in altir- 
 utrius vestrorum ordinum non levem 
 infamiam et certarum nihilftminus 
 personanim' — a letter from Clement 
 (dated Viterbo, June 24, 1266) to the 
 ' Lectors ' of the Dominicans and 
 Franciscans at Montpellier. lb. p. 58. 
 
 ^ Gariel, Ser. Ep. Mag. p. 365; 
 Germain, ib. p. 47. 
 
 ^ Potthast, Reg. 1998 1. 
 
 * Marca, Marc. Hisp. col. 1397. 
 
 = Potthast, Reg. 8932. 
 
THE CHURCH, JEWS, AND SARACENS. 243 
 
 harboured heretics were to be demolished ; no one supposed 
 to be unorthodox was to hold any public office ; and, finally, 
 in places suspected of heresy, the Bishop was empowered 
 to appoint as inquisitor one priest, and the king, or his 
 representative, two or three laymen ^. 
 
 But these measures were not enough to stay the plague 
 of unorthodoxy that had begun to spread in James' 
 dominions; and in 1342, at another provincial Council, it 
 was enacted, ' with the help of Brother Ramon of Penafort 
 and other wise men,' that obstinate heretics should be 
 handed over to the secular arm — i.e. sent to the stake — 
 while those who recanted were to be imprisoned for life ^. 
 
 Even this infamous canon does not seem to have had 
 the desired effect : in April, 1254, at James' own request, 
 Innocent wrote to the Bisho'ps of Barcelona, Lerida, and 
 Elne, urging them to appoint monks to conduct an inqui- 
 sition against heretics, and in the same month he wrote 
 in a similar strain to the Archbishops of Tarragona and 
 Narbonne ^. The letters were not without result, and by 
 1263 we find two inquisitors at work in Roussillon* ; while 
 in 1269 and 1270 a 'very I'igorous and severe inquisition' 
 was held in Catalonia, where many heretics were burned, 
 and the bones of the Viscount of Castelnou and his wife 
 Ermesenda were torn up by the fanatical zeal of the cham- 
 pions of the Church ^. It would seem, in fact, that, with 
 
 1 Const. Cat. i. I, I, I ; ib. 2, 2 ; i, ' Potthast, Reg. 15326, 15343. 
 
 9, 2, 3 ; ib. 6, 7. These decrees were ' P. de Caderita (?) and G. Sanchez, 
 
 issued by the king, on the advice of ' inquisitores dicti criminis auctoritate 
 
 the Bishop of Zaragoza, the bishops of apostolica designates in toto regno et 
 
 Catalonia, the Masters of the Temple dominio nostro.' Reg. xii. 25. 
 
 and Hospital, and ' the abbots and '' Zurita, An. iii. 76 — according to 
 
 many other prelates of our kingdom ' which Ermesenda was the Viscount's 
 
 (Marca, ib. col. 1425). In Southern daughter, and the persecution took 
 
 France unlicensed translations of the place in 1270. But the inquisitors were 
 
 Bible in the ' vulgar tongue ' had al- certainly at work in 1269, for in that 
 
 ready been forbidden at a Council of year James disposed of the Viscountcy 
 
 Toulouse, 1 229. Martin,.ff.i^iv.p.I62. to Roger Bernard of Foix, for 45,000 
 
 = Gams, K. S. vol. iii. xi. 7, § 41. sols (Reg. xvi. 163, the month being 
 
 The same punishment was usual in illegible) ; and in the Register Erme- 
 
 Languedoc. Martin, ib. p. 157. senda is styled the Viscount's wife (ib.). 
 
 R 2 
 
244 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 occasional outbursts of energy, the persecution lasted 
 throughout almost the whole reign ^ ; though it does not 
 appear to have spread to Aragon — for the reason that 
 inquisitions in that country were prohibited by the Fueros^. 
 Merits of It is pleasanter to be able to look at another side of 
 t e c ergy. ^j^^ character of the clergy. Their patriotism was undeniable, 
 and showed itself in their readiness to support the king in 
 his military expeditions — though their zeal was, of course, 
 mainly due to the religious nature of James' undertakings. 
 Nor were they altogether oblivious — at home, at least — of 
 the divine command to ' seek peace and ensue it,' as is shown 
 by the constant reference of the king's disputes with his 
 nobles to episcopal arbitration. And, as was usually the 
 case in the middle ages, the clergy were the only really 
 educated body of men in the kingdom, education, as a result, 
 being entirely in their hands. The famous university of 
 Montpellier was directly subject to the bishop in all 
 matters^; and one of the articles of the Synod of 1229 
 provided for the institution of grammar schools in each 
 archdeaconry — also under the bishop — besides enacting that 
 
 ' Thus, in 1235 Brother Ferrar, victims, at least, having been 'con- 
 Prior of the Dominicans at Narbonne, dempnatus et combustos ratione here- 
 condemned, at Perpignan, one Chat- tice pravitatis '). It would seem that 
 bert, vfho, on his own confession, had even the members of the great military 
 sheltered and sympathized with here- orders were not secure, if we may 
 tics {Parch. 762); and in 1243 we infer this from a royal exemption, of 
 find the same monk — who now figures 1262, to a Templar from the necessity 
 as Inquisitor in Narbonne, Roussillon, of replying to a charge of heresy 
 and Albi — directing the exhumation '\Rsg' xii. 74). 
 
 of the bones of a heretic (ib. 910). In It is but fair to add that — at times, 
 
 1.257 ^" inquisition of 'heretical at least — the king seems to have dis- 
 
 pravity ' was held in Lerida, and played some generosity to the rela- 
 
 at least one deceased citizen was lives of the condemned ; thus, the heirs 
 
 found guilty {I^eg- ix. 35). In of the citizen of Lerida, already al- 
 
 1262 the persecution had reached Inded to, were permitted to inherit 
 
 Morella in Valencia (Reg. xii. i — a his property {Reg. ix. 3;) ; and a like 
 
 grant of the property of four local privilege was granted to the brother and 
 
 families, 'que omnia nobis sunt con- son of a woman of Perpignan, who had 
 
 fiscata ratione heretice pravitatis ') and, been condemned by the monks to per- 
 
 in 1263 and 1264, Ciurana {Regs. xii. petual imprisonment. Reg. xii. 25' 
 
 69, 129, xiii. 138 — grants of property ^ j^«(?wj, iv ' de testibus.' 
 
 confiscated for a likereason, one of the ' See p. 259. 
 
THE CHURCH, JEWS, AND SARACENS. 245 
 
 all beneficed clergy should be suspended till they had 
 a competent knowledge of Latin, which was to be gained 
 by attendance at the schools for three years ^. A school 
 or academy — though not a university — was also established, 
 with the papal approval, at Valencia ^. 
 
 And while efforts were thus made to raise the educational 
 standard among the people and the lower clergy, the ranks 
 of the higher ecclesiastics were not without their great 
 luminaries. Vidal de Canellas, Bishop of Huesca and 
 Chancellor, was the first Spanish jurist of his time ; and, 
 besides taking a large share in the compilation of the 
 codes of Aragon and Valencia, he was also the author of 
 a work, no longer extant, entitled the Liber in Excehis, 
 which is said to have been full of all kinds of antiquarian 
 information ^. 
 
 But the most remarkable churchman of the reign was Ramon de 
 the famous Ramon de Penafort — scholar, missionary, and 
 saint. Originally a student at Bologna, he was called to 
 Rome in 1230 by Gregory IX, and became the pope's 
 chaplain and penitentiary, in which capacity he undertook 
 the collection of later papal decretals not included in 
 ' Gratian's Decree.' In 1235 he declined the archbishopric 
 of Tarragona, and, on returning home to Barcelona, in 
 1238, was appointed General of the Dominicans — an order 
 which he had entered some years previously. He soon, 
 however, resigned his office (1240), and busied himself in 
 founding schools for the study of Arabic, so as to facili- 
 tate the conversion of infidels. A devoted missionary 
 among the latter*, towards heretics his attitude was very 
 
 ^ Gams, K. S. vol. iii. xi. 7, § 36, priscis nostri regni scitis valde ver- 
 
 ' Ha.yna.ldus, Ann. Eccl. 1245. S. satus ' {Comtn. p. 656). The 'liber 
 
 Raymond especially insisted on the in excelsis ' was so called from its 
 
 clergy possessing some knowledge of opening words : ' in excelsis Dei 
 
 ' secular sciences,' as well as on the thesauris.' lb. 
 
 establishment of chairs of theology ' He advocated tender treatment 
 
 at the metropolitan churches. Summa, of Jews and Saracens : ' debent autem 
 
 iii ' de pradentia ordinandorum.' . . . tam Judaei quam Sarraceni 
 
 ^ Vidal is spoken of by Blancas auctoritatibus, rationibus, et blandi- 
 
 as ' magnae eruditionis vir ac in mentis potius quam asperitatibus, ad 
 
24*5 
 
 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 Pedro 
 
 Nolasco, 
 
 Ramon 
 
 Nonnatus, 
 
 and 
 
 Sparago. 
 
 different \ and, as we have seen, the introduction of the 
 inquisition into James' dominions was largely due to his 
 influence. His active and devoted life is said to have 
 closed on January 6, 1275, and — apart from its activity and 
 devotion — it had played an important part in the history 
 of the reign, as constituting a powerful link with Rome ^. 
 
 Besides Ramon de Peiiafort, other holy men were Pedro 
 Nolasco, missionary and saint, the first member, and head, 
 of the ' Order of Mercy ' ; and Ramon Nonnatus, also an 
 active member of the same order, which had been formed 
 for the ransoming of Christian captives from their Moorish 
 masters. Both were instrumental in procuring the release 
 of large numbers of slaves from Granada and Africa ; and 
 it was while working in the fields, in the place of a slave 
 whom he wished to ransom, that Nonnatus was raised to 
 the rank of a Prince of the Church^. Nor can we omit 
 from the list of the luminaries of the Church of Tarragona 
 the name of Archbishop Sparago — ' the light of the clergy, 
 the fountain of goodness' — who occupied the primatial 
 
 fidem Christianam de novo susci- 
 piendam provocari ; non autem com- 
 pelli, quia coacta servicia non placent 
 Deo.' Summa, lib. i ' de Judeis et 
 Sarracenis,' § 2. 
 
 ' The condemned were to be handed 
 over to the secular arm, while those 
 who recanted were to be ' thrust into 
 perpetual prison.' lb. ' de haereticis 
 et fautoribus eorum,' § 2. 
 
 ' Gams, K. S. vol. iii. xii. i, § 5. 
 He was canonized in 1601, by Cle- 
 ment VIII (ib.). His most important 
 extant work — the Summa — con- 
 tains little that is original, and is 
 characterized by the usual prejudices 
 of the age, as in its treatment of 
 the question of 'usury,' on which 
 he says : 'quid de legibus, quae 
 permittunt usuras exigi ? Numquid 
 tenent 1 Dico breviter quod non ; 
 immo sunt omnes abrogatae, quod 
 probo auctoritate, ratione, et civili 
 
 jure ; auctoritate psalmi, " quia pecn- 
 niam suam non dedit ad nsuram," ' &c. 
 (^Summa, ii ' de Usuris,' § 10), of. 
 ib. § 9 : 'de quibusdam autem, qui 
 tempore messis vel vindemiae emunt 
 annonam vel vinum villus, ut postea 
 vendant carius, dico quod peccant et 
 turpe lucrum est.' Cf. the Summa 
 of S. Thomas on the same subject. 
 
 ' Gams, ib. book xii. I, § i. No- 
 lasco resigned the generalship of the 
 Order in 1249 and died in 1256, 
 while Nonnatus is said to have died 
 in 1240 (ib.). A history of the 
 Order — which apparently still exists, 
 in much the same way as the English 
 branch of the Hospital^has been 
 written by Don Josii Antonio Gari 
 y Siumell (Cadiz, 1873), who recounts 
 the miracles which favoured it, with, 
 apparently, an implicit belief in their 
 reality. The Church of the Order at 
 Barcelona is tawdry and modernized. 
 
THE CHURCH, JEWS, AND SARACENS. 347 
 
 chair during the troubled years of the king's minority, and 
 who lived to see James Conqueror of Mallorca, before his 
 own death in 1233 ^. 
 
 And to the roll of the scholars and missionaries of the The 
 Provincial Church we must also add its martyrs. The y^^'^^'fa"'^ 
 religious fervour, characteristic of the century, received, as 
 might be expected, a great impetus from the enthusiasm 
 of the two newly-founded orders of SS. Dominic and Francis, 
 which soon settled in Barcelona, Zaragoza, and elsewhere ^. 
 It was the Preaching Orders that supplied the Church with 
 her martyrs, as well as with her inquisitors. The rage for 
 the martyr's crown had not stopped with the victims of 
 Cordova. In the early years of the reign, news came to 
 the ears of two monks that Abu Zeid, King of Valencia, was 
 persecuting the Christians in his kingdom. They decided 
 that the opportunity of suffering for Christ was too good 
 a one to be lost : the divine command, ' when they persecute 
 you in one city, flee to another,' was unhesitatingly set 
 aside, and they repaired to Valencia, where their ambition 
 was soon gratified^. 
 
 The position occupied by the Jewish community under The Jews. 
 the Conqueror's rule was probably more honourable and 
 comfortable than that of their co-religionists in any other 
 liuropean country**. It is true that James regarded his 
 
 ' See the epitaph on Sparago's recourse to summary procedure against 
 
 tomb, quoted by Gams, ib. xi. 7, § 38. them. Jews were debarred, however, 
 
 " On Nov. 15, 1319, a bull issued from holding any office which would 
 
 by Honorius III requests the Spanish enable them to bring pressure on 
 
 clergy to accord a l<ind reception to a Christian {Siete Partidas, vii. 24, 
 
 the 'preaching brothers' (I'otthast, 3-5). In France Jews — who were 
 
 Reg. 61O0); and in 1220 the same not regarded as a royal monopoly — 
 
 pope specially commends them to the seem to have been forbidden to grant 
 
 I'rimate and the bishop of Barcelona. loans at all, and were twice banished 
 
 Ib. 624O, 6730. by S. Louis and twice recalled ; while 
 
 ' \yn\rc,, An. Val. vii. 2. their books were burned, and blas- 
 
 * With the exception, perhaps, of phemies were severely punished 
 
 Castile, where Christians were for- (Wallon, ib. ii. pp. 190-6; Hallam, 
 
 bidden to rob or damage the syn- M. A. i. p. 234). From England the 
 
 agogues, to hail Hebrews before the whole community was banished by 
 
 courts on their sabbath, or to have Edward I. 
 
248 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 Hebrew subjects chiefly with an eye to the revenue he 
 could extort from them ; but it was precisely for this reason 
 that they were protected with all the care that would be 
 bestowed on a royal monopoly, and were taken under the 
 king's safeguard ^. As men of business and financiers they 
 had, of course, no rivals ; and accordingly — in that spirit 
 of utilitarianism, which so often clashed with his religious 
 principles or prejudices — the king was not slow to prefer 
 Jews to responsible posts, notably that of bailiff^. 
 
 And while individuals were thus promoted to honour, 
 the mass of the Jews lived, probably comfortably enough, 
 in their own Aljamas or quarters, which were to be found 
 in most of the large towns, one of the most considerable 
 being settled at Gerona^. At Valencia Hebrews were 
 exempted from liability to torture, except when contu- 
 maciouS; as well as from the necessity of lodging Christians 
 in their houses, and were authorized to close the gates 
 of their quarter whenever they chose*. In Aragon, and 
 probably in all three countries, they had their own courts 
 for the trial of petty cases among themselves ^ ; and at 
 Zaragoza they might appeal to the Crown from death 
 sentences passed by the Zalmedina ^. In Catalonia charges 
 against Jews were investigated by a court composed of 
 a Christian and a Jew ' ; while the Hebrews of Barcelona, 
 
 ' Confirmations of the peace, pas- and Tortosa. Xegs. xx. 345, xii. 15. 
 
 sim. In Aragon, any one striking ' Amador de los Rios, Judios de 
 
 a Jew, to the effusion of blood, was Espana y Portugal, pp. 383, 385. 
 
 liable to a fine of 500 sols. Fueros, * Regs. xix. 56, xx. 225, 242, xv. 
 
 vii ' de Judaeis et Sarracenis.' 81. The trial of capital cases affect- 
 
 * Thus, Vidal Salomon was Bailiff ing Jews was transferred in 1275 
 
 of Barcelona for at least three years from the justiciar to the bailiff. 
 
 (1247-1250; Parch. 1079, 1120, ' These judges were the Daien, 
 
 1155, 1186) — in direct violation of who could take cognizance of all 
 
 a statute of 1228, by which no Jew cases, and the Hedin, who was only 
 
 was to be admitted to any public concerned with petty suits. Appeals 
 
 office in Catalonia {Const. Cat. went to the Christian court. Vidal, 
 
 Superfl. i. 5, 6, 5). The responsible ib. p. 784. 
 
 posts occupied by Jahuda we have ° Reg. xix. 77. 
 
 already noticed. Other Jews were ' Ib. xii. 130. 
 Bailiffs of Pego, Alfandech, Suyllana, 
 
THE CHURCH, JEWS, AND SARACENS. 249 
 
 Tarragona, Perpignan, Villafranca, and other towns in the 
 neighbourhood, possessed the right of direct appeal from 
 the local bailiff or vicar to the Crown 1. At Barcelona suits 
 among the Jews themselves were decided by the bailiff, 
 and those between Jews and Christians by the vicar ^. At 
 Montpellier Jews were liable to torture only under certain 
 conditions, nor could they be detained in prison on mere 
 suspicion, except in capital cases ^ 
 
 We see then that James' Hebrew subjects had little to 
 complain of on the score of their judicial privileges. And 
 his esteem for them the Conqueror showed unmistakably, 
 when he offered the bribe of a temporary exemption from 
 taxation to such as would settle in Valencia, Xativa, and 
 Uncastillo*, and when he promised a safeguard to Jews 
 of Marseilles who would establish themselves in Mont- 
 pellier ^. 
 
 On two points only did there arise anything of the nature 
 of an estrangement between the Conqueror and his Jewish 
 subjects. The first cause of difference lay in the frequent 
 ' prolongations ' of their time for payment granted by the 
 king to the debtors of Jewish usurers ^ ; the second was to 
 be found in the thirst for proselytism which inspired James' 
 spiritual guides. For success in the latter field no pains 
 were spared : Jews and Saracens embracing Christianity 
 were secured from that loss of property which, in the middle 
 
 ' Regs. xii. 9, xix. 50. James undertook that his ' prolonga- 
 
 ^ lb. XV. 33 — an order of 1266. tions' should not hold good : (i) ' si 
 
 ' lb. xix. 134, XV. 45. debitum esset ratione matrimonii vel 
 
 'For one, five, and four years emptionis hereditatis ' : (2) 'si ille 
 
 respectively. lb. xx. 225, xix. 108 ; qui impetrabat literam [sc. elonga- 
 
 Bofarull, Doc. Ined. vi. 31. tionis] habere! mobile unde posset 
 
 ^ Reg. XX. 225. solvere' {Fuej-os, i 'de elongatione 
 
 * Thus, in ib. xi. 239, the king debitonim '). In England an exactly 
 
 undertakes to the Jews of Barbastro, opposite state of things prevailed : 
 
 for the next two years, not to prolong Jews were regarded merely as roj'al 
 
 the time of payment ; and in ib. chattels, and, as debts due to them 
 
 xvi. 102, a like promise, for three were due to the king, they might 
 
 years, is made to the Jews of Gerona, not grant releases or compositions 
 
 Perpignan, Conflant, and Cerdagne. without his licence. Cunningham, ib. 
 
 And at Temel, in October, 1259, p. 145. 
 
250 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 ages, often accompanied such a change of religion ^ ; and, 
 in addition to this bait, recourse was even had to the 
 unusual expedient of public debates between exponents 
 of the rival persuasions. In this respect the year 1263 was 
 a memorable one, a debate of this kind being held at 
 Barcelona, in July, between Brother Paul — a converted Jew 
 and, at the time, a Dominican — and Moses ben Nachman, 
 a learned Rabbi of Gerona. The conference took place in 
 the presence of the king ; but, as might have been expected, 
 both sides claimed the victory, and nothing was gained I 
 One result, however, of the debate was the almost immediate 
 appearance, on August 26, of a royal proclamation ordering 
 all Hebrews and Saracens to come and hear, ' in silence 
 and diligently,' any of the 'preaching brethren' who might 
 wish to instruct them, under pain of compulsion by the 
 royal officials ^ ; while two days later, on August 28, the 
 bailiffs received instructions to insist on the surrender by 
 Jews, for public burning, of books called Soffrim, which 
 Moses, the hero of the debate, had composed*. Nor 
 was this all : on August 29, another proclamation was 
 issued to the Jews, to the effect that whenever Brother 
 Paul should visit them to preach or dispute, they were to 
 listen ' meekly and favourably,' answer his questions ' with 
 meekness and reverence,' produce any of their books he 
 
 ' Const. Cat. i. 3; Priv. 15; trecentos in viaticum. ... Sic ab eo 
 
 Fueros, i ' de Judaeis et Sarracenis benevolentia magna dimissus sum. 
 
 baptizandis.' They enjoyed the same Detis aeternus ipsum compotem facial 
 
 privilege in Castile (' despues que vitae aeternae. Amen. Selah.' From 
 
 algunos Judios se tomaran Chris- the official version, however, it would 
 
 tianos . . . hayan sus bienes et sus appear that Ben Nachman was handled 
 
 cosas.' Partidas, vii. 24, 6). so severely by his adversary, as to 
 
 ^ Two accounts of this debate are be obliged to leave the town secretly, 
 
 preserved, one in Reg. xii. no before the end of the debate, 
 (printed by Tourtoullon,ib. ii p. 449), ^ Reg. xii. 107. The order to hear 
 
 and the other — the Jewish version — the preachers was but a revival of 
 
 in Wagenseil's Ignea tela Satanae a statute of 1 242 ( Const. Cat. Superfl. 
 
