CHAPTER XIV

THE ARAGONESE STATE, 1276-1479

_Aragon proper_

[Sidenote: Victory of the royal authority in Aragon proper.]

The struggle of the kings against the seigniorial elements of Aragon and Valencia (in furtherance of their policy of absolutism and centralization) has already been traced up to the point where royalty gained the upper hand in the reign of Pedro IV. One result of Pedro’s victory was the reduction of the power of the _Justicia_, no longer a creature of the nobility (to mediate between them and the king) but a royal appointee, exercising strictly judicial powers as chief justice of the realm. Even in this respect his authority was limited by the founding of a tribunal to accompany the king. Attempts continued to be made to establish the independence of the _Justicia_, and the _Cortes_ declared him irremovable, but the kings compelled their appointees to give them a letter of resignation, with the date left blank, or disregarded the prohibition of the _Cortes_ altogether, deposing a _Justicia_ if it suited them to do so. Pedro IV enacted that no person of higher rank than that of _caballero_ should be governor in Aragon, thus removing another factor which had formerly contributed to civil strife. Aside from the abolition of the Privilege of the Union and the reforms just mentioned (together with others of lesser note), the kings did not modify the political organization of Aragon, but became in fact the principal element in the state, working their will even to the point of acts at variance with the laws. Great diversity in charter rights and jurisdictions continued to exist, although a number of general compilations of legislation like those in Castile were made. These became supplements to the already-mentioned code of Jaime I.[47] Other volumes were prepared of the customs of the realm, and the agreements of the _Cortes_ were also an important legislative source. The abolition of torture and of the vulgar proofs may be mentioned among the reforms in judicial procedure. The nobles remained almost wholly exempt from taxation, even with respect to the lands which they might acquire in royal territory.

[Sidenote: Relations of church and state in Aragon.]

[Sidenote: Benedict XIII.]

The relations of the state and church in Aragon were more acute than in Castile, because of the consequences of Pedro II’s act of vassalage and the wars in Italy, and because of the Great Schism, in which Aragon played a leading part, since one of the anti-popes, Benedict XIII, an Aragonese, fixed his court in Aragon for a time, causing a divided allegiance of the clergy. The matter of the election of bishops was settled early in favor of the popes when Jaime II enacted that the pope himself should appoint them. This occasioned a number of disagreeable results, especially at the time of the schism, when there were two or more popes. Some appointments were manifestly improper. Clement V appointed his nephew, a mere boy at the time, as archbishop of Saragossa, and even Benedict XIII, though a man of the highest character, made a similar appointment to the archbishopric of Toledo. In other respects the kings often insisted on the rights of the state, and intervened in matters of an ecclesiastical character. Alfonso V was the first Aragonese ruler to pronounce for the retention of papal bulls when their publication was against the interests of the monarchy, availing himself of the _pase regio_ (royal permit), on which the kings based their claims to prevent documents which displeased them from being put into effect or even from reaching their intended destination. Pedro de Luna had for a long time been influential in Spain before he became Pope Benedict XIII; he it was who persuaded Juan I of Castile and Juan I of Aragon to recognize Clement VII of Avignon instead of the pope at Rome. He himself succeeded Clement VII, and because of his upright character, piety, intellectual capacity, and Spanish blood received the adhesion of most of the peninsula prelates. It was largely through his support that Ferdinand of Antequera was crowned king of Aragon instead of Jaime of Urgel. When a general church council was called to elect a pope to replace the three then in power, Benedict XIII alone of the three refused to abdicate. Ferdinand, who for a time endeavored to support him, felt obliged at last to deny him obedience. Benedict maintained himself in the fortress of Peñíscola until 1422 or 1423, when he died,--almost certainly poisoned by a friar. His cardinals elected Gil Muñoz, a canon of Barcelona, but in 1429 Muñoz renounced the title and the schism ended.

_Catalonia_

[Sidenote: Importance of the Catalan towns.]

