Diplomatarium of the Crusader Kingdom of Valencia

The Registered Charters of Its Conqueror, Jaume I, 1257-1276. IV: Unifying Crusader Valencia, The Central Years of Jaume the Conqueror

Robert Ignatius Burns

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9780691054766
• eBook ISBN: 9780691236902
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: European History
• Index: History

This fourth volume in Robert Burns's celebrated series on the warrior King Jaume the Conqueror's Kingdom of Valencia describes the crucial years of 1270 to 1273, a period during which Jaume continued his consolidation of political power for future territorial expansion. Here in the colonial kingdom that he carved out from the Islamic Mediterranean regions of coastal Spain, Jaume presided over a society more complex than any in Christendom. This lively frontier was home to semiautonomous communities of Muslims, Jews, and Christian settlers. Jaume's pioneering exploitation of Valencia's Islamic paper mills left behind thousands of charters--records in the king's registers--that provide a wealth of detailed information about every aspect of these parallel cultures.


Burns's Diplomatarium volumes represent the first systematic exploration of this massive deployment of paper in the West. They open up to readers the rich humanistic panorama of medieval life as seen from the traveling court of a conqueror king. The 500 charters collected in this book cover a kaleidoscope of topics, including public baths, castles, the renaissance of law, irrigation, mosques and monasteries, hospitals and banks, even exotic women. There are records on crossbow manufacture, riot and fire control, ship launchers, dogs of war, crime, slavery, prisons, and pardons.


This critical edition includes reconstructions of each charter in its original Latin or Romance language with a corresponding translation in English, making it invaluable for students and scholars alike.

1301^a

Valencia. 14 February (1271) 1272.
Reg. 14, fol. 139. MF: 1240.

“BY US AND Ours, We give and grant to you Ramon [Ramón] des Palou the falconer of Our beloved son Prince Pere [Pedro] six jovates of land in the district of Denia in the property which belonged to the Hospital. The [jovates] border on the public road and on the property of En Vilanova, and on two other sides on the fief [Latin honor] of the aforesaid Hospital. Those six jovates of land you and yours are to have with their revenues and profits and improvements and all appurtenances, to give away, pledge, and alienate, and for all etc. except to knights, holy places, and religious persons. However, you are to make your residence in Denia because of the said property, and from henceforth for twenty years you cannot sell the said property. Ordering etc.” On the jovate see doc. 508. The Hospital would have been the military order of the Knights Hospitaller of St. John of Jerusalem, though their Denia holdings were minimal.

Per nos et nostros damus et concedimus tibi, Raimundo deç^b Palou falconerio karissimi filii nostri infantis Petri, sex iovatas terre in termino Denie, in hereditate que fuit Hospitalis, sicut affrontant in camino publico et in hereditate den [=de En] Villanova, et de aliis duabus partibus in honore predicti Hospitalis.

Quas sex iovatas terre, cum introitibus et exitibus et melioramentis et suis pertinenciis universis, habeatis tu et tui ad dandum, vendendum, impignorandum, ac alienandum et ad omnes etc., exceptis militibus, sanctis, et religiosis personis.

Tu tamen facias residenciam in Denia, racione dicte hereditatis; et hinc ad XX annos non possis vendere dictam hereditatem. Mandantes etc.

Datum Valencie, XVI kalendas Marcii,^c anno quo supra [anno domini MCCLXX primo].

a) Modern title: Raymundi dez Palou.

b) The Catalan connectives des, deç, dez, and d’es reflect Latin de ex de in surnames.

c) Deleted: Februarii.

1302^a

Valencia. 15 February (1271) 1272.
Reg. 14, fol. 139v. MF: 1241.

“BY US AND Ours, We give and concede to you Bonanat de Pomar and to yours in perpetuity as a personal, exempt, and free property eight jovates of land in the village of Bellús in the district of Mogente, in a better place namely of that village. Those eight jovates of land you and yours are to have with revenues and profits and improvements and all their appurtenances, to give away, sell, pledge, and alienate and for all you and yours choose to do thenceforward, to whomever you and yours wish, except to knights, holy places, and religious persons. But you are to make residence in the town of Játiva, and henceforth for ten years you cannot sell the said property. And you and yours are to serve Us for it just as the people of Játiva serve Us for their properties. We strictly order the bailiffs, justiciars, jurates, castellans [Catalan alcaits], and all Our other officials and subjects present and future that they strictly respect and observe what is contained above and see that all observe it inviolably, and not challenge or allow anyone to challenge it for any reason.” Bellús is nine kilometers from Játiva. On the jovate see doc. 508.

Per nos et nostros dam°[us] et concedimus tibi, Bonanato de Pomar, et tuis in perpetuum per hereditatem propriam, francham, et liberam octo iovatas terre in alcheria* de Beluz, termino de Muxen, in meliori scilicet loco eiusdem alch°[erie].

Quas octo iovatas terre habeatis tu et tui cum introitibus et exitibus et melioramentis et suis pertinenciis univ°[ersis] ad dandum, vendendum, impignorandum, ac alienandum, et ad omnes tuas et tuorum voluntates inde cui et quibus volueritis tu et tui penitus faciendas, exceptis militibus, sanctis, et personis religiosis.

Tu tamen facias resid°[en]ciam in villa Xative; et hinc ad decem annos non possis vendere dictam hereditatem; et quod servias pro ea nobis tu et tui^b sicut homines Xative nobis pro suis hereditatibus servient.

Mandantes firmiter baiulis, iusticiis, iuratis, alcaidis,* et universis aliis officialibus et subditis nostris, presentibus et futuris, quod predicta firm°[a] habeant et observent, et faciant ab omnibus inviolabiliter observari, ut superius continetur; et non contraveniant nec aliquem contravenire permittant aliqua racione.