 (ii. pp. 24-60). The latter ends with i. i, i) ; and the custom in Aragon 
 
 the king's command : '" reverters in was the same. Fueros,'\h. 
 urbem tuam, et sanus ac sospes * Reg. xii. 106. 
 
 aetatem agito," dabatque mihi aureos 
 
THE CHURCH, JEWS, AND SARACENS. 251 
 
 might require, and tear from them any blasphemies against 
 Jesus Christ or the Blessed Virgin, when pointed out by 
 Brother Paul acting on the advice of Periafort and Sagarra, 
 under pain of a fine of 100 mdrabatins and the burning of 
 the books 1. The very next day, however, owing, no doubt, 
 to the excitement that would inevitably be produced in the 
 Jewish community by such a series of proclamations, the 
 king gave way so far as to direct that Jews should not be 
 forced to go outside their quarters to listen to the preachers, 
 or be compelled 'by sheer force' to listen to any preaching 
 at all — thereby completely stultifying some of his previous 
 proclamations ^. 
 
 The result, therefore, of the conference had been practi- 
 cally nothing, the only loss suffered by the Jews being the 
 expurgation of objectionable passages from their books. 
 As if, accordingly, neither side were contented with its 
 position, in 1 265 another debate was held in the presence 
 of the king— who, no doubt, enjoyed these exhibitions of 
 dialectical fencing — between the irrepressible Brother Paul 
 and Bonastrug de Porta, a Jew of Gerona. The result of 
 this second trial of strength is not known, but, on the 
 conclusion of the debate, de Porta — who had presented 
 a copy of his work against Christianity to the Bishop of 
 Gerona — was accused of blasphemy by Peilafort, Sagarra, 
 and Brother Paul, before a court consisting of the king, the 
 Bishop of Barcelona, and others. Though he based his 
 defence on the licence granted to say what he liked in the 
 debate, the king proposed to banish him for two years and 
 to burn his books; but, on the Dominicans refusing to 
 admit this sentence, the culprit was set at liberty, and was 
 dispensed from having to reply to any such charges again, 
 except in the royal presence (April 12, 1265) ^. 
 
 Baffled by the king, the enraged Dominicans had recourse 
 to a higher authority, and in the following year there 
 
 1 Reg. xii. 107. In March of the cf. Bofarnll, Doc. Ined. vi. 41. 
 following year the fine was raised '' Reg.^)S.. iii. 
 
 to 1,000 morabatins. lb. xiii. 196 ; ' Bofarnll, Doc. Ined. vi. 43. 
 
252 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 arrived a letter from Clement IV, indignantly urging the 
 king to repress the ' malice ' of the Jews, and to punish 
 Brother Paul's adversary for the lies in his book ^ 
 
 What the immediate issue of the matter was, it is im- 
 possible to say. Its ultimate result can hardly have been 
 what the pope would have desired, for in 1268 the Jews of 
 Lerida and Barcelona were once more authorized, by a royal 
 proclamation, not to go out of their quarters to listen to 
 preachers — ' because insult and abuse were often inflicted on 
 you' — while clergy wishing to preach in the synagogues 
 were to be accompanied by only ' ten good Christian men,' 
 and not by a crowd. The Jews were also authorized to 
 possess cemeteries, and to fit up their synagogues 'with 
 decency,' besides being given full liberty of buying and 
 selling. Similar privileges were also conferred on their 
 brethren of Perpignan and Montpellier^. 
 
 The anti-Semitic agitation, therefore — so far, at least, as 
 the Jews of Catalonia were concerned — had been a failure. 
 Thanks to the king's hberality of mind, its result was 
 exactly the opposite to what its promoters had intended, 
 and the Jews had now a securely established position, and 
 one which seemed likely to preclude further persecution for 
 the future. 
 TheMoors. The condition of the Conqueror's Moorish subjects can 
 be dismissed in a very few words. They had escaped that 
 unpopularity which their grasping habits had fastened on 
 
 ' ' Favor tuus apertissime invales- fictis adjectisque mendaciis, librum 
 
 cat Judeos, de cetero ad aliqua composuisse dicitur, quem ad sui 
 
 officia non admittens ipsos, in aliquo dilatationem erroris in varia exempla 
 
 non extoUens, sed in quantum con- multiplicans per regiones varias desti- 
 
 cessa eis a sede apostolica privilegia navit . . . Ausum temerarium, sic debite 
 
 paliuntur, ipsorum refrenando mali- censura Justitie, absque tamen mortis 
 
 ciam deprimas et conculces ; nee periculo et membrorum mutilatione, 
 
 pretereas illorum blaspliemias in- castigetur.' Escurial, ii. P. 7 i <=f- 
 
 correctas, sed illius praecipue castiges Zurita, Ind. 1266; Raynaldns, Ann. 
 
 audaciam, qui de disputatione, quam Ecd. 1266. 
 
 in tua praesentia cum dilecto filio ^ Reg. xv. 122, 123; cf. BofarnU, 
 
 religioso viro fratre Paulo de ordine Doc. Ined. vi. 45. 
 predicatorum habuerat, multis con- 
 
THE CHURCH, JEWS, AND SARACENS. 253 
 
 the Jews, and the outcry raised on their proposed expulsion 
 from Valencia is proof in itself that they were regarded 
 as inoffensive and even useful members of society. The 
 king himself, towards the end of his reign, had at last 
 recognized this fact, as is shown by a proclamation of 
 April, 1375, announcing that Moorish settlers at Valencia 
 should be exempt from all taxes during their first year 
 of residence ^. 
 
 In judicial matters the status of the Saracens was much 
 the same as that of the Jews. Petty suits among themselves 
 were tried in their own courts ^, appeals — in Valencia, at 
 least — going before the Christian tribunal^ It may, how- 
 ever, be safely assumed that the Christian court only was 
 competent to inflict corporal punishment, or, in any case, 
 the penalty of death *. 
 
 ' Reg. KX. 225. in capital cases only. ('Item con- 
 
 ^ Vidal, ib. p. 783. In Aragon cedimus vobis imperpetunm quod 
 
 the judge for petty cases was an Sarraceni aliqui habitantes in Moriria 
 
 Alamin, the more important suits seu aliis locis civitatis et orte Valencie 
 
 going before a Zavalachen (ib.), presentes et futuri non teneantur facere 
 
 these two officers corresponding, jus aliquibus Christianis Judeis vel 
 
 therefore, to the Jewish Hedin and Sarracenis querelantibus de eisdem 
 
 Daieu respectively. At Valencia nisi posse Alcadii et Alamini et . . . 
 
 there were also Moorish judges called Sarracenorum dicte Morerie seu a9u- 
 
 the Alcaid and Almuda9af. Reg. nam Sarracenorum . . . nisi esset de- 
 
 XV. 81. manda ut dictum est vel querimonia 
 
 ' Reg. XX. 225. pene mortis.' Reg. xv. 81. Part of 
 
 ' At Valencia Saracens were bound this document is illegible.) 
 
 to appear before a Christian court 
 
CHAPTER XXIII. 
 
 Literature, Science, and Art. 
 
 James' The bias of the Conqueror in favour of Catalonia and 
 
 Catalonia! ^^^ Catalans has already been illustrated. It will, therefore, 
 be no matter for surprise when we come to remark a like 
 tendency on James' part to exalt — perhaps unduly — the 
 language of the Catalans. Opinions may differ as to its 
 beauty, but the mind of the Conqueror was already made 
 up on the subject. Hence it was that the Valencian code 
 was published in Catalan, arguments of counsel and sen- 
 tences of Valencian tribunals were to be delivered in 
 ' Romance,' while the Chronicle and the Book of Knowledge 
 were written in the same language. 
 
 Its origin is, no doubt, to be traced to the beginning 
 of the ninth century, when the Visigoths, who had been 
 driven by the Arabs into Languedoc, returned to their 
 native country, by the help of Louis, son of Charles the 
 Great. This conclusion would seem to be borne out by 
 the fact that Catalan was still spoken in later times in 
 Roussillon and Cerdagne. 
 
 On the other hand, we must carefully distinguish this 
 prose dialect from the language of the troubadours — the 
 Lemosin proper, a modified form of Provenzal, and, possibly, 
 not a spoken language in Catalonia at alH. The term 
 Lemosin would seem to have been first applied to the 
 
 ' Cf. articles on ' Catalan ' in the Encyclopaedia Britannica, by A. Morel- 
 Fatio, and on ' Provenzal ' by Paul Meyer. 
 
LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART. 255 
 
 compositions of these minstrels by Ramon Vidal, poet and 
 grammarian, who lived early in the thirteenth century ^ 
 
 The Lemosin poetry, then, of the reign is but poetry by 
 Catalans written in Provenzal, and its history, therefore, is 
 a mere supplement to that of the literature of Provence ^. 
 
 The Conqueror himself was a man of no mean literary James' 
 ability, and his Chronicle is distinguished at once by the f^XX^t 
 vigour of its style, as well as by its naive simplicity. He of Wis- 
 was also the author of another work, the Libre de Saviesa — 
 a medley of a number of proverbs and maxims drawn from 
 Solomon, the Fathers, Aristotle, Socrates, and Arabic writers, 
 of whose ' good words,' as profitable for man, the author 
 ventures to avail himself, though, at the same time, he is 
 careful to acknowledge the supreme authority of theology ^ 
 The book has a slightly pedantic flavour, and no very pro- 
 found knowledge of philosophy is anywhere shown. 
 
 An author himself*, James was also a patron of letters Catalan 
 in others. It was at his request that Jahuda translated o^vadouT' 
 a number of Arab moralists, and by his direction, perhaps, pro^e 
 that Ribera de Perpeja rendered into Catalan the Chronicle 
 of Roderic of Toledo *, and the Customs of the Sea were 
 compiled in the same language, while others translated 
 Cicero's Offices, Seneca's Letters, the Politics of Aristotle, 
 Augustine's City of God, and Innocent the Third's Explana- 
 
 ^ The Romance tongue of the Z«V«o?<- compliment d'enteniment e de sen, les 
 
 sin or district about Limoges was used bones paraules que dixeren aquels ans 
 
 by some of the early troubadours, and es profit, que dice Seneca : " soleo 
 
 hence came to be a synonym for transire in aliena castra non tanquam 
 
 ' troubadour speech.' transfuga sed tanquam explorator." ' 
 
 ^ Enc. Brit. ib. Cambouliu, Littira- Escurial MS., cf. Cambouliu, ib. 
 
 ture Catalane, p. 13. Catalan, as he p. 25. 
 
 observes, is remarliable for the brevity ' SeiSor Balaguer's praise of James 
 
 of its terminations, ' hombre ' becom- as an author is surely exaggerated : 
 
 ing ' horn,' ' ciutadano ' ' ciutada,' and ' fue un consumado literato, nn exce^ 
 
 so on (ib. p. 18). The difference be- lente historiador, un cronista elegante 
 
 tween this and the Limosin can be y culto, que hizo del Catalan lo que 
 
 easily seen by a comparison of a few Dante debia hacer mas tarde del 
 
 lines of James' Chronicle with some Italiano, una lengua literaria.' Tro- 
 
 verses of a Catalan troubadour. vadores, i. p. 339. 
 
 ^ ' Jat sia que en theologia sia tot * Cambouliu, ib. pp. 30, 32. 
 
256 
 
 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 Trouba- 
 dours in 
 Catalonia. 
 
 tion of the Psalms ^. The historian Desclot, with the famous 
 Mallorquin, Ramon Lull, also lived during the reign, but 
 their literary activity belongs to a later period. 
 
 It will thus be seen that the activity of the prose-writers 
 of the reign was mainly confined to the modest work of 
 translating into the vernacular some of the chief philosophic 
 and religious treatises of the pagan and Christian world. 
 And this, indeed, is what we should have expected from 
 such an age of religious restlessness. 
 
 More original in what it produced was the poetic spirit 
 of the day. The persecution of the Albigenses had driven 
 the troubadour south of the Pyrenees, and this may account 
 for the outburst of song which lasted through the reign. 
 The famous satirist, Piere Cardinal, who had sustained the 
 cause of Raymond VII against De Montfort, retired^ on the 
 triumph of the Crusaders, to the Court of Aragon, where 
 he continued his satires, and was much honoured by the 
 king. Aimeric de Belenoi, of Bordeaux, also spent his last 
 years in Catalonia ^ ; and other lesser lights were doubtless 
 driven across the frontier. The list of native poets includes 
 the names of Arnalt Catalan^, G. de Cervera, lord of Juneda*, 
 G. de Mur, of the house of Pallas, Oliver the Templar®, Served 
 de Gerona ", Hugo de Mataplana, who fell in Mallorca '', and 
 Guillem de Bergedan, a noble profligate and murderer *. 
 
 ' Cambouliu.ib. p. 32.IntheBodleian 
 library at Oxford there is a curious 
 astronomical MS. (Ash. 341), with 
 tables and diagrams, by different persons 
 — two of them monies — and written, 
 apparently, in the years 1263, 1264, 
 1265, perhaps in Aragon — if we may 
 infer this from the reference to Zara- 
 goza. (' Equatio domorum ad lati- 
 tudinem quinti climatis de signo arietis 
 a septentrione 41 g" et 30 mi", sub quo 
 sita est Serencogusta.') 
 
 ' Mila y Fontanals, Trovadores en 
 Espaiia, p. 185. 
 
 ■■■ lb. p. 346. 
 
 * Probably the son of G. Cervera, 
 
 the second husband of Elvira of Urgel. 
 lb. p. 351. 
 
 ' lb. p. 357; Millot, Troubadours, 
 iii. p. 107. 
 
 * Mila y Fontanals, ib. p. 367. A 
 specimen of his productions is given in 
 Raynouard, Choix des Poesies Origi- 
 nales des Troubadours, ii. p. 443. 
 
 ' Millot, ib. ii. p. 119. Only one 
 of Mataplana's songs is preserved — a 
 ' sirvente,' or satire, in which he chal- 
 lenges Blacasset either to fight or else 
 to renounce ' the beauty I love.' Ray- 
 nouard, ib. V. p. 220. 
 
 ' Millot, ib. p. 125; Ticknor, i. 
 p. 287. His pitces are remarkable 
 
LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART. 
 
 257 
 
 And not only had Catalonia become the home of the J^™^^ held 
 troubadour, who sang its praises in terms which even by foreign 
 to a Catalan must have seemed exaggerated ^, but its P°^ts- 
 Count was regarded, by foreigners at least, as the patron 
 of the Muse, as well as the champion of the South. It is 
 in this spirit that Guillem de Montagnagout and Bernardo 
 de Rovenhac ^, attack the Conqueror for his indifference to 
 the fate of Provence ; Nat de Mons, who was honoured by 
 James, addresses some verses to him full of good advice ^ ; 
 
 for their obscenity. The following is 
 an exception : 
 
 'Consiros cant e plane e plor 
 per dol que m'a sasit e pres 
 al cor per la mort mon marques 
 en Pons lo preu de Mataplana . . . 
 
 Paians I'an mort, mas dieus I'a pres 
 a sa part, que li sera garens 
 del grans forfatz e dels minors, 
 c'els angels li foron auttors, 
 car mantene la lei Christiana . . . 
 
 E Paradis, el luoc meyllior, 
 
 lai o'l bon rel de Fransa es, 
 
 Prop de Rolan sai que I'a mes.' 
 Raynouard, ib. v. p. 186. 
 
 ' Gniraldo Riquier, who passed 
 through Catalonia on his way to 
 Castile, about 1270, gives the follow- 
 ing glowing description of the country 
 and its people : — 
 'Pus astres no m'es donatz 
 
 que de mi dons bes m'eschaia ; 
 
 ni nulhs mos plazers no-1 platz, 
 
 ni ay poder que-m n'estraia, 
 
 ops m'es qu'ieu sia fondatz 
 
 en ira d'amor veraia, 
 
 e puesc n'apenre assatz 
 
 en Cataluenha la gaia, 
 
 entr'els Catala's valens 
 
 e las donas avinens. 
 
 Quar dompneys, pretz e valors 
 joys e gratz e cortezia, 
 sens e sabers et honors, 
 belhs parlars, bella paria, 
 e largueza et amors, 
 
 conoyssensa e cuadia, 
 
 troban mantenh e secors 
 
 en Cataluenha a tria, 
 
 entre'ls Catalas valens 
 
 e las donas avinens.' 
 
 Raynouard, ib. ii. p. 238. 
 '' ' Si '1 rei Jacme, cui no mentim, 
 complis so qu'el e nos plevim, 
 segon qu' auzim ; 
 en gran dolor 
 foran ab plor 
 Frances, qui qu'o desvuelha : 
 e quar defalh, 
 qu'ades no salh, 
 tot lo mons lo'n reiruelha.' 
 
 Mila y Fontanals, ib. p. 173. 
 This was written in a fit of despair, 
 after the flight of the English and 
 their allies at Taillebourg. 
 'Rey d'Arago, ses contenda, 
 den ben nom aver 
 Jacme, quar trop vol jazer ; 
 e qui que sa terra -s prenda, 
 el es tan flax e chanzitz, 
 que sol es no y contraditz ; 
 e car ven lay als Sarrazis fellos 
 I'anta e'l dan que pren sai vas 
 
 Limos.' Ib. p. 177. 
 ' He told Jam.es that valour is 
 a good quality in kings, but can be 
 counterbalanced by wrongdoing and 
 injustice. Blame is more to be feared 
 than death — and so forth. He also 
 addressed two letters to the king on 
 the origin of good and evil, the nature 
 of the soul, liberty, the composition of 
 a king's court, &c., and thanks his 
 
258 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 and Mateo de Quercy writes an elegy on him when he is 
 dead ^. 
 The Jon- A satellite of the troubadour was the Jongleur^, who 
 = ^™' went about the country reciting the songs of the poet— - 
 
 the two thus standing to one another somewhat in the 
 relation of author and publisher, or draper and pedlar ^, 
 These strolling minstrels seem to have been numerous in 
 Catalonia*. 
 The Uni- But a greater glory to Catalonia in the Conqueror's 
 MonJ ° reign than the poems of the troubadours was the famous 
 peilier. university of Montpellier. As yet, however, it consisted 
 of an aggregation of schools, and it did not formally receive 
 the title and rank of a university, studiiim generale, till the 
 year 1389, at the hands of Nicholas IV. Its oldest and 
 best-known faculty, that of Medicine, was in considerable 
 repute as early as 1181, when William VIII pronounced 
 against all monopoly of the science, promising strict impar- 
 tiality in the appointment of teachers. In 1220 the school, 
 already celebrated ^, received its first statutes from a Legate 
 
 patron for the honours he has received todas partes." lb. 
 
 from him. Millot, ib. p. i86. • At the Cortes of 1235, in view of 
 
 ' Mila y Fontanals, ib. p. 192. the Valencian war, among various 
 
 ^ Wallon, ib. ii. p. 374. He divides sumptuary statutes, the following was 
 
 the compositions of the troubadours enacted :' item statuimus quod nos nee 
 
 into six classes: (i) 'chansons,' the aliquis alius homo nee domina demus 
 
 term applied to miscellaneous pieces: aliquidalicuijoculatori,veIjoculatrici, 
 
 ( 2 ) ' planhs ' or elegies : ( 3) ' tensons,' sive soldatariae, sive militi salvatge ; 
 
 a sort of dialogue between two persons sed nos vel alius nobilis possit eligere et 
 
 on such subjects as love, morals, habere ac ducere secum unum jocula- 
 
 chivalry, &c. : (4) ' sirventes ' or torem, et dare sibi quod voluerit ' 
 
 satires: (5) serenades: (6) 'pastour- (Marca,j1ff. .ff". I428,art. 8). Cf art. 10: 
 
 elles ' or eclogues. Ib. p. 270. ' item statuimus quod nuUus joculator 
 
 ^ Cf. Balaguer, Trovadores, i. necjoculatrixnecsoldatariapraesentes 
 
 p. 253: ' los juglares 6 cantadores . . . vel futuri, nee ilia que olim fueiit 
 
 interpretes populares de las composi- soldataria, sedeant ad mensam militis 
 
 clones provenzales . . . Eran los jug- nee dominae alicujus nee ad gausape 
 
 lares en Provenza los que iban por eorundem, nee comedant nee jaceant 
 
 cortes y castillos cantando y recitando cum aliqua dominarum in nno loco 
 
 las composiciones de los trovadores ; vel in una domo, nee osculentur ali- 
 
 eran los C(5micos 6 actores, que si en- quern eorundem.' 
 
 cargaban de dar popularidad k las ° As is evident from the following 
 
 obras de los poetas, extendiendolas por passage in the statutes of 1220: 'jam- 
 
LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART. 259 
 
 — the Cardinal Bishop of Porto and S. Rufine— by which 
 none were to ' rule ' unless examined and approved by 
 the bishop, who had his own Chancellor for the trial 
 of civil suits, and to whom went appeals as well as 
 criminal cases. By a statute of 1239 it was further 
 enacted that no one should practise unless chosen by 
 the bishop from the 'College of Masters'; and in 1272 
 James himself forbade Christians and Jews alike to 
 practise unless they had been examined and were licen- 
 tiates 1. 
 
 The School of Law founded in 1160 by Placentin, 
 a Lombard, was thus practically an offshoot from Bologna. 
 In 1268 James appointed a Regius professor of civil law; 
 but his nominee, with all who attended his classes, was 
 excommunicated by the bishop, the latter, moreover, being 
 supported in his action by the pope, who seized the 
 opportunity to claim for the bishop the position of ' chief 
 head of all the faculties ^.' 
 
 The faculty oi Arts received definite statutes, in 1242, 
 from the bishop — Jean de Montlaur — acting on the advice 
 of the doctors and disciples of the existing faculty. The 
 general tenour of the statutes was much the same as of 
 those of the other faculties : none was to act as ' regent ' 
 or 'reader' in 'grammar or dialectic,' without having been 
 first examined and approved by the bishop or his deputy, 
 while those so examined were to swear allegiance to the 
 prelate ^. 
 
 The faculty of Theology seems as yet to have been in 
 its infancy. In 1263 James granted a site to the Cistercian 
 monastery of Valmagne for the erection of a school ; and 
 
 dudam medicinalia scientie professio At Paris only Canon Law was 
 
 snb gloriosis profectuum titulis in studied. 
 
 Montepessulano claruerit, floruerit, et ^ Gariel, Ser. Praes. Mag. p. 356. 
 
 fructuum fecerit ubertatem multipli- Regents of the University of Paris 
 
 citer in diversis mundi partibus salu- were exempt from examination, but 
 
 brem.' Germain, H. M. iii. p. 418. were bound to hold the bishop's 
 
 ' lb. pp. 73-91. licence. 
 
 ' lb. pp. 8-12 ; Martene, ib. 603. 
 
 s a 
 
26o 
 
 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 School at 
 Valencia. 
 
