Catalonia and Portugal: The Iberian Peninsula from the periphery (Identities / Identités / Identidades) (English, French and Spanish Edition) 9783034316507, 9783035108309, 303431650X

Table of contents :
Cover
Contents
The Spain that never was: The Iberian Peninsula from its Peripheries (Flocel Sabaté and Luís Adão da Fonseca)
1. Spain as a peninsular geographic reality
2. The political and social consolidation of the peninsular peripheries (until the 12th century)
3. The cohesion of national identity in the peripheries of the Peninsula (13th-14th centuries)
4. Medieval and modern models of cohesion – and rupture – in the Iberian Peninsula (15th-19th centuries)
5. Researching the questions open through an ESF research project
La conquista musulmana del noreste hispano. Supuestos y consecuencias (Luis A. García Moreno)
Écriture diplomatique et mémoire documentaire aux origines de l’histoire catalane (Michel Zimmermann)
1. L’apparition de données extratextuelles dans la documentation catalane : la progressive irradiation du politique
2. Le tournant de 985 et l’insertion de la mémoire historique dans l’écriture diplomatique
3. L’invention d’une histoire catalane
3.1. Souveraineté politique et appropriation du temps
3.2. Les étapes d’une construction historiographique
Conclusion
The process of scripturising Catalan (Josep Moran and Joan Anton Rabella)
Annexe
Bibliography
Cries of Abuse and Injustice in Early Catalan: Notes on the Language of the Rancures, Clams and Querimònies (11th and 12th Centuries) (Philip D. Rasico)
1. State of the art
1.1. Act of Consecration of the Cathedral of Urgell
1.2. Texts from the 10th century
1.3. Writing during the 11th and 12th centuries
1.4. Lexical components and syntactic structures
2. Rancures and querimònies
2.1. The oldest manifestation of the Catalan language
2.2. Miret i Sans and the “Querimònies”
2.3. Historians and the “Querimònies”
3. “Querimònies” from the 11th and 12th centuries
3.1. Ranchuras de Petrus Arnals
3.2. Ranchuras de Pere Arnal
3.3. Ranchure de Petru Arnalli
3.4. Querimònia de l’Abat i el Convent de Sant Pere d’Àger
3.5. Greuges dels homes d’Hostafrancs
4. Linguistic Commentary
4.1. Phonology
4.1.1. Vowels
4.1.2. Consonants
4.2. Morpho-Syntax
4.2.1. Nouns and Pronouns
4.2.1.1. Stressed Pronouns
4.2.1.2. Unstressed Pronouns
4.2.2. Adjectives
4.2.2.1. Definite article
4.2.3. Prepositions
4.2.4. Verbs
4.2.4.1. Infinitive
4.2.4.2. Present and Present Perfect
4.2.4.3. Imperfect and Pluperfect
4.2.4.4. Perfect
5. Toponymy
Annexe
Bibliography
Political Origins of Portugal. From County to Kingdom (1096-1143/1157) (José Augusto de Sottomayor-Pizarro)
1. Historical background of the county (868-1096)
2. The County of Portucale (1096-1128)
3. From county to kingdom (1128-1157)
4. Epilogue (1157-1187)
Architecture and Identity (Lúcia Rosas)
Annexe
Sources
Bibliography
Cuius Generalis: The erudite notion of Justice in the Crown of Aragon and Catalonia (12th-18th Centuries) (Tomàs de Montagut)
The myth of the origins and royal power in the late medieval Crown of Aragon (Stefano Maria Cingolani)
Historiography and Portuguese identity: How in Medieval Portugal the kingdom is seen through the eyes of the Iberian Peninsula (Luís Adão da Fonseca and Paula Pinto Costa)
1. Religious Cronicles and Hagiographies
2. Texts of seigneurial inspiration
3. Royal Historiography
The perception of the Iberian Peninsula from the periphery: Portugal in the fifteenth century (Maria Cristina Pimenta)
Conclusions
Nuns on the Periphery? Irish Dominican Nuns and assimilation in Lisbon (Andrea Knox)
The word Espanya (“Spain”) in 15th and 16th Century Catalan literature (Vicent Josep Escartí)
Introduction
1. The 15th century: from medieval Spain to humanist Hispania
2. The 16th century: Pere Antoni Beuter, a point of arrival
3. Some final reflections
The concept of Spain in Catalan and Hispanic political thought from the era of reason of state (Antoni Simon)
How “new” is the “New Monarchy”? Clashes between princes and nobility in Europe’s Iron Century (Robert von Friedeburg)
1. Heterogeneity of provinces and legal-political arrangements within them within any one monarchy
2. Finance
3. Opinion
Conclusion
Portugal unido, y separado. Propaganda and the discourse of identity between the Habsburgs and the Braganza (Pedro Cardim)
Conclusion
National history, own language and otherness: Catalonia in the 16th-18th Centuries (Eulàlia Miralles)
Uses of the Medieval Past in the Political Culture of 19th Century Catalonia (Giovanni C. Cattini and David Cao)
1. Historicism and Medievalism in the Context of the Peninsular War and the Constitutional Debate in Cadiz (1808-1814)
2. Constitutional History and Culture in the Liberal Triennium (1820-1823)
3. Historicist Romanticism and Liberal Revolution (1833-1843)
4. The Progressive Biennium (1854-1856) and the Propositions of Víctor Balaguer
5. The Glorious Revolution and Its Immediate Aftermath (1868-1874): Catalan Civic Culture and Political Options
6. Bourbon Restoration and Vindications of the Catalan Constitutional Past (1876-1878)
7. The Politicisation of the Catalan Nationalist Movement and the Continuation of the Medievalist Discourse (1886-1898)
Historical Reference in the 19th Century Portuguese Discourse (Maria da Conceição Meireles Pereira)
Annexe
References and Bibliography
Re-imagining the State: Pan-Iberianism and Political Interventionism in the Context of Catalan Nationalism (Òscar Costa)
1. Defence against the North: the Portuguese problem and the colonial crisis
2. Pan-Iberianism and a new peninsular hegemony: political Catalan nationalism
3. Pan-Iberianism as a part of the Pan-Latinism Movement
4. Between two fires: Catalan Pan-Iberianism and the polarisation of the thirties
5. Pan-Iberianism amid the dictatorship’s “years of lead”
Conclusion: democratic normalisation and the persistence of Portugal as a metaphor
Annexe
Bibliography
Iberian identities – some final remarks (Dick E. H. de Boer)

Citation preview

FLOCEL SABATÉ is Professor of Medieval History at the University of Lleida and former director of the Institute for Research into Identities and Society. He has served as an invited professor in the universities of Paris-I, Poitiers, Yale, UNAM (Mexico), Cambridge and ENS (Lyon). He is doctor honoris causa of the Universidad Nacional de Cuyo (Argentina). LUĺS ADÃO DA FONSECA is Professor of Medieval History (retired) at the University of Porto and President of the Scientific Council of the Centro de Estudos da População, Economia e Sociedade. He has served as an invited professor in the universities of Navarra, São Paulo, Johns Hopkins and EHESS (Paris).

ISBN 978-3-0343-1650-7

www.peterlang.com

VOL

5

PETER LANG

SABATÉ & ADÃO DA FONSECA (eds.) CATALONIA AND PORTUGAL

Between 2010 and 2013 the European Science Foundation project ‘Cuius Regio’ undertook a study of the reasons for cohesion of some European regions, including the analysis of the ways for cohesion of two peripherical Iberian entities: Portugal and Catalonia. A scientific meeting held in Lleida in 2012 facilitated the collection of contributions from outstanding researchers in order to analyse how specific identities in the periphery of the Iberian Peninsula were created in the Middle Ages and how they evolved until the 19th century. History, Literature and Language are being discussed in this book in order to understand the reasons for creating specific territorial identities and also to compare their different evolutions, that have resulted in different political realities in our current times.

FLOCEL SABATÉ & LUĺS ADÃO DA FONSECA (eds.)

CATALONIA AND PORTUGAL THE IBERIAN PENINSULA FROM THE PERIPHERY

Identities. An interdisciplinary approach to the roots of the present Identités. Une approche interdisciplinaire aux racines du présent Identidades. Una aproximación interdisciplinar a las raíces del presente

FLOCEL SABATÉ is Professor of Medieval History at the University of Lleida and former director of the Institute for Research into Identities and Society. He has served as an invited professor in the universities of Paris-I, Poitiers, Yale, UNAM (Mexico), Cambridge and ENS (Lyon). He is doctor honoris causa of the Universidad Nacional de Cuyo (Argentina). LUĺS ADÃO DA FONSECA is Professor of Medieval History (retired) at the University of Porto and President of the Scientific Council of the Centro de Estudos da População, Economia e Sociedade. He has served as an invited professor in the universities of Navarra, São Paulo, Johns Hopkins and EHESS (Paris).

VOL www.peterlang.com

5

PETER LANG

SABATÉ & ADÃO DA FONSECA (eds.) CATALONIA AND PORTUGAL

Between 2010 and 2013 the European Science Foundation project ‘Cuius Regio’ undertook a study of the reasons for cohesion of some European regions, including the analysis of the ways for cohesion of two peripherical Iberian entities: Portugal and Catalonia. A scientific meeting held in Lleida in 2012 facilitated the collection of contributions from outstanding researchers in order to analyse how specific identities in the periphery of the Iberian Peninsula were created in the Middle Ages and how they evolved until the 19th century. History, Literature and Language are being discussed in this book in order to understand the reasons for creating specific territorial identities and also to compare their different evolutions, that have resulted in different political realities in our current times.

FLOCEL SABATÉ & LUĺS ADÃO DA FONSECA (eds.)

CATALONIA AND PORTUGAL THE IBERIAN PENINSULA FROM THE PERIPHERY

Identities. An interdisciplinary approach to the roots of the present Identités. Une approche interdisciplinaire aux racines du présent Identidades. Una aproximación interdisciplinar a las raíces del presente

CATALONIA AND PORTUGAL

Identities. An interdisciplinary approach to the roots of the present Identités. Une approche interdisciplinaire aux racines du présent Identidades. Una aproximación interdisciplinar a las raíces del presente

Vol. 5

Editorial Board: – Flocel Sabaté (Editor) (Institut for Research into Identities and Society, Universitat de Lleida) – Paul Aubert (Aix Marseille Université) – Patrick Geary (University of California, Los Angeles) – Susan Reisz (Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú) – Maria Saur (London University)

PETER LANG Bern · Berlin · Bruxelles · Frankfurt am Main · New York · Oxford · Wien

FLOCEL SABATÉ & LUĺS ADÃO DA FONSECA (eds.)

CATALONIA AND PORTUGAL THE IBERIAN PENINSULA FROM THE PERIPHERY

PETER LANG Bern · Berlin · Bruxelles · Frankfurt am Main · New York · Oxford · Wien

Bibliographic information published by die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek Die Deutsche Nationalbibliothek lists this publication in the Deutsche Nationalbibliografie; detailed bibliographic data is available on the Internet at ‹http://dnb.d-nb.de›. British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Data: A catalogue record for this book is available from The British Library, Great Britain Library of Congress Control Number: 2015935127

Universitat de Lleida. Consolidated Medieval Studies Research Group “Space, Power and Culture”

Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad. Gobierno de España

Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT).

Centro de Estudos da População, Economia e Sociedade (CEPESE).

European Science Foundation (ESF). ISBN 978-3-0343-1650-7 pb. ISSN 2296-3537 pb.

ISBN 978-3-0351-0830-9 eBook ISSN 2296-3545 eBook

This publication has been peer reviewed. © Peter Lang AG, International Academic Publishers, Bern 2015 Hochfeldstrasse 32, CH-3012 Bern, Switzerland [email protected], www.peterlang.com All rights reserved. All parts of this publication are protected by copyright. Any utilisation outside the strict limits of the copyright law, without the permission of the publisher, is forbidden and liable to prosecution. This applies in particular to reproductions, translations, microfilming, and storage and processing in electronic retrieval systems.

Contents

Flocel Sabaté and Luís Adão da Fonseca The Spain that never was: The Iberian Peninsula from its Peripheries ............................................... 9 Luis A. García Moreno La conquista musulmana del noreste hispano. Supuestos y consecuencias ..................................................................... 43 Michel Zimmermann Écriture diplomatique et mémoire documentaire aux origines de l’histoire catalane........................................................... 81 Josep Moran and Joan Anton Rabella The process of scripturising Catalan ..................................................... 117 Philip D. Rasico Cries of Abuse and Injustice in Early Catalan: Notes on the Language of the Rancures, Clams and Querimònies (11th and 12th Centuries) ........................................................................ 131 José Augusto de Sottomayor-Pizarro Political Origins of Portugal. From County to Kingdom (1096-1143/1157) ....................................... 165 Lúcia Rosas Architecture and Identity ...................................................................... 205 Tomàs de Montagut Cuius Generalis: The erudite notion of Justice in the Crown of Aragon and Catalonia (12th-18th Centuries)................. 223

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Contents

Stefano Maria Cingolani The myth of the origins and royal power in the late medieval Crown of Aragon .................................................. 243 Luís Adão da Fonseca and Paula Pinto Costa Historiography and Portuguese identity: How in Medieval Portugal the kingdom is seen through the eyes of the Iberian Peninsula ............................................. 269 Maria Cristina Pimenta The perception of the Iberian Peninsula from the periphery: Portugal in the fifteenth century ........................................................... 295 Andrea Knox Nuns on the Periphery? Irish Dominican Nuns and assimilation in Lisbon................................ 311 Vicent Josep Escartí The word Espanya (“Spain”) in 15th and 16th Century Catalan literature ............................................ 327 Antoni Simon The concept of Spain in Catalan and Hispanic political thought from the era of reason of state ................................... 355 Robert von Friedeburg How “new” is the “New Monarchy”? Clashes between princes and nobility in Europe’s Iron Century........... 379 Pedro Cardim Portugal unido, y separado. Propaganda and the discourse of identity between the Habsburgs and the Braganza ........................... 395 Eulàlia Miralles National history, own language and otherness: Catalonia in the 16th-18th Centuries ....................................................... 419

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Giovanni C. Cattini and David Cao Uses of the Medieval Past in the Political Culture of 19th Century Catalonia ...................................................................... 445 Maria da Conceição Meireles Pereira Historical Reference in the 19th Century Portuguese Discourse ........... 471 Òscar Costa Re-imagining the State: Pan-Iberianism and Political Interventionism in the Context of Catalan Nationalism ....................... 501 Dick E. H. de Boer Iberian identities – some final remarks................................................. 523

The Spain that never was1: The Iberian Peninsula from its Peripheries2 Flocel Sabaté and Luís Adão da Fonseca Universitat de Lleida and Universidade do Porto

The crisis of the Early Medieval Germanic monarchies was resolved differently inline with to each one’s specific circumstances. The two old competitors in the West had very different fates in the 8th century. The Franks recovered their power after mutating from the outdated Merovingian dynasty through the Pippinids who immediately consolidated the Carolingian sovereigns3. On the other hand, the Visigoths were given their deathblow and their kingdom erased from history, by the Islamic invasion4. In the first case, the move was towards a new political entity that took over from ancient Gaul. In the second, the geographic unity of the Peninsula housed various political realities, in a context of moveable frontiers in which, throughout the Middle Ages, cultural and political references reconciled the common geographic perception of the Peninsula and the growth not only of various kingdoms, but also societies united internally as nations. The importance of the reality forged in the Middle Ages is confirmed by its legacy, converted into a constant and contradictory invocation as an argument with proposals to consolidate the political cohesion for the Iberian Peninsula throughout the centuries. Therefore, a revision of the historical analysis is required to elucidate the correct dimensions of a path

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The term “Spain” is used in this title and throughout the chapter as a direct translation of the Latin “Hispania”. Thus it could be replaced by such other terms as Peninsula or simply Hispania. Used abbreviations: ACA, Arxiu de la Corona d’Aragó; AHCB, Arxiu Històric de la Ciutat de Barcelona; AML, Arxiu Municipal de Lleida. Christian Settipani, Patrick Van Kerrebrouck, La Préhistoire des Capétiens, 481-987. Première partie; Mérovingiens, Carolingiens et Robertiens (Villeneuve d’Asq: Van Kerrebrouck, 1993). Luis A. García Moreno, “Unos años que cambiaron el mundo”, 711. Arqueología e Historia entre dos mundos, Luis A. García Moreno, dir. (Madrid: Museo Arqueológico Regional-Comunidad de Madrid, 2012), pp. 19-45.

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that begins in the Middle Ages and leads down to the present while still conditioning the capacity to articulate a common society in the geographic area of the Iberian Peninsula.

1. Spain as a peninsular geographic reality Within the Roman Empire, Spain was a clear geographic region on the edge of Europe, as defined by Orosius: Europae in Hispania occidentalis oceanus termino est, maxime ubi apud Gades insulas Herculis columnae visuntur5 (“the other limit of Europe is the Atlantic Ocean, in Hispania, especially in Cadiz islands, where the Pillars of Hercules are viewed”). Thus, after the conquest and pacification, this had been naturally adopted in the political and administrative structure of the Hispanic provinces6. The later fracture of the Roman Empire, with Visigoth dominance of the area7 and the immediate merging of Visigoths, Suebis and the Hispano-Roman aristocratic nobles, facilitated the Isidorian ideological idea of linking this ethnic sense with the perception of Hispania, reinforced by such authors as Saint Julian, despite the irregular nature of Visigoth control over the Peninsula8. Added to this, there was the marked diversity and confrontation among the nobility, which generated challenges to the legitimacy of the throne of the regnum visigothorum by nobles based in socially singularised areas, like the Narbonense and the Tarraconense. It was precisely this territory, that saw the 7th-century revolts by Sisenand against Suinthila9 5 6

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Paulus Orosius, Historias I, 1-2 (Paulo Orosio, Su vida y sus obras, Camilo Torres, ed. [La Coruña: Fundación Pedro Barrié de la Maza, 1985], p. 94). José Manuel Roldán, “Conquista e integración administrativa”, Historia de España. Historia Antigua. Citerior y Ulterior. Las provincias romanas de Hispania en la era republicana, José Manuel Roldán, Fernando Wolff, eds. (Madrid: Istmo, 2001), pp. 189-197. Edward Arthur Thompson, Los godos en España (Madrid: Alianza Editorial, 1969), pp. 179-194. Suzanne Teillet, Des goths à la nation gothique. Les origines de l’idée de nation en Occident du Vè au VIIè siècle (Paris: Société d’Édition Les Belles Lettres, 1984), pp. 621-636. Renan Frighetto, “As limitações do poder régio no reino hispano-visigodo de Toledo (séculos VI-VII)”, Cuestiones de Historia Medieval, Gerardo Rodríguez, ed. (Buenos Aires: Universidad Católica Argentina, 2011), pp. 235-345.

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and by Paulus against Wamba10, and also backed Achila in the final moments of the kingdom11. This behaviour seemed to challenge not only the noble pre-eminence but even the unity and perception of the kingdom itself especially in the Narbonne end: the Insultatio describes the exercitus Spanorum of Wamba against the rebels who seem to distinguish themselves from both the Franks and the Hispanics12. Also, at the other end of the Peninsula, in an even more institutionalised way, the territories of the north-west have a specific singularisation13. Although Roman military incursions into the area are documented from the 1st and 2nd centuries BC, it was only during the Cantabrian Wars (29-19 BC) in the times of the Emperor Octavian Augustus that the area of Galicia was occupied and added to the Roman Empire. Then, towards the end of the 3rd century, under the Emperor Diocletian, Gallaecia acquired its own personality, with its capital in Bracara Augusta, and adding to the three Galician legal convents, to the East, the Asturian and Cantabrian lands and, to the South, the future Portuguese territory as far as the Douro14. When the Iberian Peninsula was invaded by the Germans in the 5th century, Gallaecia maintained its differentiation being the center

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José Orlandis, Historia de España. La España visigótica (Madrid: Editorial Gredos, 1977), pp. 256-263. Josep Maria Font i Rius, Manuel Mundó, Manuel Riu, Frederic Udina, Joan Vernet, Procés d’independència de Catalunya (ss. VIII-XI). La fita del 988 (Barcelona: Generalitat de Catalunya, 1989), p. 15. Gregorio García, “Sobre la autoria de la ‘insultatio’ y la fecha de composición de la ‘Historia Wambae’ de Julián de Toledo”, Los visigodos y su mundo (Madrid: Consejería de Educación y Cultura-Comunidad de Madrid, 1998), pp. 204-205. For the geographic “coherence” of the north-west of Iberia, see the recent considerations by: Ana Monteiro, “A base geográfica”, Entre Portugal e a Galiza (sécs XI a XVII). Um olhar peninsular sobre uma região histórica, Luís Adão da Fonseca, coord. (Oporto: Fronteira do Caos-Centro de Estudos da População, Economia e Sociedade, 2014), pp.  25-30. Also interesting are: Torquato de Sousa Soares, Reflexões sobre a origem e a formação de Portugal (Coimbra: Faculdade de Letras da Universidade de Coimbra, 1962), vol. 1, pp. 33-140; Torquato de Sousa Soares, Contribuição para o estudo das orígens do povo português (Sá da Bandeira: Universidade de Luanda, 1970), pp. 39-76; Fernando López Alsina, “La singularidad de Galicia en la Edad Media”, Fundamentos medievales de los particularismos hispánicos. IX Congreso de Estudios Medievales (León, 2003) (Ávila: Fundación Sánchez-Albornoz, 2005), pp. 65-67. Jorge de Alarcão, Portugal Romano (Lisbon: Verbo, 1987); Carlos Fabião, “A romanização do actual território português”, História de Portugal, 8 vols., José Mattoso,

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of the Kingdom of the Suebi15. This kingdom lost its independence in 585 and was annexed to the Visigoth monarchy under King Liuvigild, a situation that lasted until the Muslim invasion in the early 8th century16. It is probable that in the old Gallaecia, and throughout the north of the Peninsula in that century, the effects of the Muslim invasion were not particularly relevant. They probably accentuated some decline and insecurity derived from the previous epoch, and the differences in population between the lands north and south of the river Miño (the former more densely inhabited and more Romanised, and the latter more scattered)17. Thus, in line with recent historiography, the Visigoth kingdom reached its end singularising the perception of its two extremes, the eastern and the western18, which does not prevent identifying it with Hispania. Very clearly, in the 7th century, Pope Leo II addressed King Ervik as rex Hispaniae19. So, on Visigoth rule being replaced by Muslim dominion at the start of the 8th century, the latter also absorbed the Hispanic denomination20. Thus, Hispania became identified with the territory under Muslim rule21. And

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dir. (Lisbon: Editorial Estampa, 1993), vol. 1, p. 203 and following; Jorge de Alarcão, O domínio romano em Portugal (Mem Martins: Publicações Europa-América, 2002). Torquato de Sousa Soares, Reflexões sobre a origem e a formação..., vol. 1, pp. 141-174; Torquato de Sousa Soares, Contribuição para o estudo das orígens do povo..., pp. 76-111. Antonio Henrique de Oliveira Marques, “Portugal das invasões germânicas à ‘Reconquista’”, Nova História de Portugal, Joel Serrão, Antonio Henrique de Oliveira Marques, dirs. (Lisbon: Editorial Presença, 1993), pp. 45-79; José Mattoso, “A Época Sueva e Visigótica”, História de Portugal..., vol. 1, pp. 301-321. José Mattoso, “A Época Sueva e Visigótica”, História de Portugal..., vol. 1, pp. 445447. Also: Torquato de Sousa Soares, Contribuição para o estudo das orígens do povo..., p. 111 and following. A recent synthesis is: Manuel Recuero, José Augusto de Sottomayor-Pizarro, “Antecedentes. O Noroeste Peninsular da Antiguidade ao final da Alta Idade Média”, Entre Portugal e a Galiza (sécs XI a XVII)..., pp. 51-58. Renan Frighetto, “Idendidade(s) e fronteira(s) na Hispania visigoda segundo o pensamento de Isidoro de Sevilha (século VII)”, Identidades e Fronteiras no Medioevo Ibérico, Fátima Regina Fernandes, coord. (Curitiba: Juruá Editora, 2013), pp. 118-120. Luis A. Garcia Moreno, “La idea de España en época goda”, Fundamentos medievales de los particularismes hispánicos…, p. 56. José Antonio Maravall, El concepto de España en la Edad Media (Madrid: Instituto de Estudios Políticos, 1954), pp. 207-258. Pablo Álvarez, “El concepto de España según los cronicones de la Alta Edad Media”, Príncipe de Viana, 3/7 (1942), pp. 151-154.

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so, as reflected in the second half of the 11th century, the duality could be expressed by referring to tam de Christianitate quam de Hispania22. Consequently, the sovereign in Cordoba was seen as rex Cordubae and rex sarracenorum, but also as rex Hispaniae23. So, the resettling of the eastern frontier strip in the 10th and 11th centuries opened onto Hispania. In 1024, this was expressed as marcha extremitatis Ausone, in partibus Spanie24, allowing explicit toponyms like Portaespana25. It makes sense that the feudal conquests of the 11th and 12th centuries were naturally contra Ispaniam26, given the proximity of Marchiarum et Yspaniarum, at the same time as the rulers perceived ipsas parias […] de partibus Ispani, or more clearly ipsas parias de Hispania; so the receptors could consider that they were enjoying de ipso honore quem hodie habetis de Ispania. The frontiers, in any case, faced Spain, so that, apart from the relations with those who proceeded a partibus Yspanie, it could be envisaged that in ipsa marcha extrema […] teneatis pacem ad Ispaniam; that the counts negotiated with omnibus potestatibus Yspaniarum or that acreximentos quod qualicumque modo fecerint aut poterint facere de cunctis partibus Ispaniarum were obtained on its coast, through expeditione preter in Yspaniam, so it was even prudent to make a will before going to Ispaiam in ostem27. At the same time, the unitary vision of the Iberian Peninsula under the Hispanic coronym was maintained by the Roman Church. It referred 22

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24 25 26

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Ignasi J. Baiges, Gaspar Feliu, Josep Salrach, dirs., Els pergamins de l’Arxiu Comtal de Barcelona, de Ramon Berenguier II a Ramon Berenguer IV, 4 vols. (Barcelona: Fundació Noguera, 2010), vol. 1, p. 344. Míkel de Epalza, “Descabdellament polític i militar dels musulmans a terres catalanes (segles VIII-XI)”, Symposium Internacional sobre els orígens de Catalunya (Segles VIII-XI), 2 vols., Frederic Udina, ed. (Barcelona: Real Academia de Buenas Letras de Barcelona, 1991), vol. 1, p. 69. Flocel Sabaté, “Anoia. Marc històric”, Catalunya romànica, 28 vols., Antoni Pladevall, dir. (Barcelona: Fundació Enciclopèdia Catalana, 1992), vol. 19, p. 307. Antoni Pladevall, “Les arrels del mil·lenari”, Tous, mil anys d’història (Barcelona: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, 1981), p. 31. Flocel Sabaté, “Occuper la frontière du nord-est péninsulaire (Xe-XIIe siècles)”, Les territoires frontaliers entre Chrétienté et Islam, nouvelles approches: la territorialisation, de la guerra à la paix, Stéphane Boissellier, ed. (Turnhout: Brepols, forthcoming). Ignasi J. Baiges, Gaspar Feliu, Josep Salrach, dirs., Els pergamins de l’Arxiu Comtal de Barcelona…, vol. 1, pp. 197, 223, 225, 230, 243, 264, 283, 332; vol. 2, pp. 660, 727, 741, 778, 845, 899, 969; vol. 3, p. 1055.

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to the various partibus Ispanie, addressed its governors as regibus, comitibus ceterisque principibus Hyspaniae and tended to designate the same legates for the whole Hispania28. At the beginning of the second third of the 12th century, Innocence II addressed Alfonso VII of Castile and the rest of Christian sovereigns with naturalness through an explicit Hispanic denomination; filio Adefonso regi et dilectis fillis principibus per Yspaniam constitutis29. In 1088, the archdiocese of Toledo had been restored as Hispaniarum primati30, as it was recognised throughout the Late Middle Ages from the Aragonese royal chancellery, for example31. At the same time, from the Christian domains, the term Spain continued to mean the Islamic area until after the mid 12th century: in Yspaniam was equivalent to the Islamic area where the objectives per totam Ispaniam were located, so the Catalan counts went cum exercitu meo in Hispania ad servicium Dei and the vassals lengthened the feudal chain, as Pere Hug de Sedó did in 1146 in the County of Urgell when convening Pere Bernat de Fonolleres to be si forte ego ierit in oste vel cum episcopo Urgelli vel comite Urgelli in Espanie, rie mecum vel comodare mihi unum rocí vel mul, and in 1149 in the domains of the count of Barcelona, ego Petrus Arnalli vado in quadam galea in Yspaniam et facio meum testamentum32. However, at the same time, the profile of the frontier was changing dramatically, more clearly at the two sides of the Peninsula. Tallying with the crisis of the Almoravid Empire and in the ideological context of the second crusade, in 1146, the Muslims lost Lisbon at the western end of the frontier and, between 1148 and 1149, Tortosa and Lleida at the eastern end, actions achieved, explicitly, ad detrimentum Yspanie33. This meant a

28 29 30

31 32 33

Demetrio Mansilla, La documentación pontifícia hasta Inocencio III (965-1216) (Rome: Instituto Español de Estudios Eclesiásticos, 1955), pp. 8-22. Ignasi J. Baiges, Gaspar Feliu, Josep Salrach, dirs., Els pergamins de l’Arxiu Comtal de Barcelona…, vol. 3, p. 1287. Demetrio Mansilla, “Panorama histórico-geográfico de la Iglesia española (siglos VIII al XIV)”, Historia de la Iglesia en España, Ricardo García-Villoslada, dir. (Madrid: Biblioteca de Autores Cristianos, 1982), vol. 2/2, pp. 626-627. ACA, reg. 527, fol. 42r. Ignasi J. Baiges, Gaspar Feliu, Josep Salrach, dirs., Els pergamins de l’Arxiu Comtal de Barcelona..., vol. 3, pp. 1003, 1006, 1019-1021, 1078, 1272, 1273, 1375-1376, 1430. Antoni Virgili, “Ad detrimentum Yspanie”. La conquesta de Turtûsa i la formació de la societat feudal (1148-1200) (València: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona-Servei de Publicacions de la Universitat de València, 2001).

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new frontier profile and a new correlation of forces between the northern feudal entities and the southern Islamic territories. In this context, the coronym of Spain ceased to mean the Islamic lands and became identified for everyone with the Peninsula as a whole34. While the documentation from the north-east of the Peninsula continued to use Hispania to refer to the Islamic parts, the power that Alfonso VII of León intended to take was reflected in his assumption of the ecclesiastical view of Spain. Consequently, he presented himself as Aedefonsus pius, felix, inclitus, triumphator at semper invictus totius Hispaniae divina clementia famissimus imperator35. In the same line, his father Ferdinand II was defined in 1162 as Fernandus, Dei gratia rex Hispanorum36. This was the generalised view in the second half of the 12th century. The sovereigns could imagine themselves integrated into Spain, as the Gesta comitum Barchinone et Regum Aragonie reflects on describing that Alfonso the Chaste, cum suis nobilibus ac etiam vicinis regibus Hispaniae plurimas habuit sediciones, contra quos omnes sempre extitit triumphator, and that proposuit in suo animo beati Iacobi limina visitare, et reges Ispanie invicem convocare, ut dileccionis fedu miteret inter eos, ut facilius valerent contra agarenos preceptum apostolicum ducere ad effectum37. When the defeat at Alarcos before the emerging Almohads in 119538 led to fears for the fate of the Christian kingdoms in the Peninsula, from Marseilles, the merchant and poet Folquet warned that ·l Sepulcre perdet

34 35

36

37

38

Flocel Sabaté, “La noció d’Espanya a la Catalunya medieval”, Acta historica et archaeologica Mediaevalia, 19 (1998), pp. 383-384. Manuel Recuero, Alfonso VII, emperador. El imperio hispánico en el siglo XII (Leon: Caja de Ahorros y Monte de Piedad de León-Archivo Histórico Diocesano de León, 1979), p. 191. Ana Isabel Sánchez, Alfonso II Rey de Aragón, Conde de Barcelona y Marqués de Provenza. Documentos (1162-1196) (Saragossa: Institución Fernando el Católico, 1995), p. 37. Gestes dels comtes de Barcelona i reis d’Aragó  – Gesta comitum Barchinone et regum Aragonie, eds. Stefano  M. Cingolani, Robert Álvarez (Santa Coloma de Queralt: Obrador Edendum-Publicacions de la Universitat Rovira i Virgili, 2012), p. 120. Antonio de Juan, Antonio Caballero, Macarena Fernández, “Alarcos medieval: La batalla de Alarcos”, Alarcos’95. El fiel de la balanza, Juan Zozaya, ed. (Toledo: Servicio de Publicaciones de la Junta de Comunidades de Castilla-La Mancha, 1995), pp. 41-59.

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premeiramen / et ar sufre qu’Espanha·s vai perden39 (“the Holy Sepulchre [Jerusalem] was firstly lost, and now it is afraid that Spain is going to lose”). With the same naturality, the 13th century Catalan chronicles spoke of los cinc regnes d’Espanya (“the five kingdoms of Spain”), whose success against the Muslims made honrada tota Espanya (“honored the whole Spain”), as James I stated, happy because pus Déus nos ha feita tanta de gràcies que ens ha donat regne dins en mar, ço que anc rei d’Espanya no poc acabar (“God has given us so many graces that he gave us a kingdom over the sea, that any other Spanish king could not reach”)40. Thus, they explained that in Germany, the count of Barcelona would present himself saying: jo son un cavaller d’Espanya (“I am a knight of Spain”)41. In the mid 14th century, this geographic perspective allowed Francesc Eiximenis, after listing the leading Mediterranean port cities of Syria (to mention Acre), Greece (where he places Constantinople), Italy (where he mentions Naples), Sicily (highlighting Messina), Africa (centered on Tunis) and Egypt (around Alexandria), to describe e·n Spanya, Mallorques, Sibília e València42. Outstandingly, in the case of Portugal, during the Middle Ages (at least until the 14th century), its historiography manifested a strong Hispanic framework43, although later this dimension continued to underly the “excessive” importance given to the subject of the origins of the kingdom44. In

39 40 41 42 43

44

Martí de Riquer, Los trovadores. Historia literaria y textos, 3 vols. (Barcelona: Editorial Planeta, 1983), vol. 1, p. 600. Llibre dels Feits del rei en Jaume, chap.  478, 535 and 105 (ed. Ferran Soldevila (Barcelona: Institut d’Estudis Catalans, 2007), pp. 469, 198 and 507, respectively. Bernat Desclot, Llibre del rei En Pere, chap. VII (ed. Stefano  M. Cingolani (Barcelona: Editorial Barcino, 2010), p. 83). Francesc Eiximenis, Dotzè llibre del Crestià, chap. 35 (ed. Xavier Renedo (Girona: Universitat de Girona-Diputació de Girona, 2005), vol. 1/1, p. 75). Maria do Rosário Ferreira, coord., O Contexto Hispânico da Historiografia Portuguesa nos Séculos XIII e XIV (Em memória de Diego Catalán) (Coimbra: Imprensa da Universidade de Coimbra, 2010); Maria do Rosário Ferreira, “‘Terra de Espanha’: A Medieval Iberian Utopia”, Portuguese Studies, 25/2 (2009), pp. 182198; Pedro Cardim, Paula Pinto Costa, Luís Adão da Fonseca, José Augusto de Sottomayor-Pizarro, “A Historiografia”, Entre Portugal e a Galiza (sécs XI a XVII)..., pp. 413-423. Pedro Cardim, Paula Pinto Costa, Luís Adão da Fonseca, José Augusto de SottomayorPizarro, “A Historiografia”, Entre Portugal e a Galiza (sécs XI a XVII)..., pp. 427436; Sérgio Campos Matos, “História e identidade nacional. A formação de Portugal

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reality, there is a historiographic discourse whose sense is clearer if we relate it with the two other predominant discourses: literary45 and political46. This way, the peninsular geographic reference identified with Spain included the diversity of institutional and social realities that arose with the political and cultural evolution after the Muslim invasion of the Peninsula and the later southward expansion of the northern Christian territories.

2. The political and social consolidation of the peninsular peripheries (until the 12th century) The evolution of the northern Christian societies gradually took on specific political realities. The progression of this evolution in the 12th century led to different institutional realities at the two sides of the Peninsula, from distinct and diverse precedents. The coronyms Portugal and Catalonia were consolidated in the 12th century, reflecting the strengthening of the respective societies, although following different paths. In the north east of the Iberian Peninsula, the Carolingian crisis, especially from 877, gave effective autonomy to the counties. After consolidating their baronial and ecclesiastic elites in the 9th century, different counties advanced over the frontier and in the 11th century took advantage of the feudal dynamic to conquer the northern Andalusian territory47. Sharing the geo-strategic context and scenario between Al-Andalus and the Occitanian-Provençal area, the counties underwent a progressive political, economic, diplomatic, cultural and linguistic approximation. This dynamic culminated in the early 12th century. This is illustrated by the external perception: when the campaign by various cities of the

45 46 47

na historiografia contemporânea”, Lusotopie, 10 [Portugal, une identité dans la longue durée] (2002), pp. 123-139. Filipe Alves Moreira, “Enquadramento da produção literária”, Entre Portugal e a Galiza (sécs XI a XVII)..., pp. 405-412. Judite Gonçalves de Freitas, Pedro Cardim, “Discurso e literatura política”, Entre Portugal e a Galiza (sécs XI a XVII)..., pp. 437-454. Flocel Sabaté, L’expansió territorial de Catalunya (segles IX-XII): Conquesta o repoblació? (Lleida: Edicions de la Universitat de Lleida, 1996), pp. 65-92.

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Mediterranean arch against Majorca, under the leadership of the Count of Barcelona, was described in Pisa, he was defined as catalanicus heros or catalanensis dux48. This reflected an area that was sufficiently united to receive a specific coronym, Catalonia, despite lacking political and institutional unity. The 12th century dynamic contributed powerfully to accelerating cohesion, with apparently contradictory stimuli like the articulation of castral and parochial districts beside the regional projection of the emerging urban nuclei; or the reinforcing of the seignoirial domains beside the emergence of the local oligarchies. All this in a country that was defining itself regarding its northern and western neighbours and especially through the incorporation of the last Muslim capitals in the south western areas. The dynamic benefited the holder of the county of Barcelona, who managed to absorb other counties (Cerdanya, Besalú, Roselló, Pallars Jussà) and notably acquired a higher personal rank by rising to the royal crown of Aragon through dynastic union. It was precisely these social dynamics ensured that, despite having a shared sovereign since 1137, in the 12th century, Aragon and Catalonia developed separately as socio-economic regions and political-administrative entities49. The sovereign benefitted from the increase in control over the jurisdictional and tax area (especially through the figures of the vicars and bailiffs); the development of a centralised administration where the sovereign was supported by his nobles and barons and, clearly before the end of the century, by members of the new urban elite; and the definition of a remodelled pre-eminent position, as guarantor of the peace and truce in a new legal framework defined by the Usatges de Barcelona and characterised by the reception of Roman Law50. Simultaneously, at the western side of the Peninsula, the territory that centuries later would correspond to the kingdom of Portugal, soon suffered the Muslim incursions (711-716)51, at the same time as all the

48 49 50 51

Jaume Vidal, “Liber Maiorichinus” (Text, traducció, notes i introducció) (Barcelona: Universidad de Barcelona, 1976), p. 52. Flocel Sabaté, “Els primers temps: segles XII (1137-1213)”, Història de la Corona d’Aragó, Ernest Beleguer, ed. (Barcelona: Edicions 62, 2007), vol. 1, pp. 62-65. Flocel Sabaté, “Corona de Aragón”, La época medieval: administración y gobierno (Barcelona: Istmo, 2003), pp. 297-312. Antonio Henrique de Oliveira Marques, coord., “Portugal das invasões germânicas...”, vol. 2, pp. 121-128.

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north east of the Peninsula in practice experienced an accentuated absence of central power, although some military campaigns were registered and stated its nominal integration into Muslim territory52. Then (from the middle of the first half of the 9th century), with the “discovery” of the tomb of the Apostle Santiago53, the manifestations of a growing social, political and military dynamic multiplied: the restoration of the city of Tuy in 860 (whose episcopal see was restored in 915)54, the organisation of different campaigns of occupation and territorial organisation between 866 and 910 by the Asturian monarchic power (Oporto in 868 and Coimbra in 87855, the creation of the diocese of Mondoñedo in 86756, and the restoration, at the end of the 9th century, of the dioceses of Oporto57 and Orense)58. In the perspective of the future Portuguese history, the abovementioned taking of Oporto by Count Vímara Peres was of great relevance. As Inés Calderón Medina, Manuel Recuero Astray and José Augusto de Sottomayor-Pizarro write, Já hoje se presume que ninguém cairá na tentação de olhar para esta nova unidade política, erigida sob os auspícios da corte ovetense, como o declarado embrião de

52 53

54

55

56 57 58

Antonio Henrique de Oliveira Marques, coord., “Portugal das invasões germânicas...”, vol. 2, pp. 121-123. Luis Vázquez, José María Lacarra, Juan Uría, Las peregrinaciones a Santiago de Compostela (Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 1948), vol. 1, pp. 27-36. José García, coord., Historia de las Diócesis Españolas. Iglesias de Santiago de Compostela y Tuy-Vigo, 24 vols. (Madrid: Biblioteca de Autores Cristianos, 2002), vol. 14, pp. 549-550; João Paulo Martins Ferreira, “A Nobreza Galego-Portuguesa da Diocese de Tui (915-1381). Teoria e metodologia”, Incipit 2. Workshop de Estudos Medievais da Universidade do Porto, 2011-2012, Flávio Miranda, Joana Sequeira, Diogo Faria, coords. (Porto: Universidade do Porto-Faculdade de Letras-Biblioteca Digital, 2014), pp. 41-50. José Mattoso, A nobreza medieval portuguesa. A família e o poder (Lisbon: Editorial Estampa, 1987), pp. 257-270; António Manuel de Carvalho Lima, “Povoamento e organização do território do Baixo Douro na época da Monarquia Asturiana”, Portvgalia, 31-32 (2010-2011), pp. 83-114 . Pierre David, Études historiques sur la Galice et le Portugal du VIe au XIIe siècle (Paris: Société d’Édition Les Belles Lettres, 1947), pp. 162-163. Carlos Moreira de Azevedo, dir., Dicionário de História Religiosa de Portugal, 4 vols. (Lisbon: Círculo de Leitores, 2001), vol. 4, pp. 5-6. José García, coord., Historia de las Diócesis Españolas. Iglesias de Lugo, Mondoñedo-Ferrol y Orense…, vol. 15, pp. 388-389.

20

Flocel Sabaté and Luís Adão da Fonseca um reino que irá surgir pelos inícios do séc. XII. Mas também sería pouco razoável não ver nessa mesma criação um elemento que, de forma gradual, foi contribuindo para reanimar em vários níveis uma fronteira subtil que havia muitos séculos configurara os territórios situados de um e do outro lado do rio Minho –o ‘conventus juridicus lucensi’ e o ‘conventus juridicus bracarensis’59. Nowadays, it is supposed that nobody falls into the temptation of viewing this new political unit, built under the auspices of the court in Oviedo, as the embryo of a kingdom that would appear in the 12th century. However, it would be unreasonable not to see in this same creation an element that, little by little, has on various levels helped to revive a subtle frontier that many centuries ago configured areas situated on one side or the other of the river Miño – the conventus juridicus lucensi and the conventus juridicus bracarensis.

Meanwhile, from the mid 10th century, the Asturian monarchy, that had moved to León given the progressive importance of the line of the river Douro60, underwent a period of accentuated weakness, coinciding with the Norman incursions61 and the rising military power of the caliphate of Cordoba62, aspects linked to the strengthening of the seigniorial autonomy 59

60

61 62

Inés Calderón Medina, Pedro Cardim, Mafalda Soares da Cunha, Maria Cristina Pimenta, Manuel Recuero Astray, Paz Romero Portilla, José Augusto de SottomayorPizarro, “Portugal e a Galiza na Ibéria Ocidental”, Entre Portugal e a Galiza (sécs XI a XVII)..., p. 64. About this subject, see: José Angel García de Cortázar, “Del Cantábrico al Duero”, Organización social del espacio en la España medieval. La Corona de Castilla en los siglos VIII a XV (Barcelona: Ariel, 1985), pp. 43-83; José Angel García de Cortázar, “Las formas de organización social del espacio del Valle del Duero en la Alta Edad Media: de la espontaneidad al control feudal”, and José María Mínguez, “Innovación y pervivencia en la colonización del Valle del Duero”, Despoblación y colonización del Valle del Duero. Siglos VIII-XX, Carlos Estepa, coord. (Ávila: Fundación SánchezAlbornoz, 1995), pp. 11-44 and 45-79, respectively. For Portuguese geography, see the synthesis by: Torquato de Sousa Soares, “Ermamento, o problema do”, Dicionário de História de Portugal, 4 vols., Joel Serrão, dir. (Lisbon: Iniciativas Editoriais, 1965), vol. 2, pp. 71-74, and especially the one by: José Mattoso, “Portugal no Reino Asturiano-Leonés”, História de Portugal..., vol. 1, pp. 449-463. There is a case study in: Luís Carlos Amaral, “O povoamento da terra bracarense durante o século X”, Revista da Faculdade de Letras. História, 10 (2009), pp. 113-127. Torquato de Sousa Soares, Formação do Estado Português 1096-1179 (Trofa: Sólivros de Portugal, 1989), pp. 17-18. José Luís del Pino, “El califato omeya de Córdoba (génesis y consolidación política)”, Historia de España de la Edad Media, Vicente Álvarez Palenzuela, coord. (Barcelona: Ariel, 2002), pp. 143-165.

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of the nobility of the kingdom of León63. A somewhat similar situation arose in Castile. The most important event in the western Peninsula in this period was Almanzor’s expedition to Santiago de Compostela in 997, with the destruction of the city and the consequent loss of the territory that had been re-conquered South of the Douro64. The Christian recovery took place in the 11th century, especially with Ferdinand I’s victorious expeditions in the South of the Douro (recovery of Lamego and Viseu in 1057-1058, and Coimbra in 1064)65. With his death, the division of his domains by his sons, and the handing over of Galicia to the youngest (Garcia II)66, the Southern limits of this region, now reached the river Mondego, acquired a sporadic autonomy (1065-1071)67. However, a few years later, the territories Ferdinand I had ruled were again reunited, first under Sancho II of Castile, in 1071-107268, and later under Alfonso VI, after 107269. The highlight of the future Portuguese territory in this

63

64

65

66 67

68 69

José Mattoso, “Portugal no Reino Asturiano-Leonés”, História de Portugal…, vol. 1, pp. 502-504; Vicente Álvarez, “La nobleza del reino de León en la Alta Edad Media”, El Reino de León en la Alta Edad Media, 12 vols. (Leon: Centro de Estudios e Investigación San Isidoro, 1998), vol. 7, pp. 151-329. Rui de Azevedo, “A expedição de Almançor a Santiago de Compostela em 997, e a de piratas normandos à Galiza em 1015-1016 (Dois testemunhos inéditos das depredações a que então esteve sujeito o Território Portugalense entre Douro e Ave)”, Revista Portuguesa de História, 14 (1973), pp. 73-93; Maria Isabel Pérez de Tudela, “Guerra, violencia y terror. La destrucción de Santiago de Compostela por Almanzor hace mil años”, En la España Medieval, 21 (1998), pp. 9-28. Torquato de Sousa Soares, Formação do Estado Português..., pp. 24-37; José Mattoso, “O Ocidente na política asturiano-leonesa (711-1037)”, História de Portugal..., vol. 1, pp. 557-560. It is possible to see a general panorama into the same book (pp. 531541, 543-562); Pilar Blanco, “La intervención de Fernando I en la zona galaicoportuguesa”, IX Centenário da dedicação da Sé de Braga. Congresso Internacional. Actas (Braga: Universidade Católica Portuguesa, 1990), vol. 1, pp. 335-356. José Mattoso, “O Ocidente na política asturiano-leonesa...”, História de Portugal..., vol. 1, p. 560. See what is written in: Inés Calderón Medina, Pedro Cardim, Mafalda Soares da Cunha, Maria Cristina Pimenta, Manuel Recuero Astray, Paz Romero Portilla, José Augusto de Sottomayor-Pizarro, “Portugal e a Galiza na Ibéria Ocidental”, Entre Portugal e a Galiza (sécs XI a XVII)..., p. 65. César González, “La multiplicación de los reinos (1035-1072)”, Historia de España de la Edad Media, Vicente Álvarez, coord. (Barcelona: Ariel, 2002), pp. 268-275. Ramon Menéndez Pidal, La España del Cid, 2 vols. (Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, 1969), vol. 1, p. 299 and following.

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period was the restoration of the diocese of Braga in 1070-107170. Alfonso VI united the three kingdoms of the western Peninsula (León, Galicia and Castile) under the same crown and moved the frontier south, with the important conquest of Toledo, the emblematic capital of the Visigoth kingdom, in 1085. All this meant that Galicia became increasingly distant from the frontier, and, with time, the leading role would be taken up by the portucalense aristocracy. This was the situation in 1087-1091 when Urraca, Alfonso VI’s heiress, married Raymond of Burgundy, to whom was given the government of Galicia in 1095-1096, with authority that stretched to the river Mondego, and shortly after, as far as the Tagus71. Later, in 1095-1096, the territories south of the river Miño were awarded to Henry of Burgundy who meanwhile married Teresa, one of the bastard daughters of Alfonso VI, in 1095 or 109672. This donation was of relevance: for the first time, the ancient Gallaecia was divided by the above-mentioned river. The lands South of the Douro as far as Coimbra were united to Galicia bracarense, this area designated as Portucalense, which accentuated the isolation of the Galicia lucense73. As José Mattoso writes, this date representa bem mais do que o simples facto político da 70

71 72

73

Avelino de Jesus da Costa, O Bispo D. Pedro e a organização da Arquidiocese de Braga (Braga: Irmandade de S. Bento da Porta Aberta, 1997), pp. 195-223. About the importance of Braga in this process, see the works by: Luís Carlos Amaral, “Organização Eclesiástica de Entre-Douro-e-Minho: O Caso da Diocese de Braga (Sécs. IX-XII)”, Del Cantábrico al Duero: Trece estudios sobre organización social del espacio en los siglos VIII a XIII, José Ángel García de Cortázar, ed. (Santander: Universidad de Cantabria-Parlamento de Cantabria, 1999), pp. 313-349; Luis Carlos Amaral, Formação e desenvolvimento do domínio da diocese de Braga no período da Reconquista  (século IX-1137) (Porto: Faculdade de Letras da Universidade do Porto, PhD Dissertation, 2007); Luis Carlos Amaral, “Poblamiento y organización eclesiástica del territorio bracarense (finales del siglo IX – primer cuarto del siglo XI)”, La pervivencia del concepto: nuevas reflexiones sobre la ordenación social del espacio en la edad media, José Ángel Sesma, Carlos Laliena, coords. (Saragossa: Universidad de Zaragoza, 2008), pp. 113-147. Luís Carlos Amaral, Mário Jorge Barroca, A condessa-rainha: Teresa (Lisbon: Círculo de Leitores, 2012), pp. 38-39 and 49-50. Paulo Merêa, De “Portucale” (civitas) ao Portugal de D. Henrique (Porto: Portucalense Editora, 1954), pp. 33-37; Torquato de Sousa Soares, Formação do Estado Português..., pp. 55-64; Luís Carlos Amaral, Mário Jorge Barroca, A condessa-rainha..., p. 67. Pedro Cardim, Mafalda Soares da Cunha, Luís Adão da Fonseca, José Augusto de Sottomayor-Pizarro, “Ciclos e Momentos-Chave”, Entre Portugal e a Galiza (sécs XI a XVII)..., p. 31.

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criação do condado portucalense74 (“represented, more than the simple political fact, the creation of the Portucalense county”). With the arrival of the 12th century, this rupture acquired a religious expression that accentuated it even further. In 1100-1101, Diego Gelmírez was elected archbishop of Santiago de Compostela75 and, in 1103, the Cathedral of Braga recovered the metropolitan dignity76. In the short term, this circumstance had a decisive role in strengthening Portucalense autonomy. The evolution is known: a narrow sequence of events in the first half of the 12th century continually accentuated the divergence between the aristocracies on either side of the river Miño. Thus, the decisive moment was marked by the outcome of the battle of São Mamede (1128) near Guimarães, when Afonso Henriques (Doña Teresa’s son) and the Portucalense nobility defeated his mother’s forces and their Galician allies77. From then on, the process seemed unstoppable: Teresa died in 113078, her son moved the centre of the county from Guimarães to Coimbra in 113179 and accentuated his victorious power by resisting the enemy threats from both the Muslims and the Galicians. This dynamic culminated in October 1143, with the so-called “treaty of Zamora”, when, in the presence of the papal legate, Alfonso VII (crowned emperor in León in 113580) recognised the autonomy of Portugal81. From then on, the reign of Afonso I (1143-1185) was characterised by a prominent military activity against the Muslims82.

74 75 76

77 78 79 80 81

82

José Mattoso, Identificação de um País. Ensaio sobre as orígens de Portugal (10961325) (Lisbon: Editorial Estampa, 1985), vol. 1, pp. 61-63. Emma Falque, ed., Historia Compostelana (Madrid: Ediciones Akal, 1994), p. 9. Luís Carlos Amaral, Formação e desenvolvimento do domínio da diocese de Braga..., pp. 400-401. This problem continued in later times, and was barely completed in the 14th century (José Mattoso, Identificação de um País..., vol. 2, pp. 184-186). José Mattoso, D. Afonso Henriques (Lisbon: Círculo de Leitores, 2006), pp. 45-46. Luís Carlos Amaral, Mário Jorge Barroca, A condessa-rainha: Teresa..., p. 233. José Mattoso, D. Afonso Henriques..., pp. 75-79. Luis Suárez, Historia de España Antigua y Media, 3 vols. (Madrid: Ediciones Rialp, 1976), vol. 1, pp. 566-567. Updated views of this period, from the donation of the county to Henry of Burgundy until 1143, in: José Mattoso, “1096-1325”, História de Portugal…, vol. 2, pp. 23-64. About the “agreement” of Zamora, as well as the context in which it took place see: José Mattoso, D. Afonso Henriques…, pp. 149-155. José Mattoso, “1096-1325...”, vol. 2, pp. 64-79; José Mattoso, D. Afonso Henriques...

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At the same time, in the East side of the Peninsule, Alfonso the Chaste became King of Aragon and count of Barcelona in 1162 and continued the dynastic union established by his parents in 1137, but could not reproduce the protagonism of his western homologue on the eastern side of the Peninsula. The efforts to consolidate the sovereign’s position had to deal with Catalan and Aragonese societies united by the feudal and urban dynamic that had grown stronger in that same century. Thus, when Alfonso the Chaste tried to project his power over all Catalonia through his proclamation as the guarantor of the peace and truce in 1173, he was, in a way, contested by the count of Urgell in 1187. The latter did not hesitate to make an identical proclamation in his territories, claiming the jurisdiction over his domains for himself83. Similarly, the same king’s wish to impose a general bovage tax on all the country was aborted by the pressure of the nobles in 118884. Both facts show the fragility inherent in the sovereign’s position in Catalonia, where the king’s pretensions of pre-eminence received the support of the Romanist discourses, but could not avoid the weakness inherent in the lack of jurisdiction and tax income. The origin of the country and its feudal evolution had generated a jurisdictional and tax mosaic that became more complex over the centuries. Indeed, the social and economic development of the country benefited the estates more than the king, who entered the 13th century anxious to consolidate his power, but who was in reality surrounded by rising nobles and the emerging bourgeoisie, who were consolidating their own economic and jurisdictional power85.

83 84 85

Gener Gonzalvo, Les Constitucions de Pau i Treva de Catalunya (segles XI-XIII) (Barcelona: Departament de Justícia de la Generalitat de Catalunya, 1994), pp. 74-91. Manuel Sánchez, El naixement de la fiscalitat d’Estat a Catalunya (segles XII-XIV) (Vic-Girona: Eumo Editorial-Universitat de Girona, 1995), p. 38. Flocel Sabaté, “El poder soberano en la Cataluña bajomedieval: definición y ruptura”, Coups d’État à la fin du moyen Âge? Aux fondements du pouvoir politique en Europe occidentale, François Foronda, Jean-Philippe Genêt, José Manuel Nieto, eds. (Madrid: Casa de Velázquez, 2005), pp. 484-488.

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3. The cohesion of national identity in the peripheries of the Peninsula (13th-14th centuries) The medieval person, more than anything else, was a social being: he or she was defined by belonging to a group through characteristics and links assumed as his or her own86. Thus, concentric circles of belonging can be defined in which the individual was part of a group of solidarity, linked by lineage, band, seigniorial or jurisdictional links, the urban group, etc. In this sense, the reinforcing of populations identified with a certain territory can be seen in Europe at the start of the 13th century as circles of solidarity, grouping people together who shared being born in territories perceived unitarily87. That is why they could be known by the classic term of natio, which refers to the generation shared by birth88 and that, in the classical and late-medieval period, designated specific people, like Germanorum natione89 or natione iudaeorum90. In the 13th century, this term allowed the shared sentiment of belonging to be expressed, if we accept Genicot’s words91, although it may be more accurate to talk of perception. Indeed, the descriptions by Francesc Eiximenis in the 14th century stated the perception of nations from the behaviour of their members in the most mundane aspects, like eating and drinking: the Catalan nation is laudable at table because it differs from altres nacions (that) quan serveixen a menjar mostren la carn, així com castellans o portugaleses, o mostren les anques

86

87 88

89 90 91

Flocel Sabaté, “Els referents històrics de la societat: identitat i memòria”, L’Edat Mitjana. Món real i espai imaginat, Flocel Sabaté, ed. (Catarroja-Barcelona: Editorial Afers, 2012), pp. 13-16. Bernard Guenée, Occidente durante los siglos XIV y XV. Los Estados (Barcelona: Editorial Labor, 1973), p. 58. Natalia Vega, Estudio sintáctico-semántico de los verbos de nacimiwento en el latín ‘gigno’, ‘nascor’ y ‘orior’ (Bogotà: Universidad Nacional de Colombia, MA Dissertation, 2007), p. 14. Alfred  J. Church, William Jackson Brodibb, The Germania of Tacitus (LondonCambridge (Mass.): MacMillan, 1869), p. 62. Tertullianus, “De praescriptionibus adversus haeretico”, Patrologia Latina (Database, disc 1), vol. 2, 67. Léopold Genicot, Europa en el siglo XIII (Barcelona: Labor, 1976), p. 130.

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nues car les llurs faldes són fort curtes així com se fan los franceses92 (“other nations [that] when they serve the food show the flesh, like the Castilians or Portuguese, or show their bare legs as their skirts are very short like the French do”). Thus, the term nation was identified with the corresponding ethnic name and specific practices. In 1369, King Peter the Ceremonious was indignant because the judge Mariano IV of Arborea headed the Sardinian revolt despite having been educated in Catalonia per maestres qui el nodissen a les nostres maneres e lo mostressin servir lo senyor rei nostre pare e nós e amar la nostra nació93 (“by masters that feed him according our manners and showed that they served the king our father and me, and to love our nation”). Thus, the nation defined a set of values and elements that made up “our manners”, and these included respect for a common sovereign and expressing a feeling of voluntary identification, to the extent that the king did not hesitate to refer to amar (“loving”) the nation. Among the set of shared axiological and cultural values that singularise the nation, the most decisive is the language, so that nació e llengua (“nation and language”) are easily assimilated94. In 1468, Joan Margarit mixed gents e nations (“people and nations”) and lengues e pobles (“languages and people”) indifferently, thus reflecting the conceptual proximity of these words95. The term Catalan was spread, during the 13th century, throughout the conquest of Majorca and Valencia that expanded Catalan repopulation and language96, and during the 14th century by the preeminence of Catalonia in the projection into the Mediterranean97. All this

92 93 94 95 96

97

Francesc Eiximenis, Terç del Crestià, chap.  372 (Lo Crestià. Selecció, ed. Albert Hauf [Barcelona: Edicions 62-La Caixa, 1983], p. 148). Ricard Albert, Joan Gassiot, Parlaments a les corts de catalanes (Barcelona: Editorial Barcino, 1928), pp. 37-38. AML, llibre d’actes 398, fol. 19v; AHCB, fons municipal B-VI, llibre 1, fol. 103r. Francesc Carreras y Candi, Pere Joan Ferrer, militar y senyor del Maresme (Barcelona: Impremta La Renaixensa, 1892), p. 104. Enric Guinot, Els fundadors del regne de València. Repoblament, antroponímia i llengua a la València medieval, 2 vols. (València: Tres i Quatre, 1999); Antoni Mas, Esclaus i catalans. Esclavitut i segregació a Mallorca durant els segles XIV i XV (Palma de Mallorca: Lleonard Muntaner Editor, 2005), pp. 19-26. Vicenzo d’Alessandro, “Spazio geográfico e morfologie social nella Sicilia del basso Medievo”, Commercio, finanza, funzione pubblica. Stranieri in Sicilia e in Sardegna nei secoli XIII-XV (Naples: Gisem Liguori Editore, 1986), pp. 6-8.

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facilitated a generalisation of the term Catalan, applied to those who spoke the language or even those from the same Crown, as also happened with the permanent trade legations abroad, identified with the Catalan nation although they assisted all citizens of the Crown98. This wide view matches another narrower one centred on the geographic setting of Catalonia, thanks to the institutional development in the latter decades of the 13th century and the growing social cohesion99. It should be no surprise then that in 1291 the courts demanded that all the officials in this territory sint Cathalani100. Thus, the Catalan nation referred to a shared cultural perception: all members of the nation should, for example, feel happy because the first Catalan cardenal was chosen, as King Peter the Ceremonious stated in 1357101. Identified with all the population, the nation admitted a bodily and vital simile: Bishop Margarit could proclain in 1454 that jau la dita nació catalana quasi vídua e plora la sua desolació102 (“Catalan nation is postrated such as a widow and cries its desesperation”) for the absence of the monarch, installed in Italy since 1432. And in 1471 he himself tried to explain the Catalan civil war as aggression by foreign nations contrary to Catalan expansion that had sometimes harmed them: moltes d’elles dittes nacions nos fossen infestissimes e exosses e en la nostra preclara natió han volgut exercir les venjances de les injúries e dans que la dita nostra preclara natió per lo passat havien rebuda103 (“many of said nations were annoying against our excellent nation and they has wished to take revenge for the injuries and damages they received from us in the past”). With this meaning, the concept of nation encompassed the whole country, in a cultural content used by all the participants in the power game. Thus, when the estates claimed a representativity over the whole 98

99 100 101 102 103

Flocel Sabaté, “L’idéel politique et la nation catalane: la terre, le roi et le mythe des origines”, Les vecteurs de l’idéel. Le pouvoir symbolique entre Moyen Âge et Renaissance (Rome: École Française de Rome, forthcoming). Flocel Sabaté, “Expressões da representatividade social na Catalunha tardomedieval”, Identidades e Fronteiras no Medioevo..., pp. 70-71. Cortes de Cataluña (Madrid: Real Academia de la Historia, 1896), vol. 1/1, p. 157. Antoni Rubió y Lluch, Documents per l’història de la Cultura Catalana mig-eval, 2 vols. (Barcelona: Institut d’Estudis Catalans, 1908), vol. 1, p. 181. Ricard Albert, Joan Gassiot, Parlaments a les corts catalanes (Barcelona: Editorial Barcino, 1928), pp. 211-212. Francesc Carreras y Candi, Pere Joan Ferrer…, p. 104.

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country that would allow them to face the monarch, they did not invoke the nation but rather other agglutinating concepts, like la terra (“the land”) or lo general (“the general”)104. Precisely, the weakness of the monarch, always short of resources, left him dependent on the estates, who accepted his financial requests through a series of extraordinary grants in exchange for important concessions105. The Parliament (Corts), summoned in function of monarch’s need to request subsidies, express the duality between the monarch and the estates106. These took on representativity, presenting themselves before the king not in the name of the respective groups or braços (“arms”) but invoking the representativity of the terra107, as was stated explicitly at the start of the second half of the 14th century108. This fiscal weakness of the monarch led to the institutional evolution, especially after 1363109, in the Crown of Aragon, of permanent diputations of the Parliament that were consolidated by their claim to represent the land110, well defined and outlined within the Crown of Aragon111. Thus, in Catalonia the economic and political cohesion of the society, its common cultural traits and institutions justified in the representativity before the monarch, consolidated this common identity. The path was different in the kingdom of Portugal, where the condition of “independent” monarchy explains, to a great extent, the following

104 Flocel Sabaté, “Amar la nostra nació”, Sardegna e Catalogna ‘officinae di identitat. Riflessini storiografiche e prospettive di ricerca, Alessandra Cioppi, ed. (Cagliari: Consiglio Nazionale delle Richerche, 2013), pp. 31-37. 105 Manuel Sánchez, El naixement de la fiscalitat d’Estat..., pp. 107-134. 106 Ramon d’Abadal, Pere el Cerimoniós i els inicis de la decadència política de Catalunya (Barcelona: Edicions 62, 1987), pp. 257-284. 107 Oriol Oleart, “La terra davant del monarca: una contribució per a una tipologia de l’assemblea estamental catalana”, Anuario de Estudios Medievales, 25 (1995), pp. 593-615. 108 Tomàs de Montagut, Les institucions fiscalitzadores de la Generalitat de Catalunya (Des dels seus orígens dins a la reforma de 1413) (Barcelona: Sindicatura de Comptes de Catalunya, 1996), pp. 102-103. 109 José Ángel Sesma, “Fiscalidad y poder. La fiscalidad centralitzada como instrumento de poder en la Corona de Aragón (siglo XIV)”, Espacio, tiempo y forma, 4 (1989), pp. 447-463. 110 Flocel Sabaté, “Corona de Aragón”, Historia de España. La época medieval: administracion y gobierno (Madrid: Ediciones Istmo, 2003), pp. 385-387. 111 José Ángel Sesma, “La fijación de fronteres económicas entre los estados de la Corona de Aragón”, Aragón en la Edad Media, 5 (1983), pp. 141-165.