The most marked feature in the political life of Catalonia in this period was the rise of the towns, and especially the vast power exercised by the city of Barcelona. The towns became veritable lords, buying jurisdictions, privileges, immunities, castles, and lesser towns from the king, just as the nobles were in the habit of doing. Important cities got to be protectors of villages and towns, granting the right of _carreratge_, which entitled them to be considered a street of the city. As a rule the kings favored this increase in the power of the municipalities, and the latter might have made themselves an irresistible force, had it not been for their internal party strife, and for the armed struggles of rival cities. There began to be a certain uniformity in the organization of royal towns in the thirteenth century, and in the fourteenth it became more marked under the influence of the centralizing policy of Pedro IV. The general assembly was the basis of government at first, but its place was taken later by a council elected from the wealthy citizens; at times, the officials themselves were the only ones to vote, and they too chose the representatives to the _Cortes_. This aristocratic form of government did not please the kings, since it tended to create a force which would be hostile to them and led to social strife in the municipalities, wherefore matters were adjusted at the close of the fourteenth century by the entry of the popular element into the council. Just as in Castile, the nobles and churchmen were forced to grant privileges to their towns almost equal to those enjoyed by the royal municipalities, in order to retain the people. They still collected certain taxes, exercised judicial powers, and appointed some officials, but the greater part of local administration was in the hands of the towns themselves, which developed along lines similar to those of the royal towns.

[Sidenote: Greatness of the city of Barcelona.]

The most accentuated representation of municipal life was to be found in the city of Barcelona. The administrative organization of the preceding era did not change fundamentally, but the power and privileges of the city increased greatly, due to the concessions of the kings. The council of five was at first composed only of _honrats_, or members of the bourgeois aristocracy, but by the year 1455 only two were of this class, a third was a merchant, a fourth an artist, and a fifth an artisan. The classes of lower grade than the _honrats_ were admitted to the _Consell_ in 1387, and by the end of the period the popular element had become preponderant. The five councillors, though subject to the _Consell_, formed an administrative commission for the government of the city. It was also their privilege to advise the king, something which they frequently did, and they were charged with the duty of maintaining the charter rights of the city, a matter to which they attended most zealously, even to the point of war with the king. Through purchase, annexation, royal donations, and the extensive application of the institution of _carreratge_ Barcelona acquired a great part of Catalonia and other portions of the realm; the possession of Elche and other towns in Valencian territory illustrates the far-reaching authority of the great Catalan city. The subject towns had a right to protection and to the privileges and exemptions of Barcelona, in return for which the latter had more or less complete control of the administration of justice, was supposed to have their coöperation in matters of general interest, and was entitled to contributions of soldiers and the payment of certain tributes. The vast power of Barcelona was not always exercised for the best interests of the state, as in the case of the blow inflicted on the commerce of Valencia, through the influence of Barcelona, whereby no merchandise was allowed to be shipped from that port in foreign vessels. At times, the governing authorities of Barcelona equalled, or even exceeded, the power of the deputation of the _Cortes_ of Catalonia, and sustained disputes with it. On the other hand, Barcelona repeatedly intervened in the struggles of _caballeros_, towns, and social classes to impose peace. The authority of the city was reflected in the pride of its aristocracy, the _honrats_. They enjoyed the right of _riepto_, or duel, the same as members of the nobility, and vigorously protested against measures which seemed to place them on a lower level than any other class of society,--for example, when the order of St. John proposed to admit only the descendants of nobles. Anybody might become an _honrat_ if he combined certain prerequisites, such as wealth, with an election by the council.

[Sidenote: Struggle between absolutism and seigniorial society in Catalonia.]

The same struggle of absolutism against the seigniorial elements appeared in Catalonia as in Castile and Aragon, although the monarchy was more consistently victorious there than elsewhere. The nobles opposed the kings, though somewhat weakly, for they were more concerned with the social problems of the era. The cities and towns, especially Barcelona, also constituted a feudal element which was not always in accord with the king. Although during most of the era there was no armed conflict between these forces, there were a number of symptoms of discontent which at length broke forth in the civil wars of the reign of Juan II. Some of the causes of dissatisfaction were the following: the belief that their Castilian sovereign, Ferdinand I, and his successors had an exaggerated ideal of absolutism; the employment of foreigners in public offices, especially Castilians, by the same monarchs,--a demonstration also of the lack of Spanish national feeling; and the absence of Alfonso V in Italy and his expensive wars there, although the Catalans were as a rule partisans of the policy of Mediterranean expansion. Fundamentally, however, the strife at the end of this period was a conflict between centralized absolute monarchy and decentralization based on charter rights. Neither Juan II nor his predecessors varied the charters or the political organization of the principality, but nevertheless the blow was struck, and the downfall of the sovereign rights of the lords and towns was already at hand.

[Sidenote: The Catalan _Cortes_.]