 Architec- 
 ture. 
 
 in 1266, at a provincial chapter of the Order of S. Dominic, 
 held at Limoges, a professor was appointed ^ 
 
 The schools of Montpellier, therefore — especially the 
 faculties of Medicine and of Law — by the middle of the 
 thirteenth century were in a flourishing condition. That 
 they were under the jurisdiction of the bishop, as opposed 
 to that of the Crown, well illustrates both the jealousy 
 of the mediaeval church and its readiness to encourage 
 learning and research. 
 
 Of like establishments in Aragon and Catalonia nothing 
 is known, though it is hard to believe that they were 
 non-existent. There was undoubtedly a School of some 
 sort at Valencia, founded by the Conqueror — an act which 
 elicited the warm approval of Innocent IV, who is said 
 to have bestowed ample privileges on the new establish- 
 ment ^. 
 
 Of the state of the arts during the reign but little can be 
 said. The greater part of the fine cathedral of Tarragona 
 would seem to have been executed during the latter part 
 of the twelfth, and the first half of the thirteenth, century ^ ; 
 but the church above all others typical of the reign is the 
 cathedral of Lerida, the first stone of which was laid in 
 1203, though the building was not consecrated till 1278. 
 It is pronounced to be one of the finest early pointed 
 churches in Europe *. The present cathedral of Barcelona 
 was not begun till 1298, though a church seems to have 
 existed previously on its site ^ and it is possible that the 
 doorway, with its grotesque carvings, leading from the 
 
 1 Germain, ff. M. pp. 63, 413. 
 
 2 ' Quo etiam tempore Rex Ara- 
 gonum Valentiae gymnasium condidit, 
 cnjus consilium laudibus est prosecu- 
 tus Innocentius, amplissimisque prae- 
 rogativis insignivit.' Raynaldus, ib. 
 
 1 24.5- 
 
 = Street, Gothic Architecture in 
 Spain, p. 275. The main arches are 
 pointed, but the east end terminates 
 
 in an apse and is clearly Romanesque. 
 
 * Ib. pp. 349-36,S- The church is 
 now used as barracks, but Mr. Street 
 gained admission and reports that 
 most of the windows are round-headed, 
 though the main arches are pointed— 
 a characteristic, of course, of a transi- 
 tional building. 
 
 ^ Ib. p. 297. 
 
LITERATURE, SCIENCE, AND ART. 261 
 
 cloister into the south transept, was built early in the 
 reign. The first stone of the cathedral of Valencia was 
 laid in ia6a\ but this building has unhappily been 
 modernized beyond recognition. Ecclesiastical architecture, 
 on the whole, would seem to have been nearly a century 
 behind what it was in England, being still in a state of 
 transition from Romanesque to Gothic ^. 
 
 It would be rash, however, to conclude that other branches 
 of art were in an equally backward condition, for we 
 should at once find ourselves confronted with such an 
 exception as the remarkable altar belonging, so it is 
 said, to the Conqueror, and still preserved at Valencia, 
 the paintings on which, in artistic finish, far exceed any- 
 thing we might have expected. 
 
 Lastly, it is impossible to trace any considerable influence 
 of Moorish on Christian art ^. But of one thing we may 
 be sure, that, as in art, so in morals and almost all the 
 other elements of civilization, the Mohammedans at this 
 time stood on an altogether higher level than their Chris- 
 tian conquerors*. 
 
 '■ Street, ib. p. 261. this time produced so great a change 
 
 ' Cf. Street's remarks on the cathe- in the north of Europe.' lb. p. 354. 
 dral of Lerida : ' the strange thing is ^ Ib. p. 409. 
 
 that in a church which was in building * Cf. Street, ib. p. 410 : ' through- 
 between A. D. I203and 1278 weshould out this period (711-1492) any con- 
 find such strong evidences of know- trast drawn between the Moors and 
 ledge of nothing but twelfth century Christians, in regard to civilization, 
 art ; and ... it affords good evidence would generally, if not always, have 
 of the slow progress in this part of been in favour of the former.' 
 Spain of the developments which at 
 
THE HOUSE OF URGEL. 
 
 Armengol VII ' of Valencia ' {d.l\ 84) = Dulce (daughter of R. Berenguer IV, 
 
 I Count of Barcelona). 
 
 Count Armengol VIII = Elvira. Marquesa = Pons (Viscount Miracle. 
 
 {d. 1208). I I of Cabrera). 
 
 Aurembiax = Pedro of Count Guerao. 
 ((/. 1231). Portugal. I 
 
 Count Pons (d. 1243). 
 
 I 1 
 
 Count Armengol IX Alvaro {d. 1268). 
 
 {d. young). I 
 
 I \ ^1 
 
 Leonor Count Armengol X Alvaro 
 
 (by Costanza.) (by Cecilia.) 
 
APPENDIX A. 
 
 THE COUNTY OF URGEL. 
 
 The fortunes of the Counts of Urgel have more than once 
 claimed our attention in the course of James' reign. The thirteenth 
 century seemed, in fact, destined to witness the decline and fall 
 of this, the most illustrious of Catalan houses. The first Count 
 is said to have been a brother of the first hereditary Count of 
 Barcelona — Wilfred ' the Hairy ' — and for some generations the 
 dignity seems to have been vested in the younger branch of the 
 House of Barcelona. From the third Count of Urgel' the title 
 appears, however, to have passed to his descendants, whose 
 prowess against the Saracens and whose favour in the eyes of 
 their suzerains of Barcelona was such, that by the beginning of the 
 thirteenth century the territories of the Countship would seem to 
 have been the most extensive of those of any of the great Catalan 
 houses, occupying almost the whole of the north-western frontier, 
 and cutting off Barcelona from the northern cities of Aragon ^. 
 
 The troubles of the house began in 1208, with the death of 
 Count Armengol VIII, who left one child only — a daughter named 
 Aurembiax. During the minority of the latter the county was 
 to be administered by her mother, the Countess Elvira; but, 
 unhappily, a rival claimant soon appeared in the person of a 
 nephew of Armengol VIII — Guerao, Viscount of Cabrera — who 
 
 ' See pedigree of the House of land between the Cinca and the Segre, 
 
 Barcelona at the beginning of this and about as much south of the latter 
 
 volume. river — in fact about 20 miles in a 
 
 ^ The estates of the family seem to radius from Balaguer. The chief towns 
 
 have included most of the country in at this time were Lerida, Balaguer, 
 
 the southern corner of the debateable and Agramunt. 
 
2,66 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 claimed the succession on the ground that the family title and 
 estates could not descend to a female ^. 
 
 Guerao seems to have put forward his claims immediately after 
 the death of Armengol, and in the following year Elvira found 
 herself obliged to place the county under the protection of her 
 sovereign, Pedro, with reservation of the rights of Aurembiax, till 
 she should be of age. Soon afterwards Elvira married a second 
 husband — Guillen Gervera, lord of Juneda ^ — and died herself 
 about the year 1220. 
 
 The fortunes of the county during the period of her second 
 union had been varied. On the death of Pedro, in 1213, the 
 irrepressible Guerao lost no time in overrunning the county, 
 which, during the troublous years of James' early minority, he 
 seems to have succeeded in holding, till the year 12 17, when, by an 
 agreement with the king, it was decided that Guerao should restore 
 to the Crown all the castles and towns he had laid hands on, for 
 which James was to deposit with him a large sum, leaving Aurem- 
 biax the right, for two years, of repurchasing from the Crown the 
 places in question, after which time the option of purchase lapsed 
 to Guerao. Whether this arrangement was carried out may be 
 doubted, for on December 21, 1222, a fresh agreement was come 
 to, by which James made over the county to Guerao in fee, with, 
 however, a reservation of the rights of Aurembiax, on whose 
 appearance as a claimant Guerao was to consent to ' stand to 
 right.' 
 
 Nearly six years elapsed, and in July 1228 Aurembiax appeared 
 before the king at L^rida, to claim her rights. The nature of 
 her connexion with James we have already ascertained; and, 
 even before the case had been tried, by a treaty of August i, she 
 promised to make over L^rida to the Crown, of which she was to 
 hold the whole county in fief, undertaking to receive the king into 
 the chief towns in peace and war (' potestas irati et paccati '), and 
 
 ' The claim of Guerao was in direct Aurembiax, though with the reserva- 
 
 violation of a clause in the will of tion : ' si ipsa decesserit absque liberis, 
 
 Armengol VII, by which his daughter substituo ei in omnibus bonis meis 
 
 Marquesa, Guerao's mother, was to Marquesiam sororem meam.' Monfar 
 
 succeed only 'si ... obierit filius y Sors, Hist. Urg. liii, liv. 
 mens Ermengardus sine infante de ^ One of the king's councillors. He 
 
 legitime conjugio.' And the will of became a monk of Poblet in 1230. 
 
 Armengol VIII left the county to Monfar y Sors, ib. Iv. 
 
THE HOUSE OF URGEL. 
 
 Armengol VII ' of Valencia' {d. 1 184) = DuIce (daughter of R. Berenguer IV, 
 
 I Count of Barcelona). 
 
 Count Armengol VIII = Elvira. Marquesa = Pons (Viscount Miracle. 
 
 ((/. 1208). j I of Cabrera). 
 
 Aurembiax = Pedro of Count Guerao. 
 {d. 1331). Portugal, 
 
 Count Pons ((/. 1243). 
 
 Count Armengol IX Alvaro {d. 1268). 
 
 {d. young). I 
 
 Leonor Count Armengol X Alvaro 
 
 (by Costanza.) (by Cecilia.) 
 
APPENDIX A. 
 
 THE COUNTY OF URGEL. 
 
 The fortunes of the Counts of Urgel have more than once 
 claimed our attention in the course of James' reign. The thirteenth 
 century seemed, in fact, destined to witness the decline and fall 
 of this, the most illustrious of Catalan houses. The first Count 
 is said to have been a brother of the first hereditary Count of 
 Barcelona — Wilfred ' the Hairy ' — and for some generations the 
 dignity seems to have been vested in the younger branch of the 
 House of Barcelona. From the third Count of Urgel' the title 
 appears, however, to have passed to his descendants, whose 
 prowess against the Saracens and whose favour in the eyes of 
 their suzerains of Barcelona was such, that by the beginning of the 
 thirteenth century the territories of the Countship would seem to 
 have been the most extensive of those of any of the great Catalan 
 houses, occupying almost the whole of the north-western frontier, 
 and cutting off Barcelona from the northern cities of Aragon '. 
 
 The troubles of the house began in 1208, with the death of 
 Count Armengol VIII, who left one child only — a daughter named 
 Aurembiax. During the minority of the latter the county was 
 to be administered by her mother, the Countess Elvira; but, 
 unhappily, a rival claimant soon appeared in the person of a 
 nephew of Armengol VIII — Guerao, Viscount of Cabrera — who 
 
 ^ See pedigree of the House of land between the Cinca and the Segre, 
 
 Barcelona at the beginning of this and about as much south of the latter 
 
 volume. liver — in fact about 20 miles in a 
 
 ^ The estates of the family seem to radius from Balaguer. The chief towns 
 
 have included most of the country in at this time were Lerida, Balaguer, 
 
 the southern corner of the debateable and Agramunt. 
 
APPENDIX A. 267 
 
 not to marry without his consent : in return James was to restore 
 to her the towns and castles usurped by Pons, the son of Guerao 
 Cabrera \ Matters being thus satisfactorily arranged beforehand, 
 Guerao was cited to L^rida : on the second summons, G. Cardona 
 appeared on his behalf, but the king refused to admit his defence 
 that Guerao had held the county for twenty years, and ultimately 
 Cardona left the Court ^ 
 
 It now only remained to dispossess Guerao. This was quickly 
 done. With the forces he had collected, the king marched on 
 Albelda, Menargues, and Linerola, which surrendered in rapid 
 succession, and Balaguer was evacuated by the Count, who was 
 allowed to retire with ' a very good and fine falcon on his hand.' 
 He had not, as James ironically remarks, 'the wisdom of Solo- 
 mon,' and seems to have made litde or no resistance, so that 
 before the end of the year the entire county was in the king's 
 hands. Guerao became a Templar. 
 
 Comment on James' conduct in all these transactions is super- 
 fluous. The facts — his connexion with Aurembiax, and the agree- 
 ment made with her before the mock trial had even taken place — 
 speak with sufficient clearness for themselves. And the king's fishing 
 in these troubled waters had been rewarded by the acquisition 
 of L&ida, a town of considerable importance, which had been 
 in the hands of the Urgel family ever since its capture from the 
 Saracens in 1149. 
 
 Aurembiax now being reinstated, it remained to give her a hus- 
 band. One was soon found in the person of the Infante Pedro, 
 a son of Sancho I of Portugal, and an adventurer who had been 
 obliged to leave his native country owing to his differences with his 
 brother Alfonso. The marriage took place at Vails, near Tarra- 
 gona, in the presence of the king, on July 15, 1229. Aurembiax 
 herself died two years later, September 29, 1231 ; and, by her will, 
 of August II, she left Urgel, with her property in Valladolid and 
 Galicia, to her husband Pedro. On the very day, however, of 
 her death, an agreement was drawn up between the king and the 
 
 1 Parch. 357. asking G. Sasala, the counsel of 
 
 ^ Such is the king's version {Ckron. Aurembiax, whether he thought that 
 
 39-46). It is probably untrue or ex- his special pleading, which he had 
 
 aggerated : all mention of the previous learned at Bologna, would lose Guerao 
 
 treaty is omitted, and Cardona is re- his countship. 
 
 presented as indulging in mere taunts, 
 
368 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 Infante, by which the latter ceded the whole county to the Crown, 
 receiving in return Majorca and Minorca, which he was to hold 
 for life, and of which his successors, on his death, were to inherit 
 a third. 
 
 This arrangement was, no doubt, the outcome of a long con- 
 certed scheme on the part of the king to get the whole county into 
 his possession, the husband he had chosen for Aurembiax proving 
 a pliant tool in his hands. It was, however, altogether improbable 
 that he would leave Pedro in possession of even the islands ; and 
 the second phase of James' policy towards the Infante was directed 
 to the reduction of the latter to the position of an ordinary Catalan 
 lord — an end which was slowly, but surely, gained. 
 
 Thirteen years' experience sufficed to weary Pedro of the delights 
 of an island home, and, by a compact of August i8, 1244, he made 
 over the Balearics to the Crown, receiving in return certain towns 
 in Valencia — Murviedro, Morella, Burriana, Segorbe, and Alme- 
 nara — though the king was careful to retain, in the case of the 
 first two, the fort commanding the town. The possession of such 
 important places naturally gave Pedro considerable influence in the 
 newly acquired kingdom, as was shown by his opposition, in 1247, 
 to the king's proposal for the expulsion of the Moors, and by the 
 bargain through which James subsequently secured his neutrality. 
 When, therefore, in 1250, the Infante joined in the secession to 
 Seville of the king's rebellious son Alfonso, James seized the 
 opportunity to lay hands on all his estates; and, though he was 
 eventually reinstated, in 1254 he resigned his Valencian possessions 
 and once more returned to Mallorca, where he seems to have 
 passed the rest of his life. 
 
 Having now followed the fortunes of the Infante of Portugal in 
 Mallorca and Valencia, we must return to the county of Urgel. 
 It would be a mistake to suppose that all had been tranquil there. 
 The summary expulsion of Guerao had not disposed of his claims, 
 which were presently revived by his son Pons, who disputed the 
 donation of L^rida to the Crown, as well as the will of Aurembiax 
 by which the county had been made over to Pedro \ Many 
 
 » He was perfectly entitled to do children, the county was to revert to 
 
 so, for, as we have seen, by the will Marquesa, of whom Pons was a de- 
 
 of Armengol VIII, in the event of scendant. 
 the decease of Aurembiax without 
 
APPENDIX A. 369 
 
 towns were even occupied by Pons, who could rely on the support 
 of the Counts of Foix and Pallas, as well as of many other lords of 
 Aragon and Catalonia. James, on his side, seems to have been 
 equally active, battering Pons' castle, and devastating the country. 
 At last the Bishops of Urgel and Ldrida intervened, and, on 
 January 21, 1236, it was agreed that the king should keep Ldrida, 
 and that Linerola, Menargues, and Ager — in fact all that he could 
 recover — should go to Pons, who was also to enjoy the title of 
 Count, so that henceforward Urgel would be in the anomalous 
 position of possessing two Counts. This arrangement secured 
 peace for the time, and Pons seems to have remained in undis- 
 puted possession of the greater part of the county, till his death 
 in 1243. 
 
 He was succeeded by his eldest son Armengol, who died a few 
 days after his father, and the title and estates devolved on Alvaro, 
 the second son of Pons, a boy four years of age. During his 
 minority the county was administered by Jaime Cervera, and, in 
 June, 1253, Alvaro, then fourteen, was betrothed to Costanza, 
 daughter of Pedro Moncada, Viscount of Bearne. The bride being 
 only ten years old at the time, the marriage was not, apparently, 
 consummated, the Count disliking the alliance — he had wept at 
 the ceremony — and eventually in 1256, marrying Cecilia, the second 
 daughter of Roger Bernard, Count of Foix. To Alvaro's peace in 
 this world the step was fatal : the Moncadas at once took up arms 
 and overran the county, and on Alvaro's mother, Maria, appealing 
 to Alexander IV, the decision of the case was committed by the 
 pope to the Bishop of Huesca (1259). 
 
 In the meanwhile, troubles were in store for the Count from 
 another quarter. According to Catalan custom, he had put into 
 James' hands, for ten days, the castles of Agramunt, Balaguer, 
 Linyola, and Oliana ; and the first two, at least, the king seems to 
 have declined to restore on the expiration of the usual time. 
 What his motives were it is impossible to say with any certainty : 
 probably he was still actuated by a desire to get the county into 
 his hands. In any case, the result was a defiance from Alvaro, 
 who was joined by a number of Catalan nobles— among them the 
 Viscount of Cardona, the Cerveras, Berenguer de Anglesola, and 
 Guillen de Cervellon (12S9). Hostilities began at once on both 
 sides, Alvaro and his allies recovering several places in the county, 
 
270 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 taking some castles in Ribagorza, and ravaging the country of 
 
 Barbastro. Against them the king sent the Justiciar of Aragon 
 
 Martin Perez de Artassona — and seems himself to have taken the 
 town of Cervera (February, 1 260). A truce was, however, presently 
 effected, and Alvaro was ordered to present himself at Barcelona 
 on May 10 for the trial of his case by the Bishop of Barcelona and 
 Oliver de Termes. Whether the trial ever took place may be 
 doubted : at all events its issue is unknown, though a Cortes which 
 the king afterwards held at Barcelona is said to have effected 
 a temporary cessation of hostilities. 
 
 Meanwhile the divorce suit had been dragging out its course 
 before the Bishop of Huesca, who on June i, 1262, gave sentence 
 in favour of Costanza ; and this was shortly afterwards followed by 
 a papal bull directing Alvaro to comply. This he did, and in 
 September, 1263, took Costanza to wife, and had by her one 
 daughter, Leonor. But, unfortunately, the matter was not to be 
 allowed to rest here. Cecilia had complained to the pope that she 
 had been unable to obtain a hearing from the Bishop of Huesca ; 
 and, in May, 1263, Urban committed the revision of the case to 
 the Bishops of Oloron and Comminges. The result of this second 
 trial was that on February 26, 1264, the Archdeacon of Carcas- 
 sonne and the Provost of Talabux — acting for the bishops — 
 pronounced in favour of Ceciha, reversing the Bishop of Huesca's 
 sentence. 
 
 It was now Alvaro's turn to appeal to the pope ; but eventually, 
 harassed by the censures of the French Bishops, he gave way and 
 married Cecilia (September, 1264). The pope, however, for the 
 second time allowed the revision of the case, delegating it in the 
 following year — July, 1265 — to the Bishop of Beziers, who did not 
 pronounce sentence, while in November the Bishop of Barcelona 
 decided in favour of Costanza. 
 
 Matters were now hopelessly complicated; the ghasdy performance 
 had given Alvaro two wives, and the scandal was such that Penafort 
 wrote urgently to Clement imploring him to decide himself. In 
 May, 1266, therefore, the pope finally entrusted the case to the 
 
 ' ' Supplico igitur Sanctitati vestre, animarum, que jam ex hoc sunt secuta 
 
 Pater, coram vestris Sanctis pedibus . . . misericorditer intendas.' Monfar 
 
 provolntus, quatenus guerras, strages y Sors, ib. Iviii, p. 555. 
 hominum, scandala gravia, et pericula 
 
APPENDIX A. 271 
 
 Cardinal Bishop of Praeneste, who decided in favour of Costanza, 
 at Viterbo, April 4, 1267. Alvaro does not, however, seem to 
 have obeyed the sentence, and soon after— early in 1268— he died 
 of a broken heart ^. 
 
 So ended one of the many dark stories which lend so gloomy 
 a background to the fascinating picture of the Middle Ages. That 
 the fountain and source of the whole evil was to be found in the 
 original decision of the Bishop of Huesca is evident : it was given 
 notwithstanding the improbability of the marriage with Costanza 
 having been consummated, in spite of the fact that Cecilia and the 
 Count had lived together for nearly six years, and without, apparently, 
 even a hearing of Cecilia. The sentence was, in fact, an attempt 
 to make a religious ceremony performed between two children — 
 the one ten, and the other fourteen, years of age — a guarantee for 
 the final consummation of the marriage when the parties had come 
 to years of discretion. In James' own case a similar betrothal had 
 also produced disastrous results. In view of the facts — especially 
 the long established intimacy between Cecilia and the Count — the 
 French Bishops were fully justified in reversing the sentence of the 
 Aragonese prelate, though it is possible that a national prejudice 
 in favour of the family of Foix had some influence in determining 
 their verdict. 
 
 Lastly, the irresolute attitude of Urban deserves the severest 
 censure. His first mistake was in delegating the revision of the 
 case to the Bishops of Oloron and Comminges, and his second in 
 allowing an appeal from their sentence. His action, no less than 
 that of the Bishop of Huesca, brought misery into two homes, war 
 and desolation into Urgel, and cost Alvaro his life ^. 
 