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evolution: the efforts at territorial expansion ended in 1249 with the incorporation of the far south of the Algarve112, while the evolution that led to the main institution of the Portuguese monarchy can be placed in 1325113. In general, for a great part of this period, the kingdom esperienced a climate of crisis: fighting against the Muslims, conflicts, internal and with the neighbouring kingdom, problems of succession114. Stability, associated with the strengthening of the authority of the monarchy, came with Afonso III (1248-1279) and especially Dinis (1279-1325). In this sense, the latter’s policy of affirmation is relevant115, as is the pacification of relations with Castile, in particular thanks to the definition of the border, with the signing of the treaties of Badajoz, in 1267116, and Alcañices, in 1297117. The line of the frontier between the two kingdoms was finally established as a result of the latter treaty. Thus, by the mid 14th century, the kingdom of Portugal was much more structured than two centuries earlier, when it became autonomous from the Leonese monarchy118. Despite internal differences, the population (not very different from those in the rest of the Iberian Peninsula) gathered around three vectors of identification: a territory with defined frontiers diplomatically pacified since the end of the 13th century; power and an administration (a state, one could say) relatively stabilised; and a language and cultural identity in a growing process of affirmation. Presenting these three aspects, Armindo de Sousa wrote that, in the 14th and 15th centuries, Portugal was Um território definitivo e uma população ontogonicamente definitiva também. As alterações e aportamentos posteriores, numa e noutra dessas vertentes, não passarão de circunstanciais. As grandes matrizes geográficas e étnicas ficaram resolvidas. E houve também uma ‘ordem’ que civilizou o meio e as gentes. Será nesta vertente, a da ordem, que a história vai fazer efeito. Porque, realmente, nâo é no sangue nem na Leontina Ventura, D. Afonso III (Lisbon: Círculo de Leitores, 2006), pp. 88-94. José Mattoso, Identificação de um País..., vol. 1, pp. 63-65. José Mattoso, “1096-1325...”, vol. 2, pp. 95-133. José Mattoso, “1096-1325...”, vol. 2, pp. 133-163, 269-296. Leontina Ventura, D. Afonso III..., pp. 138-148. José Augusto de Sottomayor-Pizarro, D.  Dinis (Lisbon: Círculo de Leitores, 2005), pp.  108-115; Luís Adão da Fonseca, ed., IV Jornadas Luso-Espanholas de Historia Medieval. As relações de Fronteira no século de Alcanices, 2 vols. (Porto: Universidade do Porto, 2000). 118 José Mattoso, Identificação de um País..., vol. 2. 112 113 114 115 116 117

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Flocel Sabaté and Luís Adão da Fonseca terra que nós, portugueses de hoje, nos distanciamos dos nossos pais medievos; é na cultura e na mentalidade119. A definitive territory and also a ontologically definitive population. The later alterations and contributions to one or other of these aspects would be circumstantial. The great geographic and ethnic matrices were resolved. And there was also an ‘order’ that brought a specific civilisation to the land and the people. It will be in this aspect (that of the order) that the history will have consequences, because, in reality, the Portuguese of today do not differ from their medieval predecesors either in blood or in land, but rather in culture and the mentality.

Indeed, it is a process that dates from the early 14th century. As this same author adds: (O) território está definido e a população, apesar de separada por vedações estatutárias e fossos étnicos, compõe uma nação. A língua, o rei e toda uma teia de costumes e normas estabelecem os laços da identidade. Mas não há ainda consciéncia generalizada dela, da identidade. É coisa que está a cimentar-se. Na solidariedade, na emulação e no perigo120. The territory is defined and the population, although separated by legal limitations and ethnic breaches, composes a nation. The language, the king and a whole set of customs and norms define the links of identity. There is still no generalised awareness of it, of the identity. But it is ready to strengthen. In solidarity, emulation and danger.

However, the choice of these dates is, as always, subject to other options. In fact, it depends on the criteria and the framework taken into account. Not long ago, 1325 was taken as the determining moment in the structuring of the main institutions of the Portuguese monarchy. Nevertheless, if the aim is to highlight a transversal date that represents the end of a common cycle throughout the Iberian West, and from the perspective of greater duration, the cycle can be extended to 1367-1369121. It corresponds to a complex process in the perspective of Portuguese history, throughout moments of high tension (for example, 1383-1385122 119 Armindo de Sousa, “1325-1480”, História de Portugal..., vol. 2, p. 374. 120 Armindo de Sousa, “1325-1480...”, vol. 2, p. 385. 121 José Augusto de Sottomayor-Pizarro, Pedro Cardim, Mafalda Soares da Cunha, Luís Adão da Fonseca, “Ciclos e Momentos-Chave”, Entre Portugal e a Galiza (sécs XI a XVII)..., pp. 33-35. 122 A recent title is: Maria Helena da Cruz Coelho, D.  João I o que re-colheu Boa Memória (Lisbon: Círculo de Leitores, 2005), pp. 59-111.

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or 1580123) and others when relations with Castile took the shape of diplomatic games that are not always easy to interpret (like the reign of Alfonso V, between 1448 and 1481)124. During these centuries, there does not appear to have been a single identity, this greatly depending on the social dimension it rested on, from the bourgeoise to the noble or ecclesiastical identity, to exemplify some stereotypical outlines. There is also an evolution in Portugal where this “sense of belonging” is reinforced throughout the ages. There are various manifestations since the 15th century. In this regard, the chronicler Fernão Lopes, refering to Cicero, wrote that nom somos nados a nos mesmos porque huña parte de nos tem a terra, e a outra os paremtes125 (“we are not born from ourselves because a part of us belongs to the land and the other to the relatives”). This feeling, which expresses a real belief, is, in its origins, a problem of the domain of the imaginary; that is to say, of the way we see. And this perceptive ambiguity thus explains the variation of many semantic concepts, as it is the case of the motherland. In this context, the monarchy was the great reference for Portuguese society, on which the kingdom’s main coordinates of identity were projected126. It sometimes happened that these coordinates oscilated between interests and spatial horizons that did not coincide: this was when Portuguese society was divided between divergent options. In any case, the social awareness of Portuguese identity evolved from the Late Middle Ages and throughout the Modern epoch. Portugal was a territory and a name (whose designation evolved from a local one to that of a land, and from that to a kingdom), with well-defined heraldic symbols (although in one or the other case, its meaning is debateable), in which, once again, royal power had a determinant role. It is interesting to note that, beyond the antiquity and continuity of the kingdom, the problem of dynastic legitimacy arose repeatedly. However, like any other European

123 A recent title is: Amélia Polónia, D. Henrique (Lisbon: Círculo de Leitores, 2005), pp. 136 and following. 124 Luís Adão da Fonseca, O Condestável D.Pedro de Portugal, a Ordem Militar de Avis e a Península Ibérica do seu tempo (1429-1466) (Porto: Instituto Nacional de Investigação Científica, 1982). 125 Fernão Lopes, Crónica de D. João I (Porto: Civilização, 1945), vol. 1, p. 2. 126 Luís Adão da Fonseca, “Introdução”, Entre Portugal e a Galiza (sécs XI a XVII)…, pp. 5-21. About the role of the monarchy, see: p. 91 and following.

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monarchy, through its history, its myths and symbols multiplied, the role of the language was strengthened and its own legal tradition was organised127. Thus, the historical path led to assumptions of identity at the two sides of the Peninsula during the 13th and 14th centuries, with different biases. While territorial cohesion and the monarchy’s power to unite were the leading factors in Portugal, in Catalonia it was the cohesion of the society itself which stands out, precisely through estates that invoked a common representativity before the monarch, marking not only a duality but even a specific opposition among those who claimed to speak in the name of “the land” and the sovereign. In any case, the strengthening of the respective societies is displayed through the assumption of national descriptives, which in turn fitted within the Hispanic perspective. This was the manifestation of the contemporary evolution experienced in Europe, where, in various territories, the term nation began to acquire an ethical and emotional content that complemented the sense of moral and legal requirements128. Moreover, the different national expressions in Iberian Peninsula matched with the Hispanic framework. In 1363, for example, Cardinal Gil Albornoz created the college of San Clemente in Bologna to house all the students from the Hispanic kingdoms, which did not stop them from forming specific groups, like those belonging to the natio catalanorum129 or the Portuguese students130. In reality, it was a game of scales and proximity: in Majorca, the consulate of the Castilian nation assisted any mercader castellà o portogalès o altre generació d’Espanya (“Castilian or Portuguese merchant or other generation from Spain”131), and in 1416, in the Council of Constance, the nation of Spain covered the Portuguese, Castilians and the members of the Crown 127 Luís Adão da Fonseca, ed., “A Consciência Social”, Entre Portugal e a Galiza (sécs XI a XVII)..., pp. 299-399. 128 Dieter Mertens, Il pensiero politico medievale (Bologna: Il Mulino, 1999), p. 129. 129 Pascual Tamburri, “España en la Universdiad de Bolonia: vida académica y comunidad nacional (siglos XIII-XIV)”, Espacio, Tiempo y Forma. Serie III. Historia Medieval, 10 (1997), pp. 295-299. 130 Antonio Domingues de Sousa Costa, “Estudantes portugueses na reitoria do Colégio de S. Clemente de Bolonha na primeira metade do século XV”, Arquivos de História da Cultura Portuguesa, 3/1 (1969), pp. 3-157. 131 István Szasdi Leon-Borja, “Sobre el consulado castellano de Mallorca en la Baja Edad Media”, Anales de la Universidad de Alicante. Historia Medieval, 10 (19941995), p. 218.

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of Aragon, which included Sards and Sicilians132. Thus, the evolution requires the specific characteristics of this fit to be dealt with.

4. Medieval and modern models of cohesion – and rupture – in the Iberian Peninsula (15th-19th centuries) Politics and culture accentuated interrelations in the Peninsula in the 15th century. The political interests of the four Christian crowns in the Peninsula intersected, and in three of them, the same dynasty, the Trastámara, consolidated its leading position133. At the same time, the generalisation of the invocation of the Visigoth or classic Hispanic past led various authors to adopt the peninsular unity in their historical and literary references134. This Hispanic perspective was increasingly conceived in benefit of Castile, imagined as a receptacle of the line of legitimation and future backbone, by authors like Sánchez de Arévalo, who specified, Quodmodo in regno quod hodie appellatur Castellae et Legionis residet titulus et nominatio regum Hispanie, so solum autem regem Castellae vocant Hispaniae regum135. The mesianism that contributed to sustaining the royal crown, although also at a given moment incorporating the current from the Catalan-Aragonese crown136, contributed powerfully to establishing the  direct line between the Visigoth past, the Castilian transmission

132 Alan Ryder, Alfonso el Magnánimo, rey de Aragón, Nápoles y Sicilia (1396-1458) (Valencia: Edicions Alfons el Magnànim-Generalitat Valenciana, 1992), pp. 80-81. 133 Jaume Vicens Vives, “Els afers castellans de Joan II de Catalunya-Aragó”, Butlletí de la Societat Catalana d’Estudis Històrics, 1 (1953), pp. 18-24. 134 Mariàngela Vilallonga, “La geografia a Catalunya a l’època del Renaixement”, Estudi General, 13 (1993), pp. 54-55. 135 Robert  B. Tate, Ensayos sobre la historiografía peninsular del siglo XV (Madrid: Gredos, 1970), pp. 95-96. 136 Martin Aurell, “Eschatologie, spiritualité et politique dans la confédération catalano-aragonaise (1282-1412)”, Fin du monde et singes des temps. Visionnaires et prophètes en France méridionale (fin XIIIe-début XVe siècle) (Toulouse: Éditions Privat, 1992), pp. 230-232.

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and the Hispanic future in benefit of Christianity137. The Castilian literary prestige worked in the same line, summing writers from the Crown of Aragon who expressed themselves bilingually in Catalan and Castilian, and Castilian authors who rejected the Italianising influx to accentuate a nationalist perspective. Through these different ways, there was a movement towards a pan-Iberism whose epicentre was Castile138. The dynastic union reached in 1479, when Ferdinand V of Castile became also Ferdinand II of Aragon, mantained the institutional singularities and even allowed the sovereign to adopt Aragonese models as references while still confirming the strengthening of the Hispanic monarchy. The long list of titles that Ferdinand and Isabella then held could be simplified by describing both as rey e reyna de España139 (“king and queen of Spain”). The external perception was clear: in 1482 in Genoa the expression il serenissimi re de Spagna was used140. This Spain maintained the plurality of kingdoms and nations, as Ferdinand himself showed when referring to nuestros reynos de Espanya (“our kingdoms of Spain”) or to universis et singulis consulibus mercatoribus tam cathalanorum et castellanorum quam etiam quarumvis aliarum nacionum nostrorum Hispanie regnorum ac aliorum subditorum nostrorum141. Yet, the political perspective imposed a unifying tendency: in 1488, the king equalled the rights of the Catalan and Spanish consulates in Brugges, a ffin que todos los vasallos nuestros tengan y gozen de unos mismos privilegios142 (“in order our vassals have and enjoy the sames laws”).

137 José Ángel Sesma, Fernando de Aragón. Hispaniarum rex (Saragosse: Gobierno de Aragón, 1992), pp. 160-161. 138 Luis Fernández, “Lengua e identidad nacional en el pensamiento político de Alfonso de Cartagena”, e-Spania, 13/2 (2012), , 12th October 2012. 139 Antonio de la Torre, “El concepto de España durante el reinado de los Reyes Católicos”, Revista de la Biblioteca, Archivo y Museo, 23/68 (1954), pp. 13-14. 140 Roser Salicrú, “La embajada de 1479 de Pietro Fieschi a Granada: nuevas sombras sobre la presencia genovesa en el sultanato nazarí en vísperas de la conquista castellana”, Atti dell’Accademia Lugure di Scienze e Lettere, 54 (1997), series V, p. 361. 141 Antonio de la Torre, Documentos sobre relaciones internacionales de los Reyes Católicos (Barcelona: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 1950), vol. 2, pp. 154, 163, 145, respectively. 142 Pablo Desportes, “El consulado catalán de Brujas (1330-1480)”, Aragón en la Edad Media, 14-15 (1999), pp. 389-390.

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The same dynastic strategy would enable the Portuguese crown to share a parallel Hispanic destiny, attempted more than once at the end of the 15th and early 16th centuries, the most important of which came through Prince Miguel da Paz, son of the Portuguese king, Manuel I, and Isabella of Castile-Aragon, daughter and heiress to the Catholic Monarchs, a possibility only broken by the prince’s premature death in 1500143. It was not until 1580 – and since then until 1640 – when Portugal came under the same sovereign as the rest of the Peninsula144. In these decades, Portugal had to face new situations in its history, such as the absence of the king or the practice of the “delegated government” (although these were very frequent in other societies in Europe)145. However, in the specific case of Portugal, it is clear that from the start of the modern epoch, throughout the history of the kingdom, the affirmation of the identity of the monarchy and Portuguese society was of crucial importance, with consequences at distinct levels, while, as a backdrop, the organisation and institutionalisation of the political, judicial, economic and social space was taking place. The guidelines of this process were orientated through schemes that have to be understood in an Iberian dimension. Thus, fitting Catalonia and Portugal into the Hispanic monarchy gave rise to a concretisation of the generalised dispute in contemporary Europe between the emerging absolutist model and the so-called mixed monarchies inherited from the medieval period146, because counterbalanced royal power with that of the estates, as explicitly legislated in the 143 João Paulo Oliveira e Costa, D. Manuel I, 1469-1521, Um príncipe do Renascimento (Lisbon: Círculo de Leitores, 2005), pp. 88-94. 144 Fernando Bouza, D. Filipe I, Fernanda Olival, D. Filipe II and António de Oliveira, D.  Filipe III, all three in (Lisbon: Círculo de Leitores, 2005); Mafalda Soares da Cunha, Pedro Cardim, Leonor Freire Costa, coords., Portugal na Monarquia espanhola. Dinâmicas de integração e conflito (Lisbon: CHAM-CIDEHUS-GHES, 2013); Pedro Cardim, Portugal unido y separado. Felipe II, la unión de territorios y la condición política del reino de Portugal (Valladolid: Universidad de ValladolidCátedra Felipe II, 2014). 145 María Gloria de Antonio Rubio, Pedro Cardim, Mafalda Soares da Cunha, Judite Gonçalves de Freitas, Ana Isabel López-Salazar, Pablo Otero Piñeyro Maseda, Eduardo Pardo de Guevara y Valdés, “O Espaço Político”, Entre Portugal e a Galiza (sécs XI a XVII)..., pp. 125-136. 146 Marie Gaille-Nikodimov, Le gouvernement mixte. De l’idéal politique au monstre constitutionnel en Europe (XIIIe-XVIIe siècle) (Saint-Étienne: Publications de l’Université de Saint-Étienne, 2005).

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Parliament of Barcelona in 1599147. Significantly, in both Catalonia148 and Portugal149, the change from 16th to the 17th centuries brought growing tension that aimed to shield the power of their own institutions to govern, closer to the oligarchy and as a counterbalance the regal pretensions, with arguments based on the origin and evolution of the respective countries in line with the legislation and memory supplied by the Middle Ages150. The tension broke out in 1640 in Catalonia and Portugal. The legitimacy of those who claimed to represent the country clashed with that brandished by the sovereign of Spain. The fortunes of war were different in each case, with distinct fates for Portugal and Catalonia: independence in the former case, submission under the Hispanic monarch in the latter. The 17th century conflict was part of the contemporary European context that culminating in the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 that sanctioned a Europe of internally unified and separate states151. This approach not only moved away from the medieval models but also fertilised the ground for the growing political identity for the national community. The internal unification of Spain in the 18th century contributed powerfully 147 Tomàs de Montagut, “Pactisme o absolutisme a Catalunya: les gran institucions de govern (s. XV-XVI)”, Anuario de Estudios Medievales, 19 (1989), pp. 669-679. 148 Joan Pau Rúbies, “Don Francisco de Gilabert i la idea de govern mixt: fortuna i prudència del constitucionalisme català dels segles XVI i XVII”, Pedralbes, 16 (1996), pp. 106-108; Joan Lluis Palos, Ramon Ragués, “Les institucions catalanes a l’època moderna i l’ascens dels juristes”, Pedralbes, 13/1 (1993), pp. 51-66; Antoni Simon, “Els antecedents ideològics de la Revolució de 1640. Un renovat pactisme català enfront da ‘revolució bodiana’”, Profesor Nazario González. Una historia abierta (Barcelona: Publicacions de la Universitat de Barcelona-Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 1998), pp. 98-102. 149 António Manuel Hespanha, “O Antigo Regime (1620-1807)”, História de Portugal, José Mattoso, dir. (Lisbon: Editorial Estampa, 1993), vol. 4. 150 Antoni Simon, Els orígens ideològics de la revolució catalana de 1640 (Barcelona: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, 1999); Antoni Simon, Construccions polítiques i identitats nacionals. Catalunya i els orígens de l’estat modern espanyol (Barcelona: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, 2005). About the Portuguese “revolution”, see: Nuno Gonçalo Monteiro, “A Restauração”, História de Portugal, Rui Ramon, coord. (Lisbon: Esfera dos Livros, 2009), pp. 295-329; Leonor Freire Costa, Mafalda Soares da Cunha, D. João IV (Lisbon: Círculo de Leitores, 2006); Rafael Valladares, La rebelión de Portugal. 1640-1680. Guerra, conflicto y poderes en la monarquía hispánica (Valladolid: Junta de Castilla y León, 1998). 151 Paul Hirst, Grahame Thompson, “Globalization and the Future of the Nation-State”, Economy and Society, 24/3 (1995), pp. 408-442.

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to the consolidation of a specific national discourse for a Spain without Portugal152. This line was reinforced in the 19th century153, when the aim was to sustain power and social cohesion through merging the notions of State and Nation154. At that time, Portugal was not compared with Catalonia, but rather Spain, under the logic of two states with national identities in the same Peninsula155. Until the consolidation of this model, it was intended to influence the construction of a pluri-national Spain from Catalonia, which would have been closer to the medieval roots and included Portugal156. Significantly, Iberism, arising with growing power from the mid-19th century as an intellectual and social proposal that called for the cultural vision and even the political shaping of plural peninsular unit, found one of its principal epicentres in Catalonia157, while also finding an echo in Portugal158.

152 Ricardo García Cárcel, “El concepto de España en el siglo XVIII”, Manual de historia de España siglo XVIII, Roberto Fernández ed. (Madrid: Historia 16, 1993), pp. 7-36. 153 Inman Fox, La invención de España. La invención de España. Nacionalismo liberal e identidad nacional (Madrid: Ediciones Cátedra, 1997), pp. 15-174. 154 José Álvarez Junco, Mater dolorosa. La idea de España en el siglo XIX (Madrid: Taurus, 2001). 155 Abdool Karim Vakil, “Nationalising Cultural Politics: Representations of the Portuguese ‘Discoveries’ and the Rhetoric of Identitarianism, 1880-1926”; Alan Freeland, “The People and the Poet: Portuguese National Identity and the Camões Tercentenary (1880)”, Nationalism and the nation in the Iberian Peninsula. Competing and conflictind identities, Claire Mar-Molinero, Angel Smith, eds. (Oxford: Berg, 1996), pp. 33-67. 156 Ramon Grau, “La historiografia del romanticisme (de Pròsper de Bofarull a Víctor Balaguer)”, Història de la historiografia catalana, Albert Balcells, ed. (Barcelona: Institut d’Estudis Catalans, 2004), pp. 158-159. 157 Enric Ucelay-Da cal, El imperialismo catalán. Prat de la Riba, Cambó, D’Ors y la conquista moral de España (Barcelona: Edhasa, 2003), pp. 247-250. 158 For Iberism in Portugal, see: Sérgio Campos Matos, “Iberismo e identidade nacional (1851-1910)”, Clio, 14/15 (2006), pp.  349-400; Sérgio Campos Matos, “Was Iberism a Nationalism? Conceptions of Iberism in Portugal in the Ninteenth and Twentieth Centuries”, Portuguese Studies, 25 (2009), pp. 215-229; Sérgio Campos Matos, “Iberismo e hispanismo: Portugal e Espanha (1890-1931)”, Filosofia y literatura en la Península Ibérica. Respuestas a la crisis finisecular, Pedro Calafate, José Luis Mora, Xavier Agenjo, eds. (Madrid: Fundación I. Larramendi-Universidad de Lisboa-Asociación de Hispanismo Filosófico, 2012), pp.  251-271; Maria da

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It is evident that throughout this process, any comparison is affected by something that clearly differentiates Portuguese evolution since the Middle Ages and especially its position within the Iberian Peninsula: the maritime and colonial expansion, first along the coast of Africa and to the East and then, to Brazil. Indeed, as Pedro Cardim and Mafalda Soares da Cunha highlighted: No que respeita aos equilíbrios no espaço político e económico interno das Coroas ibéricas a descoberta e ocupação dos territórios ultramarinos trouxeram a inexorável centralidade de pólos políticos e económicos estabelecidos no Sul de Portugal (Lisboa) e no sul de Castela (Sevilha), com implicações decisivas na crescente ferização da fronteira nortenha entre Portugal e a Galiza159. Regarding the balances in the internal political and economic areas of the Iberian crowns, the discovery and occupation of the overseas territories implied the inexorable centrality of the political and economic centres established in the south of both Portugal (Lisbon) and Castile (Seville), with decisive implications for the growing peripheralisation of the northern frontier between Portugal and Galicia.

5. Researching the questions open through an ESF research project The path from the Middle Ages to the present leads to an Iberian Peninsula converted into a suitable receptacle for contradictory discourses of justification, which at the same time can hinder the correct analysis historical. This thus requires a historiographic revision to enhance and combine research already under way and which arise in precisely the same scenarios that were the scene of a shared peninsular relation.

Conceição Meireles Pereira, A  questão ibérica:  imprensa e opinião 1850-1870 (Porto: Universidade do Porto, PhD Dissertation, 1995). 159 Pedro Cardim, Mafalda Soares da Cunha, “Ciclos e Momentos-Chave”, Entre Portugal e a Galiza (sécs XI a XVII)..., p. 44. The most recent synthesis about the evolution of Luso-Spanish relations, in: Martim de Albuquerque, Inácio Guerreiro, Feliciano Nóvoa Portela, Elena Postigo Castellanos, coords., Encontros e desencontros ibéricos. Tratados hispano-portugueses desde a Idade Média (Lisbon-Barcelona: Chaves Ferreira-Lunwerg Editores, 2006).

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The sub-programme European Comparisons in Regional Cohesion, Dynamics and Expressions (EuroCORECODE), set up by the European Science Foundation within the Eurocores Programme in 2009, appeared as the ideal setting for studying and comparing the historical roots that have articulated regional identities in Europe. This was also a concern in other historical European regions, so the seven research groups from the different countries took up a study that allowed us to go deeper into knowledge of regional history and, at the same time, reach points of comparison regarding the elements of regional identity, cohesion and articulation. Under this scope a research project titled Cuius Regio. An analysis of the Cohesive and Disruptive Forces Destining the Attachment of Groups of Persons to and the Cohesion within Regions as a Historical Phenomenon was submitted under the general coordination of Dick de Boer. The approval and award of this research project by the European Science Foundation allowed intense work to be carried out between 2010 and 2013 in the study of Bohemia, Catalonia, Guelders-Lower Rhine, Livonia, Portugal, Schleswig-Holstein, Silesia and Transylvania, in each case with strong teams directed respectively by Lenka Bobkova, Flocel Sabaté, Dick de Boer, Anu Mänd, Luís Adão da Fonseca, Kurt Villads, Roscislaw Zerelik and Cosmin Popa-Gorjanu. Attempting to detect the axes of regional and its historical persistence in each case, the combination of regular scientific meetings allowed us to move towards joint definitions. These benefited even further from interdisciplinary meetings with the other two projects financed in the same sub-programme160, which enriched especially the attention to the construction of ideological values, the global historical perspective and the effect of geography in its widest sense. This research framework at a European level accentuated the need for a specific study to relate the two peninsular geographical entities dealt with in the project: Portugal and Catalonia. Both shared a scenario, clear historical coincidences and, at the same time, different fates in the building of identity. A common and comparative study could reach a new

160 Symbols that Bind and Break Communities: Saint’s Cults as stimuli and expressions of local, regional, national and universlists identities, directed by Nils Holger Petersen ; and Unfamiliarity as Signs of European Times: scrutinizing historical representations of otherness and contemporary daily practices in border regions, codirected by Bas Spierings and Martin van der Velde , 10th October 2012.

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perspective, that is, a diachronic and holistic view. With this scope, the exchange of information and opinions highlighted the necessity for a scientific meeting to present the conceptual revisions and debate the themes open. Thus, as part of the second International Medieval Meeting Lleida, organised by the Consolidated Medieval Research Group “Space, Power and Culture”, the meeting titled Catalonia and Portugal: The Iberian Peninsula from the Periphery was held in the Catalan city of Lleida between the 26th and 29th of June 2012. This looked again at the historical and conceptual origins of both entities and analysed the development of their identity from the Middle Ages to the 19th century, thanks to the papers submitted by Luis A. García Moreno (Universidad de Alcalá de Henares), Tomàs de Montagut (Universitat Pompeu Fabra), Michel Zimmermann (Université de Versailles-Saint Quentin-en-Yvelines), José Augusto de Sottomayor-Pizarro (Universidade do Porto), Josep Moran (Universitat de Barcelona), Philip  D. Rasico (Vanderbilt University), Xavier Barral (Université Rennes-2), Stefano Maria Cingolani (La Sapienza, Università di Roma), Paula Pinto Costa (Universidade do Porto), José Ángel Sesma (Universidad de Zaragoza), Cristina Pimenta (Universidade do Porto), Vicent Josep Escartí (Universitat de València), Antoni M. Simon (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona), Òscar Jané (Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona), Eulàlia Miralles (Universitat de València), Giovanni  C. Cattini (Universitat de Barcelona), David Cao (Universitat de Barcelona), Òscar Costa (Universitat de Barcelona), Robert von Friedeburg (Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam), Dick de Boer (Rijksuniversiteit Groningen), Luís Adão da Fonseca (Universidade do Porto) and Flocel Sabaté (Universitat de Lleida). Despite having participated in the preparatory debates, Pedro Cardim (Universidade Nova de Lisboa) and Conceição Mereiles Pereira (Universidade do Porto) were unfortunately unable to attend, but they sent their papers. In contrast, new communications were submitted by Ana Cristina Santos Leitão (Universidade de Lisboa), Luis Ribeiro Gonçalves (Universidade de Lisboa), Manuel Fialho (Universidade de Lisboa), Max Siller (Universität Innsbruck), Jordi Juan Villanueva (Universitat de Barcelona) and Andrea Knox (Northumbria University). The meeting culminated in enriching debates chaired by Flocel Sabaté (Universitat de Lleida), Paul Freedman (Yale University), Isabel Grifoll (Universitat de Lleida), Joan  J. Busqueta (Universitat de Lleida), Luís Adão da  Fonseca (Universidade do Porto), Josep Maria Domingo (Universitat de Lleida), Jordi Casassas (Universidad de Barcelona), Covadonga Valdaliso (Universidade

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de Coimbra) and Roser Salicrú (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Barcelona). As was predictable, a meeting of this size generated a large exchange of ideas and intense scientific discussions. The work published here is the main result of these. Publishing this book is an essential consequence to prolong the positive effects of the meeting in the scientific framework. All this has been possible thanks to the sensitivity of the institutions that have made the various actions possible. These include the respective research groups, the CEPESE (Centro de Estudos da População, Economia e Sociedade [Universidade do Porto]) and the Consolidated Medieval Studies Research Group, “Space, Power and Culture” at the Universitat de Lleida, that supported the development of the project, the infrastructure of the meeting and the preparation of the publication. The Spanish Ministry of Economy and Knowledge (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, MICINN) facilitated the meeting by awarding a specific Complimentary Action (HAR2011-15628-E) for this purpose, to which we must add the grant from the vice-rectorate of Research at the Universitat de Lleida. The specific publication was facilitated because the European Science Foundation added, to their initial support for the project, a specific grant for the promotion and translation of the scientific activity (EURORECOOD/DIS/P-00002/HS2013). Also, the Universitat de Lleida and the CEPESE (Centro de Estudos da População, Economia e Sociedade [Universidade do Porto]) have contributed to the same objective. The papers discussed during the meeting held in Lleida have been selected and merited the approval of of Peter Lang Publishers, who make up this volume in the collection Identities and Society. Having reached this point of publication, the path seems to confirm the aims at the starting point and so justify the effort inherent, in the hope that the results here continue to fructify in the hands of everyone who approaches these pages.

La conquista musulmana del noreste hispano. Supuestos y consecuencias1 Luis A. García Moreno Real Academia de la Historia

Creo que no me equivocaré afirmando la paradoja de la disimetría entre los tiempos y los éxitos de los avances de la llamada Reconquista cristiana sobre al-Andalus en el cuadrante nororiental peninsular, por un lado, y en el noroccidental por otro. Más precoz y más rápido en el segundo que en el primero, incluso descontando en ambas áreas los factores diferenciadores de densidad de poblamiento y de la red de asentamientos urbanos de la precedente época goda. Paradójica comparación porque nadie puede ignorar que las fuerzas e intereses reconquistadores tenían que ser mucho mayores en el noreste que en el noroeste, con la presencia en el primero ya en la segunda mitad del siglo VIII del insurgente Imperio carolingio. Una paradoja que en absoluto elimina la importancia tanto de la hambruna y sublevación bereber de finales de la primera mitad del siglo en los inicios y primera consolidación de la Reconquista noroccidental. Entre otras cosas porque esos mismos factores también debieron facilitar los primeros y decisivos pasos del contraataque cristiano en el noreste2.

1 2

Abreviatura utilizada: BnF, Bibliothèque nationale de France. Me refiero, como el lector inteligente habrá pensado, a la oferta hecha por varios condes de la antigua Narbonense goda a Pipino el Breve de aceptar su soberanía y con su apoyo rebelarse ante el dominio islámico. Unos hechos que tuvieron lugar hacia el 752-759 (Archibald R. Lewis, The development of Southern French and Catalan Society, 718-1050 [Austin: University of Texas, 1965], p. 24 y siguientes), unas fechas coincidentes con la de las exitosas campañas de Alfonso I en el noroeste. Éstas no sólo consolidaron la rebelión de Pelayo, como todo el mundo acepta de buen grado, sino que estaban muy próximas en el tiempo a aquélla. Pues, como he tratado de demostrar en varias ocasiones el hecho de armas fundacional de la Monarquía y rebelión pelagianas debe datarse muy poco antes del 736, y no más de quince años antes: Luís A. García Moreno, “Covadonga, realidad y leyenda”, Boletín de la Real Academia de la Historia, 194 (1996), pp. 372 y siguientes.

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El objetivo del presente estudio es demostrar cómo esa paradoja encuentra su explicación en las particularidades de la conquista islámica del noreste, muy diferentes de las que habían caracterizado la del noroeste. Adelanto ya que mientras que esta última se basó en “pactos de paz” (musƗlaha) ofertados por MnjsƗ ibn Nusҕayr a la nobleza local, la conquista del noreste fue fundamentalmente realizada mediante una acción armada muy violenta, en buena medida respuesta a una fuerte resistencia a la conquista islámica protagonizada por sectores mayoritarios de la nobleza regional y local. De este modo la primera facilitó la continuidad de los cuadros dirigentes del antiguo Reino godo, en los que pudo apoyarse la posterior rebelión, surgimiento y consolidación de la Monarquía astur. En cambio la desaparición de una parte sustancial de los cuadros dirigentes en el noreste se vio acompañada del necesario establecimiento de fuertes guarniciones musulmanas para asegurar una conquista lograda por las armas. Precisamente la continuidad de una buena parte de la nobleza goda de la antigua Septimania, al haberse realizado lo esencial de su conquista mediante “pactos de paz”3, facilitaría el rápido éxito y consolidación de la Reconquista, contando con el apoyo armado carolingio. Acabo de terminar una gruesa memoria, de más de 500 páginas, dedicadas al estudio de la conquista en sus aspectos políticos y militares, que espero esté en la calle en el otoño del 2012. En esta ocasión me contentaré con resumir sus principales conclusiones. Solicito que el lector me excuse por no presentar las complejas pruebas en que se apoyan. Hacia el 708 el emir de IfrƯqiya MnjৢƗ ibn Nusayr había alcanzado el “Maghreb Extremo” y puesto bajo la soberanía del califa las plazas africanas del Estrecho, Tánger y Ceuta, que desde hacia unos años obedecían al monarca godo. Sin duda esto último era en sí un peligro de futuras agresiones islámicas al territorio peninsular del Reino de Toledo. Aunque en absoluto tenían que ser el preludio de una invasión en toda regla, y menos aún con la intención de destruir la Monarquía goda e incorporar su reino al Imperio árabe-islámico. Sin embargo una serie de acontecimientos, fortuitos y por completo internos del Reino godo, creó las causas y las condiciones para que la invasión y la conquista fueran posibles y de hecho se ejecutaran. El primero sería la muerte del rey godo Witiza. Y el segundo,

3

Véase: Ramon d’Abadal, “El paso de Septimania del dominio godo al franco a través de la invasión sarracena”, Cuadernos de Historia de España, 19 (1953).

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y más importante, la crisis sucesoria que desembocó en una secesión y en una guerra civil. Entre finales del 709 y muy principios del siguiente año4 se produjo la inopinada muerte de Witiza. El linaje del fallecido rey tenía sus raíces en el valle del Guadalquivir, más concretamente en Córdoba y su campiña, y contaba con el apoyo de la nobleza meridional y occidental, y en menor grado de Toledo. Por supuesto que la mayoría de la nobleza de los ducados Tarraconense y Narbonés había estado al margen del bloque que había apoyado al fallecido rey y a su padre Egica (687-702). Al morir Witiza no debía superar en mucho los veinticinco años de edad, y aunque ya tenía descendencia, e incluso masculina, sus hijos eran todavía muy jóvenes. Es más, dado lo imprevisto de su fallecimiento no se había tomado la precaución de asociar al trono a alguno de ellos, para que pudiera ser ungido y convertirse en rey legítimo al llegar a la edad adulta. Es muy probable que poco antes de la muerte Witiza, en el verano del 709, ya hubiera tenido lugar una pequeña incursión sobre la bahía de Algeciras por parte del conde ceutí Urbano, nuevo súbdito del califa que así probaba su lealtad a éste y, por qué no, se vengaba de una posible afrenta hecha por el rey godo al honor de su familia5. Pero mucho más graves para el futuro de la Monarquía goda fueron las dificultades para proclamar un nuevo monarca por las disensiones en el seno del hegemónico bloque 4 5

Luís A. García Moreno, “Los últimos tiempos del Reino Visigodo”, Boletín de la Real Academia de la Historia, 189 (1992), pp. 428 y siguientes. Esta algara es mencionada por el Fath al-Andalus, 6 (La conquista de al-Andalus, trad. Mayte Penelas [Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 2002], p. 9). La Continuatio Hispanica, 52 (Continuatio Isidoriana Hispana. Crónica Mozárabe de 754, ed. José Eduardo López [León: Centro de Estudios e Investigación San Isidoro-Caja España de Inversiones-Archivo Histórico Diocesano, 2009], p. 224) distingue, con anterioridad a la expedición del propio MnjsƗ (en § 54) entre tres otras expediciones: 1) la dirigida por Abnj Zur’a; 2) la dirigida por TƗriq, y 3) la dirigida por “otros” (ceteros). El orden de la frase parece ser a la inversa de su sucesión en el tiempo: TƗriq, Abnj Zur’a, y “los otros”. Por tanto en estos últimos hay que ubicar a la algara de Urbano. Es curioso, y posiblemente no fortuito, que mientras los caudillos musulmanes son nombrados por su nombre en el resto se opte por un velado anonimato. Tal vez el autor de nuestra crónica quería ocultar así la participación de Urbano en los mismos comienzos del proceso de conquista, pues apreciaba mucho al ceutí. Es más, la única vez que le nombra será de pasada, fuera del contexto de la invasión, hasta el punto que estoy tentado de decir que se trata de una posterior interpolación la información referida a que había acompañado a MnjsƗ en su invasión.

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nobiliario y por la falta de un candidato claro y de consenso en el seno de la familia de los anteriores reyes Egica y Witiza. Como consecuencia la corona vacó peligrosamente durante varios meses6. En Toledo logró ser coronado un tal Suniefredo, seguramente miembro de la poderosa nobleza goda de la ciudad y región toledanas7. Pero no fue aceptado por la nobleza más vinculada al desaparecido Witiza. Al final, tras poco menos de diez meses, mediante un golpe de fuerza en Córdoba, se hizo con el trono el duque Rodrigo, gracias al apoyo de la poderosa nobleza cordobesa, agrupada en la antigua curia-senado de la ciudad. Como duque de la Bética era el más indicado para hacer frente al nuevo peligro proveniente del otro lado del Estrecho. Persona ya adulta, de unos cuarenta años de edad, tenía una excelente reputación militar. Un oportuno matrimonio con la noble Egilo, seguramente familiar de Witiza8, selló una coyuntural alianza con los nobles más vinculados a esa familia, a falta de un pretendiente propio aceptado por todos. Con más apoyos el duque cordobés lograría derrotar a su rival toledano, que moriría en la pelea. Bastante diferente sería lo ocurrido con el otro intento de apoderarse del trono godo por esas mimas fechas y que fue protagonizado por Agila, segundo de ese nombre en la lista de los reyes godos de España. La hegemonía que desde el 636 venían ejerciendo en el Reino godo linajes nobiliarios asentados en el mediodía y mitad occidental de España marginó a gran parte de los que tenían sus raíces en el cuarto nororiental de la península y en la provincia extrahispana de la Narbonense o Septimania. 6 7

8

Entre la muerte de Witiza y la proclamación de Rodrigo pudieron pasar hasta casi diez meses: Luís A. García Moreno, “Los últimos tiempos…”, p. 431. El único testimonio seguro de este Suniefredo es la conservada moneda acuñada en Toledo (Ruth Pliego, La moneda visigoda [Sevilla: Secretariado de publicaciones-Universidad de Sevilla, 2009], vol. 2, p. 419). La moneda por tipología debe datarse en el último cuarto de siglo del Reino godo. Con confusiones en su nombre hay alusiones a Suniefredo de enorme importancia tanto en la Crónica del Moro Rasis como en el BayƗn al-Mughrib de Ibn ‘IdƗrƯ (Histoire de l’Afrique et de l’Espagne intitulée al-BayƗno’l-Mogrib, trad. Edmond Fagnan [Argel: Imprimerie orientale  P. Fontana, 1901-1904], vol. 2, p.  4). El tema es tan complejo que no puedo más que enunciarlo aquí, remitiendo al lector a un análisis completo en mi próxima monografía. Luís A. García Moreno, “El linaje witizano de Artaba(s)do”, Os Reinos ibéricos na Idade Média. Livro de Homenagem ao Professor Doutor Humberto Carlos Baquero Moreno, Luis Adão da Fonseca, Luís Carlos Amaral, Fernanda Ferreira, eds. (Oporto: Livraria Civilização Editora, 2003), vol. 2, pp. 787 y siguientes.

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Sin embargo el desconcierto del bloque hegemónico nobiliario, occidental y meridional, propició el alzamiento de Agila, que batió moneda en Zaragoza, Tarragona, Gerona y Narbona9. No es descartable que Agila II estableciera algún tipo de pacto de no agresión con los responsables del Imperio islámico al otro lado del Estrecho. El enemigo común, en este caso Rodrigo, suele hacer amigos, aunque sean circunstanciales; y lo cierto es que la decisiva invasión liderada por TƗriq ibn Ziyad respetó a Agila II y su territorio nororiental. Fue sin duda en esos terribles meses del interregno, en junio del 710, cuando se produjo el primer desembarco de cierta consideración bajo el verde estandarte del Islam en la Baja Andalucía, al mando de TarƯf Abnj ‘Zur’a ibn MƗlik, un bereber de la Tingitania recién convertido al Islam. Sus participantes, aproximadamente un regimiento de 400 infantes y 100 jinetes, todos ellos bereberes entre los que habría algunos clientes y milicias del ceutí Urbano, pero todos trasportados en barcos ceutíes de este último. La fuerza invasora sin embargo sería por completo derrotada por el duque Rodrigo, viéndose obligada a refugiarse a toda prisa al otro lado del Estrecho. Sin embargo esta primera algarada islámica puso al descubierto el peligro de la deserción de Urbano, precipitando el golpe de fuerza del vencedor Rodrigo. Con el apoyo de la poderosa nobleza meridional y occidental, y en primera línea de los también cordobeses witizanos, el nuevo rey marchó a Toledo, para enfrentarse y derrotar a Suniefredo. Aunque terminada en un final fiasco la algazua de Abnj ‘Zur’a habría servido para poner ante los ojos de los recién convertidos bereberes el botín que se podía alcanzar en futuras expediciones contra el Reino godo, junto con la debilidades internas de éste. Es más que posible que familiares y aliados del derrotado Suniefredo lograran huir a refugiarse en Ceuta, con un Urbano convertido en mortal enemigo de todo lo que oliera a Witiza. Con la ayuda militar del ceutí y, sobre todo, de sus aliados musulmanes, esos refugiados y los nobles contrarios a Rodrigo y a su alianza

9

Ruth Pliego, La moneda…, vol. 2, pp. 485-487. Afortunadamente de este Agila II hay una mención en un ejemplar del Laterculus regum visigothorum transmitido por el códice parisino BnF 4667, ”Chronica Minora”, ed. Theodorus Momsen, Monumenta Germaniae Historica. Chronica minora sac. IV, V, VI, VII (Berlin: Weidmannos, 1898), vol. 3, p. 469. El manuscrito tiene una referencia final a Gerona fechada en 828. La versión del laterculus en él transmitida ignora, lógicamente, el reinado de Rodrigo. En su lugar se consignan los de Agila II y Ardón.

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con los witizanos, pudieron pensar en derrotar a éste y hacerse con el trono godo. Lo que sin duda suponía por parte de tales nobles una ignorancia absoluta de los presupuestos ideológicos de la expansión islámica, como eran la ǔihƗd y la extensión del territorio y de los miembros de la umma (comunidad de los musulmanes). Esta segunda invasión se iniciaría en la primavera del 711. Al frente de la misma el Ɨmir (gobernador superior) de IfrƯqiya (el Maghrib islámico dependiente del Califato de Damasco) MnjsƗ puso a un bereber maula suyo, el tuerto TƗriq ibn Ziyad. Tras diversas expediciones la fuerza invasora alcanzaría, con los últimos refuerzos remitidos por MnjsƗ, la cifra de unos 12.000 soldados, en su mayor parte bereberes pero acompañados ya por algunos árabes. Pero, aunque en un principio fueran algo menos de la mitad y sobre todo infantes, su misma importancia y su intromisión en la misma política goda, aconsejó esta vez enviar un ejército a su encuentro. Pero éste sufrió una grave derrota, muriendo en el combate su general, un sobrino del propio monarca godo tal vez llamado Egica10. Indudablemente un importante ejército real godo, comandado por el propio Rodrigo, había sido ya movilizado con anterioridad, con motivo de su victorioso enfrentamiento con Suniefredo; y ahora tal vez estaba a punto de enfrentarse a su rival nororiental Agila II. En todo caso la noticia de esa primera victoria de los invasores obligó a Rodrigo a abandonar esas operaciones bélicas recién iniciadas, para marchar al encuentro de este nuevo y prioritario enemigo. El encuentro entre ambos ejércitos tuvo lugar a mediados de julio del 711 y a lo largo de varios días, desarrollándose en una serie de escaramuzas y combates formales entre los montes que separan las actuales Algeciras y Tarifa, (Promontorii Traductini)11, en la inmediaciones de la laguna de la Janda y de los caños que de ella desembocan en el mar (Caños de Meca). No parece que el ejército godo fuera completamente destrozado. Pero la toma del riquísimo real godo, y la misma desaparición de Rodrigo en su huída hacia Medina Sidonia, ya en los lodazales de la laguna de la Janda, convirtieron el encuentro en una completa y significativa

10

11

La fuente principal para todo esto es la Crónica del Moro Rasis. Por desgracia este texto se encuentra especialmente contaminado en los pasajes relativos a los años 709711, y su análisis requiere de una minuciosidad que no es posible hacer aquí; por ello remito a mi monografía sobre la invasión. Cont. Hisp., 52 (ed. José Eduardo López, Continuatio Isidoriana Hispana..., p. 224).

La conquista musulmana del noreste hispano

49

derrota. Máxime cuando también encontraron la muerte en ella los nobles traidores que ambicionaban la corona. Poco tiempo después TƗriq se vio detenido en Écija por los restos del ejército godo huido, cuya resistencia sólo pudo vencer mediante un pacto gracias a la llegada de Urbano con sus tropas. Muertos en la batalla del Lago los pretendientes al trono en connivencia con el invasor este pacto de Écija supondría un vuelco en las alianzas. A cambio de abandonar a su suerte a los más recalcitrantes rodriguistas los witizanos acordarían el apoyo para entronizar en Toledo a uno de los suyos con el apoyo del invasor musulmán. Como consecuencia se unieron al invasor miembros de la nobleza goda, entre otros Teudemiro, un pariente por parte materna de Witiza, y que unos meses antes había sido nombrado duque de la Bética por el propio Rodrigo12. Necesariamente este decisivo cambio en la identidad de los aliados y colaboradores con los invasores musulmanes, provocó una terrible guerra civil, más cruenta y sin posible solución pactada al carecer de un claro liderazgo los opositores a los invasores y sus colaboradores. Sería en Toledo y su región donde tendrían lugar las escenas más terribles de la guerra civil. La fuerte oposición a la posible proclamación como rey de Opas, hijo del rey Egica, con el apoyo del invasor, haría que este último tratara por sí mismo de cobrarse con creces el dinero pactado, adueñándose de una parte del tesoro regio, de un enorme valor real y simbólico. Crecientemente aislado en el centro de un territorio hostil la posición de TƗriq y de su fuerza expedicionaria musulmana se convertiría en crítica. Necesariamente MnjsƗ ibn Nuৢayr tenía que intervenir, como comandante máximo del califato en Occidente, ante la conversión de una original expedición en busca de un pago ofertado por una facción nobiliaria goda en una desesperada búsqueda de botín enfrentada a una creciente mayoría de la nobleza y población del Reino godo. Una anárquica guerra en la que las tropas musulmanas para su supervivencia dependían cada vez más de fuerzas no islámicas colaboracionistas, que amenazaban con desnaturalizar la justificación por la ǔihƗd. Por otro lado las dos importantes victorias campales conseguidas por TƗriq ante sendos y potentes ejércitos godos

12

Remito a: Luís A. García Moreno, “Teudemiro de Orihuela y la invasión islámica”, Homenaje al Profesor José Ángel García de Cortázar y Ruiz de Aguirre (Santander: Universidad de Santander, 2012), pp. 529-544.

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alertaban de que era posible la conquista pura y simple del Reino godo, apoderándose así de todas sus riquezas muebles. A comienzos de la primavera del 712 MnjsƗ desembarcaba en Algeciras al frente de una fuerza de al menos 10.000 combatientes. Además de por el utilísimo Urbano, el famoso tƗbƯ se hizo acompañar esta vez no sólo por bereberes recién convertidos sino por un número significativo de árabes, incluidos algunos otros tƗbi’njn. Con la llegada de MnjsƗ la guerra se tramutaba en islámica y de conquista, y tenía que alcanzar los confines del Reino de Toledo. Algo que reflejan muy bien las leyendas islámicas y alusivas a la ǔihƗd de las monedas acuñadas tanto en Tánger como ya en la península para el pago a los combatientes musulmanes13. Expresamente MnjsƗ, por las razones que fuera y antes de unirse a su subordinado TƗriq, trató de acabar con todos los muy peligrosos focos de resistencia que permanecían en el sur y el oeste. Su itinerario de conquistas le llevó de Medina Sidonia a Sevilla, y de ésta a Mérida. Caída Mérida el 30 de junio del 713 MnjsƗ pudo ya juntar sus fuerzas con las de TƗriq en las proximidades de Talavera. Este poderoso ejército musulmán sería así capaz de entrar de nuevo en Toledo y acabar con toda la resistencia de la nobleza goda de la región, más recalcitrante a aceptar la conquista y que había sido la responsable de la huída de Toledo del colaboracionista Opas, hijo del rey Egica. Salvo estos últimos episodios represivos y sangrientos sobre la nobleza toledana, muy inducidos también por Opas14, la violencia no habría sido la nota más característica de las acciones armadas de MnjsƗ y de su hijo ‘Abd al-‘AzƯz en los territorios del Reino godo que habían obedecido al desgraciado rey Rodrigo. Por el contrario los invasores hicieron amplio uso de los llamados “pactos de paz” (musƗlaha). Éstos respetaban la libertad personal y de culto de los cristianos y judíos (“gentes del Libro” [dimmƯ]), así como la propiedad de sus bienes contra el pago de un impuesto de capitación (ǔizya). Incluso en algún caso excepcional, como el pacto de tipo ‘ahd firmado en abril del 713 con el duque Teudemiro para

13

14

Miquel Barceló, “Sobre algunos ‘fulnjs’ contemporáneos a la conquista de Hispania por los árabe-musulmanes”, Boletín de la Real Academia de Buenas Letras de Barcelona, 34 (1971-1972), p. 35 y siguientes; y también “Un fals de ǔihƗd encunyat a Tanǔa probablement abans de 92-711”, Acta Numismatica, 7 (1977), pp. 187-189. Sin embargo la cronología dada por este estudioso debe corregirse. Cont. Hisp., 54 (ed. José Eduardo López, Continuatio Isidoriana Hispana... p. 226).

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un amplio territorio centrado en Orihuela, se establecía la total autonomía interna y continuidad de los lazos de dependencia de tipo feudal entre la nobleza y sus antiguos súbditos15. Sería mediante “pactos de paz” del tipo musƗlaha como MnjsƗ consiguió la sumisión al Imperio califal de toda la submeseta septentrional y el noroeste galaico. Algo que habría sucedido tras la capitulación de Mérida y cuando su triunfal entrada en Toledo16. Conseguida la sumisión mayoritaria mediante pacto, con privilegios diversos, de los sectores nobiliarios vinculados a los desaparecidos reyes Witiza y Rodrigo era la hora de llevar a término la tarea apenas iniciada por este último, y que frustró la expedición de TƗriq de la primavera del 711: la guerra contra Agila II, terminando así con su secesionista Reino Citerior. La Crónica Mozárabe se refiere a la toma de plazas y ciudades al asalto, o mediante su rendición por hambre. También habla de incendios de sus edificaciones más emblemáticas. Y no menores debieron de ser los castigos infringidos a la población. Pues, junto a las pérdidas por actos bélicos o por el hambre, el autor señala la condena a muerte en la cruz de muchos nobles y poderosos, y hasta de lo que pudiéramos llamar actos de genocidio de determinados linajes o familias, con el brutal asesinato a golpes de adolescentes e incluso niños de teta17. Como se verá los testimonios arqueológicos que van apareciendo en los últimos tiempos muestran que

15

16

17

El pacto se nos ha transmitido en su versión árabe en dos tradiciones distintas. Una arrancaría en el genealogista oriholano al-RušƗtƯ († 1147), de la que derivarían las versiones conservadas de Ibn al-JarrƗt († 1185), con seguridad, y las de al-DabbƯ († c. 1200), al-GarnƗtƯ († 1359) y al-HimyarƯ († ss. XIV-XV) muy probablemente. La otra rama de la tradición estaría tan sólo representada por el historiador almeriense al-‘UdrƯ († 1085). Esa rendición por pacto, con la venida de los nobles godos a la presencia del conquistador árabe, está en la muy buena tradición sobre la campaña del tƗbƯ recogida por el Ps. Ibn Qutayba, 133 (Historia de la conquista de España por Abenalcotia el cordobés, trad. Julián Ribera [Madrid: Revista de Archivos, 1926], p. 116; ‘Abd al-Malik ibn ণabƯb, KitƗb al-T’ƗrƯj [la historia], ed. Jorge Aguadé [Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 1991], p. 141; trad. M. Martínez Antuña, “Notas de Ibn AbƯ RiqƗ de las lecciones de Ibn ণabƯb acerca de la conquista de España por los árabes”, Cuadernos de Historia de España, 1-2 [1944], p. 258). Considero ilustrativo ofrecer aquí al lector el breve texto en que se refieren tales sucesos, Continuatio Hispanica, 54 (ed. José Eduardo López, Continuatio Isidoriana…, p. 228): […] ciuitates decoras igne concremando precipitat, seniores et potentes seculi cruci adiudicat, iubenes atque lactantes pugionibus trucidat.

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la conquista musulmana de lo que fue el reino secesionista de Agila II fue violenta, con menor espacio para los “pactos de paz”. Junto al testimonio de esta crónica casi contemporánea palidece por completo la narrativa de la historiografía islámica, tanto la basada en el “tradicionismo” egipcio-oriental como la propiamente y más tardía andalusí. Especialmente son parcos, hasta casi relativamente decepcionantes, los testimonios conservados de la tradición indirecta de Aতmad al-RƗzƯ y de ‘ArƯb ibn SƗ’id18. La verdad es que la parquedad de noticias de la historiografía andalusí se corresponde muy bien con la corta duración de la campaña de MnjsƗ en el ducado Tarraconense. Pues el conquistador musulmán todavía celebró en Toledo la fiesta de los corderos del 94H (9 de setiembre del 713)19; y ni siquiera habían pasado tres meses cuando ya cruzaba el estrecho de Gibraltar en su interminable camino a Damasco. Contando con el viaje desde la Tarraconense a la “Isla” (Algeciras), pasando por Córdoba, lo cierto es que difícilmente toda su campaña de conquista en el noreste peninsular habría podido superar los dos meses. Y me resulta sumamente grato recordar aquí que D. Francisco Codera advirtió el problema que suponía este reducido espacio de tiempo para imaginar

18

19

AjbƗr Maǔmnj’a, 19 (trad. Emilio Lafuente, Ajbar Machmuâ. Crónica anónima del siglo XI [Madrid: Rivadeneyra, 1861], p.  31); Ibn ‘IdƗrƯ, BayƗn al-Mughrib, 18 (trad. Edmond Fagnan, Histoire de l’Afrique…, vol. 2, p. 25); Ibn al-AtƯr, 448 (trad. Edmond Fagnan, “Annales du Maghreb et de l’Espagne par ibn el-Athir”, Révue Africaine, 41 [1897], p. 19); ¿Ibn AbƯ-l-FayyƗd?, apud Ibn al-AbbƗr, Hulla al-siyarƗ’ (trad. Camilo Álvarez de Morales, “Aproximación a la figura histórica de Ibn AbƯ-lFayyƗd y su obra histórica”, Cuadernos de Historia del Islam, 9 [1978-1979], p. 83); Rasis, vol. 2, pp.  13-14 (Pascual Gayangos, “Memoria sobre la autenticidad de la Crónica llamada del Moro Rasis”, Memorias de la Real Academia de la Historia, 8 [1852], p. 80); al-GassƗnƯ (trad. Alfredo Bustani, El viaje del Visir para la liberación de los cautivos por el visir Abú Abdel-lah Mohamed ben Abdeluahab. Conocido por el visir El Gassani, El Andalusí [Tánger: Larache, M. Boscá, 1940], p. 106); y Fath al-Andalus, pp. 34 y 40-43 (trad. Mayte Penelas, La conquista…, p. 22-27). Al-GassƗnƯ, trad. Alfredo Bustani, El viaje del Visir…, p.  99. El texto literalmente dice “hasta celebrar allí la Pascua de los carneros del año siguiente”, que tiene que ser el 94H, pues es el 93H la fecha absoluta indicada más próxima, concretamente para el inicio de la campaña de MnjsƗ en España. Aunque luego, basándose en Muতammad alRƗzƯ dirá que esa fiesta de la llamada Pascua musulmana el tƗbƯ la pasó en Córdoba. He tratado de esta contradicción en mi España 702-719. La conquista musulmana (Sevilla: Universidad de Sevilla, 2013), nota 1470.

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campañas de muchos kilómetros y con fuertes resistencias que doblegar20. Por desgracia me temo que alguno de sus sucesores no ha hecho caso de esta advertencia y ha dejado volar en exceso la imaginación, atribuyendo a la campaña de MnjsƗ del 713 hechos ocurridos en años posteriores en todo caso21. El ImƗma wal-siyƗsa, un testimonio muy valioso por proceder de la propia familia del tƗbƯ, afirma que éste inicio su campaña por el territorio de los vascos22. Algo completamente lógico, pues suponía repetir el truncado comienzo de la guerra que Rodrigo había intentado llevar contra Agila II; y que tenía por precedente seguro la campaña de Wamba hacía unos cuarenta años también contra otro intento secesionista de los ducados Tarraconense y Narbonense23. El ImƗma recuerda que tras ser atacados sus habitantes se sometieron a MnjsƗ, aunque no se dice que hubieran recibido ningún pacto. El padre de la historiografía andalusí, el cadí granadino ‘Abd al-Malik ibn ণabƯb, también establece que la expedición del nordeste principió por el territorio vascón, para después aproximarse al país de los francos y por último tomar Zaragoza24. Por lo que no extraña que la citada tradición indirecta de Aতmad al-RƗzƯ prácticamente trasmita la misma noticia25. El sentido de los corónimo y etnónimo vascón entre los andalusíes de entonces es muy claro, no haciendo referencia a la actual

20

21 22 23

24

25

Francisco Codera, “Conquista de Aragón y Cataluña por los musulmanes”, Estudios críticos de Historia árabe española (Zaragoza: Tip. de  A. Uriarte, 1903-1917), pp. 106 y siguientes. Así, por ejemplo: Pedro Chalmeta, Invasión e islamización. La sumisión de Hispania y la formación de al-Andalus (Madrid: Mapfre, 1994), pp. 183-194. Ps. Ibn Qutayba, 133 (trad. Julián Ribera, Historia de la conquista…, p. 116). Sin embargo Pedro Chalmeta (Invasión…, p.  191) insiste en que el orden de las conquistas en esa expedición debe ser leído al contrario, empeñado como está en defender la realidad de una expedición de MnjsƗ contra el extremo noroeste. Sobre la situación de los vascos frente al Reino godo y frente a los francos véase: Michel Rouche, L’Aquitaine des Wisigoths aux árabes, 418-781. Naissance d’une región (París: Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales-Editions Touzot, 1979), p. 87 y siguientes; Juan José Sayas, Los vascos en la Antigüedad (Madrid: Cátedra, 1994), p. 429 y siguientes. Abd al-Malik ibn ণabƯb (ed. Jorge Aguadé, ‘Abd al-Malik ibn ণabƯb, KitƗb alT’ƗrƯj..., p. 141; trad. M. Martínez Antuña, “Notas de Ibn AbƯ RiqƗ de las lecciones de Ibn ণabƯb...”, p. 258). Véase, entre otros: José Mª Lacarra, Estudios de historia navarra (Pamplona: Ediciones y libros, 1971), pp. 9 y siguientes.

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Euzkadi, y sí a Navarra, al territorio de Pamplona, hacia el sur y el norte; tal y como ocurría en el siglo VII26. Desgraciadamente con la documentación existente creo un error querer ir más allá, precisando rutas y plazas debeladas y conquistadas, y hasta los nombre de los nobles godos con los que el tƗbƯ contactó y hasta hizo sus clientes. Pura imaginación de un estudiante de estado mayor a doce siglos de distancia, cuando no anticipación de hechos de años y hasta decenios posteriores, tal y como indiqué unas líneas más arriba. Si el ejército invasor penetró en el país de Baškuniš hay dos cuestiones principales por las que preguntarse: si se conquistó Pamplona, y si fue entonces cuando se produjo la conversión al Islam de los antepasados de los Bannj QasƯ. En su momento, ante el silencio de la clásica historiografía islámica sobre la conquista, Sánchez Albornoz optó por situar algún tiempo después de la campaña de MnjsƗ la capitulación de Pamplona mediante un “pacto” (‘ahd) ante el poder musulmán27. Este último suceso lo relata el tradicionista cordobés Ibn al-FaradƯ († 1013)28 en la biografía de ণanaš ibn al-San’Ɨni, que habría sido testigo del pacto en compañía del también tƗbƯ ‘AlƯ ibn RabƗh. La “cadena” de la tradición del pacto y testigos tiene como eslabón más antiguo a Muতammad ibn WaddƗh († 900)29. Por un lado hay que decir que ‘AlƯ ibn RabƗh había marchado meses atrás a Damasco como enviado de MnjsƗ al califa, en compañía de MugƯt alRnjmƯ. Si este último regresó a España para ordenar a MnjsƗ que viajara a Siria, nada impide que en su compañía también Ibn RabƗh hubiera realizado el viaje de vuelta. Pero por otro lado es conocido que ambos tƗbi’njn en época bastante posterior a la conquista estaban muy relacionados con

26

27 28 29

Entre otros: Claudio Sánchez Albornoz, “Los vascos y los árabes durante los primeros siglos de la Reconquista”, Miscelanea de estudios históricos (León: Centro de Estudios e Investigación “San Isidoro”, 1970), pp. 189 y siguientes; Céline Martin, La géographie du pouvoir dans l’Espagne visigothique (Villeneuve d’Ascq: Presses Universitaires du Septentrion, 2003), pp.  289 y siguientes; Juan José Sayas, Los vascos…, pp. 444 y siguientes. Claudio Sánchez Albornoz, “Los vascos y los árabes…”, p. 190. Ibn al-FaradƯ, TƗrƯj ‘ulamƗ’ al-Andalus (Franciso Codera, ed., Bibliotheca arabicohispana [Madrid: Matriti, 1882-1895], nº 391). Claudio Sánchez Albornoz, En torno a los orígenes del feudalismo II. Los árabes y el régimen prefeudal carolingio. Fuentes de la historia hispano-musulmana del siglo VIII (Buenos Aires: Editorial Universitaria de Buenos Aires, 1974-1979), pp. 96 y siguientes.

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Zaragoza, hasta el punto de existir una supuesta tumba de los dos y considerarse la mezquita principal de la ciudad fundada por el tƗbƯ ণanaš ibn al-San’Ɨni. Sin embargo la existencia de esta leyenda hagiográfica sobre la relación de los dos con Zaragoza no deja de levantar dudas. Incluso se ha llegado a dudar de la misma presencia de ণanaš en nuestra península30. Y desgraciadamente la arqueología no es capaz de precisar el momento del asentamiento en Pamplona de un contingente islámico, sin duda de funcionalidad militar; pues la única datación radiocarbónica sobre uno de los varones inhumados en la maqbara excavada en la actual Plaza del castillo ofrece un arco cronológico de hasta el 77031. Habría más posibilidades de que fuera entonces cuando se produjera la sumisión por pacto del antepasado del famoso linaje muladí de los Bannj QasƯ, gracias a la noticia transmitida por el polígrafo cordobés Ibn ণazm († 1064)32. Si no fuera porque incluye algunas incoherencias preocupantes, especialmente la afirmación de que QasƯ acompañara a MnjsƗ en su regreso a Siria, donde habría islamizado de la mano de al-WalƯd I. Si se tratara de una confusión por al-WalƯd II (743-744) todo resultaría más creíble. Si se acepta como coherente, y de este modo próximo a la verdad de lo hechos, el progreso de la campaña ya expuesto por ‘Abd al-Malik ibn ণabƯb, tras esta sumisión del condado regido por QasƯ vendría la de unos territorios próximos a los francos; y sólo después se produciría la conquista de Zaragoza. Si esta ciudad constituía una plaza clave en el control de la Tarraconense por parte de Agila II se comprende muy bien que su ataque se dejara para cuando se hubieran cortado todas sus posibles líneas de comunicación, tanto con las Galias como con los condados de la actual Cataluña y de la Narbonense. Pues no debe olvidarse que en esta época la 30 31

32

Manuela Marín, “ৡaতƗba et TƗbi’njn dans al-Andalus: Historie et légende”, Studia Islamica, 54 (1981), pp. 5-50. María García-Barberena, José Antonio Faro, Mercedes Unzu, “Las necrópolis pamplonesas del 700”, 711: Arqueología e historia entre dos mundos, Enrique Baquedano, Luis  A. García Moreno, Alfonso Vigil-Escalera, Manuel Acién, eds. (Alcalá de Henares: Museo Arqueológico Regional, 2011), vol. 1, p. 304 (nota 1099); desgraciadamente este artículo, como no es inusual en la moderna investigación arqueológica española sobre la tarda Antigüedad, es muy deficiente en todo lo relacionado con las fuentes escritas y el contexto histórico. Ibn ণazm, Ǔamharat ansƗb al-‘Arab, Évariste Lévi-Provençal, ed. (El Cairo: sin editorial., 1948), p. 502.

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comunicación normal entre Zaragoza y las ciudades de la costa catalana era siguiendo la gran calzada romana que de Zaragoza iba a Huesca y de allí a Lérida; es decir, sin atravesar la zona de los Monegros que constituía un desierto. Es más que posible que el ejército invasor tratara de conseguir un rápido control de las vías de comunicación, sin poder perder tiempo en largos sitios a las plazas mejor defendidas. Digo esto por una noticia transmitida por al-ণimyarƯ, según la cual la ciudad de Huesca habría resistido a los musulmanes nada menos que siete años33. Un dato que a veces se ha puesto en relación con uno de los membra disiecta de origen mozárabe inserto en la llamada Crónica Profética34. Como se verá esa noticia, interesantísima tanto por contenido como por origen, muy probablemente alude a las dificultades y duración de la conquista islámica del ducado Tarraconense, que no se habría completado hasta el 719. Al tiempo que encaja perfectamente con lo que cuenta la Crónica Mozárabe del 754 sobre la conquista de la llamada España Citerior por MnjsƗ. Veámoslo. Como he dicho objetivo prioritario de los invasores tenía que ser la toma de Zaragoza. Una ciudad que, a juzgar por la historia testimoniada de su ceca, debió ocupar un puesto importante en la organización militar de la Monarquía goda a partir del último tercio del siglo VII35. Lo que sabemos de la historia militar de la vieja colonia de Augusto en tiempos 33

34

35

Al-ণimyarƯ, cap.  190; trad. Évariste Lévi-Provençal, Le péninsule Ibérique au Moyen Age d’après le KitƗb ar-Rawd (El Cairo-Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1938), pp. 236 y siguientes). Alb., XVII, 3b (Juan Gil, José L. Moralejo, Juan Ignacio Ruiz, eds., Crónicas asturianes [Oviedo: Universidad de Oviedo, 1985] p. 183). Así: Luís A. García Moreno, “Estudios sobre la organización administrativa del Reino visigodo de Toledo”, Anuario de Historia del Derecho Español, 44 (1974), p.  99, nota 396; Miquel Barceló, “La primera organització fiscal d’al-Andalus segons la ‘Crónica del 754’ (95/713[4] – 138/755)”, Faventia, 1/2 (1979), pp. 248 y siguientes, especialmente p. 255; Pedro Chalmeta, Invasión…, p. 245. La ceca de Zaragoza batió trientes desde Leovigildo hasta Tulga, pero fue una de las cecas que desaparecieron en la gran reorganización y concentración de cecas llevadas a cabo por Quindasvinto (véase: Luís A. García Moreno, “Cecas visigodas y sistema económico”, II Reunió d’Arqueologia Cristiana Hispànica [Barcelona: Universitat de Barcelona-Institut d’Estudis Catalans, 1982], pp. 333-345). Sin embargo volvería a batir moneda con Wamba, y ya de forma ininterrumpida hasta Agila II, con las lógicas excepciones de Suniefredo y Rodrigo (Ruth Pliego, La moneda visigoda..., vol 1, pp. 103 y siguientes).