Datum Valencie, XV kalendas Marcii, anno domini milesimo CCLXX pri<mo>.

a) Modern title, under tape: Donatio Bonanati de Pomar. IP fl. Erosion down right. All but top of folio filled with arabesques.

b) Deleted: a final s.

1303^a

Valencia. 15 February (1271) 1272.
Reg. 14, fol. 139. MF: 1242.

“BY US AND Ours, We approve, concede, and confirm to you Ramon [Ramón] Falconer and to yours in perpetuity those cultivated lands [Catalan cabeço, cabeçol?] of Cullera, which are upwards of six jovates of land, which Our beloved son Prince Pere [Pedro] gave to you with his charter just as is more fully contained in it, and in it [the charter] those cultivated lands are given boundaries. Those cultivated lands, according as they are bounded in the said charter, with their revenues and profits and improvements and all their appurtenances, you and yours are to have for whatsoever you choose, as in that charter of Our said son is more fully and better contained. Ordering, etc.” Falconer’s surname may serve both as his profession and his name. The rare word cabeçol, used three times in this short document may mean cultivated lands or a hill (Catalan cabeçó) or mound (cabeçol, Spanish cabezuelo).

Per nos et nostros laudamus, concedimus, et confirmamus vobis, Raimundo Falconerii, et vestris in perpetuum illos cabeçolos*^b de Cullera qui sunt usque ad VI iovatas terre, quos karissimus filius noster infans Petrus vobis dedit cum carta sua, prout in ea plenius continetur, et in ea ipsi cabeçolos [sic^c] sunt affrontati.

Ita videlicet quod ipsos cabeçolos, secundum quod in dicta carta sunt affrontati, cum introitibus et exitibus et melioramentis et suis pertinenciis universis, habeatis vos et vestri ad vestras omnimodas voluntates, prout in ipsa carta dicti filii nostri melius et plenius continetur. Mandantes etc.

Datum Valencie, XV kalendas Marcii, anno quo supra [anno domini MCCLXX primo].

a) Modern title: Confirmatio Raymundi Falconerii. IP fl.

b) Or Catalan “hillock;” cf. Castilian cabezuelo.

c) This nominative modifier, unlike the other two accusative usages, suggests that a freestanding undeclined cabeçolos may be meant in all three uses, with Latin plural s.

1304^a

Lérida. 20 February (1271) 1272.
Reg. 37, fol. 37. MF: 1243.

PRINCE PERE [PEDRO] confirms the king’s monopoly given to Guillem [Guillermo] de Peralada and Guillem Arnau [Arnaldo] to construct and manage seashore machines to launch and recover ships along the Valencian coast. “Let all know that We, Prince Pere, etc. by Us and Ours approve, concede and confirm to Guillem de Peralada and Guillem Arnau citizens of Valencia, the concession made to you by the said lord king Our father, in your whole life and afterwards for an upcoming and sequential twenty years, namely that you and yours through all the said time can construct and manage a launching machine and machines on the shore of the sea of the city of Valencia and in any other places of the kingdom of Valencia, with which launching machines you can put into the sea and extract therefrom boats and ships, laden or not. And [We confirm] also the grant and concession made to you by the same lord king of all profits that you shall make with the [machines] for every kind of use you wish. Also We or any other person within the said time cannot construct similar [machines] or another new launching machine or machines or of larger equipment or of larger form or quantity than has been the custom up to now. And if perchance anyone should act against this, you and yours during the whole said time can forbid that it be done and break up and destroy those launching machines, not awaiting any permission or order of any bailiff or justiciar or court executor (Catalan saig). Nor also are you or yours obliged to construct or keep in the said kingdom [any] of the said launchers except those which you wish to construct and keep, in such wise that if you should leave off entirely within the said time from keeping the aforesaid launcher or launchers, We may properly grant the aforesaid [machines] to someone else, and in that case then the equipment of those launchers is to remain yours. And let it be known that We confirm the aforesaid to you in such manner and condition, that no one is obliged to launch into the sea or recover therefrom their boats or ships with those launchers of yours, unless they want to, just as all this is more fully contained in the document made for you by the aforesaid lord king. We promise to observe the aforesaid inviolably and never in any way to contravene it.” The Latin sagio is Catalan saig, who executed the penalties of a court.

Noverint universi quod nos infans Petrus etc. per nos et nostros laudamus, concedimus, et confirmamus vobis, Guillelmo de Petralata^b et Guillelmo Arnaldi civibus Valencie, concessionem vobis factam a dicto domino rege patre nostro, in tota vita vestra et postmodum per viginti annos tunc proxime venturos et continue completos, de eo videlicet quod possitis °[vo]s et vestri per totum dictum tempus facere et tenere geignum,*^c et gegna in riparia maris civitatis Valencie et quolibet aliorum locorum regni Valencie; cum quo vel quibus gegnis, barcha et ligna honerata et non honerata possint mitti in mari et inde extrahi; et de donacione eciam et concessione^d vobis factis, ab eodem domino rege, de toto lucro quod cum eis feceritis ad vestras omnimodas voluntates.

Ita eciam quod nos vel aliquis alius infra dictum tempus non possimus facere similie [=simile] aut aliud novum gegnum vel gegna, aut^e maiora apparamenta seu maioris f...

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Illustrations
• Preface
• Sigla
• Introduction
• Charters 1001–1100
• Charters 1101–1200
• Charters 1201–1300
• Years 1270–1273
• Year 1271
• Year 1272
• Year 1273
• Charters 1301–1400
• Charters 1401–1500