 The death of Alvaro left the county in the most miserable 
 condition conceivable, torn as it was by the two opposing factions. 
 The Count's executors, not being able to meet the demands of his 
 creditors, had deposited most of the chief places in pledge with the 
 
 1 ' La tristeza le consumio, y los rosus, qui propter discordiam et dimis- 
 
 cuidados y pesadumbres le volvieron sionem primae uxoris, habuit multas 
 
 tisico.' MonfarySors,ib.lvni,p.,^59- g^erras, et pthysi ac febribus est 
 
 ^ Alvaro receives a good character raortnus apud Fuxum, anno domini 
 
 from the Monk of RipoU, though it is mcclxvii, et dimisit in magna dis- 
 
 impossible to say whether it is of any cordia et tribulatione comitatum.' lb. 
 
 value : ' fuit armis strenuus, probus, p. 556. 
 largus, diligens, plurimum gene- 
 
273 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 king, who had paid Alvaro's debts to the amount of 250,000 sols. 
 Part of the county was also in the hands of the Viscount of 
 Cardona, and there seemed little prospect of the new Count, 
 Armengol — Alvaro's eldest son by Cecilia — ever succeeding to his 
 father's inheritance. So bad indeed was the outlook, that Armen- 
 gol's brother, Alvaro, renounced his rights in favour of the Crown, 
 retaining the title of Viscount of Ager — though the town itself had 
 fallen into Cardona's hands — and receiving Vallobar ; while, in 
 1270, the king incorporated Menargues and Albesa with the royal 
 estates. 
 
 The stormy years, which marked the close of the Conqueror's 
 reign, were not favourable to Armengol's attempts to recover his 
 patrimony. In James' war with Cardona, the latter was joined by 
 the Count of Urgel and his brother (1274); and it was not till 
 1278 — in the reign of Pedro III — that the county was restored, as 
 a fief, to the representative of its long line of Counts. 
 
 Hard had been the fate of the great Catalan county under 
 James' rule, and few its years of peace. Its story illustrates well 
 the ' lack of governance,' from which the country so often suffered 
 in spite of the strong hand of the Conqueror. That James himself 
 had always cast a covetous eye on the county, there can be little 
 doubt. Apart from his exchange with Pedro, we have seen how 
 he attempted to dispossess Pons, and retain possession on the 
 death of Alvaro. He contributed directly, therefore, to the embar- 
 rassments of the county by his interference, and indirectly by his 
 passiveness when it was torn by conflicting parties. His action 
 was unprincipled, and it is one of the blots on his name '. 
 
 ' For the whole of this account, see Monfar y Sors, Historia de los Condes de 
 Urgel, chs. 55-59 (in Bofarull, Doc. Ined. ix, x). 
 
APPENDIX B. 
 
 SIEGE ENGINES. 
 
 As the different ' nevrobalistic ' engines, mentioned so often in 
 James' Chronicle, evidently played an important part in the military 
 operations of the reign, a brief account of them here will, perhaps, 
 be appropriate. 
 
 In their simplest form both the Trehuchet or Fonevol, and 
 Mangonel, consisted of a large beam turning on a pivot between 
 two posts, which were fixed in the ground or on a wooden plat- 
 form. From one end of this beam was suspended a stone in 
 a sling fastened to the ground by cords and pegs, and at the other 
 end was some heavy weight which served as a counterpoise. When 
 they wished to fire, the cords were loosened and the stone was dis- 
 charged farther than any sling or bow could shoot, the impetus at 
 times being such that the missile was hurled a great height upwards, 
 doing fearful damage by its fall. 
 
 From this rudimentary form still more elaborate instruments 
 were developed ; but a certain distinction seems always to have 
 been maintained between trebuchet and mangonel, the aim of the 
 latter being much more easily regulated than that of the former, 
 not only because it described a greater arc, but also because its 
 movements could be controlled by the pressure exercised by the 
 men at the cords fastened to the base of the counterpoise. The 
 mangonel also differed from the trebuchet in the fact that the 
 counterpoise was always a fixed weight, instead of a moveable 
 object ^ 
 
 ' Viollet-le-Duc, Dictionnaire de count of the engines, with illnstrations, 
 T Architecture Franfaise, Art. Engin, is also to be found in the History of 
 where diagrams of these instruments Urgel, by Monfar y Sors (ch. v), re- 
 may be seen, as well as in Archer's printed in vols, ix, x, of the Documen- 
 Crusade of Richard I. A good ac- tos inlditos de la Corona de Aragon. 
 
274 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 An Algarrada'^ consisted of two beams athwart: on the end of 
 one of these was placed a large stone, which was discharged with 
 great force when the beam was bent back. It differed from the 
 trebuchet or mangonel, in that with the latter a counterpoise was 
 employed, whereas the algarrada was worked simply by human 
 energy. 
 
 Another instrument, comraon in siege operations of this period, 
 was the Mantlet (vinea) — a kind of portable shed, used to protect 
 sappers in their attacks on a wall. 
 
 At the siege of Burriana an important part was played by 
 a wooden moveable tower of two stories : the besiegers attempted 
 to bring it up to the wall on sleepers, but they were unable to get 
 it more than half way, and ultimately it had to be withdrawn, much 
 damaged by the missiles of the townsmen ^. 
 
 James owed his triumph at Mallorca to his siege engines and 
 his mines, which shook down a large portion of the walls, and his 
 success against the Valencian towns was mainly due to the same 
 cause. Without his engines he was quite helpless ; and when, as 
 at Cullera, there were no stones to be had, the siege had simply to 
 be raised. 
 
 ' Probably derived from the Arabic Aarada = ' he threw the stone far.' 
 Gayangos, ii. p. 68i. ' Chron. 158-63. 
 
APPENDIX C. 
 
 THE CURRENCY. 
 
 The ' monetary labyrinth ^ ' of the Aragonese countries is too 
 intricate to be fully unravelled here. 
 
 The coinage current in James' dominions may be briefly divided 
 into national and foreign moneys, the latter mostly Arabic in their 
 origin. 
 
 I. The national silver money current in Aragon was knovifn as 
 the money of Jaca, from the name of the town at which it was 
 struck. It was first coined by Pedro II, in the ratio of two parts 
 of silver to ten of copper ('de duplo'), and its various confirmations 
 "by James we have already noticed. Eventually, however, it became 
 so bad that no one would receive it, and in 1254 the king ordered 
 a new coinage, in which the ratio of the two metals was to be 3 : 9 
 ('de terno')^. 
 
 In Catalonia, Roussillon, Valespir, and Cerdagne, the money of 
 Barcelona circulated. In the coinage of 1221 the ratio was to be 
 2 : 10, and this proportion was confirmed by the king in 1253. 
 But the desirability of assimilating the Catalan coinage to the 
 systems of Aragon and Valencia rendered a change necessary, and 
 in 1258, having first induced the pope to release him from his 
 oath, James ordered the issue of a coinage ' de terno '.' 
 
 For Valencia and Mallorca, in 1247, the king ordered a coinage 
 
 ' Campaner y Fuertes, Nttm. Bal. sisted of 18 sols, the former weighed 
 
 p. yi. only 18 grains, the ratio of the metals 
 
 ^ Heiss, Mon. Hisp. Christ, ii. being as 4|:i3j, so that the mark 
 
 p. 14. Asso (£i:o». /"o/zV. p. 441) has contained 1,152 grains of fine silver 
 
 rightly pointed out that, whereas the and 3,456 of copper, or 21 sols and 
 
 Jaccic denier shonld have weighed 4 deniers. 
 
 21 Spanish grains, and the mark con- ' Heiss, ib. p. 72. 
 
 T a 
 
376 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 of Reals, also ' de terno.' Hitherto Arabic money had circulated 
 in Mallorca '. 
 
 In Montpellier, for the greater part of the reign, the currency 
 consisted of the Melgorian money, part of which was struck by the 
 Bishops of Maguelonne; but in 1273 James issued a coinage 
 with the city arms and his name ". 
 
 In Catalonia private money was coined by, at least, the Counts 
 of Urgel and Ampurias, as well as by the Bishops of Vich '. 
 
 2. The foreign moneys current seem to have included Mora- 
 batins *, Mazmodinas, and Millares ^ — all of them of Arabic origin — 
 the first two being of gold, the last of silver. 
 
 In the thirteenth century, as in the nineteenth, the plague of 
 counterfeit money was not unknown in Aragon. In 1267, while 
 at Tarazona, the king found that an extensive issue of gilded copper 
 morabatins of Aragon and Castile was being circulated from the 
 city throughout Spain. After a long search, the culprits were 
 detected : three of them, two men and a woman — all, apparently, 
 of noble birth — James ordered to be drowned in the river, while 
 the others were executed ' in the way proper in each case.' Among 
 the forgers were the Sacristan of Tarazona and Pedro Perez — sons 
 of the Justiciar of Aragon — the former of whom was handed over to 
 his bishop, who kept him in prison for the rest of his life, while the 
 latter escaped, and was afterwards pardoned at the intercession of 
 the King of Castile ^ 
 
 Both the Catalan and Aragonese coins struck during the reign 
 are extremely rude in their execution, the coins of Montpellier 
 being — as might be expected— far superior in finish to both '. 
 
 * Heiss, ib. p. 183. a money of account, of the value of 
 ' Ib. p. 324. 12 deniers. 
 
 ' Ib. pp. 125, 177; Potthast, Reg. ' Heiss (ib. p. 460) prints a royal 
 
 15462. licence to two men of Lerida to set up 
 
 • The Morabatin is of frequent men- a mint of Millares and Mazmodinas, 
 tion in the documents of the reign. probably for circulation in foreign 
 It weighed about 74 grains, and its countries. 
 
 intrinsic value was about \os. ('La ' C/(;-^K. 457-71 ; Miedes, Vit.Jac. 
 
 liura [sc. de or] val setanta quatre 17, of. Parch. 1,905 and Reg. xv. 72 
 
 morabatins,' Const. Cat. x. 2, Us. I.) (the confiscation of Pedro's property). 
 
 In Reg. xvii. 73, the sum of 1,343 and Reg. xv. 130 (his pardon), 
 
 morabatins is said to be equivalent ' Copies can be seen in Heiss 
 
 to 9,400 Jaccic sols, so that a sol was (plates 71, 77, 98, 112), and sped- 
 
 worth about u. ^d., being, of course, mens in the National Library at Paris. 
 
APPENDIX D. 
 
 JAMES' CHRONICLE. 
 
 As James' authorship of the Chronicle was impeached, for the 
 first time, by the Marquis of Villarroya, in the year 1800, it may 
 be worth while briefly to review here the present position of the 
 question. Villarroya was very deficient in a sense of humour, 
 and many of his objections have been answered in detail by M. 
 Tourtoullon ^, who took them, perhaps, too seriously. 
 
 By authors of the thirteenth century the Chronicle is passed over 
 entirely unnoticed, and it is improbable that the historian Desclot, 
 whose History was completed in the year 1285, had even seen it. 
 The first definite allusion to the king's work comes early in the 
 following century — in 13 14 — when a Latin version, by a monk, 
 Marsilio, was presented by its author to the reigning king — James II 
 —at whose request it had been composed ''•. This production was 
 avowedly based on the memoirs of the Conqueror, which, as its 
 author says, had long been compiled and kept in the royal archives, 
 and were trustworthy, if unpolished in style and ill arranged '. The 
 
 ' Don Jaime, i. pp. 349 seq. medium atque latino sermone diserta 
 
 ^ Note prefixed to tlie preface in et per capitula, juxta conclusionum 
 
 the MS. varietatem distincta, unum histori- 
 
 ^ Tliis seems to be the meaning of alem et chronicum redderent codi- 
 
 thewordsofthepreface: 'valderationi cem, in quo tota dicti regis avi sui 
 
 consonum in oculis illustrissimi Do- magnorum factorum texeretur series. . . 
 
 mini Jacobi regis Aragonum, Valentie, Utque avidus lectoris animus, cum ad 
 
 Sardinie, et Corsice, comitisqne Bar- dictarum chronicarum locum legendo 
 
 chinone ac sancte Romane ecclesie devenerit, banc unde sue sitim possit 
 
 admirali et capitanei generalis, ap- ad votum succurrere, ego Frater 
 
 paruit, ut victoriosissimi avi sui gesta, Petrum Marsilii, de ordine predica- 
 
 pristinis temporibus veraci stylo sed torum, ad ordinationem supradictam 
 
 vulgari coUecta, ac in archivis domus illustrissimi Domini Regis, hoc opus 
 
 regie ad perpetuam sue felicitatis ingredior, et quamvis nidi, veraci 
 
 memoriam reposita, reducerentur in tamen, stylo praecurro.' 
 
278 
 
 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 version of Marsilio himself, however, is, as its author confesses, 
 a mere paraphrase \ and is by no means exact ^: its object, no 
 doubt, was to serve as an edition of James' Chronicle in countries 
 where Catalan was not spoken. 
 
 The next allusion to James' work is to be found in the Chronicle 
 of Muntaner, which was begun towards 1330, where reference is 
 made to ' the book which he made of the capture of Mallorca ' ' 
 and ' the book which is made of the conquest (of Valencia) *.' 
 
 Shortly after this appears the first manuscript extant of James' 
 Chronicle: it is dated 1343, and, according to its preface, was 
 written — from, of course, an original ^ — by a certain Celesti Des- 
 torrens, at the request of an Abbot of Poblet. It is now kept in 
 the University Library at Barcelona ^. 
 
 ' ' Virorum illustrium, qui nos pre- 
 cessenint, magnifica opera et vic- 
 toriosos cum fideli ampliatione trium- 
 phos delectabiliter legere ac mente 
 firmiter retinere . . . delectat et ex- 
 pedit.' Preface. 
 
 ^ As in its treatment of numbers : 
 thus, for the ' year and more,' of 
 Chron. 34, Marsilio gives ' two years ' 
 (i. 20) ; the ' four or five ' Moors, 
 liilled by the king with his own hand, 
 after landing on Mallorca, become 
 simply ' five ' (ii. 19 ; cf. Chron. 60) ; 
 the twenty-five knights mentioned 
 as accompanying the king in Chron. 
 317, are reduced to twenty (iii. 51) ; 
 the king's visit of nineteen days to 
 Murcia, in 1274, is made a round 
 number, twenty (iv. 36 ; cf. Chron. 
 522) ; and the ' full a year and more ' 
 of Chron. 328 becomes ' after a year ' 
 (iii. 54). Other instances might be 
 added. Of a piece with such inexact- 
 nesses are the fancy speeches put by 
 Marsilio into the mouth of his charac- 
 ters, as the impassioned oration of the 
 King of Mallorca (ii. 31), James' long 
 prayer when in danger on his crusade 
 (iv. 24), and the eloquent harangue 
 of the pope at Lyons (iv. 40) ; while 
 in the same category may be included 
 the scene depicted on the breaking 
 
 up of the Cortes of 1228 (i. 14), the 
 description of Xativa (iii. 51), and 
 similar pictures. 
 
 ' ' Lo libre quis feu de la preso de 
 Mallorques,' vii. 
 
 * ' Lo libre qui es feyt de la con- 
 questa [de Valencia],' ix. 
 
 ° According to Serra y Postius, in 
 his ' Prodigios y finezas de los santos 
 Angeles,' written in 1726 (pp. 291, 
 318, 329), the copy of 1343 contained 
 the following note : ' esta son original 
 recondit en lo Monesti de Santa Maria 
 de Poblet, del ordre Cisterciense, de 
 el qual se es copiat aquest exemplar 
 en lo mateix Monesti.' This note is 
 not to be found now. Cf. Balaguer, 
 Doc. Ined. p. 5. 
 
 * The MS. is of parchment, is 
 written in capitals throughout, and 
 is adorned by a number of small 
 illuminations of mediocre execution, 
 besides containing a full-page illustra- 
 tion of the king at [Martell's ban- 
 quet, served on bended knee, with a 
 number of guests sitting round. At 
 the end is a note recording its inspec- 
 tion by Philip II in 1585 : ' Philippe 
 tant savi, tant medit i remirat en totes 
 ses paraules i accions.' At the be- 
 ginning of the seventeenth century 
 this MS. was in the hands of a Catalan 
 
APPENDIX D. 279 
 
 There is also a curious manuscript in the National Library at 
 Madrid, written in Castilian, and dating, apparently, from the first 
 half of the fourteenth century '. It contains a series of biographies 
 from Antony to the Conqueror ^, the life of the latter being, in its 
 outline, much the same as that contained in the Chronicle, while in 
 some passages the wording of the two books is so similar that 
 there can be little doubt that the author of the Castilian manuscript 
 — Juan Ferrandez de Herredia, Master of the Hospital — had seen 
 James' work '. 
 
 Another edition of the Chronicle is alluded to in a manuscript of 
 137 1, discovered by Senor Andr^ Balaguer, as existing in the royal 
 archives at Barcelona, and as having been handed over to an 
 Infante of Aragon ^ ; and another version, of the first half of the 
 fifteenth century, may be seen in the Royal Library at Madrid '. 
 
 No other reference to James' Chronicle has been found in works 
 of the fourteenth century. The monk of Peila, who wrote after 
 1369, borrowed from Muntaner; and Boades, whose History of 
 Catalonia was completed in 1420, drew from the same source. 
 
 It would seem, therefore, that for at least 150 years after the 
 Conqueror's death the Chronicle was almost unknown to the outer 
 world, and that, with the exception of Marsilio and Herredia, no 
 historian, from Desclot down to Boades, was acquainted with its 
 contents — a fact from which we may perhaps conclude that it was 
 guarded jealously. That it undoubtedly existed during this period 
 has already been shown ; yet it was not destined to be published 
 till 1557 ^ and to its obscurity for so long a period it probably 
 
 noble, and eventually found its way Mallorca, as reported by James, Mar- 
 to the University Library at Barcelona silio, and Herredia. 
 (Balaguer, ib. p. 6). It has recently * The opening sentence of this MS. 
 been edited by D. Mariano Aguilo, proves it to have been a different 
 librarian of the University. copy to the edition of 1343. Balaguer, 
 
 ^ Such too is the opinion expressed ib. p. 8. 
 
 to me by the librarian, Seilor Paz y ' There are variations between this 
 
 Melia. MS. also and that of 1343, but it 
 
 2 The list includes the names of bears a close resemblance to the text 
 
 Augustus, Tiberius, Trajan, Severus, of the edition of 1557, of which it was, 
 
 Constantine, Theodosius, Theodoric, perhaps, the original. This, too, is 
 
 Attila, Charles Martel, Charlemagne, the conjecture of SeJior J. Masso 
 
 Vespasian, Titus, Tarik, Musa, and Torrents. {Catalogo de las Manu- 
 
 S. Ferdinand. scritos Catalanes de S. M.) 
 
 ^ On p. 300 will be found a colla- ' From a MS. existing at Valencia, 
 
 tion of the speech of the King of and which Philip II is said to have 
 
28o JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 owes much in the way of freedom from interpolations and textual 
 alterations. 
 
 It remains briefly to consider the internal evidence for the author- 
 ship of the Chronicle. Villarroya attributed its composition to 
 Marsilio : he had not, however, as he confesses, seen the work 
 of the latter, and, had he done so, we may reasonably suppose that 
 he himself would have been the first to acknowledge that the words 
 of Marsilio's preface are fatal to his theory. Apart from this flaw 
 in his position at the outset, Villarroya's arguments themselves are 
 very poor. The shortcomings of the Chronicle, to which he chiefly 
 objects, seem to fall under two headings: (i) its inaccuracies; 
 (2) the amount of its trivial detail. 
 
 Typical inaccuracies which he adduces include the date of 1239 
 given for the fall of Valencia, which, however — apart from the fact 
 that chronology was not James' strong point — is usually explained 
 by the hypothesis that the king is calculating from the Incarnation : 
 the allusion to Violante as the wife of Alfonso of Castile in 1244, 
 when she was only eight years old — an expression which merely 
 has reference to the projected marriage, arranged at least as early 
 as 1241'; and James' statement that at the Cortes of Ldrida in 1214 
 he was held in the arms of the Archbishop of Tarragona, Sparago, 
 the latter being, in reality, Bishop of Pamplona at the time — an 
 inaccuracy which evidently affords but another instance of the 
 king's recollection of an incident in his childhood failing him. 
 
 Among the trivial details, to which Villarroya objects, may be 
 included the account of Pedro's debauch on the night before the 
 battle of Muret, which, the marquis thinks, could hardly have been 
 written by a son about his father ; the king's confession to a priest, 
 in 1266, as to his relations with Dofla Berenguela Alfonso, which, 
 in Villarroya's eyes, is ' a puerility, a trifle, a matter of no impor- 
 tance;' the king's speech at the Cortes of 1228, which is 'a very 
 holy matter, but far from relevant to the history;' the account of 
 the engine constructed to pull down Atbrand's house at Mont- 
 pellier ; the vision of the monk related at the Cortes of Zaragoza 
 in 1264; and the pretty story of the swallow which built in the 
 
 deposited in the Escurial. Gayangos (printed in TonrtouUon, ib. ii. p. 424), 
 i. p. xxix ; Tourtoullon, ib. i. p. 342. where Violante, at the age of about 
 ^ Cf. James' will of Jan. i, 1242 five, is styled 'wife of Alfonso.' 
 
APPENDIX D, 281 
 
 king's tent \ All of these objections speak for themselves. If they 
 fail to prove that the king was not the author of the Chronicle, they 
 certainly show that Villarroya lacked not only a sense of humour, 
 but also a critical spirit and a proper appreciation of James' 
 character. As a matter of fact, in each case we have James of 
 Aragon ' writ large,' and better samples of the internal evidence for 
 the authenticity of the Chronicle could hardly have been adduced. 
 Not one of these stories is in any way out of harmony with the 
 cast of James' character — a character full of the romantic and the 
 sensual, the humorous and the devout. On the contrary, it is 
 this very minuteness of detail which says so much for the 
 genuineness of the Chronicle. 
 
 As to the date of its composition, the Chronicle itself is divided 
 into four parts : the first is concerned with the adventures of the 
 king's childhood and the reduction of Mallorca ; the second with 
 the conquest of Valencia ; the third with the Murcian war ; and 
 the fourth with the troubles of the king's last years. 
 
 It is improbable that the first part was compiled before the year 
 1230, at the earliest. This maybe inferred from James' allusion 
 to his marriage with Leonor, which, he says, took place on the 
 advice of, among others, G. de Moncada, ' who was killed in 
 Mallorca '.' Its chronological inaccuracies, already alluded to, 
 also show that this part of the Chronicle was written at a period 
 considerably subsequent to the events it narrates. 
 