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godos permite deducir que había sido objetivo de todo invasor o rebelde proveniente de los Pirineos o del territorio vascón, que toparon siempre con el obstáculo insalvable de sus fuertes murallas bajoimperiales36. El que fuera una de las cecas donde acuñó trientes Agila II37 es indicio suficiente de que la ciudad era uno de los lugares donde el monarca tenía concentradas tropas. La caída de Zaragoza es posible que hubiera sido precedida de algún encuentro campal con el ejército de Agila II, impelido a una batalla seguramente desigual ante las dificultades de sostener una ciudad con sus muros en mal estado. En uno u otro caso hay que preguntarse por la suerte del propio Agila II. Ciertamente nada dice la Crónica Mozárabe, que silencia hasta su misma existencia; sin duda por no reconocer como soberano legítimo, tras Witiza, nada más que a Rodrigo, no obstante lo irregular de su alzamiento. Pero lo que sí es cierto es que los tres años completos del reinado de Agila II, según se indicó en su momento, sólo se explican si el secesionista monarca godo no hubiera continuado como rey más allá del otoño del 713, momento en el que he situado la caída de Zaragoza. Pues que Agila había subido al trono bastante menos de un año después de la muerte de Witiza, acaecida a finales del 709 o en los primeros meses del 71038. ¿Murió Agila II en su enfrentamiento con el ejército de MnjsƗ, o fue ajusticiado? ¿o sobrevivió y en ese caso quedó cautivo? Por desgracia no existe ninguna referencia explícita al respecto, aunque lo primero

36

37 38

Me refiero al ataque de los reyes merovingios Quildeberto y Clotario sobre Zaragoza del verano del 541 (Erich Zöllner, Geschichte der Franken bis zur Mitte des sechsten Jahrhundert [Munich: B’eks, 1970], pp.  88-96). Los cinco reyes francos de Chronicorum reliquiae Caesaraugustanorum, a.a. 541 serían Quildeberto, Clotario y los tres hijos de este último; véase también: José Orlandis, Hispania y Zaragoza en la Antigüedad Tardía (Zaragoza: Imp. Tipo Linea, 1984), pp. 20 y siguientes; Luís García, “El intermedio ostrogodo en Hispania [507-549 d.C.]”, Hispania Antiqua, 5 (1975), p. 99; Luís García, Zaragoza, ciudad visigoda (Zaragoza: Guara Editorial, 1979), p. 33; Michel Rouche, L’Aquitaine…, p. 60); y a la del usurpador Froga con apoyo vascón en 653 (Luís A. García Moreno, “Algunas cuestiones de Historia navarra en la Antigüedad tardía (siglos V-VIII)”, Príncipe de Viana, Primer Congreso General de Historia de Navarra [Pamplona: Instituto Príncipe de Viana, 1987], vol. 7, pp. 413-415). Ruth Pliego, La moneda visigoda…, vol. 2, p. 486. Véase: Luís A. García Moreno, “Los últimos tiempos del Reino Visigodo”, Boletín de la Real Academia de la Historia, 189 (1992), pp. 425-459.

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pudiera tener una confirmación en un contradictorio pasaje del ImƗma wal-siyƗsa39. Tanto la más antigua tradición historiográfica islámica de origen egipcio-oriental, como la casi contemporánea Crónica Mozárabe del 754 centran en la conquista de Zaragoza la última campaña de MnjsƗ en España. Pero ambas también afirman que el tƗbƯ conquistó territorios y ciudades. Los poco más de dos meses que éste tuvo para realizarla impiden pensar en algaras y conquistas muy lejos de la capital aragonesa. Y a este respecto creo de especial valor una “tradición” inserta en el ImƗma wal-siyƗsa, cuya autoridad sería un participante en la expedición conquistadora llamado ‘Abd AllƗh ibn al-MugƯra ibn AbƯ Burda, y que afirma que MnjsƗ conquistó una ciudad en la orilla del mar40. Tratar de identificar esta ignota localidad con Tarragona, u otra población de la actual Cataluña, en mi opinión es tarea imposible, a falta de algún dato arqueológico nuevo41. Y desde luego considero tarea inútil dedicar siquiera un minuto de tiempo a discutir que tengan algo que ver con la invasión islámica de Tarragona las leyendas hagiográficas y textos litúrgicos altomedievales italianos relacionados con el culto de reliquias de los mártires tarraconenses San Fructuoso y sus compañeros, y de las de su supuesto portador, un obispo llamado Próspero42. Pero lo que no se

39 40

41

42

Ps. Ibn Qutayba, 156 (trad. Julián Ribera, Historia de la conquista de España…, p. 135). Ps. Ibn Qutayba, 133 (trad. Julián Ribera, Historia de la conquista de España…, p.  116). Es importante la autoridad de ‘Abd AllƗh ibn al-MugƯra como primer eslabón del isnƗd, pues su padre está vinculado con la transmisión de algún “dicho” de Mahoma y tener una carrera bien testimoniada en IfrƯqiya (Claudio Sánchez Albornoz, En torno a los orígenes del feudalismo [Madrid: Istmo, 1993], vol. 2, p. 56, nota 80). Un indicio, aunque no seguro, de que MnjsƗ llegara a comienzos del otoño a Tarragona, es el dinar bilingüe acuñado in Spania en el 95H, año que comenzó el 29 de setiembre del 713, y que se encontró en Tarragona: Felipe Mateu y Llopis, “Hallazgos monetarios IX”, Numario Hispánico, 2/4 (1954), pp. 249-257; Anna Mª Balaguer, “Troballes i circulació monetaria: corpus de les troballes de moneda àrab a Catalunya”, Acta Numismatica, 20 (1990), pp. 83 y siguientes. La verdad es que resulta muy difícil que una persona erudita como Joan Serra Vilaró pudiera imaginar tales cosas y escribiera su San Próspero de Tarragona y sus discípulos refugiados en Italia en el año 711 (Barcelona: Editorial Balmes, 1943). Sólo el drama sufrido por la Iglesia española y por su autor, también refugiado en Italia, creo que lo pueden explicar. Lo que resulta todavía más inaudito es el crédito de que

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puede dudar es la existencia de graves y terribles acciones sobre ciudades y otros tipos de asentamiento en el ducado godo de la Tarraconense en el curso de esta final campaña de MnjsƗ. A este respecto es explícito y terminante el testimonio de la Crónica Mozárabe del 75443. Es muy posible que una de estas acciones fuese la causa de las destrucciones por el incendio observadas en el poblado excavado en el Bovalar (Serós, Lérida)44. La posible adscripción del incendio de El Bovalar a MnjsƗ convendría a la posible conquista de Tarragona por éste, tanto a su ida como a su vuelta. Digo esto último en relación con una noticia transmitida por al-GassƗnƯ, pero que se basaría en el cadí granadino ‘Abd al-Malik ibn ণabƯb por intermedio del citado “Libro de los estandartes” de Muতammad al-RƗzƯ. Según la cual MnjsƗ, en su campaña en el territorio de los francos, llegó hasta un gran desierto en donde tomó la decisión de regresar, a la vista de una ominosa inscripción existente en un ídolo45. Evidentemente toda la historia contiene elementos paradoxográficos, en especial en lo

43 44

45

ha gozado el libro (en último lugar por parte del arqueólogo Ramon Martí, “Los territorios catalanes en la encrucijada del 711”, 711: Arqueología e historia entre dos mundos..., vol. 2, p. 12); aunque me temo que la inmensa mayoría de las personas que lo han citado no se lo ha leído. En los siglos IX a XI proliferaron los escritos hagiográficos que trataban de probar la autenticidad de unas supuestas reliquias no originarias del lugar donde se encontraban, para lo que se necesitaba inventar la historia de su traslación. Por supuesto que el ejemplo más famoso de estas actuaciones sería la translatio de Santiago el Mayor; y en muchos casos se trataba de ocultar con dichas leyendas un robo de reliquias (Patrick J. Geary, Furta Sacra. Thefts of Relics in the Central Middle Ages (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1978). Cont.Hisp., 54 (ed. José Eduardo López, Continuatio Isidoriana Hispana..., p. 228, nota 1500. Pedro de Palol, El Bovalar (Seròs; Segrià). Conjunt d’època paleocristiana i visigòtica (Lleida-Barcelona: Diputació de Lleida-Generalitat de Catalunya-Departament de Cultura, 1989); Pedro de Palol, “Las excavaciones del conjunto de ‘El Bovalar’”, Los Visigodos. Historia y Civilización (Murcia: Universidad de Murcia, 1986), pp. 513525; Josep M. Gurt, “Complejos eclesiásticos no episcopales. Función y gestión”, Monasteria et territoria. Élites, edilicia y territorio en el Mediterráneo medieval (siglos V-XI), Jorge López Quiroga, ed. (Oxford: John and Erica Hedges, 2007), pp. 203-232. Al-GassƗnƯ (trad. Alfredo Bustani, El viaje del Visir…, p. 106). El mismo texto se encuentra con escasas diferencias en el Fath al-Andalus, cap. 34 (trad. Mayte Penelas, La conquista…, p. 22). La coincidencia se explicaría por depender indirectamente ambas de Ibn ণabƯb, aunque las fuentes transmisoras intermedias no sea fácil de explicar.

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concerniente al ídolo y su mensaje, que muy posiblemente se conecte con el topos literario andalusí de que la Península ibérica tenía forma triangular, existiendo en cada ángulo un gran ídolo a manera de mojón46. Pero, si se quisiera considerar la existencia de alguna base real a la misma, no sería descabellado pensar en el llano desierto de los Monegros, con el que el conquistador musulmán se habría podido encontrar en su camino de regreso a Zaragoza desde la costa, pasando así por el poblado del Bovalar. Naturalmente que para que escogiera este camino en lugar del más usual por Huesca hay que suponer la existencia de un importante obstáculo o peligro a su marcha en este último itinerario. Ese impedimento sería el que Huesca, tras la caída de Zaragoza y hasta de Tarragona, se hubiera convertido en epicentro de la resistencia goda y cristiana al invasor musulmán. Una resistencia que en esa plaza duraría nada menos que siete años, como se señaló con anterioridad. Varias fuentes islámicas, comenzando con el ImƗma wal-siyƗsa por su gran autoridad al respecto, señalan que tras la toma de Zaragoza el victorioso tƗbƯ tuvo que enfrentarse a una dura tarea de asedios y tomas de castillos o plazas fortificadas, en algunos casos nada fáciles por su misma proximidad y hasta

46

Júlia Hernández, La Península imaginaria. Mitos y leyendas sobre al-Andalus (Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 1996), pp.  103-108. La autora defiende que la idea de esa forma y mojones de al-Andalus es de origen preislámico, habiéndose transmitido en la lietaratura islámica a partir de la famosa traducción del Orosio interpolado. Es cierto que la colocación del tercer ídolo, el del noreste, varía en las fuentes, aunque casi todas coinciden en situarlo en el “país de los francos” (bilƗd Ifranǔa). Sin embargo no creo ni que la noticia completa procediera de Abnj Muতammad HišƗm ibn ‘Abd AllƗh al-QurtubƯ, que hacia el 1184 escribió un libro titulado “La hermosura del alma” (Edmond Fagnan, “Manuscritos árabes españoles”, Revista Crítica de Historia y Literatura, 1 [1896], pp. 336 y siguientes; Claudio Sánchez Albornoz, En torno a los orígenes del feudalismo…, vol. 2, p. 217), que afirmaba haberla leído en “un libro cristiano”, que bien pudiera ser ese Orosio interpolado. El problema es que estas referencias se encuentran en Ibn ‘IdƗrƯ, y lo que realmente afirma este compilador marroquí en dicha cita (BayƗn al-Mughrib, 14, Histoire de l’Afrique et de l’Espagne..., p. 19), es que MnjsƗ había avanzado hasta la ciudad de Lyon en Francia, tras haber conquistado todas los territorios anteriores con excepción de las montañas de Carcasona (?), las de Pamplona, y la Roca (de Pelayo) de Galicia; pero para nada esta noticia contiene los dos elementos claves de la noticia recogida por Al-GassƗnƯ y el Fath al-Andalus: 1) el gran desierto, 2) el ídolo con su inscripción admonitoria.

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peligrosas salidas campales de sus defensores47. Se trata de las primeras noticias de una lenta progresión de los ejércitos musulmanes en España, en absoluto exenta de riesgos; entre otras cosas por la misma necesidad de hacer una guerra de tierra quemada para castigar a la resistencia cristiana. Esta terrible “guerra de fuego” necesariamente era consecuencia y causa de una resistencia a muerte de la nobleza goda y de todo el pueblo cristiano en estos territorios del ducado Tarraconense. Algo que nada había tenido que ver con todo lo conocido anteriormente por el emir de África o por sus lugartenientes. MnjsƗ había buscado siempre que fue posible conseguir la sumisión de la nobleza goda y de las ciudades mediante “pactos de paz”, que ofrecían una variedad de seguridades y ventajas para la población vencida, en especial para sus grupos dirigentes. Pero aquí en la Tarraconense las cosas se habían presentando distintas, falto el invasor de un poderoso linaje con el que pactar, pues que la generalidad de la nobleza se encontraba agrupada en torno a la monarquía secesionista de Agila II, que había contado con tres años para afianzar su hegemonía social y política. Eso no quiere decir que MnjsƗ no hubiera tratado también aquí de aplicar su política favorita de “pactos de paz”. Ya antes aludí al posiblemente acordado con el conde Celso /Casio de Olite y Tafalla. Es precisamente la Crónica Mozárabe del 754 quien habla de la concesión de estos “pactos de paz” por parte del victorioso tƗbƯ, sin duda tras la caída de Zaragoza y la derrota de Agila II. Su testimonio es preciso y de una lógica aplastante. Según la crónica las ciudades que se habían librado del incendio y cruel castigo de su población solicitaron su capitulación mediante pactos, sin duda del tipo musƗlaha, que el invasor aceptó de inmediato. Sin embargo al poco esas mismas poblaciones rechazaron los acuerdos y, evacuando sus ciudades, trataron de resistir en las montañas48. Nuestro anónimo cronista no dice explícitamente la razón de este proceder, aunque lo deja leer entre líneas haciendo un juicio de intenciones sobre los invasores. Según él éstos habían aceptado la petición de capitulaciones “con una sonrisa astutamente suasoria” (suadendo et inridendo astu), mientras que los cristianos las habrían al poco rechazados “aterrorizados y llenos de miedo” (territi metu). 47 48

Ps. Ibn Qutayba, 133-137 (trad. Julián Ribera, Historia de la conquista de España…, pp. 116-119. Cont.Hisp., 54 (ed. José Eduardo López, Continuatio Isidoriana Hispana…, p. 228).

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Es bastante posible que ese juicio de intenciones tuviera su explicación a posteriori a la vista del incumplimiento de lo pactado, cuando tanto al-ণurr (716-719) como ‘Ambasa ibn Suতaym al-KalbƯ (721-726) impusieron multas ilegítimas en el cobro de los impuestos acordados, o los duplicaron49. Por eso resulta todavía más llamativa la renuncia a esos “pactos de paz” que hacía muy poco habían suplicado, especialmente si seguían aterrorizados y castigados por el hambre, como dice el cronista. Por eso tan radical y peligroso cambio de parecer de esas poblaciones de la Tarraconense se tiene que explicar a partir de algún extraordinario acontecimiento sucedido a las mismas en tan corto intervalo de tiempo. Un acontecimiento que necesariamente diera a los cristianos, a la nobleza goda, esperanzas de poder hacer frente al invasor con posibilidades de éxito. Antes he dicho que la caída de Zaragoza posiblemente había supuesto el final del reinado de Agila II. La inmediata posible llegada de la vanguardia invasora hasta Tarragona remachaba lo que parecía el derrumbe del secesionista reino godo del nordeste, nacido hacía unos tres años. Era lógico que las ciudades y plazas del ducado todavía no ocupadas por el invasor, y que más próximas estaban a los teatros de sus tropelías, solicitaran “pactos de paz”. El único hecho que podía dar un giro radical a este movimiento capitulante era la proclamación de un nuevo rey sucesor de Agila II. Y esto fue lo que debió de pasar si nos atenemos al único texto narrativo, y contemporáneo, que informa de la misma existencia del reinado de Agila II. Pues dicho ejemplar del Laterculus Regum Visigothorum, conservado en un manuscrito del siglo IX de procedencia catalana, dice que tras Agila fue rey Ardón, cuyo reinado se extendió a lo largo de siete años, y con el que se pone fin al listado de reyes godos50.

49

50

Cont. Hisp., 62 y 74 (ed. José Eduardo López, Continuatio Isidoriana Hispana…, pp. 236-246). Sobre estas actuaciones fiscales, y el empeoramiento que supuso la actuación fiscal de ‘Ambasa incluso para los neomusulmanes, véase: Miquel Barceló, “La primera organització fiscal…”, pp.  248 y siguientes, especialmente p.  255; y Pedro Chalmeta, Invasión…, pp. 256 y siguientes y 270 y siguientes. El desafuero de ‘Ambasa habría hecho que su sucesor devolviera a los cristianos propiedades usurpadas por los conquistadores (Cont.Hisp., 75, ed. José Eduardo López, Continuatio Isidoriana Hispana…, p. 248). Se trata del códice BnF 4667. Theodor Mommsen, ed., Monumenta Germaniae Historica. Chronica minora III…, 469. El manuscrito tiene una referencia final a Gerona fechada en 828.

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Evidentemente hay que suponer también algún factor coadyuvante por parte del invasor para esta proclamación real de Ardón. Si estuviera en lo cierto mi anterior análisis de la campaña de MnjsƗ, con posterioridad a la derrota y posible captura de Agila II, tal factor en primer lugar sería la creciente dificultad del avance invasor, con los riesgos añadidos por la proximidad al todavía incólume ducado Narbonés y al mundo franco y aquitano, así como por una penuria ya palpable de abastecimientos. Sin duda todo ello debió de hacer mella en el ánimo del ejército musulmán, y a lo que se refiere una noticia del ImƗma wal-siyƗsa, muy valioso para todo lo relacionado con esta campaña final de MnjsƗ. Ésta se hace eco de la incipiente oposición de la tropa islámica a continuar en su marcha hacia el nordeste51. Sin duda Huesca sería una de las ciudades que habrían rechazado los “pactos de paz”, reafirmándose en la resistencia al invasor, ahora bajo el liderazgo del nuervo rey Ardón. La antes recordada noticia transmitida por al-ণimyarƯ, según la cual la ciudad de Huesca habría resistido a los musulmanes nada menos que siete años, seguramente debe ponerse en relación con una más genérica contenida en uno de los membra disiecta de origen mozárabe inserto en la llamada Crónica Profética. En el que se afirma que, con posterioridad a la derrota y desaparición de Rodrigo, los cristianos lucharon encarnizadamente con los musulmanes durante siete años, tras que un mensajero hubiera hecho acto de presencia por todas las ciudades y plazas fortificadas de los godos52. Unos siete años que deben 51

52

Ps. Ibn Qutayba, 137 (trad. Julián Ribera, Historia de la conquista de España…, p. 120). La noticia se contine en una “tradición” cuyo isnƗd remontaría al padre de ‘Abd al-ণamid ibn ণamid, fuente que también citó ‘Abd al-Malik ibn ণabƯb como participante en la misma conquista y testimonio ocular de la famosa mesa de Salomón (por ejemplo: ed. Jorge Aguadé, KitƗb al-ta’rƯj..., p. 141, trad. M. Martínez Antuña, Notas de Ibn AbƯ RiqƗ..., p. 257). Sin duda hay que identificarle con el ‘Abd al-ণamid ibn ণumayd, cliente de los Banu MurƗd, que Ibn al-FaradƯ señala como fuente del libro de Mu’Ɨrik ibn Marwan, el tataranieto de MnjsƗ al que se debería el relato de la conquista de España transmitido por el ImƗma (Mahmud Alí Makki, “Egipto y los orígenes de la historiografía arábigo-española”, Revista del Instituto Egipcio de Estudios Islámicos, 5 [1957], p. 63). Más dudas me plantea su identificación el ‘Abd al-ণamid ibn Ǔa’far († 770), citado por el tradicionista medinés al-WƗqidƯ (en Ibn ‘IdƗrƯ, BayƗn al-Mughrib, 9, Edmond Fagnan trad., Histoire de l’Afrique et de l’Espagne…, p. 11), que pretendió Claudio Sánchez Albornoz (En torno a los orígenes del feudalismo…, vol. 2, p. 82). Alb., XVII, 3b (ed. Juan Gil, Crónicas Asturianas…, p. 183).

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alargarse hasta el final de la segunda década del siglo VIII, dado que otro fragmento de la Profética, también de origen mozárabe, sitúa la invasión musulmana en el tercer año del rey Rodrigo, confundiendo así el tiempo de reinado de éste con el de Agila II; al tiempo que ofrece una datación absoluta para la entrada de los sarracenos: el 11 de noviembre del 71453. D. Claudio Sánchez Albornoz ya señaló en su día que habría sido este texto de la Crónica Profética el responsable de que tal cómputo de tres años para el reinado de Rodrigo se colara en la historiografía asturiana del ciclo de Alfonso III54. Por mi parte debería corregir al gran medievalista en el sentido de que sería responsable sólo en lo tocante a reducir el tercer año de reinado de Rodrigo a la fecha absoluta del 714. Pues la adjudicación de tres años a su reinado ya había sido efectuada a mediados del siglo VIII por el anónimo autor de algún ejemplar del Laterculus regum visigothorum de procedencia sudgálica; una copia del cual, por intermedio de algún scriptorium riojano, habría sido incorporada al posterior centón que se conoce como Crónica Albeldense55. Sin embargo, en esos ejemplares 53 54

55

Alb., XVII, 1 (ed. Juan Gil, Crónicas Asturianas…, p. 183). Claudio Sánchez Albornoz, Orígenes de la Nación Española. Estudios críticos sobre la Historia del Reino de Asturias (Oviedo: Instituto de Estudios Asturianos, 19721975), vol. 1, pp. 388 y 408 y siguientes. Se trata de los mss. Vat. Reg. 667, con su copia parisina BnF 2769 del siglo XVI, y uno paralelo perteneciente en otro tiempo al cenobio de Moissac, editado por André Duchesne, Historiae Francorum scriptores coaetanei (Lutetiae Parisiorum: Sumptibus  S. Cramoisy, 1636-1649), vol. 1, p.  818. La versión transmitida en el códice Vat.Reg. 667 dice que dicha crónica procede de un manuscrito escrito en 1127 en Saint Gilles de Nimes por el conocido copista Guillermo Armario (Luís A. García Moreno, “De re epigraphica: CIL, V, 359*, 360*, 361*, 362*”, Auguralia. Estudios de lengua y literatura griega y latina, Manuel Fernández, ed. [Madrid: Ediciones de la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 1984], p.  158). En este último estudio, con referencia a una conferencia de seminario pronunciada en la Universidad de Salamanca en otoño de 1972, propuse una procedencia septimana de dicha Chronica Gothorum, lo que fue vilmente copiado sin mención del autor de la investigación –entonces un pobre no– numerario a sus órdenes, que por protestar fue expulsado de la Universidad de Salamanca y se ganó una persecución perpetua por parte de los amigos y deudos de los profesores Vigil y Barbero, y de grupos políticos llamados progresistas afines a los mismos- ni mayores pruebas, de las que carecían, por Abilio Barbero y Marcelo Vigil, La formación del feudalismo en la Península ibérica (Barcelona: Editorial Crítica, 1978), pp. 240 y siguientes. Junto con las razones de transmisión textual antes recordadas, me sigue pareciendo básica la denominación Gotia para Septimania en un pasaje (Albeldensis, XIV, 30, ed. Juan Gil, Crónicas

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más auténticos del Laterculus, junto a esa errada cronología del reinado de Rodrigo lo que realmente se fecha en el 714 (Era 752) es la conquista del Reino godo por el invasor musulmán, lo que está mucho menos alejado de la realidad histórica que los supuestos tres años de reinado de Rodrigo56.

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Asturianas…, p. 170) basado en la Historia Wambae de Julián; no obstante que en esta última, y en toda la literatura visigoda, dicha región siempre sea llamada Gallia, por evidentes razones reivindicativas (véase: Suzanne Teillet, Des Goths a la nation gothique. Les origines de l’idée de nation en Occident du Veau VIIe siècle [Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 1984], p. 632). Por el contrario el nombre Gotia, aplicado a la Septimania visigoda, debió ser utilizado sólo en el mismo ambiente septimano y por parte de los francos (véase: José Antonio Maravall, El concepto de España en la Edad Media [Madrid: Instituto de Estudios Políticos, 1964], pp. 105 y siguientes.). Por el contrario Manuel C. Díaz y Díaz, De Isidoro al siglo XI (Barcelona: Ediciones El Albir, 1976), p. 218, nota 30, apuntó a un origen mozárabe y toledano para este Ordo gentis gothorum de la “Albeldense”, por referir la noticia de la erección de la basílica de S. Leocadia por Sisebuto (Albeldensis, XIV, 24). Origen toledano en el que también prefiere pensar Juan Gil, Crónicas Asturianas…, p. 96 y siguientes, que observa la vinculación de dicho Ordo gentis gothorum con la historiografía mozárabe andalusí presente en la Crónica del Moro Rasis, la Ps. Isidoriana y el Orosio interpolado; defendiendo una composición del mismo como mínimo en la primera mitad del siglo IX. También soy consciente de que el antes comentado término Gotia de Albeldensis, XIV, 30, puede tratarse de una glosa interpolada con posterioridad ([…] cunctis cibitatibus Gotie et Gallie captis;mientras que anteriormente, siguiendo a San Julián, se ha dicho en exclusiva cum omni provintia Gallie […]). Pero en ese caso habría que suponer que todas las versiones conservadas del Ordo –tanto las hispánicas como las autónomas extrahispánicas– procederían de un mismo arquetipo, ya interpolado necesariamente en tierras ultrapirenaicas. Así en Rot., 8 (ed. Juan Gil, Crónicas asturianas…, p. 122) la referencia cronológica III Idus Nouembris era DCLII está escrita con otra tinta en el famoso códice de Roda, pero falta en el resto de manuscritos que también transmiten la llamada versión Rotense de la Crónica de Alfonso III; y, por supuesto, también falta en la versión de Sebastián. Como se sabe es ese códice de Roda, de la Real Academia de la Historia, el que nos ha transmitido lo que su primer editor D. Manuel Gómez Moreno llamó Crónica Profética. En el ejemplar procedente de Moissac (editado, entre otros, en: Claude Devic, Joseph Vaissète, Histoire générale de Languedoc.Preuves (Tolosa: E. Privat, 1875, col. 20), vol. 2, se dice textualmente: Anno DCCX. XXXIV, Rudericus regnavit annos III. Istius tempore, aera DCCLII, farmalio terrae Sarraceni evocati Hispanias occupaverunt, regnumque Gothorum ceperunt. Esta contradicción entre cronología relativa y absoluta para el reinado de Rodrigo en ese ejemplar del Laterculus de procedencia sudgálica está indicando que la misma tuvo que ser la consecuencia de haber modificado un ejemplar original, como el famoso manuscrito parisino de procedencia catalana (véase nota 9), donde no figuraba Rodrigo y sí Agila II en su

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Entra dentro de lo probable que la fecha absoluta del 714 de esos textos historiográficos de origen mozárabe pueda explicarse porque su anónimo redactor tuviera a mano un ejemplar del citado Laterculus, como esos de origen sudgálico, en que viniera. Pues lo cierto es que en otro pasaje de la Crónica Profética se hace una cita expresa de esa obra cronística para fundamentar la cronología absoluta de la unción del rey Witiza57. Pero aún más curiosa que el año de la Era de 752 (714 a.D.) resulta la precisión cronológica del día y mes que la Profética hace para el sometimiento de España al poder islámico: el once de noviembre. Y no cabe duda que una tal fecha era esencial para los objetivos de la final redacción de la Crónica Profética en que tal fragmento de historiografía mozárabe se incluyó. Pues habría de ser el día de San Martín del 883 cuando se cumpliera por fin la supuesta profecía de la derrota y expuslsión de España de los musulmanes58¿De dónde pudo proceder tal precisión cronológica que resulta imposible de combinar con ninguna de las fechas propuestas para cualquiera de las sucesivas expediciones musulmanas sobre la España goda? Empezaré diciendo que en ese parágrafo de la Crónica Profética, donde se indica el día de san Martín del 714, se ofrece otra fecha absoluta: la

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lugar y con 3 años de reinado, con la tradición historiográfica hispana, como pudiera ser la propia Crónica Mozárabe del 754, que sólo hablaba de Rodrigo como sucesor de Witiza y último soberano godo, y se situaba la derrota y muerte de Rodrigo en el 711. Todo ello explica la incongruencia cometida por el copista del ejemplar procedente de Moissac, que fecha correctamente el principio del reinado de Rodrigo en el 710 a.D., pero en la aera DCCLII su derrota y final del Reino godo. Lo que demuestra que el copista franco: 1) no sabía muy bien la correspondencia entre los años de la Encarnación y los de la Era hispana; 2) que él, o su predecesor inmediato, había añadido años en la Encarnación para cada monarca godo, unas fechas absolutas que debían de faltar por completo en la versión original del Laterculus, tal y como se observa en todos los ejemplares hispanos consultados por la edición de Mommsen (“Chronica Minora”, Monumenta Germaniae Historica. Chronicorum minorum sac. IV, V, VI, VII [Berlin: Weidmannos, 1898], vol. 3, pp. 464-469), con sólo algunas excepciones para algunos de los monarcas, así como en el que se incluyó en la llamada Crónica Albeldense; 3) que en el ejemplar original que se copió sí figuraba esa fecha absoluta de la Era para datar la conquista del Reino godo. Alb., XIX, 1a (ed. Juan Gil, Crónicas Asturianas..., p. 187). Alb., XIX, 3 (ed. Juan Gil, Crónicas Asturianas..., p. 188). Sobre el sentido y origen de esa profecía véase: Luís A. García Moreno, “Literatura antimusulmana de tradición Bizantina entre los Mozárabes”, Hispania Sacra, 57 (2005), pp. 42 y siguientes.

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del año 100 de la era islámica como equivalente al 752 de la Era hispánica. El año 100H comenzó el 3 de agosto del 718, de modo que la concordancia entre ambos números de años es absolutamente imposible de explicar a partir de errores en la transmisión textual. Por tanto, se necesita recurrir a soluciones más complejas. Desde luego hay que pensar que el original redactor latino que escribió ese parágrafo no se manejaba bien en los sincronismos entre los años de la Era hispánica y los de la Hégira islámica. Lo que no sorprende en un cristiano de la primera mitad del siglo VIII, si se recuerda que el clérigo autor de la Crónica Mozárabe del 754 cometía errores al sincronizar ambas eras. Del análisis de los sincronismos ofrecidos por esta última fuente se puede concluir que, una vez instaurado el poder islámico en la península, su autor tenía ante sus ojos sobre todo documentos e informantes que ofrecían dataciones según la Hégira, y no según la Era hispana. En concreto uno de esos sincronismos ofrecido por la Crónica Mozárabe es del año 100H, que hizo coincidir con el 758 de la Era hispánica, es decir el 720 de la Encarnación, con un error superior al año y medio59. Por tanto, mi hipótesis es que el redactor de ese parágrafo de la Crónica Profética manejó una fuente o documento en el que el acontecimiento para él interesante estuviera datado en el año 100H con un sincronismo en el 758 de la Era hispánica, semejante al que acabo de indicar que hizo el autor de la Crónica Mozárabe. Si Ardón subió al trono godo secesionista poco tiempo después de la derrota y fin de Agila II a manos de MnjsƗ, lo habría hecho en el otoño del 713. El único testimonio sobre este Ardón, el citado ejemplar del Laterculus parisino, dice que este último monarca godo contó con siete años de reinado. Y da la casualidad que el séptimo año del reinado de Ardón sí habría podido coincidir con el 100H, especialmente si los siete años eran del calendario islámico, no cristiano60. Partiendo de esa ecuación 100H = 720 a.D. (758 Era hispánica), 59

60

Cont. Hisp., 65 (ed. José Eduardo López, Continuatio Isidoriana Hispana…, p. 238). Este sincronismo tenía un especial interés para el autor, porque fijaba el año de un acontecimiento astronómico de gran interés para él: un eclipse de sol que se observó en el centro de la península. Dicho eclipse se sabe que tuvo lugar el 7 de junio del 718, es decir, a finales del mes du al-QƗ’dah del 99H; lo que supone que la fecha por el calendario islámico sólo se equivocó en un mes y unos pocos días, mientras que en atención al año dado de la Era hispánica (758) el error supone dos años. Como se recordará el 95H comenzó el 26 de septiembre del 713, por tanto su séptimo año sí que pudo coincidir con el transcurso del 100 H (iniciado el 3/8/718) de dos

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es decir, con un error de más de 17 meses, el final del reinado de Agila y/o el comienzo del reinado de Ardón sí que había que computarlo en el año 752 de la Era hispánica, 714 de la Encarnación. Y de esta forma se explica perfectamente la fecha del 11 de noviembre del 714, en el tercer año de Rodrigo, ofrecida para el final del reinado de éste por el parágrafo de la Crónica Profética que estoy analizado. Lo único que haría falta sería sustituir el nombre de Ruderici por el de Agilae. Concluiré. Este complejo y enigmático parágrafo del la Crónica Profética, de origen mozárabe y de mediados del siglo VIII, ofrece dos fechas de enorme importancia. Por un lado la del final de Agila II, o de la proclamación de su sucesor Ardón, que habría sido con total precisión el 11 de noviembre del 713. Y por otro la del final del reinado de este último, que habría ocurrido entre el 3 de agosto del 718 y el 23 de julio del 719, fechas entre las que dicurrió el año 100 de la Hégira. Así pues en poco menos de diez semanas, desde principios de septiembre a los primeros días de noviembre del 713, MnjsƗ y sus tropas musulmanas habían pasado de la victoria y el saqueo a una situación crecientemente comprometida. Pues no sólo no se habían alcanzado las fronteras del ducado narbonés del Reino godo, que permanecía así incólume, sino que varias ciudades y plazas fuertes del ducado Tarraconense estaban en poder del enemigo godo y cristiano. Y eso a pesar de que algunas de ellas habían aceptado poco tiempo antes una capitulación al invasor mediante “un pacto de paz” (musƗlaha). Es más, sus oponentes contaban con un nuevo mando centralizado, el recién proclamado rey Ardón. Y las importantes fortalezas que sellaban el paso de la Tarraconense a la Narbonense, las famosas clausurae y otros castillos pirenaicos61, sin duda habrían visto sus guarniciones

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maneras distintas: 1) haciendo terminar el primero del cómputo islámico, es decir, el 95H, el 31 de diciembre del 713, haciendo coincidir los comienzos y finales de ambos tipos de años; 2) por computar como primer año de reinado sólo los meses que faltaban para terminar el 713 en el calendario cristiano, de tal manera que el séptimo año, que habría debido de terminar así el 31 de diciembre del 719, coincidiría con el año 100H siempre que el acontecimiento que se quisiera haber datado hubiera ocurrido antes del 23 de julio del 719. Sobre las cuales véase: Luís  A. García Moreno, “Estudios sobre la organización administrativa del Reino visigodo de Toledo”, Anuario de Historia del Derecho Español, 44 (1974), p.  100. Es Julián de Toledo (“Historia Wambae, 11”, Sancti Iuliani Toletanae Sancti Iuliani Toletanae sedis episcopi opera I [CChr. Series Latina, CXV], ed. Jocelyn Nigel Hillgarth [Turnhout: Typographi Brepols Editores

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recrecidas con la población evacuada de varias de esas ciudades, que había ido a refugiarse a los montes, según recordara el ignoto autor del mencionado parágrafo inserto en la posterior Crónica Profética. En estas circunstancias, y ante la creciente oposición de sus tropas a seguir avanzando, todo aconsejaba a MnjsƗ emprender la retirada, afianzando el control de las plazas conquistadas al reino secesionista de Agila II con el asentamiento en ellas de parte de su ejército como guarnición. Una noticia transmitida por la posterior historiografía andalusí, fundamentalmente por la basada en el relato de ‘ArƯb ibn SƗ’id aunque también por parte de la dependiente de Aতmad al-RƗzƯ62, ha dado pie a algún historiador moderno para afirmar que habría sido la llegada de una primera embajada califal liderada por MugƯt al-RnjmƯ, ordenándole dirigirse a Damasco, la causa de que interrumpiera esta campaña del nordeste63. Indudablemente el núcleo de la noticia estaba ya en el granadino ‘Abd al-Malik ibn ণabƯb, de donde la habría copiado en su “Libro de las banderas” (KitƗb al-rƗyƗt) Muতammad al-RƗzƯ, el padre del gran Aতmad. Sería precisamente la llegada de nuevos refuerzos militares de africanos neoconversos, y especialmente vinculados a la familia de MnjsƗ como mawƗlƯ, así como la obligación de conseguir nuevo botín y tierras con los que gratificarles, lo que explicaría una reanudación de la campaña

62

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Pontifici, 1976], pp. 227-228). La permanencia de guarniciones en los mismos, incluso en tiempos de pleno dominio de la corte toledana sobre su extremo ducado narbonés está testimoniada para el 694 por las actas del Concilio XVII de Toledo. Desgraciadamente la arqueología no es capaz de precisar la fecha exacta del abandono del castillo godo de Volturaria en el siglo VIII: André Constant, “Fouilles récentes au castrum ‘Vulturaria’”, Fars de l’islam: antigues alimares d’Al-Andalus: actes del congrés celebrat a Barcelona i a Bellaterra els dies 9 i 10 de novembre de 2006, Ramon Martí, ed. (Barcelona: Editorial EDAR, 2008), pp. 39-55. Al-GassƗnƯ (trad. Alfredo Bustani, El viaje del Visir…, p. 106); ‘ArƯb ibn SƗ’id (apud Ibn al-ŠabbƗt, 49, trad. Emilio Santiago, “Un fragmento de la obra de Ibn al-ŠabbƗt (s. XIII) sobre al-Andalus”, Cuadernos de Historia del Islam, 4 [1973], p. 64); Fathҕ al-Andalus, 35 (trad. Mayte Penelas, La conquista…, p. 22); Ibn al-AtƯr, 448 (trad. Edmond Fagnan, “Annales du Maghreb et de l’Espagne…”, p. 19), que está copiado casi al pie de la letra por Al-NuwayrƯ (trad. Mariano Gaspar, Historia de los los musulmanes. España y África por En-Nuguari [Granada: Centro de Estudios Históricos de Granada y su reino, 1917], vol. 1, p. 31). Eduardo Saavedra, Estudio sobre la invasión de los árabes en España (Madrid: Impr. de “El Progreso Editorial”, 1892), p.  113. Al que sigue, aunque sin citarle, Pedro Chalmeta, Invasión…, p. 188.

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militar contra los territorios que todavía controlaba Ardón en los ducados nororientales del Reino godo. Desgraciadamente la historiografía andalusí sobre la conquista al narrar el gobierno de ‘Abd al-‘AzƯz ibn MnjsƗ se centra en el episodio de su enlace matrimonial con Egilona, la ciudad del rey Rodrigo, y en cómo el mismo fue la causa de su perdición. Con ello se seguía la estela del tradicionismo egipcio-oriental64. Sin embargo es muy poco lo que debía decirse de su actividad militar. Sin embargo, tanto los testimonios conservados de la tradición indirecta tanto de Aতmad al-RƗzƯ como de ‘ArƯb ibn SƗ’id sí que recuerdan que el hijo de MnjsƗ reanudó las operaciones militares contra los que todavía obedecían a las autoridades godas, defendiendo las fronteras y conquistando nuevas plazas65. Pero lo hacen con unas expresiones tan lacónicas que omiten del todo cómo se realizó esa conquista, y sólo permiten sospechar en dónde tuvo lugar. Respecto a la pregunta del “dónde” lo más lógico es que se tratase de lo que quedaba del ducado Tarraconenses en manos de Ardón. De manera que así se completara la conquista de España, subsistiendo independiente ya sólo el ducado Narbonés del antiguo Reino godo. Según el ImƗma wal-siyƗsa ‘Abd al-‘AzƯz habría continuado el avance en territorio enemigo hasta llegar a la tierra de los al-Qnjt66. Esta expresión, tomada literalmente y descontextualizada del momento donde pudo haberse escrito, resulta desconcertante, por no decir absurda; pues ¿cómo se puede decir que el hijo de MnjsƗ continuo conquistando el territorio del Reino godo hasta llegar a la tierra de los godos? 64

65

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Representado por Ibn ‘Abd al-Hakam, Ibn ‘Abd al-HakamƯ. Conquista de África del norte y de España, trad. Eliseo Vidal (Valencia: Anúbar, 1966), pp. 50-52. Ibn ‘IdƗrƯ, BayƗn al-Mughrib, 22 (trad. Edmond Fagnan, Histoire de l’Afrique et de l’Espagne…, p.  31) dice tomar parte de la historia de una “tradición” de al-WƗqidƯ; y Rasis, II, 16 (Pascual Gayangos, ed., Memoria sobre la autenticidad de la Crónica…, p. 83) cita, como base una “tradición” cuyo primer eslabón en la cadena habría sido un tal Mafomad fijo de Mafomad, que sin duda habría que identificar con el conocido ‘Abd al-ণamid ibn ণumayd, nota 51. De tal modo que el isnƗd completo habría sido Ibn Humayd, al-WƗqidƯ, ‘Abd al-Malik ibn HabƯb, y de éste ya a al-RƗzƯ. Ibn al-AtƯr (§ V, 14, trad. Edmond Fagnan, “Annales du Maghreb et de l’Espagne…”, p. 24); Ibn ‘IdƗrƯ, BayƗn al-Mughrib, 23 (trad. Edmond Fagnan, Histoire de l’Afrique et de l’Espagne…, p. 32); Ibn AbƯ-l-FayyƗd (?), apud Ibn al-AbbƗr, Hulla al-siyarƗ’, trad. Camilo Álvarez de Morales, “Aproximación a la figura histórica de Ibn AbƯ-lFayyƗd…”, p. 84). Ps. Ibn Qutayba, 138 (trad. Julián Ribera, Historia de la conquista de España…, p. 121).

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La contradicción desaparece si nos preguntáramos por lo que se podía entender por “país de los godos” una vez conquistada la España goda. Como se dijo, aunque de pasada, muchas páginas atrás el corónimo Gotia, “la tierra de los godos”, no se testimonia antes de la invasión musulmana, y servirá para designar al antiguo ducado Narbonés del desaparecido Reino godo, que en las fuentes de éste normalmente había sido designado oficialmente con el nombre de Gallia67. Lo más probable es que el término Gotia hubiera nacido en el mundo franco en el siglo VII, antes de la destrucción del Reino godo. Pero su difusión en la península sólo fuera en tiempos posteriores, cuando para musulmanes y cristianos peninsulares esa entidad política había desaparecido, cuando el etnónimo con el que mejor se autodefinían era el de christiani o christicolae68. Mientras que observaban cómo los propios habitantes del antiguo ducado Narbonense llamaban Gotia a ese territorio ya inserto en el Reino de los francos69. Atendiendo a este texto del ImƗma wal-siyƗsa, y explicado de esta forma, habría que concluir que ‘Abd al-‘AzƯz habría alcanzado las fronteras del ducado de Narbona, logrando así someter el ducado Tarraconense, al menos en su porción más nororiental, de especial valor estratégico 67

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Véase supra nota 36. También es útil: Suzanne Teillet, Des goths a la nation gothiue. Les origines de l’idée de nation en Occident du Veau VIIe siècle (Paris: Les Belles Lettres, 1984), pp. 573, 628 y siguientes. Luís A. García Moreno, “Patria española y etnia goda (siglos VI-VIII)”, De Hispania a España. El nombre y el concepto a través de los siglo, Vicente Palacio, Quintín Aldea, eds. (Madrid: Temas de Hoy-Colegio Libre de Eméritos 2005), p. 53. Un indicio, prueba para mí de lo que acabo de decir, es el capítulo 30 del llamado Ordo gentis gothorum de la Albeldense (Albeldensis, XIV, 30, ed. Juan Gil, Crónicas Asturianas, p. 30), tal como apunté en la citada nota 55. Como se ha dicho, el origen de toda esa sección de la Albeldense es una copia de una “Crónica de los reyes godos” escrita en el siglo VIII, posiblemente en un escritorio del sur de Fracia, en relación directa con la antigua Septimania. El pasaje en cuestión se refiere a la rebelión del duque Paulo en tiempos de Wamba, para lo que naturalmente se basa en la historia escrita por S. Julián de Toledo. Y en consonancia con su fuente en un primer momento define el ámbito territorial de la rebelión quadam parte Spanie seu cum omni prouintia Gallie. Sin embargo, unas pocas líneas después al referirse al triunfo logrado por Wamba, dice: ciuitatibus Gotie et Gallie captis. Es más que verosímil que en este último sintagma Gotie no es más que una glosa que se habría introducido en el texto original, proveniente de España y anterior al 711, por parte de un copista escribiendo ya en Francia o en Septimania después de la desaparición del Reino godo, seguramente en tiempos carolingios, que introdujo así el término usual en su época para referirse a ese territorio.

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por su fácil comunicación con Septimania por la antigua Via Augústea70. Como se vió en su momento su padre MnjsƗ no había logrado alcanzar esta irrenunciable meta estratégica, si se quería asegurar todo lo conquistado antes, a causa de la dura resistencia armada que encontró; tras que varias poblaciones tarraconenses rechazaran los “pactos de paz” que hacía unas semanas sí habían aceptado. Ciertamente su hijo ‘Abd al-‘AzƯz recibió nuevos refuerzos de guerreros musulmanes africanos, como se dijo unos párrafos antes. Pero ¿en cuantía suficiente como para romper por la fuerza de las armas la resistencia encontrada por MnjsƗ en otoño del 713? Todo lo que sabemos de la política de ‘Abd al-‘AzƯz habla a favor de su interés en lograr una entente con la nobleza goda supérstite, en primer lugar con el linaje de Egica – Witiza, al que pertenecían el duque Teudemiro y muy posiblemente también la reina viuda Egilo. En tiempos de su padre ‘Abd al-‘AzƯz había usado siempre que pudo los “pactos de paz”, incluso para conseguir el sometimiento de una población como Sevilla, rebelde tras una primera conquista. Es más, había llegado hasta firmar un pacto tipo ‘ahd, con el otorgamiento de una casi completa autonomía política, como el que hizo con el duque Teudemiro. Lo lógico es que ahora en la Tarraconense ‘Abd al-‘AzƯz hubiera usado de la misma táctica que tan buenos resultados le había dado en el 713: presionar militarmente, pero en todo momento hacer una oferta de “pacto de paz”, que respetara la vida y la hacienda de buena parte de las noblezas locales. Seguramente a esta política de ‘Abd al-‘AzƯz y a sus logros se refiera la única frase que la Crónica Mozárabe del 754 dedica al hijo del gran MnjsƗ, fuera de toda la anécdota relativa a su matrimonio con Egilo y a su trágica muerte. Tras el asesinato de ‘Abd al-‘AzƯz, a finales de agosto del 716 llegó a España al-ণurr, el nuevo gobernante nombrado por el califa SulaymƗn para los territorios andalusíes todavía dependientes del walƯ de IfrƯquiya71.

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Hago esta salvedad en atención a los siete años de la resistencia de Huesca según una muy verosímil tradición historiográfica arábiga y mozárabe. La máxima precisión la da el Fath al-Andalus (§ II. 6, trad. Mayte Penelas, La conquista…, p. 34): el primer día de mu‫ۊ‬arram del 98H, que se corresponde exactamente al 25 de agosto del 716; una fecha así muy próxima a la del asesinato de ‘Abd al‘AzƯz. Evidentemente la fuente que usó el autor del Fath gustaba de las fechas redondas, como el comienzo de mes y año. Sin embargo, si el asesinato de ‘Abd al-‘AzƯz

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En concreto el anónimo clérigo dice que el gobernador musulmán, en sus tres años de mandato, “pacificó a toda España sub censuario iugo”72. No ignoro que la traducción que se ha solido hacer al sintagma latino que he subrayado puede inducir a considerarlo una imposición punitiva a la problación conquistada, y hasta causa de la oposición de la misma, que habría así coadyuvado con sectores de los conquistadores islámicos para asesinarle73. Evidentemente que los impuestos son un “yugo”, una carga más insoportable aún si hay que pagarlos al infiel invasor de tu querida patria. Pero ¿si hubiera sido algo tan inamistoso como es posible que lo mismo hubiera servido para conseguir la paz, cómo en aparente contradicción dice el texto? La única y fácil explicación es que ese impuesto exigido no fuera otra cosa más que el de la ǔizya en virtud de lo estipulado en los “pactos de paz” (musƗlaha). Evidentemente que el adjetivo omnis se explicaría porque había abarcado a toda la península, incluidos los rincones nororientales de la Tarraconense74. Creo que acierta Chalmeta75 al prestar alguna atención a un pasaje de la “Historia de los árabes” del arzobispo toledano Jiménez de Rada76. Que

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ocurrió al poco de finalizar el ramadán del 97H y tras un breve interregno le sucedió su primo Ayynjb a lo largo de muy poco más de un mes, lo lógico es que al-ণurr llegara a España e iniciara su gobierno todavía en dnj l-hiǔǔa del 97H (desde el 26 de julio hasta el 24 de agosto del 716). Este cortísimo gobierno de Ayynjb haría que la historiografía andalusí tendiera a confundir las fechas del asesinato de ‘Abd al-‘AzƯz y del comienzo de al-Hurr, situando así la primera a finales del 97H/98H. Cont.Hisp., 59 (ed. José Eduardo López, Continuatio Isidoriana Hispana…, p. 232). Así Pedro Chalmeta, Invasión…, p. 253. Un juicio que considero absolutamente desacertado, contradictorio con todo lo que sabemos de la actitud de ‘Abd al-‘AzƯz para con la nobleza goda, y que la historiografía andalusí considera la causa profunda de su desgracia. Nada se opone que fuera entonces, y no antes en el 713, cuando se alcanzara la sumisión de Pamplona y hasta del conde Celso/Casio. Sería preferible atribuir a la época de ‘Abd al-‘AzƯz que a la de su padre el dinar del 95H perdido en Tarragona (véase nota 41). Pedro Chalmeta, Invasión…, p. 258. Rod. Xim., Hist.Arab., 10 (ed. Francisco Antonio Lorenzana, PP. Toletanorum quotquot extant opera [Madrid: Apud I. Ibarra, 1782-1793], vol. 3, p. 252). El texto es de contenido muy parecido al de al-MaqqarƯ, V, 4 (Pascual Gayangos, The History of the Mohammedan Dynasties in Spain [Londres: Printed for the Oriental translation fund of Great Britain and Ireland, 1840], vol. 2, p. 31), que afirma basarse en Ibn ণayyƗn. Ignoro por qué Chalmeta no se ha dado cuenta de esta semejanza. Me temo que una vez más aquí se demuestra la tantas veces observada deficiencia de la

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muy probablemente se basaría en el Muqtabis de Ibn HayyƗn, principal fuente del toledano77. Según ese texto una de las primeras cosas con las que al-Hurr se tuvo que enfrentar al hacerse cargo del gobierno de al-Andalus habría sido dominar la rebelión protagonizada por los cristianos, que había estallado antes de su venida en la España citerior, consiguiendo reducirla y que aquéllos volvieran al pago del impuesto (vectigali servituti). La cita paralela que del Muqtabis hizo el tardío compilador marroquí al-MaqqarƯ, afirma que los dos sucesores de ‘Abd al-‘AzƯz, al-Hurr y previamente el efímero Ayynjb ibn HabƯb, tuvieron que guerrear contra los infieles, consiguiendo tomar la ciudad de Barcelona, en el oriente de España, así como las fortalezas de Castilla. Precisiones topográficas que realmente suponen que una parte del antiguo ducado Tarraconense, al menos la más nororiental, así como el ducado de Cantabria78 habían abandonado la obediencia

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Filología arábiga en lo concerniente a la historiografía de la conquista de al-Andalus: sustituir la mera yuxtaposición de fuentes de épocas y valores diferentes, y todo ello de forma un tanto caótica, en lugar de proceder a una edición de las obras perdidas —en este caso los primeros libros del Muqtabis— mediante la recopilación, ordenación y valoración de los fragmentos de la tradición indirecta. Eduardo Manzano, “Las fuentes árabes sobre la conquista de al-Andalus: una nueva interpretación”, Hispania, 59 (1999), p. 397; Engracia Ferré, “Une source nouvelle pour l’Histoire de l’Espagne musulmane”, Arabica, 14 (1967), pp.  320-326; Luis Molina, “Un relato de la conquista de al-Andalus”, Al-qantara: Revista de estudios árabes, 19/1 (1998), pp. 61-64; María Crego Gómez, “La fuente árabe de la historia del emirato omeya de al-Andalus en la Historia Arabum de Jiménez de Rada”, E-Spania. Révue électronique d’études hispaniques medievales, 2 (2006). Al-MaqqarƯ, V, 4 (Pascual Gayangos, The History of the Mohammedan..., vol. 2, p. 31) escribe Kštlh, que es un claro anacronismo basado en el corónimo Castilla. Pues en las fuentes arábigas la primera denominación para el primitivo solar de Castilla es el de al-Qila’ (“Los castillos”), ya testimoniado para aceifas datadas en el 792 y 796 por fuentes seguramente basadas en la narrativa de Aতmad al-RƗzƯ (apud Ibn al-AtƯr, trad. Edmond Fagnan, “Annales du Maghreb et de l’Espagne”, Revue Africaine, 42 (1898), p. 143; Ibn ‘IdƗrƯ, BayƗn al-Mughrib, trad. Edmond Fagnan, Histoire de l’Afrique et de l’Espagne…, vol. 2, p. 101; Ibn ণayyƗn, Muqtabis, 91v, Ibn Hayyan, Crónica de los emires Alhakam I y ‘AbdarrahmƗn II entre los años 796 y 847 [Almuqtabis II-1], ed. Mahmud Ali Makki, trad. Federico Correinte (Zaragoza: Instituto de Estudios Islámicos y del Oriente Próximo, 2001), p. 24; aunque para esa fecha los documentos del Reino astur ya usan Castella (Claudio Sánchez Albornoz, Orígenes de la Nación española [Oviedo: Instituto de Estudios Asturianos, 1974], vol. 2, pp. 593 y siguientes). Según Sánchez Albornoz (Orígenes de la Nación española..., p. 595) el núcleo más primitivo de la Castilla del Reino astur se extendía

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al Imperio islámico al desaparecer trágicamente el hijo de MnjsƗ ¿por qué había sucedido todo ello? Todo parece indicar que el nuevo gobernador califal había comprendido muy bien algunas de las causas de la rebelión de los territorios septentrionales surgida a la muerte de ‘Abd al-‘AzƯz. Sin duda Ayynjb ibn ণabƯb, necesitado de congraciarse con las tropas bereberes, les habría permitido campar a sus anchas en su búsqueda insaciable de tesoros, no respetando así lo regulado en los “pactos de paz”, seguramente en los más recientes del noreste, donde habría mayores concentraciones de tropas musulmanas, bereberes, como consecuencia del peligro que representaba la frontera con los territorios de Ardón79. El respeto de esos pactos, la no exasperación de

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al occidente de los valles de Mena, Losa y Valdegobia, para prolongarse muy pronto a la merindad de Aguilar de Campoo, por el oeste, y al otro lado de la divisoria entre los ríos Nelo y Ebro, por el este. Sin embargo el Muqtabis II testimonia que todavía a finales del siglo VIII en el territorio de al-Qila’ se contaban tanto la zona de Miranda de Ebro como Calahorra (Ibn ণayyƗn, Muqtabis, 91v, 177v, Ibn ণayyan, Crónica de los emires..., pp, 24, 285); aunque en esta última el dominio musulmán estaría luego firmemente asentado. De modo que cobra toda verosimilitud la afirmación de las Crónicas de Alfonso III de que el rey astur Alfonso I en algún momento habría tenido en su poder Clunia, Mave, Oca, Miranda (de Ebro), Revenga, Carbonaria, Abeiga, Brunes, Cenisaria y Alesanco; ubicándose las seis últimas entre Miranda de Ebro y Logroño (Rot., 13; Ad Seb., 13; ed. Juan Gil, Crónicas asturianas…, pp. 132-133). Independientemente de que esté en lo cierto la vieja afirmación hecha por Abilio Barbero y Marcelo Vigil (“Sobre los orígenes sociales de la Reconquista: Cántabros y Vascones desde fines del Imperio Romano hasta la invasión musulmana”, Boletín de la Real Academia de la Historia, 156 [1964], pp. 324 y siguientes) de que tales localidades supusieran plazas fortificadas de una frontera del Reino godo contra insumisos pueblos de ultrapuertos, lo que es bastante improbable, lo que sí es cierto es que dibujan parte del territorio que había sido conocido como Cantabria desde tiempos de Leovigildo, base del probable ducado de Cantabria en tiempos de la invasión musulmana, que iría desde el curso del Pisuerga, y las tierras ribereñas del Ebro, hasta más allá de Logroño (Luís A. García Moreno, Leovigildo. Unidad y diversidad de un reinado [Discurso leído el día 1 de junio de 2008 en la recepción pública del Excmo. Sr. Don Luis A. García Moreno en la Real Academia de la Historia] (Madrid: Real Academia de la Historia, 2008), pp. 64 y siguientes). El padre de Alfonso I habría sido el último titular de ese ducado godo de Cantabria. Los datos prosopográficos y toponímicos referentes al asentamiento de linajes y grupos bereberes en la península desgraciadamente no permiten realizar un filtro cronológico. Sin embargo sí que hay que señalar los muchos que se documentan en territorio de la Tarraconense, aunque siempre al sur del Ebro, formando el segundo conjunto en importancia tras el de la Andalucía oriental (véase el mapa 1 de: Helena

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la población conquistada, era de todo punto necesario, si no era posible trasladar a la península nuevos y numerosos contingentes de guerreros musulmanes, que fueran árabes y no bereberes80. Y es también la Crónica Mozárabe la que recuerda cómo el otro hecho importante de la fiscalidad practicada por al-ণurr consistió en que el impuesto de la ǔizya se exigiera según lo estipulado en los “pactos de paz”81. También la contemporánea Crónica Mozárabe ofrece datos muy precisos, y además los únicos, sobre la actividad conquistadora de al-ণurr ibn ‘Abd al-RahmƗn al-TaqafƯ en sus casi tres años de gobierno82. Su anónimo autor sintetiza en dos palabras: guerreando y pacificando. Una dualidad que muy posiblemente reflejaba las formas distintas que habían guiado, por un lado, la conquista de buena parte de los territorios peninsulares que en su día estuvieron sometidos al rey Rodrigo, y por otro, la de aquellos que obedecieron a Agila II, primero, y luego a Ardón. La porción mayoritaria del Reino godo regida por Rodrigo, en la terminología de la Mozárabe la “España Ulterior”, había sido ocupada por el invasor islámico haciendo un amplio uso de “pactos de paz” (musƗlaha), de condiciones diversas pero incluso ofrecidos también tras un largo

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de Felipe, Identidad y onomástica de los beréberes de al-Andalus (Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 1997); pero esta última pudo recibir nuevas aportaciones bereberes en tiempos muy posteriores a los de la conquista. Fath al-Andalus (§ II, 6; trad. Mayte Penelas, La conquista…, p.  34); al-MaqqarƯ, V, 4 (trad. Pascual Gayangos, The History of the Mohammedan Dynasties…, vol. 2, p. 32); la noticia muy posiblemente estaría ya en al-RƗzƯ, al que se ha referido explícitamente en un parágrafo anterior Ibn ‘IdƗrƯ, BayƗn al-Mughrib, 24 (Edmond Fagnan trad., Histoire de l’Afrique et de l’Espagne…, p. 34): afirman que sólo pudo conseguir 400 árabes de IfrƯquiya. Sin duda este es el sentido en el que hay que entender la muy clara frase de Cont. Hisp., 64 (José Eduardo López Pereira, ed., Continuatio Isidoriana Hispana…, p.  238): […] resculas pacificas Xpianis ob uectigalia thesauris publicis inferenda instaurat. Como en otras ocasiones la traducción propuesta por López Pereira (ed. José Eduardo López, Continuatio Isidoriana Hispana..., p. 239: “pequeñas multas a cambio de la paz”) es inexacta, al desconocer la muy precisa realidad histórica en que dicha frase debe inscribirse. Dado el interés del pasaje, y para facilitar la lectura crítica del lector, copio el texto completo de Cont.Hisp., 62 (ed. José Eduardo López, Continuatio Isidoriana Hispana…, p.  236): […] Alaor per Spaniam lacertos iudicum mittit, atque debellando et pacificando pene per tres annos Galliam Narbonensem petit et paulatim Spaniam ulteriorem uectigalia censiendo conponens ad Iberia citeriorem se subrigit, regnans annos supra scriptos.

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asedio como el de la ciudad de Mérida, o hasta después de una primera rebelión, como en el caso de Sevilla. Hasta en algún caso excepcional, como el del duque Teudemiro en Levante y sudeste, se llegó a firmar un pacto tipo ‘ahd que otorgaba una completa autonomía interna a los territorios y poblaciones amparados por él; todo ello en beneficio de la nobleza goda, convertida así en aliado del nuevo orden. El caso de la llamada España Citerior, la que un día obedeció a Agila II, fue distinto. Aquí la primera intervención de conquista, dirigida por MnjsƗ, fue muy violenta, consecuencia y causa a la vez de una numantina resistencia de las poblaciones. Bastantes de éstas, situadas más al norte, incluso por dos veces se habrían vuelto atrás de unos “pactos de paz”, ofrecidos primero por el victorioso tƗbƯ y luego por su hijo ‘Abd al-‘AzƯz, tal y como se analizó en páginas anteriores. Por todo ello el citado parágrafo de la Crónica Mozárabe señala que en la España Ulterior la labor de al-ণurr consistió en reorganizar, en “componer”, mediante una pausada labor de inspección fiscal y tributación. El clérigo autor de la crónica destaca el envío de jueces a lo largo y ancho de España. Lo que sin duda obedecía a un interés por cortar y castigar con los abusos de algunos de los conquistadores, tanto en perjuicio de la Hacienda islámica y califal como también de la población conquistada. Entre los que destacarían esos guerreros bereberes de cuyo castigo por al-ণurr hablé antes. Con un objetivo sobre todo fiscal83 no cabe duda que esos jueces tratarían de ajustar la tributación de la población goda a lo estrictos términos fijados en los diversos “pactos de paz” para la ǔizya. Sin embargo, la Mozárabe no utiliza término alguno que induza a pensar que la actividad de al-ণurr en la Citerior tuviera ese marcado carácter administrativo, de recomponer una correcta fiscalidad conforme a los “pactos de paz”. El verbo utilizado (subrigo) de tener algún matiz añadido al de mero “caminar en dirección a”84 lo sería de “imponiendo su poder”, “elevándose”. En todo caso lo que sí es cierto es que para nada se

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Casi todos los contextos en que el término iudices (en plural) aparece en la Crónica Mozárabe (§ 79, 81, 82 y 84) siempre tienen que ver con la fiscalidad, con la comisión de injustas y gravosas exacciones sobre la población goda, o con la persecución de éstas. Este es el sentido en que lo ha entendido en su traducción el Prof. López Pereira (Continuatio Isidoriana Hispana…, p. 237), que está avalado por el otro único paso en que se utiliza en la crónica (§ 84).

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alude ya en el texto a una fundamental acción de reforma administrativa basada en la fiscalidad. Y, desde luego, lo que sí está claro es que la acción de al-ণurr en la España Citerior sería después de haber arreglado la administración de la Ulterior. Indudablemente ese arreglo resultaba imprescindible para lanzarse exitosamente a culminar la conquista de la Citerior. No sólo porque la reorganización hacendística, y muy especialmente la recuperación de las riquezas muebles ilegalmente atesoradas por las tropas bereberes, permitirían sufragar una acción armada. Sino también porque el castigo de los saqueos y de las exacciones fiscales arbitrarias en contra de lo fijado en los “pactos de paz” eran una señal a las poblaciones de la Citerior, que resistían y seguían obedeciendo a Ardón, de que podían confiar en los “pactos de paz” ofrecidos otrora por el invasor, que éstos constituían una opción menos costosa que la de mantener una resistencia armada de futuro más que incierto. Las conquistas de al-ণurr en la España Citerior tuvieron que realizarse tanto en territorios del ducado Tarraconense como en el de Cantabria. A tenor de la tradición historiográfica andalusí, sin duda procedente de Aতmad al-RƗzƯ, que se analizó páginas atrás, el gobernante musulmán utilizó la fuerza, aunque también volvería a ofertar “pactos de paz”, que comportaban el pago de la ǔizya. Por el noreste destacó la toma de Barcelona. Se debería a esta campaña la conquista de la fortaleza goda del Puig Rom, que controlaba el golfo de Rosas, pero también el camino que conducía al ducado Narbonense. En sus ruinas, que denotan un abandono de golpe, se encontró un triente acuñado a nombre de Agila II en la ceca de Gerona85. Aunque falta todo tipo de evidencia documental nada impide pensar que fuera entonces cuando comenzara la erección de pequeñas fortalezas y puntos de vigilancia, los llamados “faros”, para el control de la comunicación entre Barcelona y Narbona86. La ocupación violenta de parte de

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Ramon Martí, “Los territorios catalanes…,” p.  13; Pedro Palol, “Rosas de la Antigüedad a la Edad Media”, Revista de Gerona, 31 (1965), pp. 26-29; Pedro Palol, Josep  M. Esquirol, El castrum del Puig de les Muralles de Puig Rom (Roses, Alt Empordà) (Gerona: Museu d’Arqueologia de Catalunya, 2004); Ruth Pliego, La moneda visigoda…, vol. 2, p. 487. Ramon Martí, “La defensa del territorio durant la transició medieval”, Actes del congrés Els Castells Medievals a la Mediterrània Nord-Occidental (Gerona: Museu Etnològic del Montseny, 2004), pp.  89-114; Ramon Martí, “Fars de terra endins.