The _Cortes_ continued to meet separately from that of Aragon and to be chiefly important for its grant or refusal of taxes. The third estate (representatives of the towns) endeavored to establish its right to participate with the king in legislation, but the latter made laws independently of the _Cortes_ as before. When the _Cortes_ was not in session, it was represented by the general deputation, or _Generalitat_, usually made up of three members, or one for each branch of the _Cortes_. In addition to keeping watch to see that the laws were strictly observed, the deputation had certain police powers, including the defence of the principality, and other less notable administrative functions. The general _Cortes_ of the entire realm held occasional meetings, as did also a new _Cortes_ for the Mediterranean possessions of the kingdom (Corsica, Sardinia, Sicily, and Naples).

[Sidenote: Legislation in Catalonia.]

[Sidenote: Administration in general.]

Legislation was characterized by the variety of jurisdictions of former years, but the number of grants of new municipal charters diminished greatly, and the general decrees of the kings increased. If this manifested a tendency toward unity, the citation of the principles of the Roman law did so even more. This had already proved influential in the preceding era, but it did not establish itself securely until the fifteenth century. There was a strong sentiment in its favor in Catalonia, and Pedro IV ordered its study and its use in cases at law. Finally it was established in the _Cortes_ of 1409 that the Roman and canon law might be cited as supplementary law after certain other specified legal sources. Like the adoption of the _Partidas_ in Castile (in 1348) this meant an ultimate, complete victory for the Roman principles. In most other respects the administration of justice in Catalonia followed the course already described for Castile. In financial history the only features worthy of note were the development of a system of taxation by the deputation of Catalonia, whereby it met its own expenses and provided funds for the grants to the king, and the growth of a system of municipal finance in Barcelona on a scale in keeping with its extensive power. In both military and naval affairs the authority of the deputation was the most striking element. This body merely loaned the army and navy to the king, specifying the cases when the loan was allowable. The principal military force was that of the municipal militia, although the seigniorial levies still formed part of the army. In addition to the flotilla of the deputation there were the navies of the king, of the corporation of merchants of the city of Barcelona, and of private individuals or towns. The most persistent enemies in the Mediterranean were pirates, both the Moslems of northern Africa, and the Christians from Majorca, southern France, Italy, and Catalonia itself. Towers were built and a messenger service developed to advise of the presence of pirates, but the evil was not eliminated.

[Sidenote: Power of the great prelates.]

The general relaxation in the customs and discipline of churchmen already mentioned in the case of Castile and the course of ecclesiastical history described for Aragon apply equally to the church of Catalonia. The most noteworthy characteristic in the relations of the church and state was the continuation of the feudal authority of the more powerful prelates. Principal among them were the bishops of Gerona, whose dominions and wealth in personalty were greatly increased in this period. As they were virtual monarchs on their lands, they were able to challenge the authority of neighboring nobles or of the kings themselves, and they oppressed the people. Their scant respect for the royal power was often displayed; on one occasion they compelled two of the highest officials of the kingdom to walk through the streets of Gerona in the garb of criminals, submitting all the while to a beating, and made them ascend the long stairway fronting the cathedral on their knees, wearing only a shirt, and carrying a candle. Several of the bishops were banished, and even the nobles joined the kings against the ecclesiastical lords. The Franciscans and Dominicans opposed the bishops and abbots, but although they had popular sympathy in their favor they did not have an equal political influence, since they were not represented in the _Cortes_. The power of the great churchmen was not materially diminished, but the last bishop of Gerona in the era was a strong partisan of the king.

_Valencia_

[Sidenote: Distinctive features in Valencian political life.]

In some parts of Valencia the law of Aragon applied, but the usual rule, especially after the victory of Pedro IV, was the jurisdiction of the laws, or _furs_, granted by Jaime I, added to, or modified by, the grants of different kings and the ordinances of the _Cortes_. The law of Barcelona applied in a number of towns which were joined to that city by the institution of _carreratge_. In general administration the practices were much the same as those mentioned for Castile. The extreme harshness of judicial punishments, possibly surpassing other regions, may be noted. The death penalty was habitually given, and various cruel methods of execution were employed. A sentence of imprisonment was rarely inflicted. The greatness of the city of Valencia was almost as noteworthy in this part of Spain as that of Barcelona in Catalonia. Valencia put itself at the head of the Union which fought Pedro IV, only to go down in defeat.