 The second part, which tells of the conquest of Valencia, was 
 not compiled before about the year 1250. This conclusion may 
 be drawn from the reference to Martin Perez de Artassona as ' he 
 who was afterwards Justiciar of Aragon *.' Pedro Perez Tarazona 
 was Justiciar as late as 1247; ^^ 'was succeeded by his son Juan 
 Perez, and in 1250 we find Artassona presiding at the Cortes of 
 Alcaniz. Artassona was Justiciar till about 1260, and it is probable 
 
 ' Cartas, pp. 27-93, 1 19-133. to have seen in the Convent of Merces 
 
 ' As in ch. 1 6, where James, speak- at Barcelona ; but from its date, Sept. 
 
 ing of G. de Puyo, adds: 'who is 8, 1229, it is clearly a forgery, for, 
 
 with us at the moment of writing this as we have seen, the king did not land 
 
 book.' Elsewhere (p. 134) Villarroya in Mallorca before Sept. 12. And D. 
 
 quotes a letter purporting to have Mariano Aguilo tells me that the letter 
 
 been written by the king to Nolasco, is not now to be found, 
 during the siege of Mallorca. This ^ Chron. 18. 
 
 document the marquis claims himself ' lb. 224. 
 
282 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 that the second part of the Chronicle was compiled even after this 
 date, for, had the passage quoted been -nritten during Artassona's 
 life, it -would most likely have read ' he \rho is now Justiciar of 
 Aragon.' 
 
 There is nothing to show when the third part of the Chronicle 
 was written. The fourth part — at least the account of the crusade 
 of 1269 — cannot have been compiled before 1273, as is evident 
 from the allusion to the Sacristan of Ldrida, ' who became after- 
 wards Bishop of Huesca ^' The indi\idual in question was Jacme 
 Caroca, elected Bishop of Huesca in 1273, and consecrated in 
 1274 -. 
 
 We see then that throughout the Chronicle there are scattered 
 allusions to events which took place long after the occurrence of 
 the immediate incidents of the narrative. To find a satisfactory 
 solution of the problem is diflacult : the simplest explanation, 
 perhaps, is that throughout his reign ^ the king was in the habit of 
 keeping, or ha\ing kept for him, something in the nature of a diary 
 or notes, in which his words and actions were minutely recorded, 
 and that the whole was arranged and compiled towards the close 
 of the reign, when the references to later events would be com- 
 paratively appropriate. We must either adopt this explanation, or 
 suppose that the Chronicle, as it now exists, actually represents the 
 king's original daily notes, the passages in question having been 
 inserted later. Apart from the improbability of this last alternative, 
 it is practically precluded by the accoimt of the capture of ilinorca 
 and Iviza, which forms a continuous narrative with the story of 
 the conquest of IMaUorca ; whereas the two smaller islands were 
 really reduced after the beginning of the Talencian war. 
 
 The historical value of the Chronicle can, of course, be measured 
 fairly accurately by reference to the king's own character. Truth- 
 fulness can hardly be said to have constituted one of James' virtues. 
 His failing in this respect we have noticed from time to time : it is 
 illustrated by the king's false assertion that, at the time of the death 
 
 ' Chrcm. 489. conclusion that for this period James 
 
 ^ Gams, Series Efiscoforum, p. 36. was largely dependent on his memory. 
 
 ' With the exception of the early Much of it — as the story of the 
 
 period of the reign, the inaccuracies struggle with Ahones — is, perhaps, 
 
 of its history, as well as the king's mere ' padding." 
 
 youth at the time, pointing to the 
 
APPENDIX D. 283 
 
 of Ahones, he had not yet 'seen the Moors in war'; by the story 
 of the clause reserving the rights of Alfonso in the treaty with 
 Sancho of Navarre ; and by the false account of James' reason 
 for abandoning the crusade of 1269. Similar instances might, no 
 doubt, be multiplied, were it not that for the events of which he 
 tells us James is, too often, our sole authority. 
 
 Apart, too, from the falsehoods of the Chronicle, we cannot but 
 be struck by its omissions : no mention whatever is made of 
 the divorce from Leonor, the outrage on the bishop of Gerona, 
 the different agreements with Raymond of Toulouse, the treaty of 
 Corbeil, and the concessions made to the nobles of Aragon at Exea. 
 Other instances of omission might be added : the above serve to 
 show that the king thought himself fully justified in omitting from 
 his Chronicle whatever he thought at all discreditable to himself. 
 
 The historical value of James' Chronicle has, in fact, been 
 overrated. It may be relied on, no doubt, to give us a fairly accu- 
 rate account of the king's adventures and campaigns, and it also 
 presents us with a valuable picture of the manners and morals of 
 the time, as well as of those of its author. More in its favour can 
 hardly be said : in matters where James' pride or reputation was 
 concerned it is by no means a safe authority, and the more closely 
 it is studied, the more it can hardly fail to be distrusted. 
 
APPENDIX E. 
 
 THE BISHOPS OF JAMES' REIGNS 
 
 Taragona 
 
 Le'rida 
 
 Gerona 
 
 Segorbe 
 
 Date of Election. Bishop. 
 
 Date of Death, 
 Resignation, 
 or Deposition. 
 
 
 1199 
 
 R. de Rocaberti 
 
 . . Jan. 
 
 1215 
 
 Feb. 
 
 1215 
 
 Sparago de Barca . . . Mar. 
 (Transl. from Pamplona.) 
 
 1233 
 
 
 Vacancy for five years. 
 
 
 
 
 1238 
 
 P. de Albalat . . 
 
 (Transl. from Lerida 
 
 • ■ July 
 ) 
 
 1251 
 
 Aug. 
 
 1251 
 
 Benedict de Rocaberti 
 
 . May 
 
 1268 
 
 Mar 
 
 1272 
 
 Bern, de Olivella . 
 (Transl. from Tortosa. 
 
 . . Oct. 
 
 ) 
 
 1287 
 
 Dec. 
 
 1205 
 
 Ber. de Eril . . . 
 
 
 1235 
 
 
 1336 
 
 P. de Albalat . . . 
 
 c. 
 
 1238 
 
 
 1238 
 
 R. de Siscar . . 
 
 ■ Aug. 
 
 1247 
 
 Mar. 
 
 1248 
 
 G. de Barbera . . . 
 
 . Apr. 
 
 1265 
 
 
 1256 
 
 Ber. de Peralta . . . 
 
 . Oct. 
 
 1256 
 
 Apr. 
 
 1257 
 
 G. de Moncada . . . 
 
 . Mar. 
 
 1282 
 
 
 1199 
 
 Arnald de Crexell . . 
 
 . May 
 
 1214 
 
 
 1214 
 
 R. de PalafoUs . . . 
 
 • Aug. 
 
 1218 
 
 
 1219 
 
 Alaman de Aquaviva . 
 
 . Dec. 
 
 1227 
 
 
 1227 
 
 G. de Cabanellas . . 
 
 . Nov. 
 
 1245 
 
 
 1245 
 
 Ber. de Castellbisbal . 
 
 . Feb. 
 
 1254 
 
 
 1254 
 
 P. de Castronuevo . . 
 
 . Feb. 
 
 1279 
 
 
 1213 
 
 Hispano .... 
 
 . Dec. 
 
 1215 
 
 
 1216 
 
 Juan Gil 
 
 
 1222 
 
 
 1223 
 
 Dominic 
 
 
 1234 
 
 Cf. Gams, Series Episcoporum, s. v. Hispania. 
 

 APPENDIX E. 
 
 
 285 
 
 
 
 
 Date of Death, 
 
 
 Date of Election. Bishop. 
 
 Resignation, 
 
 
 
 
 or Deposition. 
 
 Segorbe . 
 
 1235 
 
 Guillen 
 
 
 1238 
 
 
 c. 1238 
 
 Ximeno 
 
 c. 
 
 1247 
 
 
 {Segorbe recovered from Moors, 1245.] 
 
 
 
 
 1247 
 
 P. Carets 
 
 
 1258 
 
 
 ? 
 
 P. Ximenez de Segura 
 
 Oct. 
 
 1277 
 
 Valencia . 
 
 1240 
 
 Ferrar de Pallards . . 
 
 Apr. 
 
 1243 
 
 
 1243 
 
 Arnald de Peralta . . 
 (Transl. to Zaragoza.) 
 
 
 1248 
 
 
 Dec. 1248 
 
 Andreu de Albalat . . 
 
 Mar. 
 
 1276 
 
 
 1276 
 
 Jasperto de Botonach . 
 
 Apr. 
 
 1288 
 
 Barcelona 
 
 . Dec. 1208 
 
 P. de Sirach .... 
 
 Sept. 
 
 1211 
 
 
 1212 
 
 Ber. de Palou . . . 
 
 Sept. 
 
 1241 
 
 
 1243 
 
 P. de Centelles . . . 
 
 Mar. 
 
 1252 
 
 
 c. 1252 
 
 Arnald de Gurb . . 
 
 Sept. 
 
 1284 
 
 Zaragoza 
 
 1201 
 
 R. de Castrocol . . 
 
 
 1216 
 
 
 1216 
 
 Sancho de A hones . . 
 
 Sept. 
 
 1236 
 
 
 1236 
 
 Bern, de Monteacuto . 
 
 Mar. 
 
 1239 
 
 
 1239 
 
 Vincent de Aragon 
 
 Feb. 
 
 1244 
 
 
 1244 
 
 Rodriguez de Ahones . 
 
 Feb. 
 
 1248 
 
 
 1248 
 
 Arnald Peralta . . . 
 (Transl. from Valencia.) 
 
 July 
 
 1271 
 
 
 1271 
 
 Saenz Peralta . . . 
 
 
 1272 
 
 
 1272 
 
 P. Gar-c^s de Januas . 
 
 
 1280 
 
 Huesca . 
 
 . Dec. 1 201 
 
 Garcia 
 
 July 
 
 1236 
 
 
 1237 
 
 Vidal de Canellas . . 
 
 
 1252 
 
 
 Apr. 1253 
 
 Dominic Sola . . . 
 
 Mar. 
 
 1269 
 
 
 1271 
 
 Garcias Perez . . . 
 
 
 1273 
 
 
 1273 
 
 Jacob 
 
 
 1277 
 
 Torlosa . 
 
 1212 
 
 Pons de Torrella . . . 
 
 Aug. 
 
 1254 
 
 
 1254 
 
 Bern, de Olivella . . 
 (Transl. to Tarragona.) 
 
 
 1272 
 
 
 1273 
 
 Arnald de Jardino . . 
 
 July 
 
 1306 
 
 Mallorca 
 
 . Oct. 1238 
 
 R. de Torrelles . . 
 
 . June 
 
 1266 
 
 
 1266 
 
 P. de Morey . . . 
 
 
 1282 
 
a86 
 
 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 
 
 
 Date of Death, 
 
 
 Date of Election. Bishop. 
 
 Resignation, 
 
 
 
 
 or Deposition. 
 
 Tarazona 
 
 II95 
 
 Garcia Frontin I 
 
 1218 
 
 
 1219 
 
 Garcia Frontin II . 
 Pedro .? 
 
 . . July 1254 
 
 
 c. 1258 
 
 Garcias III 
 
 
 
 c. 1263 
 
 Alfonso I 
 
 
 
 1270 
 
 Fortunio 
 
 1277 
 
 Urgel . 
 
 1204 
 
 P. de Puigvert , . 
 
 . Apr. 1230 
 
 
 1230 
 
 Pons de Vilamur . . 
 
 1257 
 
 
 1257 
 
 Abril 
 
 . Oct. 1269 
 
 
 Nov. 1269 
 
 P. de Urgel . . . 
 
 . Jan. 1293 
 
 Vich . . 
 
 . Apr. 1 195 
 
 G. de Tavartet . . 
 
 . Aug. 1233 
 
 
 Sept. 1233 
 
 Bernard I . . . 
 
 . Oct. 1243 
 
 
 1243 
 
 Bernard II de Mur. 
 
 . Nov. 1264 
 
 1265 Ramon III de Anglesola Jan. 1298 
 
DOCUMENTS 
 
 1. UNION OF ZARAGOZA, HUESCA, AND JACA, 1226. 
 
 In dei nomine, Notum sit presentibus et futuris Quod nos 
 jurati et probi homines Caesarauguste per nos et per totum 
 concilium et universitatem Caesarauguste civitatis, et nos jurati et 
 probi homines Osce per nos et per totum concilium et universitatem 
 Oscensis civitatis, et nos jurati et probi homines de Jacca per nos 
 et per totum concilium et universitatem Jaccensis ville, considerantes 
 et attendentes perturbacionem regni Aragonie mala dampna rapinas 
 homicidia depredationes stratarum publicarum invasiones et alia 
 plurima malefacta, ad evitationem malorum predictorum, ut quietam 
 et tranquillam possimus vitam agere et in pace, facimus amicitiam 
 unitatem et societatem firmam integram et perpetuo duraturam, 
 Statuentes ut nos omnes insimul supradicti in perpetuum simus 
 amici et socii unanimes et Concordes, et juvemus nos insimul consilio 
 auxilio alter alterum legitime et fideliter bona fide pleno corde toto 
 posse nostro cum corporibus ac rebus contra omnes homines 
 sublimes medios et infimos qui vellent nos vel aliquem de nobis 
 raubare vel forciare vel injuriam vel violentiam nobis inferre vel 
 auferre nobis nostra vel diminuere foros nostros et bonas consue- 
 tudines nostras et alia jura nostra vel vellent a nobis pectas vel 
 parias vel exactiones petere ab omnibus nobis vel a singulis 
 predictorum, salvo in omnibus jure domini regis et domine regine. 
 Volumus etiam et promittimus et convenimus alter alteri et statuimus 
 firmiter omnes insimul supradicti ut ab hac societate unitate et 
 amicitia numquam possimus nos retrahere nee alter alterum 
 
 1 In order to avoid printing docu- papers in my notes, and thus cur- 
 ments recently published, or of no tailed this appendix as far as possible, 
 special interest, I have quoted such 
 
288 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 absolvere aliquo modo nee aliqua occasione aliquo tempore, et, si 
 alter nostrum vellet absolvere alterum ab hac amicitia et societate 
 non posset recipere absolutionem, sed semper predicta unitas 
 societas et concordia et amicitia sit et conservetur inter nos qui 
 modo inivimus et inter successores nostros inviolabiliter in per- 
 petuum. Ut autem hec omnia firmiter observentur, nos jurati 
 Caesarauguste, videlicet Brunus de Tarba, W. Bouj, W. de Oblet, 
 F. de Calzada, per nos et per totum concilium et universitatem 
 Caesarauguste civitatis, et nos jurati Osce, scilicet P. Bonanalo, 
 Adam Barbastro, J. de Sessa, et Portotes Zapater, per nos et per 
 totum concilium et universitatem Oscensis civitatis, et nos jurati de 
 Jacca, scilicet J. de Monte Vatera, Belenguer Deza, Guillelmus de 
 Campo Francho, Gauzbertus de Fenesio, Raimundus de Bana, 
 Constantinus Borrelli, J. Dexo, Bernardus de Seres, Sancius Astor, 
 Andreas de Morlans, per nos et per totum concilium et universitatem 
 Jaccensis ville, et omnibus hominibus de istas 111^8 villas a vii annis 
 et supra, juramus super crucem et sacrosancta iiiio' Dei evangelia 
 quod prescriptam amicitiam et societatem et unitatem et concordiam 
 firmiter et inviolabiliter teneamus et conservemus in perpetuum. 
 Addicientes quod si aliquis nostrorum contra supradicta vel singula 
 venire presumpserit, sit perjurus et proditor ad forum Aragonis, 
 ita quod non possit se in curia vel contra curiam cum armis vel 
 sine armis defendere vel salvare. Quod est actum in Jacca sub era 
 M.cc.xL.iiij. Idus Novembres. 
 
 {Parchments, 309.) 
 
 2. TREATY OF MUTUAL ADOPTION BETWEEN 
 JAMES AND SANCHO OF NAVARRE, 1231. 
 
 In Dei nomine. Conescuda cosa sea a todos los qui son et son 
 por venir, que io don Jacme, per la gracia de Dios rey de Aragon, 
 desafillo ad todo omne et afiUo a vos don Sancho, rey de Navarra, 
 de todos mios regnos et de mias terras et de todos mios sennorios 
 qui ovi ni e ni debo aver et de castiellos et de villas et de todos mios 
 sennorios : et si por aventura deviniesse de mi rey de Aragon antes 
 que de vos rey de Navarra que herededes todo lo mio, asi como desuso 
 es scripto, sines contradizimiento ni contraria de nul omne delmundo. 
 Et por mayor firmeza de est feito et de esta avinencia, quiero et 
 
DOCUMENTS. 289 
 
 mando que todos mios ricos omes et mios vasallos et mios pueblos 
 juren a vos sennoria, rey de Navarra, que vos atiendan lealment, 
 como scnpto es desuso, et, si non lo fiziessen, que fincassen por 
 traidores et que nos pudiesen salvar ex ningun logar. Et yo, rey 
 de Aragon, vos prometo et vos convengo lealment, que vos faga 
 atender et vos atienda luego, asi como dessuso es scripto, et, si 
 non lo fiziesse, que fosse traidor por ello. Et si per aventura 
 enbargo yo ave ninguno de part de Roma o oviere io rey de 
 Aragon, sotenudo por conveniencia por defFerlo ad todo mio 
 poder : et si nul omne del sieglo vos quisiesse fer mal por est pleito 
 ni por est paramiento que io et vos femos que io que vos aiude 
 lealment contra todo omne del mundo. Adunde mas que nos aiude- 
 mos contra al rey de Castiella todavia por fe sines enganno. Et io 
 don Sancho, rey de Navarra por la gracia de Dios, por estas palabras 
 et por estas conveniencias desafillo a todo omne e afiUo a vos don 
 Jacme, rey de Aragon, de todo el regno de Navarra et de aquello 
 qui al regno de Navarra pertanne, et quiero et mando que todos 
 mios ricos omes et mios con^ellos que juren a vos sennoria que vos 
 atiendan esto con Navarra et con los castiellos et con las villas, si 
 por aventura deviniesse antes de mi que de vos et, si non lo fiziessen, 
 que fossen traidores, asi como scripto es desuso. Et ambos 
 ensemble femos paramiento et conveniencia que si por aventura io en 
 mia terra camiasse ricos omens o alcaydes o otros quales quisier en 
 mios castiellos aquellos a qui io los diere castiellos o castiello 
 quiero et mando que aquel que los receba por mi que vienga a vos 
 et vos faga homenage que vos atienda esto, asi como sobre scripto 
 es. Et vos rey de Aragon, que Io fagades complir a mi de esta 
 gisa misma et por estas palabras en vestra terra : et vos, rey de 
 Aragon, atendiendome esto io don Sancho, rey de Navarra por la 
 gracia de Dios, vos prometo a buena fe que vos atienda esto, asi 
 como scripto es en esta carta, et, si non lo fiziesse, que fosse traidor 
 por ello, vos, rey de Aragon atendiendome esto, asi como sobre 
 scripto es en esta carta. Et sepan todos aquellos qui esta carta veran, 
 que io Don Jacme, por la gracia de Dios rey de Aragon, e io don 
 Sancho, por la gracia de Dios rey de Navarra, amigamos entre nos 
 por fe sines enganno, et faziemos homenage el uno al otro de boca 
 et de manos, et juramos sobre quatro evangelios que asi lo 
 atendamos. Et son testimonios de esto feito et de est paramiento, 
 que fizieron el rey de Aragon et el rey de Navarra, et del afillamiento, 
 
 U 
 
390 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 asi como scripto es en estas cartas, don Ato Fozes maiordomo del 
 rey de Aragon et don Rodrigo Lifana et don Guillem de Moncada 
 et don Blasquo Ma9a et don Pedro San9 notario et repostero del 
 rey de Aragon et fraire Andreu Abbat de Oliva et Exemeno Oliver 
 monge et Pedro Lanche9 de Bariellas et Pedro Exemene9 de 
 Valera et A9nar de Vilava et don Martin de Miraglo et don 
 Guillem justicia de Tudela et don Arnalt alcaide de Sanguessa et io 
 Domingo scribano del rey de Navarra qui las cartas screvi. Facta 
 carta domingo segundo dia de febrero en la fiesta de Sancta Maria 
 Candelera in era m^cc^lx^vhii* en el castiello de Tudela. Et io 
 Domingo scrivano per mandamiento del rey de Aragon et del rey 
 de Navarra estas cartas screvi et est signo con mio mano i fiz »J<. 
 
 {Parchments, No. 445 ; cf. Bofarull, Doc. Intd. vi. No. 18 ; Tourtoullon, ib. 
 i- P- 375O 
 
 3. JAMES' RESIGNATION, 1276. 
 
 Hoc est translatum fideliter factum a quibusdam litteris domini 
 Regis Aragonum bonae memoriae quondam, sigillatis sigillo ipsius 
 Domini regis in dorso ipsarum litterarum apostolico, tenor quarum 
 talis est : — 
 
 Jacobus Dei gratia Rex Aragonum, Majoricaraw, Valenciae, 
 Comes B3.Tchmone et Urgelli et dominus Montispessulani, venerabili 
 et dilecto B. per eandem Archiepiscopo Terrachon«'«j'z salutem 
 et dilectionem. Noveritis quod nos volentes exnunc Dei servitio 
 totaliter intendere, ut paradisi gloriam facilius consequi mereamur, 
 suscepimus modo habitum ordinis Cisterciensis et destituimus 
 ac dereliquimus charissimo filio nostro Infanti Jacobo Regnum 
 Majoricar«OT et terras, quod et quas hereditare debet, et ipsius regni 
 regimina ac terrarum. Quare dicimus vobis atque rogamus quatenus 
 de dominio et juribus ac aliis omnibus quae in Insula Evissa habemus 
 respondeatis eidem Infanti Jacobo filio nostro sicut nobis teneamini. 
 Unde et ratione castri et Insulae Evissae pro ipso exnunc faciatis 
 in omnibus et per omnia sicut pro nobis facere tenemini et debetis. 
 Datum Algezirae xii Kal. Aug. anno Domini m.cc.lxxvi. 
 
 Signum Raymundi Mascaroni Notarii publici Majoricarawz testis. 
 
 Sig. Petri de Conars Notarii publici Majoricar«OT testis. 
 
 Sig. Jacobi Mercerii Notarii publici Majoricarara. 
 
 Et hoc translatum fideliter translatari fecit, et cum originalibus 
 
DOCUMENTS. 391 
 
 litteris comprobavit et clausit, vi Kal. Septembr. anno Domini 
 
 M.CC.LXXVI. 
 