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estos territorios de la llamada Cataluña Vieja, sin beneficiarse de “pactos de paz”, habría llevado aparejada una importante confiscación de tierras, concedidas a jeques musulmanes que se asentarían con sus gentes para defender el territorio. Todo esto último si estuviera en lo cierto la hipótesis de Ramón Martí de identificar algunos de los palatia atestiguados por documentación de época posterior, pero cuyos nombres aludirían a un primer ocupante islámico87. La campaña militar de al-ণurr en el ducado Tarraconense también habría acabado con la fiera resistencia de siete años de la ciudad de Huesca, que se mencionó en su momento. Es evidente que el objetivo final de al-ণurr sería acabar con la resistencia centralizada del último monarca godo, Ardón. Por ello tenía que culminar su campaña en el ducado Tarraconense atacando ya el de Narbona, el último bastión donde resistía la Monarquía goda. Y eso es precisamente lo que dice el citado parágrafo de la Crónica Mozárabe del 75488. Podría ser testimonio de ese ataque una moneda de bronce islámica, acuñada en el 97H en el Magrib, hallada en las proximidades de lo que en la siguiente década sería importante campamento musulmán en Ruscino, en el condado de Elna (Rosellón)89. Al-ণurr ibn ‘Abd al-RahmƗn al-TaqafƯ inició el ataque al último ducado del Reino godo de Toledo que quedaba sin conquistar, el de Narbona. Pero apenas iniciada la campaña tendría que abandonarla. En marzo/abril del 719 arribaba a la península al-Samত, para sustituirle en el gobierno de

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A propòsit de la Torrassa del Moro”, Laietania, 16 (2005), pp.  185-198; Ramon Martí, “Los territorios catalanes…”, pp. 14-17. Ramon Martí, “Palaus o almúnies fiscals a Catalunya i al-Andalus”, Les sociétés meridionales à l’âge féodal. Hommage à Pierre Bonnassie, Hélène Débax, ed. (Tolosa: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique-Université de Toulouse-Le Mirail, 1999), pp.  63-70; Ramon Martí, “Los territorios catalanes…”, pp.  17-21. En todo caso cada topónimo debería someterse a un estricto filtro. Cont.Hisp., 62 (trad. José Eduardo López, Continuatio Isidoriana Hispana…, p. 236), copiado en la nota 82. Philippe Sénac, “Nota sobre la conquista musulmana de la Narbonense (siglo VIII)”, Cristianos y musulmanes en la Península Ibérica: la guerra, la frontera y la convivencia (XI Congreso de Estudios Medievales) (Ávila: Fundación SánchezAlbornoz, 2009), pp.  163-176; Philippe Sénac, “Aux confins d’al-Andalus (VIIIe siècle): Histoire et archeologie de la conquête de la Tarraconaise orientale et de la Narbonnaise”, 711: Arqueología e historia entre dos mundos, Enrique Baquedano, Luis  A. García Moreno, Alfonso Vigil-Escalera, Manuel Acién, eds. (Alcalá de Henares: Museo Arqueológico Regional, 2011), vol. 2, pp. 180 y siguientes.

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al-Andalus, posiblemente a consecuencia de la profunda reorganización de los virreinatos realizada por el califa ‘Umar II. Sería éste quien culminara la conquista del Reino godo de Toledo con la ocupación de todas las ciudades y plazas fuertes del ducado Narbonense90. Pero esto escapa ya al objetivo de este estudio, dedicado al territorio hispánico del Reino godo de Toledo.

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El estudio clásico es el de Ramon Abadal, “El paso de Septimania…”, pp. 6 y siguientes. El texto fundamental para establecer la cronología y el autor es el del Chronicon Moissacense (“Chronicon Moissacense”, Monumenta Germaniae historica, Scriptores  I [Hanover: Bibliopolii Hahniani, 1826], vol. 1: Sema Rex Sarracenorum post nono anno quam in Spania ingressi sunt Sarraceni, Narbonam obsidet, obsessamque capit, virosque civitatis illius gladio perimi iussit: mulieres vero vel parvulos captivos in Spaniam ducunt). Cabe señalar cómo su anónimo autor hace iniciar la conquista de Septimania después de nueve años de que hubiera tenido lugar el inicio de la invasión islámica de España, lo que coincide perfectamente con la suma de los siete años de reinado de Ardón y los dos de Agila II, sin contar el primero de este monarca que sería contemporáneo del de Rodrigo.

Écriture diplomatique et mémoire documentaire aux origines de l’histoire catalane1 Michel Zimmermann Université de Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines

Mon propos se situera à la rencontre ou mieux, à la convergence de l’analyse diplomatique et de l’histoire culturelle  ; je me propose en effet de montrer comment l’histoire culturelle, en l’occurrence l’historiographie, ce récit étiologique enraciné dans une quête des origines, s’immerge dans l’écriture diplomatique et la mémoire qu’elle perpétue. Or, nous nous trouvons en présence de deux domaines distincts – l’écriture notariale et la construction du discours historique – qui, s’ils ne s’opposent pas radicalement, affectent des champs épistémologiques et mémoriels sans réelle connexion entre eux. D’où la nécessité primordiale de s’entendre sur le contenu des termes retenus et la nature des matériaux qu’ils désignent, de les doter d’une signification précise liée à la finalité de leur usage : loin de prétendre découvrir une filiation nécessaire, née d’une homologie scripturale, entre écriture documentaire et élaboration du discours historique, je souhaite identifier et analyser une mise en relation qui n’avait au départ rien de fatal ni de nécessaire. Cette situation insolite constitue la matière de mon propos, à savoir cette causalité hasardeuse, cette genèse saisie dans sa pure temporalité, qui représente sans doute une originalité de l’histoire catalane. Je souhaite mettre en symbiose diachronique, d’une part, un phénomène purement matériel, utilitaire et comptable, tout au plus juridique, en tout cas strictement individuel, préfiguration de l’écriture notariale à une époque qui est encore celle du seing privé, à savoir la transcription et la conservation écrite des transactions et rites de la vie quotidienne (donations, achats et ventes, notices de plaid, actes de consécration d’églises…), dont il importe d’assurer la mémorisation dans le cadre d’une transcription immédiate et simultanée 1

Abréviations utilisées : ACA, Arxiu de la Corona d’Aragó ; ACB, Arxiu Capitular de Barcelona; ACV, Arxiu Capitular de Vic; BC, Biblioteca de Catalunya; BnF, Bibliothèque nationale de France.

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de l’engagement contracté auquel l’écriture confère sa portée juridique, et, d’autre part, un phénomène strictement culturel et mémoriel, l’écriture de l’histoire, volonté d’intelligibilité et authentique reconstitution du passé. Les deux phénomènes sont de nature différente, voire contradictoire  : à une opération d’enregistrement encadrant une pratique conservatoire en vue de l’avenir s’oppose une opération de retour sur le passé ; à une opération d’enregistrement particulière, rigoureuse et immédiate transcription du réel, s’oppose une distanciation animée d’une intention discursive qui l’intègre dans une perspective générale. La mutation est radicale : le statut du texte passe du matériel / ponctuel / utilitaire / juridique (ainsi, un transfert de propriété) au conceptuel / général / réflexif / culturel. Après ces considérations générales propres à «  encadrer  » notre enquête, il importe de décrire avec précision le matériau lui-même sur lequel elle s’appuie, donc d’identifier ce qui, dans le document diplomatique originel, a pu constituer la matrice du discours historiographique. La documentation catalane des Xème-XIIIème siècles ne présente pas de caractères fondamentalement différents des autres documentations contemporaines, mais elle offre un certain nombre de spécificités propres à nourrir notre argumentation. La plus évidente est son abondance même, qui résulte sans doute des hasards de la conservation, mais atteste surtout un réel goût pour l’écriture, présentée, à l’abri du rappel récurrent de la Loi Gothique, comme la condition et la preuve irréfutable de la « réalité » d’une transaction : Quia decretum est legibus ut scripturae intercurrant in omnibus causis […]. Quia lex precepit ut in omnibus causis scripture intercurrant […]2. Quant à l’ampleur et à la qualité formelle des documents, elles varient à l’évidence en fonction de l’importance attribuée à l’enjeu et aux partenaires de la transaction, mais elles s’inscrivent dans une même finalité juridique (transfert de propriété, mémorisation d’un jugement ou d’un rite liturgique) ou eschatologique (la donatio ecclesiae est une voie privilégiée de salut…). Le contexte historique de son élaboration constitue la seconde originalité de la documentation catalane ; il correspond à ce que l’on peut sommairement appeler la «  naissance de la Catalogne  », à savoir sa 2

Sur le sujet, voir : Michel Zimmermann, Écrire et lire en Catalogne (IXème-XIIème siècle), 2 vols. (Madrid : Bibliothèque de la Casa de Velázquez, 2003), en particulier vol. 1, pp. 10-22, « Nécessité de l’écriture » (Écriture et loi gothique, pp. 11-19).

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« libération » consécutive à l’intervention carolingienne et sa progressive émancipation du pouvoir franc, que certains idéologues ou politiciens ont qualifiée un peu imprudemment d’ « indépendance politique »3. Au cours de ces décennies eurent lieu les événements appelés à constituer la matrice où s’enracinèrent les mythes fondateurs d’une identité catalane (gouvernement de Guifred et transmission héréditaire de la couronne comtale, sac de Barcelone par Al-Mansûr en 985, hésitations à reconnaître les « usurpateurs » robertiens, cessation de toute relation avec la cour franque au lendemain de l’avènement de Hugues Capet, regroupement des comtés sud-pyrénéens entre les mains de la famille barcelonaise, union avec l’Aragon…). Il faut enfin souligner une dernière caractéristique, la liberté dont témoigne aux Xème-XIIème siècles la rédaction des documents, moins dans la forme, elle-même soumise à la stéréotypie catégorielle, que dans l’écriture et le mode de composition  : nous sommes encore à l’époque pré-notariale, celle du seing privé, où les rédacteurs d’actes sont des scribes (scriptor, qui hoc scripsit […]) librement choisis en raison de leur compétence, qui en fait souvent des professionnels de l’écriture diplomatique ; ce qui confère « autorité » (auctoritas) et valeur juridique au document écrit (scriptura, elle-même occasionnellement désignée comme auctoritas) n’est pas la qualité du rédacteur ou de celui qui conduit l’opération d’écriture, pas davantage celle de la personne au nom de laquelle elle est rédigée (le «  je  »), mais les modalités même de la rédaction, au premier chef la présence de souscripteurs ou témoins dont les signa confèrent l’auctoritas à ce qui n’était jusque là que la simple transcription d’un énoncé ou d’une gestualité4. Dans le cadre stéréotypé de la forme diplomatique, celui qui prend en charge la rédaction du document (l’ « auteur » ou le scriptor) s’autorise une réelle liberté d’écriture, certes variable en fonction de l’importance ou de la finalité du document lui-même, et à cet égard il est légitime de se demander pourquoi certains types d’actes restent résolument réfractaires à toute velléité créatrice, à la différence

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Le gouvernement de la Generalitat de Catalunya avait fait de l’année 1988 celle du « mil·lenari de la independència política de Catalunya ». Michel Zimmermann, «  Genèse de l’écriture  », Écrire et lire…, vol. 1, pp.  113170, chap. 3; Michel Zimmermann, « Affirmation et respect de l’autorité dans les chartes », Les actes comme expression du pouvoir au Haut Moyen Âge, Marie-José Gasse-Grandjean, Benoît-Michel Tock, éds. (Turnhout : Brepols, 2003), pp. 215-240.

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d’autres dont le contenu ouvre un large espace à la recherche d’une expression riche et novatrice. Le choix d’une écriture personnalisée répond d’abord à des préoccupations pragmatiques ; l’importance reconnue à la transaction justifie l’appel à un décorum que nourrit une écriture « libérée ». Mais le goût pour l’écriture que manifestent les documents de seing privé ne se réduit pas au seul souci d’efficacité juridique ou de portée mémorielle. Dans une société qui valorise l’écriture et où nombreux sont ceux qui se vantent de savoir écrire ou se désolent d’en être incapables, le souci d’une mémorisation efficace des actes de la vie quotidienne a des conséquences proprement stylistiques ou littéraires : choix d’un vocabulaire varié et original, adjectivation proliférante, séquences descriptives ou discursives, identification de synonymies, surgissement de la langue vernaculaire… La rédaction d’un document devient un authentique exercice d’écriture, incluant des développements sans lien direct avec l’opération évoquée. Le scriptor insère des commentaires philologiques ou sémantiques, canalise ses inventaires dans des itinéraires topographiques ou des balancements alternatifs ; il fait découler la matière du diplôme de considérations morales ou eschatologiques elles-mêmes cautionnées par une citation de l’Écriture ; il peut aussi s’abandonner à des appréciations ou allusions plus concrètes et contextuelles (considérations sur les difficultés du temps ou sur la famine qui sévit…) qui ne répugnent pas à s’aventurer sur le champ de l’actualité politique ou de l’histoire. Il n’est pas possible d’assigner à cette préoccupation d’écriture un point de départ précis, puisqu’elle apparaît dès les plus anciens témoignages documentaires, au lendemain de la « libération  » franque, après le vide documentaire correspondant à la période wisigothique, mais il est clair que sa genèse se situe dans le cours d’une période de « déconstruction » notariale ; la densification du phénomène à la fin du IXème siècle et sa diffusion croissante jusqu’à la fin du XIème siècle coïncident avec le gonflement de la masse documentaire parvenue jusqu’à nous, si bien que nous devons le considérer dans son ensemble, sans vouloir y distinguer d’autres étapes que celles caractérisées par la nature des préoccupations littéraires qu’il véhicule, d’autant, répétons-le, qu’il faut se garder de généraliser, les documents les plus nombreux et les plus répandus (donations, ventes, échanges…) échappant à toute créativité pour se cantonner dans une rigoureuse stéréotypie. L’importance du « décor » littéraire consacre la hiérarchie des documents, hiérarchie qui échappe à leur portée juridique et individuelle pour souligner leur signification morale et collective.

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Dans un tout autre espace culturel, la période des Xème-XIIème siècles est marquée par la naissance d’une historiographie catalane que naguère, après les travaux pionniers de Ferran Valls i Taberner5, a analysée de manière exhaustive Miquel Coll i Alentorn6. Le premier témoignage conservé d’une écriture de l’histoire en Catalogne remonte à 939; il s’agit d’une « Chronique des rois francs », écrite par Gotmar, évêque de Gérone, et dédiée au Calife Al-Hakam ; elle nous a été transmise dans une version arabe incluse dans les Praderas de Oro, d’Al-Massudi  ; il s’agit d’une généalogie royale remontant à Clovis (Clodion), document strictement utilitaire servant à dater les actes, qui n’est certainement pas le premier de cette nature à avoir été composé en Catalogne, l’actualisation d’une généalogie entraînant la disparition des versions antérieures. Beaucoup plus intéressantes pour notre propos sont les chronologies ou généalogies royales, apparues dans la seconde moitié du XIème siècle et conservées en grand nombre, simples aide-mémoires parvenus dans des manuscrits où ils accompagnaient des collections documentaires et secondaient les scribes dans la datation ou la lecture des actes ; les historiens de la Catalogne les désignent généralement du nom de «  chroniques  », parce qu’elles sont souvent associées ou incorporées à des annales ou incorporent elles-mêmes une note annalistique. Malgré leur sécheresse, elles expriment incontestablement, nous aurons l’occasion d’y revenir, une vision « politique » des relations entre les comtés catalans et la royauté franque. Pour ne prendre qu’un seul exemple, dont nous soulignerons la connexion avec la rédaction des actes de la pratique, le règne de l’ « usurpateur » Raoul (923-936) est clairement identifié comme une séquence de vacance monarchique : fuit ipsa terra sine rege annos VII ; post ejus obitum non habuerunt regem per annos VIII ; fuerunt anni VII sine legitimo rege, in quibus regnavit Dadulfus7. Ainsi commentée, la généalogie apparaît 5

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Ferran Valls i Taberner, « Els inicis de la historiografia catalana », Obras selectas (Barcelona : Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 1955), vol. 4; rééd., Matisos d’història i de llegenda (Zaragoza  : Arxiu de la Biblioteca Ferran Valls i Taberner, 1991), pp. 108-119. Miquel Coll i Alentorn, « La historiografía de Catalunya en el periode primitiu », Estudis Romànics, 3 (1951-1952), pp. 139-196. Cartulario de « Sant Cugat » del Vallès, éd. Josep Rius, 3 vols. (Barcelona : Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 1945), vol. 1, pp. XLIV-XLV. Voir : Michel Zimmermann, « La datation des documents catalans du IXème au XIIème siècle : un itinéraire politique », Annales du Midi, 93/154 (1981), pp. 345-375.

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comme une ébauche d’historiographie, ébauche que vient enrichir, au terme de la succession royale, l’adjonction de notes annalistiques commémorant de hauts faits de l’histoire catalane, et plus encore l’incorporation de ces mêmes notes à la généalogie elle-même, dont elles interrompent la succession régulière. Un tel traitement ne bénéficie avant le milieu du XIème siècle qu’à deux épisodes, tous deux d’histoire locale, deux épisodes parallèles, mais de sens contraire : la libération de Barcelone par Louis le Pieux en 801 et la prise de la ville par Al-Mansûr en 985. Le premier intervient pour célébrer le règne du souverain franc : ainsi, dans la Chronique de Skokloster, après les règnes de Pépin et Charlemagne : Lodoicus, filius eius, annis XXXIII [regnavit] et ipse cepit Barchinonam. L’évocation peut être anticipée et introduire la généalogie royale  : Era DCCC XXXIX, regnante Domino Karolo Imperatore, anno ordinationis suae XXXIV, (Regnavit annis XLVII, mensibus III) intravit Ledovicus filius ejus in Barchinonam, expulso inde omni populo Sarracenorum. Qui regnavit annis XXIV8. Cette mise en exergue se justifie, puisque c’est précisément l’incorporation de Barcelone à l’Empire carolingien qui impose la nécessité de la datation « franque » dans les actes catalans ; c’est elle en quelque sorte qui marque aux yeux des siècles ultérieurs le début d’une histoire catalane. À cette préface de l’histoire catalane répond dans d’autres chroniques la mention de ce qui en fut l’épilogue temporaire, le sac de 985, lui aussi évoqué à sa place, au cours du règne de Lothaire : Leotarius, filius eius XXXIII. Anno autem XXXI regni eius capta est et destructa a Sarracenis Barchinona9. Les conséquences de cette brutale irruption du désastre dans la succession généalogique nous retiendront ultérieurement. De finalité moins utilitaire, les chroniques catalanes (dont les plus anciennes à nous être parvenues datent du XIIème siècle), relèvent déjà de l’écriture historiographique  ; ce sont des annales, des collections de notes annalistiques précédées d’une date et se succédant dans l’ordre chronologique.

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Enrique Flórez, éd., « Chronicon Barcinonense II », España sagrada. Teatro geográfico-histórico de la Iglesia de España, 52 vols. (Madrid : Imprenta de D. Antonio de Sancha, 1874), vol. 28, pp. 328-334. Miquel Coll i Alentorn, éd., « El cronicó de Sant Cugat », Analecta Montserratensia (Miscellanea Anselm M. Albareda), 9 (1962), pp. 245-259.

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Je me propose de montrer comment cette historiographie élémentaire – généalogies enrichies de notes annalistiques ou annales de portée universelle – est appelée à se renouveler totalement en se nourrissant des apports d’une documentation « notariale » qui lui est a priori radicalement étrangère, dans sa finalité comme dans son mode de composition. La richesse de l’écriture diplomatique contribue à l’émergence d’une historiographie nouvelle, élaborée à partir d’une perception locale de l’histoire. Sans prétendre établir a priori entre les deux phénomènes une relation de cause à effet, on ne peut qu’être frappé par la coïncidence entre la richesse nouvelle du décor paratextuel ou contextuel de l’écriture diplomatique, son enracinement dans le temps long de la mémoire écrite et sa contribution décisive au renouvellement de l’historiographie. Comment l’écriture des actes a-t-elle pu promouvoir la mémoire d’événements étrangers au contenu des diplômes et chartes, événements qui, détachés de leur support originel, ont constitué le fondement du discours historique? Comment la mémoire collective et culturelle, étiologique ou idéologique, a-t-elle pu prendre racine dans la mémoire individuelle et patrimoniale? Notre enquête se déroulera en trois temps.

1. L’apparition de données extratextuelles dans la documentation catalane : la progressive irradiation du politique À côté du contenu juridique et factuel qui est à l’origine de leur rédaction, le souci d’écriture que manifestent nombre de documents favorise –outre le renouvellement stylistique et terminologique– l’insertion de données plus informatives constituant un décor contextuel ou une incitation morale, dont le contenu et l’importance répondent originellement à des finalités pragmatiques : le rappel de la Loi ou d’un précepte évangélique confère une efficacité majeure aux recommandations inscrites dans l’acte, le prestige attaché à une citation d’autorité rend sa mémorisation plus aisée. Abandonnant le dispositif de l’acte à l’exposé des clauses de la transaction ou au récit de la liturgie qui justifie sa rédaction, l’insertion de

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données extratextuelles investit les éléments du protocole, deux espaces en particulier : le préambule et l’eschatocole, en l’occurrence la formule de datation. Le préambule (qui justifie la rédaction de l’acte et invite au respect de ses clauses) et la formule de datation (qui situe l’acte dans le temps, un temps séquencé et relatif correspondant au règne d’un souverain) sont le plus souvent eux-mêmes tributaires de formulaires, mais ils peuvent conquérir une totale autonomie vis-à-vis du texte en accueillant des développements n’ayant qu’un rapport lointain avec son contenu documentaire. Les préambules représentent l’espace le plus approprié à l’accueil de développements para ou contextuels. Dans un article des Mélanges de la Casa de Velázquez, je me suis naguère attaché à dégager leur « signification culturelle »10. Très tôt, leur contenu se focalise en priorité sur le rappel impératif de la Loi Gothique exigeant de conserver la mémoire écrite des transactions et rituels. Une citation liminaire de la Lex Gothorum introduit l’acte, précède même le protocole initial : Est in antiquis regulis statutum et in Gotorum legibus decretum est ut inter commutantes gesta scripturarum intercurrant quatenus illorum voluntates uno animo confirmentur et corroborentur. Ob hoc igitur […]11.

Le rappel explicite de la Loi peut céder la place à de banales sentences relevant de la sagesse commune : Quoniam ea quae scripta notantur melius memoria commendantur12. Au fil des années, la documentation catalane s’enrichit d’autres préambules, de portée morale ou eschatologique. L’impératif juridique laisse place à l’enseignement théologique, souvent réduit à une citation de l’Écriture. Particulièrement élaborés sont les actes de donation à l’Église, assimilés à des aumônes, dont le préambule invite les fidèles à la générosité en vertu d’une stratégie de l’échange entre don et contre-don : le legs des

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Michel Zimmermann, «  Protocoles et préambules dans les documents catalans du Xème au XIIème siècle. Évolution diplomatique et signification culturelle. II. Les préambules », Mélanges de la Casa de Velázquez, 11 (1975), pp. 51-79. ACB, Diversorum C (a), n°28 (25 janvier 972) Jaime Villanueva, Viage literario a las iglesias de España, 22 vols. (Madrid : Imprenta Real, 1806), vol. 5, p. 269 (11 décembre 1178).

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fidèles devient le patrimoine des pauvres et vaut au donateur rémission de ses péchés et promesse de salut Omnis homo qui se cognoscit multis criminibus esse faece forditatum, pervigil debet esse qualiter per eleemosynam Christum possit placere. Sanctum et salubre consilium ab eo meruimus audire dum dicit : ‘Date eleemosynam et ecce omnia munda sunt vobis.’ Idcirco […]13. Magnum mihi et satis licitum esse videtur domum Dei hedificare ubique et de meis rebus honorare atque concedere, audiente me predicacionem sanctorum patrum, quia helemosina a morte liberat anima, cognoscentem me pecccati macula honustum, compunctus divina pietate ut pius et misericors sit Deus in peccatis meis […]14.

Le recours à des formulaires – et d’abord le célèbre formulaire de Ripoll, conservé dans le riche Ms. 74 de l’Arxiu de la Corona d’Aragó, qui connut jusqu’au XIIème siècle une exceptionnelle diffusion –15 ne paralyse pas la créativité des scribes, qui peuvent à loisir enrichir les formules, les amputer, leur substituer des expressions équivalentes ou synonymes. Une étape nouvelle s’amorce dans les dernières décennies du Xème siècle  ; les rédacteurs de préambules n’hésitent pas à s’émanciper de la thématique désormais conventionnelle du rappel du droit ou de l’invitation au salut pour donner à leur propos un contenu plus historique ou contextuel. La présence d’allusions historiques dans les actes de la pratique peut être plus ancienne ; elles peuvent surgir à l’évocation de l’origine d’un bien, des conditions de son acquisition ou de son transfert, notamment avec les mentions d’aprisio lorsqu’est évoqué le temps où le pays était soumis à l’autorité des Francs  ; l’expression ditio Francorum (sub ditione Francorum)16 revient à plusieurs reprises. La documentation est également parsemée de formules incidentes rappelant que l’organisation de la société et les structures

13

14 15 16

Pierre de Marca, Marca hispanica sive limes hispanicus, hoc est geographica et historica descriptio Cataloniae, Ruscinonis et circumjacentium populorum ab anno 817 ad annum 1258, ed. Étienne Baluze (Paris : Apud Franciscum Muguet, 1688), appendix doc. 211 (28 décembre 1034). ACA, Ms.74 (provenant de Santa Maria de Ripoll), fol. 151 r°: formule-modèle de donatio ecclesiae. Michel Zimmermann, « Un formulaire du Xème siècle conservé à Ripoll. Édition critique », Faventia, 4/2 (1982), pp. 25-86. Michel Zimmermann, « Aux origines de la Catalogne. Géographie politique et affirmation nationale », Le Moyen Âge, 89/1 (1983), pp. 5-40.

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institutionnelles qui l’encadrent sont tributaires du pouvoir franc ; les allusions aux préceptes royaux (per preceptum regis, in istos preceptos de regali donacione), plus rarement aux dons royaux (per donitum regis) ou à l’institution royale (per institutionem regis francigeni) sont innombrables. Jusqu’à la fin du Xème siècle, la mémoire documentaire est une mémoire royale. Dans les donations et actes de vente, la référence au précepte royal est un authentique label d’ancienneté du patrimoine aliéné ; elle peut justifier l’insertion d’un mini-récit historique rappelant les circonstances de la concession ; mais les mentions restent généralement allusives et isolées ; exceptionnellement, elles ébauchent un discours plus conceptuel autour du thème de la « libération ». La documentation catalane s’enracine dans une séquence historique clairement définie, le temps des Francs17. Il faut consentir une place particulière à la collection des actes de consécration d’églises18, genre qui se prête spontanément et précocement aux évocations historiques : occupation du sol et vicissitudes du peuplement, personnalité et origine du bâtisseur, présence païenne et conquête chrétienne, destruction et restauration du sanctuaire… La perspective est sensiblement différente, plus historique et plus didactique, de celle qui oriente l’ensemble de la documentation. L’un de ces actes revêt une importance majeure, celui de la troisième consécration de Santa Maria de Ripoll, le 15 novembre 977, œuvre de 17

18

Michel Zimmermann, « Naissance d’une principauté : Barcelone et les autres comtés catalans autour de l’An Mil », Catalunya i França meridional a l’entorn de l’Any Mil (La Catalogne et la France méridionale autour de l’An Mil) (Barcelona, 2-5 juliol 2007) (Barcelona : Generalitat de Catalunya, Departament de Cultura, 1991), pp. 113-135. Sur les actes de consécration d’églises en Catalogne: Michel Zimmermann, « Les actes de consécration d’églises du diocèse d’Urgell (IXème-XIIème siècle): la mise en ordre d’un espace chrétien », Le sacré et son inscription dans l’espace à Byzance et en Occident, Michel Kaplan, coord. (Paris : Publications de la Sorbonne, 2001), pp. 301318 ; Michel Zimmermann « Les actes de consécration d’églises. Construction d’un espace et d’un temps chrétiens dans la Catalogne médiévale (IXème-XIIème siècles) », À la recherche des légitimités chrétiennes. Représentation de l’espace et du temps dans l’Espagne médiévale (IXème-XIIIème siècle), Patrick Henriet, dir. (LyonMadrid : Ecole Normale Supérieure Éditions-Casa de Velázquez, 2003), pp. 29-52; Michel Zimmermann « La consécration des églises en Catalogne aux Xème et XIème siècles. Une territorialisation de la foi », Le Moyen Âge dans les Pyrénées catalanes. Art, Culture et société. À la mémoire de Mathias Delcor, Michel Zimmermann, dir. (Canet : Trabucaire, 2005) [Études roussillonnaises, 31 (2005)], pp. 65-85.

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Miro Bonfill19. À travers l’histoire de l’abbaye fondée par Guifred en 888, le long préambule, rédigé dans un style affecté et une terminologie hermétique, encombrée d’hellénismes, constitue aux yeux des historiens la plus ancienne production historiographique catalane (on a parlé d’ « acte de naissance »). À partir de l’histoire du bâtiment abbatial, il propose en effet une histoire de la Catalogne, en l’occurrence du territoire abandonné à la souveraineté des comtes descendants de Guifred. Cette histoire est la variante locale d’une histoire universelle, celle de la christianisation du monde. Guifred, comte et patrice, après avoir chassé les Sarrasins qui l’occupaient et mis en culture la terre déserte selon le système de l’aprisio, construisit le monastère de Ripoll : […] Vuifredus extitit comes atque, ut verius fatear, subditorum carus patricius, vir nobilitatis titulo pollens, virtutum vigore immarcessibiliter vernans  ; qui inter cetera ecclesiarum aedificia, expulsis agarenis, qui tunc temporis colones extiterant, more per prisiones desertam incolens terram, coenobium Ripollense beatae virginis Mariae honore construxit […].

Cette présentation de l’histoire en diptyque (à une époque «  pré-historique  » d’obscurantisme et de barbarie succède le temps de Guifred et de sa veneranda propago) n’est pas seulement simplificatrice ; elle a une évidente portée idéologique et politique. L’exaltation de la dynastie, et d’abord de Guifred, auteur unique de la « libération » du pays, légitime la souveraineté comtale en ignorant l’épisode carolingien. La seule allusion à la royauté franque concerne, dans le cours de l’évocation tumultueuse de l’œuvre accomplie par les successeurs de Guifred, la mention incidente et exotique d’un décret sollicité du « basileus » Louis (allusion plus que discrète à un diplôme de Louis IV en 939) : […] privilegia apostolicae sedis constituentes, decretum quoque basilei Lodoici expetentes […]. L’entreprise ripollaise a fait des comtes les seuls protagonistes d’une histoire qui est d’abord ouverture eschatologique. La signification politique de cette affirmation suffit à expliquer que l’acte de consécration de 977 soit rapidement incorporé au formulaire de Ripoll et proposé comme formule-modèle de consecratio ecclesiae. 19

Sur l’acte de la troisième consécration de Santa Maria de Ripoll : Michel Zimmermann, « La Catalogne », Les sociétés méridionales autour de l’An Mil. Répertoire de sources et documents commentés, Michel Zimmermann, coord. (Paris : Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, 1992), pp. 248-255.

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Il n’en demeure pas moins que le texte de 977 reste une aporie dans le contexte de sa rédaction ; l’audace idéologique de Miro Bonfill contraste avec le conformisme docile des documents contemporains. Les allusions récurrentes à la « libération » carolingienne comme l’évocation du « temps des Francs » soulignent une réalité politique d’évidence, l’incorporation de la future Catalogne au royaume carolingien, dépendance formellement reconnue par le mode de datation des actes, partie intégrante du protocole diplomatique. La datation exclusive des documents par les années de règne des souverains francs représente certainement la matrice irrigant progressivement les actes eux-mêmes d’une conscience historico-politique. L’autre espace textuel propice à l’insertion de données para ou contextuelles est le protocole final, plus précisément la formule de datation. Les historiens sont frappés par l’exclusivisme qui s’impose à ce sujet en Catalogne dès les plus anciens témoignages documentaires20. La datation par l’Incarnation comme celle, hispanique, par l’ère (qui reste en usage dans le reste de la péninsule) y sont ignorées. Au lendemain de la conquête franque, la pratique catalane s’écarte radicalement de celle de l’Hispania ; le phénomène a une évidente signification politique : la « libération » carolingienne et l’incorporation des comtés catalans à l’espace franc entraînent la reconnaissance, y compris dans le mode de datation des actes, d’une allégeance au pouvoir franc ; l’exercice n’est que la traduction technique d’une contingence politique. L’usage exclusif d’une datation royale carolingienne ne souffre aucune exception ; les formules épousent la succession dynastique qu’elles enregistrent sans délai, après l’avoir enracinée dans la date du sacre ; elles attestent l’indéfectible légitimisme des populations locales. Dans les deux dernières décennies du IXème siècle, se produit un net infléchissement  ; les vicissitudes de la succession royale sont aussitôt prises en compte et le légitimisme des Catalans les invite à prendre parti dans les querelles successorales ; le phénomène apparaît avec l’ « usurpation » d’Eudes en 888; les scribes sont désorientés devant un avènement dont ils ignorent les mobiles et l’assimilent à une période d’absence royale qu’ils dénoncent, soit en inaugurant un comput posthume du règne de

20

Michel Zimmermann, « La datation des documents catalans du IXème au XIIème siècle. Un itinéraire politique… », pp. 345-375.

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Charles le Gros et récusant toute autre souveraineté que celle du Christ – Anno II° quo mortuus est Karolus imperator. Regnante Domino nostro Ihesu Christo, nobis autem expectante rege ab ipso largitore –21 ; soit en se ralliant provisoirement à une chronologie absolue, celle des années de l’Incarnation, qui apparaît ainsi comme un comput de substitution – Anno ab incarnatione Domini DCCCLXXXVIII, in mense Decembrio, die decimo quinto, Christo regnante, dono ejusdem rege expectante  –22  ; soit en combinant les deux systèmes. Jusqu’en 890-891, la « reconnaissance » d’Eudes s’entoure de multiples précautions : appel à des datations parallèles, usage d’un vocabulaire insolite…Même si, après 891, son règne ne fait plus l’objet de contestation et si les catalogues royaux l’enregistrent sans réticence à la suite de Charles le Gros (Oto, annis X), il marque une rupture définitive dans le mode de datation des documents, qui ne manifesteront plus jamais la même uniformité. Inaugurant une nouvelle approche computistique, le règne d’Eudes confère à la datation des documents catalans une évidente portée politique ; le mode de datation vaut prise de position. Confrontés aux interruptions dynastiques successives que représentent les règnes des Robertiens, les scribes donnent un prolongement posthume au règne des souverains carolingiens – anno V quod Karulus obiit (934) – ; stigmatisent une absence royale à laquelle supplée le règne du Christ – Christo regnante, rege sperante (930), Deo regnante, rege expectantem (934) – ; ou effacent l’usurpation en rétablissant la légitime succession dynastique par-delà l’insolite parenthèse « non royale » : a. X°VI° regnante Karulo regem, filio Ludovici, post obitum Odone (913), anno I regnante Leodevico rege, filio Carlo rege, qui obiit (936). Particulièrement suggestive à cet égard est la manière dont la documentation catalane traite le règne de Raoul, au lendemain de la déposition et de l’emprisonnement de Charles le Simple. La datation des documents ignore purement et simplement le sort du Carolingien, dont les années de règne, désormais fictives, continuent de jalonner la documentation. La fiction du règne carolingien ne peut toutefois se prolonger au-delà de 929, année de la mort de Charles le Simple. Faute d’accepter l’usurpateur, les scribes se résignent à prolonger jusqu’en 21 22

BC, perg. 8448; Pierre de Marca, Marca hispanica…, appendix, col. 821-822 (doc. nº 49) (mars 889). Pierre de Marca, Marca hispanica…, appendix, col. 820-822 (doc. nº 48) (décembre 888).

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936 une datation par les années de règne posthume du Carolingien  – anno V quod Karulus rex obiit (934) – quitte à la compléter par le rappel de l’attente royale : anno V quod obiit Karolus rex, Deo regnante, rege expectantem (934). Les scribes catalans sont ainsi unanimes à caractériser comme une période de vacance royale les sept années séparant la mort de Charles le Simple de celle de son vainqueur illégitime. C’est en ces termes que le qualifient plusieurs listes royales servant de calendrier aux notaires et archivistes. Alors que la plupart d’entre elles ignorent tout simplement Raoul et passent sans transition de Charles le Simple (à qui ils attribuent un règne de trente-trois ans !) à Louis IV, le catalogue conservé dans le Manuscrit 47 du fonds de Sant Cugat mentionne explicitement, après le règne de Charles, Post cuius obitum fuerunt anni VII sine legitimo rege, in quibus regnavit Dadulfus23. Dans quelques cas, les formules de datation, surtout lorsqu’il s’agit de la datation liminaire d’un document, sont plus étoffées et portent une appréciation sur la situation politique contemporaine assurant la promotion des dynastes locaux ; ainsi, lorsqu’elles incorporent subrepticement des allusions au gouvernement comtal : in anno primo quo obiit Odo rex, tempore domni Borrelli comitis filii condam Vuifredi eiusdem nominis nuncupati. La formule suggère que l’usurpation et la mort d’Eudes ont ouvert la voie à l’émancipation du comte barcelonais. Plus explicite est un document de 904 où Guifred II cumule les qualificatifs hyperboliques dans une approche clairement dynastique Anno Incarnationis Domini nostri Jesu Christi D°CCC°XC°IIII°, residente Dei cultore illustrissimo viro atque venerabile Wifredo, Dei gratia comite et marchione, filii quondam Guifredi marchioni24.

C’est avec l’avènement de Hugues Capet en 987, au lendemain d’événements tragiques qui marquèrent durablement l’existence des Barcelonais, que la datation des actes peut être assimilée à une authentique déclaration politique, à un rejet de la souveraineté de celui qui est explicitement 23

24

Cartulario de « Sant Cugat » del Vallès…, vol. 1, pp. XLIV-XLV. Une formulation analogue figure dans un catalogue retranscrit par Étienne Baluze (BnF, fonds Baluze, t. 69, fol. 55): Post ejus obitum non habuerunt regem per annos VIII. Cartulario de « Sant Cugat »…, vol. 1, p. 4-6 (doc n° 2) (avril 904).

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dénoncé comme un usurpateur : regnante Ugo Magno rege et Karllo expectantem qui est in vinculo (995). Le plus souvent, la dénonciation se fait sur le mode de l’ironie ; les scribes consentent à dater leurs actes des années de règne de celui qui n’est qu’un duc parvenu – regnante Ugone rege qui dux fuit (erat, fuerat) pridem, qui antea fuit dux ; regnante Ugo duce vel rege, regnante Ugo duce et rege –, un duc/roi qu’ils assimilent volontiers à son père, l’illustre duc des Francs Hugues le Grand : anno II regnante Ugo magnus, regnante Ugo magnus vel rex, anno VII quod Ugo magnus regnandi sumpsit exordium, anno III regnante Ugo magno rege ; au point même de ne pas connaître son nom : anno primo regni regis Franchorum ignotus nomine nobis. D’autres scribes cantonnent la royauté de Hugues, puis de Robert, à un territoire précis, limité et éloigné, la Francia : Anno I regnante Ugone […] regem in Francia, anno I regnante Radberto rege in Francia, anno primo quod cepit regnare Rodberto rege in Frantia, anno VII regnante Ragneberto rege impetrante Francia. 

La promotion du terme Francia dans la terminologie politique répond sans conteste au souci de délimiter l’espace de l’autorité royale  ; le pouvoir royal, surtout lorsqu’il est exercé par un souverain à la légitimité contestable, devient un pouvoir territorial, presque étranger. Régnant ailleurs, le roi libère l’espace d’autres souverainetés. A l’instar d’une pratique inaugurée par Borrell, certains documents intègrent à la datation l’évocation du comte local et franchissent une étape supplémentaire en parlant de son «  règne  »  : regnante Rodiberto anno XII, regnante Guillermo comite  ; anno XVII regnante Roberto rege filium condam Ugoni et c. Raimandus gratia Dei comes marchisus […]. Les annales catalanes comme les simples calendriers et catalogues royaux entretiennent la mémoire vive de l’émotion suscitée en Catalogne par la « révolution de 987 » : Postea regnat Ugo, qui antea fuerat Dux, et subrepsit locum regiminis, et regnat in Francia annis X ; Post ejus obitum regnat filius ejus Rodbertus, et tradidit in carcerem Karolum filiosque suos, qui erat de stirpe regia25. Les manifestations documentaires du tumulte s’apaisent toutefois avec l’enracinement de la nouvelle dynastie, et les scribes catalans

25

BnF, fonds Étienne Baluze, t. 69, fol. 55.

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renouent avec l’habitude de dater leurs actes par les années de règne du souverain franc. Mais si, à partir des années 1015-1020, la datation des documents catalans ne comporte plus aucune appréciation critique à l’encontre des souverains, c’est parce que le pouvoir des Capétiens leur est devenu totalement étranger. Le retour à la « norme diplomatique », qui est d’ailleurs loin d’être exclusive et tolère désormais la concurrence d’une datation par les années de l’Incarnation, coïncide avec la cessation de toute forme de relations politiques entre comtés catalans et cour franque et surtout avec la disparition brutale et définitive dans la documentation de toute allusion au « temps des Francs », de toute mention des praecepta ou institutio francigeni regis, rappel récurrent des fondements juridiques de l’organisation sociale, qui nourrissait la rédaction des actes antérieurs. Au-delà de leur rôle technique dans la validation ou la justification d’un acte, préambules et formules de datation nous proposent fréquemment un regard attentif ou critique sur le monde  ; nous assistons à une progressive irruption de l’actualité dans l’écriture diplomatique. La réalité qui nous est transmise est celle d’une évolution politique et institutionnelle, celle de l’éloignement royal et de l’affirmation des dynasties comtales, ainsi que l’exprime clairement A. Rovira i Virgili : […] el refús de reconèixer el rei efectivament regnant no era sinó un paravent còmode darrera el qual les ambicions particulars tenien el camí lliure […] en la pràctica, aquestes fórmules portaren la segona intenció de la independència […]26. […] le refus de reconnaître le roi régnant effectivement n’était qu’un paravent commode derrière lequel les ambitions particulières avaient la voie libre […] dans la pratique, ces formules amenèrent la deuxième intention de l’indépendance […].

À diverses reprises, le désordre de la succession royale fournit aux comtes catalans l’occasion de se hisser au rang du souverain défaillant, d’affirmer une souveraineté d’origine divine, de se proposer comme une alternative à la carence royale. La perspective reste celle d’une continuité et d’une substitution. Confrontés à la défection royale, les comtes barcelonais sont appelés à prendre le relais des souverains carolingiens. Mais la souveraineté affirmée dans l’acte est plus déclarative que démontrée ; elle se situe d’abord dans une perspective eschatologique ; la transmission de relais des 26

Antoni Rovira i Virgili, Història nacional de Catalunya (Barcelona : Edicions Patria, 1922-1937), vol. 3, p. 261.

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rois francs aux comtes indigènes s’effectue dans le cours d’un mouvement de libération et d’affrontement continu avec les Sarrasins, où les comtes sont appelés à pallier la désertion des souverains  ; l’eschatologie fonde l’histoire et l’histoire catalane, désormais prise en charge par les comtes souverains, ne s’éclaire pas d’une origine propre  ; elle se constate plus qu’elle ne se fonde. Un autre épisode devait lui permettre de s’enraciner dans le temps et de construire son autonomie.

2. Le tournant de 985 et l’insertion de la mémoire historique dans l’écriture diplomatique La fin du millénaire, et plus précisément les années 985-988, représentent une étape décisive dans la construction d’une mémoire historique catalane. La séquence apparaîtra à terme comme la véritable date fondatrice d’une histoire « nationale », au point que les autorités de la Generalitat de Catalunya, en quête de repères clairs et non susceptibles de controverse, ont cru devoir célébrer en 1988 le millénaire de l’ « indépendance politique  » de la Catalogne. L’année 988 clôt un cycle quadriennal marqué par une conjoncture politique tumultueuse où interfèrent diverses séries d’événements, mais, dans la construction historiographique, c’est l’année 985 qui apparaît fondatrice, année marquée par un désastre qui n’eut sans doute pas l’importance que lui attribuent généreusement les historiens contemporains : Any malestruch per Barcelona fou lo 986, per ocorre en nostre ciutat lo fet mes calamitos y perturbador que registra la sua historia, almenys de mil anys ença. Volem dir, la desfeta dels cristians y presa y destruccio de Barcelona27. Amb raó pot dir-se que l’entrada de l’exèrcit d’Almançor és el fet més calamitós que registra la història de Barcelona, almenys de mil anys ençà28.

27

28

Francesc Carreras i Candi, «  Lo Montjuich de Barcelona  », Memorias de la Real Academia de Buenas Letras de Barcelona, 8 (1901), pp. 199-450, particulièrement, p. 307. Antoni Rovira i Virgili, Història nacional de Catalunya…, p. 257.

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Michel Zimmermann 986 fut une année funeste pour Barcelone, car dans notre ville se produisit le fait le plus calamiteux et le plus perturbateur jamais enregistré dans son histoire, au moins depuis mille ans. Nous voulons dire, la défaite des chrétiens et la prise et destruction de Barcelone. À juste titre on peut affirmer que l’entrée de l’armée d’Al-Mansûr est le fait le plus calamiteux jamais enregistré dans l’histoire de Barcelone, au moins depuis mille ans.

Comment cet événement de portée locale, qui a laissé des traces archéologiques minimes et a été surtout célébré par les vainqueurs, a-t-il été promu au rang d’épisode historique majeur? Rappelons brièvement les faits. Après plusieurs décennies de paix, les relations entre le Califat cordouan et les chrétientés ibériques se détériorent brutalement en 981, lorsqu’Al-Mansûr, véritable maître de Cordoue depuis la mort du calife Al-Hakam, décide de châtier Castillans et Navarrais pour l’aide apportée à son compétiteur Ghàlib et proclame la guerre sainte contre les principautés chrétiennes de la péninsule. Ayant pris et dévasté Zamora et Simancas, il oblige le roi de León, Bermudo II, à se soumettre et à accepter la présence d’une armée califale. Les comtés catalans qui, au terme d’une série d’ambassades, étaient progressivement entrés dans la vassalité du Calife, n’échappent pas aux représailles du hâdjib. En 985, Al-Mansûr lance une nouvelle expédition  – la vingt-troisième de son « règne » – contre la Catalogne cette fois. Parti de Cordoue le 5 mai, il met le mercredi 1er juillet le siège devant Barcelone, après avoir bousculé les troupes de Borrell sorties à sa rencontre. Le lundi 6 juillet, la ville est prise d’assaut et incendiée, ses habitants tués ou emmenés en captivité. Les armées califales ne s’attardent pas en Catalogne ; après avoir ravagé les alentours de Barcelone, en particulier les abbayes de Sant Pere de les Puelles et de Sant Cugat del Vallés, elles repassent l’Èbre, avec butin et prisonniers. Même suivi d’autres razzias en 1001 et 1003, le sac de 985 ne devait pas entraîner de césure durable ni même de ralentissement important dans les échanges entre Catalogne et Cordoue29. Il reste un événement local, de portée limitée, que certes sa soudaineté imprévisible rend

29

Sur la prise de Barcelone en 985 : Michel Zimmermann, « La prise de Barcelone par Al-Mansûr et la naissance de l’historiographie catalane  », L’historiographie en Occident du Ve au XVe siècle  : actes du Congrès de la Société des historiens médiévistes de l’enseignement supérieur, Tours, 10-12 juin 1977 (Rennes : Université de Haute-Bretagne, 1980), [Annales de Bretagne et des pays de l’ouest, 87/2 (1980)], pp. 191-218.

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particulièrement dramatique, mais dont les conséquences politiques sont insignifiantes. Le caractère à la fois tragique et dérisoire de l’événement est illustré par la mésaventure d’un certain Ramio qui, quelques années plus tôt, avait rédigé son testament avant de se rendre à Cordoue (volebat pergere ad Cordoba urbem Sarracenorum); revenu sain et sauf, il fut tué en 985 de la main de ses anciens hôtes30. C’est à un niveau strictement matériel et juridique, celui de la conservation de la mémoire urbaine et du fonctionnement quotidien de la société barcelonaise que les conséquences du raid s’avèrent désastreuses et durables. L’incendie des bâtiments publics entraîne la perte des archives et des titres de propriété ; l’exil à Cordoue de nombreux prisonniers paralyse la vie sociale, suspend la dévolution des héritages, laisse vides les maisons d’habitation et abandonne à la friche les champs cultivés. Aussi est-il normal que la documentation enregistre la catastrophe immédiatement et qu’elle en conserve durablement la mémoire, jusqu’à ce que les conséquences matérielles et sociales en soient effacées  ; elle lui réserve encore une place de choix en 1058, trois quarts de siècle après l’événement. Au cours de la période, plus de quarante actes y font explicitement référence, tous de provenance ecclésiastique. Alors que le raid d’Al-Mansûr n’a entraîné ni bouleversement politique ni prolongement militaire, les conséquences administratives et patrimoniales de l’épisode sont, pour des raisons proprement juridiques et techniques, spectaculairement mises en valeur par la documentation catalane. La prise de Barcelone est aussitôt évoquée dans les documents notariaux ; dans les donations, ventes et testaments, la conscience d’une destinée collective se juxtapose aux considérations individuelles ; dès le 7 septembre 985, deux mois après le raid, un acte de donation à l’abbaye de Sant Cugat del Vallès situe le sac de la ville comme un repère chronologique familier :  […] cum aliquid de terra que nobis precepit genitori nostro quando perrexit ad Barchinona civitate, et periit ibi quando ipsa civitas devastata fuit ad ipsis sarracenis […]31.

Ce repère chronologique, il importe de le dater avec rigueur : l’écrit doit conserver la mémoire d’un événement qui justifiera la renaissance de

30 31

Cartulario de « Sant Cugat »…, vol. 1, pp. 142-144 (doc. n° 171) (4 décembre 985). Cartulario de « Sant Cugat »…, vol. 1, pp. 141-142 (doc. n° 170).

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l’écriture après l’incendie de la ville : intravit ad custodiendum Barchinona civitate cum aliis ceteris comorantibus eodem comitatu eodem tempore obsesa est a Sarracenis et apprehensa est VIII idus iulii, témoigne un document postérieur de quelques mois32. Mais l’habitude se perpétue et la datation devient de plus en plus précise à mesure que l’on avance dans le temps : per vocem condam fratri meo, qui interiit in civitate Barchinona, quando fuit destructa a Sarracenis II kalendas iulii anno XXXII quod Leotarius rex regnabat33. Les scribes ont même tendance à reporter cette datation en tête du document, comme un moyen de justifier ou authentifier l’acte lui-même : Annus Domini DCCCCLXXXVI, imperante Leuthario XXXI anno, die kalendas julii, IIII feria, a Sarracenis obsessa est Barchinona, et permittente Deo, impediente peccata nostra, capta est ab eis in eadem mense, II nonas […]34.

Une telle mise en valeur est tout à fait insolite  ; elle aboutit paradoxalement à rendre l’événement si familier à la conscience des Barcelonais qu’il n’est plus nécessaire de le dater absolument, comme s’il introduisait une nouvelle chronologie ab urbe destructa. Plusieurs documents évoquent sans davantage de précision ipso anno quando Barchinona interiit (992), in anno quod fuit Barchinona dextructa (989), in die submersionis Barchinona (987), antequam Barchinona capta fuisset a Sarracenis (1015). L’évocation du sac de Barcelone nourrit de véritables récits et fournit pendant plusieurs décennies le thème récurrent d’une série de préambules, de contenu exclusivement historique, dont certains se diffusent au moyen de formulaires, mais dont quelques-uns constituent de véritables essais historiographiques : Annus Domini DCCCCmo LXXXmo VI°, die kalendarum iulii processi Hismaeliti in prelio contra gentes anno XXX°I regnante Francorum rege Lautario venerunt usque ad Barchinona  : qui omnem terram devastantes prendiderunt ac depopulaverunt totam Barchinonam succenderuntque in ea magno incendio ita ut congregata integerrime consumerent, et quod evasit predonum manibus asportarunt, instrumenta 32 33

34

Cartulario de « Sant Cugat »…, vol. 1, pp. 142-144 (doc. n° 171) (4 décembre 985). Frederic Udina Martorell, El Archivo Condal de Barcelona en los siglos IX-X. Estudio crítico de sus fondos (Barcelona : Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 1951), pp. 215-216 (doc. n°219) (1er novembre 989). ACB, Libri Antiquitatum, II, doc. n° 46 (17 octobre 987).

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quoque cartarum ac volumina librorum partem consumpserunt igni, partem ad suam terram deportaverunt35.

L’intensité du récit est soutenue dans la documentation par le choix d’un vocabulaire varié et dramatique. Pour une période allant de 985 à 1033, et plus spécialement pour les années 988-992, j’ai recensé les termes soulignant la gravité des événements de juillet 985. À travers la personnalisation de la ville de Barcelone, le vocabulaire contribue à entretenir chez les habitants la conscience d’une destinée collective. Barcelone fut en effet obsessa, apprehensa, deprehensa, capta, destructa, dissipata, devastata, depopulata. Les documents évoquent le jour où elle periit, interiit, periclitavit. Ils décrivent son obsessio, intericio, interitus, submersio, exterminacio, captio, captivitas, interruptio. Cette étonnante continuité dans le rappel de l’épisode s’explique par le lent et difficile dénouement des problèmes. C’est toujours à propos d’une situation particulière qu’est évoqué le désastre de 985; il justifie l’existence de terres en friche dont personne ne revendique la propriété, fonde la nécessité de l’aumône pour la restauration d’une église détruite, oriente la générosité des fidèles vers le rachat des captifs, introduit les interminables contestations nées du décès des habitants ou de la perte des titres de propriété. Dans les préambules eux-mêmes, le terme de l’évocation coïncide avec le sommet de l’intensité dramatique pour déplorer la perte des documents notariaux et des titres de propriété : et ibidem periit omnem substanciam eorum quicquid ibidem congregaverunt tam libris quam preceptis regalis vel cunctis illorum scripturis omnibusque modis confectis per quas retinebant cunctis eorum alodibus vel possessionibus inter eos et precedentes eorum parentibus CC anni et amplius inter quas perdite fuerunt scripturas de quadam homo nomine Adam et de uxor sua nomine Dulcidia […]36. Et quod inde evasit asportarunt  : manubias praediorum, instrumenta quoque cartarum ac diversa volumina librorum, partem consumpsere igni, partim deportavere suam ad terram. Inter quos etiam deperierunt cartulae munificentiae, largitionis, concessionis, dotationis, commutationis, emptionisve seu libellulis praeceptis regali adnotatione confectis atque digesta et corroborata privilegia, ex puellarum monasterio sanctisimo Apostolo Petro […] quoniam, prout diximus, omnia in suprataxata

35 36

ACB, Libri Antiquitatum, II, n°518 (17 novembre 994). ACB, Libri Antiquitatum, II, n°46 (17 octobre 987).

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Michel Zimmermann periclitatione deperierunt et contabuerunt, ita ut ne quis investigare ea queat nec invenire praevaluit […]37.

L’aboutissement laborieux des procédures entreprises pour liquider les litiges, rétablir les titres de propriété, connaître le sort des personnes disparues et permettre le rachat des captifs suffit donc à expliquer la permanence d’un encadrement contextuel des actes ; celui-ci en est-il pour autant réduit à sa portée juridique et notariale et son contenu historiographique est-il purement illusoire? Il est certain que l’évocation régulière du « jour où Barcelone mourut », l’identification du point de rupture à partir duquel doit être reconstruite la mémoire sociale ne peuvent rester sans effet sur la conscience collective des Barcelonais et leur système de représentations. La mémoire documentaire de ce qui est un constat d’échec et de mort, l’interruption provisoire de toute vie civile, donnent à cette carence une réelle portée historique ; elles inaugurent une période nouvelle. Mais l’insistance mise à préciser les circonstances du drame de 985 et à en dénoncer les auteurs confère d’abord à la catastrophe domestique une perspective eschatologique. Le destructeur de Barcelone est un ennemi de la foi ; aussi l’épisode ne manque-t-il pas d’éveiller de nombreuses réminiscences et de rappeler que l’oeuvre de « libération », jadis entreprise par les souverains francs, reste inachevée. Au-delà des conséquences matérielles du drame, les événements de 985 favorisent l’insertion de la perspective historique dans la documentation. Dès les premières années du XIème siècle, lorsque les conséquences domestiques du raid commencent à s’estomper, les actes de la pratique accueillent régulièrement, généralement dans l’espace du préambule, parfois aussi dans le cours du dispositif, diverses réminiscences ou allusions historiques, parfois même des ébauches historiographiques qui s’émancipent peu à peu d’une soumission empirique aux contraintes de l’actualité ; la mémoire historique surgit et s’incruste dans le discours diplomatique ; elle devient une composante régulière de certains actes. Les scribes prennent ainsi désormais l’habitude de signaler les offensives sarrasines : Notum […] facimus […] qualiter venit potentiam cordubensis cum magno et innumerabili exercitu in locum Penites et devastarunt omnes marchias longe et

37

Els diplomes carolingis a Catalunya, Ramon d’Abadal, éd. (Barcelona  : Institut d’Estudis Catalans, 1926), vol. 1, p. 72 (31 décembre 991).

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prope  […]38  – Sequenti vero tempore exercitus magnus Moabitarum qui biduo Barchinonam civitatem obsedit […]39.

Ce danger, qui reste quotidien, on se souvient qu’il est lié à l’histoire du pays et que la patrie en fut libérée par Louis le Pieux, dont la mémoire est volontiers évoquée  : Domnus Ludovicus rex, filius qd. Karoli imperatoris, quando liberavit Barchinona civitate ad nefanda Sarracenorum contubernia […]40. Les événements de 985 font ressurgir le souvenir de Louis le Pieux, moins pour stigmatiser la carence de ses successeurs que pour élever la famille comtale barcelonaise au niveau du Carolingien. Le thème de la rota mundi, porteur de la conception d’une histoire cyclique, favorise cette promotion qu’exprime un texte très suggestif du milieu du XIème siècle : […] Christus quamvis peccatricem miseratus christianam plebem excitavit Ludovicum pium regem qui expulit hismaeliticam gentem et liberavit Barchinonensem urbem […] Cum […] idem rex mortis persolvisset debita et volvente mundi rota veternosa temporum pertransissent secula. Iterum propter hominum peccata gens invaluit pagana et capta est Barchinona […]. Set etiam Christus misereri paratus predictam urbem postea recuperavit fidelibus, expulsis gentilibus et per successionem hereditatis tradidit christianis comitibus41.

Gesta Dei per comites ! Cette récente victoire, qui rend le comtes catalans acteurs et auteurs de leur propre histoire, n’a-t-elle pas pour effet de soustraire leur pays à la fatalité de la rota mundi? Un texte de 1012 jugeait déjà la victoire catalane d’une tout autre portée que celle de Louis le Pieux, puisqu’elle a su mettre un terme à la rabies paganorum. De là à oublier la première libération, il n’y a qu’un pas, que la documentation franchit aisément en offrant de l’histoire catalane une présentation en diptyque. À un long passé de misère et de mort, évoqué avec complaisance – cuncta metu perfide gentis Hismahelitarum vacua et absque habitatore deserta […] et pene in solitudinem redacta, insistente Barbarorum 38 39 40

41

ACB, Libri Antiquitatum, IV, n°355 (14 mai 1004). ACB, Libri Antiquitatum, II, n°123 (s.d., 1132?). Cartulario de « Sant Cugat » del Vallès, éd. Josep Rius, 3 vols. (Barcelona : Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 1946), vol. 2, pp.  94-96 (doc. n° 449) (26 juillet 1012). ACB, Libri Antiquitatum, I, n°29 (18 novembre 1058). Le texte a été édité par : Pierre de Marca, Marca hispanica…, appendix, pp. 1113-1116 (doc. n° 248).

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intolerabile terrore […]42; quod gladius seviencium paganorum super nos diu longeque incrasatus sit nullus pene huius nostre regionis inhabitator ignorat43 ; non ignoramus quem ad modum urbs tarraconensis famosissima dudum metropolis annis iam ferme CCCXC transactis a Sarracenis capta et Christianis expulsis solitaria facta […]44– s’oppose un présent de restauration et d’expansion, que favorise la conjoncture politique née de l’éclatement du Califat. La mémoire que véhiculent désormais les actes n’est plus celle de la royauté franque, « libératrice » et protectrice, désormais étrangère, mais celle du pays lui-même, dont la « libération » et la « restauration », toujours remises en cause et jamais achevées, s’insèrent dans une histoire universelle du salut. L’horizon idéologique des Catalans, tel qu’il se révèle dans la documentation postérieure à l’an 1000, contribue à faire de 985 une date essentielle. À cette occasion, les Catalans ont été projetés dans leur propre histoire, ce qui les amenait à repenser leurs rapports avec la monarchie franque, en termes toutefois plus pragmatiques que juridiques, mais aussi à se donner un projet territorial et politique, sinon « national ». La prise de Barcelone est la préface d’une double libération : vis-à-vis des Sarrasins, vis-à-vis de la royauté franque. Encore fallait-il que ce projet inscrit de manière diffuse et implicite dans la mémoire collective fasse l’objet d’une construction consciente et intelligible et s’inscrive dans une histoire ; la mémoire du sac de 985 devait entraîner une modification spectaculaire du discours historiographique en usage dans l’espace catalan.

3. L’invention d’une histoire catalane À partir des premières décennies du XIème siècle s’opère dans le champ de l’écriture mémorielle une étonnante mutation, qui relève à la fois d’un

42 43 44

ACB, Libri Antiquitatum, IV, n°421 (24 octobre 1069). Cartulario de « Sant Cugat » del Vallès…, vol. 3, pp. 175-176 (doc. n° 1002) (27 juin 1155). ACV, II, cal. 6, n° 83 (s. d., fin XIème siècle), Diplomatari de la catedral de Vic (segle XI), éd. Ramon Ordeig (Vic : Publicacions del Patronat d’Estudis Osonencs, 2005), fascicle quart.

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phénomène de transfert ou de greffe et d’une entreprise de parasitage ou d’épuration. La mémoire documentaire de 985, entretenue par l’écriture diplomatique, investit les premières œuvres historiques élaborées en Catalogne, annales, chroniques ou simples listes royales, et les remodèle progressivement. Ainsi s’élabore par étapes une histoire « nationale » de la Catalogne, dont les événements dramatiques de 985 constituent à terme l’acte fondateur. Les années 985-988 sont promues au rang d’années de la naissance ou de l’indépendance de la Catalogne mais, contrairement à ce dont voudraient nous convaincre certains hommes politiques ou idéologues contemporains, cette promotion n’est pas le simple constat d’une réalité objective, mais le fruit d’une construction intellectuelle consciente.

3. 1. Souveraineté politique et appropriation du temps Dans la mémoire des Catalans, le sac de Barcelone en 985 est directement lié à l’avènement contesté de Hugues Capet en 987 et au refus de la part des comtes de toute manifestation d’allégeance au souverain usurpateur. D’après le témoignage de Gerbert d’Aurillac, le nouveau roi aurait répondu à un appel du comte barcelonais Borrell en assortissant sa promesse d’aide de conditions inacceptables. Pour des raisons de vraisemblance aussi bien que de pertinence chronologique, la lettre de Gerbert apparaît comme le fruit d’une construction idéologique et un exercice de style, sans aucun rapport avec la situation politique de référence45. Le rejet du nouveau souverain par les dignitaires catalans, l’indifférence ironique avec laquelle l’accueillent les rédacteurs d’actes, ne sauraient être la seule sanction d’une non-intervention face au danger sarrasin. Mais les deux phénomènes sont liés par une étroite succession chronologique : cette quasi-simultanéité ne pouvait rester sans effet. L’événement de 987, dont la signification est majeure dans l’histoire politique de la Catalogne (le règne du Capétien coïncide avec la fin de toute forme de relation politique entre la cour franque et les comtés catalans), est relégué 45

Michel Zimmermann, « Hugues Capet et Borrell. À propos de ‘l’ indépendance’ de la Catalogne », Catalunya i França meridional a l’entorn de l’Any Mil (La Catalogne et la France méridionale autour de l’An Mil) (Barcelona, 2-5 juliol 1987) (Barcelona : Generalitat de Catalunya, Departament de Cultura, 1991), pp. 59-64.

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et absorbé par celui de 985, qui a bien davantage impressionné les populations locales, qui en furent à la fois témoins et victimes ; c’est autour de 985 que s’opère une réorganisation de la mémoire collective et du discours historiographique. Le sac de Barcelone s’insinue dans les annales et chroniques, genre largement cultivé en Catalogne dans une étroite soumission au modèle franc ; à partir de là s’opère une radicale réécriture des chroniques, sur la base d’une sélection des notices antérieures à 985. À terme, autant que les manuscrits conservés ou retranscrits au XIXème siècle nous permettent de suivre l’histoire des textes, le processus aboutit à créer une sorte de vide documentaire originel, à faire de 985 le point de départ d’une construction historiographique. En affranchissant les comtés catalans de toute allégeance politique comme de toute dépendance territoriale, le désastre de 985 réalise un vide politique et humain à partir duquel peut prendre naissance et s’épanouir une histoire propre, peut se construire un espace identitaire.

3. 2. Les étapes d’une construction historiographique L’inscription proliférante du sac de Barcelone dans la documentation notariale, où il s’impose comme une césure radicale, devait encourager les générations suivantes à y voir un point de repère essentiel dans le cours d’une histoire collective et à le promouvoir au rang d’événement historique digne d’être mentionné comme tel, de manière analogue à cet autre élément déterminant de l’histoire de la ville que fut sa « libération » par Louis le Pieux en 801. La consécration se fit progressivement. Il importe de suivre les étapes de cette insertion de la mémoire documentaire des années 985-988 dans la construction d’un discours historiographique autonome, à partir des diverses chroniques parvenues jusqu’à nous soit sous forme manuscrite, soit dans les appendices de la Marca hispanica46, de l’España sagrada47 et 46 47

Pierre de Marca, Marca hispanica sive limes hispanicus… Enrique Flórez, España sagrada  : Theatro geographico-historico de la iglesia de España (Madrid : imprenta de D. Antonio de Sancha, 1772), XXVIII (Vic); Enrique Flórez, España sagrada  : Theatro geographico-historico de la iglesia de España (Madrid : imprenta de D. Antonio de Sancha, 1774), XXIX (Barcelona); Francisco

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surtout du Viage literario a las iglesias de España48, de Jaime Villanueva, qui a eu dans ses transcriptions l’intelligence de relever les changements d’écriture et les ruptures de ton attestant une rédaction échelonnée dans le temps. À partir des versions successives d’une même œuvre, il est possible d’apprécier le travail de correction idéologique effectué sur la chronique originelle. Dans un premier temps, la promotion de 985 reste subreptice et s’effectue à la faveur de l’établissement ou du remaniement de simples catalogues royaux, listes généalogiques des souverains francs. Ces listes, nous l’avons vu, n’hésitaient pas à contester la légitimité de certains souverains (Raoul) ou à accompagner de sérieuses réserves la reconnaissance plus ou moins contrainte de Hugues Capet (deinde regnavit Hugo, qui antea

48

José de la Canal, España sagrada : Theatro geographico-historico de la iglesia de España (Madrid : Impr. de la viuda de J. Ibarra-Impr. de Collado, 1801-1826), XLIIIXLV (Girona); Pedro Sainz de Baranda, España sagrada : Theatro geographico-historico de la iglesia de España (Madrid : impr. de los herederos de J. del Collado, 1832-1836), XLVI-XLVII (Lleida et Roda). Jaime Villanueva, Viage literario a las iglesias de España (Madrid  : Imprenta del Real, 1806), V (Tortosa); Jaime Villanueva, Viage literario a las iglesias de España (Valencia : imprenta de Oliveres, 1821), VI (Vic); Jaime Villanueva, Viage literario a las iglesias de España (Valencia : Imprenta de Oliveres, 1821), VII (Vic, Montserrat et Manresa); Jaime Villanueva, Viage literario a las iglesias de España (Valencia : Imprenta de Oliveres, 1821), VIII (Ripoll, Berga et Cardona); Jaime Villanueva, Viage literario a las iglesias de España (Valencia  : imprenta de Oliveres, 1821), IX (Cervera, Solsona, Àger et la Seu d’Urgell); Jaime Villanueva, Viage literario a las iglesias de España (Valencia : imprenta de Oliveres, 1821), X (la Seu d’Urgell); Jaime Villanueva, Viage literario a las iglesias de España (Madrid  : Imprenta del Real, 1850), XI (la Seu d’Urgell); Jaime Villanueva, Viage literario a las iglesias de España (Madrid : Imprenta del Real, 1850), XII (la Seu d’Urgell et Girona); Jaime Villanueva, Viage literario a las iglesias de España (Madrid  : Imprenta del Real, 1850), XIII (Girona); Jaime Villanueva, Viage literario a las iglesias de España (Madrid : Imprenta del Real, 1850), XIV (Girona, Roses et Banyoles); Jaime Villanueva, Viage literario a las iglesias de España (Madrid  : Imprenta del Real, 1851), XV (Sant Feliu de Guixols, Sant Pere de Rodes, Besalú, Camprodon et Roda); Jaime Villanueva, Viage literario a las iglesias de España (Madrid  : Imprenta del Real, 1851), XVI (Lleida); Jaime Villanueva, Viage literario a las iglesias de España (Madrid : Imprenta del Real, 1851), XVII (Lleida et Barcelona); Jaime Villanueva, Viage literario a las iglesias de España (Madrid : Imprenta del Real, 1851), XVIII (Barcelona); Jaime Villanueva, Viage literario a las iglesias de España (Madrid  : Imprenta del Real, 1851), XIX (Terrassa et Tarragona); Jaime Villanueva, Viage literario a las iglesias de España (Madrid : Imprenta del Real, 1851), XX (Tarragona).

