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.