 (D'Achery, Spic. ix. p. 267.) 
 
 4. WRIT OF SUMMONS TO SERVE, 1264. 
 
 ScRiPsiT dominus rex de Exea has litteras istis nobilibus et 
 
 militibus Catalonie inferius scriptis sub hac forma: Jacobus Dei 
 
 gratia rex Aragonum, &c. Viro nobili et dilecto Gastono per 
 
 eandem vicecomiti bearnensi et domino castri de Gorechant et 
 
 Castriveteris salutem et dilectionem. Dicimus et mandamus vobis 
 
 firmiter quatenus octava die post festum Pasce resurreccionis 
 
 Domini proxime venturum sitis nobiscum apud Alcannicium cum 
 
 equis et armis vestris et . , . militum paratus servire nobis feudum 
 
 quern pro nobis tenetis prout jam per alias literas nostras vobis 
 
 dedimus in mandatis : et hoc ratione aliqua non mutetis vel 
 
 diferatis, quoniam nos dicta die ibidem personaliter erimus Deo 
 
 dante. Datum Exee xiiii Kalendas Aprilis anno Domini m.cc.lx 
 
 tercio. 
 
 {Reg. viii. p. 66 ; cf. BofaruU, vi. 38.) 
 
 5. WRIT OF SUMMONS TO A GENERAL CORTES, 
 
 1275. 
 
 Jacobus, &c., nobili et dilecto tali salutem et dilectionem. Cum 
 in Carniprivo xl proximo venturo apud Iterdam super questio- 
 nibus que vertuntur inter nos et Richos homines Catalonie et 
 Aragonum, qui nobiscum nuper guerram habebant, debebamus 
 Curiam celebrare ; rogamus vos atque vobis dicimus quod dicta die 
 ad dictam curiam intersitis. Et hoc aliquid non mutetis. Datum 
 Barchinone vii Kal. Feb. anno domini m.cc.lxx quarto. 
 
 {Reg. xxiii. 15.) 
 
 6. MUNICIPAL CONSTITUTION OF BARCELONA, 
 
 1249. 
 
 Jacobus, Dei gratia. Rex Aragonum, Majoricarum, et Valentiae, 
 Comes Barchinonae et Urgelli, et Dominus Monspeliensis. Als 
 amats e faels en Galceran de Lacera, en Jaume Girart, en Berenguer 
 
 u a 
 
293 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 Durfort, en Arnau de Sanahuja salut e gracia. Volem e manam 
 realment, que vosaltres aquest any present sian Pahers per la 
 Ciutat e Universitat de Barcelona, e que procuren tola utilitat a 
 ella, e tots los negocis per nos en eixa Ciutat consentits : e en 390 
 no posen alguna excepcio, ni excusa, car aixi es en nostre cor e 
 volentat. E que en dita Ciutat donen bons documents, e que 
 hajan llicencia de poder elegir Consellers per vostre ofici per 
 gobernar e exigir totes coses a vosaltres necesaries, e per lo Veguer 
 aquelles executades. Datum Valentiae die xvii Aprilis, anno 
 millesimo ducentessimo quadragessimo nono. Jacobus Rex et 
 Comes. 
 
 (Capmany, Memorias, ii. Col. Dipl. No. 239, from the Municipal Archives 
 of Barcelona.) 
 
 7. MUNICIPAL CONSTITUTION OF 1258. 
 
 NovERiNT universi : quod Nos Jacobus, Dei gratia Rex Aragonum, 
 Majoricarum, et Valentiae, Comes Barchinonae et Urgelli, et 
 Dominus Montispessulani : volentes circa regimen civitatis Barchino- 
 nae provisionem debitam adhibere, et statum ejusdem civitatis in 
 melius reformare, per Nos et nostros successores concedimus vobis 
 universis probis hominibus Barchinonae et vestrae Universitati, 
 quod habeatis et liceat vobis habere octo probos homines de 
 civitate Consiliarios Vicarii, qui in praesentia Vicarii ipsius et 
 aliorum proborum hominum jurent tenere secretum quod inter 
 eos fuerit dictum, et consulere Vicarium bene et legaliter ad 
 fidelitatem nostram et nostrorum et communem utilitatem civitatis 
 quandocumque et quotienscumque ab ipso Vicario fuerint requisiti, 
 et quod pretio, precibus, timore, vel amore, non consulent Vicarium 
 nisi secundum quod melius vel utilius juxta eorum bonam 
 conscientiam eis videbitur expedire; et quod qualibet septimana 
 in die sabbati congregabunt se in aliquo loco ad hoc assignato per 
 se sine monitione Vicarii, et ibi inter se cum Vicario habeant 
 coUationem et tractatum de iis quae in ipsa septimana in civitate 
 vel curia fuerint gesta, et Vicarius eorum consilio retractet ea quae 
 fuerint rationabiliter retractanda, et reformet, procuret, tractet, et 
 ordinet ea quae ad fidelitatem nostram et publicam utilitatem 
 fuerint ordinanda vel tractanda: et ipsi octo cum fuerint jurati 
 eligant simul cum Vicario nostro ducentos probos homines de 
 
DOCUMENTS. 393 
 
 civitate, qui in praesentia dictorum octo et posse Vicarii jurabunt 
 tenere secretum et juvare Vicarium et dictos Consiliarios, et venire 
 ad ipsum Vicarium omnes vel eorum pars quando per ipsum 
 Vicarium et Consiliarios fuerint demandati. Et isti octo Consiliarii 
 teneantur istud onus sustinere per unum annum ; et in fine anni, 
 scilicet in die Apparitionis Domini, teneantur alios octo Consiliarios 
 eligere, qui cum fuerint electi et jurati, simul cum Vicario nostro 
 eligant alios ducentos homines de civitate secundum formam 
 superius comprehensam, et sic fiat de ceteris quolibet anno ; et illi 
 qui fuerint electi teneantur jurare et dictum onus suscipere modo 
 superius comprehenso. Quod si facere noluerint per nostrum 
 Vicarium compellantur. Si vero contingeret quod unus vel plures, 
 de dictis octo Consiliariis, vel de dictis duceatis, decederet vel 
 esset absens, vel detineretur infirmitate ; ceteri qui remanerent 
 locum ejus vel eorum teneant et observent. Volumus autem quod 
 Vicarius noster stet consiliis dictorum octo Consiliariorum, et quod 
 eorum consilio irrequisito non congreget parlamentum. 
 
 Sunt autem Consiliarii hujus praesentis anni : Poncius de Alesto, 
 G. Monader, Berengarius Adarro, F. de Monresa, P. de Villa 
 Caulium, Berengarius Boneti, R. Romei, et G. Burgesii. Predictam 
 autem ordinationem quamdiu nobis et nostris successoribus placuerit 
 volumus durare. Datum Barchinonae xix Kalendas Februarii, annoi 
 Domini millesimo ducentesimo quinquagesimo septimo. = Sig>J<num 
 Jacobi, Dei gratia regis Aragonum, Majoricarum, et Valentiae,. 
 Comitis Barchinonae et Urgelli, et Domini Montispessullani. 
 
 Testes sunt P. de Montcatho, G. de Cervilione, Eximinus Petri de 
 Arenoso, Bernardus de Santa Eugenia, Berengarius de Angularia.= 
 Sig>J«num Michaelis de Alcoario, qui mandato Domini Regis, pro 
 Domino patre Andraea Episcopo Valentiae Cancellario suo, haee 
 scribi fecit, loco, die, et anno praefixis. 
 
 (Capmany, ib. 299, from the Municipal Archives.) 
 
 8. MUNICIPAL CONSTITUTION OF ZARAGOZA, 1272.. 
 
 NovERiNT universi quod nos Jacobus Dei gracia rex Aragonum 
 Majoricarum et Valencie comes Barchinone et Urgelli et dominus 
 Montispesulani ad comunem utilitatem totius universitatis seu con- 
 silii civitatis Caesarauguste damus et concedimus vobis fidelibus 
 
294 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 nostris probis hominibus et toto consilio predicte universitatis 
 Caesarauguste presentibus videlicet et futuris ac etiam statuimus 
 quod de cetero in perpetuum sint xn jurati in dicta civitate 
 Caesarauguste, ipsis bene et fideliter in ipso oficio se habentibus, 
 qui quolibet anno mutentur in festo beate Marie medietatis mensis 
 augusti : et dicti jurati in fine sui anni eligant et eligere possint 
 alios duodecim juratos ipsius civitatis et ipsos presentent nobis 
 per suas litteras si nos fuerimus in regno Aragonum vel bajulo 
 nostro Caesarauguste qui pro tempore fuerit loco nostri si nos in 
 dicto regno non fuerimus personaliter constituti. Et sic volumus 
 quod de cetero sint in dicta ci\itate duodecim jurati dummodo 
 bene et fideliter in dicto oficio se habebunt ut est dictum. Datum 
 apud Langam vi kalendas marcii anno Domini m.cc.lxx primo. 
 Signum Jacobi &c. 
 
 {Parchments, No. 2099 ; cf. Bofanill, Doc. Ined. vi. 48.) 
 
 9. APPOINTMENT OF CONSULS FOR BARCELONA, 
 
 1266. 
 
 NovERiNT universi quod nos Jacobus, Dei gratia Rex Aragonum, 
 Majoricarum, etValentiae, Comes Barchinonae et Urgelli et dominus 
 MontispessuUani, ex certa scientia damus et concedimus plenam 
 licentiam et potestatem Consiliariis et probis hominibus Barchi- 
 nonae praesentibus et futuris, quod ipsi auctoritate nostra ponant 
 et eligant singulis annis Consules secundum voluntatem dictorum 
 Consiliariorum et Procerum, in navibus et lignis ad partes ultra- 
 marinas navigantium. Qui Consules habeant plenam jurisdictionem 
 ordinandi, gubernandi, compellendi, ministrandi, puniendi, et omnia 
 alia faciendi super omnes personas de terris nostris ad ipsas partes 
 ultramarinas navigantes, et in ipsa terra residentiam facientes, et 
 super omnes naves et alia ligna de terris nostris illuc navigantia 
 sive portum facientia et super res earundem personarum quae illuc 
 fuerint, tam in terra quam in mari, sicut habent in illis partibus 
 Consules de aliis provinciis ibi positi seu constituti super personas 
 et navigia et alias res hominum earum provinciarum. Volumus 
 etiam quod, si praedicti Consules vel aliquis eorum noluerint in 
 ipsis partibus exivernare sive moram facere, possint ipsi ibidem 
 eligere et ponere alios Consules, qui eandem jurisdictionem et 
 
DOCUMENTS. 295 
 
 posse habeant in praedicta terra et mari et personis et rebus, quam 
 concessimus praedictis Consulibus electis per Consiliarios et probos 
 homines Barchinonae : possint etiam praedicti Consules, a Con- 
 siliariis et probis hominibus electi, imponere et ponere poenam 
 praedictis aliis quos ipsi electi cligent, sub qua poena teneantur 
 recipere dictum Consulatum, et tenere et regere ipsum usque in 
 fine temporis, quod eis ab ipsis electoribus ad dictum regimen 
 fuerit pracfinitum. Item damus plenum posse et jurisdictionem 
 praedictis Consiliariis et probis hominibus Barchinonae puniendi 
 secundum eorum arbitrium Consules supradictos ab eis electos et 
 illos etiam quos ipsi Consules elegerint si deliquerint quoquomodo. 
 Volumus etiam et constituimus quod praedicti Consules electi per 
 Consiliarios et probos homines Barchinonae jurent tempore elec- 
 tionis in posse eorum ad sancta Dei Evangelia, quod in praedicto 
 Consulatu se bene et fideliter habeant ad honorem et fidelitatem 
 nostri et successorum nostrorum, et ad commoduni et utilitatem 
 civitatis et habitantium Barchinonae, et omnium hominum Catha- 
 loniae bona fide, et hoc idem jurent in posse dictorum Consulum 
 alii Consules qui ab ipsis Consulibus fiaerint constituti. Hanc 
 autem concessionem, si\'e privilegium praesens, vobis damus et 
 concedimus quamdiu nobis placuerit duratura. Datum Barchi- 
 nonae XVII Kal. Septembris, anno Domini millesimo ducentessimo 
 sexagesimo sexto. 
 
 (Capmany, ib. 13, from the Municipal Archives of Barcelona.) 
 
 10. COMIMERCIAL TREATY OF VENICE AND 
 MONTPELLIER, 1267. 
 
 Raynkrius Geno, Dei gracia Veneciarum Dalmacie atque Chroacie 
 dux, dominus quarte partis et dimidie tocius Imperii Romani, 
 nobilibus viris consulibus Montispesulani, amicis dilectis, salutem 
 et dilectionis aftectum. \'estre nobilitatis litteras per viros nobiles 
 ambaxatores vestros nobis praesentatas grata manu suscepimus, et 
 earum tenorem ac verba per eos proposita pleno coUegimus intel- 
 lectu, quibus perlectis et plenius intellectis, ad ipsarum continenciam 
 sic vestre nobilitati duximus presentibus respondendum. Cum et 
 vos et homines Montispesulani, divisim et comuniter, satis cum 
 nostro consilio diligamus, placet nobis et ad gratum occurrit ut cum 
 
a9<5 JAMES THE FIRST OF A R AGON. 
 
 mercacionibus eorum ad terrain nostram et finem secure veniant at 
 utantur, volentes eos omnes per nos et nostros salvos et secures 
 habere in nostra terra forcia et districtu, cum ilia vero condicione 
 de daciis sive pedagiis persolvendis, que per ipsos vestros ambaxa- 
 tores extitit requisita; unde venire poterunt sicut et quando ac 
 quociens de ipsorum fuerit voluntate, recepturi a nobis et nostris 
 fidelibus servicia et honores. 
 
 Datum in nostro ducali palacio, anno Domini millesimo ducen- 
 tesimo sexagesimo septimo, mensis madii die quintodecimo, ineunte 
 indictione decima. 
 
 (Municipal Archives of Montpellier, in Germain, Hist. Moiitp. ii. p. 522.) 
 
 11. PRIVILEGE TO THE JEWS OF LfiRIDA, 1268. 
 
 Hoc est translatum fideliter factum sexto idus julii anno Domini 
 M.ccc sexto sumptum a quodam instrumento domini Jacobi Dei 
 gracia quondam regis Aragonum sigillo cereo ejusdem domini regis 
 in philo serico pendenti sigillato, cujus tenor sequitur in hunc 
 modum : — 
 
 Noverint universi quod nos Jacobus Dei gracia rex Aragonum 
 Majoricarum et Valencie comes Barchinone et Urgelli et dominus 
 Montispesulani, per nos et nostros damus et concedimus vobis 
 aliame Judeorum Ilerde et aliorum locorum ad comune vestrum 
 spectancium et vestris in perpetuum quod non teneamini respondere 
 alicui vel aliquibus personis in aliquibus petitionibus quas vobis 
 nioveant super aliquibus que asserant in libris vestris ebraicis contra 
 fidem nostram contineri, nisi ea fuerint desonrries nostri domini 
 Jhesu-Christi vel beate Virginis Matris ejus vel sanctorum eorun- 
 dem, et quod de hoc simus nos vel nostri et non alii cognitores, 
 auditis prius partium racionibus : que cognicio determinetur per 
 nos vel nostros ubicumque fuerimus et non alibi. Preterea damus 
 et concedimus vobis et vestris imperpetuum quod possitis emere 
 a Christianis et eis vendere omnia quecumque victualia et alia prout 
 actenus facere consuevistis libere et sine alicujus impedimento, et 
 quod carnes que judayce in juderiis vestris interficiuntur vendantur 
 in locis hucusque consuetis et non alibi. Damus etiam et con- 
 cedimus vobis et vestris perpetuo quod illi vestrum qui oficio de 
 coiraterie uti voluerint possint hoc facere libere et absque aliquo 
 
DOCUMENTS. 297 
 
 impedimento. Preterea damus et concedimus vobis et vestris 
 imperpetuum quod habeatis et possideatis sinagogas vestras quas 
 hodie habetis et possidetis prout melius et plenius ipsas actenus 
 habuistis et possedistis, et quod ipsas etiam sinagogas decanter 
 aptare possitis cum hoc fuerit ipsis necessarium. Item damus et 
 concedimus vobis et vestris perpetuo quod ciminteria vestra sint 
 in locis quibus modo sunt et non mutentur aliqua ratione nisi de 
 vestra fuerit voluntate. Item damus et concedimus vobis et vestris 
 perpetuo quod pro usuris vestrorum debitorum seu lucro possitis 
 accipere et accipiatis quatuor denarios pro libra in mense et expleta 
 vendere et emere cum Christianis, prout jam vobis concessimus 
 cum cartis nostris ut in eisdem continetur confirmantes vobis omnia 
 debita que vobis debentur, dummodo ad rationem predictam sive 
 lucrum fuerint mutata. Item per nos et nostros damus et con- 
 cedimus vobis et vestris in perpetuum quod non teneamini ire ad 
 abscultandam predicacionem alicujus patris ordinis predicatorum 
 minorum vel alicujus alterius extra vestras juderias nee ad hoc 
 per aliquem compelli valeatis : et hoc vobis concedimus quia in 
 predicationibus que vobis fiebant extra juderias vestras fiebant 
 vobis pluries per Christianos vituperium et dedeeus. Et si predicti 
 fratres vel alii intus sinagogas vestras voluerint predicare, non veniant 
 ad ipsas sinagogas ad ipsam predicationem faciendam cum multi- 
 tudine populi set tantum cum decem probis hominibus Christianis 
 et non cum pluribus. Concedimus etiam vobis et vestris perpetuo 
 quod super aliquibus non possit vobis fieri aliqua innovatio, nisi 
 prius per nos vel nostros judicati fuerids super ipsis rationibus 
 primitus audiris. Predicta autem omnia et singula vobis et vestris 
 concedimus perpetuo ut dictum est, non obstantibus aliquibus 
 cartis per nos in contrarium concessis : mandantes bajulis justiciis 
 curiis paciariis et aliis officialibus et subditis nostris presentibus et 
 futuris quod predicta omnia et singula firma habeant et observent 
 et faciant observari et non contraveniant nee aliquam contravenire 
 permitant aliqua ratione. Datum Ilerde v idus novembris anno 
 Domini m.cc.lx octavo — Sig»J<num Jacobi Dei gratia regis Aragone 
 Majorice et Valentie comitis Barchinone et Urgelli et domini 
 Montispesulani . . . G. de Angularia . G. de Podio . R. de Monte- 
 chateno . G. R. de Montechateno . . . Bartholemei de Porta qui 
 de mandato domini regis hec scripsit loco die et anno prefixis . . . 
 publicus ilerdensis notarius hie me pro teste subscribe . . . notarius 
 
298 JAMES THE FIRST aF ARAGON. 
 
 publicus ilerdensis hie me pro teste subscribe . . . illerdensis hoc 
 translatum scripsi et clausi et hoc sig>I<num meum feci. 
 
 {Parchments, No. 1955; cf. BofaruU, Doc. Ined. vi. 45.) 
 
 12. MARRIAGE TREATY BETWEEN THE INFANTE 
 PEDRO OF ARAGON AND EDWARD I OF ENGLAND, 
 1273. 
 
 In nomine domini nostri Jesu Christi. Anno domini ducentesimo 
 septuagesimo tertio vii ^ Id. Octobres. In villa Sordue, presentibus 
 testibus infra scriptis. Dominus Edwardus Dei gratia Illustris Rex 
 Anghe, dominus Hybernie et dux Aquitanie, et illustris Infans 
 Petrus magnifici Regis'* Aragonis primogenitus, volentes inter se 
 dilectionem et veram concordiam firmiter duraturam et eandem 
 per afifinitatis vinculum consumare^ convenerunt quod predictus 
 dominus Rex Anglie desponsaret filiam suam et illustris Regine 
 domine Alienore conjugis sue majorem filio majori predicti domini 
 Infantis et illustris domine Constantie uxoris sue. Intelligentes 
 ilium et illam majores qui tempore nuptiarum contrahendarum 
 inter eos primi seu majores supererunt. Unde predictus dominus 
 Rex sub forma predicta filiam suam desponsavit per verba de 
 future filio predicti domini Infantis, et predictus dominus Infans 
 sub simili forma desponsavit predictum filium suum filie dicti 
 domini Regis. Promittentes uterque eorum sibi invicem bona fide 
 se daturos operam et facturos ac * curaturos ut predicta sponsalia 
 per subsequens matrimonium consumentur ^. Et ad majorem fir- 
 mitatem habendam predictus dominus Rex et predictus dominus 
 Infans juraverunt super sancta quatuor Dei Evangelia predicta 
 attendere et complere, ut super ° continetur. Promisit etiam pre- 
 dictus dominus Infans prefato domino Regi quod tempore matri- 
 monii faciet augmentum ad dotem quam filia . . .'' domini Regis 
 aiferet viro suo, secundum quantitatem dotis, scilicet augendo ipsam 
 dotem in tertia parte plusquam sit ipsa dos. Vel dabit arras 
 secundum morem Regni Aragonis ^ qui est quod assignantur 
 
 ' ' 8 ' Rymer. ' ' Consummentur.' R. 
 
 " ' Magnifici Principis Regis.' R. ' ' Snperius.' R. 
 
 = 'Confirmare.' R. ' 'Ejusdem.' R. 
 
 ' 'Et.' R. 8 'Aragonum.' R. 
 
DOCUMENTS. 299 
 
 domine certa loca, que vivente viro tenet et percipit at habet red- 
 ditus omnes ipsorum locorum ad voluntates suas inde faciendas. 
 Similiter et post mortem viri quamdiu vidua in terra remanserit, 
 superstitibus filiis vel non, habeat et percipiat quod redditur^ ad 
 voluntatem suam. Si vero eadem domina ad secunda vota con- 
 volaret, percipiat ipsos redditus et habeat non computandos^ in 
 dote donee sibi fuerit de ipsa dote plenarie satisfactum. Super 
 augmento autem et arris predictis sit in optione ipsius ^ domini 
 Regis utrum malit arras predictas pro* filia sua recipere vel 
 augmentum. In cujus rei testimonium predict! dominus Rex et 
 dominus Infans huic carte sigilla sua fecerunt apponi alterutri ^. 
 Testibus veneralibus patribus Ausitanensi Archiepiscopo et Episcopo 
 Lectorensi. Ethivardo de Chabbenays comite Bigorre, Aymerico 
 de Rupe Canardi, Imberto Guidonis, Rogero de Clifford, Johanne 
 de Boun, militibus, et Antonio Bek clerico predicti domini Regis. 
 Bernardo Roggerii Comite Palariensi ^, Blasio de Alagone, Athone ' 
 de Focibus, R. Dorthan, P. de Offegato, et Bernardo de Monte 
 Pavonis, militibus predicti domini Infantis. Datum et actum in 
 predicta villa Sordue anno et die prefixis. Regni predicti domini 
 Regis Anglie Anno prime. 
 