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Dux extiterat, sed subrepsit locum regiminis et regnavit in Francia annis decem)49. Ces généalogies sont enrichies par l’adjonction de notes annalistiques qui sont soit rajoutées à la généalogie à la suite du catalogue royal soit incorporées à la généalogie elle-même dont elles interrompent la succession régulière. Un tel traitement est réservé à deux événements d’histoire locale : la prise de Barcelone par Louis le Pieux, qui introduit l’histoire locale, et le sac de 985, qui en constitue l’épilogue provisoire : l’événement est évoqué à sa place, durant le règne de Lothaire : ainsi dans la chronique de Sant Cugat : Leotarius, filius eius XXXIII. Anno autem XXXI regni eius capta est et destructa a Sarracenis Barchinona, in era MXXIII, II nonas iulii, feria II, luna XIIII50. La présence de cette note dans un instrument de travail destiné à aider les scribes dans la rédaction et la lecture des documents peut répondre à une nécessité technique, étant donné les conséquences désastreuses du raid d’Al-Mansûr sur la documentation barcelonaise. Mais cette nécessité suffit-elle à justifier la minutie scrupuleuse avec laquelle l’événement est consigné? Il est en effet daté d’après trois systèmes différents, dont un au moins (l’ère) donne à la datation une valeur absolue. Ne peut-on considérer que l’auteur de la chronique -ou celui qui l’a transcrite à la fin du XIIème siècle- a tenu à mettre en valeur, au cœur de la succession royale, un épisode particulièrement important de l’histoire barcelonaise? La mention de la prise de Barcelone au cœur d’une généalogie des souverains francs traduit la volonté de célébrer l’événement comme une étape essentielle de l’histoire locale. Cette célébration devient plus évidente dans un second temps, avec les premières productions de l’historiographie catalane, ces recueils annalistiques improprement appelés chroniques, dont Miquel Coll i Alentorn a fait le recensement et établi les filiations51. La prise de Barcelone y occupe une place exceptionnelle qui n’a pas échappé aux historiens catalans, et d’abord à Ferran Valls i Taberner :

49

50 51

Michel Zimmermann, «  La datation des documents catalans…  »; Michel Zimmermann, « Entre royaume franc et Califat, soudain la Catalogne… », La France de l’An Mil, Robert Delort, dir. (Paris : Seuil, 1990), pp. 75-99. Miquel Coll, éd., « El cronicó de Sant Cugat… », p. 258. Miquel Coll i Alentorn, « La historiografia de Catalunya… ».

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Un fet molt important de l’época comtal, que deixà inesborrable record en la primitiva historiografia catalana, fou la presa i saqueig de Barcelona per l’exèrcit musulmà d’Almansur en 985 […] la indicació concisa d’aquell fet dolorós figura en diversos cronicons o annals formats en el nostre país durant els segles XI i XII, i continuats alguns d’ells posteriorment52. Un fait très important de l’époque comtale, qui laissa un souvenir ineffaçable dans l’historiographie catalane primitive, fut la prise et le sac de Barcelone par l’armée musulmane d’Al-Mansur en 985 […] l’indication concise de ce fait douloureux figure dans plusieurs chroniques ou annales composées dans notre pays pendant les XIe et XIIe siècles, et poursuivies pour quelques-unes d’entre elles ultérieurement.

Miquel Coll i Alentorn souligne à son tour la transcendència d’aquesta data en la nostra historiografia primitiva53 (« l’importance de cette date dans notre historiographie primitive »). En fait, c’est toute la construction historiographique proposée par les chroniques qui s’organise autour des événements de 98554. C’est à Ripoll, lieu de célébration de la geste comtale, que se concentre jusqu’à la fin du XIIème siècle la production historique catalane. L’analyse des diverses chroniques parvenues sous le nom de rivipullenses montre comment l’histoire écrite en Catalogne s’émancipe de l’historiographie franque pour se construire autour d’événements de portée locale. Le chronicon alterum rivipullense, plus ancienne chronique catalane, connue dans une version de la fin du XIIème siècle, rassemble 178 notes annalistiques comprises entre 27 et 1191, que partage presque par moitié (85 et 93) la mention de la prise de Barcelone (capta fuit Barchinona a Sarracenis). Jaime Villanueva a relevé que cette notation constitue un hiatus, puisqu’elle correspond à une reprise de la chronique et intervient à une date sensiblement plus tardive que celle où ont été consignés les événements antérieurs (Haec et quae sequuntur recentiori manu notata sunt). Or, le changement d’écriture correspond à un changement radical de perspective historique. La première partie de la chronique débute comme une chronique universelle mentionnant les règnes des empereurs romains et les débuts du christianisme  ; elle se poursuit au VIIIème siècle avec l’évocation de l’arrivée des Sarrasins en Espagne, le règne des premiers

52 53 54

Ferran Valls i Taberner, « Els inicis de la historiografia… ». Miquel Coll i Alentorn, « La historiografia de Catalunya… ». Michel Zimmermann, « La prise de Barcelone par Al-Mansûr… ».

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Carolingiens, la libération de Gérone et Barcelone ; de 813 à 984, elle se réduit à une chronologie carolingienne, à la fois généalogie et obituaire : chaque règne est encadré par la date de l’avènement et celle de la mort du souverain. À partir de 912, le rythme devient plus chaotique, la tendance étant à ne plus donner qu’une seule date par règne. Tandis que les souverains francs perdent du relief, surgissent les comtes catalans. La mort de Guifred II (912), celle de Miró II (928) sont mentionnées ; Sunifred de Cerdagne mérite deux mentions, dont celle de sa mort en 966. Liée à l’affirmation de Ripoll, la présence comtale se fait envahissante. La mention du sac de Barcelone introduit la seconde partie de la chronique. Après deux soubresauts (morts de Lothaire et de Louis VI), toute mention royale disparaît ; Hugues Capet est ignoré, et le décès de Robert Ier est évoqué incidemment parmi sept morts. Au même moment (de 987 à 1031), on relève six notes concernant les familles comtales. L’effacement de la royauté franque et l’affirmation des dynasties comtales expriment une modification délibérée de la perspective ; pour le continuateur de la chronique, les événements de 985 constituent bien une césure. À des intervalles de plus en plus rapprochés, sont évoquées les confrontations avec les Sarrasins, dans un cadre dépassant celui de la seule Catalogne. Désormais pleinement souverains, les comtes catalans rejoignent dans la mort les rois castillans, occupés comme eux à libérer leur patrie : 1034. Ob. Berengarius comes Barch. et Sancius rex Castellae […] 1065. Interfectus est Ermengaudus comes Urgell. et ob. Fredinandus rex. L’importance culturelle de Ripoll devait assurer une large diffusion aux œuvres élaborées dans l’abbaye. Notre chronique donna naissance à une abondante postérité de rivipullenses. Nous retrouvons les événements de 985 au cœur de l’un d’entre eux, l’alterum chronicon rotense, fruit d’une greffe catalane sur un espace culturel jusque-là surtout marqué par les influences aragonaises, le comté de Ribagorça. De 1068 à 1074, un moine de Ripoll, Salomon, occupa le siège épiscopal de Roda et eut sans doute l’occasion d’y introduire la version primitive de la chronique ripollaise. Le comté de Ribagorça fut désormais intégré à l’espace culturel catalan. Or, la chronique fait pratiquement coïncider cette intégration avec la catastrophe de 985, comme si elle consistait d’abord en une appropriation de l’histoire catalane. Un premier ensemble de vingt-deux notes annalistiques consacrés aux martyrs des premiers siècles chrétiens, et toutes datées d’après l’ère espagnole, mode de datation en usage dans le royaume d’Aragon, est prolongé, après un hiatus de cinq siècles, par l’évocation

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du martyr espagnol Pélage. Or, la date du martyre, encore donnée d’après l’ère espagnole, est aussitôt convertie en année de l’Incarnation (Annus Domini DCCCCXXVI quando ipse fuit natus), à la suite de quoi l’histoire catalane fait une irruption brutale avec la mention du sac de 985 (Anno DCCCCLXXXV capta fuit Barchinona a Sarracenis) et celle de la mort de Borrell en 992. Toutes les notes ultérieures concernent l’histoire locale ; l’exaltation de la geste comtale interdit toute évocation de la royauté franque et alterne avec le rappel de la menace sarrasine, présentée comme particulièrement pressante et meurtrière, évoquée dès le XIème siècle avec une beaucoup plus grande fréquence que dans les autres chroniques. La série des chroniques de Ripoll invite donc à faire de 985, oblitérant la mémoire des siècles antérieurs, la première date d’une histoire catalane. Une seconde famille de chroniques, les chroniques barcelonaises ou barcinonenses, élaborées dans un contexte moins ecclésial ou monastique que les premières et parvenues jusqu’à nous dans les transcriptions de l’España sagrada55 ou de la Marca hispanica56, n’hésite pas à achever l’entreprise de clarification  : elles débutent par la mention du désastre. L’exemple le plus frappant est fourni par le chronicon barcinonense I, parvenu dans une version du début du XIVème siècle, sans doute au terme de plusieurs remaniements (les notes se prolongent jusqu’en 1311). La chronique débute clairement par la prise de Barcelone : Tertio Non. Julii anno DCCCCLXXXV fuit capta civitas Barchinonensis a Paganis. Après un hiatus d’un siècle, la note est suivie de huit autres, allant de 1082 à 1169, dont sept commémorent la chute de villes musulmanes aux mains des Chrétiens. S’il est vraisemblable qu’à mesure que la chronique s’allongeait, elle était largement amputée dans sa partie primitive, le maintien de la date de 985 et sa position liminaire relèvent d’un choix délibéré : elles signifient que le raid d’Al-Mansûr, désastre s’il en fut, est le dernier des désastres subis par Barcelone et inaugure la période de l’expansion et des triomphes catalans : la date est bien le point de départ de l’histoire catalane, d’une histoire strictement catalane, ce que confirme la rigoureuse mise en ordre des notes annalistiques par rapport à une chronique légèrement antérieure, de contenu très voisin, mais totalement désordonné. Le chronicon barcinonense II réunit pratiquement les mêmes notes 55 56

Enrique Flórez, España sagrada. Theatro geographico-historico de la iglesia de España…, XLVI-XLVII. Pierre de Marca, Marca hispanica sive limes hispanicus…

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annalistiques que le barcinonense I, mais dans la plus totale confusion chronologique, puisque la chute de Barcelone est placée entre la prise de Damiette par les Chrétiens (1219) et la libération d’Almeria (1147). La mise en ordre du barcinonense I est donc d’abord chronologique, mais elle consiste aussi à éliminer tout ce qui ne relève pas de l’histoire catalane, à savoir la généalogie des rois francs qui était placée à la suite de la chronique et, dans la série annalistique antérieure à 1200, trois notes concernant la mort de Charlemagne, la conquête de Jérusalem par les Croisés et la reprise de Jérusalem par Saladin. Les événements de 985 se trouvent donc naturellement portés en tête de la chronique. Les deux chroniques restaient toutefois assez proches pour que l’on continue à les transcrire et à les utiliser simultanément. L’inscription dans les chroniques catalanes du désastre de 985 entraîne une modification radicale de la perspective historiographique ; 985 devient la date liminaire d’une histoire domestique, sinon nationale, rendant ipso facto obsolètes les séquences rédigées auparavant. D’où une nécessaire entreprise de réorganisation textuelle, qui aboutit à faire de 985 la date fondatrice de l’histoire catalane, une date quasi-officielle introduisant jusqu’à la fin du Moyen Âge, telle une préface, des chroniques dont la matière lui est postérieure de plusieurs siècles. Un niveau supérieur d’élaboration du discours historiographique apparaît dans un troisième temps avec la rédaction de véritables histoires qui, pour rester fidèles aux critères d’Isidore de Séville, se distinguent des chroniques par l’existence d’un récit continu et l’absence de dates, ou du moins d’une datation soutenue étayant la progression chronologique. La première histoire catalane est représentée par le noyau originel des Gesta comitum barcinonensium57, composé à Ripoll entre la mort de Ramon Berenguer IV (1162) et celle d’Ermengol VII d’Urgell (1184), donc au lendemain de l’union du comté barcelonais avec l’Aragon et de la conquête triomphale de la Catalunya nova étendant jusqu’à la basse vallée de l’Èbre les limites de la principauté. Cette version primitive des Gesta est une généalogie des dynasties comtales issues de Guifred, ainsi que l’ont souligné ses premiers éditeurs  : el redactor s’ha preocupat menys de relatar les gestes dels diversos comtes que no pas de marcar

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Gesta comitum Barcinonensium, éds. Louis Barrau Dihigo, Jaume Massó (Barcelona : Institut d’Estudis Catalans, 1925).

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l’ascendència i la descendència de cada un d’entre ells («  le rédacteur s’est beaucoup moins soucié de raconter les exploits des divers comtes que de marquer l’ascendance et la descendance de chacun d’entre eux »)58. Les Gesta adoptent un plan rigoureusement chronologique, celui de la succession des « règnes » des comtes barcelonais, suivie d’un retour cursif sur les branches cadettes de la dynastie. Largement accueillante aux données légendaires, la généalogie s’interrompt soudain pour basculer dans le genre de la chronique et mentionner la prise de Barcelone en 985: Borrelli comitis temporibus civitas Barchinona a Sarracenis capta et devastata est, anno dominice incarnations DCCCCLXXXV. De toute la rédaction primitive des Gesta, c’est le seul fait qui soit daté ; en l’isolant ainsi, le chroniqueur entendait bien lui donner une portée exceptionnelle, au moins symbolique ; il en faisait la préface et le contrepoint des événements contemporains, les triomphes de Ramon Berenguer IV, capable de s’emparer de deux villes le même jour (uno eodemque die eandem Ilerdam ac Fragam cepit) et d’étendre le rayonnement de la dynastie aux limites de l’univers (toto orbe famosissimus claruit). Mais c’est la dynastie tout entière que les Gesta composés à Ripoll entendent célébrer, et en particulier l’ancêtre Guifred, fondateur de l’abbaye devenue nécropole comtale ; les exigences du panégyrique rendent souhaitable et même nécessaire d’encadrer le récit par deux phénomènes antagonistes, un désastre initial synonyme de rupture et un triomphe contemporain. Mais comment concilier la nécessité de ce désastre antérieur à l’enracinement de la dynastie et la réalité familière du désastre reconnu comme fondateur? Les faits sont tenaces et les documents que l’auteur des Gesta se glorifie d’avoir utilisés (il se recommande des antiquis cartarum scriptis) suffisent à lui rappeler que le sac de Barcelone eut bien lieu en 985, sous le règne de Borrell II, arrière-petit fils de Guifred, le premier comte souverain. Il était exclu d’effacer un épisode occupant une telle place dans la mémoire collective ; mais il était tout aussi impossible de ne pas associer la personne de Guifred à une rupture majeure. La nécessité de faire coïncider l’affirmation de la dynastie souveraine avec un épisode reconnu comme fondateur de l’indépendance catalane conduit le chroniqueur à « dédoubler » le récit des années 985-988 et à l’insérer à deux reprises dans sa généalogie : une fois à son emplacement

58

Louis Barrau Dihigo, « Introducció », Gesta Comitum Barchinonensium…, p. XXII.

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chronologique authentique, avec sa date, dans une formulation littéralement empruntée aux chroniques antérieures, et une première fois en transposant au temps de Guifred, un siècle plus tôt, les événements survenus sous Borrell : l’invasion musulmane, l’appel à l’aide du roi franc, le refus abandonnant le comte à ses seules forces, l’indépendance résultant de cette défection royale : Cucurrit ad eum (Guifredum) relatio Sarracenos in patriam suam venisse, totamque fere simul pervasisse et obtinuisse. Intimans igitur et ipse hoc regi, auxilium ab eo ad depellendos Sarracenos poposcit. Sed rex aliis impeditus negotiis, prestare ei auxilium non potuit. Hoc tamen eius postulationi attribuit, ut si a predictis finibus suis Agarenos ipse per se Guifredus et cum suis expellere valeret, Barchinonensis honor in eius dominium et totius generis sui in perpetuum deveniret  ; nam antea nemini per successionem generis idem comitatus datus, sed cui et quanto temporis spatio Francorum rex voluisset. Congregatis igitur Guifredus hinc inde Gallicorum procerum copiis, Agarenos ab universis finibus suis expulsos usque in fines Ilerde compulit, totumque prefatum honorem suum strenuissime recuperatum in dominium possedit. Ecce quomodo de potestate regali in manus nostrorum comitum Barchinonensium honor ipse Barchinonensis devenit.

Le récit du règne de Guifred a une tonalité clairement antifranque, assaisonnée de détails tragi-comiques appelés à nourrir le mythe et à entretenir l’idée d’une hostilité entre deux peuples. Il se fonde sur une légende, le mariage de Guifred avec la fille du comte de Flandre Baudouin Bras-de-fer ; cette légende, type même de la justification érudite, ne peut être que récente ; selon Miquel Coll i Alentorn59, elle a pu surgir, dans les premières années du XIIème siècle, des inquiétudes catalanes face à la réapparition de la présence royale dans le sud du royaume : le chroniqueur entendait manifester sa solidarité avec la « résistance » flamande aux initiatives de Louis VI. Mais le canevas du récit est la transposition directe des événements de 985-988 dont les chroniques avaient fait un épisode fondateur. Au prix d’une abusive transposition chronologique, les événements de 985-988 sont mis directement en relation avec l’affirmation de la dynastie, dont la généalogie débute avec l’épisode émancipateur. La gloire de Ramon Berenguer IV rendait insoutenable l’idée qu’à un moment quelconque son ascendance n’ait pu jouir que d’une souveraineté limitée ou partagée. Le sac de Barcelone et ses conséquences politiques ne constituent plus seulement le

59

Miquel Coll i Alentorn, « La historiografia de Catalunya… ».

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point de départ anonyme ou clandestin de l’histoire catalane. Transposés un siècle en amont, c’est l’histoire même de la dynastie dont l’existence se confond avec celle du pays qu’ils fondent et légitiment ; à partir de ce transfert pourra ensuite se construire la légende des origines. La prégnance de la mémoire inscrite dans la documentation n’interdit pas son instrumentalisation. Génératrice de sélection et d’oubli dans les chroniques, elle devient dans les Gesta fondatrice de dynastie et créatrice de légitimité. Nous avons vu comment un événement local, aux effets certes désastreux, mais aux conséquences limitées, après avoir été mis en valeur par l’écriture et être resté durablement en mémoire à cause précisément de ses implications juridiques et notariales, a constitué la matrice d’une histoire collective ou « nationale » en concentrant le regard de l’historien sur le seul espace catalan et en métamorphosant la défaite subie en initiative fondatrice permettant d’échapper au cycle indifférencié de la rota mundi. A la fois moyen d’émancipation et occasion de repli introspectif, la défaite est une étape essentielle dans la prise de conscience et l’affirmation identitaires.

Conclusion La genèse médiévale de l’histoire catalane, exemple paradigmatique de quête des origines, apparaît comme un modèle de construction historiographique. En Catalogne, la mémoire des origines ne s’incarne pas prioritairement dans un discours mythologique ou étymologique enraciné dans le culte d’un héros éponyme ou le nom d’un peuple. Elle prend racine dans l’écriture documentaire ; l’écriture de l’histoire prend sa source dans l’histoire, au cœur d’une séquence historique nourrie par une abondante mémoire documentaire, laquelle a sur-le-champ mis en valeur un événement de haute portée symbolique (la perte des archives et d’autres repères d’identification à la suite de la mort ou de l’exil équivaut à une néantisation, impose un nouveau départ). Comme la même documentation enregistre synchroniquement les vicissitudes de la succession royale et les réticences croissantes vis-à-vis de l’avènement des Capétiens, la mémoire de la rupture / refus acquiert une évidente signification politique  ; elle détermine le temps des origines, qu’il importe toutefois de faire coïncider

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avec celles de la dynastie souveraine : harmonisation réalisée dès la version primitive des Gesta au prix d’un subreptice dédoublement du désastre de 985. La mémoire domestique d’un événement peu glorieux se mue en commémoration de l’acte fondateur de la gloire dynastique. Le champ est libre, désormais, pour la construction d’une histoire mythique, la légende de Guifred dont les Gesta ne fournissent que les prémices. Les origines de la Catalogne, comme c’est généralement le cas au Moyen Âge, doivent nécessairement s’enraciner dans l’existence d’un individu prédestiné.

The process of scripturising Catalan Josep Moran and Joan Anton Rabella Institut d’Estudis Catalans

If we consider the information we still find in many books, the history of the Catalan language shows a basic confusion between the process of the formation of Catalan and the chronology of its access to writing – a confusion that has directly affected the determination of what are the earliest preserved texts in Catalan1. Like all the Romance languages, the Catalan language was born between the end of the 7th century and the beginning of the 8th, as has been well studied in the case of Catalan by Joan Bastardes in his now classic works, El llatí de la Catalunya romana i l’origen i la formació de la llengua catalana2, Quan el llatí esdevingué català?3 and El català preliterari4, which has been republished more recently in the book La llengua catalana mil anys enrere. Based on this, and if we take into account the fact that there are no Romance texts from this specific period, there is a significant gap between the time when the language was formed (when it became a reality so different from Latin that it could no longer be given that name5) and the period when we document the first texts. Too often, this has not received sufficient attention, which has led to the “birth” of Catalan being spoken of in direct relation with the existence of preserved texts from the 12th century. Thus, more than a few books and lectures that theoretically

1

2

3 4 5

We studied the same subject some years ago, and published a similar conclusions in: Josep Moran, Joan A. Rabella, “El procés d’escripturació del català”, El llibre i la lectura: una revolución en la història de la humanitat (Actes del seminari al CUIMPB-CEL, 2005), Joan Martí, Josep  M. Mestres, eds. (Barcelona: Institut d’Estudis Catalans, 2007), pp. 19-29. Joan Bastardas, “El llatí de la Catalunya romana i l’origen i la formació de la llengua catalana”, La llengua catalana mil anys enrere, Joan Bastardas, ed. (Barcelona: Curial, 1995), pp. 39-71. Joan Bastardas, “Quan el llatí esdevingué català?”, La llengua catalana..., pp. 73-105. Joan Bastardas, “El català preliterari”, La llengua catalana..., pp. 109-145. Joan Bastardas, La llengua catalana..., pp. 90-91.

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refer to the formation of the language in fact study its earliest preserved written examples. This is actually the scripturising process by which the language gains access to a written code. In addition, like the other Romance languages, Catalan was not initially applied in documents, largely because Latin was the only written language, taught and learned for that specific purpose. In this way, at a time when the Romance languages were already in existence, we find only texts written in Latin. In them, however, traits, words and fragments of Romance languages would gradually begin to appear. This is a basic theme for linguistic history because we might say that, strictly speaking, the history of the language begins with the first few texts it appears in, because, for the study of old Catalan we depend completely on the preserved material examples. It is also an important topic, not only from a linguistic and historical point of view but also a symbolic one. Precisely these implications beyond the scientific sphere have also influenced the academic world, so that too often the study of the earliest documents has concentrated on looking for the first text in the Catalan language and on trying to push back the date (as in the case of an old translation of the Liber iudiciorum, which today we think is from the 12th century and which, for some time, was claimed to be from the 11th century). Based on the confusion between the chronology of the formation of the language and its appearance in writing, attempts used to be made to push back the date of the earliest text (that is, to find older and older texts) with the mistaken idea that this also meant finding an earlier date for the existence of the language. From a general point of view, it is necessary to differentiate the news of the existence of Romance languages (at the Council of Tours, in 813, there is evidence of this when it was specified that it was necessary to tranferre in rusticam Romanam linguam the homilies so everyone could understand what was said; in other words, Latin had to be translated into the Romance language Romanam), from the examples of the appearance of any of these languages in specific documents (French for the first time in the Juraments d’Estrasburg in 842) and from the first texts where we find Catalan. This last aspect is also an essential one. How much of a document has to be in Catalan for it to be considered a Catalan text or the first text in Catalan? It has quite often been believed that all or almost all the text has

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to be written in Catalan. Joan Bastardas6, however, has already indicated that this approach is not really valid: even a document without a single word but with the filtration of a specific characteristic of the language could be considered as the first evidence, because it shows that the language existed at that point. Although this view can be valid in the sphere of linguistics, the idea that the first text in Catalan is something that has at least a significant part in that language, even though there may be fragments in Latin, has been perpetuated, probably because of the symbolic value we have already mentioned. In this way, and as we pointed out earlier, when it comes to studying the scripturising process it must be borne in mind that Latin was the language of written communication throughout Western Europe at the time, even in the Germanic sphere, and was the only language taught and learned for this purpose. In this sense it is understandable that a long adaptation process was bound to be necessary if a language was to gain access to functions where it was not used. And this is the situation in which we find Catalan in the archaic period: it does not suddenly appear in one or more written texts with precise language and mastery of all expressive resources. Instead, it emerges gradually, showing rather undeveloped expression and resources (with very primitive syntax characterised by paratax, in which the lack of connectors has to be made up for with resources from oral language, such as intonation). Despite the fact that we can still read today in textbooks and reference works that the earliest texts in Catalan are the Liber iudiciorum (the wrongly named Forum iudicum), from the 12th century, and the Homilies d’Organyà, from the beginning of the 13th century, the specialised linguistic studies on this period have for many years made clear that these are not the earliest documents in Catalan. In fact we have many earlier texts, most of them feudal in nature, written principally or with significant parts in Catalan. These texts (oaths, grievances, wills, etc.) often overlap chronologically, as they do not have precise dates, and, although a time interval in which they must have been written can be determined based on the people who appear in them, it is often difficult to know their exact order. However, despite this difficulty with respect to the precise chronology of these texts, we do know that, as early as the 11th century, there are various

6

Joan Bastardas, La llengua catalana..., pp. 97, 116-117.

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important, and sometimes quite lengthy, documents in which the Catalan language appears extensively. Another factor that has contributed to making it more difficult to determine which are the earliest texts in Catalan has been the confusion between the history of the language and the history of literature. Often texts considered to be literary have been considered to be particularly valuable – something which has also been promoted by the lack of Catalan poetry in the High Middle Ages. Conversely, texts that have no aesthetic or literary value have been undervalued. This fact also helps us to understand why in some cases we have been able to read that Homilies d’Organyà was the first written text in Catalan, while in fact the intended meaning was that it was the first “literary” text, a classification which is also a highly relative one. Nowadays, however, determining the oldest text is not considered a priority issue. The basic aim is to deepen the study of the documentation of the archaic period, which, in the case of Catalan, is very rich, even in Latin documents, as can be seen if we consult the Glossarium Mediae Latinitatis Cataloniae. The chronological evaluation of the preserved documents is, as we have said, difficult in many cases and we must also not confuse the texts which have come down to our time with those that actually existed. We may still be lucky enough to recover another old text, as has happened in recent years with the finding of a new fragment of the Liber iudiciorum by Cebrià Baraut7. However, today there are factors acting against this scientific approach. As well as a symbolic value, this topic can also have a value in the media. This is one aspect that has been made clear during the last year when speaking of and celebrating the fictitious anniversary (who can decide the exact data of a document from a remote period when we cannot speak of chronological certainty?) of the Homilies d’Organyà8 and we have been able to confirm it when the media have dealt with the topic. A good example is the categorical headline in the newspaper La Mañana written after a detailed explanation to a journalist that it is impossible to fix a ranking for the earliest texts in Catalan and that, moreover, this is not the most 7 8

Cebrià Baraut, Josep Moran, “Fragment d’una altra versió catalana del Liber iudiciorum visigòtic”, Urgellia, 13 (1996-1997), pp. 7-35. Josep Moran, Joan Anton Rabella, Primers textos de la llengua catalana (Barcelona: Proa, 2001).

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important aspect in cultural or scientific terms: El texto más antiguo en lengua catalana se escribió en el Jussà (“The oldest text in the Catalan language was written in el Jussà”)9. And we still also have to fight against the force of stereotypes. Alongside Josep Moran’s10 text in the Enciclopèdia de la llengua catalana from Edicions 62 devoted to the process of the formation and appearance of Catalan and explaining which texts are and are not the earliest ones, we can read a note – from the publisher, not the author – in a photo caption which, on the contrary, insists: “The two oldest documents found in Catalan to date are a fragment of the translation of the Liber iudiciorum or Forum iudicum (mid-12th century) and, with greater literary interest, the Homilies d’Organyà (end of the 12th century)”. As we indicated, however, today we consider that Catalan appeared gradually from the 9th century onwards in documents written in Latin, and that the first texts in the Catalan language correspond to a set of documents basically from the 11th century, a time when we already find extensive fragments in the Romance language and even texts in which it predominates over the Latin language. If we look for the reasons for this chronology, we can see that the consolidation of feudalism is the main reason for the Romance language’s access to the written code11. Although until that point written language was a medium reserved for Latin, the formation of new events, values and concepts that no longer formed part of the Latin world and which, therefore, did not have a fixed name in that language, made these new elements filter into the written language. Thus, the first Catalan words we find, apart from place names (such as Farrera, Palomera, etc. in the act of consecration of Urgell cathedral, written in the last third of the 9th century12), would be words of a feudal nature: atendre “comply with a feudal obligation”; cavaller (or knight, going beyond the meaning of the Latin caballarius); comanar “place under the protection of a lord”; dubitar “leave in a will”; 9 10 11

12

Marta Lluvich, “El texto más antiguo en lengua catalana se escribió en el Jussà”, La Mañana, 22181 (26th January 2004), pp. 13-14. Josep Moran, “El naixement del català”, Enciclopèdia de la llengua catalana (Barcelona: Edicions 62, 2001), p. 37. Josep Moran, “Jurament de pau i treva del comte Pere Ramon de Pallars Jussà al bisbe d’Urgell. Transcripció i estudi lingüístic”, Treballs de lingüística històrica catalana (Barcelona: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, 1994), pp. 95-117. Cebrià Baraut, “La data de l’acta de consagració de la catedral carolíngia de la Seu d’Urgell”, Urgellia, 7 (1984-1985), pp. 515-525.

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engany “failure to be loyal”; rancuras “grievances”, etc.13. They would be newly created words, such as menysvenir “to die” or terms already known but showing a specific semantic value (such as commandare, dubitare, etc., which already existed in Latin). This process was also facilitated by the low level of culture of the period of the beginning of feudalism, with little general knowledge of Latin outside the most enlightened ecclesiastical centres. The fact was that, in a society which, contrary to what we might think nowadays, generated a great deal of documentation, scribes, faced with the difficulty of translating these new situations and the statements in the mouths of lay people into Latin, had no option when drawing up their documents but to give the basic reasoning directly in Romance. Thus, during this period we find texts in which spellings gradually appear reflecting the specific evolution of the Catalan language (comannar and comanar, with the reduction of the Latin “nd” group in commandare); common place names and words in the Romance language (achaptaràs “you will acquire”, baglia “bailiwick”, consel “council”, engan “deceit”, torre “tower”, maiola “new vineyard”, etc.), and, gradually, longer syntagmas and fragments in Catalan (like the fragment moreres iii et oliver i et noguer i et amendolers iiii et pruners et figuers (“mulberry trees iii and olive tree i and walnut tree i and almond trees iiii and plum trees and fig trees”) in a text from Organyà in 1034 published by J. Miret i Sans and later studied by Joan Bastardas)14. Finally, in the 11th century, we get short oaths and also a few other documents where the part in the Catalan language is significant (like, for example, the Jurament feudal de Radulf Oriol, 1028-1047)15 or the little known Memorial de greuges de Ponç I, comte d’Empúries, contra Jofre, comte de Rosselló, 1050-106016, and, shortly afterwards, extensive texts written fundamentally in Catalan (such as the Greuges de Guitard Isarn, senyor de Caboet, 1080-109517, or the 13 14 15 16 17

Joan Anton Rabella, “La relació entre el llatí i el català a la documentació arcaica”, Llengua & Literatura, 10 (1999), pp. 7-19. Joan Bastardas, “Els vells noms d’arbres fruites en la toponímia catalana”, La llengua catalana mil anys..., pp. 262-263. Josep Moran, Joan Anton Rabella, Primers textos de la llengua..., pp. 45-47. Pelayo Negre, “Dos importantes documentos del conde de Ampurias, Poncio I”, Anales del Instituto de Estudios Gerundenses, 14 (1960), pp. 229-261. Joan Anton Rabella, “‘Greuges de Guitard Isarn, senyor de Caboet’ (1080-1095)”, Estudis de Llengua i Literatura catalanes, XXXV. Homenatge a Arthur Terry (Barcelona: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, 1997), vol. 1, pp. 9-49.

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Jurament de Pau i Treva del comte Pere Ramon de Pallars Jussà al bisbe d’Urgell, probably from 109818) apart from the more formulaic parts like the beginning and end of the document. And we should also bear in mind a 10th-century text written in Catalan but not preserved, which we know of thanks to the erudite scholar Jaume Villanueva19, who saw in a very valuable 8th-century manuscript lost in the 19th century, that, in the margin of a document, some words appeared from the end of the 10th or beginning of the 11th century, saying: Magister meus no vol que me mires, Novell (“My teacher does not want that you look me, novici”). The information about these feudal texts, however, is not new. We need only recall that even Joaquim Miret i Sans (1904 and 1908), who publicised many of these documents, noted their importance at the time. In some cases, he considered them to be the oldest texts as early as the beginning of the 20th, century (as in the case of the Greuges de Guitard Isarn: nous pourrions presque considérer cet acte de Guitart Isarn de Caboet comme le premier en date des documents catalans connus20 (“We might almost consider this document by Guitart Isarn of Caboet as the first known Catalan document by date”). With the discovery, for example, of the Liber iudiciorum, this information strangely ceased to be taken into account. Another notable feature of these oldest documents is their location, as most of them are centred on the former area of the diocese of Urgell, which, according to the information we have, must have been the area where the Catalan language was first applied in writing. In fact, the production of Catalan texts in the 12th century, always in prose, is no longer limited to feudal documents. In this century there also appear the first legal translations or adaptations, specifically the Liber iudiciorum (Llibre dels Judicis or Llibre Jutge) to which we have already referred: a Visigoth code written in Latin that the Carolingian monarchs maintained after the Reconquest. In June 1960, Anscari Mundó publicised a fragment of a translation of this code which, according to him, was un

18 19 20

Josep Moran, “Jurament de pau i treva del comte Pere Ramon de Pallars Jussà...”, pp. 95-117. Jaime Villanueva, Viage literario a las iglesias de España (Valencia: Imprenta de Estévan, 1821), vol. 8, p. 46. Joaquim Miret i Sans, “Documents en langue catalane (Haute Vallée du Sègre, XIeXIIe siècles)”, Revue Hispanique, 19 (1908), p. 9.

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nou text català literari (sic), que sembla més antic que cap dels coneguts fins ara (“a new Catalan literary [sic] text, which seems older than any known to date”)21. Although linguistically and palaeographically this text is from the end of the 12th century22, Mundó assumed it was a copy of a translation made in the mid-12th century. Although this dating is arguable, as is the “literary” nature of this legal translation, the fact is that this fragment has appeared and, as we were saying, still appears, in many textbooks on the history of the Catalan language as the first document, literary or otherwise, written in Catalan, with no consideration of the earlier documents we have mentioned. In 2000, Cebrià Baraut (born at Vilar de Cabó) published another Catalan version of the same Liber iudiciorum which is preserved at La Seu d’Urgell23. This version, independent of the other one, is older because, both palaeographically and from a linguistic point of view, it can be placed in the first half of the 12th century. It is also of great linguistic interest, both because of the archaisms it shows and for the obvious effort made to adapt knowledgeable Latin prose to Catalan. Another interesting document from this period is the Capbreu de Castellbisbal24, from 1189, written in the area of the diocese of Barcelona – that is, the area of eastern central Catalan – containing very valuable linguistic information, particularly referring to the article with “s”, then very much alive in that area. The famous Homilies d’Organyà are from the beginning of the 13th century, although they are a copy of an earlier text that must have been written at the end of the previous century. These homilies, which were discovered by J. Miret i Sans25, have generated more legend than study, 21 22

23 24 25

Anscari M. Mundó, “Un monument antiquíssim de la llengua catalana”, Serra d’Or, 6 (1960), pp. 22-23. Jordi Bruguera, “La llengua del Llibre jutge”, Estudis de llengua i literatura catalanes, X.  Miscel·lània Antoni  M. Badia i Margarit (Barcelona: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, 1985), pp. 89-109. Cebrià Baraut, Josep Moran, “Fragment d’una altra versió catalana...”, Urgellia, 13 (1996-1997 [2000]), pp. 7-35. Josep Moran, El Capbreu de Castellbisbal (Barcelona: Universitat de Barcelona, 1984). Joaquim Miret i Sans, “El més antic text literari escrit en català precedit per una col·lecció de documents dels segles xiè, xiiè i xiiiè”, Revista de bibliografia catalana, 7 (1904), pp. 5-47.

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to the point that someone even put forward the hypothesis that they were of Cathar origin. As if it were a proven fact, this attribution even found its way into a Catholic Church history textbook. But when compared with the Homilies de Tortosa26, in Provençal, with which they share a sermon (that for Ash Wednesday) and taking into account the Occitanisms existing in the Organyà book, we consider that it must be a translation of a Provençal text or texts related to the pastoral activities of the regular Augustinian canons. In Catalonia, they modelled themselves on the canonical priory of Sant Ruf of Avignon, in Provence, which governed both the canons of Tortosa and of Organyà. This would provide a precise explanation for the Occitanisms shown in the Homilies d’Organyà. Remember in this sense that regular canons, although they lived a communal life like monks, with whom they are often confused, were, in fact, clergymen and, as such, has pastoral obligations, including preaching in common language to the faithful. This activity was promoted by the Gregorian reform, begun in the Church at the end of the 11th century to overcome the crisis of the feudal period, a reform initiated by the regular canons themselves. A few years ago, and following the current of myth-making surrounding the Homilies d’Organyà which we thought had been superseded, there appeared a study by Armand Puig27 accompanying a new edition of this text, explaining various hypotheses aimed at boosting its originality and importance (historical and linguistic importance already possessed by this text as it is one of the earliest translations between Romance languages, even if it is not really the earliest preserved document in Catalan). As we have said, these are mere hypotheses, although, based on repetition, they are actually considered as proven truths. One of these hypotheses considers that they are sermons of the knowledgeable – that is, intended for internal preaching among the canons and not to the general congregations – because they are headed with the form of address senyor (“sir”). But this fails to take into account that the Tortosa

26

27

Josep Moran, “Les homilies d’Organyà en relació amb les homilies provençals de Tortosa”, Estudis de Llengua i Literatura Catalanes, Miscel·lània Pere Bohigas (Montserrat: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, 1982), vol. 2, pp. 67-84; Josep Moran, Les Homilies de Tortosa (Barcelona: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, 1990). Homilies d’Organyà, facsímil del manuscrit, eds. Amadeu  J. Soberanas, Andreu Rossinyol, Armand Puig (Barcelona: Barcino, 2001).

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sermons, which were explicitly intended to be heard by the people, used the same form of address, which was even sometimes used by Sant Vicent Ferrer. Another hypothesis is that they are not a translation of sermons in Provençal (except for the Ash Wednesday one) but rather directly created based on Latin texts, without taking into account the fact that the Occitanisms they include could not be explained if we were not starting from a previous Occitan text, like the Ash Wednesday sermon. The final hypothesis we refer to is the one that assumes that the Organyà homily I, instead of corresponding to Quinquagesima, as had been believed up to know, could refer to the festival of the Transfer of Saint Augustine, which was celebrated on 28 February. This hypothesis is utterly implausible, among other reasons because the sermon does not refer to the saint at all, as would be normal in hagiographic homilies. However, this assumption forms the basis for accepting 1204 as the year when these homilies, considered the earliest preserved literary text written in the Catalan language, were compiled and written. That is why 2004 was proposed as the date for their supposed 8th centenary28. We consider that this proposition has no scientific basis whatsoever, for the reasons we have explained, and that, rather than contributing to the wild myth-making surrounding these homilies, it would be a good idea to make an in-depth, unprejudiced scientific study of them. This should begin with a good linguistic study bringing together those made to date, above all in relation to the Tortosa sermons with which those from Organyà are very closely related. This does not mean the value of the Homilies d’Organyà should be downgraded, as they are a very interesting text in many respects, simply that they should be put in their proper place within the group of early texts in the Catalan language. During the first half of that century, the use of Catalan was extended to private letters, like the one Bernat de Saportella wrote to the Archbishop of Tarragona, Aspàreg de la Barca (1213-1233) and the remembrance of Pere de Canet, written to Castellví de Rosanes (Baix Llobregat)29. From 28 29

Josep Moran, “Homilies d’Organyà. Edicions i estudis nous”, Arxiu de textos catalans antics, 22 (2003), pp. 759-765. Josep Moran, “De la Portella a Castellví de Rosanes”, Treballs de lingüística històrica catalana (Barcelona: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, 1994), pp. 119-127.

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this period comes the oldest translation into Catalan that we know of the Usatges de Barcelona, published by Joan Bastardas30 and linguistically studied by Joan Martí i Castell31. It is a very interesting text because of its length, because of the linguistic information it provides and because of the effort involved in translating a Latin text into the common language, even though it is curial Latin of the feudal period in which the paratax characteristic of Catalan at this period is often very clear. From the reign of James I (1213-1276), Catalan is incorporated into the documents of the Royal chancery and seigniorial documents of the military orders. With the development of the bourgeoisie in the 13th century, the use of Catalan expands into tolls, sales taxes and commercial rates, such as those published by Alart and Coromines, and other commercial documents, so that in lay society, Latin gradually became reserved for drawing up the most solemn documents or those with fixed models, like wills, alienations, etc., even after the appearance of literary prose at the end of the 13th century. Alongside the spread of Catalan in public documents during the second half of the 13th century and at least until the early years of the following century, beyond the area of its linguistic dominance, Catalan enjoyed an expansion or influence on the documents in Upper Aragon and Navarre, which is clear as far as Estella. Also during the second half of the 13th century, the first historiographic texts and legal codes written originally in Catalan appear: the Costums de Tortosa and the Furs de València. And the first historiographic works, of which the Cronicó de Perpinyà (about 1285) is one example32. But we have now moved into the fully literary period of our language, which supersedes the archaic period in all respects. This progress is also shown at the linguistic level of the texts: it is interesting in this sense to compare the early translation of the Usatges – still at a basically paratactic level, as corresponds to its feudal nature – with the Costums de Tortosa,

30 31

32

Joan Bastardas, Usatges de Barcelona. El codi a mitjan segle XII (Barcelona: Fundació Noguera, 1984). Joan Martí, “Significació lingüística dels Usatges de Barcelona”, Estudis de lingüística i filologia oferts a Antoni  M. Badia i Margarit (Barcelona: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, 1996), vol. 3, pp. 103-132. Cronicó de Perpinyà (s. XIII), ed. Josep Moran (Barcelona: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, 1998).

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written for a bourgeois citizen audience in a prose that reflects a notable effort to include long periods of subordinate clauses. In this context, at the end of the 13th century figures such as Desclot, Arnau de Vilanova and, above all, Ramon Llull appear, and, with them, Catalan literary prose is fully deployed.

Annexe Bibliography Cebrià Baraut, Josep Moran, “Fragment d’una altra versió catalana del Liber iudiciorum visigòtic”, Urgellia, 13 (1996-1997 [2000]), pp. 7-35. Cebrià Baraut, “La data de l’acta de consagració de la catedral carolíngia de la Seu d’Urgell”, Urgellia, 7 (1984-1985), pp. 515-525. Joan Bastardas, Usatges de Barcelona. El codi a mitjan segle XII (Barcelona: Fundació Noguera, 1984). Joan Bastardas, “El llatí de la Catalunya romana i l’origen i la formació de la llengua catalana”, La llengua catalana mil anys enrere (Barcelona: Curial, 1995), pp. 39-71. Joan Bastardas, “Quan el llatí esdevingué català?”, La llengua catalana mil anys enrere (Barcelona: Curial, 1995), pp. 73-105. Joan Bastardas, “El català preliterari”, La llengua catalana mil anys enrere (Barcelona: Curial, 1995), pp. 109-145. Joan Bastardas, “Els vells noms d’arbres fruites en la toponímia catalana”, La llengua catalana mil anys enrere (Barcelona: Curial, 1995), pp. 255-278. Jordi Bruguera, “La llengua del Llibre jutge”, Estudis de llengua i literatura catalanes, X. Miscel·lània Antoni M. Badia i Margarit, Josep Massot, coord. (Barcelona: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, 1985), pp. 89-109. Glossarium Mediae Latinitatis Cataloniae, 11 vols. (Barcelona: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 1960-2001). Homilies d’Organyà, facsímil del manuscrit, eds. Amadeu J. Soberanas, Andreu Rossinyol, Armand Puig (Barcelona: Barcino, 2001).

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Joan Martí, “Significació lingüística dels Usatges de Barcelona”, Estudis de lingüística i filologia oferts a Antoni M. Badia i Margarit (Barcelona: Publicacions de l‫ތ‬Abadia de Montserrat, 1996), vol. 3, pp. 103-132. Joaquim Miret i Sans, “El més antig text literari escrit en català precedit per una colecció de documents dels segles xiè, xiiè i xiiiè”, Revista de bibliografia catalana, 7 (1904), pp. 5-47, 215-220. Joaquim Miret i Sans, “Documents en langue catalane (Haute Vallée du Sègre, XIe-XIIe siècles)”, Revue Hispanique, 19 (1908), pp. 6-19. Josep Moran, “Les homilies d‫ތ‬Organyà en relació amb les homilies provençals de Tortosa”, Estudis de Llengua i Literatura Catalanes, IV. Miscel·lània Pere Bohigas (Montserrat: Publicacions de l‫ތ‬Abadia de Montserrat, 1982), vol. 2, pp. 67-84. Josep Moran, El Capbreu de Castellbisbal: estudi filològic i lingüístic dҲun text català antic (Barcelona: University of Barcelona, 1984). Josep Moran, Les Homilies de Tortosa (Barcelona: Publicacions de l‫ތ‬Abadia de Montserrat, 1990). Josep Moran, “L’aparició del català a l’escriptura”, Treballs de lingüística històrica catalana (Barcelona: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, 1994), pp. 55-93. Josep Moran, “Jurament de pau i treva del comte Pere Ramon de Pallars Jussà al bisbe d’Urgell. Transcripció i estudi lingüístic”, Treballs de lingüística històrica catalana (Barcelona: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, 1994), pp. 95-117. Josep Moran, “De la Portella a Castellví de Rosanes”, Treballs de lingüística històrica catalana (Barcelona: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, 1994), pp. 119-127. Josep Moran, Cronicó de Perpinyà (s. XIII): estudi filològic i lingüístic (Barcelona: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, 1998). Josep Moran, “El naixement del català”, Enciclopèdia de la llengua catalana, Francesc Vallverdú, Jordi Bañeres, eds. (Barcelona: Edicions 62, 2001), pp. 37-40. Joan Moran, “Homilies d’Organyà. Edicions i estudis nous”, Arxiu de textos catalans antics, 22 (2003), pp. 759-765. Josep Moran, Joan Anton Rabella, Primers textos de la llengua catalana (Barcelona: Proa, 2001). Josep Moran, Joan Anton Rabella, “Els primers textos en català. Textos anteriors a les Homilies d’Organyà”, Les Faldades de Lo Banyut, 2 (2004), pp. 23-25.

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Anscari M. Mundó, “Un monument antiquíssim de la llengua catalana”, Serra d’Or, 6 (1960), pp. 22-23. Pelayo Negre, “Dos importantes documentos del conde de Ampurias, Poncio I”, Anales del Instituto de Estudios Gerundenses, 14 (1960), pp. 229-261. Joan Anton Rabella, “‘Greuges de Guitard Isarn, senyor de Caboet’ (10801095)”, Estudis de Llengua i Literatura catalanes, XXXV. Homenatge a Arthur Terry (Barcelona: Publicacions de l‫ތ‬Abadia de Montserrat, 1997), vol. 1, pp. 9-49. Joan Anton Rabella, “La relació entre el llatí i el català a la documentació arcaica”, Llengua & Literatura, 10 (1999), pp. 7-19. Jaime Villanueva, Viage literario a las iglesias de España (Valencia: impr. de Estévan, 1820), vol. 8, p. 46.

Cries of Abuse and Injustice in Early Catalan: Notes on the Language of the Rancures, Clams and Querimònies (11th and 12th Centuries) Philip D. Rasico Vanderbilt University

1. State of the art The earliest written manifestations of the Catalan language appear in ecclesiastical and legal documents from Old Catalonia as early the early 9th century and consist principally of toponyms or place names, whose Latin or pre-Roman etymologies appear to have been far from transparent to early scribes whose knowledge of Latin was often superficial or at best limited to common, formulaic phrases; personal names, many of which were of Germanic origin; as well as practical terms such as those referring to geographical features, measures of land, agricultural implements and the like, many of which were unknown in the classical language1. The use of these terms, which are frequently found scattered throughout early medieval texts from Catalonia, clearly suggests that the common language of the people from most if not all ranks of society was Catalan, although with the likely exception of some of the more remote sectors of the northwestern regions of Ribagorza, Pallars and perhaps also the Alt Urgell, where a language closely related to Basque appears to have survived, alongside emerging Catalan, until at least the 11th century2. 1

2

An earlier Catalan version of the present study in appears in: Philip Rasico, “La llengua catalana en documents feudals de rancures i querimònies (segles XI-XII)”, eHumanista /IVITRA, 2 (2012), pp. 219-239. The emergence of written Catalan has been examined by: Joan Bastardas, La llengua catalana mil anys enrere (Barcelona: Curial Edicions, 1995), pp. 109-145, and most recently by Josep Moran in his introduction to: Philip  D. Rasico, El català antic (Girona: Curbet Comunicació Gràfica Edicions-Universitat de Girona, 2006), pp.  7-48. On the survival of a Basque-like language in northwestern Catalonia,

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1. 1. Act of Consecration of the Cathedral of Urgell The Act of Consecration of the Cathedral of Urgell, whose original manuscript dates from the years 860-8803, is one of the earliest Catalan documents containing numerous toponyms in Romance, many of them identical to their modern forms, along with others that have been slightly Latinized. Examples of both groups include Ferrera < ferraria, Banieras (mod. Banyeres) < balnearias, Argilers < argillarios, Avizano (mod. Vià) < avitiƖnu, Keros Albos (mod. Queralbs) < *carios albos and Pujo Regis (mod. Puig-reig) < podiu rƜgis4.

1. 2. Texts from the 10th century The frequency of the use of Catalan in written sources increases in the early 10th century, especially in documents recording last wills and testaments, household inventories, donations, sales, as well as various types of agreements in which it was important or even essential to specify certain facts or details in the clearest terms possible. These types of documents furnish examples of toponyms and personal names which, while often inconsistent in spelling, are nonetheless entirely Catalan in their structure, alongside vernacular terms relating to topographical accidents (hills, valleys, fields, forests, caves, rivers and streams, etc.) and terms related to rural life, such as relia (900) < rƜgula, Puyomalo (913) < podiu malu, cagnas (913) < cannas, vinga (914) < vƮnea, sexteradas (917) < sextari(u) + -Ɩtas, Mazanedo (919) < mattianƜtu, eira (921) < area, Cabages (960) < capannas, Tezer (976) < tecƜre, Vilarzel (978) < vƮllƖricellu, Elzinelles

3

4

see: Joan Coromines, Estudis de toponímia catalana, 2 vols. (Barcelona: Editorial Barcino, 1965-1970), vol. 1, pp. 93-151). On the date of the original manuscript of the Act of Consecration of the Cathedral of Urgell, see: Cebrià Baraut, “Els documents, dels anys 1076-1092, de l’Arxiu Capitular de la Seu d’Urgell”, Urgellia, 7 (1987), pp. 7-218; Josep Moran, Treballs de lingüística històrica catalana (Barcelona: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, 1994), p. 56. Paul Russell-Gebbett, Mediaeval Catalan Linguistic Texts (Oxford: Dolphin Book Company, 1965), pp. 55-56.

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(978) < ilicƮn(a) + -ellas,5 escudella (986) < scNjtella, exada ~ exadas (986) < asciƖta(-s), apers (986) < *apparios6.

1. 3. Writing during the 11th and 12th centuries The use of Catalan in written records increases progressively during the 11th and 12th centuries in response to the economic and socio-cultural transformations of this period, among which the most important and profound was the imposition of the feudal system. The resulting changes affecting the social structure of Catalonia have been characterized by Josep Moran with regard to the increased use of Catalan in documents of that period: [A]questa nova societat feudal, formada en una època plenament romànica, no es trobava tan lligada a les fórmules jurídiques anteriors, i sҲhi produïen nous esdeveniments socials que no es podien traduir fàcilment a la llengua llatina com eren els juraments feudals i les declaracions testimonials o les denúncies presentades pels afectats en els fets violents característics de la societat feudal. Els escrivans, davant la dificultat de traduir al llatí aquests fets nous i les declaracions en boca dels laics, no tenien altra opció [que] reflectir directament en romanç els motius bàsics en la redacció dels documents7. This new feudal society, which was formed in a fully Romance era, was not especially bound to earlier juridical formulas, and new social situations arose that were not so easily translated into Latin, such as in the case of feudal oaths, witness declarations or complaints made by those involved in the acts of violence that characterized feudal society. Scribes, faced with the difficulty of translating into Latin these new developments as well as the oral statements made by laymen, had no choice upon recording their documents other than to state the basic facts directly in Romance.

5

6 7

Federico Udina, El Archivo Condal de Barcelona en los siglos IX-X. Estudio crítico de sus fondos (Barcelona: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 1951), pp. 124, 161, 170, 182, 194, 199, 310, 356, 360. Paul Russell-Gebbett, Mediaeval Catalan Linguistic Texts…, p.  61. The document from 986 is contained in a 13th-century manuscript. Josep Moran, Treballs de lingüística històrica catalana (Barcelona: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, 1994), pp. 89-90.

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1. 4. Lexical components and syntactic structures The feudal oaths to which Moran refers are the first examples of written Catalan prose of a certain length, since they consist not only of isolated Romance words but rather of entire sentences reflecting the popular speech of the land, albeit with continued Latin influence. Nevertheless, and as the following examples reveal, even this new genre of preliterary text tends to repeat established formulas consisting of similar lexical components and syntactic structures: 1. 2.

3.

4.

8 9 10

11

De ipssos chastellos de Aringo et de Oriti go fideles vos ende sere; go no llos vos devetaré ni devetare no llos vos fare […] (Pallars Jussà, 1028-1047)8. De ista ora inante fideles te sere per directa fide sine tuo enganno, quomodo omo debet eser a suo seniore a qui se chomanna […] (Pallars Jussà?, 1043-1098)9. Fideles ti seré de ista ora ad avante per derecta fede senes ton engano, con omo debet eser a son sengore ad qui se comanda. De esta ora ad avante non ti decebere, ni deceber non ti fare de tua vita ni tua membra qui in corpore vestro se tene […] (Pallars Jussà, 1047-1098)10. [E]u de ista ora in antea fidels te serei sen frau e mal engien e ses neguna deceptio, chon om deu esser a son senior chui manubus se comanda […], che de ista ora in antea no·t prendrei ni no·t reterei ni no·t oucidrei ni no·t tolrei ta vita ne ta membra qui a ton corps se tenet […] (Eastern Catalonia?, 1066-1099)11.

Paul Russell-Gebbett, Mediaeval Catalan Linguistic Texts…, p. 63. Paul Russell-Gebbett, Mediaeval Catalan Linguistic Texts…, p. 66. Paul Russell-Gebbett, Mediaeval Catalan Linguistic Texts…, p.  64; Josep Moran, Joan Anton Rabella, eds., Primers textos de la llengua catalana (Barcelona: Proa Clàssics Catalans, 2001), pp. 53-55. Paul Russell-Gebbett, Mediaeval Catalan Linguistic Texts…, p. 71.

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2. Rancures and querimònies An additional manifestation of the changes experienced by Catalan society in the 11th and 12th centuries is provided by another early written source of extraordinary linguistic, historical and socio-cultural value: the documents known in Catalan as rancures “resentments” (Lat. rancNjrae), clams “complaints” (Lat. clamƿres) and querimònies “accusations” (Lat. querimoniae), all three of which involve the expression of grievances due to malfeasance or abuse committed by another person or group of persons. These texts, which are contemporary to or only slightly later than the feudal oaths, are written in early Catalan prose or in a mixture of this language and a very rudimentary form of Medieval Latin, perhaps more accurately described as Latinized Catalan. The medieval Catalan rancures, clams and querimònies (to which I shall refer henceforth as querimònies without making a distinction) generally consist of a list of complaints or grievances made by a lord against his vassal or, conversely, that of a vassal against his lord, due to the transgression of feudal rights or the breaking of agreements by one of these individuals or by his representatives. It is very likely, however, that the manuscripts of the querimònies that have survived to the present, which normally do not indicate the date of their composition nor contain the signature of the complainant(s), correspond to a type of rough draft of a legal document that was intended to be presented orally before a judge or a jury12.

2. 1. The oldest manifestation of the Catalan language Although additional aspects of the querimònies will be considered in detail at a further point in this study, it may be useful to present here a pair of examples of these documents which, as was noted previously, represent some of the oldest written manifestations of the Catalan language:

12

See: Blanca Garí, “Las querimoniae feudales en la documentación catalana del siglo XII (1131-1178)”, Medievalia, 5 (1984), pp. 7-49; Josep Moran, Joan Anton Rabella, eds., Primers textos de la llengua catalana…, p. 67.

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Philip D. Rasico 1. Hec est memoria de ipsas rancuras que abet domnus Guitardus Isarnus, senior caputense […]. E ssón rancurós de Mir Arnall del castel de Caboded […], et són rancurós les toltes e de les forces que fa en la mea onor del servici del kastel et del Pug […]. Rancur-me quar desmentist ma mulier ante me, e de las folias que li dexist davant me. Et rancur-me de Mir Arnall de la casa de Boxtera che sҲà presa e mҲà tolta, et non debet abere nisi solum decimum […] (Vall de Cabó, Alt Urgell, 1080-1095)13. 2. Zo són clams de tons los hòmens de Sen Pere de Escales, luin ni prob, que fan a Senta Maria e al bispe e a tot lo covent, dҲen B. Desvilar e de son pare, que an la casa de Sen Pere afolada e desfeita […]. E anant veng i jove […] que ere natural de za Corit, e pres-lo per queocom dҲaver que·s avie, e pres zҲaver seu; e com lo se·n menave pres e él no volie anar […], pres-lo pez collons e cuidà·l ociure, e teng-lo pres e fet-llo rembre […] (Vall d‫ތ‬Ora, Solsonès, 12th century)14.

2.2. Miret i Sans and the “Querimònies” The first scholar to recognize the linguistic importance of the querimònies was the historian Joaquim Miret i Sans (Barcelona 1858-1919) who, at the beginning of the first decade of the 20th century, discovered and acquired personally nearly five-hundred parchments that had belonged to the old church at Organyà in Upper Urgell. In 1908 Miret i Sans published an article in which he included editions of some of these parchments, one of which stood out as an exceptionally valuable linguistic text due not only to its early date (Miret i Sans was able to determine that it was from the years 1080-1095), but also because it was written almost entirely in Catalan. The document in question was that of the Greuges de Guitard Isarn, senyor de Caboet15. 13

14 15

Paul Russell-Gebbett, Mediaeval Catalan Linguistic Texts…, pp.  74-75; Josep Moran, Joan Anton Rabella, eds., Primers textos de la llengua catalana…, pp. 58-59. On the grievances of Guitard Isarn de Caboet, one of the earliest documents written in Catalan, see: Joan Anton Rabella, “‘Greuges de Guitard Isarn, senyor de Caboet’ (1080-1095)”, Estudis de Llengua i Literatura Catalanes: Homenatge a Arthur Terry (Barcelona: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, 1997), vol. 1, pp. 9-49. Paul Russell-Gebbett, Mediaeval Catalan Linguistic Texts…, pp. 82-83; Josep Moran, Joan Anton Rabella, eds., Primers textos de la llengua catalana…, pp. 68-69. Joaquim Miret i Sans, “Documents en langue catalane (haute vallée du Sègre, XIe-XIIe siècles)”, Revue Hispanique, 19 (1908), pp.  8-13. The same document has been edited more recently, with various important changes, by: Paul RussellGebbett, Mediaeval Catalan Linguistic Texts…, pp. 74-75; Luis Rubio, Documentos

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Five years later Miret i Sans published several additional querimònies one of which, written between the years 1149-1162 at the village of Fontrubí in the Upper Penedès, is of great historical, anthropological and philological interest, as Miret i Sans himself points out: Vamos ahora á dar un documento excepcional, casi único, de superior interés para el estudio de la historia de las costumbres y de la lengua en Cataluña. Es una exposición elevada al Conde de Barcelona Ramón Berenguer IV (1131-1162) por sus vasallos del lugar de Fontroja, que creemos es actualmente la aldea de Fontrubí, en el alto Panadés y diócesis de Barcelona. Las quejas, las lamentaciones, las súplicas vehementes que elevan al soberano, pidiendo justicia y alivio de la opresión que ejercen ciertos señores y algunos oficiales del príncipe aunque latinizadas en su mayor parte, se vislumbran claramente dictadas en catalán y acusan un miserable estado de la rudimentaria administración y del poder público16. We are now going to present an exceptional document that is almost unique and of the highest interest for the study of the customs and language in Catalonia. It is an exposé addressed to the Count of Barcelona, Ramon Berenguer IV (1131-1162), by his vassals from the place of Fontroja, which we believe is today the village of Fontrubí in the Upper Penedès and diocese of Barcelona. The complaints, the lamentations, the vehement petitions made to the sovereign seeking justice and relief from the oppression suffered at the hands of certain lords and some officials of the prince, and which are for the most part Latinized, clearly reveal that they were dictated in Catalan and they also attest to the miserable state of the rudimentary administration as well as of public power.

The same year that Miret i Sans published the aforementioned querimònies, the young director of the cathedral archives at la Seu d‫ތ‬Urgell, Pere Pujol i Tubau (Ribes de Freser,1887-la Seu d‫ތ‬Urgell,1962), who had been commissioned by the Institut d‫ތ‬Estudis Catalans to prepare an abstract of the cathedral‫ތ‬s Liber Dotaliarum, sent to press an edition of a group of documents written in Catalan whose original manuscripts were

16

lingüísticos catalanes (S. X-XII) (Murcia: Universidad de Murcia, 1979), pp.  7273; Joan Martí, Josep Moran, eds., Documents d’història de la llengua catalana (Barcelona: Empúries, 1986), pp. 13-14; Joan Anton Rabella, “‘Greuges de Guitard Isarn, senyor de Caboet’ (1080-1095)…”, pp. 9-49; Josep Moran, Joan Anton Rabella, eds., Primers textos de la llengua catalana…, pp. 57-62. Joaquim Miret i Sans, “Pro sermone plebeico”, Boletín de la Real Academia de Buenas Letras de Barcelona, 7 (1913), pp. 101-115.

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preserved at the aforementioned cathedral archive17. This new collection of early Catalan texts, which contained twenty-eight unpublished documents from the years 1036-1269, also included six querimònies from the 12th and 13th centuries, including an edition of the 12th-century grievances of the men of the village of Hostafrancs in the Segarra region18.

2. 3. Historians and the “Querimònies” Several historians have also devoted attention to the medieval Catalan querimònies. One of the earliest studies in this regard is an article published by Blanca Garí that focuses upon the blood relations and alliances among feudal lords and their vassals between 1131and 1178, a period which witnessed an increase in the number of querimònies19. Josep M. Salrach devotes an in-depth study, based upon Catalan texts from the 11th and 12th centuries (including the querimònies from this period), of the different forms of social pressure and coercion, especially violence and intimidation, employed by the lay aristocracy as well as by the Church, as a means of subjugating and dominating the Catalan peasantry while at the same time exploiting its members economically, quite often by the shear use of brute force. On question of whether the querimònies 17

18

19

Philip Rasico, “Dues fonts cabdals per a l’estudi del català medieval popular: els documents en català de J. Miret i Sans (1908) i de P. Pujol (1913)”, Actes de l’Onzè Col·loqui Internacional de Llengua i Literatura Catalanes, 2 vols., Joan Mas, Joan Miralles, Pere Rosselló, eds. (Barcelona-Palma de Mallorca: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat-Associació Internacional de Llengua i Literatura CatalanesUniversitat de les Illes Balears, 1998), vol. 1, pp. 344-345. The edition of the querimònies of Hostafrancs that was published by: Pere Pujol, Documents en vulgar dels segles XI, XII & XIII procedents del bisbat de la Seu d’Urgell (Barcelona: Palau de la Diputació, 1913), p. 15, was incomplete, as were subsequent editions of the same text by: Paul Russell-Gebbett, Mediaeval Catalan Linguistic Texts…, pp. 83-84 and: Luis Rubio, Documentos lingüísticos catalanes…, p.  90. The first complete edition of the document appeared in: Philip  D. Rasico, Estudis i documents de lingüística històrica catalana (Barcelona: Curial Edicions Catalanes, 1993), pp. 109-110, and, with some changes, in: Philip D. Rasico, El català antic…, pp. 278-279. The edition of the querimònies of Hostafrancs included in the present study presents a number of additional modifications of the latter edition. Blanca Garí, “Las querimoniae feudales en la documentación catalana del siglo XII…”, p. 18.

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actually reflect truthfully and accurately the events and abuses described, Salrach states unequivocally: Llenguatge hiperbòlic, el dҲaquestes querimoniae? Els noms, les dates, les xifres i els fets en són massa precisos, i coneguts al seu temps, com perquè hom pugui neglegir el valor testimonial dҲaquests documents. Més aviat, el que fins ara hi hem trobat a faltar és la veu i el plor dels qui pateixen més directament, perquè, si ens hi fixem bé, els autors dels escrits són homes de poder, comtes, nobles i prelats, queixosos dels danys que vassalls ambiciosos, magnats rivals i guerrers incontrolats han ocasionat en els seus béns, fonts dҲingressos (terres, collites, homes, bestiar) i autoritat. Per a una història del sofriment són fonts indirectes20. Hyperbolic? The language of these querimònies? The names, the dates, the numbers and the events are too precise, and known at that time, for anyone to deny the testimonial value of these documents. Rather, what has been missing until now are the voices and cries of those who suffer most directly, because, if we look closely, the authors of the texts are powerful men, counts, nobles and prelates, who complain of the damage that ambitious vassals, rival magnates and uncontrolled warriors have caused to their property, sources of income (lands, crops, men, animals) and authority. With respect to a history of the suffering they are indirect sources.

In a study of several querimònies from the second half of the 12th century, all of them originating in the county of Barcelona, Thomas Bisson examines in great detail the voices as well as the causes of the laments of some of the individuals affected by the abusive and often criminal acts meted out by those magnates and warriors mentioned by Salrach21.

3. “Querimònies” from the 11th and 12th centuries In the following sections I intend to study the language of five querimònies from the 11th and 12th centuries that proceed from three different

20

21

Josep M. Salrach, “Agressions senyorials i resistències pageses en el procés de feudalització (segles IX-XII)”, Revoltes populars contra el poder de l’Estat (Barcelona: Generalitat de Catalunya, 1992), p. 23. Thomas  N. Bisson, Tormented Voices: Power, Crisis, and Humanity in Rural Catalonia 1140-1200 (Cambridge (Mass.): Harvard University Press, 1998), especially pp. 15-17 and 49-52, on the querimònia of the villagers at Font-rubí.

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comarques or regions in western Catalonia: Pallars Jussà, the Noguera and the Segarra22. All of these documents have been transcribed from the original parchments, and, to my knowledge, four of them (3.1-3.4), all from the Miret i Sans collection of the Biblioteca de Catalunya, have not been published until now. On the other hand, the fifth parchment (3.5), the Greuges dels homes dҲHostafrancs, was first published in 1913 by Pere Pujol, albeit his edition was incomplete as was that of at least two more recent editors of the text23. During the summer of 1983, however, I was able to locate the original manuscript of the Greuges dels homes dҲHostafrancs and to transcribe it fully, along with numerous additional medieval texts, at the Arxiu Capitular de la Seu d‫ތ‬Urgell. This complete transcription, along with an accompanying linguistic commentary, was published several years later24.

3.1. Ranchuras de Petrus Arnals Late 11th century; Conca de Tremp (Pallars Jussà). Biblioteca de Catalunya, pergamí 4035. Ranchuras quas abet Petrus Arnals de Ramon Gui- /2 llem ut promisit mi ut faciat mi chavalerus et non /3 fecit. Et ego fuit suo omine et non dedit mi ut uno /4 kavallo cum sela et freno. Alia de una espada /5 que perlaxabit mi pater meus et ego prestabit et non redi- /6 dit. Alia de uno aspergo que ego prestabit et non /7 redidit. Alia de merchaderos qui ego priso in guar- /8 da, et mater mea, et venient ad nos et ille fran[g]it nostras /9 chasas et tollit suo avere. Alia abeo de Ra- /10

22

23 24

The date of documents 3.1-3.3 has been established based upon information provided by the inventory of parchments of the Biblioteca de Catalunya, and, also, according to the inventory of documents from the 11th century preserved at the Arxiu Capitular de la Seu d’Urgell and published by Cebrià Baraut (Cebrià Baraut, “Els documents, dels anys 1076-1092…”, pp.  130, 173, 191; Cebrià Baraut, “Els documents, dels anys 1093-1100, de l’Arxiu Capitular de la Seu d’Urgell”, Urgellia, 8 [1986-1987], pp. 93, 96, 109-110). These documents, which are from the years 1060-1108, refer to various individuals mentioned in the aforesaid querimònies, such as Pere Arnal, Arnal Pere, Guitard Guillem, Ramon Rotllan and Pere Borrell. See footnote 18 above. Philip  D. Rasico, “El català preliterari en documents procedents de l’antic bisbat d’Urgell (segles XI-XII)”, Urgellia, 7 (1984-1985), pp. 284-285. See also footnote 18 above.

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mon Guillem qui fuit suo omine in suo cosimento et fecit /11 ille bene et non fecit mi nullo bene. Alia que fuit /12 suo omine et fecit ille et convenit mi.xx. /13 uncias et non dedit. Alia abeo de Ramon Guillem de suos /14 kavaleros qui prehenderunt uno meo kavalero et de- /15 derunt ei multas et violarunt ei in ipso brazo. Alia de /16 uno omine qui denegavit mi, et ego destrixi que non est mi. /17 Et Ramon Guillem facet mi grande onta. Alia de Guillem /18 Bonsomo qui tollit Ramon Guillem una egua cum alia[s] /19 malas que fecit. Et ego abeo perditum. Alia de Arnal Pere /20 unde abet Ramon Guillem uncias.x. et non dedit nullam /21 partem. Alia de Guitard Guillem unde abet solid[o]s.v. et /22 non dedit. Alia de Guillem Ramon similiter. Alia de Ar- /23 nal Dodoni unde abet solidos.xxvi. et non dedit. Alia de Guillem Guillem unde abet solid[o]s.xvi. et non dedit. /24 Alia de Ramon Rodlan de solidos. vi. unde fui25 /25 et non dedit. Alia de Maca26 dio que tollit uno /26 porcho et postea non abuit meo censum. Alia /27 de acapte que fecit pater meus de suo et ego de ille, et abet /28 mi tolt et peiorad. Alia de toltes et forces que fecit /29 unde perdidit mea onore et est peiorada.

3.2. Ranchuras de Pere Arnal Late 11th century; Conca de Tremp (Pallars Jussà). Biblioteca de Catalunya, pergamí 4041. [Recto] Ranchuras que abet Pere Arnal /2 de Arnal Arnal. Que cavalgà Ar- /3 nal Arnal super suo senior cum suos /4 omines. Alia que venit Arnal Rai- /5 mon de Arancís in credença de Arnal /6 Arnal et emblà ad patre meis suo ave- /7 re. Alia que venit comite in Conchas /8 et fecit pregera de avere, et Arnal Arnal /9 fecit baiul[u] et tollit suo avere ad /10 meos omines. Alia que Arnal Arnal /11 ferí uno meo eschuder. Alia que /12 Arnal Arnal ere meo omine et /13 ille fecit mi dare medietate de una /14 kavaleria et uno omine ad Beren- /15 ger de Arancís per força sine grad. /16 Alia que Arnal Arnal ere meo omi- /17 nem, que ille et mulier sua et suos/18 omines trobaren afolament de /19 meo corps et perdida de mea onore /20 et de meo avere. Alia de Arnal Ar- /21 nal, que Arnal Ramon de Arancís ere /22 meo inimics et el cholí in ista mea /23 onore ad mea força. Alia de meos /24 placitos et de meos lexivos que abet /25 emblados. Alia de una mea fra[n]-/26 cheza, que pres meo omine et vinclà /27 in ipso kastello, per nomen Pere /28 Borel. Alia de meas justicias que /29 non voluit facere infra meos omi- /30 nes et venit mi malum. Alia de /31 opera de isto kastro vel de ipsa /32 guarda que debet facere et  /33 non fecit. Alia que abet facta con- /34 dreta in suo kastro ille et suos  /35 omines contra meo kastro. Alia /36 de ipsas talas que abet factas ille /37 et suos

25 26

Perforation of the parchment. Perforation of the parchment.

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Philip D. Rasico omines de ortos de messes et /38 vineas qui bene valet mile /39 modios. Alia que abet me et /40 mulier mea blasfemados /41 et desonrados ille et mulier /42 sua et suos omines. [Verso] Alia que paraulà cum Ramon Guillem /2 perdida de mea onore. Alia que vidit /3 Pera Remon fe27 meo a la u28 et /4 meos omines et non adjuvaba nullo. /5 Alia de mea devesa que chaçà meos /6 chonilos ad mea força. Alia de ipso /7 chastlà de ipso solo que abet pres /8 ad força de meo senior et de me. /9 Alia que ille et suos omines ferirunt /10 meos omines de Conchas. Alia de /11 mulier sua que fecit una donze- /12 la que erat in mea guarda et fecit /13 tollere de sua lengua. Alia de /14 una mea ortolana que fecit mi /15 ferire et macare in mea alaude. /16 Alia que paraulà Arnal Arnal cum /17 Ramon Guillem que pres in placitis Ra- /18 mon Guillem et Guillem Ramon, et fecit. /19 Alia que vendit suos kavalls /20 et suos mulos ad ipso comi- /21 te. Alia de ipsos terminos de /22 Conchas que tollet meos vicinos /23 et non defendit. Alia de que caval- /24 gà super Berenger Arnal de Salent. /25 Alia que mulier sua desonrabat /26 matre mea intrante meo kastro.

3.3. Ranchure de Petru Arnalli Late 11th Century; Conca de Tremp (Pallars Jussà). Biblioteca de Catalunya, pergamí 4042. Ranchure que abet dono Petru Arnalli de Arnal Pere. In primis que fuit scripta carta /2 per amicitate que convenit Arnal Pere ad Pere Arnal, que de ipso fiucio que ille /3 fecit qu·el ne pagarie et non fecit. Alia que fecit placitum cum suos inimicos sine ille et ve- /4 nit ad eum grande donno. Alia que adobà que perdidit sua onore et preseren pane. /5 Alia fuit vengad de achel meo inimico et venit ad meo pater et sustrax- /6 lo-li et venit grande donno, et ad ço abet factum dins tro amicitate. Ranchure abeo [de] Aarnal Pere de /7 ista nostra onore que se tenet ad nostra força et que ens en é[s] vengud grande donno. /8 Ad in ante que·ns convenit que·ns en farie ço que fer no se·n devie, et non /9 fecit, et venit grande donno. Alia que abet pres meo frater et se tenet et pro- /10 clamà que·l me redés. Alia que abet mortos et exorbados meos omines /11 super preferiment de dret que ego preferia. Alia de covenences que fes cum meo /12 frater et no les li atès et venit grande donno ad me et ad ille. Alia de suos /13 omines de Arnal Pere q[u]i exirunt de suo kastro et tolgront meo kastro ab /14 quant ii avie. Alia de suos omines q[u]i exirunt de suo kastro et sachudiront /15 ipsa preda ad meos omines et abebunt parte. Ipsa

27 28

The text is illegible due to damage from humidity. The text is illegible due to damage from humidity.

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que se ti de mea am[i]cit[ate] /16 que in me no·s fadiga de ço que jo a fer-le·n avia de amicitate.

3.4. Querimònia de lҲAbat i el Convent de Sant Pere dҲÀger 12th century; Àger (la Noguera). Biblioteca de Catalunya, pergamí 4044. Hec est queremonia que facit scribere domino abbeis Agerenssi cum con- /2 ventu Sancti Petre que fecit nobis R. d’Agna post morte fratri suo /3 Alegret. In primis venit ad capumansum nostrum de Camporasio et fecit /4 ibi aperire cigas nostras ubi erit cibaria nostra qui venerit de Ar- /5 tesa vel de Monteceniso, et de Castellione de Lordà et de Toló. /6 Et cum illo alio qui fuit de termino Momagastrensi. Fuerunt /7 quatuor modios et.xl. sextarios tritici et quinque modi- /8 os et.viiii. ordi et.iii. modios et sextarios.vi. /9 de avena. Post ista malefacta fecit alia. Veniebat ciba- /10 ria de castro Castellione de Lordà. Erat in numero.viiii. /11 pernas quinque ex eas de duos solidos una queque, et.xx. et.iiii. /12 galinas, et.xii. solidos denarios, et.x. et. viii. formaticos, /13 et duos sextarios olei et quinque libras de lana. Et super ipsa /14 malefacta sic duxerunt homines nostros captos vel li- /15 gatos usque ad flumen Sigoris et expoliaverunt ibi eos /16 de vestimentis et de calciamentis vel de armis. Ita fecerunt /17 per consilio Raimundo de Agna et Raimundo de Carmenzó. Et fe- /18 cerunt alia preda en Pug de Fex, et traxit de domo nostra.i. /19 mul et.i. tona et.i. barril et.i. kallera et.i. /20 archa et sex besties menudes et.i. porc de.viii. /21 solidos. Post ista malefacta fecit alia. Traxit.i. /22 mula de domo Sancti Michaelis. Similiter tollit a baiu- /23 lo nostro de Camterres.xx. solidos. Post ista facta venit /24 morte super homine nostro et abebat uxorem accepta /25 de.vii. mensis, et illa inpregnavit-se et nafravit-se (*et illo). /26 Et domno R. de Agna, quare illos non abuerunt filios, /27 expoliavit domo nostra de pane et vino (*et caro) et de omnis /28 bestiis.

3.5. Greuges dels homes dҲHostafrancs 12th century; Hostafrancs (Segarra). “Documents en Català”, Arxiu Capitular de la Seu d‫ތ‬Urgell, carpeta I. [Recto] Hec sunt res qe B. de Peramola e na Ramia tolgren als omens d’Astafrancs. A Jovan Be- /2 renguer e a R. Torà.iii. miger[es] de for[ment] que valie sete solidos una quiega, e.i. somera que valie /3.xx. solidos. E a Jacme Arbert trascren lo vi de la tona e portaren-lo-sse·n a Cuncabela. E tren- /4 caren la francea de l’eglesia d’Urgel e preseren [ad] A. Nebot dret que avie fermat /5 e giat que l’avien,

144

Philip D. Rasico e trasc[r]en-lo de l’esglesia pres e mans ligades menaren-lo a Cunquabela, /6 e tengren-lo.iii. dies pres en la tore en la tavega. E agren-ne.iii. besties e reemé-les /7.lxxxii. solidos. E G. d’Ofegat tolé ad A. Nebot.xxviii. oveiles, e B. de Peramola cobré /8 -les per treves e mede neguna ad A. Nebot, e mes-les en pret en la compra de Cunca- /9 bella per.xxxvi. morabatins entr[e] eles e·ls esplets qe avien feit de.iii. ans. E tol- /10 gren an G. de Ssegara.i. bou e reemé’l.lxxx. solidos. E tolgren an G.A..xc. solidos. E tolgren a n’ /11 A. Cavaler e an Martel.i. bou e reemeren-lo.xxxvi. solidos. E tolgren an Gerat dez Penal /12.xc. solidos. E tolgren a n’A. Montaner.ii. someres e reemé-les.xc. solidos. E tolgren an  R. Mir /13.ii. bous. E tolgren an P. Nebot.xxiiii. hoveiles e.ii. vaces. E tolgren an B. /14 Ferer.x. oveiles e.viii. aiels e.i. tona. E tolgren an P. Toró.i. arca. E tolgren /15 an B. Lagaiós.xx. solidos. E tolgren a n’A. Roig.i. tona per.xl. solidos. /16 Tolgren an  G. de Seró. xxv. solidos. An G. Daví.xvi. solidos. E d’en Bartolomeu.i. bou que avie costad.lx. solidos /17 e.xv. solidos. D’altra part tolgren an P. Domenec.x. solidos. An Botet.xl. solidos. E de na Maria de za Porta /18.lxxx. solidos. E d’en P. Reg.l. solidos e.iii. migeres d’ordi per Dei. E·n  P. de Solsona.xl. oveleis e.xviii. anels. /19 Agren de n’A. Mulner.xx. e.v. solidos. E d’en Garul.vi. solidos. E d’en P. Ferucz.xx. migeres [d’]ordi, e d’en G. de Besora.i. /20 e reemé-les.xc. solidos. E de n’Agremont.xviii. solidos. E d’en G. Boraz.xc. solidos. E·n Rog reemé.i. tona /21 per.xv. solidos per Dei. E·n Balester.i. guaenga que valie.viii. solidos. E d’en G. de Monfalcó.xxx. e.v. solidos. /22 Altra vegada més los homens d’Ostafra[n]cs fermanza per forza per. xxx. morabatins e agren-los a pagar. [Verso] 29 robes de Pons. /2 Azò son coses que na Ramia e·n G. de Pons an preses dels homens d’Ostafrancs per manament. D’en /3 B.  Boracz.i. plomaz e.i. espaa. E d’en B. Cavaler.i. plomaz. E d’en Gili.ii. guaenges /4 e.i. balesta. R. dez Vilar.i. guaenga. G.A..i. boracza e.i. cavag. E en Ga- /5 rul.i. boraza. G.  Daví.ii. cavacs e.i. guaenga. R. Bonet.i. guaenga. E /6 R. Agremont.i. cavacg e.i. sac. R. Mir.i. guaenga e.i. boracza e.i. plo- /7 maz tot nou. P. de Segera.i. cavac. B. Boracz.i. guaenga e 30 plomaz. /8 A. Carbó una guaenga. E d’en R. Boracz.i. guaenga. S. de Segera.i. guaenga. /9 A. Meseger.i. cavac. E de na G. de Reg.i. plomaz e.i. guaenga. R. 31 /10 B. Laganós.i. boraza. P. Juglar plomaz. Na Maria de za Porta 32 plomaz. /11 E·n Reg.i. capa. E de n’A. de Solsona.i. guaenga e.i. plomaz. E d’en Botet /12.i. plomaz e.i. lançol. E d’en G. Ferer.i. caldera. D’en G. de Besora.i. plomaz. /13 R. Lubera.i. [g]uadenga.

29 30 31 32

Illegible. Illegible. Illegible. Illegible.

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4. Linguistic Commentary33 4.1. Phonology 4.1.1. Vowels Regarding stressed vowels, examples of the simplification of the diphthong au to o (/’‫ܧ‬/) are found in the document from the Segarra: coses (5.v2) < causas, Besora (5.r19, 5.v12) < *basauria. The tonic mid-open vowels of Vulgar Latin /’‫ܭ‬/ and /’‫ܧ‬/ appear to have experienced a conditioned diphthongization before the high palatal glide [j] (yod), most likely in preliterary Catalan, thus producing complex vowel nuclei: /’‫ܭ‬/ > [‘jej] and /’‫ܧ‬/ > [‘woj]. At a very early date, however, these triphthongs were reduced to simple vowels (/’i/ and /’u/ respectively) or to diphthongs if the palatal element remained, as in Pug (4.18) < podiu (cf. lectu > llit, vocitu > buit, nocte > anc. nuit > nit, etc.)34. The diphthong resulting from the evolution of the suffix -ariu (-a) as well as from the radical sequence -ari- / -are-, is discovered simplified to e (/’e/) in the texts examined, a result that appears to have been produced through the changes [‘aj‫ܭ‘[ > ]ݐ‬j‫‘[ > ]ݐ‬ej‫‘[ > ]ݐ‬e(‫])ݐ‬: chavalerus (1.2), kavaleros (1.14), cavaler (5.r11, 5.v3) < caball(u) -ariu (-os); kavaleria (2.14) < caballu -ari(u) -Ʈa; merchaderos (1.7) < mercƖt(u) -arios; pregera (2.r8) < precaria; eschuder (2.r11) < scNjt(u) -ariu; Berenger (2.14-15, 2.24) < berengariu (germ. beringair); kallera (4.18), caldera (5.v12) < caldaria; migeres (5.r2) < medi(u) -arias; somera (5.r2), someres (5.r12) < sagmaria(-s); Ferer (5.r14) < ferrariu; Lubera (5.v13) < luparia. The secondary diphthongs created by the vocalization of an implosive voiceless velar consonant before a voiceless dental (e.g. -ct -[kt] > -[jt]) show different results according to their etymological origin. In the case

33

34

The data cited in the following sections will normally be accompanied by an indication of the text (1-5) and of the line(s) in which they appear; for example: kavaleria (2.r14). On the evolution of Vulgar Latin /’‫ܭ‬/ and /’‫ܧ‬/ in Catalan, see: Joan Coromines, Lleures i converses d’un filòleg (Barcelona: Club Editor, 1974), pp.  248-250; Philip  D. Rasico, El català antic…, pp. 83-94.

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of the groups -Ɯct- / -ict- (> [‘ejt]) the diphthong ei ([‘ej]) appears to have been simplified at an early date to e ([‘e]), as is suggested by dret (5.r4) < dirƜctu and esplets (5.r9) < explic(i)tos. However, in the case of -actthe intermediate stage of eit ([‘‫ܭ‬jt] or [‘ejt]) is maintained, as it is today in the western Catalan dialects: feit (5.r9) < factu35. In some areas or social levels the group -amn- experienced a vocalization (most likely due to dissimilation) of the syllable-final bilabial nasal, a change which resulted in the production of the diphthong au ([‘aw]) which was reduced to [‘‫‘[( ]ܧ‬amn] > [‘aȕn] > [‘awn] > [‘‫ܧ‬n], as seen in ancient and dialectal don < damnu (cf. escon < scamnu). An example of this development from the querimònies studied here is the partially Latinized donno (3.4, 3.6-7, 3.9, 3.12) < damnu36. The text from Hostafrancs (Segarra), a region which today lies in a transitional area between the eastern and northwestern dialectal groups of Catalan, offers a case of the alternation e-/a- in pretonic position, thus suggesting a possible incipient confusion of these unstressed vowels similar to that which affected the eastern dialects toward the mid-15th century: lançol (5.v12) < linteolu. Among other possible examples of the confusion or weakening of vowels in pretonic position there are: Astafrancs (5.r1) < austirfranks (cf. Ostafrancs 5.r22) and the personal name Dodoni (1.23) which may derive from deus-dƿnet (cf. anc. Deudat, Deudonat)37. In posttonic position one finds the raising of etymological /a/ to e (/e/) before a final /s/ or /n/ as the following forms reveal: toltes (1.28) < tollitas, forces (1.28) < fortias, covenences (3.11) < convenientias, besties (4.20;5.r6) < bƜstias, menudes (4.20) < minNjtas, avien (5.r5) < habƜbant, ligades (5.r5) < ligƖtas, vaces (5.r13) < vaccas, oveiles (5.r7; 5.r14), hoveiles (5.r13), oveleis (5.r18 = oveiles) < ovic(u)las, treves (5.r8)

35

36

37

Philip  D. Rasico, Estudis sobre la fonologia del català preliterari (Barcelona: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat-Curial Edicions Catalanes, 1982), pp.  5975; Philip D. Rasico, El català antic…, pp. 94-108. Joan Coromines, Lleures i converses d’un filòleg…, p.  262; Joan Coromines, Diccionari Etimològic i Complementari de la Llengua Catalana, 10 vols. (Barcelona: Curial Edicions, 1985), vol. 3, pp. 21a, 19-32, s.v. dany. Antoni Mª Alcover, Francesc de B. Moll, Diccionari català-valencià-balear, 10 vols. (Palma de Mallorca: Moll, 1985), vol. 4, p. 376, s.v. Deudat, Deudonat.

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< *triwas, someres (5.r12) < sagmarias, coses (5.v2) < causas, preses (5.v2) < *prƜnsas38. Also in word-internal, posttonic position is discovered -a for an etymological -e in cavac (5.v7, V.v9), cavag (5.v4), cavacg (5.v6), cavacs (5.v5) < *cavicu (-os) (cf. mod. càvec), a development which may be due to the influence of the stressed vowel (càvec > càvac) or possibly that of the paradigmatic forms of the verb cavar < cavƖre (cavava, cavà, cavaren, etc.)39. The raising of a posttonic /a/ to e (/e/) is found as well in verb forms of the third person imperfect indicative: ere (2.r12, 2.r16, 2.r21) < erat, devie (3.8) < debƜbat, avie (3.14; 5.r4; 5.r16) < habƜbat (cf. avia 3.16), valie (5.r2, 5.r21) < valƜbat, pagarie (3.3) < pacƖre-*hiat, farie (3.8) < facere-*hiat. The same change also appears in the noun monede (5.r8) < monƜta40. In word-final position the atonic mid-vowels -e and -o, derived respectively from Vulgar Latin -/e/ and -/o/, were lost very early in Catalan except in cases where they were required due to syllable-structure constraints, generally following a consonant group. Evidence of the loss of these final vowels is found in Catalan documents from the 9th century41. It is therefore not surprising that the documents of querimònies examined here provide numerous examples of the effacement of both final vowels, among which may be cited the following: Ramon (1.1; 1.9-10) < raimundu(s) (germ. raginmund), Arnal (1.19) < arnaldu(s) (germ. arnoald), Guitard (1.20) < guitardu(s) (germ. withard), tolt (1.28) < tollitu, peiorad (1.28) < pignorƖtu, eschuder (2.r11) < scNjt(u) -ariu, grad (2.r15) < gratu, afolament (2.r18) < (a)fullamentu, el (2.r22; 3.3) < ille, pres (2.r26, 2.v17) < *prƜnsit, Borel (II.r28) < burrellu(s), chastlà (II.v7) < castellƖnu, kavalls (II.v19) < caballos, Salent (2.v24) 38

39

40 41

See: Philip D. Rasico. Estudis sobre la fonologia del català preliterari…, pp. 87-96; Philip D. Rasico, Estudis i documents de lingüística històrica catalana…, pp. 15-19; Philip D. Rasico, El català antic…, pp. 119-127. Joan Coromines (Joan Coromines, Diccionari Etimològic de la llengua catalana, 10 vols. (Barcelona: Curial Edicions, 1985), vol. 2: 641, s.v. cau) observes that the posttonic vowel of càvec appears as both a i e àtones at a considerably early period, and that the form with posttonic e becomes generalized following the 15th century. Philip D. Rasico, Estudis i documents de lingüística històrica catalana…, pp. 15-19. See: Philip D. Rasico, Estudis sobre la fonologia del català preliterari…, pp. 107117; Philip D. Rasico, El català antic…, pp. 136-145.

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Philip D. Rasico

< saliente, vengad (3.5) < vindicƖtu, achel (3.5) < accu-ille, vengud (3.7) < venNjtu, atès (3.12) < *attƜnsit, Pug (4.18) < podiu, Fex (4.18) < fasce, mul (4.19) < mNjlu, porc (4.20) < porcu, dret (3.11; 5.r4) < dirƜctu, aiels (5.r14) i anels (5.r18) < agnellos, plomaz (5.v3, 5.v7, 5.v9-10) < plumaceu, sac (5.v6) < saccu. 4.1.2. Consonants In view of the fact that the documents considered in this study date from the 11th and 12th centuries, it is not surprising that they provide evidence of a series of consonantal developments that were completed earlier in the history of the language, such as the vocalization of Vulgar Latin /ȕ/ (< v, -b-) in syllable-final position, as is attested to by paraulà (2.v1, 2.v16) < parabolƖvit, bou (5.r10, 5.r16) together with bous (5.r13) < bove (-s), and nou (5.v7) < novu42. The evolution of the old voiced consonants /į/ and /‫ݵ‬/, derived respectively from -d- (> /į/) and -tj-, ce,i- (> /‫ݵ‬/), is intimately connected since their common result in early Catalan, at least by the 9th century, was the weak, voiced dental fricative /į/, represented in documents of the period as d or s/z, the latter solution owing in some cases to Occitan influence, as in ratiƿne > rado(n) ~ raso(n)/razo(n). Before a stressed syllable this consonant was generally eliminated in most varieties of Catalan, while after the stress its fricative quality was enhanced thus producing a dental [z], which subsequently merged with the voiced alveolar fricative /z/ resulting from -s- and -ns-. However, upon becoming sylable-final or word-final the early dental /į/ underwent a vocalization process whose result was the velar glide -[w] (-/u/)43. In spite of the early period in which the previous changes occurred, one of the querimònies manuscripts offers an example in which the old voiced dental fricative /į/ appears to have been preserved: pret (5.r8) 42

43

For early examples of the vocalization of Latin v /-b- > -u (-[w]) in Catalan see: Philip D. Rasico, Estudis sobre la fonologia del català preliterari…, p. 132; Philip D. Rasico, El català antic…, pp. 149-163. On these developments see: Joan Coromines, Lleures i converses d’un filòleg…, pp. 209-216; Philip D. Rasico, Estudis sobre la fonologia del català preliterari…, pp.  135-173; Philip  D. Rasico, El català antic…, pp.  164-197; Joseph Gulsoy, Estudis de gramàtica històrica (València-Barcelona: Institut Universitari de Filologia Valenciana-Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, 1993), pp. 123-168.

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< pretiu. However, it is entirely possible that the spelling -t merely represents an archaism for the glide -[w] (-/u/) in view of Gerat (5.r11) < geraldu which appears in the same text. In the case of the latter form the -t may indicate a velar allophone of word-final -/l/ or, possibly, the aforementioned velar glide -[w]44. The documents considered also present evidence of the change of anc. /į/ to /z/, as well as of the loss of the same old dental fricative, in posttonic position: francheza (2.r25-26), francea (5.r4) < *frank-itia; espaa (5.v3) < *spada (cf. espada 1.4). The old voiceless dental affricate /‫ݸ‬/ (< c࢑ -, c࢒ -, cj, and postconsonantal -c࢑‫࢒ޟ‬, -tj), which functioned as the voiceless correlate of anc. /‫ݵ‬/, is still preserved in the documents studied as the following forms suggest: brazo (1.15) < bracchiu, força (2.r15, 2.r23, 2.v6, 2.v8, 3.7) and forza (5.r22) < fortia, chaçà (2.v5) < captiƖvit, ço (3.6, 3.8, 3.16) and azò (5.v2) < ecce-hoc; covenences (3.11) < convenientias, Carmenzó (4.17) < *cariu-manzon, Boracz (5.v3, 5.v7) and boracza (5.v4, 5.v6), boraza (5.v5, 5v10) < burraceu (-a), fermanza (5.r22) < firmantia, plomaz (5.v3, 5.v6-7) < plumaceu, among other similar examples. Regarding nasal and lateral consonants, a characteristic feature of the phonological development of Catalan is the progressive assimilation, followed by simplification, of the groups -mb- (> mm) > m (/m/), -nd- (> nn) > n (/n/), and, with less frequency and regularity, -ld- (> ll) > l (/l/), alongside the syllable final result -ld > -[ll] > -[wl] > -[w] (-u).45 In the manuscripts of the querimònies are found several examples of -nd- > n and of -ld- > -l, -t, the latter spelling evidently having the value of -[w] (-/u/): Ramon (1.1, 1.9-10, 1.13, etc.), Remon (2.v3) < raimundu (< raginmund) (cf. Raimundo 4.17); Rodlan (1.24) < hrotland; Arnals (1.1), Arnal (2.r1-3, 2.1), Arnalli (3.1), Aarnal (3.6) < arnaldu(s) (< arnoald);

44

45

It is interesting to note the forms fét (3v15), féd (6r23) < fƜcit, vit (4r2) < vƮdit of the late-12th century Homilies d’Organyà, in which the spellings fét / féd and vit evidently correspont to the pronunciations [‘feį] i [‘ȕiį] respectively. Joan Coromines, Entre dos llenguatges, 3 vols. (Barcelona: Curial Edicions, 1976-1977), vol. 1, pp.  127153. On the “inverse spelling” -d (or -t) for -u (-[w]), see: Joan Coromines, Estudis de toponímia catalana…, vol. 1, pp. 45-46. Concerning these assimilations, see: Philip D. Rasico, Estudis sobre la fonologia del català preliterari…, pp. 173-184; Philip D. Rasico, El català antic..., pp. 197-207.

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Philip D. Rasico

kallera (4.19) < caldaria (cf. caldera 5.v12); Gerat (5.r11) < geraldu (< gairoald)46. The popular evolution in Catalan of the groups -mn-, -nn-, and -gn-, -ng࢑ ‫ ࢒ޟ‬has produced various results: -mn- normally is reduced to n /n/ (except in the case of dany which has been influenced by engany and guany; cf. ancient and dialectal dan, don); -nn- produces /݄/ (along with ancient and dialectal /n/; cf. annu > /’a݄/ ~ /’an/); and -gn-, -ng࢑ ‫ ࢒ޟ‬also give the common /݄/ (pugnu > puny, ligna > llenya, stringit > estreny, etc.)47. The documents examined here reveal the changes -mn-, -nn- > n (/n/): donno (3.4, 3.6-7, 3.9, 3.12) < damnu; ans (5.r9) < annos; -gn-, -ng࢑ ‫࢒ޟ‬ (and -nj-) > i, gn, n (/݄/): peiorad (1.28), peiorada (1.29) < pignorƖtu (-a); aiels (5.r14), anels (5.r18) < agnellos; Agna (4.2, 4.17, 4.26) < angia; Lagaiós (5.r15), Laganós (5.v10) < lakainya48. In Northwestern Catalan, Valencian and some modern subdialects of the Eastern-Catalan area, no distinction is found today between the reflexes of the Latin groups -ll-, l-, on the one hand, and -lj-, -c’l-, -g’l- on the other, their common result being the voiced, palatal lateral ll (/‫ݠ‬/). Such is not the case, however, in other dialectal varieties of the language in which the same groups have produced a voiced palatal lateral phoneme (/‫ݠ‬/ < -ll-, l-) together with a voiced palatal glide (/j/ < -lj-, -c’l-, -g’l-). The area in which there is practiced today a contrast between the two palatal consonants /‫ݠ‬and /j/ includes roughly that lying between the Ter and the Llobregat rivers (excluding the city of Barcelona and its immediate environs), as well as the Balearic Islands. It is currently believed that the distinction between the descendants of -ll-, l- and of -lj-, etc., formerly existed throughout the Catalan linguistic territory, and that the /j/, which resulted from a complex lateral phoneme (perhaps /j‫ݠ‬/ or /j‫ݠ‬j/),

46 47

48

The form Gerat (V.r11) < geraldu supports the observation previously made regarding the phonetic value (-[w]) of the final -t of pret (5.r8) < pretiu. On the evolution of the groups -mn-, -nn- and -gn- en català, see, especially: Antoni  M. Badia, Gramàtica històrica catalana (València: Tres i Quatre, 1981), pp.  211, 218-220; Joan Coromines, Lleures i converses d’un filòleg..., pp.  261262; Joan Coromines, Diccionari Etimològic Català…, vol. 5, pp. 19-23, s.v. dany; Philip  D. Rasico, Estudis sobre la fonologia del català..., pp.  203-218; Philip  D. Rasico, El català antic..., pp. 225-237. See: Joan Coromines, Diccionari Etimològic Català…, vol. 5, pp.  127-129, s.v. lleganya.

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experienced a process of delateralization and gradually was displaced toward the east by the confusion as /‫ݠ‬/ of the two old palatal phonemes49. In the documents examined the reflex of word-initial l- is consistently represented by the spelling l-: lengua (2.v13) < lingua, Lordà (4.5, 4.10) < lurri-te-Ɩnu, lana (4.13) < lana, Lagaiós (5.r15) ~ Laganós (5.v10) < lakainya, lançol (5.v12) < linteolu, ligades (5.r5) < ligƖtas; while the descendant of -ll- is written with either a simple or double l: chavalerus (1.2), Cavaler (5.v3) < caball(u) -ariu(s); kavallo, kavalls < caballu (-os); sela (1.4) < sella; aiels (5.r14) ~ anels (5.r18) < agnellos; balesta (5.v4) < ballista, Vilar (5.v4) < vƮllƖre, among additional examples. The case of the palatal reflex of the groups -lj-, -c’l-, -g’l- (> /j‫ݠ‬/ or /j‫ݠ‬j/) is more complicated and suggests the beginning of a confusion or merger of the two distinct old palatal phonemes (/‫ݠ‬/ and /j‫ݠ‬/ or /j‫ݠ‬j/), at least in some northwestern districts, prior to the 12th century. For instance, one discovers on the one hand the spelling il in oveiles (5.r7, 5.r14), hoveiles (5.r13), oveleis (=oveiles, 5.r18) < ovic(u)las50, and, on the other, various words spelled with l ( -[s]; cf. mod. dial. clars [‘klas], factors [fԥk‫ތ‬tos], etc.), appears in the toponym Camterrés (4.23) (< Camp-terrers) < campos terrarios. Finally, with respect to the phonological characteristics of the language found in the documents considered, it should be noted that the devoicing of word-final obstruents (occlusives, fricatives and affricates) did not become generalized in Catalan until the late-12th century or the early decades of the 13th century53. Consequently, the texts considered here present inconsistencies regarding the representation of word-final consonants: peiorad (1.28) < pignorƖtu; grad (2.r15) < gratu; vengud (3.7) < venNjtu; costad (5.r16) < costƖtu; cavag (5.v4), cavacg (5.v6) *cavicu; alongside fermat (5.r4) < firmƖtu; Nebot (5.r4, 5.r13) < nepƿte; Ofegat (5.r7) < affocƖtu; Domenec (5.r17) < dominicu; cavac (5.v7) < *cavicu (cf. cavacs 5.v5 < *cavicos).

4.2. Morpho-Syntax 4.2.1. Nouns and Pronouns Given the nature of the querimònies, it is not surprising that their lexicon is not particularly rich or varied. In the case of nouns, at least, the same

53

the late retention of the same nasal in the speech of the diocese of Girona, see: Joan Coromines, Lleures i converses d’un filòleg..., pp. 303-304; Philip D. Rasico, Estudis i documents de lingüística històrica catalana..., pp. 36-51. See: Joan Coromines, Lleures i converses d’un filòleg..., p. 297; Paul Russell-Gebbett, Mediaeval Catalan Linguistic Texts…, p. 31.

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words are frequently used following established formulas employed for this type of expository genre. And, in this respect, it must be borne in mind that the majority of the five texts considered are written in a very poor form of late Medieval Latin, or, as noted earlier, in a language perhaps more accurately described as Latinized Catalan. These documents not only clearly betray the Romance language of their authors (especially with regard to the lexicon, but also in the case of grammar), they also reveal numerous words as well as entire phrases in Catalan. Concerning noun morphology, it should be noted that Old Catalan in general retains few traces of the old Latin nominative case. It is therefore exceptional to find in the querimònies Petrus Arnals (1.1) < petrus arnaldus (cf. Pere Arnal 2.1r), together with the clearly Latinized inimics (2.r22) < inimƮcus, forms which may be due to Occitan influence54. Among other features relating to noun development should be noted the numeral sete (5.r2) < septe, which appears to be merely a Latinization of Catalan set. Also of interest is the alternation egl-/esgl-, within the same text, in eglesia (5.r4) / esglesia (5.r5) < eclƜsia, a variation due to a difference in transmission of the Latin etymon: eglesia representing a popular evolution, and església a learned or ecclesiastical treatment55. As has been observed earlier in this analysis, the descendants of Latin paroxytones and proparoxytones in -ne, -nu for their plural in -ns: mans (5.r5) < manus; homens (5.r22, 5.v2), omens (5.r1) < homines. 4.2.1.1. Stressed Pronouns The manuscripts of the querimònies offer few examples of stressed pronouns functioning as the subject or as a prepositional complement: jo (3.16) < ego: no·s fadiga de ço que jo a fer-le·n avia de amicitate; el (2.r22, 3.3) < ille: et el cholí; qu·el ne pagarie; eles (5.r9) < illas: entr[e] eles e·ls esplets. Among other tonic pronouns appearing in the texts examined the following may be noted:

54

55

On the retention of the Latin nominative case in Old Occitan, see: Charles  H. Grandgent, An Outline of the Phonology and Morphology of Old Provençal (Boston: D.C. Heath & Co, 1905), pp. 86-94. Joan Coromines, Diccionari Etimològic de la llengua catalana…, vol. 5, p. 596, s.v. església.

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3. 4.

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The demonstrative achel (3.5) < accu-ille: fuit vengad de achel meo inimico. The indefinites ço (3.6, 3.8, 3.16) and azò (5.v2) < ecce-hoc: et ad ço abet factum; no es fadiga de ço; que·ns en farie ço que fer no se·n devie; azò son coses (cf. et ad ço abet factum 3.6). The quantifier quant (3.14) < quantu: ab quant ii avie. An indefinite, distributive pronoun resembling that of Occitan: quiega (5.r2) < *quisqua: .iii. migeres de forment que valie sete solidos una quiega (cf. queque 4.11 < quaeque: ux eas de duos solidos una queque)56. The relative lo qual (5.r20) < (il)lu quale: lo qual que reemé.x. solidos.

4.2.1.2. Unstressed Pronouns Far more numerous in the texts are unstressed pronouns, both proclitic and enclitic: 1.

2.

3.

4.

56

Direct object: venit ad meo pater et sustrax-lo-li (3.5-6); et proclamà que·l me redés (3.10); que avie fermat e giat que l’avien (5.r5); e portaren-lo-sse’n (5.r3); e menaren-lo a Cunquabela (5.r5); e tengren-lo.V. dies pres (5.r6); e reemeren-lo.xxxvi. solidos (5.r10); e reemé’l.lxxx. solidos (5.r10) < illu; e agren-los a pagar (5.r22) < illos; de covenences que fes cum meo frater et no les li atès (3.12); e reemé-les.lxxxii. solidos (5.r6), cobré-les per treves (5.r8), e mes-les en pret (5.r8), e rééme-les.xc. solidos (5.r12) < illas. Indirect object: venit ad meo pater et sustrax-lo-li (3.5-6); et no les li atès (3.12); de ço que jo a fer-le·n avia de amicitate (3.16) < illƮ; et que ens en es vengud grande donno (3.7); que·ns convenit qu·ns en farie ço que fer no se·n devie (3.8) < nos. Reflexive: de ista nostra onore que se tenet ad nostra força (3.7); que abet pres meo frater et se tenet (3.9); ço que fer no se·n devie (3.8); e portaren-losse’n (5.r3) < se. Adverbial particles: et tolgront meo kastro ab quant ii avie (3.14) < ibi; qu·el ne pagarie (3.3); et que ens en es vengud grande donno (3.7); convenit qu·ns en farie ço que fer no se·n devie (3.8); de ço que jo a fer-le·n avia de amicitate (3.16); e portaren-lo-sse’n (5.r3); e agren-ne.iii. besties (5.r6) < inde.

Paul Russell-Gebbett, Mediaeval Catalan Linguistic Texts…, p.  228 notes that the form cited (quiega) represents an Occitanism, since in the latter there is quega. See: Charles H. Grandgent, An Outline of the Phonology and Morphology…, p. 113.

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4.2.2. Adjectives Among adjectives found in the manuscripts of the querimònies are: menudes (4.20) < minNjtas: et sex besties menudes; nou (5.v7) < novu: e.i. plomaz tot nou; neguna (5.r8) < nec-Njna: e monede neguna; altra (5.r22) < alt(e)ra: altra vegada més; tot (5.v7) < tƿttu, used here with an adverbial function: e.i. plomaz tot nou; Lagaiós (5.r15) i Laganós (5.v10), used as a nickname and derived from lleganya or llaganya (< pre-Roman [Basque] lakainya); and the past participle used adjectivally: peiorada (1.29) < pignorƖta: unde perdidit mea onore et est peiorada; vengad (3.5) < vindicƖtu: fuit vengad de achel meo inimico pres (5.r5-6) < prƜnsu: e trascren-lo de l‫ތ‬esglesia pres […] e tengren-lo.iii. dies pres en la tore; ligades (5.r5) < ligƖtas: e mans ligades menaren-lo a Cunquabela. 4.2.2.1. Definite article The definite article derived from the Latin demonstrative ipse is found used only in a small number of toponyms and personal names associated with the latter: ez (5.r11) < ipsu: e tolgren an Gerat dez Penal; R. dez Vilar (5.v4); za (5.r17, 5.v10) < ipsa: e de na Maria de za Porta; na Maria de za Porta. One should note, however, the frequent use of the Latin demonstratives ipso(s) < ipsu / ipsos; ipsa(s) < ipsa / ipsas with a clearly determinative function, nearly equivalent to that of a definite article, in the following examples: in ipso brazo (1.15); ipso chastlà de ipso solo (2.v6-7); ad ipso comite (II.v20); de ipso fiucio (III.2); de ipsos terminos de Conchas (II. v21); de ipsa guarda (2.r32-33); sachudiront ipsa preda (3.15); super ipsa malefacta (4.13-14); de ipsas talas que abet factas (2.r36). With the exception of the examples cited above in which the definite article derived from ipse appears fossilized in a few place names and personal names, only the article derived from ille appears57. 1.

Full forms: trascren lo vi (5.r3) < illu; los homens d’Ostafra[n]cs (5.r22) < illos; la tona (5.r3), la francea (5.r4), la tore (5.r6), la tavega (5.r6), la compra (5.r8) < illa.

57

On the history of the Catalan articles derived from ipse and ille, see: Joan Anton Rabella, “L’article literari i l’article salat: variable diatòpica o diastràtica?”, Per a una gramàtica del català antic, Manuel Pérez, Josep Martines, eds. (Alacant: Institut Interuniversitari de Filologia Valenciana, 2009), pp. 151-161.

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Reduced (elided) forms: l’eglesia (5.r4), l’esglesia (5.r5) < illa; e·ls esplets (5.r9) < (et) illos.

4.2.3. Prepositions The prepositions a < ad, de < de, per < per, en < in, together with the abbreviated forms of some of these, are of such frequent use in the documents that it hardly seems necessary to cite them here. On the other hand, however, worthy of note, especially due to the date of their appearance, are the prepositions dins tro (3.6) < de-intus (in)tro: et ad ço abet factum dins tro amicitate; and ab (3.13) < apud: et tolgront meo kastro ab quant ii avie. 4.2.4. Verbs As noted previously, the verb morphology of the querimònies is considerably modest due to the nature of this kind of text, one concerned primarily with offenses and grievances that are related in a direct and concrete style of language. Nevertheless, a number of Catalan forms do appear in the documents and are therefore of interest to the present study. 4.2.4.1. Infinitive Only a pair of infinitives are discovered in the manuscripts under consideration: fer (3.8, 3.16) < facere and pagar (5.r22) < pacƖre: que·ns farie ço que fer no se·n devie; no·s fadiga de ço que jo a fer-le·n avia de amicitate; e agren-los a pagar. 4.2.4.2. Present and Present Perfect Examples of present indicative verb forms found in the texts are: és (3.7) < est: et que ens en és vengud grande donno; ti (3.15) < tenet: ipsa que se ti de mea amicitate; fadiga (3.16) < fatƮgat: que in me no·s fadiga de ço que jo a fer-le·n avia; son (5.v2) < sunt: azò són coses. More frequent are examples of the present perfect indicative, albeit some of these exhibit Latin influence: abet tolt (1.27-28) < habet tollitu: et abet mi tolt; [abet] peiorad (1.27-28) < [habet] pignorƖtu: abet [mi tolt e] peiorad; abet blasfemados (2.r39-40)) < habet blasfemƖtos: que abet me et mulier mea blasfemados; [abet] desonrados (2.r39-41) < [ habet] deshonorƖtos: que abet me et mulier mea blasfemados et

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desonrados; abet pres (2.v7, 3.9) < habet prƜnsu: ipso solo que abet pres; abet mortos (3.10) < habet mortos: que abet mortos; [abet] exorbados < [habet] *exorbƖtos: que abet mortos et exorbados meos omines; an preses (5.v2) < habent prƜnsas: azò son coses que na Ramia e·n G. de Pons an preses dels homens d‫ތ‬Ostafrancs. 4.2.4.3. Imperfect and Pluperfect Verb forms appearing in the querimònies that correspond to the imperfect indicative paradigm are: ere (2.r12, 2.r16, 2.r21) < erat: Arnal Arnal ere meo omine; Arnal Arnal ere meo ominem; Arnal Ramon de Arancís ere meo inimics; avie (3.14) i avia (3.16) < habƜbat: et tolgront meo kastro ab quant ii avie; de ço que jo a fer-le·n avia; devie (3.8) < debƜbat: ço que fer no se·n devie; preferia (3.11) < praeferiƜbat: super preferiment de dret que ego preferia; valie (5.r2, 5.r21) < valƜbat: forment que valie sete solidos;.i. guaenga que valie.viii. solidos. Various examples are found as well of the pluperfect indicative: avie fermat (5.r4) < habƜbat firmƖtu: e preseren ad A. Nebot dret que avie fermat; giat [que l‫ ]ތ‬avien (5.r5) < *guƮdƖtu habƜbant: e giat que l‫ތ‬avien, trascren-lo de l‫ތ‬esglesia58; avie costad (5.r16) < habƜbat costƖtu:.i. bou que avie costad.lx. solidos; avien feit (V.r9) < habƜbant factu: e·ls esplets que avien feit de.iii. ans. 4.2.4.4. Perfect The perfect indicative (also referred to as the preterit perfect) presents numerous examples in the texts of forms derived from both the Latin strong perfect (with stress upon the stem in the first and third persons singular) and the weak perfect (with stress following the stem in all paradigmatic forms)59. Among the first group are found: priso (1.7-8)60 < *prƜnsƮ: de merchaderos qui ego priso in guarda; pres (2.r25-26, 2.v17-18) < *prƜnsit: de una

58

59 60

Paul Russell-Gebbett, Mediaeval Catalan Linguistic Texts…, p. 228 describes as absolute constructions verbal phrases such as dret que avie fermat and giat que l’avien (5.r4-5). See: Francesc de  B. Moll, Gramàtica històrica catalana (València: Universitat de València, 1991), pp. 156-162. The verb form priso represents a false Latinization of Old Catalan pris.

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Philip D. Rasico

mea francheza que pres meo omine, que pres in placitis Ramon Guillem; preseren (3.4,5.r4) < *prƜnserunt: et preseren pane, e preseren a n’A. Nebot dret; sustrax (3.5-6) < subtraxit61: venit ad meo pater et sustraxlo-li; fes (3.11) < fƜcit: covenences que fes cum meo frater; atès (3.12) < *attƜnsit: et no les li atès et venit grande donno; tolgront (3.13)62, tolgren (5.r1, 5.r9-10, 5.r10) < *tolluerunt: exirunt de suo kastro et tolgront meo kastro, B. de Peramola e na Ramia tolgren als omens d’Astafrancs, e tolgren an G. de Ssegara, e tolgren a n’A. Cavaler; mes < (5.r8) < misit: e mes-les en pret; agren (5.r6, 5.r19, 5.r22) < habuerunt: e agren-ne.V. besties, agren de n’A. Mulner.xx. e.v. solidos, agren-los a pagar; trascren (5.r3, 5.r5) < *trascuerunt: trascren lo vi de la tona, e trasc[r]en-lo de l’esglesia; tengren (5.r6) < tenuerunt: e tengren-lo.iii. dies pres en la tore. Of the many weak perfect forms the following may be noted: cavalgà (2.r2-3, 2.v23-24) < caballicƖvit: que cavalgà Arnal Arnal super suo senior, que cavalgà super Berenger Arnal de Salent; emblà (2.r6) < *involƖvit: et emblà ad patre meis suo avere; ferí (2.r10-11) < ferƮvit: que Arnal Arnal ferí uno meo eschuder; trobaren (2.r17-19) < *tropƖverunt: que ille et mulier sua et suos omines trobaren afolament de meo corps; cholí (2.r22-23) < colligƮvit: et el cholí in ista mea onore ad mea força; adobà (3.4) < *addobƖvit: que adobà que perdidit sua onore; vinclà (2.r26-27) < vinculƖvit: que pres meo omine et vinclà in ipso kastello; paraulà (2.v1, 2.v16-17)63 < parabolƖvit: que paraulà cum Ramon Guillem, que paraulà Arnal Arnal cum Ramon Guillem; chaçà (2.v5-6) < captiƖvit: que chaçà meos chonilos ad mea força; proclamà (3.9-10) < proclamƖvit: et proclamà que·l me redés; sachudiront (3.14-15) < *succutƮverunt: et sachudiront ipsa preda ad meos omines; menaren (5.r5) < minaverunt: menaren-lo a Cunquabela; portaren (5.r3) < portaverunt: e portaren-lo-sse’n; trencaren (5.r3-4) < *trencaverunt: e trencaren la francea; reemé (5.r6, 5.r10, 5.r12, 5.r20) < *redimivit: e reemé-les.lxxxii. solidos, e reemé·l.lxxx. solidos, e reemé-les.xc. solidos, e reemé-les.xc. solidos, e·n Rog reemé.i. tona; reemeren (5.r11) < *redimiverunt: e reemeren-lo.xxxvi. solidos; tolé

61 62 63

The form sustrax appears to correspond to Old Catalan sustrasc or sustrac. The verbal desinence -ront of tolgront (3.13) and sachudiront (3.14) is of Occitan origin (see: Charles H. Grandgent, An Outline of the Phonology and Morphology..., p. 135. On paraulà see: Joan Coromines, Diccionari Etimològic i Complementari de la Llengua Catalana…, vol. 6: 274a13-b20, s.v. paraula.

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(5.r7) < *toluivit: e  G. d‫ތ‬Ofegat tolé ad A. Nebot; cobré (5.r7) < *cuperƖvit: e B. de Peramola cobré-les per treves64. 4.2.4.5. Conditional and Past Subjunctive The future and present subjunctive paradigms are absent from the querimònies manuscripts65. However, two examples of the conditional indicative and one of the past subjunctive are seen: pagarie (3.3) < pacƖre-(hab)Ɯbat: que·l ne pagarie et non fecit; farie (3.8) < facere-(hab)Ɯbat: que·ns en farie ço que fer no se·n devie; redés (3.10) < reddisset: proclamà que que·l me redés.

5. Toponymy66 Agerenssi (4.1): The Latin genitive form of Àger (Noguera) < aggere (OnCat ii: 15-17, s.v. Àger). Agna (4.2, 4.17, 4.26): Anya (Noguera) < pre-Roman (ancient Basque) angia (OnCat ii: 207-208. s.v. Anya). Agremont (5.r20, 5.v6): Agramunt (Baix Urgell) < acro-monte (OnCat ii: 21-23, s.v. Agramunt). Arancís (2.r5, 2.r15, 2.r21): Aransís (Conca de Tremp, Pallars Jussà) , 19th November 2013.

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and diplomatically, will always be bound to Castile11. The way this was processed was not actually easy, as we shall see. But if we look at another dimension, there were also overlapping purposes in the interest expressed by the desired union of the kingdoms, a wish that will constitute itself as jurisprudence in the minds of the Portuguese monarchs, but not only of these. The family ties that, since immemorial times, established kinship between Portugal and the other Iberian kingdoms12, helped to justify, on both sides, well known attempts to unite the realms, or at least to place in one or other throne, candidates more conniving with the respective interests of each side. The examples appear repeatedly in the history of the Iberian kingdoms: the Portuguese princes João and Dinis, sons of Pedro I and Inês de Castro, Fernando I of Portugal, Juan I of Castile, Afonso V and Miguel da Paz. From the hegemonic view of either Castile or Aragon, or both together, or of Portugal, all these attempts are very significant. The fifteenth century thus appears, decade after decade, as a sum of moments in which each of the different peninsular kingdoms try to overcome its weaknesses. And in this effort, different paths to maturity can be identified. Perhaps one of the most decisive moments that sum up this whole dynamic and announce what will determine the profile of Iberian politics in the fifteenth century is, notwithstanding, a dizzying combination, visible through the Iberian political relatioship after Aljubarrota (1385). The Portuguese dynasty of Avis, with such a fragile beginning, was able to find the secret of a success that led the kingdom to reach its own maturity. Indeed, the triumph of this new dynasty will bring to the Iberian relations a new framework where the most varied circumstances (political, diplomatic, economic, social, etc.) find a privileged opportunity to express themselves. The theme is definitely one of the major features 11 12

Luís Adão da Fonseca, The Discoveries and the formation…, pp. 62-65. It is worth mentioning the comment by: Vicente Ángel Álvarez Palenzuela, “The matrimonial unions between the two were so strong and frequent that it is possible to claim that both kingdoms were ruled by a single dynasty during the entire Middle Ages”, e-Journal of Portuguese History, 1/1 (2003), , 27th November 2013. See, also: Paulo Drumond Braga, “Casamentos reais portugueses: um aspecto do relacionamento ibérico e europeu (séculos 12-14)”, Revista da Faculdade de Letras: História, 15/2 (1998), pp. 1531-1538.

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of the Iberian historiography. As to Portugal, one can even say that the fifteenth century, its history, its protagonists, its connection to the Iberian Peninsula and even from a broader perspective, its dynamic approach to the other kingdoms of Western Europe, has, in the work of Portuguese historians, a permanent place very difficult to surpass13. And it is precisely in this broad chronological period limited roughly by the end of the fourteenth century and the early years of the sixteenth century, where we can find the most illustrative moments of the image that, viewed from a periphery, stands out over the other Iberian monarchies. In fact, when we go back to the European scenario of the fourteenth century, an epoch worned out by the expression “Crise or Crisis”, it is not difficult to verify that the West was involved in one of the major belligerent confrontations of the late Middle Ages, a process where Portugal did not play a leading role but where there were many episodes that showed the vital importance of our geographic location. For example, it is now possible to assess to what extent the Portuguese kingdom constituted, at that time, an area of revenges and retaliations among the best navies that then existed. Within this complicated situation of the late fourteenth century, Portugal found itself directly involved in the “big conflict” and this meant to choose tactical options and to develop a very particular political orientation –probably– the only way to survive the Iberian pressure, but also (and this is an idea worth keeping in mind) its great opportunity to try “to reach further horizons” after a less satisfactory experience in the Canary Islands (1336-1441). One might say, therefore, that from the 80s of the fourteenth century, Portugal visibly risks to play on two fronts; that is, expanding to other geographies and consequently reordering the political options in relation to the other kingdoms of the West, particularly the Iberians. This will be done in accordance with an accurate model of action that was not chosen at random. From a long list of examples which confirm this assertion, will emerge the development of an image of the “royal command” that we shall attempt to present subsequently. Taking

13

A tendency that is not dificult to perceive by reading the following recent work: José Mattoso, Maria de Lurdes Rosa, Bernardo Vasconcelos e Sousa, Maria João Branco, eds., The Historiography of Medieval Portugal c. 1950-2010 (Lisbon: Instituto de Estudos Medievais, 2011).

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as reference the action of the new dynasty of Avis within the Iberian context14; that is, its action as a manifestation of a political program that we dare to classify as European, it is indispensable to mention the advantages of that same action as a rebuilt memory of the kingdom15, sacralized and mythologized by the written discourse and by several examples of monumental constructions. To achieve this objective, it is essential to recall the main key moments of that evolution. Through them we believe that it is possible to understand the oscillations in the adopted policy guidelines, the difficulties posed by the integration of the new geographic horizons and the lack of trust between the monarchs. First key moment: Aljubarrota, August 14, 1385. This battle, a Portuguese victory over the Castilian troops, did solve many of the issues at stake at the time, but in fact not all of them. We must not forget the social divisions that can be felt behind the various candidates to the throne of Portugal in the Courts of Coimbra, 1385, and the essence of the dynastic problem itself that is underlying this military confrontation. For this reason, there will be in the very near future, the opportunity to observe the resumption of hostilities. It is not accidentally that many of the later writings about this Battle evoke the need to keep the memory of its outcome well alive. We recall, for example, Chapter XLVIII of the Crónica de D. João I, a text that allows us to perceive some decisions taken by the city of Lisbon by ordering: […] asy como ho Senhor Deus e a sua preciosa Madre prouguera de dar a el Rey tão grande e estremada vitoria, em bespora de sua mais solene festa, a ora em que se per todo o Reino os seus louvores camtavão. Que asy dês emtão pera todo sempre,

14

15

In order to do so, it is compulsory to refer the work of: Luíz Suárez Fernández, “Los Trastámaras de Castilla y Aragón en el siglo XV (1407-1474)”, Historia de España, Ramón Menéndez Pidal, ed. (Madrid: Espasa-Calpe, 1986), vol. 15, pp. 1-217. Luís Adão da Fonseca, “Inclita Geração. Altos infantes: Lusíadas das IV-50. Algumas considerações sobre a importância das circunstâncias históricas na formação de um tema literário”, Reunião Internacional de Camonistas (Ponta Delgada: Universidade dos Açores, 1984), pp.  295-302; Luís Adão da Fonseca, “A Morte como tema de propaganda política na historiografia e na poesia portuguesa do século XV”, Biblos, 69 (1993), pp.  507-538; Armindo de Sousa, “A Morte de  D. João I (um tema de propaganda dinástica)”, Studivm Generale (Porto: Centro de Estudos Humanísticos, 1984), pp. 417-487.

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naquela somana dAsunção da Bemta Virgem, fose jumta toda cidade pera fazerem três procissõis, a hNJa depôs outra […]16. […] and the Lord God and his lovely mother helped to give the king such a large and extreme victory on the eve of his most solemn celebration, so all over the kingdom we sing his praise. Thus, henceforth and forever, during the week of the feast of the Assumption of the Holy Virgin Mary all the city comes together to do three processions, one after the other that […].

It is important to recall that the […] procissão comemorativa da batalha de Aljubarrota realizou-se anualmente ao longo dos séculos XV e XVI17 (“[…] commemorative procession of the battle was held annually during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries”), not forgetting the multiple facets that coat the feat of Aljubarrota and that everyone wanted to celebrate, as we have already written in another occasion18. The kingdom was in safe hands and would not be invaded again, thus starting a new dynasty that, seen from all possible angles and perspectives, could not only bring to Portugal but fame and profit. Nevertheless, despite some moments of truces, peace would still take long to reach the Iberian Peninsula, a fact which undoubtedly marked the reign of King João I19. An important step was taken when the monarchs signed, in Medina del Campo and Almeirim (1431-1432)20, what would

16 17

18 19

20

Fernão Lopes, Crónica de D. João I (Porto: Livraria Civilização, 1983), vol. 2, p. 130. Isabel João, “Percursos da Memória: centenários portugueses no século XIX”, Camões. Revista de Letras e Culturas Lusófonas, 8 (January-March, 2000), , 2th January 2014. Cristina Pimenta, A Padeira de Aljubarrota. Entre ontem e hoje (Calvaria de Cima: Fundação Batalha de Aljubarrota, 2007), p. 20. See the work by: Vicente A. Álvarez Palenzuela, “El restablecimiento de la paz entre Castilla y Portugal: 1402-1431”, Ibéria, quatrocentos/quinhentos, duas décadas de cátedra (1984-2006): homenagem a Luís Adão da Fonseca, Paula Pinto, Armando Carvalho, José Augusto Pizarro, eds. (Porto: Centro de Estudios da População, Economia e Sociedade-Civilização Editora, 2009), pp. 47-90, , 28th January 2014. ANTT, Leitura Nova, Livro das Demarcações e Pazes, fl. 142-163; Archivo General de Simancas, Patronato Real, leg. 49, fl. 21, published in: Antonio de la Torre, Luís Suarez Fernandez, Documentos referentes a las relaciones con Portugal durante el reinado de los Reyes Católicos (Valladolid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 1958), vol. 1, pp.  253-273 (doc. nº 165) and Monumenta Henricina

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turn out to be a Paz definitiva, pero no exenta de amenazas21 (“Permanent peace, but not free from threats”). Its fragility can, perhaps, be explained by remembering that, those days, the Castilians were facing a dinastic manace from Aragón and it was of the utmost importance to have Portugal as an ally22. Second key moment: Ceuta 1415. From the moment Portugal arrives on the African continent and conquers Ceuta, several reactions from other kingdoms were rapidly triggered, largely by the Iberian kingdoms. These reactions will start to guide the choices of the Portuguese monarchy, both in terms of political, but, and above all, of diplomatic options. The very choice of the destination of this expedition – Ceuta (and not Granada, as it had also been considered23) points to the need for geographic detachment towards the more immediate interests of Castile. This could compromise the “relative stability”24 then achieved. This “conquest”, or more precisely the departure of the vessels on July 25, 1415, the day of Santiago, constituted itself as a moment of propagandistic manipulation embodied by this Dynasty: the day chosen and the honors conferred to the Princes, knighted in Ceuta, seem to indicate an intentional purpose to rekindle vitality to a “new crusade”. In fact, due to the death of the Queen Philippa of Lancaster, shortly before the expedition, the Avis, in mourning, have undertaken an enourmous step to reinforme the family

21 22

23 24

(Coimbra: Comissão Executiva das Comemorações do Centenário da Morte do Infante D. Henrique, 1962), vol. 4, pp. 18-53 and pp. 60-89 (docs. nº 9 and 15). Vicente  A. Álvarez Palenzuela, El restablecimiento de la paz entre Castilla y Portugal…, p. 90. See: César Olivera Serrano, Beatriz de Portugal. La Pugna Dinástica Avís-Trastámara (Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 2006) pp.  186ff; Maria Helena da Cruz Coelho, D. João I (Rio de Mouro: Círculo de Leitores, 2005), p. 111. This need for a Castilian approach to Portugal can be also understood, if we remember that, some years before – in 1428 – the heir to the Portuguese throne married Leonor of Aragón. Gomes Eanes de Zurara, Crónica da Tomada de Ceuta, ed. Reis Brasil (Mem Martins: Publicações Europa-América, 1992), chapter VII, p. 54. See: Vitorino Magalhães Godinho, Portugal. A emergência de uma nação (das raízes a 1480) (Lisbon: Colibri- Faculdade de Ciências Sociais e Humanas da Universidade Nova de Lisboa, 2004), p. 53. This author calls our attention to the contrast between the Portuguese situation and the one of Castile and León, Aragon, Catalonia and Valencia.

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image within the Christendom25. For Portugal, in the core of the “juncture of Agincourt”, it became more than obvious that the answers to the problems of political hegemony had to be assumed by a maritime dimension. Thus, it would be easier to relegate to the background the danger of a never ending territorial war with Castile or Aragon, or with both monarchies. Third key moment: the succession of King Duarte, 1438. When, in this year, this King dies in consequence of the plague that devastated Lisbon, the succession was assured by his six year old son, Afonso. By the will of the king, Queen Leonor, his wife, should ensure the regency until the heir was old enough to rule. However, there was too much trouble to enforce the orientations left by the monarch. The chronology of the events is dizzying: in the courts of Torres Novas a regiment of the kingdom is accepted which associated, in the governance, Prince Pedro – son of the late king João I – and the Queen. This was a solution that did not work26. And the reason is easy to understand. Leonor27 belonged to the House of Aragón, so she was the sister of the Infantes de Aragon and, in the 30s of this fifteenth century, such a condition had intricate implications, as already stated. The action of these Infantes in the challenge of the Castilian hegemony, of which they were also heirs, did not foresee peaceful times in the Iberian Peninsula: they were involved in a Castilian-Aragonese setting, a scenery of fights and rivalries that soon would destroy the neutrality of Portugal towards other peninsular kingdoms that since the aftermath of the Battle of Aljubarrota, was hardly trying to be preserved. The outcome of this story is too well known and has its ultimate expression in the Battle of Alfarrobeira, where, in May 1449, Prince Pedro, Duke of Coimbra, dies. In strictly Portuguese terms, this civil war that ends here, could have thrown away the auspicious beginnings of the Avis 25 26

27

Maria Cristina Pimenta, “Portugal e o Mar”, A Europa e o Mar (Lisbon: Editorial Chaves Ferreira, 2008), p. 222. From this moment, and as result of the opposition between the supporters of the queen and those of the Prince Pedro, the evolution of events sharpened in the Cortes of 1439, where Pedro is appointed to be the only Regent. There are two recent works on this situation that may be stressed: Luís Miguel Duarte, D. Duarte (Rio de Mouro: Círculo de Leitores, 2005), pp. 266-269; Saúl António Gomes, D. Afonso V (Rio de Mouro: Círculo de Leitores, 2006), pp. 43-55. Ana Maria  S. A.  Rodrigues, “Aliénor, une infante entre la Castille, l’Aragon et le Portugal”, e-Spania, 5th June 2008, , 11th December 2013.