 {Parchjnents, 2173 ; cf. Rymer, Foedcra ii. p. 14.) 
 
 13. COMMISSIONS OF MORTMAIN, 1263, 1267. 
 
 (a) FiDELi suo Po. G. de Villafrancha. Dicimus vobis et man- 
 damus quod emparetis auctoritate nostra in villa et castris ac locis 
 nostris Ceritanie et Confluentis omnes honores et possessiones 
 quos et quas inveneritis fore distractas — ab homine nostro layco 
 qui consueverit in questia [?] pro illis et aliis bonis suis dare — in 
 Clericum aut Religiosum cujuscumque sit condicionis, et eosdem 
 honores tantum et tamdiu teneatis emparatis, quousque totam illam 
 quantitatem que pro eisdem debetur solvi, dum a layco possi- 
 dentur, in questiis et exaccionibus nostris habueritis et extorseritis 
 ab eisdem, et ad condicionem pristinam et modum prestandi in 
 
 1 ' Ipsos reditus.' R. ' 'Altematim.' R. 
 
 2 ■ Computando eos.' R. ^ ' Paleriensi." R. 
 
 3 ' Domini predict!.' R. ' ' Acone.' R. 
 « 'Cum.' R. 
 
300 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 predictis questiis et exaccionibus nostris reduxeritis quem habe- 
 bant, dum a manu layca possiderentur, fructus et expleta eorundem 
 interim recipiendo. Et hoc non mutetis aliqua ratione. Datum 
 Ilerde, xi Kal. Jun. Anno Domini mcc sexagesimo iij. 
 
 {Reg. xii. 83.) 
 
 (i5) Damus et concedimus tibi A. de Grevalosa plenam potes- 
 tatem . . . laudandi ac confirmandi honores . . . pro francho et libero 
 alodio ad eorum voluntates faciendas, hoc salvo, quod si aliqui 
 honores vel possessiones seu jura sita in terminis castrorum villarum 
 et locorum que pro nobis et antecessoribus nostris in feudum 
 teneantur, et predecessoribus nostris irrequisitis alienata inveniantur 
 a castlanis sive dominis, qui pro nobis tenent in feudum, de feudo 
 nostro remaneant semper ilia. Item similiter in alio casu, quod si 
 in villis villariis mansariis et locis aliis, tam modo nostris quam 
 aliorum, res alienatas fore de feudo nostro liquido probari poterit, 
 volumus ea semper de feudo nostro remanere. In quibus duobus 
 casibus nolumus quod ea possis pro alodio laudare nee concedere, 
 sed pro feudo Datum Barchinone, xvi Kal. Apriles mcc sexa- 
 gesimo VI. 
 
 {Reg- XV. 50.) 
 
 14. SPEECH OF THE MOORISH KING OF MALLORCA 
 (1229), AS REPORTED BY JAMES, MARSILIO, AND 
 HERREDIA. 
 
 James. Herredia. 
 
 'Barons, ben sabets vosaltres ' Varones, bien sabedes vos 
 
 que aquesta terra ha tenguda Mi- otros que Miramabolin ha tenida 
 
 ramamoli plus de . c . anys, e et possedida aquesta tierra mas 
 
 volch que yo fos senyor de vos- de c anyos, apesar de los Chris- 
 
 Marsilio. 
 ' Benedictus unus Deus, in quem nos credimus et cui testificamus, 
 qui dilatavit terminos nostrarum gentium ab oriente usque ad soils 
 occasum et dedit austrum nobis in venerabile memoriale et precum 
 nostrarum propiciatorium, qui de populo suo eligit reges et principes 
 et gloriam aliarum gentium dedit stratoriam pedibus nostris. 
 
DOCUMENTS. 301 
 
 altres, e ela la tenguda a pesar tianos, los quales non osaron en 
 
 de Chrestians, que hanc negun nengun tiempo venir ne esco- 
 
 temps no gosaren escometre meter contra esta tierra entro- 
 
 aquesta terra tro a ara : e aqui agora. Et Miramabolin quiso 
 
 havem nostras moylers, e nostres que yo fuese senyor de vos otros. 
 
 filles, e nostres parents : e ara Nos avemos aqui nuestras mul- 
 
 dien nos quels lexem la terra, leres, nuestros parientes, et 
 
 e en tal manera que siam lurs agora dizen nos los Christianos 
 
 catius, e encara dien nos major que les dexemos la tierra en tal 
 
 cosa part la catiuea, quens guar- manera que seamos liu-es cativos, 
 
 daran nostres muylers, e guar- et que nos guardaran nuestras 
 
 daran si res ne trahen ; e pus muUeres ; mas quando seamos 
 
 siam en lur poder for^ar les an, en lur poder forgar las han et 
 
 e fer nan a lur guisa. E jo qui fazer ne han a lur guisa. Et 
 
 so vengut aqui entre vos que tan ante que yo so venido aqui entre 
 
 dura cosa sofferis contra nostra vos sufriesse tan dura et vitu- 
 
 ley, volria mes haver perduda perosa pena contra nuestra ley 
 
 Benedictus unus et solus Deus, per cujus manum Miramolinus 
 imperator noster hanc insulam possedit et tenuit jam per c anos 
 gaudiosum locale in profundo aquarum et refugium miraculosum 
 navigantium a solo Deo muratam, multis benedictionibus repletam, 
 ut etiam nostri emuli invidia crucientur. Benedictus Deus, qui me 
 fecit regem hujus regni et nos ejus populatores comedentes et 
 bibentes ejus bona providentes domibus nostris et in uxoribus filios 
 procreantes et congregantes divitias vestris posteris et in veteres 
 nostros beneficiis sustinentes. O filii prophete, qui dulcem vitam 
 habuistis hucusque, non fait contra vos alienigena, non intravit 
 terminos vestros alienus, nescivistis jugum alieni dominii, nee domos 
 vestras impia manus discussit. Mulieres vestre nescierunt raptores, 
 uxores vestre ignorant violentiam, non intravit exactor angulos 
 secretorum, vobis fuerunt que de die in diem reservastis. Parvulos 
 vestros non terruit inimicus, nee numerum filiorum diminuit adver- 
 sarius, mater ab ore lactantis non avertit ubera pre timore. Hucus- 
 que invidi Christiani non fuerunt ausi invadere terram istam. 
 Quin [?], O viri, ecce ignis in sinu, ecce in talamo homicida, ecce 
 venenum in parapside, ecce pacis tempore mors in domo. Venit 
 super nos populus alienigena, petit nos in captivam servitutem, 
 petit bona vestra omnia, civitatem exire compellit, quaerunt uxores 
 
303 
 
 JAMES THE FIRST OF ARAGON. 
 
 la testa : e vul saber de vosaltres 
 quens en sembla, e que men 
 digats vostre sen.' 
 
 E crida tot lo poble a una 
 voce, e dixeren que mes volien 
 murir que sofFrir tan gran onta 
 con aquesta seria. 
 
 E dix lo Rey: 'Donchs pus 
 jous veg en tan bona voluntat, 
 pensem nos de ben defendre, 
 en tal guisa que . i . horn vayla 
 .II.' 
 
 [Chron. ^9, from the MS. of 1343, 
 as edited by Don Mariano Aguilo.) 
 
 mas querria aver perdida la 
 testa. Et quiero saber de vos 
 ctros que es en vuestra voluntat, 
 et que me digades clarament 
 vuestra entencion.' 
 
 La ora todo el pueblo co- 
 menfo a cridar a una voz, dizi- 
 endo que mas guerian morir que 
 sufrir tan grant vituperio como 
 serie aquel. 
 
 Et dixo les el Rey : ' pues 
 vos veo de tan buena voluntat 
 et entencion, pensemos de de- 
 fender nos bien, en tal guisa que 
 un hombre valga dos.' 
 
 (From a MS. of the fourteenth 
 century in the National Library at 
 Madrid.) 
 
 vestras ut eis serviant, et muliebrem pulchritudinem libertate spoliare 
 praestolantur, parvulos vestros humanitate oblita perdere, juvenes 
 vestros ferro onustos per mundum venales exponere, et dare terram 
 ac vivos ac mortuos in obprobrium sempiternum. Et ego, qui 
 senui ut viderem haec mala, mori preeligo, quam contra legem 
 meam hoc patiar, et banc cervicem tanta canicie aspersatus obligo 
 in defensionem huius mee dilectissime civitatis. Unus autem sum 
 similis vobis hominibus, nee viribus potior, nee fortudine coequalis. 
 Dicite vos igitur mihi propositum quod habetis.' Et clamavit 
 populus furore repletus, desperatione rabidus, quod multo melius 
 esset mori quam sui et suorum tot mala cominata expectare. 
 (Marsilio, ii. 3 ; from the MS. in the library of the University of Barcelona.) 
 
 The above extracts are of considerable interest, not only as 
 illustrating the freedom of Marsilio's paraphrase of the Chronicle, 
 but also as affording a strong presumption, from the resemblance 
 of the texts, that Herredia had availed himself of James' work. 
 
INDEX 
 
 A. 
 
 Abbasides, 2. 
 
 Abbots, 164, 165. 
 
 Abderrahman, 2, 3. 
 
 Aben Jucef, 138, 227. 
 
 Abulhamalec, 68. 
 
 Acorella, 27, 31. 
 
 Acre, 123. 
 
 Adelantado, 182. 
 
 Adultery, 202, 208, 212, 216. 
 
 Agde, 95, 119. 
 
 Agnes, 12, 67. 
 
 Aguilon, 63, 72. 
 
 Abe, F., 158. 
 
 Ahoiies, P., 16, 17, 19, 20, 22, 24, 25, 
 
 27, 28, 31. 
 Aigues-Mortes, 119. 
 Aix, 76, 83. 
 Alagon, Bl. de, 27, 28, 30, 56-58, 
 
 III, 114. 
 — Gil de, 47. 
 Alaman, R., 47. 
 Alamin, 253. 
 Alarcos, 4. 
 Alaric II, i, 199. 
 Alarich, J., 116, 117. 
 Alazrak, 85, 86, 89, 139. 
 Albalat, P., 238. 
 Albarracin, 21. 
 Albi, 95. 
 Albigenses, 13. 
 Alcaid, 73, 165, 171, 253. 
 Alcala, 31, 90, 139. 
 Alcalaten, 58. 
 AlcaBiz, Commander of, 57, 73, 1 18 ; 
 
 Cortes of, 88, 158, 164. 
 Alcaraz, 115, 117. 
 
 Alcovera, 30. 
 
 Alcoy, 139. 
 
 Alexander IV, 241, 269. 
 
 Alexandria, 226, 231. 
 
 Alfambra, 56. 
 
 Alfandech, 65. 
 
 Alfonso the Battler, 4, 6. 
 
 — II of Aragon, 7, 96, 160. 
 
 — son of James, 38, 51, 53, 60, 76-78, 
 88, 89, 102. 
 
 — James' grandson, 132. 
 
 — VI of Castile, 6. 
 
 — VIII of Castile, 22. 
 
 — X of Castile, 78, 79, 85, 86, 91-93, 
 loi, 104, 107, 115, 117, 118, 120, 
 131. 133. 134. 138. 217-219, 280. 
 
 — VI of Leon, 4. 
 
 — IX of Leon, 38, 50. 
 
 — Berenguela, 117, 119, 280. 
 
 — of Poitiers, 72, 75, 87, 97. 
 Algarradas, 43, 57, 274. 
 
 Algecira or Alcira, 77, 140, 141; 
 
 Cortes of, 125, 165. 
 Alguacil, 181. 
 Alhandega, 3. 
 Alicante, 86, 114, 139, 140. 
 Almanzor, 3, 5. 
 Almenara, 64, 65, 81, 268. 
 Almerug, 48. 
 Almizra, 79. 
 
 Almogavars, 65, 77, 140, 191. 
 Almohades, 4, 40, 55, 115. 
 Almoravides, 4, 55. 
 Almndajaf, 253. 
 Almudaina, 47. 
 Alods, 125, 194. 
 Alpuente, 37. 
 Alvaro, L. d', 21. 
 
304 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Ampurias, Count of, 2 1 , 30, 36, 41, 42, 
 44,46,48,95,109,118,130,131,133. 
 Amyell, P., 65-67. 
 Andalucia, 3, 4, 55, 107, 138. 
 Andrew II of Hungary, 59. 
 Anglesola, B. de, 269. 
 Angouleme, Isabella of, 85. 
 Anjou, Charles of, 83, 123, 129, 231. 
 Antibes, 231. 
 Antioch, 231. 
 Appeals, 153, 154, 157, 170, 171, 174, 
 
 175-177- 
 Aragon, passim; Cortes of, 16T-163 ; 
 
 legislation of, 205-209 ; feudal 
 
 system of, 1S6-189, 193-195 ; 
 
 government of, 167, I7I-I73- 
 Arenos, 158. 
 Argentona, 41. 
 Arians, i. 
 Aries, 231. 
 
 Armagnac, Count of, 123. 
 Armengol, 265, 266, 268, 269, 272. 
 Art, 260, 261. 
 Artana, 77. 
 
 Artassona, 158, 270, 281, 282. 
 Aspargo or Sparago, 18, 20, 35, 36, 
 
 246, 247, 280. 
 Asturias, 3. 
 Atbrand, 170. 
 
 Aurembiax, 23, 32, 38, 52, 265-267. 
 Avalri, 24. 
 Avinroma, 58. 
 Aynsa, 103. 
 Azagra, 14, 16, 18, 21-24, 31, 37, 56, 
 
 57. 88, 132, 140. 
 
 B. 
 
 Badajos, 4. 
 
 Bailiff, 165, 167-178, 225, 237, 248, 
 
 249. 
 Bairen, 73. 
 Balaguer, 269. 
 Balearics, 34-49. 52, 54, 61, 76, 81, 
 
 88, 105, 121, 267, 268. 
 Barbarossa, F., 7. 
 Barbary, 45, 139, 225. 
 Barcelona, Cortes of, 35, 78, 109 ; 
 
 government of, 167, 168 ; trade of, 
 
 225-230 ; money of, 275 ; House of, 
 
 5-8. 
 Barral, 12. 
 Basques, 2. 
 
 Baux, 7. 
 
 Bayalbahar, 48. 
 
 Bayonne, 229, 233. 
 
 Bearne, Viscount of: see Moncada. 
 
 Beatrice of Provence, 75, 83, 96. 
 
 — of Savoy, 103, 106. 
 
 Beaucaire, Seneschal of, 94. 
 
 Belenoi, Aimeric de, 256. 
 
 Benahabet, 44. 
 
 Benevento, P. of, 15. 
 
 Benifaza, 84. 
 
 Bera, 5. 
 
 Berbers, 4. 
 
 Berengaria, 23, 120. 
 
 Berenguer, Ramon, II, 6. 
 
 Berga, P., 125, 126, 136. 
 
 Bergedan, G., 256. 
 
 Besalu, 95. 
 
 Betera, 65. 
 
 Beziers, 7, 13, 95-97. 
 
 Biar, 79, 81, 114. 
 
 Bigod, 113. 
 
 Bishops, 284-286. 
 
 Blacasset, 256. 
 
 Blanca of Navarre, 131. 
 
 Blanche of France, 83, 120. 
 
 Boades, 279. 
 
 Boatella, 66, 67. 
 
 Bohemond V, 231. 
 
 Bohun, 113. 
 
 Bolea, 29. 
 
 Bologna, 67, 259. 
 
 Bordeaux, 2. 
 
 Borja, Cortes of, 161. 
 
 Borrellll, 5, 185; III, 5. 
 
 Borriol, 58. 
 
 Boulbonne, 123. 
 
 Bovage, 18, 19, 36, 56, no, in, 222. 
 
 Bugarra, 79. 
 
 Bulla, 65. 
 
 Bunyola, 48. 
 
 Burbaguena, 28. 
 
 Burghers, 189. 
 
 Burriana, 57, 58, 62, 64, 225, 274. 
 
 Cabrera, 19, 23, 32, 61, 100, loi, 107, 
 
 124, 125, 265-272. 
 Caderita, P., 243. 
 Cafizada, 69. 
 Calamocha, 27. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 Z^S 
 
 Calatayud, 6, 37, 78, 167, 178. 
 Calatrava, knights of, 73, 79. 
 Camerina, Bishop of, 84. 
 Campo, Torre del, 138. 
 Canellas, Beltran de, 131, 158. 
 
 — Vidal de, 159, 245. 
 Capdets, 79- 
 Carcasez, 94, 96. 
 
 Carcassonne, 2, 5, 7, 13, 59, 71, 95, 
 96, 124. 
 
 Cardinal, P., 256. 
 
 Cardona, 15, 18, 19, 30, 57, 100, 109, 
 118, 125-127, 130-134, 185, 267. 
 
 Carnage, 220, 
 
 Caroca, J., 282. 
 
 Casaubon, 123. 
 
 Castel-Fisel, 95. 
 
 Castellbisbal, B., 43, 84. 
 
 Castelleto, R., 227. 
 
 Castelleznelo, R., 158. 
 
 Castellnou, 88, 136, 243. 
 
 Castellon, 74, 81. 
 
 Castile, 2, 22, 23, 37, 50, 51, 60, 
 78-81, 85, 86, 91-93, 101, 107, 
 108, 114-120, 125, 131-134, 138, 
 149, 161 (Cortes), 181, 182 (muni- 
 cipal system), 212, 214, 218, 219. 
 
 Castro, 64. 
 
 Catalan, 254, 255 ; laws, 201-204. 
 
 — A., 256. 
 
 Cecilia of Foix, 125, 269-271. 
 
 Cellas, 30. 
 
 Cenae, 222. 
 
 Cerdagne, 7, 14, 60, 61, 76, 88, 95, 
 
 106, 121- 
 Cerrellon, 14, 27, 31, 100, 107, 269. 
 Cervera, 17-20, 22, 27, 30, 31, 57, 58, 
 
 TOO, 107, 256, 266, 269. 
 Ceuta, 138, 225, 227. 
 Champagne, Theobald of, 51, 59. 
 Chancellor, 159, 225. 
 Charlemagne, 2. 
 Charles Martel, 2. 
 
 — the Bald, 5. 
 Chatbert, 244. 
 Chivert, 58. 
 Christina, Prior of, 57. 
 Chronicle, James', 277-283. 
 Church, 193-196,. 235-247. 
 Cid, 4, 55. 
 
 Cinca, 16, 18, 19, 26, 36, 77, 78, 88, 
 112, 121. 
 
 Ciutadela, 54. 
 
 Clement IV, 115, 117, 126, 129, 230, 
 
 234. 236, 239, 241, 242, 252. 
 Clovis, I. 
 
 Cocentayna, 86, 139. 
 Coinage, 221, 275-276. 
 Colibre, 61, 72, 105, 121. 
 Commerce, 225-234. 
 Comminges, Viscount of, 5, 12, 13. 
 Conmenus, 11, 12. 
 
 Composition, 200, 201, 204, 207,212. 
 Compostella, 3. 
 Conflant, 14, 60, 61, 76, 88, 95, 105, 
 
 121. 
 Conques, R., 226. 
 Conradin, 123. 
 Constantius, i. 
 Constitutions, 150, 203. 
 Consuls, 99, 168-170, 176-178, 226- 
 
 228, 231. 
 Corbeil, 95-97, 124. 
 Cordova, 2-5. 
 Comeillan, Prior of, 94. 
 Cornell, Ximeno, 16, 18-20, 22, 25, 
 
 29; Pedro, 31, 57, 58, 67, 88, 133. 
 Cornwall, Richard of, 76, 121. 
 Cortes, 15, 17, 18, 19, 26, 35, 56, 60, 
 
 62, 63, 77, 78, 88, 101, 109, 111, 
 
 123, 125, 134, 136. 150, 153, 156, 
 
 160-166. 
 Coserans, 5. 
 Costanza of Sicily, 103-105. 
 
 — of Moncada, 269-271. 
 
 — of Aragon, 91, 114. 
 Councillors, 167-169, 178. 
 Counts, 184. 
 Courtenay, P., 59. 
 Cremona, 231. 
 
 Crown, 149-155. 
 Crusade, 103, 118, 119. 
 Cuenza, Bishop of, 78- 
 CuUera, 37, 60, 68, 81. 
 Cuxano, Abbot of, 164. 
 
 D. 
 
 Daien, 248. 
 
 Damascus, 2. 
 
 Daroca, Cortes of, 77, 78 ; trade of, 
 
 229; government of, 167; capture 
 
 of, 16. 
 Delegated judges, 152, 157, 182. 
 Denia, 37, 68, 81. 
 
 X 
 
3o6 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Dertana, 48. 
 
 Desclot, 256, 277. 
 
 Desfar, H., 42. 
 
 Desiderius, 84. 
 
 Destorrens, C, 278. 
 
 Dominicans, 43, 109, 164, 242, 244, 
 
 245. 247. 251- 
 Donzells, 185. 
 Dowry, 203, 207, 211. 
 Dragonera, 40. 
 Duel, 201, 202, 204, 208, 211, 216, 
 
 218. 
 Dulce of Leon, 50. 
 
 — of Provence, 6. 
 
 — of Toulouse, 7. 
 Durance, 75, 97, 98. 
 Duties, 232. 
 
 E. 
 Ecija, 138. 
 Education, 244, 245. 
 Edward I, 120. 
 Egypt, 225, 226. 
 Elche, 114. 
 Elda, 114. 
 Elne, 109. 
 
 Elvira, 19, 256, 265, 266. 
 Engines, 273, 274. 
 Enguera, 78. 
 Enrique of Navarre, 91, 121, 131. 
 
 — of Castile, 92, 129. 
 
 Entenza, 57, 58, 62-64, ii°-H3) i4°- 
 
 Equity, 202, 206, 210. 
 
 Ermesenda, 243. 
 
 Esclaramunda, 106. 
 
 Eslida, 86. 
 