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dynasty and reveals per se, the intricacies of the relationships between groups of the nobility and the monarchs. Regarding the Iberian Peninsula, this means that the reign of King Afonso V will necessarily have to be of a deficit of linearity in the relationship – it matters little now whether good or bad – with Castile and Aragon. Let us remember, in this framework, the fate of the Constable of Castile, Alvaro de Luna and the approach of the Portuguese king to the heir to the throne of Castile, Henrique (IV) with whom he marries his sister Joana. Indeed, the revival of an explicit approach to the kingdom of Castile already depicted in this marriage, also assumes a contemporary exaltation of the Avis dynasty, as made known in the work Comemoración breve de los muy insignes y virtuosos varone que fueron desde el magnifico rey don Juan I hasta el muy esclarecido rey don Alfonso quinto28. In the mid-fifteenth century, it is observed, in the Iberian territory, what Luís Suárez Fernández summarized as una especie de movimiento sísmico se extendió por toda la Península a partir de 1451 amenazando a la institución monárquica en sus mismos cimientos29 (“a kind of seismic movement (that) is extended across the Peninsula from 1451, threatening the monarchical institution in its own foundations”). For this reason, the forth key moment still undergoes the reign of the same king, Afonso V, now at a later period. The consolidation of a peninsular block organized around Castile and Aragon, illustrated by the marriage of Fernando and Isabel in the autumn of 1469, completely changed the direction of the diplomacy of the Portuguese kingdom which, in fact, came out weakened. After the death of the King of Castile in the end of 147430, Isabel was proclaimed as queen in the city of Segovia and, in Portugal, Afonso V starts preparing the realm 28

29 30

Luís Adão da Fonseca has already stressed this dimension in several occasions. See his works: Luís Adão da Fonseca, “Inclita Geração. Altos infantes (Lusíadas IV-50)…”, pp. 295-302; Luís Adão da Fonseca, “Una elegia inedita sobre la familia de Avis: un aspecto de la propaganda politica en la Peninsula Iberica a mediados del siglo XV”, Anuario de Estudios Medievales, 16 (1986), pp. 449-462. Luiz Suárez Fernández, “El proceso de la unidad española”, Claves históricas en el reinado de Fernando e Isabel (Madrid: Real Academia de la Historia, 1998), p. 25. About this extremely complex period of the Iberian history, see: Maria Isabel del Val Valdivieso, “Isabel la Católica. Una mujer para el trono de Castilla”, Memòries de la Reial Acadèmia Mallorquina d’Estudis Genealògics, Heràldics i Històrics, 14 (2004), pp. 7-23. , 11th January 2013.

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for war, arising from his purpose to defend the rights of Joana31, his niece, to the throne of Castile. It will be a war in which the Battle of Toro (1475) has the most significant expression. The persistence cherished by the king of Portugal in reaching the throne of Castile by way of his marriage with his nice, Joana, the participation of both the king and the heir to the throne in that battle, placed the kingdom of Portugal in a compromising situation, as has not been seen for some time. At first glance, this imbalance that the formation of that CastilianAragonese block brought to the small kingdom of Portugal would eventually hasten the need in defining the urgency of peace. It follows that, in the context of peninsular diplomacy, the options were, thus, limited to the practice of negotiation and signing of Treaties. But, of course, at that time, other interests were on the table, that favored an understanding between the kingdoms. The next moment will testify precisely that. Fifth key moment: the Iberian Peninsula and the Príncipe Perfeito, 1481-149532. The profile of the heir of Afonso V, King João II has to be comprehended in the guidelines of the previous situation. Hence, his reign, in a single expression, may be remembered by what we might call the “overcoming of difficulties”: near the end of the century, this Portuguese king, between the treaties of Alcaçovas (1479)33 and those of Tordesilhas (1494)34, achieves important solutions in order to solve both problems 31 32 33

34

Daughter of the late Henrique IV of Castile and of Joana of Portugal, Afonso V’s sister. See: Luís Adão da Fonseca, D. João II (Rio de Mouro: Círculo de Leitores, 2005). ANTT, Gaveta XVII, maço 6, doc. 16; ANTT, Gaveta XVIII, maço 8, doc. 16; AGS, Patronato Real, 4089, leg. 49, fl. 44; AGS, Patronato Real, 4088, leg. 49, fl. 43 and AGS, Patronato Real, 4095, leg. 49, fl. 71. Published, among others: As Gavetas da Torre do Tombo, 12 vols. (Lisbon: Centro de Estudos Históricos Ultramarinos, 1968), vol. 7, pp. 287-320; As Gavetas da Torre do Tombo..., vol. 9, pp. 246-286; Descobrimentos Portugueses.Documentos para a sua História (1147-1460), João Martins da Silva Marques, ed., 3 vols. (Lisbon: Instituto Nacional de Investigação Científica, 1988), vol. 3, pp. 181-209; Antonio de la Torre, Luís Suaréz Fernández, Documentos Referentes..., vol. 1, pp. 245-364. ANTT, Gaveta XVII, maço 2, doc. 24; ANTT, Gaveta XVIII, maço 2, doc. 2; AGI, Patronato, leg. 1, nº6; AGI, Patronato, leg. 1, nº5. Published, among others: As Gavetas da Torre do Tombo..., vol. 6, pp. 653-660; As Gavetas da Torre do Tombo..., vol. 8, pp. 105-120; Descobrimentos Portugueses..., vol. 3, pp. 432-440 and pp. 441446; Joaquim Bensaúde, Estudos sobre  D. João II (Lisbon: Anais da Academia Portuguesa de História, 1946), pp. 244-254.

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of dynastic recognition and of overseas expansion, being inevitable and inseparable upholders of the peninsular coexistence. And if, in the previous years, the orientation that guided the Portuguese perception of the Iberian Peninsula, namely from its outskirts, had, as we have seen, a revealing hostile dimension, it will still be the Príncipe Perfeito who will provide a fruitful understanding of the Iberian relationships. The return to the practice of matrimonial alliances between the two kingdoms by marrying the heir to the throne, Afonso35, with the eldest daughter of the Catholic Kings, Isabel is, probably, one good example of the openning of a new era. Independently of the tragic context that surrounded this marriage36, it is worth emphasizing the fact which led to believe once again in the virtuosity of a diplomacia de força e equilíbrio peninsular (“diplomacy of force and equilibrium”) in the Peninsula, as noted by Jorge Borges de Macedo37. This was perhaps one of the best legacies left by João II and so we should not forget that this monarch, after all, the great mentor of peace between Portugal and Castile, continues to keep alive the memory of the already distant Batalha Real, celebrating with due solemnity the 14th August by participating in a procession “in thanksgiving for the victory of Aljubarrota”38. This detail may help us to realize that the peninsular horizon for the Portuguese monarchy turned out to be nothing but a horizon attentively observed from a peripheral edge. And, if many centuries before, in a distant twelfth century, Portugal achieved its own identity, thus dividing irreparably the Iberian territory, by the end of the fiftteenth century the realm was in the best position to […] dividir o universo oceânico (“split the oceanic universe”), as Godinho wrote39. And this was precisely what happened. To conclude, one question may arise: what kind of legacy did the fifteenth century left us? The answer must be found in chronologies that are not part of our objectives for this study. Nevertheless, at daybreak of the sixteenth century, king Manuel of Portugal already married to the aforementioned princess

35 36 37 38 39

See: Paulo Drumond Braga, O Príncipe  D. Afonso, filho de  D. João II. Uma vida entre a guerra e a paz (Lisbon: Colibri, 2008). In fact, the Portuguese prince dies eight months after the wedding, close to Santarém. Jorge Borges de Macedo, História diplomática…, p. 69. Itinerários de El-Rei D. João II (1481-1495), ed. Joaquim Veríssimo Serrão (Lisbon: Academia Portuguesa da História, 1993), p. 73. Vitorino Magalhães Godinho, Portugal. A emergência de uma nação…, p. 116.

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Isabel, becomes, by the death of the heir of the Catholic Kings, a serious menace to the throne of Castile and Aragon which, after all, he will never come to occupy. Neither him nor even his son, Miguel, deceased still a child, his grandparents being still alive. Though, he would marry, even twice, with Castilian princesses, as will his son, king João III. By that time, the Spanish crown, will not deny the maintenance of this same trend: the emperor Carlos V married Isabel, a daughter of king Manuel of Portugal in 152540. It seams impossible not to recognize coincident wishes from both monarchies to achieve the union of the Iberian Peninsula, while the probability of such an outcome becomes increasingly high, as perceived by Nuno Gonçalo Monteiro41. Spanish authors refer to this contextualization as […]el sueño iberista […]42 (“[…] the Iberian dream […]”) as part of the political project of the Catholic monarchy. It is, thus, meaningfull that some sort of “literary discourse” of the mid sixteenth century still recalls that it would seem that King Manuel at the end of the celebrations of a certain August 14 might have asked a Spanish friar: Decid, Padre, lá em Castela celebram así algunas vitorias que han alcanzado? Respondió el fraile: Señor, no acostumbran castellanos celebrar las victorias que han alcanzado en el mundo, porque no habría en el año hartos días para festejarlas […]43. tell me, Father, do those of Castile celebrate some victories they have won like this? The friar responded: Lord, Castilians do not tend to celebrate the victories they have achieved in the world, because there would not be enough days in a year to celebrate them […].

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About the Iberian matrimonial policy of the sixteenth century, see: Isabel Maria Ribeiro Mendes Drumond Braga, Um espaço, duas monarquias (interrelações na Península Ibérica no tempo de Carlos V) (Lisbon: Centro de Estudos Históricos, Universidade Nova de Lisboa-Hugin Editores, 2001), pp. 33-86. Nuno Gonçalo Monteiro, “Idade Moderna (séculos XV-XVIII)”, História de Portugal, Rui Ramos, Bernardo Vasconcelos e Sousa, Nuno Gonçalo Monteiro, eds. (Lisbon: Esfera dos Livros, 2009), p. 256. Ricardo García Cárcel, “Los Cambios del siglo en la época moderna”, Gobernar en tiempos de crisis. Las quiebras dinásticas en el ámbito hispánico (1250-1808), José Manuel Nieto Soria, María Victoria López-Cordón, eds. (Madrid: Sílex, 2008), p. 402. “Sermón de Aljubarrota, con las glosas de D. Diego Hurtado de Mendoza y Melia”, Sales Españoles o Agudezas del Ingenio Nacional, collected by António Paz and Ramon Paz, 176 vols. (Madrid: Atlas, 1964), CLXXVI, p. 48.

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Conclusions The different peninsular kingdoms, as perceived from the perspective of Portugal in the fifteenth century, occupy a place of incomparable significance. The proximity among them (whether hostile or friendly) follows, both from the identities that approach them and from the acceptance of their differences. And this dichotomy allowed all kingdoms to emerge stronger “in their unity”. One of the most prominent evidences of this unity lies in the Portuguese-Castilian bilingualism44. Not even Filipe I of Portugal intended to change this “status”. On the contrary: preserving it, he recognized the institutional personality of Portugal within the political composite structure known as the Habsburg monarchy. Accordingly, he wrote to his daughters, knowing them educated of the Portuguese language “seek that your brother (also) understands what will be required to comprehend those who come from here and make him read Portuguese and explain it, as you understand it so well”45. This is, indeed, a major legacy, one of many that can explain that, in 1580, in Portugal, the Statute of Tomar […] reconhecia que Portugal não estava sujeito a Castela: era, na monarquia dos Habsburgo, um reino herdado e não um reino conquistado […]46 (“[…] recognized that Portugal was not subject to Castile: it was, within the Habsburg monarchy, an inherited kingdom and not a conquered kingdom […]”).

44

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Ana Isabel Buescu, “‘Y la Hespañola es fácil para todos’. O bilinguismo, fenómeno estrutural (séculos XVI-XVIII)”, Memoria e Poder. Ensaios de História Cultural (séculos XV-XVIII) (Lisbon: Cosmos, 2000), pp. 49-66. Cartas Para Duas Infantas Meninas. Portugal na correspondência de D. Filipe I para suas filhas (1581-1583), ed. Fernando Bouza Álvarez (Lisbon: Publicações Dom Quixote, 1998), p. 167. Nuno Gonçalo Monteiro, “Idade Moderna (séculos XV-XVIII)...”, p. 277.

Nuns on the Periphery? Irish Dominican Nuns and assimilation in Lisbon Andrea Knox Northumbria University

In 1639 Irish Dominican Nuns travelled to Lisbon from Ireland with the express purpose of establishing their Dominican order within Portugal. Irish female migrants had already established both Dominican and Poor Clare convents throughout Catalonia and Spain, professing their first convent in Bilbao as early as 14991. What motivated Irish women religious to choose the Iberian Peninsula as a place of permanent settlement? In short, they wished to establish an Irish church within a peninsula they had many long-established religious and trading links with. For centuries Ireland had closer trading links with Catalonia, Spain and Portugal than it had with England. Ports in the south of Ireland including Cork, Galway, Kinsale, Limerick, Sligo, Waterford and Wexford all had trade links with ports in the north-west of Spain, including Bilbao, Ferrol, La Coruña and Laredo, as well as Coimbra, Lisbon and Oporto2. In addition to trade, many Irish had served in the Spanish Army and Navy. Karin Schüller has estimated that during the early modern period 36,000 Irish served, and are accountable from salary and pension lists3. However, whilst scholarship in recent years has detailed the relationship between Ireland and the Iberian Peninsula, the activities of Irish women, and in particular Irish

1

2 3

John O’Heyne, “Epilogus Chronologicus” (Louvain: gidium Denique, 1706), ed. and trans. by Ambrose Coleman, Dominicans of the Seventeenth Century (Dublin: Wm. Tempest, 1902). For a short discussion of these trading connections see: Patricia O’Connell, The Irish College at Lisbon, 1590-1834 (Dublin: Four Courts, 2001), pp. 130-138. Karin Schüller, Die Beziehungen zwischen Spanien und Irland im 16 und 17 Jahrhundert: Diplomatie, Handel und die Soziale Integration Katolischer Exulanten (Münster: Aschendorff, 1999).

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female religious have been overlooked4. The Dominican sisters and their sponsors who founded their Dominican convent in 1639 named it Nossa Senhora do Bom Sucesso (“Our Lady of Good Success”)5. This chapter will explore the educational institution founded and run by Irish nuns in Portugal, and will analyse the part they played in the developing infrastructure of education for girls. I will also focus upon women’s intellectual formation within Portugal, and the ways this facilitated their assimilation into a country they had migrated to for religious reasons.

Map 1: Irish settlement in the Iberian Peninsula.

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5

Recent studies include: Thomas O’Connor, Mary Ann Lyons, eds., Irish Communities in Early Modern Europe (Dublin: Four Courts, 2006); Declan Downey, Julio Crespo MacLennon, eds., Spanish-Irish Relations Through the Ages (Dublin: Four Courts, 2008); Enrique Garcia, Ireland and Spain in the Reign of Philip II (Dublin: Four Courts, 2009); Oscar Recio, Ireland and the Spansih Empire, 1600-1825 (Dublin: Four Courts, 2010). A recent study of the long history of Bom Sucesso which dates its history until the year 2006 is: Honor McCabe, A Light Undimmed. The Story of the Convent of Our Lady of Bom Sucesso, Lisbon, 1639 to 2006 (Dublin: Dominican publications, 2007).

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It is important to note that Irish female migrants from Ireland who settled in Spain during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries were, just like their male counterparts, religious migrants, not economic ones. As such, they were distinct from later economic migrants of the famine period. Colonisation of Ireland by the English, starting with Henry VIII and the dissolution of Catholic institutions, including churches, monasteries and schools throughout the 1520s, and later anti-Catholic legislation introduced by Elizabeth I had a critical effect in Ireland. Penal laws forbade a Roman Catholic education in Ireland. Catholic schools were closed down, and the buildings and collections destroyed, and the resulting vacuum meant that many continental countries drew educational orders from Ireland6. Ireland had no University until Trinity College, Dublin, a Protestant institution, was formed in 1591. Micheline Walsh notes that from 1570 Irish communities made their way in greater numbers to the universities of Catholic countries such as France, Spain, Portugal and Austria7. Clearly the established colleges and universities were an obvious pull factor. At this time a large influx of Irish students and their sponsors established Irish colleges in Salamanca in 1592, Lisbon in 1593, Santiago de Compostela in 1605, Seville and Valladolid in 1612, Madrid in 1629, and Alcala de Henares in 1630. The Council of Trent emphasised the establishment of colleges for Irish students. Sponsorship and financing of these colleges involved the support of some of the most elite members of society. Micheline Walsh maintains that the Irish college in Madrid had the backing of the Archbishop of Tuam, Fr. Florence Conroy, a senior cleric who had been the King of Spain’s adviser on Irish affairs for many years8. The rector elected in 1638 was Dr. Dermicio O’Brien, a doctor of the University of Coimbra in Portugal, and the Royal Chaplain nominated by Philip IV9. Patricia O’Connell has pointed out that Irish students at the University of Évora, in Portugal, began to register in 1590, and included 6

7 8 9

For a concise account of the dissolution in Ireland see: Steven G. Ellis, Tudor Ireland. Crown, Continuity and the Conflict of Cultures 1470-1603 (London-New  York: Longman, 1994), pp. 183-227. Micheline Kerney, “Ulster Families on the Continent”, Seanchas Ard Mhacha, 21/9 (2006), pp. 24-35. Micheline Kerney, “The Irish College of Madrid”, Seanchas Ard Mhacha, 15/2 (1993), pp. 39-50. Micheline Kerney, “The Irish College…”, p.  40; Archivo General de Simancas, Estado 2525.

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Andrew O’Brien who studied there in 1680, and later became chaplain to Queen Catherine of Braganza10. These institutions were clearly for males, but it is important to emphasise that female learning was prized in precolonial Irish culture. Women both religious and secular were noted for their literary abilities. Dianne Hall has shown that Gaelic Irish nunneries ran schools for girls, and that education for girls was an expected and accepted service which nuns provided throughout the medieval period11. Private libraries and the endowment of convent and monastery libraries as places of learning were seen as evidence of noble status. It is this learned female culture which was exported to Portugal, and developed there. The first recorded Irish convent to profess in Spain was the Dominican convent of the Incarnation which was established in Bilbao in 149912. Following the Bilbao convent was the convent of Corpus Christi in Valladolid founded in 1545, followed by the convent of Saint Clare in Esterri d’Aneu in 1560, Our Lady of Anguish in La Coruña in 1589, Saint Clare in Santiago de Compostela in 1590, The Virgin Mary of Las Duenas in Zamora in 1590, Our Blessed Lady of Atocha in Madrid in 1592, and Our Lady of Good Success in Lisbon in 1639. All were Dominican apart from those in Esterri and Santiago which were Poor Clare’s. A culture of bi-lingual and even multi-lingual tradition was developed in schools. Irish nuns were at the centre of the interchange between Latin and the vernacular, and even three generations after original settlement in the Iberian peninsula were producing and teaching the catechism in Irish13. This female scholarship was collective. Most of the convents had active educational missions. Dianne Hall maintains that Irish nuns did not have an enclosed tradition14. This was further supported in Spain and Portugal by the establishment of girls’ schools. A point of distinction has been made by Margaret MacCurtain, who notes that the Domincan sisters who established Bom Sucesso maintained continuity with the past rather than bold lines of innovation, and had a constitution which maintained enclosure

10 11 12 13 14

Patricia O’Connell, “Irish Students at the University of Évora 1618-1718”, Seanchas Ard Mhacha, 20/1 (2004), pp. 67-71. Dianne Hall, Women and the Church in Medieval Ireland, c.1140-1540 (Dublin: Four Courts, 2008), pp. 174-175. John O’Heyne, Epilogus Chronolicus…, p. 11. John O’Heyne, Epilogus Chronolicus…, p. 17. Dianne Hall, Women and the Church…, pp. 162-163.

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rules15. Nevertheless, evidence from the convent of Bom Sucesso reveals the girls’ abilities to both read and write, along with the reading of Latin which was central to teaching, and the mastery of plain chant, taught for liturgical celebrations. These were sometimes attended by members of the Portuguese royal family, in particular Queen Luisa de Gusmão, and her daughter, Catherine of Braganza who was the wife of King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland from 1662 to 1685. Elite sponsors of the convent included Iria de Brito, Countess of Atalaya, the wealthy foundress who did much to establish an Irish convent in Lisbon. Iria de Brito, Countess of Atalaya provided funding for the foundation of the convent of Bom Sucesso. She was an important and interesting matron of the project. Iria de Brito was the widow of the Count of Feira, and was independently wealthy, as well as being a pious and influential Catholic. For several years she had attempted to open a convent for the Portuguese Jeronomite sisters of Saint Paula. Her intention was to establish an order with an educational mission. As an elite widow with no surviving children she was at liberty to directly, and in her own right, sponsor religious missions. This sponsorship was typically considered part of the duty of pious observant Catholics, and would also elevate her soul after death. The Countess met Fr. Dominic O’Daly sometime in the mid-1630s and knew of his support for Irish colleges. He encouraged her to found a convent for Irish Dominican sisters. Eventually the site was chosen, near the mouth of the Tagus river, and the King, Philip IV of Spain granted a license on the 21st March, 163916. Although the convent was to be cloistered, it was also to oversee the education of the women and girls who lived in it. Upon completion of the convent building Countess Iria moved in to occupy rooms adjoining the convent. As funder she had the freedom of the 15

16

Margaret MacCurtain, “Women, Education and Learning in Early Modern Ireland”, Women in Early Modern Ireland, Margaret MacCurtain, Mary O’Dowd, eds. (Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1991), p. 169. Spain ruled Portugal from 1580 until 1640, a period which has been termed the Castilian usurpation, and the sixty years captivity. In 1581 the Cortes of Tomar proclaimed Philip II of Spain as King Felipe I of Portugal. The year of 1640 saw the Spanish governor overthrown at Lisbon, and the restoration of the seventh Duke of Braganza who was proclaimed King João IV. Although the Spanish monarchs were supportive of Irish convents, it was not until 1639 that the Irish convent was licensed. After that point the Portuguese royal family became involved in the life of the convent.

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convent. She also habitually wore the Dominican habit. This was something which female sponsors often did, attracting the disapproval of regional archbishops who insisted that only novices and fully professed nuns should wear the habit. Nevertheless, female sponsors would often leave in their wills instructions to be buried in the Dominican habit, and these instructions were normally adhered to by nuns. Countess Iria also left dual endowments for both Irish and Portuguese girls, facilitating an equal intake, and a strong statement about blending both groups together17. Irish novices were chosen by Irish sisters, and Portuguese novices were chosen by the Portuguese sisters, allowing both groups considerable autonomy. In addition, there was also a tradition of late profession amongst some of the older Irish sisters who had spent time on the continent, or had previous experience of life in the earlier established Irish Dominican convents in Spain. Both Countess Iria and Queen Luisa were involved in the religious services, masses and festivals held at the convent. Much pomp attached to the foundation day service and also the celebrations when a girl or woman professed her solemn vows. Female sponsors are recorded attending both masses and ceremonials. McCabe notes that on the foundation day mass in Bom Sucesso the distinguished female sponsors all entered the cloister and heard mass by Fr. Domingo de Santo, preacher to the royal court18. Invitations were to both Portuguese and Irish elites, marking a sense of shared identity. Royal visits generated considerable prestige for the convent. The level of royal and elite sponsorship marked the convent of Bom Success out as a religious institution which operated as a distinct favourite. The broader political connections between Irish Catholic exiles and the Portuguese royal family and aristocracy indicate the acceptance of the Irish religious community at the very heart of society. King João IV and Queen Luisa proved to be fervent supporters of Irish settlers, and both Queen Luisa and Queen Catherine of Braganza had direct involvement in the convent. This is perhaps surprising after 1662 when Catherine married Charles II and the Treaty of Alliance was passed linking England and Portugal. Catherine, however, remained a fervent Catholic throughout her marriage to a Protestant monarch, and never lost her sympathy and support for Irish Catholics who were expelled. During Catherine’s years

17 18

Honor McCabe, A Light Undimmed…, p. 44. Honor McCabe, A Light Undimmed…, p. 49.

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spent in England from 1662 until 1693 she remained fully informed about the situation of Irish Catholics both in England and Ireland, and retained as her adviser Francisco de Mello, a former Portuguese ambassador in England19. The special relationship built up with Bom Sucesso and the female Queens of Portugal did not have any other comparator within Europe, and therefore marks out both the intention of Irish women to assimilate into Portuguese society, and the favour shown them by the most royal and elite Portuguese women. Unfortunately, Countess Iria de Brito had the opportunity to live in the convent of Bom Sucesso for a short time, as she died in 1640, a few months after the convent opened. However, her will ensured the survival of the convent. The convents’ annalist, Sister Cecilia noted, God had given our holy foundress children, and when she needed them most he took them to heaven. Instead of two, God gave her many spiritual daughters. As long as the monastery exists, the family of Atalaya will be gratefully remembered20.

One of the early abbesses of the convent, Abbess Magdalene Menezes, who professed in 1640, was successful in lobbying elite female sponsors. Queen Luisa was a regular visitor to the convent, increasing her visits after the Portuguese monarchy was restored in 1640. Irish Dominican sisters gave their complete loyalty to the new monarchy. Networks between Queen Luisa and the Irish sisters were underscored by the fact that they shared a confessor: Fr. Dominic O’Daly, one of the most active Irish religious in Portugal. It was Fr. O’Daly who first founded an Irish college in Lisbon, and then supported a foundation for girls and women. He was also used to dealing directly with both Irish and Portuguese aristocracy. Within weeks of foundation the convent of Bom Sucesso received fully professed sisters and novices from some of the most elite Irish families including the O’Neill’s, the O’Donnell’s, the O’Sullivan Beare’s, the O’Mahoney’s and the White’s21. However, an equal number of Portuguese 19

20 21

Both Queen Catherine and Queen Luisa expressed their wishes to retire to the convent of Bom Sucesso, although neither was able to do so. In Catherine’s case she returned to Lisbon in 1693 after several years of widowhood. She died in 1705 in her newly built palace of Bemposta, and had been acting as regent for her brother King Pedro II. Honor McCabe, A Light Undimmed…, p. 53. Honor McCabe, A Light Undimmed…, p. 245.

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girls were admitted ensuring the continued donations from Queen Luisa, Iria de Brito and other female aristocrats. It was the direct negotiation of Fr. O’Daly which brought the daughters of the elite de Mello family into the convent22. Abbess Magdalene Menezes became abbess after a short but starry trajectory from one of the first novices to receive the Dominican habit in November 1639, to election of Abbess in 1645. Magdalene was described by Fr. O’Daly as, “his first co-operatrix”. This is a revealing and familiar term made about a Portuguese woman elected to the position of Abbess. Magdalene’s own money was poured into the convent building, and upon the death of her brother, she inherited an estate with a huge income which was recorded by the sister bursar as having been used for the design and construction of the church, cloister, the refectory and dormitories. The money was also used to expand the numbers of girls and women into the convent. The friendship between Abbess Magdalene and Queen Luisa included regular royal visits to the convent for lengthy conversations. Queen Luisa advised and funded some of the building projects, including the suggestions of some of the royal architects. Queen Luisa was also aware of the building projects undertaken at the College of St. Patrick, the Irish college for men in Lisbon, from her discussions with Fr. O’Daly23. The college of St. Patrick, though Jesuit run, was able to loan out books to other Irish convents and colleges, and also became known for its teaching techniques, as well as the broad range of subjects taught. Subjects on the curricula included theology, philosophy, grammar, humanities, science, and languages including Latin, Greek, Portuguese, Spanish and Irish24. Students included young men from the White family, some of whom were related to novices and sisters in Bom Sucesso25. These family networks functioned to support educational projects in Lisbon for both genders. One of the rectors of St. Patrick, Walter French, was also related

22

23 24 25

Mariana de Mello, who professed in 1641 was the daughter of Don Rui de Mello, a close friend of Fr. O’Daly. Another daughter, Luisa, also joined Bom Sucesso. They were related to Francisco de Mello, a former Portuguese Ambassador to England, and appointed adviser to Queen Catherine of Braganza later in 1675. This was also the year Irish Priests were ordered out of England, and many needed support networks on the continent. Patricia O’Connell, The Irish College at Lisbon…, p. 14. Patricia O’Connell, The Irish College at Lisbon…, p. 45. Patricia O’Connell, The Irish College at Lisbon…, p. 55.

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to Mary French who professed in Valladolid, in the Dominican convent26. Communications between Irish religious houses were exchanged regularly, and Mary was also a noted linguist, famed for speaking Irish, English, Spanish and Latin27. Knowledge about each others’ respective curricula and teaching methods certainly existed. The original convent built near the Tagus river was replaced with one built higher up, away from the port, and in the Belen, or Bethlehem district. Once again, elite female sponsors’ money was poured into the new building. Two issues of great importance emerge here: the building of the library and reading room, and the emphasis upon literary culture and learning. Funding for libraries, writing rooms, books, materials and the development of an academic curriculum was discussed and funded. Irish religious communities were allowed to develop their own schools, and the Braganza dynasty in particular, appear to have been very supportive of these internal Irish missions, blending them into the fabric of Portuguese culture and society. A spiritual education for girls was considered part of the foundation of Catholicism in Portugal. Female education was important in Ireland, and the endowment of schools, libraries and learning was understood to be a sign of superior status as well as a sign of piety. The foundation of Bom Sucesso occurred at a time when the reform of religious life was very vigorous throughout the Iberian Peninsula. Both Portuguese and Spanish monarchs took the view that the Irish were loyal Catholics, after all, they had fought a war for Catholicism against the English. They were admired and trusted. The reforms of St. Teresa had widespread impact during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. There was a movement for stricter observance among many orders, however, Dominican sisters were dedicated to teaching and female literacy. Convent book collections were transported from Ireland to Portugal and formed the basis of library collections. A culture of bi-lingual and even multi-lingual tradition was developed. Early accounts of Bom Sucesso show that the original number of eighteen nuns grew to thirty, and that recruitment was half Irish and half Portuguese. The mass was sung in Latin, whilst the catechism continued in Irish. Irish was also preserved as a spoken language, alongside Portuguese.

26 27

John O’Heyne, Epilogus Chronologicus…, p. 168. John O’Heyne, Epilogus Chronologicus…, p. 169.

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The number of surviving books and manuscripts in Irish indicates the continuation of a sense of Irish identity in literature, but also spoken word and song. The first generation of Irish nuns could remember Ireland and copied out the catechism in Irish, also teaching their pupils this skill. Sisters and novices produced a wide variety of written genres including annals, convent designs, chronicles, hagiographies, obituaries, translations (including dual languages), foundation rules, singing and music. In many Dominican convents the curricula included mathematics, anatomy, herb-studies, geography and even astronomy. Dominican convents also encouraged poetry, prose and play-writing competitions. Astronomy was a disputed topic with associations with humanism, and Lisbon was one of the centres of the Holy Inquisition. However, cultural production within convents did not cease. Two sisters in Bom Sucesso appear to have taken a strong interest in education and learning: Leonor Kavanagh and Catherine de Burgo. Leonor had made a late profession having been widowed in Ireland, and was recorded as the mother of grown children. She was the daughter of elite Irish parents, and her own mother had reputedly possessed a fine library. Leonor moved from Carlow to Valladolid and then Lisbon, visiting and staying in other Irish convents, including that of Corpus Christi. There she appears to have used the library and reading room, noting the number of superior desks which the sisters there possessed. Desks were very important pieces of early modern technology, allowing pupil and teacher to sit close to each other. In addition Leonor appears to have taken on board teaching methodologies used in other convents and schools, adapting some of the Jesuit teaching methods with one magistra (“teacher”) and a small number of pupils in a class. After professing at Bom Sucesso Leonor continued a very close friendship with Margaret of Mantua, cousin of the King of Spain, who continued to visit the convent and sponsored a number of educational and cultural events28. One of the areas of the curriculum which she sponsored were the plays, poetry and music which the novices wrote and then performed during religious festivals including Easter week. Although plays were performed using Latin verse, they also included sections of vernacular Irish and Portuguese. Equipment was purchased with the funds from the Countess of Mantua, who appears to have chosen the convent specifically to fund the Irish female enterprise.

28

Honor McCabe, A Light Undimmed…, p. 81.

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In addition we can see the very fond friendship between the Countess and Sister Leonor in two specific actions. Sister Leonor took the name Leonor of St. Margaret in honour of the Countess. It was often the case that sisters professing took the name of one of their female sponsors, but they did have some active choice in this. For her part, the Countess of Mantua asked at the opening ceremony of the convent if she could have the shorn hair of Sister Leonor, not because it was beautiful, but because she regarded it as a saintly relic. Relics usually come from a saintly person who has died. A relic from a living person had considerable status, and highlighted the bond between sponsors and Irish sisters. Leonor later became novice mistress, and invited the Countess of Mantua to performances on Saints days, and other important days for the convent. Many events were framed to serve the relationship between the convent and female sponsors. Invited audiences at ceremonies, masses and festivals included royalty and aristocracy, and Irish kin, ensuring they mixed together and were part of the same network. In addition, the Countess was considered a favourite sponsor, able to visit and participate in the creative culture she helped to fund. Sister Leonor eventually became Abbess, dying in 1669 after thirty years of religious life in Lisbon29. Sister Catherine de Burgo, another elite Irish sister professed in 1641. She advanced rapidly in convent life and was recorded to have been very eloquent in debating ideas. Catherine was also a relatively late profession, indicating a clear choice of order and convent, with no over-arching parental or family involvement. Both Leonor and Catherine had travelled widely on the continent, but had selected Bom Sucesso over convents in Galicia, Castile and Seville. Sister Catherine’s involvement in girls’ education extended to the maintenance of the catechism in Irish, and the teaching of phonetic Portuguese to those girls whose first language was Irish. The swift and dedicated take up of Portuguese as a spoken language may explain why there appears to have been no hostility from the Portuguese church and state towards the retention of Irish in certain contexts. Both Leonor and Catherine had substantial money of their own which they used as a dowry when they joined the convent, ensuring that as well as Portuguese sponsors’ money, there was some funding from wealthy Irish women too. Bom Sucesso’s position in Portugal was not entirely straightforward.

29

Honor McCabe, A Light Undimmed…, pp. 81-82.

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Convents and their schools, whilst technically subject to the Papacy, were in fact dependant upon the Spanish Habsburg monarchy, and then after 1640 the Portuguese monarchs, especially the Braganzas. Dominican sisters were allowed to run their own convent, and suffered less interference on a day-to-day basis than the male religious establishments did. Royal and elite sponsorship meant that the convent was overlooked by the forces of the Holy Inquisition. The later date of the foundation also ensured that they were not targeted by censors and literary index prohibitions in the ways that earlier Irish convents in Spain had suffered. In addition, whilst the male Irish college in Lisbon, St. Patrick’s experienced tensions between Dominican and Jesuit power struggles, Bom Sucesso experienced no such tensions30. Agnes Shanley who professed in 1650 and served in numerous convent posts, including that of cellaress, until her death in 1695, recorded orders of goods in Irish as well as Portuguese, even several years after her arrival at the convent. Recruits also appear to have copied the catechism in Irish. Recruitment of novices continued to be almost equal in numbers between Irish and Portuguese from 1639 onwards. This strategy of balancing the ethnic intake appears to have ensured that both cultures flourished, and it afforded assimilation into the host nation. Alongside that, the Portuguese court was well aware of the persecution of Catholics in Ireland and viewed Irish Dominicans connected to the royal court as champions of Catholicism. This was further deepened by rulers such as Philip II, Philip III and João IV who believed that the Irish Dominican order acted as a holding process ensuring that local populations adhered to pious behaviour. The uptake in schools of Jesuits models of teaching, focussing upon small groups, and a maestra who moved up with the girls as they aged, was understood to be a useful method of control of the girls’ learning. Small groups were a deliberate pedagogical choice, ensuring all learning could be closely monitored by the sisters. Nuns appear to have networked ideas about teaching methods as well as subjects taught. The six Irish convents established in Spain from 1499 onwards had a history of assimilation and varied curricula, including vast collections of books and manuscripts in a number of languages31. Marie-Louise Coolahan has 30 31

For tensions in the male college see: Patricia O’Connell, The Irish College at Lisbon…, pp. 25-34. John O’Heyne, Epilogus Chronologicus…, pp. 135-146.

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noted that Irish Poor Clare’s who moved to Spain produced many of their own texts, but then later in the seventeenth century returned with them to Ireland, suggesting that there time in Spain was only ever calculated to be temporary32. Dominican sisters, however, lived their lives out in Spain and Portugal, regarding their settlement as permanent. This is significant in terms of assimilation. Dominican sisters were determined to establish an Irish church in Portugal and Spain and to remain there, constantly recruiting and replenishing their order, with no plan to return to Ireland. They were keen to retain their language and literary cultures, but equally they were in the Iberian Peninsula on a permanent basis. Female religious were also responsible for some of their own book production in dual languages. Alexander Wilkinson cites two groups of women involved in book production and publication in Portuguese and Spanish in the early modern period across the Iberian Peninsula; Nuns and widows33. There is evidence of the Cromberger press and the Ghemart press, both with international links, producing some of the dual language publications34. The Plantin press, based in Antwerp and Leiden also produced vernacular texts including humanist works which made their way into Dominican convent collections35. Nuns could bear the cost of production, especially when their sponsors assisted with the funding36. By 1639 we can map centres of printing to ecclesiastical centres, and Lisbon was a thriving centre of printing and publication. Also, by 1639 the Inquisition Index of proscribed texts was easing off to some extent, and that coupled with the fact that Irish female religious were still purchasing books from agents who were buying material for them meant that

32 33 34 35

36

Marie-Louise Coolahan, Women, Writing and Language in Early Modern Ireland (Oxford: Oxford University, 2010), pp. 79-83. Alexander Wilkinson, Iberian Books: Books published in Spanish or Portuguese or on the Iberian peninsula before 1601 (Leiden: Brill, 2010), pp. 825-827. Alexander Wilkinson, Iberian Books…, p. 14. Alexander Wilkinson, Iberian Books…, p. 14. In addition, Antwerp had a colony of exiled English Roman Catholics who used the Plantin press to publish propaganda treatise. Wilkinson notes a number of manuscripts owned by convents including an early work, Carmina novem illustrium feminarium, which holds fragments of poetry by the Greek poet Sappho, and appears to have two dates on it, one from c.1568, which suggests that the nuns were also involved in book and manuscript collection. The names of two Abbesses are inscribed inside the cover.

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translations in two, three or even four languages were networked across the peninsula. Other print centres in Portugal included Évora, where Irish students were attending the university, some studying theology, but others were studying for masters and doctorates37. Plays and poetry competitions included the production of vernacular writings by girl pupils. Irish Dominican sisters were engaged in the debate about what women should read. Juan Luis Vives maintained that women had finer, less vulgar minds than men38. However, the nuns of Bom Sucesso established reading for women, reading for girls, and reading for children. They maintained that mothers should read to their girls, and that if in schools then nuns and novices should read to the children. They also maintained writing as well as reading. The younger girls were encouraged to write about the Queens of Portugal and Spain. Pupils were also encouraged to write about women of valour. As well as Mary the mother of Christ, and Mary Magdalene, a great number of female saints were woven into the writings, including the adoption of a number of Portuguese, Spanish and Catalan saints, including Saint Eulalia and Saint Leocadia. This shows the take up of Iberian female saints as figures to be admired, but they also functioned as pedagogical tools, women whose lives should be emulated. All of these women represented messages for Catholic femininity. However, figures such as Mary Magdalene did not always have the approval of regional archbishops or the Inquisition. Collections from convents include fragments from works by Cicero and Demosthenes, as well as approved works of Saint Catherine of Alexandria, Catherine of Siena, Saint George, Hieronymus and Saint Cecilia. However, regional archbishops did advise that the nuns should always supervise anything in Greek, and never to leave the girls alone with Greek texts or translations39. The maestra or novice mistress was tasked with only reading selected parts of 37

38 39

Patricia O’Connell, “Irish Students at the University of Évora…”, p.  67. The fifty-nine Irish students on roll all had access to a wide variety of published works many printed in dual languages. Barcelona, Biblioteca de Cataluña, Dialogo de la doctrina de las Mujeres, MS 48, folio 5. Convents subject to a diocese were technically affected by Episcopal policy. Individual archbishops could foster female education, restrict it or attempt to prohibit certain subjects. This could lead to tensions between archbishops and sponsors. Throughout the seventeenth century Bom Sucesso did not experience prohibitions of certain academic subjects directly, although Abbesses and novice tutors were aware

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Greek works, or to watch over girl pupils who were reading these works. Books and materials in Latin were allowed, as that was the approved language of the Catholic religion, and was reinforced at various times in the Iberian peninsula, particularly during periods when the Inquisition placed emphasis on the return to Latin. Virgil, for example was only very slowly making his way back onto the approved list after 1584, so whilst Irish nuns in Spain had been instructed to get rid of any Virgil after the 1559 index of banned books, the later settlement of Irish nuns in Portugal encountered less resistance, and were not placed in the position of their sisters in Spain who often had to hide their literary collections from the Inquisition investigations40. A number of convents held translations of religious works, and the convent of St. Clare in Esterri d’Aneu had an early translation of the New Testament in Irish, begun in 1643 and used for teaching purposes. This was a prized possession, and had to be signed in and out of the library. The efforts made to translate the bible into Irish for its continued use in the convent reveals a determination to maintain that language in a seminal text. Portuguese girls received instruction in Irish. There does not appear to be any resistance to this, or complaints from parents or sponsors. This indicates a preparedness to use Irish as a religious language, and one which was holy enough for biblical translations. Courtly connections were essential in underpinning the establishment of an Irish convent in Portugal. The nuns and their pupils did not go to the court, but instead the court, two Queens, and a number of the most elite women in Portuguese society went to the convent. A very powerful bridge was built between the Portuguese royal family and Irish Dominicans with the sustained result that they were able to continue with their own church, and their own language in a way that was not challenged throughout the early modern period. The Braganza Queens found Irish Dominican Catholicism particularly appealing. They embraced the long tradition of female learning. Although the convent of Bom Sucesso was cloistered, their stated intention was to teach all of their charges Latin as well as vernacular languages, with music and performance traditions central to their

40

of the possibility of interference. Several Irish convents in Spain had to fight off interference with their curricula. For a concise discussion of the 1559 index of banned books see: John Huxtable Elliott, Imperial Spain, 1469-1716 (London: Pelican, 1970), pp. 224-228.

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curriculum. For Queen Luisa, Queen Catherine and Countess Iria de Brito the Irish convent was a special mission which they supported throughout their lives. They could identify with, and support a well-loved literary culture, which included a continued production of works in Irish. A mixture of dedicated female religious and their female sponsors ensured an expanding early modern literary and learning tradition. The years between 1639 and 1740 saw an almost equal proportion of Irish and Portuguese girls and women professing, revealing a thorough sense of assimilation in terms of recruitment and membership. Convent production was recorded by female members, and was not filtered through male editors or publishers. This has resulted in a collection of feminised cultural production from literature through to convent design. The education provided by Dominican sisters in Bom Sucesso was never rendered to suit male control, even that of male Dominicans. Female sponsors, in particular Queen Luisa de Gusmão, referred to herself as a descendant of St. Dominic de Guzman, founder of the Dominican order of preachers, thereby constantly reinforcing the spiritual connection within their shared name. Names remained significant in terms of assimilation. Many girls and adult women professed with the names of their live sponsor rather than a long deceased martyr or female saint. Leonor Kavanagh who professed as Leonor of Saint Margaret is just one example of this choice of acknowledgement of sponsors. The maintenance of dual, even triple or quadruple language traditions also casts light on the commitment to assimilation, but also the retention of Irish in certain contexts. Irish, Latin, Portuguese and Spanish were used habitually in the convent, as well as some Greek. The use of learned tongues alongside vernacular languages meant that a broad curriculum could be maintained, the host nations’ language could be used at all times, and Irish could be retained for the purposes of the continued use of Irish catechisms. In these ways Irish Dominican nuns could operate with the elite of Lisbon society rather than being on the periphery. In addition, Irish Dominican sisters were not on the periphery of their own order; they were motivators of their own projects.

The word Espanya (“Spain”) in 15th and 16th Century Catalan literature Vicent Josep Escartí Universitat de València

Introduction It is impossible to make a complete review of such a broad topic that has already generated quite an extensive bibliography in a single contribution like this1. It cannot be done even if we focus on the use of the word Espanya and try to do so, basically, in literature, or writings in the Catalan language or generated in the Catalan-speaking countries in a chronological period as complex as the 15th and 16th centuries, as modern European States were just evolving. In fact, we should say that the definition of the chronological limits are reasonably flexible, as it is necessary to go back to previous texts, while considering the 16th century as an arrival point. After this, and certainly towards the middle of the century, the basis was established for some of our thinkers to express themselves more often in Castilian. Meanwhile, on one hand, there was strong adherence to the Hispanic imperial project and, on the other, the foundations were laid for a rejection of unitarian theories that would have more effect in Catalonia than in other Catalan-speaking 1

See among others: Ernest Belenguer, “La Monarquía Hispánica vista desde la Corona de Aragón”, Estudis, 20 (1994), pp. 57-82; Ricardo García, “El concepte d’Espanya als segles XVI i XVII”, L’Avenç, 100 (1987), pp.  38-50; Josep  M. Nadal, Modest Prats, “El concepte d’Espanya: Hispaniam restaurare et recuperare”, Història de la llengua catalana, 2 vols. (Barcelona: Edicions 62, 1996), vol. 2, pp. 331-337; José Manuel Nieto, “Conceptos de España en tiempo de los Reyes Católicos”, Norba. Revista de Historia, 19 (2006), pp. 105-123; Esteban Sarasa, “España en las crónicas de la Corona de Aragón en la Edad Media (siglos XII-XV)”, Norba. Revista de Historia, 19 (2006), pp. 95-103; Antoni Simon, Construccions polítiques i identitats nacionals: Catalunya i els orígens de l’estat modern espanyol (Barcelona: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, 2005).

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territories. The 17th century, with its particular dynamic, merits a very wide-ranging analysis: with Catalonia at war with the Spanish Habsburgs on one hand and with the Valencian region firmly linked to the Hispanic project on the other, the answers would also be different on either side of the border2. All this means the word Espanya was seen differently, depending on the case. But we must now also mention another important problem alluded to above: the territorial political fragmentation of the Crown of Aragon. This is the reason why not all the states making it up gave the same answers to the “question” and it makes it very difficult to present the various sensitivities here in a unified way if we want to avoid facile, reductionist generalisations. Finally, it would be absolutely impossible to work only on literature, in a restrictive sense of the word and without including historiography, on which in fact, we often focus. We also have to take into account the presence of languages other than Catalan, especially Spanish and the inevitable Latin, which a good number of local humanists used to express themselves in writing. Reading the national chronicles or even researching other historiographic and literary papers in varying degrees of depth quite often brings us up against the word Espanya. This frequency bears witness to the use of this toponym in reference to a geographical reality that varies in size and, after a particular point, a reality we might describe as a political one. We might understand this more easily if we think of a concept like the modern “Europe”: a geographical and, with all necessary reservations and particularly in current times, political reality. Neither of the two uses, however, implies something uniform or unique: Spain was not uniform or unique and the very fact that desires are expressed to make it so make this absolutely clear. But, in all cases, the word Espanya, was there: present, used, quoted, taken as an unavoidable reference from a geographical, historical and historiographic point of view or based on the politics of the time. And we can follow this through the various witnesses we call, who allow us to see how such usage varied and, above all, began to incorporate a clearly political meaning for a toponym that was initially merely a geographical

2

See: Xavier Baró, La historiografia catalana en el segle del Barroc (1585-1709) (Barcelona: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, 2009), pp. 75-78.

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reference: a reference from geography based on the Roman period, which would later make a strong comeback, particularly in the 15th century3.

1. The 15th century: from medieval Spain to humanist Hispania Probably from the 13th century onwards, with the revival of certain aspects of the Classical Roman world, beginning with law, the word Hispania became more present in legal and other texts circulating in the Crown of Aragon. This was even clearer in the field of historiography if we think of the circulation here of writings like those of Bishop Lucas de Tuy of León (+1249) and his Chronicon mundi, which was very soon translated into Castilian (at the end of the 13th or beginning of the 14th century) receiving the significant title Corónica d’España (“Chronicle of Spain”)4. We need to think even more of the specific presence of the work of the Archbishop of Toledo, Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada (1170-1247), and his well-known work Historia de rebus Hispaniae or Historia Gothica. This brought the concept of an overall Hispanic or Spanish whole, stemming from Rome but reinforced by the presence of the Goths, who were thereby elevated into a reference for a future united Spain and for the “reconquest”, then underway5. That chronicle would have pushed the world of the Aragonese monarchs and the Catalan-speaking territories into the background. It saw them as a kind of appendix to Castile and gave no recognition to their role, particularly the reign of James I. In Stefano M. Cingolani’s opinion6, 3 4

5

6

Antoni Simon, Els orígens ideològics de la Revolució Catalana de 1640 (Barcelona: Abadia de Montserrat, 1999), p. 31. See: Enrique Jerez, El Chronicon Mundi de Lucas de Tuy (c. 1238): Técnicas compositivas y motivaciones ideológicas (Madrid: Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, PhD Dissertation, 2006). Enrique Jerez, “La Historia gothica del Toledano y la historiografía romance”, Cahiers de Linguistique et de Civilisation Hispaniques Medievales, 26 (2003), pp. 223-239. See: Stefano M. Cingolani, “Estudi introductori”, Gestes dels comtes de Barcelona i reis d’Aragó, ed. Stefano M. Cingolani (Valencia: Publicacions de la Universitat de València, 2008), pp. 51-53.

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this aspect could have aroused that conquering king’s desire to find out at first hand the content of the work of his acquaintance the Archbishop of Toledo, commissioning a translation of it. It may have been this that provoked James I to write the memoirs that would become known as the Llibre dels feits, to highlight his leading role. Beyond this hypothesis, it is more interesting to see how Aragonese and Catalan translations of the Archbishop’s work were already circulating in the Crown of Aragon in the mid-13th century7. An epitome of some of his works – the so-called Status Yspanie – was also translated into Catalan under the title Crònica d’Espanya (“Chronicle of Spain”). Through some of these texts, Archbishop Jiménez de Rada even managed to influence some of the versions of the Deeds of the counts of Barcelona and Kings of Aragon8. This influence was still being felt in the Crònica General de Pere el Cerimoniós9 (“General Chronicle of Peter the Ceremonious”) and in other subsequent writings. As is well known, Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada’s text is intended to be the history of a territory and its settlers and is clearly orientated towards highlighting the importance of Castile as the heir to the Roman and Gothic tradition10. This had more than a few consequences for Catalan and Aragonese historiography in general. In any case, although this work is not our immediate interest, it does allow us to note that, if we wish to see the meaning given to the word Espanya n historiographic texts of all kinds in the Catalan-speaking lands, we cannot underestimate the presence of works from Castile which had a particular influence for one reason or another. So, as the urban revival of the 13th century promoted a certain “renaissance” of the classical world and if we add to this the influence of Castilian “Hispanicist” historiography, it is not surprising that the production of Catalan and Aragonese historiographic texts in that century often 7

8

9 10

See: Pere Quer, L’adaptació catalana de la Historia de rebus Hispaniae de Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada: textos i transmissió (segles XIII-XV) (Barcelona: Universitat de Barcelona, PhD Dissertation, 2000); Diego Catalán, Enrique Jerez, “Rodericus” romanzado en los reinos de Aragón, Castilla y Navarra, (Madrid: Fundación Ramón Menéndez Pidal, 2005), pp. 11-149. See: Gestes dels comtes de Barcelona i reis d’Aragó/Gesta Comitum Barchinone et Regum Aragonie, ed. Stefano M. Cingolani, trad. Robert Álvarez (Santa Coloma de Queralt: Edèndum-Publicacions de la Universitat Rovira i Virgili, 2012). Amadeu J. Soberanas, Crònica General de Pere III el Cerimoniós, dita comunament Crònica de Sant Joan de la Penya (Barcelona: Alpha, 1964). Stefano M. Cingolani, “Estudi introductori…”, p. 49.

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shows the word Espanya as a geographical reality which might be more or less strictly delimited, but with a clear meaning of a “continent”. An example of the varying use to determine the territory called Espanya can be found in the Deeds of the counts of Barcelona and Kings of Aragon where, on one occasion, when speaking of Wilfred I, we are told that pres e tench poderosament lo comtat de Barcelona e de Narbona entrò en Espanya (“the county of Barcelona from Narbonne to Spain taken and strongly held”). The anonymous translator is trying to tell us that Spain was reached after Narbonne and Barcelona. When speaking of Alfonso I, however, the Deeds refer to sos vehins reys d’Espanya (“their neighbouring kings of Spain”) which might make us identify Spain with Castile. Quickly, however, in the following paragraph, we are informed that lo senyor apostoli Celestí féu establiment e manà que·ls reys d’Espanya guerrejassen ab sarrayns […]. E per ço con tots los reys d’Espanya entre si avien discòrdia. Tots los reys d’Espanya (“the Celestial apostolic lord established and ordered that those kings of Spain fought the Saracens […]. And that was why with all the kings of Spain there was discord between them. All the kings of Spain”) obviously refers to the Christians. It seems, then, that the Muslims did not form part of the geographical area identified as Spain. Meanwhile, on his journey to Santiago de Compostela, Alfonso I would have seen tos los prínceps d’Espanya, per los quals fo molt ben rehebut e honrat per cascú en tot son regne11 (“all the princes of Spain, by whom he was very well received and honoured by each in his reign”). It seems to us anything but a coincidence that, with James I, the word Espanya should have become more notable in historiography. In his chronicle, it is already shown to be equivalent to a specific geographical reality serving as a reference for the king’s imagination. The name Espanya is used as a geopolitical reference, probably conditioned by past history, but also by the specific circumstances shared by the different Iberian states, of which the king clearly came to feel himself the most outstanding representative. One example is enough to understand the image the Conqueror had of the geographical entity: after speaking before the Pope at the Council of Lyon, the monarch states that, by his words vuy és honrrada

11

Gestes dels comtes de Barcelona i reis d’Aragó, ed. Stefano M. Cingolani (Valencia: Publicacions de la Universitat de València, 2008), pp. 88, 121-122, 123.

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tota Espanya12 (“today all Spain is honoured”). However, the Conqueror never loses sight of the political reality of the V regnes d’Espanya13 making up the Iberian peninsula, as was normal in the historiography of the time. Similar usage is made in the other chronicles of the 13th and 14th centuries, as we have indicated elsewhere14. However, when we reach the 14th century, some historiographic texts represent different opinions when it came to incorporating the Crown of Aragon in some way into an image of Spain –a concept that was beginning to be seen as something more than a geographical demarcation. However, they still followed the lines noted up to then and provide little new, largely continuing to use the aforementioned text by the Archbishop of Toledo, or some of his translations and adaptations, as a basic source concerning the conception of the word Espanya. Thus, Pere Tomic, Berenguer de Puigpardines, who was really inspired by the former, and other authors, do what they can to spread the history of the Goths, written by a man from Toledo, in the Catalan-speaking lands. This was particularly the case with the former, whose work was printed in Barcelona on different occasions, in 1495, 1519 and 1534. In fact, the priest Tomic completed his Històries e conquestes de Catalunya in 1438, and, although it was circulated almost immediately in manuscript form, we can say that its real success came at the end of the 15th century and the early decades of the 16th15. It should be stressed that Tomic must have been among the first to incorporate the discourse of the universal monarchy, putting Tubal and, afterwards, Rome and the Goths, into his text. This was possibly because the Gothic view might be useful in bringing glory to noble Catalan families or even for incorporating legends and traditions that might fit perfectly into those remote contexts. So, in chapter V, Tomic tracta de com los descendents de Jàffet poblaren Spanya (“it is about how the descendents of Jàffet settled Spain”) – Tubal – and continues with the coming of Hercules to

12 13 14 15

Jaume I, Llibre dels feits, eds. Antoni Ferrando, Vicent J. Escartí (Valencia: Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua, 2010), p. 435. Jaume I, Llibre dels feits…, p. 407. Vicent J. Escartí, “El concepte Espanya en Jaume I i en la historiografia catalana dels segles XIII i XIV” (forthcoming). For the work of this chronicler, see: Pere Tomic, Històries e conquestes del Realme d’Aragó e Principat de Catalunya, ed. Joan Iborra (Catarroja-Barcelona: Editorial Afers, 2009). The references he gives are also from this edition.

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the Iberian peninsula (chap. VI) and so on, treating the territory as a single geographical unit. When reaching the period of the goths, los quals regnaren en Espanya (“Goths, who reigned in Spain”) he does, however, devote some chapters to speaking of the origins of the monarchies of Leon and Castile (chap. X), Portugal (chap. XI), Navarre (Chap. XII) and, more extensively, Aragon (chap. XIII). He then immediately tells us of com començà lo babtisme en França e qual fo lo primer rey crestià de França16 (“as the baptism began in France and who was the first Christian king of France”). As soon as this part is over, he begins the history of Catalonia, thereby recognising its Frankish origins. He also provides an interesting detail: Aprés de algun temps, lo rey Soma de Marroch, moro, començà a senyorejar e regnar en Spanya e en la més part de Lenguadoch aprés de la tració del compte Julià, com los moros hagueren levada la terra als goths cathòlichs crestians. E açò fon en l’any de la incarnació de nostre senyor Jesucrist set-cents vint-e-tres que·l dit rey començà a regnar en la dita terra d’Espanya fins a al venguda de Carles Manyes. Però per spay de algun temps, ans de la venguda de Carles, entrà en les parts de Catalunya hun príncep appellat per son nom Otcer Catholó, lo qual enrà en la dita província ab nou barons sos companyos per tornar la dita terra a la fe crestiana17. After some time, king Soma of Morocco, Moor, began to a lord over and reign in Spain e and in most of Languedoc after the betrayal by the count Julià, as the Moors had taken the lands of the Catholic Christian Goths. And that was in the year of the incarnation of our lord Jesus Christ seven hundred and twenty-three that said king began to reign in the said land of Spain until the coming of Charlemagne. But for the space of some time, until the coming of Charles, in the parts of Catalonia entered a prince called by his name Otcer Catholó, who entered in said province with nine barons his companions to return said land to the Christian faith.

This option linked Catalonia to the Gothic world on one hand and, on the other, to the Franks. It would also open up other possibilities that would be exploited later. In addition, concerning the Crown of Aragon, it is interesting to point out that Tomic does go into the supposed origins of Ramiro, the first Count of Aragon, who is presented as the son of an “Emperor of Spain”. He says he fon gran rey en Spanya, car ell senyorejava los regnes de Leó

16 17

Pere Tomic, Històries e conquestes…, p. 178. Pere Tomic, Històries e conquestes…, p. 182.

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e de Castella e per la reyna sa muller, e per si mateix, navarra, e Aragó, e Subrarbe, e Ribagorça (“He was a great king of Spain, for he ruled over the kingdoms of León and Castile and through the reign of his wife, and for himself, Navarre, and Aragon, and Subrarbe, and Ribagorça”). Ramiro achieved power as a gift of his mother, falsely accused of adultery by other children, and who, to reward the only child who had stood by her, gave him the lands of Aragon. However, despite this acceptance of Gothic origin, in Tomic’s text we can still find the standard geographical or territorial demarcation, like those found in other earlier texts. So, we find that passà en Spanya hun rey moro18 (“In Spain a Moorish king passed”). Meanwhile, Tomic shows us that the concept Espanya does not mean a political unit, as we find tots los reys d’Espanya19 (“all the kings of Spain”), or we are told that Ramon Berenguer IV stood out entre los altres senyors d’Espanya20 (“among the other lords of Spain”), or he speaks of rey ne príncep en Spanya21 (“king and prince in Spain”), of pau entre los reys d’Espanya22 (“peace between the kings of Spain”) or the prelats dels regnes d’Espanya23 (“prelates of the kingdoms of Spain”), and so on. Meanwhile, it should be highlighted that some changes can be seen in the introductory text of the 1534 edition. Here, the altíssims reys de Aragó (“the highest kings of Aragon”) appear as antecessós de l’invicte emperador dels romans e cathòlic rey de Hespanya, don Carles Cèsar24 (“antecessors of the undefeated emperor of the Romans and Catholic king of Spain, don Charles Cèsar”). And the same occurs in the colophon, which indicates that the edition is A laor y glòria de nsotre senyor Déu Jesuchrist, qui és donador de victòrias e a immortalitat dels gloriosos comtes de Barcelona e lurs successós, los reys de Aragó e comtes de Barcelona, e a honor de nostra nació cathalana és corregida e, ab privilegi

18 19 20 21 22 23 24

Pere Tomic, Històries e conquestes…, p. 230. Pere Tomic, Històries e conquestes…, p. 197. Pere Tomic, Històries e conquestes…, p. 212. Pere Tomic, Històries e conquestes…, p. 224. Pere Tomic, Històries e conquestes…, p. 228. Pere Tomic, Històries e conquestes…, p. 278. Pere Tomic, Històries e conquestes…, p. 287.

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per cinc anys, stampada la present obra, regnant lo invicte emperador dels romans, don Carles, y la sereníssima emperatriu, dona Isabel, cathòlics reys de Hespanya25. In praise and glory of our lord God Jesus Christ, who is bringer of victories and to the immortality of the glorious counts of Barcelona and their successors, the kings of Aragon and counts of Barcelona, and to honour our Catalan nation is corrected and, with privilege for five years, printed the present work, reigning the undefeated emperor of the Romans, don Charles, and serene empress, Lady Isabel, Catholic kings of Spain.

These are changes that might be expected to occur in a good part of the historiography of the Crown of Aragon as the dynastic unit promoted the acceptance of the word Espanya to define a current political reality. The concentration of power in a single person touched with the imperial dignity would encourage this even further. We need no concern ourselves further with Tomic’s text. It will suffice to point out that it influenced other texts from the last third of the 15th century, such as the Sumari d’Espanya, attributed to Berenguer de Puigpardines, and the Recort (1476) by Gabriel Turell. Both incorporate fragments of Tomic, as Joan Iborra pointed out when publishing the text26. Although Puigpardines, who significantly entitled his volume Sumari de la població d’Espanya e de les conquestes de Catalunya e de on devalen los comtes de Barcelona, accepted history as told by the Archbishop of Toledo (via Tomic), he also takes into account information deriving from Carolingian historiography. The same can be said of Turell, who explicitly states that per fer la matèria al més que he pogut vertedera, he fet de tres registres lo fonamental: en los fets de Spanya, de aquel hystorial archabisne de Toledo nomenat Rodrigo; en los actes de França, del secretari de Karles Maynes, prudent de de gran abtesa, Philomena; en les coses de Catalunya, de les Canòniques dels comtes e reys, ab tot que per altres scriptures se demostra27. so what the things explained are as true as possible, I took the three fundamental records in the events in Spain: of that historical archbishop of Toledo called Rodrigo; in the acts of France, of the secretary of Charlemagne, with the prudence of the great

25 26 27

Pere Tomic, Històries e conquestes…, p. 288. Berenguer de Puigpardines, Sumari d’Espanya, ed. Joan Iborra (Valencia: Publicacions de la Universitat de València, 2000), pp. 5-39. Gabriel Turell, Recort, ed. Enric Bagué (Barcelona: Barcino, 1950), pp. 36-37.

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He does not, however, mention the source, who is Tomic, although, as his publisher Enric Bagué states “throughout the book there are very many passages where Turell transcribes Tomic’s text verbatim, or almost verbatim”28. This means they were very close in their conception of what Espanya was. For Turell it was a continent, as well as a geographical whole, with a common past but with particular features in the case of Catalonia as, while efforts were made to incorporate them into the Gothic project, their Carolingian links could not be forgotten. In Valencia, these concerns for the origins of Catalonia counted for much less. However, we can still find them, and not just in passing. Thus, Melcior Miralles, author of the Crònica i dietari del capellà d’Alfons el Magnànim (as it is now proposed to call his text, since the latest edition by Mateu Rodrigo)29 began with a section entitled Canòniques d’Espanya, dels reys d’Aragó e dels comptes de Barcelona, e de la hunitat de Aragó ab lo compdat de Barcelona… and derived from the Chronicles of master Roderic de Toledo, translating the chronicle of Jiménez de Rada and which is still preserved as a manuscript in the Library of Catalonia (ms. 6) and which, according to Mateu Rodrigo, is the direct source for Miralles30. In any case, Miralles tells us his work fon treta de les canòniques e libres dels pasats e antichs, en les quals és breument atrobat l’estament d’Espanya del començament del món tro al dia present, quales gents e quals prínceps e senyors la han poseyda, senyoregada e governada31. it was taken from the chronicles and books of the elders, in which is the situation in Spain since the beginning of the world until the present day appears briefly, explaining which people and which princes and lords have possessed, ruled and lorded over it

And, immediately afterwards, making use of an apocryphal text attributed to Lucà, he tells us,

28 29 30 31

Gabriel Turell, Recort…, p. 7. Melcior Miralles, Crònica i dietari del capellà d’Alfons el Magnànim, ed. Mateu Rodrigo (Valencia: Publicacions de la Universitat de València, 2011). Melcior Miralles, Crònica i dietari…, p. 83. Melcior Miralles, Crònica i dietari…, p. 83.

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Qui és aquell qui pot nomenar tantes e tan grns laors d’Espanya, ennoblida de tan notables prelats, resplandent en ciències e·n virtuts de hoficis e devocions? Riqua és de notables senyors e valents cavalés e gents, resplandent per aur, complida és de fruyts, abundada de viutales, plena és de moltes riqueses, abundantment plena de tota perfecció de virtut32. Who is it who can say so many great praises of Spain, ennobled by many notable prelates, glowing in sciences and in of virtues of trades and devotions? Rich it is in notable lords and valiant knights and peoples, glowing for gold, it is full of fruit, abundant in virtues, full of many riches, abundantly full of all perfection of virtue.

Thus, this Espanya ennoblida (“Spain ennobled”) perfectly matches the image Miralles gives us of the lands and cities of the Crown of Aragon which, in the 15th century, must have had quite a few positive aspects for him as a Valencian. The past of the Hispanic monarchs, descendants of Noah, Hercules and el cavaller Aspèria, qui de pueril edat s’era nodrit ab ell and after whom per lo nom d’aquest la terra fon apellada Spanya33 (“the knight Aspèria, from childhood had trained with him and after whom for whose name the land was called Spain”) the Roman Scipios and the other emperors of Rome34, and the gogs, who hagueren naixença de Magogs, fill de Jafeth35 (“were born of Magogs, son of Jafeth”), and the history that followed, also had an addition: honrada terra d’Espanya, que tants e tan grans advocats ha en lo regne de Déu, molt te deus alegrar, com per les pregàries de aquels, tots los habitants en tu seran deliurats de tots mals e dans!36 (“honoured land of Spain, which has so many and so great intercessors in the kingdom of God, very glad must you be that thanks to those prayers, all your people will be freed from any evil and any harm!”). This gives the impression that the vision of the chaplain of Alfonso the Magnanimous was that he belonged to a territory chosen by God. And he continued on through the history of the Visigoths. In as far as he was aware of belonging to a Catalan community, Miralles did not fail to include the coming of Charlemagne who constituí compte en Catalunya, ço és, en Barcelona, lo qual compte tenia Catalunya per lo rey de França, e

32 33 34 35 36

Melcior Miralles, Crònica i dietari…, p. 83. Melcior Miralles, Crònica i dietari…, p. 85. Melcior Miralles, Crònica i dietari…, p. 85-86. Melcior Miralles, Crònica i dietari…, p. 87. Melcior Miralles, Crònica i dietari…, p. 86.