 Estella, 92. 
 
 Etablissements, 186, 189, 218, 219. 
 
 Eugenia, B. de Santa, 49, 61. 
 
 Euric, I. 
 
 Exea, Cortes of, 103, iii, 150, 152, 
 
 153, 156, 162, 193- 
 Exerica, 37, 57. 
 Exports, 229, 233. 
 
 F. 
 Fabra, M., 43. 
 Faenza, 67. 
 
 Fenoilledes, 94, 95, 97. 
 Ferdinand, Infante, 14, 16, 20, 24-26, 
 29, 31. 53. 60, 64, 73, 78. 
 
 — James' son, 88, 89. 
 
 Ferdinand, King of Castile, 23, 50, 51, 
 
 9'. "5- 
 
 — son of Alfonso of Castile, 120, 131, 
 
 138. 
 Feman Sanchez, 104, 108, I10-113, 
 
 119, 123, 125, 133-135- 
 Fernandez, P., log, 118, 123. 
 Ferrar, 244. 
 Feudalism, 184-198. 
 Fiefs, 16, 69, 185, 186, 188, 194, 195, 
 
 196, 198, 223. 
 Figueras, 133, 135. 
 Florence, 228. 
 
 Foces, A., 25, 27, 30, 88, iii. 
 Foix, 5, 13, 14, 95, 106, 123-125, 
 
 243, 269. 
 Fonevol, 21, 43, 57, 66, 100, 273. 
 Fontenay, 116. 
 Fontfreda, Abbot of, 134. 
 Formentaria, 61. 
 Fraga, 6. 
 France, 11-16, 59, 71, 72, 74-76, 82, 
 
 83. 87, 94-99. 105. 121, 123. 124, 
 
 132, 179-183 (municipal system). 
 Franciscans, 164, 242, 247. 
 Franks, i, 2. 
 Frederick of Castile, 45. 
 
 G. 
 
 Galicia, 3, 267. 
 
 Galleots, 39. 
 
 Gallinera, 85, 90, 139. 
 
 Garcia, A., 115. 
 
 Gascony, 229. 
 
 Genoa, 6, 7, 35, 39, 227, 228, 231-233. 
 
 George, S., 46, 63. 
 
 Gerona, Sacristan of, 61. 
 
 — Bishop of, 84. 
 
 • — Serveri de, 256. 
 
 Gevaudan, 61, 94-96. 
 
 Girart, B., 35. 
 
 Gothia, 5. 
 
 Granada, 4, loi, 107, 115, 118, 121, 
 
 138. 
 Grau, 65, 66. 
 Gregory IX, 56, 59, 76, 241, 245. 
 
 — X, 126-129, 230, 232. 
 Grony, P., 36. 
 
 Gruni, 108, 227. 
 Guadalviar, 64, 65. 
 Gudar, Assalit de, 69. 
 Guilds, 229-231. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 307 
 
 H. 
 
 Hakam, 3. 
 
 Hariza, 60, 78. 
 
 Haro, 50. 
 
 Hedin, 248. 
 
 Henry III, 65, 82 ; II, 7. 
 
 Herbage, no, 220. 
 
 Heretics, 121, ■212, 21S, 242-244. 
 
 Herredia, J. F., 279. 
 
 Hisham II, 3. 
 
 Honorius III, 20, 247. 
 
 — Emperor, i . 
 
 Honours, 110-112, 131, 185, 187, 188, 
 190, 194, 195, 197, 198. 
 
 Hospital, Order of, 6, 48, 49, 57, 60, 
 164, 223, 233, 243, 279. 
 
 Huesca, Cortes of, 17, 85 ; govern- 
 ment of, 167; trade of, 229. 
 
 Hy^res, 231. 
 
 I. 
 
 Iberians, I. 
 
 Imports, 229, 232. 
 
 Imprisonment, 211. 
 
 Inca, 48. 
 
 Infantilla, 44. 
 
 Infanzons, no, 156, 159, 186, 187. 
 
 Inheritance, 203, 206, 210, 215. 
 
 Innocent IV, 84, 243, 260. 
 
 Inquisition, 121, 242-244. 
 
 Interest, 233. 
 
 Intestacy, 203, 206, 215. 
 
 Isabella of Aragon, 95, 105, 121. 
 
 Isola, 30. 
 
 Iviza, 35, 61. 
 
 J- 
 
 Jaca, leagues of, 25, 31, 103 ; trade 
 of,229; government of, 167; money 
 of, 20, 26, 62, 275. 
 
 Jahuda, 159, 225, 255. 
 
 James I, passim. 
 
 James, the Infante, 77, 88, 89, 94, 100, 
 102, 106, 121, 130, 141. 
 
 Jews, 115, 176, 177, 221, 224, 233, 
 
 245. 247-252- 
 Jongleur, 258. 
 Juana of Navarre, 131, 132. 
 Judicial system, 151-153, 171-183, 
 
 248, 249, 253. 
 Julian, 2. 
 Juntas, 103, 171, 226. 
 
 X 
 
 Jurats, 167, 169, 172, 178, 229. 
 Justices, 155, 157, 165, 167-179. 
 Justiciar of Aragon, 155-159. 
 
 K. 
 
 Knight's fee, 185, 188. 
 
 L. 
 
 Ladron, 30. 
 Languedoc, 15. 
 Lara, G. de, 120, 138. 
 Las Navas de Tolosa, 4. 
 Lattes, 71, 99, 100, 231. 
 Lauraguais, 5, 7, 95, 96. 
 Lavaur, Council of, 14. 
 Legislation, 199-219. 
 Lemosin, 210, 254, 255. 
 Leon, 3, 4, 38, 50. 
 Leonor, 22, 37, 60, 79, 2S1. 
 
 — of Aragon, 8 . 
 
 Lerida, Cortes of, 15, 19, 123, 134, 
 136, 164, 165; trade of, 229; cap- 
 ture of, 7, 269. 
 
 Libre de Saviesa, 255. 
 
 Lieutenants, 154, 169, 170, 175-178. 
 
 Linerola, 269. 
 
 Literature, 254-25S. 
 
 Lizana, 21, 25, 30, 49, 57, 77, no, 
 112, 116, 140. 
 
 Local Government, 166-170. 
 
 Lombards, 228. 
 
 Louis VIII, 71. 
 
 — IX, 72, 75, 94, 95, 105, 116, 121, 
 
 131- 
 
 — son of Charles the Great, 5. 
 Lucca, 22S, 231. 
 
 Lull, R., 256. 
 
 Luna, Artal de, 25, 27, 28, 30, n8, 
 
 133- 
 Luxen, 140. 
 
 Lyons, Coimcil of, 127-129. 
 Lyria, 140. 
 
 M. 
 
 Maguelonne, Bishop of, 63, 72, 94, 99, 
 
 119, 170, 177, 241, 242. 
 Mahomet, 114. 
 Majordomo, 159, 192. 
 Mallorca, 6, 34-49, 52-54, 118, 268; 
 
 government of, 169, 177, 204. 
 Manfred, 103-105, 123. 
 Mangonel, 43, 57, 273. 
 
3o8 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Mantlet, 43, 66, 2^4. 
 
 Manuel, 114. 
 
 Marche, Count and Countess of, 83, 
 
 83- 
 Margarita of Navarre, 91. 
 Marguerite of France, 95. 
 Maritime laws, 234. 
 Marquesa, 266, 268. 
 Married woman, 207, 211. 
 Marseilles, 12, 39, 71, 228, 231, 33a. 
 Marsilio, 277-280. 
 Martel, P., 34, 184. 
 Martin, F. S., 69, 244. 
 Mary of Montpellier, 11-13. 
 Mataplana, H. de, 42, 256. 
 Mazmodinas, 276. 
 Melgorian money, 276. 
 Mercenaries, 191. 
 Mercy, Order of, 246. 
 Merino, 171, 181, 182. 
 Mesnaders, 110, III, 158, 187. 
 Mijares, 62. 
 Milan, 67. 
 
 Military system, 185-193. 
 Millares, 276. 
 Millau, 6, 60, 94-96. 
 Minervois, 5, 7, 95. 
 Minorca, 44, 52, 54, 118, 368. 
 Minorites, 109. 
 Minority, 204, 206, 210. 
 Miravals, 12. 
 Mombaulon, 136. 
 Monage, 63, 222. 
 Moncada, 13-18, 21-27, 30, 31, 35, 
 
 40-42, 45, 60, 102, 109, 124, 130, 
 
 160, 269, 281. 
 Monredon, 15. 
 Mons, N. de, 257. 
 Montagnagout, 257. 
 Montagut, 56. 
 Montalvon, 57. 
 Montaragon, 20, 164. 
 Montesa, 86. 
 Montfort, S. de, 13-15, 71, 96. 
 
 — A. de, 71. 
 
 — G. de, 121. 
 Montlaur, 259. 
 
 Montpellier, 6, 11-16, 20, 39, 53, 59, 
 61,63- ?i. 72, 74. 76. 77. 87. 88, 
 94. 99. '°°. 104. 105. III. 114. "6, 
 119, 121, 123, 124, 127, 130, 252; 
 government of, 169, 177, 215, 216; 
 
 trade of, 230, 232 ; schools of, 258- 
 
 260 ; church of, 241, 242 ; coins of, 
 
 276. 
 Monzon, 16, 19, 26, 77; Cortes of, 
 
 18, 56, 62, 164, 165. 
 Morabatins, 276. 
 Morella, 37, 56, 81, 268. 
 Morocco, 2, 138. 
 Municipal Government, 166-170. 
 Muntaner, 278, 279. 
 Mur, G. de, 256. 
 Murcia, 4, 81, 114, 115, 120, 121, 
 
 126. 
 Murder, 201, 207, 208, 212. 
 Muret, 14. 
 Murviedro, 8r, 268. 
 Museros, 60. 
 Muxent, 78. 
 
 N. 
 Nachman, 250. 
 Narbonne, 3, 5, 7, 15, 39, 60, 95, 96, 
 
 99. 341. 243- 
 Navarre, 3, 4, 6, 91-94, 98, 116, 118, 
 
 121, 131-133. 
 Nice, 231. 
 
 Nimes, 2, 7, 71, 94-96. 
 Nobles, 110-113, 152, 153, 160-166, 
 
 173-176, 184-189, 193-198. 
 Nolasco, P., 246. 
 Nonnatus, R., 246. 
 Norton, 228. 
 Nules, 58, 64. 
 Nm5o Sanchez, 15, 21, 24-26, 30, 36, 
 
 40-42, 44, 45, 60, 61, 77, 97. 
 
 O. 
 Olit, 132. 
 
 Omeyyads, 2-4, 55. 
 Ordeals, 200, 201, 204, 208, 211, 216. 
 Ordinances, 150, 203. 
 Orella, A., 27, 31. 
 Orihuela, 115. 
 Orta, 23. 
 Osona, 95. 
 Our Lady of the Tables, 11, 104. 
 
 Paeres, 167. 
 
 Palaeologus, Emperor, ii8. 
 Pallas, Count of, 11 1, 130, 133, 136, 
 269. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 309 
 
 Palomera, 39, 40. 
 
 Pamplona, 3, 132. 
 
 Paratge, Hombres de, 185. 
 
 Paris, treaty of, 71, 85. 
 
 Paterna, 65. 
 
 Paternal authority, 204, 206, 210, 
 
 215- 
 Paul, Brother, 250-252. 
 Pavia, 231. 
 Pedro, Infante, 76, 77, 88, 89, 94, 97, 
 
 102-104, 118, 121, 123, 125, 130- 
 
 138, 140. 
 
 — II, 7, 11-17, 20, 96, 128, 188, 
 242, 275. 
 
 — of Portugal, 38, 52, 61, 78, 81, 86, 
 88, 267, 268. 
 
 Pego, 85. 
 
 PeSa, 164, 279. 
 
 PeSacadell, 86. 
 
 PeKafort, R., 102, 104, 238, 243, 245, 
 
 246, 251, 270. 
 PeKagnilla, 86. 
 PeHiscola, 27, 35, 37, 58, 86. 
 Pera, Cape, 34. 
 Perez, M., 139. 
 Perpeja, 255. 
 
 Perpignan, 77, 168, 173, 216, 229. 
 Petrer, 114. 
 Petronilla, 6. 
 Philip Augustus, 16. 
 
 — Ill of France, 95, 105, 123, 132. 
 
 — of Castile, 120. 
 
 — II of Spain, 278-279. 
 Piacenza, 67, 228, 231, 233. 
 Piera, 25. 
 
 Pierre Pertuse, 95, 97. 
 Pinos, 136. 
 Pisa, 6, 35, 228, 231. 
 Placentin, 259. 
 Pledge, 206. 
 Plegamans, R., 39. 
 Poblet, 49, 141, 164, 175. 
 Poisoners, 207, 212. 
 Poitiers, Alfonso of, 72, 75. 
 
 — Jeanne of, 72. 
 Pollensa, 40. 
 Polpis, 58. 
 Pomar, 112, 135. 
 Ponsano, 30. 
 Ponza, Santa, 40-42. 
 Porrassa, 41, 42. 
 Porta, B., 251. 
 
 Porter, B., 226. 
 
 Porters, 165. 
 
 Portopi, 41-45. 
 
 Portugal, 4, 267. 
 
 Pragmatics, 150, 203, 213, 218. 
 
 Prescription, 204, 207, 236. 
 
 Private war, 21-24, 89> 189, 213, 
 
 218. 
 — vengeance, 208, 209, 213, 218. 
 Privileges, 150, 151. 
 Procurators, 16, 154. 
 Proofs, 204, 206, 211. 
 Provence, 6, 7, 15, 16, 35, 39, 53, 60, 
 
 71. 75, 83. 95. 96. 231. 
 Provenzal, see Lemosin. 
 Puig, 62-65, 192, 193. 
 Punishments, 152, 201, 207, 208, 212, 
 
 218. 
 Puy Laurens, 95. 
 Puyo, G. de, 22, ill, 281. 
 
 Quercy, 95. 
 — M., 258. 
 Queribus, 95. 
 
 R. 
 
 Ramirez, Sancho, 6. 
 Ramiro II of Leon, 3. 
 
 — I of Navarre, 6. 
 
 — ' the monk,' 6, 7. 
 
 Ramon Berenguer I, 5, 201, 202. 
 
 — Ill, 96. 
 
 — IV, 6, 7, 96, III. 
 Rasez, 94. 
 
 Raymond Beranger II, 7. 
 
 — Ill, 7. 
 
 — IV, 15, 19, 60, 71, 72, 75, 76, 83, 
 
 95- 
 Raymond VI of Toulouse, 8, 13, 14, 
 19, 20, 71, 96. 
 
 — VII, 8, 71, 72, 74-76, 82, 83, 87. 
 
 — Roger, 13, 14. 
 Rayner, 242. 
 Reccared, 2. 
 
 Redemptions, 185, 1S8, 189, 191, 222, 
 
 223. 
 Redes, 5, 95, 96. 
 Revenues, 178, 220-225. 
 Ribagorza, 103, 11 1. 
 
3IO 
 
 INDEX. 
 
 Ricart, R., 226. 
 Richard of Cornwall, 76. 
 Ricoshombres, 1 10-112,156-158, 163, 
 
 172, 173, 187, 188, 196-198. 
 RipoU, 164, 175, 240. 
 Riquier, G., 257. 
 Robbery, 207. 
 Rocaber, D., 135. 
 Rocaberti, 236. 
 Roderic, 2. 
 Rodez, 7. 
 
 Roger Bernard, of Foix, 106, 123. 
 Roger I, Count of Coserans, 5. 
 Roman law, 199-206, 209, 210, 2:5, 
 
 219. 
 Romeu, 88. 
 Roncesvalles, 2. 
 Roquefeuille, 94^ 106, 109. 
 Rosas, 135. 
 Rouergue, 95. 
 Roussillon, 7, 14, 16, 24, 76, 88, 95, 
 
 105, 121. 
 Rovenhac, 257. 
 Ruydemeya, B. de, 41. 
 Ruzafa, 65. 
 
 S. 
 
 Sabina, Bishop of, 36. 
 Saga, S. de, 140. 
 Sagarra, 251. 
 Saix, 79. 
 
 Salic law, 200, 201. 
 Salomon, 248. 
 Salou, 36, 38-40, 52. 
 Balsas, 19, 26, 36, 78. 
 Salt, no, 220. 
 Sancha of Leon, 50. 
 
 — of Aragon, 8, 
 Sanchez, G., 243. 
 
 — P., 168- 
 
 Sancho, Infante, 14-19, 25, 30, 92. 
 ■ — son of James, 88, 117, 138. 
 
 — of Navarre, 6, 50-53, 59. 
 
 — of Portugal, 267. 
 Sancie, 75, 76, 96. 
 
 Saracens, 221, 230, 249, 250, 252-253, 
 
 and passim. 
 Sarboz, 25. 
 Sault, 95. 
 Savoy, 106. 
 Segorbe, 37, 57, 81, 268. 
 
 Segre, 77, 78- 
 
 Segnra, 115. 
 
 Selga, 19. 
 
 Seneschal, 160, 167, 192. 
 
 Septimania, 5. 
 
 Serra, 85. 
 
 Service, 185-189. 
 
 Seville, 4, 5, 88. 
 
 Sheyri, I., 40. 
 
 Siege Engines, 273. 
 
 Siena, 228. 
 
 Siete Partidas, 212, 214, 218, iig. 
 
 Sisebert, 2. 
 
 Slavery, 190. 
 
 Sobrarbe, 103, 205. 
 
 Sobrejuntero, 103, 171. 
 
 Soller, 39, 48, 52. 
 
 Soria, Peace of, 92. 
 
 Sparago, see Aspargo. 
 
 Stamford, 229. 
 
 Succession, 102, 203, 210, 215. 
 
 T. 
 
 Tagliacozzo, battle of, 129. 
 Tahuste, 25. 
 
 Taillebourg, battle of, 82. 
 Tarazona, Pedro Perez de, 27, 58, 156, 
 158, 2S1. 
 
 — P. de, 276. 
 
 — E. P., 69. 
 
 — Council of, 37. 
 Taridas, 39. 
 Tarik, 2. 
 
 Tarragona, Cortes of, 1 9, 60 ; capture 
 
 of, 6. 
 Tartary, Khan of, 116, 117, 123. 
 Taxes, 155, 220-225. 
 Temple, 6, 16, 20-22, 31, 32, 41, 42, 
 
 57, 58, 60, 118, 124, 128, 140, 164, 
 
 223, 243. 244, 256. 
 Tenure, 193-196. 
 Teobaldo I of Navarre, 59, 91. 
 
 — II, 91-93, 116, 121. 
 Termenois, 94. 
 
 Termes, O. de, loi, 270; 7. 
 Terraza, 25. 
 
 Theobald of Champagne, 51, 59. 
 Theodoric II, i. 
 
 Toledo, Archbishop of, 2, 37, 117, 
 238, 239. 
 
 — Roderic of, 255. 
 
INDEX. 
 
 3" 
 
 Torres-Torres, 57. 
 
 Tortosa, 26, 55, 161, 229. 
 
 Torture, 152, 173, 200, 204, 208, 213, 
 
 218, 248, 249. 
 Toulon, 231. 
 Toulouse, I, 5, 7, 95, 97; see also 
 
 Raymond. 
 Tours, 2. 
 Tous, 139. 
 Trade, 225-234. 
 
 Treason, 149, 150, 208, 213, 214. 
 Treasurer, 159. 
 Trebuchet, 43, 66, 273. 
 Trencavel, 13, 14, 60, 82, 96. 
 Trossillo, Pelegrin de, 21, 22. 
 Troubadours, 97, 256-258. 
 Tudela, 51, 53, 91. 
 Tunis, 52, 66, 101, 107, 108, 121, 139, 
 
 220, 227. 
 
 U. 
 
 Ucl^s, Master of, 79, 134. 
 
 Universities, 258-260. 
 
 Urban IV, 103-105, 270. 
 
 Urgel, 19, 23, 52, 61, 95, 100, 118, 
 
 124, 240, 265-272. 
 Urraca, 6. 
 
 Urrea, E., 57, 58, 67, 109, no, 123. 
 Usages, 150, 151, 201, 202. 
 Usury, 249. 
 Uxo, 64. 
 
 V. 
 
 Valencia, passim ; government of, 169 ; 
 
 trade of, 229 ; schools of, 260 ; 
 
 laws of, 209 ; capture of, 68. 
 Valespir, 61, 76, 88, 105, 121. 
 Valmagne, 259. 
 Vavassors, 184. 
 Venice, 231. 
 Ventimiglia, 230, 231. 
 Veruela, 165. 
 Vicars, 165, 167-169, 173-177, 237, 
 
 249. 
 Vidal, R., 255. 
 Vidaure, Teresa, 85, no, in, 124. 
 
 Vilaroja, 56. 
 
 Villafranca, 19. 
 
 Villa Hamez, 58. 
 
 Villan, 190. 
 
 Villanova, P. de, 340. 
 
 Villarroya, 277-281. 
 
 Villena, 73, 79, 114. 
 
 Vincent, S., 84. 
 
 Violante, wife of James, 59, 60, 64, 
 
 76, 88, 89. 
 — daughter of James, 79, 85, 280. 
 Visigoths, 1-3. 
 Visigothic code, 149, 199, 200, 311, 
 
 214, 217. 
 Vizcaya, 51, 79. 
 Voclad, I. 
 
 W. 
 Wallia, I. 
 Wamba, 2. 
 Wilfrid I, 5, PS- 
 William VIII, II, 12, 57. 
 Wills, 207, 211, 215 ; James', 38, 53, 
 
 76, 78, 87, 89, 121. 
 Witnesses, 204, 306, 211. 
 
 X. 
 
 Xativa, 73, 77-79, 86, 139. 
 
 Xuaip, 48, 53. 
 
 Xucar, 68, 73, 75, 77, 81, 97, 98. 
 
 Yahya, Abu, 40, 44-48. 
 Yusuf, 4, 55. 
 
 Z. 
 
 Zallaka, 4. 
 
 Zalmedina, 171, 172, 248. 
 
 Zaragoza, capture of, 6 ; leagues of, 
 
 25, 31. 103; Cortes of, 8, 109, 161, 
 
 163; government of, 167. 
 Zavalachen, 253. 
 Zeid, 27, 37, 55-57, 62, 247. 
 Zian, 37, 55, 63-65, 68-81. 
 Zuera, 122. 
 
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