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açò durà fins al compte Jaufre37 (“constituted count in Catalonia, that is, in Barcelona, which count held Catalonia for the king of France, and that lasted until the count Jaufre”). From there, he moved swiftly on to union with Aragon. We should point out that, probably through the same text attributable to Puigpardines, the chaplain incorporated the document of the donation of Catalonia and Barcelona by Charlemagne to a supposed Ramon Berenguer, car nebot nostre (“Ramon Berenguer, our nephew”). And the title given to the Emperor Charlemagne should be highlighted: per la gràcia de Déu emperador d’Alamanya e de Roma e d’Espanya e rey de França38 (“by the grace of God emperor of Germany and of Rome and of Spain and king of France”), effectively “Hispanising” Charlemagne. By chronology, however, Alfonso the Magnanimous’ chaplain belongs to the time when we might say the construction of a particularist historiography promoting the kingdom was beginning in the case of Valencia. That is why, proud of his Valencian kingdom, he did not fail to recall the internal demarcations of the Crown of Aragon, and we find a whole chapter devoted to Saragossa, Valencia and Barcelona. According to Miralles, the history he had compiled would show com ja sia vist, dit e provat per los nobles e valents conquistadós – that Espanya sia la pus noble, bella e delitosa de totes les províncies de l’huniversal món. Segons fan testimoni mols savis pholòsophs e hòmens de gran siència39. These were the wonderful surroundings of the Kingdom of Aragon and Saragossa trespassant en virtuts e en nobleses e actes insignes a totes les altres ciutats, terres e regnes de tota la Espanya, loades per los savis pasats, e encara abundosament pasant en noblesa e virtut a totes les altres terres de l’huniversal món40. surpassing in virtues and in nobility and in distinguished events all the other cities, lands and kingdoms of all Spain, praised by the wise men of the past and also exceeding abundantly in nobility and virtue all other lands of the universal world.

With respect to Valencia, the chaplain Miralles tells us that En la Espanya sia aquella tant amorosa e bella, insigne ciutat de València e regne de aquella, pus altament ennoblida e luada per totes les gents del món de les moltes, 37 38 39 40

Melcior Miralles, Crònica i dietari…, p. 95. Melcior Miralles, Crònica i dietari…, p. 101. Melcior Miralles, Crònica i dietari…, p. 111. Melcior Miralles, Crònica i dietari…, p. 111.

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insignes e grans nobleses de aquella, ésser tan altament ennoblida de tanta amorositat a totes maneres de gents, dotada de tan dolça e afable e graciosa parleria, complida de tantes rique[e]s e maneres de abundoses mercaderies, ennoblida tan altament de resplandents hedificis, insignes e maravelloses esglésies, e axí altament e bella ordenades de yoells e paraments e de hofficis e de totes les coses molt maravelosament [e] abundantment al servir e glòria de la sanctíssima Trinitat; encara tan altament embellida de tants e tan grans, delitoses e belles cases, e les gents complides de tanta fedelitat e de molt gran animositat; encara abundantment, molt altament, basta e complida de resplendent cavaleria41. in Spain there is that so loved, beautiful and famous city of Valencia, and its kingdom, the most highly ennobled and the most praised by all the people because of the many, outstanding and great nobility it has; it is highly ennobled by such love that characterizes the different peoples, who are endowed with a sweet gentle and funny way of talking, full of various riches and abundant goods; ennobled by resplendent buildings, outstanding and marvellous churches, also has jewellery and decorations, crafts and all things to serve the glory of the Holy Trinity beautifully and abundantly; one must also add that it is embellished by large, beautiful homes, with people of great loyalty and endowed with courage, and even abundantly very highly, and fully equipped with a shining group of knights.

And, concerning Barcelona, Miralles also indicated that encara hi sia en la Espanya aquella tan resplandent de tanta saviesa, dotada de tan gran consel, aquella famosa ciutat de Barcelona e principat de aquella, ennoblida de tantes e tan grans e belles ciutats e viles, terres, castels e forces axí inpugnables. there is still in the Spain so tan resplendent with so much wisdom, filled with such great advice, that famous city of Barcelona and principality of that, ennobled by so many great and beautiful cities and towns, lands, castles and forces thus impregnable.

He went on to speak of the origins of Catalonia with the legend of the nine barons and Otger Cataló, and so on42. In the different sections of the Dietari, in the third part, Recordància e memòria de les coses e actes pasats e dels presents… we once again find details of its origins (Tubal, Hercules, Rome and so on) given in a brief, summarised way43. And it seems that here the word ‘Espanya’ was reserved for the most remote times. This aspect is once again notable when we find,

41 42 43

Melcior Miralles, Crònica i dietari…, p. 112. Melcior Miralles, Crònica i dietari…, pp. 112-114. Melcior Miralles, Crònica i dietari…, p. 137.

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later, that the name only reappears on a single occasion, to recall how, at the beginning of the book the author had already spoken of the territory’s beauty and virtues and to tell us that the kingdom of Navarre sia en la Spanya44 (“either in Spain”), clearly using the term as a geographical reference. This geographical view, together with an attempt to apply Gothic history to the land of Catalonia, is what we will find in the work by Joan Margarit i de Pau (1422-1484). A humanist and connoisseur of the Classical past, interested in the recovery of Latin culture and in contact with the Italian intellectuals of his time, he was the first person both to define and describe Espanya. In fact, in his Paralipomenon Hispaniae, there is a chapter devoted to the description of Hispania, clearly following the Latin classics. In this sense, Lluís Lucero Comas had already highlighted that45, after describing the Iberian coast, he added the description of the Pyrenees and the islands and, clearly for political reasons, continued by demonstrating that Roussillon belonged to Hispania46. This desire to talk about geography (and not only about the “lords” and “lordships” of Spain, as was common until then) is a trait clearly indicating Cardinal Margarit’s humanist allegiances. It is a desire and an attitude we will again come across in Beuter. We must still relate Margarit’s interest in defining the limits of the Iberian Peninsula to the clear defence he makes of Roussillon as part of ancient Hispania at a time when this territory was threatened in Ferdinand the Catholic’s wars with the French. There was also a clear political intention to keep these lands linked to the new political entity which he saw being configured and was helping to configure. This can be seen very well in the preamble with which he began his work De origine regum Hispaniae et gotorum (written in around 1458-59), in which he interpreted the Neo-Gothic thesis in order to make a Catalan claim to the Gothic past. This aspect would be crucial, for example, for understanding why, in his Paralipomenon Hispaniae, he highlighted the unification of the crowns of Aragon and Castile and presented them as the restoration of ancient

44 45

46

Melcior Miralles, Crònica i dietari…, p. 277. Lluís Lucero, “El Paralipomenon Hispaniae de Joan Margarit i els humanistes italians”, Literatura i cultura a la Corona d’Aragó (s. XIII-XV), Lola Badia, Míriam Cabré, Sadurní Martí, eds. (Barcelona: Curial-Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, 2002), pp. 271-284. Agustí Alcoberro, Identitat i territori. Textos geogràfics del Renaixement (Vic: Eumo, 2000).

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Hispania (that of remote times, Rome and the Goths) as part of a crusade against the infidels: the Turks and the Muslims of Granada47. The use of the concept Espanya then, in Margarit, shows a very clear political intention. So, here we can find the: serenissimis Ferdinando et Elisabea regi et regina Casteallae et Aragonum, qui succedentes paternis et avitis regnis, ipsa coniugali copula, utriusque Hispaniae citerioris et ulterioris unionem fecistis. Quae a romanurum et gothorum temporibus semper divisa nunquam sub eodem impero perstiterunt48.

We would also like to talk about the historiographical work of Pere Miquel Carbonell. In this case, we can add little to the detailed work done by Agustí Alcoberro in editing and commenting on the text by the archivist Carbonell. We might just recall certain aspects in order to continue with our argument. Thus, the appearance of the word Espanya in the title of the book would have been a choice of the author himself (Cròniques d’Espanya) although the colophon speaks of Cròniques de Catalunya, adapting itself to the content, which is the history of the Crown of Aragon. This could have been due to any of three possibilities: firstly, Spain was, as in the Middle Ages, as we have seen, a purely geographical expression. Secondly, humanism, in the shape of Cardinal Margarit, had already identified Espanya with the Hispania of the Romans. Finally, Alcoberro’s words must be taken into account, when he says: Els historiadors catalans del segle XV reivindicaven per al seu país i els seus reis lҲherència dҲaquesta tradició hispànica, en un moment en què el projecte espanyol admetia encara diverses lectures; és a dir, en què no sҲhavia imposat -si més no dҲuna manera definitiva- un determinat model polític49. The Catalan historians of the 15th century claimed for their country and its kings the inheritance of that Hispanic tradition at a time when the Spanish project still could be read in different ways. That is, because no particular political model had been imposed on it, at least not definitively.

In any case, it is true that those “pan-Hispanist” links must have been accentuated with Ferdinand II’s assumption of the throne of Castile as the husband of Queen Isabella. 47 48 49

For this text, see: Lluís Lucero Comas, “Joan Margarit, Fidel Fita i Robert B. Tate: la dedicatòria del Paralipomenon Hispaniae”, Estudi General, 21 (2001), pp. 465-473. Joan Margarit, Paralipomenon Hispaniae (Granada: Sancho de Nebrija, 1545), f. 1. Agustí Alcoberro, “Introducció”, Cròniques d’Espanya, Pere Miquel Carbonell, 2 vols. (Barcelona: Edutorial Barcino, 1997), vol. 1, p. 44.

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The purely geographical acceptance of the word Espanya is, therefore, the what mainly find in the 14th and 15th centuries. This is also true in more strictly literary spheres. So, for example, Eiximenis mentioned it precisely when he wanted to define the “Valencian people”, his wellknown laus Valentiae: poble valencià sia poble especial e elet entre los altres de tota Espanya50 (“Valencian people are special people and chosen among the others of all Spain”). In the middle of the 15th century, Ausiàs March used it just once in all his work, in the poem CI: Lo viscaí qui es troba en Alemanya, paralitic, que no pot senyalar, si és malalt, remei no li pot dar metge del món si doncs no és d’Espanya, qui del seu mal haurà més coneixença i entendrà millor sa qualitat: a tal son, jo, en estrany lloc posat que altre sens vós ja no em pot dar valença51. The Vizcayan who is in Germany, paralitic, who cannot indicate, if he is ill, cannot be given the remedy by the doctor of the world if he is not from Spain, who would have greater knowledge of his malady and understand better its characteristics: in this dream, I am in a strange place that anyone except you cannot give me support.

In the case of Martorell, he offers us even more clues to a geographical use in his Tirant lo Blanc52 with learned, Classical reminiscences, as would be expected of someone who had been brought up reading, socors de moltes gents nos és vengut d’Espanya ho de França ho de Alamanya (“we have received help from many people from Spain or from France or from Germany”) (chap. 13), ells havien provehït de haver gent d’Espanya o de França (“they had prohibited having people from Spain or from France”) 50 51 52

Franesc Eiximenis, Lo Crestià (selecció), ed. Albert Hauf (Barcelona: Edicions 62, 1983), p. 301. Ausiàs March, Poesies, ed. Vicent J. Escartí (València: Institució Alfons el Magnànim, 2009), p. 297. The references to this work are taken from: Joanot Martorell, Tirant lo Blanch, ed. Albert Hauf (Valencia: Tirant lo Blanc, 2005).

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(chap. 23), poderós senyor e dels reys lo més crestianíssim, no vulles tu fer axí com féu aquell rey de Proença, que tenia una molt bellíssima filla que fon demanada per muller per lo gran rey d’Espanya (“powerful lord and of the kings the most Christian, do not wish to do like that king of Provence, who had a very beautiful daughter who was requested to become the wife of the great king of Spain”) (chap. 229), aquí venien gents d’Espanya, de França, de Ytàlia, per lo gran renom e fama de Tirant (“here cometh people of Spain, of France, of Italy, for the great reputation and fame of Tirant”) (chap. 415) or les mars d’Espanya (“the seas of Spain”) (chap.  265). The geographical use is still very clear when he mentions Espanya la baxa – where there is una ciutat qui és nomenada València (“a city that is called Valencia”) (chap. 330); or in making Tirant say that he is de la última Spanya natural (“born last in Spain”) (chap.  307), a name which, as Albert Hauf notes, seems to translate the old Roman dichotomy between Hispania Citerior, referring to the Mediterranean side of the Ebro and, broadly originally coinciding with the Crown of Aragon, and Hispania Ulterior, which would be the interior or the furthest part from the Mediterranean coast. According to this, and provided it is not an error, Tirant, was trying to pass for a Castilian or Portuguese rather than Valencian, Aragonese or Catalan in order to conceal his origin. Another clue to this explanation is the fact that in chap.  330 the author places Valencia in Espanya la baxa53 (“lower Spain”). In the Curial, the anonymous author speaks to us of tota la lengua d’Espanya (“all the language of Spain”) to refer to a region of Europe: Per part dels alamanys e dels ytalians, lo duch de Burgunya; per part dels angleses e dels escots, lo comte Arbí; per part dels de lengua d’och, ab tota la lengua d’Espanya, que ·m pens que seran pochs, lo comte de Foix; e per part de tots los altres, franceses e altres gents, lo duch d’Orleans54. On behalf of the Germans and Italians, the Duke of Burgundy; on behalf of the English and the Scots part, the Count Arbí; on behalf of those of the language of Oc, with all the language of Spain, I think there will be few, the count of Foix; and on behalf of all the others, French and other peoples, the Duke of Orleans.

53 54

Joanot Martorell, Tirant lo Blanch…, p. 1120. Curial e Güelfa, ed. Antoni Ferrando (Toulouse: Anacharsis, 2007), p. 173.

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Elsewhere, Espanya is mentioned: o dix Hèrcules a Philotete com lo féu cavaller en Espanya55 (“Hercules told Philoctetes this on making him a knight in Spain”), or d’Espanya, ha-y molts cavallers?56 (“from Spain, are there many knights?”), Finally, he tells us that un cavaller d’Espanya, qui don Henrich de Castella havia nom, e tenia mil rocins de christians a gatges del rey57 (“a knight of Spain, who Henry of Castile had named, and had a thousand nags of Christians at the kings expense”). We can probably find good evidence for a change, due, up to a point, to the marriage between Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon, in parts of the texts by a writer like Joan Roís de Corella. Although he maintained an epistolary friendship at least with the Prince of Viana, he cannot have felt any special political interest for the Catholic king. In fact, for example, Corella, spoke of the província d’Espanya (“province of Spain”), using the Roman nomenclature, where there was lo delitós ameníssim regne de València58 (“the delicious and very entertaining kingdom of Valencia”), or los inichs castells ho sepultures d’Espanya59 (“the first castles and graves of Spain”) and la çiutat de Còrdova, de la gran Espanya60 (“the city of Cordova, of the great Spain”). But we can also detect in him a clear political reference when speaking of King Ferdinand the Catholic, who is presented as lo invictíssim rey d’Espanya, calçigant e guastant los regnes de Granada61 (“the Muslim lands seem to have remained outside”) or when he spoke of the Catholic monarch as sereníssims reys d’Espanya62 (“serene kings of Spain”). And Francí d’Aguilar’s reclining body de armes d’Espanya tenía la persona cuberta63 (“of arms of Spain had the person covered”). With dynastic union, a degree of political equivalence was added to the geographical denomination, seeking to value Espanya/Hispania above an Italy which, despite its political fragmentation, continued in many cases to maintain its unitary name. 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63

Curial e Güelfa…, p. 329. Curial e Güelfa…, p. 174. Curial e Güelfa…, p. 343. Joan Roís de Corella, Obres, ed. Ramon Miquel i Planas (Barcelona: F. Giró, 1913), p. 124. Joan Roís de Corella, Obres…, p. 141. Joan Roís de Corella, Obres…, p. 359. Joan Roís de Corella, Obres…, p. 362. Joan Roís de Corella, Obres…, p. 361. Joan Roís de Corella, Obres…, p. 352.

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2. The 16th century: Pere Antoni Beuter, a point of arrival Pere Antoni Beuter, a descendant of Slav or German merchants, was born at the end of the 15th century, probably in that booming Valencia (14901495) which, within a few decades, would experience the fratricidal war of Les Germanies, an event that perhaps also drove Beuter to devote himself to writing history. A cleric by education, in 1530 he was already a preacher in the city and, after 1522, he sporadically occupied the post of professor in different departments of the Estudi General (university). He had visited Italy and lived in Rome, where he aspired to a post in the Papal court. It is also possible he had aspirations at the imperial court, given his relationship with Juan de Zúñiga, preceptor of Philip I of Aragon, whom he may have got to know through Zúñiga’s marriage to Estafania de Requessens, daughter of the Valencian lady Hipòlita de Lihori. The ideological trajectory of Beuter, a clear admirer of the imperial figure, would corroborate this, although he never forgot his Valencian origins. Using his skills as a fairly-reliable historian, he attempted to catapult himself into the court, demonstrating a clearly Caesarist ideology. However, it is also true that he helped to promote his own country with a strategy that not only furthered his personal interests but also those of the political governors of the city and kingdom of Valencia. In fact, in 1538, Beuter dedicated the first part of the Història de València…64 to the justice and the juries of the city, while the second, in 155165, was clearly aimed at a different audience (the Hispanic empire) of which Beuter and his country felt part66. For our purposes here and now, it should be pointed out that the first part of the Història de València began as an institutional commission by 64 65

66

Pere Antoni Beuter, Primera part de la Història de València, que tracta de les antiquitats d’Espanya y fundació de València (Valencia: Joan Mei, 1538). Pere Antoni Beuter, Segunda parte de la Corónica general de España y especialmente de Aragón, Cathaluña y Valencia, donde se tratan las cobranças d’estas tierras de poder de moros por los ínclytos reyes de Aragón y condes de Barcelona. Y pónese en particular la conquista de la ciudad y reyno de Valencia y Murcia, con las yslas Mallorca, Menorca, Eviça y las otras (Valencia: Joan Mei, 1551). About Beuter, see: Vicent J. Escartí, “Narrar la historia remota de un país: Beuter y la Història de València (1538)”, From Renaissance to Renaissance. (Re)creating Valencian Culture (15th-19th c.) (Santa Barbara: Publications of eHumanista, 2012), pp. 37-65.

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the municipal corporation to be preached on Saint Denis’s Day, when the re-consecration of the Cathedral after the entry of James I and the Catalan and Aragonese troops into Valencia is celebrated. Beuter’s desire to innovate led him to consider the documents used until then (the libre hon està scrita (“book where it is written”), which was the Llibre dels feits) as wrong. Beuter, a priest in the city, would have taken time over the research that led him to write three parts of a clearly divided Valencian history: ancient history, covering practically from the creation of the world to the conquest of the city by King James; a second part dealing only with the conquest, and a third part with the rest of the story down to Beuter’s own days. Unfortunately, this last book, if it ever existed, has not survived. In any case, it should be highlighted that this division was made for quite significant reasons: it was a matter of grouping all possible information about the two origins of the Valencians (the ancient, remote ones and the modern once from the time of King James) in two separate volumes. Between these two volumes, Beuter also wrote the Spanish version of the first part (published in Valencia in 1546)67, to which he had added tanto […] que se reputa por obra distinta (“so much […] that it seemed to be a different work”), as the 18th-century bibliographer, Vicent Ximeno, said68. We do not know if he actually wrote the third part, which he himself announced in various places. Overall, thanks to this historiographical activity, we can now understand some of the changes in Valencian society and in its culture and language regarding the meaning of the concept Espanya. In fact, the Valencia of the Renaissance, clearly influenced by Italy but now politically dominated by imperial Castile, enthusiastically embraced the use of Castilian in certain powerful circles69. The same thing was happening in Barcelona and Catalonia, where Cristòfor Despuig complained of it in his Col·loquis,

67

68 69

Pere Antoni Beuter, Primera parte de la Corónica general de toda España y especialmente del reyno de Valencia, donde se tratan los estraños acaescimientos que del diluvio de Noé hasta los tiempos del rey don Jayme de Aragón, que ganó Valencia, en España se siguieron, con las fundaciones de las ciudades más principales d’ella y las guerras crueles y mutaciones de señoríos que ha havido (Valencia: Joan Mei, 1546). Vient Ximeno, Escritores del reyno de Valencia, 2 vols. (Valencia: Josep Esteve Dolç, 1747-1749), vol. 1, p. 104. Joan Fuster, “Decadència i castellanització”, Caplletra, 1 (1986), pp. 29-36.

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claiming that Catalan was as worthy and courtly as Spanish70. In Valencia, where we can also see complaints in the 17th century71, in Beuter’s time writing in Spanish must have been just another “modern” thing to do, the same as we have mentioned in the case of Carbonell and the use of the term Espanya. However, the feeling of linguistic desertion still weighed on Beuter, and he felt the need to make excuses to his compatriots, not merely as a rhetorical exercise. Thus, when publishing the first part translated into Spanish, Beuter stated: Imprimióse, pues, en lengua valenciana, como yo la compuse, y pienso que hizo algún provecho en nuestra tierra. Y según que de algún curioso fue recogido en Aragón y Castilla, paresció que con alguna poca de mejoría se podría embiar por toda España a dar lengua, como de camino, en las más ciudades d’ella, de muchas antigüedades que allí acontescieron en tiempo de romanos y antes y después d’ellos. Para lo qual era necessario proveerle la lengua castellana con que fuesse entendida en los lugares do no entendían la valenciana72. So print it in Valencian language, as I composed it, and I think that is was of some benefit to our land. And according to the curious that was found in Aragon and Castile, it seems that with a little memory it could be sent all over Spain to give language, on the way, in most of its cities, of many antiquities that happened there in time of the Romans and before and after them. For which it was necessary to acquire the Castilian language with which he was understood in the places that did not understand the Valencian.

It was the easy excuse of the “universality” of the neighbouring language. But Beuter, who had already considered Espanya as a geographical “unit” with a common history in his first part, with the assumption of the Gothic theses which linked to the fabulations of Annio de Viterbo and other papers of the kind, went even further in the Spanish prologue. In translating the text into Spanish, there was also a very clear political intention in accordance with the idea of the single monarchy with its roots the past 70

71

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Cristòfor Despuig, Los col·loquis de la insigne ciutat de Tortosa, eds. Enric Querol, Josep Solervicens (Barcelona: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, 2011), pp. 42-43. Here I mention, as an evidence, the complaints from Marc Antoni Ortí in his letter dedicated to the Valencian juries that heads his Siglo quarto de la Conquista de Valencia (Valencia: Joan Baptista Marçal, 1640). Pere Antoni Beuter, Primera parte de la Corónica general de toda España…, f. 2r.

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(the historiographical past which we have already seen) that was gradually being imposed on the majority of the Hispanic lands. As he takes it on himself to note: En tiempo de los godos se hablava quasi en toda España una sola lengua que havían introduzido los romanos, y los godos se hizieron a ella, dexando la propia suya bárbara que sacaron de su tierra. Venidos los moros, quedó la lengua española en Aragón y Asturias, do salieron la lengua aragonesa y castellana, al principio en muy pocas cosas discrepantes y con el discurso del tiempo, agora en nuestros días, tenidas por lenguas differentes, aunque salidas de una misma rayz. Pues como el tiempo ha traydo la diversidad de tantos reynos como en España se partieron, por la venida de los moros, en un general y solo señorío -excepto Portugal-, paresce que el mismo tiempo requiere que sea en todos una común lengua, como solía en la monarchía primera de España, en tiempo de los godos. Luego no es razón que a nadie parezca mal que siendo yo valenciano natural y escriviendo de Valencia, a los regidores dҲella escriva en castellano, lengua estraña para Valencia, por el respeto commún y divulgación mayor en toda España de las gracias que Dios ha concedido a este reyno, que no se haze a la lengua valenciana perjuyzio en ello, ni pierde por ello el ser habla pulida, dulce y muy linda, que con brevedad moderada exprime los secretos y profundos conceptos del alma y despierta el ingenio a vivos primores, de donde le resulta un muy esclarecido lustre73. In the time of the Goths in almost all of Spain a single language was spoken that had been introduced by the Romans, and the Goths took it over, leaving their own barbaric one that they brought from their land. The Moors having come, the Spanish language stayed in Aragon and Asturias, from where the Aragonese and Castilian languages appeared, at first with very few discrepant things and with the discourse of the time, down to our days, becoming different languages, although coming from a same root. As with the time has brought the diversity of so many kingdoms as Spain was divided into, through the coming of the Moors, in one general and solo lordship – except Portugal –, it seems that at the same time it requires that there be in all a common language, as there used to be in the first monarchy of Spain, in the time of the Goths. Then, there is no reason that anyone should think badly that I being a native Valencian and writing of Valencia, to the councillors of this write in Castilian, a strange language for Valencia, for the common respect and greater divulgation in all Spain of the grace that God has conceded to this kingdom, that is not done without any damage to the Valencian language, nor does it loose anything by this as it is a polished, fresh and beautiful tongue, that with moderate brevity squeezes out the secrets and profound concepts of the soul and awakens the lively ingenuity, from where it produces a great brilliance.

73

Pere Antoni Beuter, Primera parte de la Corónica general de toda España…, f. 2r.

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In fact, beyond the linguistic issue, which is already well enough known, the most important thing to highlight now is that Beuter provides an almost perfect example of his times. In the middle of the 16th century in Valencia, the sources and historiography Beuter might have consulted all pointed in the direction of the thesis of Jiménez de Rada, Archbishop of Toledo, whom he often quotes. Or Carbonell himself, who we know owned a copy in his personal library74. Meanwhile, Viterbense, in an attempt to put Hispania above Italy, completed the process. To this, we should add the Caesarist political ideology, which of course infused everything, with a Holy, Roman, Germanic, Caesarian and Hispanic emperor. Clearly, if you wanted to be in fashion or modern you had no alternative, still less if you wanted to get to court. Although we have no record of how successful Beuter was when his books were published, we should highlight two facts: his work was translated into Italian and published in Venice in 155675. Back in Valencia, in 1604 the two parts of his writings were republished, again in Spanish. Another influential and much more truthful historian, Rafael Martí de Viciana, a member of the local nobility, did not achieve such success, although he was much more critical of the past. And this was despite the fact that he too adopted a Caesarist ideology as a sign of the times76. These two (and the other texts circulating, such as the works of Nebrija, to which Margarit’s were also attached) meant that, when he arrived on the scene, at the end of the 16th century, the Aragonese Bernardí Gómez Mides translated James I’s Llibre dels feits into Latin and Spanish

74 75

76

For the sources in Beuter, see: Vicent Josep Escartí, “Narrar la historia…”, pp. 49-58. Pere Antoni Beuter, Cronica general d’Hispagna et del regno di Valenza, nella quale si trattano gli avenimenti et guerre che del diluvio di Noe insino al tempo del re don Giaime d’Aragona, che acquistò Valenza in Spagna si seguitarono (...) nuovamente tradotta in lingua italiana dal signore Alfonso de Ulloa (Venècia: Gabriel Giolito dei Ferrari e fratelli, 1556). For the ideas of the historians Beuter and Viciana, consult the works by: Vicent Josep Escartí, “Intencionalitats polítiques en les cròniques de Pere Antoni Beuter i de Rafael Martí de Viciana”, Miscel·lània Homenatge a Rafael Martí de Viciana en el V Centenari del seu naixement, 1502-2002 (Valencia: Ajuntament de BorrianaBiblioteca Valenciana, 2003), pp. 205-218; Vicent Josep Escartí, “Ideologia nobiliària i imperi a l’obra de Rafael Martí de Viciana”, Afers, 24 (2009), pp. 609-627; Vicent Josep Escartí, “La imagen de la nobleza, según Rafael Martí de Viciana (s. XVI): del pasado medieval al proyecto imperial”, Mirabilia, 9 (2009), pp. 266-291, , 12th June 2012.

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and did so clearly paraphrasing Caesarist and pan-Hispanist ideology77. Meanwhile, for the Valencian Dominican friar Jaume Bleda78, in having to tell the story of the Muslims of the Iberian Peninsula, the concept Espanya was much more unitarian and he could speak without impediment of the “restoration” and “reconquest” of Spain, as the Spanish historians of successive centuries would continue to do. Other 16th-century Catalan historians, led by Tarafa, Viladamor and Despuig, would suggest different solutions. These ranged from the assumption that the Catalans were Goths under the same conditions as the Castilians, so they could claim shared Spanishness with Hispania Citerior and Hispania Ulterior, to claiming a greater role for Catalonia in Spain while also demonstrating the Carolingian origins that would be exhibited in the future, during the War of Catalonia in the following century79.

3. Some final reflections The memory of the Roman provintiae probably never ceased to exist during the Middle Ages as the reference for a way of dividing known geographical areas: Italy, Germany, France (which replaced Gaul) persisted. In this sense, the word Hispania even managed to outlast two different civilisations: firstly the Goths, who established themselves on the Iberian Peninsula in the company of the Vandals and Suebi, and governed territories of varying size occupying parts of the provinces of Gaul and Hispania, and the Muslims, who never managed to control the whole Iberian Peninsula. The advance of the Christian conquest from north to south created the need for ideological justification: the Castilian Mozarabs taking refuge in Asturias. Firstly came the aforementioned mentioned Archbishop of Toledo, Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada, and there was surely no coincidence that he was writing from the 77 78 79

Vicent J. Escartí, “Els escrits jaumins de l’humanista Bernardí Gómez Miedes (1582 i 1584)”, From Renaissance to Renaissance..., pp. 93-126. About this writer, see: Vicent J. Escartí, Jaume Bleda i l’expulsió dels moriscos valencians (Valencia: Fundació Bancaixa, 2009). For Catalan historiography in the 17th century, see: Xavier Baró Queralt, La historiografia catalana en el segle del Barroc (1585-1709) (Barcelona: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, 2009).

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ancient Visigothic capital. Concerned with spreading the Catholic faith, he found in the Gothic past a way of justifying the Christian advance of Castile towards the Muslim south, while giving arguments to the Castilian kings to demand a Hispanic pre-eminence which was in no way owed to them. In the long run, however, things turned out very well for him. In fact, in the 13th and 14th centuries, in Catalonia and the Crown of Aragon we can see how the word Espanya (defining a reality) was largely used as a toponym: a geographical area which, as Margarit or Beuter would end up defining it, ended at the Pyrenees. In a way, the word Espanya was a “continental” equivalent, in the sense that it was the way of defining a geographical area that “contained”; where there was a series of independent, political realities, more or less distant from, or close to, one another depending on the case, and where these political entities where not even always Christian. There was Muslim Spain, alongside Christian Spain; Castilian, Portuguese, Catalan, Aragonese, Navarrese and other Spains. All this meant that James I felt he was, for example, millor rei d’Espanya (“best king of Spain”) without any pretensions of absorbing Castile or submitting himself to any Castilian emperor, although some Castilian kings did look back to a remote single Hispania descended from the Gothic monarchy. After the time of King James I, the greater links between the Crown of Aragon with Hispanic territories (the incorporation of Valencia and Majorca and the conquest and subsequent cession of Murcia to Alfonso the Wise) meant that the world Espanya was accepted normally and that King James, who for obvious reasons, clearly wanted to distance himself from the French, felt, to some degree, more “Spanish”. Muntaner, who was concerned about the monarchy in the sense of the family, the dynasty, saw in Spain a kind of great family of Royal houses, just as he saw in the house of Aragon a great house of crowned heads. And, although he did not refrain from recommending the unity of the sovereigns of the house of Aragon, with his well-known “exempli” of the mat of rushes, also said that the kings of Castile, Portugal, Aragon and Majorca were united by blood ties: E segurament ell deia veritat. Que si aquests quatre reis que ell nomenà, d’Espanya, qui són una carn e una sang, se tenguessen ensems, poc dubtaren e prearen tot l’altre poder del món80.

80

Ramon Muntaner, Crònica, ed. Vicent Josep Escartí, 2 vols. (Valencia: Institució Alfons el Magnànim, 1999), vol. 1, p. 226.

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Vicent Josep Escartí And surely he was telling the truth. That if these four kings that he named, of Spain, who are of one flesh and one blood, if they were united little would they doubt and all the other powers of the world would pray.

The context also required this: the king of Castile was addressing himself to Aragon with the intention of making war on the king of France and taking Navarre from him, if necessary. In Muntaner there was surely a desire to highlight the family ties between the peninsular Christian sovereigns; between what he would elsewhere call the “lords of Spain”81. However, that did not mean there was any subordination of Aragon to the Castilians, and he took it on himself to stress this82. Peter the Ceremonious, who was at odds with Castile for a long time, gives the impression of being less interested in the word Espanya, although he recognises it as a geographical entity, as mentioned above83. However, the Archbishop of Toledo’s chronicle in translated or glossed form continued to spread. Tomic and the other 15th-century chroniclers must have felt attracted to the possibility of assuming the Neo-Gothic theory and more so when relations with Castile were consolidated with the coming of the Trastámara dynasty. This proximity must have felt still closer with the marriage of Ferdinand the Catholic and Isabella of Castile. This nexus of dynastic union must have reinforced Hispanic feelings, especially after the long years when Alfonso the Magnanimous lived in Naples, leaving the court of the peninsular territories of the Crown of Aragon empty. It does not seem to us to be too wild to suggest a link between this “re-Hispanisation” with the Catholic monarchs and a response to their predecessor’s cultural Italianisation. Ànnius de Viterbo, a servant of Alexander VI, the Borgia Pope, was certainly attempting this in dedicating his work to the monarchs of Castile and Aragon and in valuing the history of Hispania above that of Italy or Rome84. Beuter went along with him. And he took the idea on board in two directions: on one hand by offering the legendary origins of the Valencians and the Crown of Aragon to the city of Valencia, as a substitute for a court that no longer existed in his time, which was an 81 82 83 84

Ramon Muntaner, Crònica…, vol. 1, p. 237. Ramon Muntaner, Crònica…, vol. 1, pp. 77-78. Vicent J. Escartí, “El concepte Espanya…”. Eulàlia Duran, “Defensa de la pròpia tradició davant d’Itàlia al segle XVI”, Miscel·lània Joan Fuster, Antoni Ferrando, Albert Hauf, eds. (Barcelona: Abadia de Montserrat, 1991), pp. 241-265.

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“imperial” age. In his second direction, Beuter himself took a step forward when, probably after seeing the failure of the “urbs” as a generator and receiver of culture and ideology, he adopted Hispanic Caesarism. Although at the time it was the latest thing, the height of modern fashion, this was no more than an updating of the theories of Jiménez de Rada, which had survived thanks to many intervening authors. In the case of Beuter, this was also masterfully exemplified with the change of language, employed in the same way as another local chronicler did: Rafael Martí de Viciana. However, this “Valencian” option was not accepted by everyone in the Crown of Aragon. At least, as far as the here and now is concerned, not in Catalonia. But in Valencia, identification with the Hispanic imperial project (where there must have been a regrouping of the nobles and the court after the Brotherhoods) ended up assimilating the country into a clearly Iberian Espanya. Jaume Bleda, the most important ideologue in the expulsion of the Moriscos in the 17th century, saw in this event the completion of the “reconquest” – Jiménez de Rada’s costly idea. When all is said and done, if we want to find out the meaning of the concept Espanya in Catalan literature in the 15th and 16th centuries, we basically have to look at historiography. This is where the best-known ideologues positioned themselves with the changes of focus for the application of a word to an entity that was defined to different degrees. The literature is merely a pale reflection of this. In it, Spain is a geographical unit and a useful demarcation to refer to it, which is closed to differing degrees. By contrast, in the historiography, the word, which began as a geographical toponym, ended up defining a State and a political option.

The concept of Spain in Catalan and Hispanic political thought from the era of reason of state1 Antoni Simon Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and Institut d’Estudis Catalans

The historical dialectic established during the centuries of modernity between the state model built by the Castilian “establishment” and that of the Catalan historical formation, can be analysed from different perspectives. Thus, at a political-military level we have been able to examine the process of rising tension stemming from the coexistence, in one same aggregative political entity, of a pattern of absolutist and standardising tendencies and one that is constitutionalist and pluralist in its institutional and territorial conception. Tensions that, as is well-known, gave rise to three serious “moments” of confrontation: the “confusions” of 1587-1593, the Catalan Revolt from 1640-1652 and, lastly, the War of the Spanish Succession which ended on 11th September 1714, and led to the forced joining of the Catalan historical formation with the state model supported by the Castilian establishment. But this dialectic can also be studied from the perspective of the movements and conflicts that arose in the sphere of ideas, symbols and cultural and identity-related referents, all of which intellectually fuelled the political practice, at the same time that their fundamental seeds lay within it. It is within this perspective that the contribution of this paper can be situated. On the basis of a specific but central concept, such as that of Spain, I will analyse the political and identity-related concepts that were produced and, at times clashed, in this phase of the construction of the early modern Spanish State. As is well-known, since the last decades of the XV century, the concept and the history of Spain have been the subject of an ideological-cultural clash between the humanist Catalan circles and the Castilian

1

Used abbreviations: AHCB, Arxiu Històric de la Ciutat de Barcelona; BNC, Biblioteca Nacional de Catalunya; BNE, Biblioteca Nacional de España.

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establishment2. This clash is essentially, in our opinion, proof of the difficulty of joining two cultural and political traditions which, during medieval times, had created both individual national identities and emerging state structures which had become the driving force of two of the main crowns in the Hispanic area. With the spread of cultural values of humanism and the renaissance the old world began to be re-evaluated, and in educated and erudite classes the classical names of the Roman provinces began to circulate: Hispania, Italia, Germania, etc. These names began to acquire political relevance as they coincided with the territorial configuration process of the emerging modern states. The name “Spain” had been used during the medieval centuries, both by Castilian and Catalan chroniclers, to discuss peninsular history. But, since the XIII century, especially on account of the influence of Historia de rebus Hispaniae by Rodrigo Ximénez de Rada (11701247), Castilian chroniclers began a process of appropriating the concept of Spain, putting it on an equal footing with that of Castile. In line with the thinking of this Hispanicised Navarrese man who was appointed to wear the mitre of Toledo, the gothic sector destroyed by the Muslim invasion had to be rebuilt. This was an essential step to put Spain’s potential on a level with that of “nations” such as France or England. “El Toledano” proposed that Castile should be the centre and head of this unifying plan, since he considered that the Castilian monarchs were most prepared to achieve this ideal3. This Hispano-Castilian consciousness remained quite apathetic from the reign of Alfonso X to that of John II, on account of the

2

3

Basically: Josep Solervicens, Els Països Catalans i Espanya: ser o no ser (València: 3i4, 1988); Ernest Belenguer, “La monarquía hispánica desde la perspectiva de Cataluña”, Idea de España en la Edad Moderna, Ernest Belenguer, Jon Arrieta, Pablo Fernández, eds. (València: Publicaciones de la Sociedad Económica de Amigos del País, 1998), pp.  9-35; Eulàlia Duran, “Els conceptes d’Espanya en el segle XVI”, L’Avenç, 244 (2000), pp. 27-34; Eulàlia Duran, “Patriotisme i historiografia humanística”, Manuscrits. Revista d’Història Moderna, 19 (2001), pp. 43-58; Josep M. Nadal, Modest Prats, “El concepte d’Espanya: Hispaniam restaurare et recuperare?”, Història de la llengua catalana, 2 vols. (Barcelona: Edicions 62, 1996), vol. 2, pp. 331-337; José M. Nieto, “Conceptos de España en tiempos de los Reyes Católicos”, Norba. Revista de Historia, 19 (2006), pp. 105-123. See: Juan Fernández, “Introducción” to Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada, Historia de los hechos de España (Madrid: Alianza Editorial, 1989).

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demographic-economic recession of the XIV century and the resulting social and dynastic-political unrest. However, it returned with force in the XV century at the hands of intellectuals such as Alonso García de Santamaría, better known as Alonso de Cartagena, author of the Latin chronicle Anacephaleosis (1455), and Rodrigo Sánchez de Arévalo (1404-1470), author of the Compendiosa Historia Hispanica, in which although in a more exaggerated and pretentious manner than the previous works, he insists on the idea of Castilian pre-eminence, which is argued not only as the result of a historical process, but also as the result of a plan of Providence4. Castilian historic hegemonism that was confirmed in the reign of the Catholic kings with authors such as Antonio de Nebrija, Luca Marineo and Diego de Valera5. In contrast, the Catalan-Aragonese cultural tradition considered “Spain” to be a concept with an essentially geographical value, like a designation of origin that encompassed all the inhabitants and kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. It appears as such in the Llibre dels Feits by James I, in Ramon Muntaner’s chronicle and also in the Aragonese chronicle of Fabrici de Vagad6. And although a humanist such as the cardinal Margarit, in his De origine regum Hispania et Gotorum (written prior to 1459), aligned himself with the idea of a Hispaniam restaurare et recuperare proposed by Ximénez de Rada, unlike the Navarrese-Castilian chronicler he vindicated the gothic inheritance by the Catalan-Aragonese kings, while stating that the name of Catalonia came from Gotolonia, country

4

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6

Robert Brian Tate, Ensayos sobre la historiografía peninsular del siglo XV (Madrid: Gredos, 1970), p.  20. See, also: Maria Dolores García, “España en fuentes narrativas castellanas de la época Trastámara”, Norba. Revista de Historia, 19 (2006), pp. 73-93. Josep Solervicens, “Els Països Catalans...”, p.  151; Robert Brian Tate, “La historiografía del reinado de los Reyes Católicos”, Antonio de Nebrija: Edad Media y Renacimiento, Carmen Codoñer, Juan Antonio González, eds. (Salamanca: Universidad de Salamanca, 1994), pp. 17-28; Robert Brian Tate, “The rewrigting of historical past. Hispania et Europa”, L’Histoire et les nouveaux publics dans l’Europe médievale (XIII-XV siècles), Jean Ph. Genet, ed. (Paris: Presses Universitaires de la Sorbonne, 1997), pp. 241-257; Ana Isabel Carrasco, “Aproximación al problema de la conciencia propagandística en algunos escritos políticos del siglo XV”, En la España Medieval, 21 (1998), pp. 229-269. Esteban Sarasa, “España en las crónicas de la Corona de Aragón en la Edad Media”, Norba. Revista de Historia, 19 (2006), pp. 95-103.

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of Goths, and that Barcelona had been, in the times of Ataulf, the first Hispanic Goth capital7. These two cultural traditions had coexisted without any clashes until the last decades of the XV century. According to Eulàlia Duran, it was after the irruption of printing, with the consequential spread throughout Europe, in the Latin language, of Castilian hegemonist reflections, that the confrontation between both concepts of Spain was unleashed. This provoked a response from Catalan humanists regarding the “loss of reputation” that this implied for their country and for its historical tradition8. There was not only one response to this challenge; rather, it involved diverse strategies. Thus, the royal archivist Pere Miquel Carbonell endeavoured that the Catalan historiographical tradition would adopt the concept of Spain in the same way that the Castilian chroniclers did, and therefore he used the name Cròniques d’Espanya as the title for what was “only of the Goth kings and the kings of Aragon and the counts of Barcelona”. Carbonell’s work, finished in 1513, but not printed until 1547, should be interpreted as a failed and very isolated attempt at achieving a hegemonic position for Catalonia in the intellectual and propagandist debate of a Hispaniam restaurare et recuperare9. In turn, the canon Francesc Tarafa, in his De origine ac rebus gestis regum Hispaniae (1553), made an attempt at balancing the historical pre-eminence of the Crown of Aragon and the Crown of Castile in a work aimed at a foreign audience and dedicated to Philip II10.

7

8 9 10

Robert Brian Tate, “Margarit i el tema dels Gots”, Actes del Vè Col·loqui de Llengua I Literatura catalanes, Jordi Bruguera, Josep Massot, eds. (Barcelona: Publicacions de l’Abadía de Montserrat), pp. 151-168; See, also: Jocelyn N. Hillgarth, “Los godos en la historiografía catalana antes y en la época de Margarit”, El cardenal Margarit i l’Europa Quatrecentista, Mariàngela Vilallonga, Eulàlia Miralles, David Prats, eds. (Roma: L’Erma di Bretschneider, 2008), pp. 183-192. See: Eulàlia Duran, “Patriotisme i historiografia humanística...”, pp. 52-55. Agustí Alcoberro, Pere Miquel Carbonell. Cròniques d’Espanya, 2 vols. (Barcelona: Barcino, 1997). Eulàlia Miralles, Maria Toldrà, “La transmissió manuscrita de l’obra de Francesc Tarafa: biblioteques de Barcelona”, Anuari de Filologia, 20 (1997), pp.  43-78; Eulàlia Miralles, “National identity and political intentionality in Sixteenth-century Hispanic Historiography. From Tarafa’s Las Españas to Santa Cruz’s La España”, Latin, Linguistic identity and Nationalism. Renaessaceforum, 8 (2012), pp. 87-101.

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However, the Castilian hegemonism caused a reaction of denunciation and rejection towards the cultural imperialism of a nation that wanted to adopt a shared heritage. In the middle of the XVI century, Cristòfor Despuig from Tortosa, in Els Col·loquis de la insigne ciutat de Tortosa, replied to the self-righteous Castilian supremacists saying: y és que volen ser tan absoluts y tenen les coses pròpies en tant y les estranyes en tant poch, que par són ells vinguts a soles del cel y que lo resto dels hòmens és eixit de la terra (“and they have such arrogance and hold their own in such high esteem while scorning that of others, that they believe themselves heaven-born and the rest of men born of the earth”). He added that casi tots los historiogràfos castellans estan en lo mateix de voler nomenar Castella per tota Espanya (“almost all Castilian historiographers want to use the name Castile for all of Spain”). He later convincingly stated that aquesta provincial [Catalunya] no sols és Espanya mas és la millor Espanya11 (“this province [Catalonia] is not only Spain but it is the best Spain”). Nevertheless, despite the dynastic union of the Catholic kings and the fact that the ideal of a Spanish unity was not only spread by the Castilian chronicles but also in poetic compositions and other more or less propagandist literary forms, at that time a strictly speaking political concept of Spain was not accepted. During the reign of Charles I and the first decades of the reign of Philip II, the works of Florián de Ocampo, Pedro de Mexía, Pedro de Medina, Juan Sedeño, Pedro de Salazar, Ambrosio de Morales and Juan del Castillo continued declaring the idea of Spain as a historical community with a national or proto-national identity. However, these chronicle projects, besides the fact that they would often remain unfinished, were not sufficiently politically or intellectually daring to link the historical discourse with the development of a strictly speaking political plan for Spain12. 11 12

Cristòfor Despuig, Los Col·loquis de la insigne ciutat de Tortosa, ed. Eulàlia Duran (Barcelona: Curial, 1981), p. 102. See: Richard  L. Kagan, Clio and the Crown. The politics of History in Medieval and Early Modern Spain (Baltimore: The John Hopkins University Press, 2009), pp. 94-123; Richard L. Kagan, “Clio y la corona: escribir historia en la España de los Austrias”, España, Europa y el mundo atlántico, Richard L. Kagan, Geoffrey Parker, eds. (Madrid: Marcial Pons-Junta de Castilla y León, 2001), pp. 113-147 (the first Edition: Cambridge University Press, 1995); Fernando Wulff, Las esencias patrias. Historiografía e historia antigua en la construcción de la identidad española (siglos

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In my opinion, there are three essential reasons for this theoretical limitation: 1. The first would be the internal Castilian crisis that broke out after the death of Isabella I of Castile and that ended with the Comunero Revolution from 1520-1522; 2. The second would be that the peninsular Castilian hegemonism did not always fit into Charles V’s large European confederate project, or with him being emperor, as can be observed for example in the work of Juan Ginés de Sepulveda, De Rebus Gestis Caroli Quinti Imperatoris (written between 1540 and 1560), in which this humanist from Cordoba proclaimed the pre-eminence of the title of the king of Spain, above imperial dignity even13; 3. Lastly, it is important to bear in mind that, after the abdication of Charles V, the efforts to seek a conceptual identity and a legitimate policy for this huge Spanish monarchy gave quite diverse and often contradictory answers. The “particularist” theorising about the organisation of the Iberian territories, which, as we will observe below, created a clearly political concept of Spain, coexisted until well into the XVII century with “universalist” ideals of the Catholic monarchy, which are reflected, for example, in the works of Tomasso Campanella, Juan de la Puente and Camilo Borrell14.

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XVI-XX) (Barcelona: Crítica, 2003), pp. 23; Baltasar Cuart, “La larga marcha de las historias de España en el siglo XVI”, La construcción de las historias de España, Ricardo García, ed. (Madrid: Fundación Carolina-Marcial Pons, 2004), pp. 45-126; Pablo Fernández, Materia de España. Cultura política e identidad en la España Moderna (Madrid: Marcial Pons, 2007), pp. 41-64. About Ginés de Sepúlveda and his work, see: Ángel Losada, “Un cronista olvidado en la España imperial: Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda”, Hispania, 31 (1948), pp. 234308; Ángel Losada, Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda a través de su epistolario y nuevos documentos (Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 1949); Actas del V Centenario del nacimiento del Dr. Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda (Pozoblanco: Ayuntamiento de Pozoblanco, 1993); Francisco Castilla, Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda (1490-1573) (Madrid: Orto, 2000); Baltasar Cuart, “Los Romanos, los Godos y los Reyes Católicos a mediados del siglo XVI: Juan Ginés de Sepúlveda y su de Rebus Gestis Carola Quinti Imperiatoris et Regis Hispaniae”, Stvdia Historica, 9 (1993), pp. 61-87. Pablo Fernández, Fragmentos de monarquía (Madrid: Alianza Editorial, 1992), pp. 168-184; Maria José Rodríguez Salgado, “Patriotismo y política exterior en la España de Carlos V y Felipe II”, La proyección europea de la monarquía hispànica, Felipe Ruiz, ed. (Madrid: Editorial Complutense, 1996), pp. 49-105, especially, pp. 86-89; Antoni Simon, Construccions polítiques i identitats nacionals: Catalunya i els orígens de l’estat modern espanyol (Barcelona: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, 2005), pp. 53-68.

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From the middle of the XVI century onwards, it appears that a crucial point was reached in the long Hispanicisation process of Castile, because at least in important sectors of its ruling class, there was a strong identification between Spain and Castile. As Irving A. A. Thompson noted, en aquellos momentos, los castellanos no hablan ya de Castilla cuendo quieren decir España, hablan de España cuando quieren decir Castilla. Parece que ‘Castilla’ como expression de la identidad comunitaria desaparece del vocabulario politico15 (“at those times, Castilians no longer talk of Castile when they mean Spain, they talk of Spain when they mean Castile. It seems that ‘Castile’ as an expression of the community identity is almost disappearing from the political vocabulary”). This occurred when, in the last decades of the 1500s, the legitimisation and constitutionalisation process of the Hispanic monarchy entered a decisive phase, which was marked by the disassociation of Austrian-Spaniards from the imperial title, by the incorporation of Portugal into the Hispanic monarchy, and by the start of the crisis of Castilian human and material bases while, particularly after the rebellion of the Netherlands, the difficulties of maintaining this universal empire could be seen clearly. In this historical context, within the range of theoretical options proposed to achieve the “conservation” of the state and maintain its power, the idea of Spain as a political community started to gain strength. It would comprise a medium-sized state, territorially compact and with shared cultural and historical ties. Significantly, the incorporation of Navarra into the Spanish monarchy, which at the time of Ferdinand the Catholic was presented as a “fair conquest”, would be progressively reinterpreted by the legal and historical thinking of the XVI and XVII century as an episode of dynastic restoration aimed at unifying Spain16. Likewise, the incorporation of Portugal would be acclaimed as the reintegration of a “lost” 15

16

Irving A. A. Thompson, “Castilla, España y la monarquía: la comunidad política de la ‘patria natural’ a la ‘patria nacional’”, Europa y el mundo atlántico, Richard  L. Kagan, Geoffrey Parker, eds. (Madrid: Marcial Pons-Junta de Castilla y León, 2001), pp. 177-216, see p. 197; also, about these changes at the political vocabulary, Irving A. A. Thompson, “La monarquía de España: la invención de un concepto”, Entre Clio y Casandra. Poder y sociedad en la monarquía hispánica durante la Edad Moderna, Javier Guillamón, Julio  D. Muñoz, Domingo Centenero, David Alonso, eds. (Múrcia: Universidad de Múrcia, 2005), pp. 31-56. Alfredo Floristán, “¿Conquista o restauración? La incorporación de Navarra a la monarquía espanyola”, Hispania, 202 (1999), pp.  457-491; Alfredo Floristán,

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province within the ideal of a restored Spanish state that had its leader and origin in Castile17. From the last part of the 1500s onwards, an important group of jurists, chroniclers, theologians and professors linked to the spheres of the government and the administration of the Spanish monarchy undertook to create a Spanish political community as a future project capable of successfully getting around the storms and obstacles of those times of unrest during the formation of the modern state. These intellectuals and professionals (Baltasar Álamos de Barrientos, Gregorio López Madera, Martín González de Cellórigo, Pedro de Valencia, Francisco de Quevedo, Sancho de Moncada, etc.) developed and organised a concept of a political Spanish nation, defining the outlines, discussing its foundations and legitimacy and shaping its emotional content18. Thus, this intelligentsia played quite an important role in the attempts to disseminate the ideals that supported their political concept, at least in the educated and literate classes. The ideological developments that indicated, to different degrees, the constitution of a Spanish “political state” gave rise to, at the end of the 1500s, two seminal books: Historia General de España (1592)19, by the Jesuit Juan de Mariana, Excelencias de la Monarchía y Reino de España (1597) by the Madrid journalist Gregorio López Madera20, in which we

17

18 19

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“Examen de la conquista castellana. La introspección de los cronistas navarros (siglos XVI-XVII)”, Príncipe de Viana, 219 (2000), pp. 79-133. Irving A. A. Thompson, “La respuesta castellana ante la política internacional de Felipe II”, La monarquía de Felipe II a debate, Luis Ribot, ed. (Madrid: Sociedad Estatal para la Conmemoración de los Centenarios de Carlos V y Felipe II), pp. 121-134, see p. 125. Basically: Antoni Simon, Cosntruccions polítiques..., pp. 68-98. Juan de Mariana, Historia General de España, ed. Francesc Pi (Madrid: Biblioteca de Autores Españoles, 1864-1872), vols. 30 and 31. About Mariana and his thought, see: Guender Lewy, Constitutionalism and Statecraft during the golden Age of Spain: a study on the political philosophy of Juan de Mariana (Geneve: Droz, 1960); specifically about his “history”: Fernando Wulff, Las esencias patrias..., pp. 51-60; Enrique García Hernán, “Construcción de las historias de España en los siglos XVII y XVIII”, La construcción de las historias de España, Ricardo García, ed. (Madrid: Fundación Carolina-Marcial Pons, 2004), pp.  127-193, see pp.  136-152; Mateo Ballester, La identidad española en la Edad Moderna (1556-1665). Discursos, símbolos y mitos (Madrid: Tecnos, 2010), pp. 189-226. Gregorio López, Excelencias de la Monarchía y reyno de España (Valladolid: Diego Fernandez de Cordoua, 1597), ed. José Luis Bermejo (Madrid: Centro de Estudios

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find a summary of the historical and legal foundation of the new Spanish nation. However, these two works do not put forward entirely new considerations or ideals; rather, their importance lies in the fact that they make a clear and sharp proposal for the Spanish state that brings an end to the long trajectory taken by Castilian historical, political and legal thought based on medieval roots. Mariana’s Historia General de España aimed to provide the Spanish past with unity, lecturing Spaniards and foreigners on how this reality known as Spain had been formed. Spain had a national identity as a result of territorial sovereignty in the hands of a single power, as well as of a religions unit and a shared past, especially since the recovery of the “new Spain” at the hands of Muslims. In turn, Excelencias by Gregorio López Madera contains a political-legal proposal for the Spanish nation based on three main points: 1. The political unity of peninsular territories, radically reducing their internal differences; 2. Sovereignty in the hands of a monarch with absolute power, something that distorted the institutions and pact-based regimes of the kingdoms or provinces that comprised a unitary “kingdom” of Spain: “there is really only one kingdom of Spain, although as a sign of the victories of its kings it is divided into many titles” stated López Madera; and 3. Notable Castilianist Hispanicism that interpreted that Castile was the “head of Spain”, to which the other historical formations owed “superiority and homage and fealty”. These elements comprised a “political nation” inhabited by “Spaniards”, of whom Gregorio López Madera highlighted some positive characteristic traits as well as the existence of their own common language: the Spanish language, different from Latin, which had lasted over time and now had to be identified with the Castilian language. It is important to mention two things about this embryonic concept of Spain as a political community. Firstly, the idea or plan to create a wide and connected political-territorial base in the peninsula could be formulated on the basis of considerably different lines of thought. For the Castilian

Polítiticos y Constitucionales, 1999). About López Madera and his thougth, see: José Antonio Martínez, Enrique García, “Una historiografía en tiempos de Felipe II: Las Excelencias de la Monarquía y Reyno de España”, Felipe II, 1527-1598, Europa y la monarquía catòlica, José Martínez, ed. (Madrid: Parteluz, 1998), vol. 4, pp. 149-170; Salustiano de Dios, “La doctrina sobre el poder del príncipe en Gregorio López Madera”, Anuario de Historia del Derecho Español, 67/1 (1997), pp. 309-330.

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establishment sectors that proposed a reduction in the monarchy’s multiple international commitments or, even, its territorial mutilation, this was the logical solution to end the draining of the metropolis and to ensure “conservation”. The ideal of a compact, well-organised state that was more attentive to its internal needs than to distant exterior policies would work well. However, the reputationist or imperialist sectors could also support this project, because the political, fiscal and human unity of the peninsular territories  – especially if this was done on the basis of the Castilian model – would increase the possibilities of conserving the empire and also of winning the struggle for the hegemony of Europe with the French power. Secondly, it is important to point out that the construction of this original political concept of Spain, as well as a geopolitical, fiscal-economic and historical-legal foundation, had an emotional base. In many members of this Castilian establishment intelligentsia a strong feeling of Spanish patriotism can be observed, almost always with a notable Castilianist bias, which pervaded their political, economic and historical-legal thought and interrelated with it. The providentialism that pointed to Spaniards as God’s “chosen people”, the superiority and praise of the “Spanish nation” compared to neighbouring communities, the vindication of underestimated characterological values, the historic events of a glorious past that had been unfairly forgotten, etc., are recurring elements in the discourse of these authors. The Castilian establishment strongly supported these ideas and took them into consideration. Thus, during the ministry of the Count-Duke of Olivares, an attempt was made to test in political practice a number of military-fiscal and institutional reforms that combined a political model of absolutist tendencies with the constitution of a state centre identified with Spain.21 Furthermore, many theatre works and the Castilian Golden

21

John  H. Elliott, La revolta catalana 1598-1640 (Barcelona: Vicens Vives, 1966), pp.  174-206 (the first edition in Cambridge University Press, 1963); an overview more “dynastic” than “national” in: John H. Elliott, El conde duque de Olivares. El politico en una época de decadencia (Barcelona: Crítica, 1990), pp.  205-210 (the first edition in Yale University Press, 1986); Francisco Tomás y Valiente, “El gobierno de la Monarquía y la administración de los reinos de España en el siglo XVII”, Historia de España. La España de Felipe IV, José  M. Jover, dir. (Madrid: Espasa Calpe, 1982), pp. 1-124, especially p. 43; Antoni Simon, Construccions polítiques..., pp. 122-133.

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Age literature contributed to spreading these national ideals beyond the educated and erudite circles22. While this political and national concept of Spain emerged from the Castilian establishment and spread socially via cultural vehicles such as literature and theatre, in Catalonia a reinforcement of the national Catalan identity was occurring23. From the mid XVI century to the Revolution of 1640, a series of historic processes, often interlinked despite not being of the same nature, confirmed the idea that Catalonia was the political homeland of Catalans: 1. The first of these processes was the distancing between the ideals and interests of the dynasty that ruled the monarchy of which Catalonia formed a part and those of the Catalan historic formation. The Castilian naturalisation of the kings of the House of Austria was only a symptom of a deep political separation; 2. Likewise, a break in the links between Catalonia and the other political-territorial constituents of the Crown of Aragon could be observed; a process that was visible in the specific area of political events, but also in the construction of different cultural and ideological traditions in each of the kingdoms; 3. On the contrary, this was a period of undeniable promotion of institutions such as the council and the Consell de Cent, which were increasingly more representative of the Catalan political community and, at the same time, less representative of the Royal power, with which they had growing tensions and rows; 4. The disassociation of interests between the monarchy and the Catalan community was also evident in the economical-fiscal sphere as well as in the monetary, commercial and industrial policy, something which stimulated early Catalan mercantilist thought that would promote, in quite a mature manner, the idea of Catalonia as an economic country; 5. Lastly, the development of legal, historical and linguistic cultural productions established the bases for a conscious idea of the Catalan nation that managed to be accepted in certain educated elites, but also in intermediate social sectors,

22

23

Melveena Mckendrick, El teatro en España 1490-1700 (Palma de Mallorca: José J. de Olañeta, 1994), p. 209 (the first edition in Cambridge University Press, 1989); Antoni Simon, Construccions polítiques..., pp. 110-122; Mateo Ballester, La identidad espanyola..., pp. 297-355. Antoni Simon, Construccions polítiques..., pp.  135-202; Xavier Torres, Naciones sin nacionalismo. Cataluña en la monarquía hispánica (siglos XVI-XVII) (València: Publicacions de la Universitat de València, 2008), pp. 123-156.

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since Baroque Catalonia was characterised for the ascension of a culture of middle classes. In this historical context, for Catalans, the concept of Spain remained essentially a “designation of origin” of all the peninsular populations, which they did not relinquish. Rather, they were annoyed for having been taken over and manipulated by the Castilians. Thus, at the start of the XVII century, the jurist Francesc Ferrer i Nogués vehemently reproved the self-interested appropriation Castilian jurists made of the term “Spaniard”, stating: “they are not the only Spaniards, we too are Spaniards, and perhaps we deserve that title even more; however we do not live under their laws, nor does the majority of Spain; and nevertheless, they always use the expression ‘Spanish laws’, which I cannot bear”24. As regards Catalonia, the only political meaning of the concept of Spain was dynastic-monarchic, emphasising that all the peninsular populations were under one same crown. This type of meaning was used, for example, at the beginning of the Revolution of 1640 to attack the absolutist and unifying guidelines of the ministry of the Count-Duke of Olivares. Thus, in Notícia de Catalunya, Francesc Martí i Viladamor denounced the policy of “new developments” that the favourite of Philip IV wanted to introduce in order to break the constitutional order inherited from the dynastic union of the Catholic kings, with the aim of commanding that all the subjects would recognise “only one king, one law and one currency”. Olivares, according to Martí Viladamor, wanted to reducer a España a los terminus de su deseo (“reduce Spain to the terms of his desire”), something that would lead to its destruction. Therefore, the victory of Catalonia had to be the defeat of Olivares and had to involve the downfall of the favourite; on the contrary the loss of Catalonia would be the freedom of Spain: redímese no solamente Cataluña, sino toda España, si decaesce este Privado25 (“redeem not only Catalonia, but all of Spain, if this favourite falls”).

24

25

Francesc Ferrer, Comentaria sive glossemata ad utiliorem quandam ex constitutionibus Principatus Cathaloniae (Lleida: Ludouicum Menascal, 1617), gloss 4, number 3. Quoted by Josep Capdeferro, “Joan Pere Fontanella (1575-1649?). El dret al servei de la pàtria”, Del patriotisme al catalanisme, Joaquim Albareda, coord. (Vic: Eumo, 2001), pp. 51-70, quoted p. 58. Francesc Martí, Noticia de Cataluña (Barcelona: s/n, 1640), p. 180. About Francesc Martí and his tought: Javier Antón, Montserrat Jiménez, “Francisco Martí i

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In short, in this historic phase preceding the 1640 crisis, while in the Castilian sphere the concept of Spain was acquiring an increasingly national content, in Catalonia it maintained its traditional territorial meaning to which was added the idea of the existence of a shared sovereignty, although within the framework of an institutionally aggregative and plural monarchy. The revolutionary movements of Catalonia and Portugal unleashed in 1640 gave impetus to the Spanish national project designed by the Castilian establishment intelligentsia and put to the test in political practice by the ministry of the Count-Duke of Olivares. In the specific case of the Catalan Revolt, in the Castilian establishment treatises of the 1640s a strong feeling of hostility can be observed in the accusations of treachery made against Catalans in order to distance them from a shared Hispanic plan. This feeling was accompanied by an appeal for Catalonia to join this plan and end its unfortunate “French adventure”. Thus, the Mercedarian Francisco Boïl, in his Bozina pastoril y militar que toca recoger la antigua Fe catalana, (1642) uses the term “mother Spain” to refer to a political concept that Catalonia must join: “choose once and for all the portion that is most fitting. If God, right, blood or the laws placed you on this side of the Pyrenees and God the Almighty would have you within the confines of such a generous mother as Spain. Because you have to be Spain when you want and France when you can do no more”26.

26

Viladamor: un profrancés durante la Guerra dels Segadors”, Manuscrits. Revista de Història Moderna, 9 (1991), pp.  289-304; Antoni Simon, Els orígens ideològics de la Revolució catalana de 1640 (Barcelona: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, 1999), pp.  187-198 and p.  263; Xavier Torres, Escrits polítics del segle XVII. Tom I. Noticia Universal de Cataluña de Francesc Martí Viladamor (Vic: Eumo-Institut Universitari Jaume Vicens Vives, 1995); Josep Capdeferro, “Francesc Martí Viladamor (1616-1689) un catalan (trop?) fidèle au roi de France”, Les procès politiques (XIVe-XVIIe siècle), Yves  M. Bercé, dir. (Rome: École Française de Rome, 2007), pp. 425-449; Jon Arrieta, “La lex regia en la obra de Francisco Martí Viladamor. Recepción y evolución del concepto”, Pedralbes, 28 (2008), pp. 103-140. Francisco Boïl, Bozina pastoril y militar que toca a recoger la antigua Fe catalana (Madrid: without publisher, 1642), fol 7. About Boïl see: Fernando Negredo, Los predicadores de Felipe IV. Corte, intrigas y religión en la españa del Siglo de Oro (Madrid: Actas, 2006), pp. 140-148.

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Similarly, a strong feeling of anger can be observed in Recuerdos Històricos y politicos (1646) by Marcos Salmeron, who complains that “Spain, shared mother of the nations, raised at her breast ungrateful children”; an accusation of infidelity and treachery that this general of the Order of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mercy and preacher of Philip IV aimed explicitly and notably at the Catalans for aver admitido armas enemigas27 (“having allowed enemy arms”). More courageous spirits such as Diego Saavedra i Fajardo also reproved as unnatural the French adventure of the Catalans, since the hand of God had established unequivocal borders between France and Catalonia in the Pyrenees Mountains and the Mediterranean Sea which meant that Catalonia was unavoidably united with Spain. As the Murcian diplomat stated in his Locuras de Europa, Catalans had acted contra la oposición de la naturaleza y lo dispuesto por la Providencia Divina que no acaso dividió [a Catalunya] de Francia con los altos muros de los Pirineos y con los fosos del Mediterraneo28 (“against the opposition of nature and that stipulated by the Divine Providence which not by chance separated it [Catalonia] from France with the high walls of the Pyrenees and with the trenches of the Mediterranean”). Nor was there a shortage of pro-king Philip Catalans, as was the case of Alexandre Ros who, when the Revolution of 1640 broke out, appealed to Spanish “national unity” by demanding his fellow citizens to end this disloyal rebellion: que no se acrecienten los odios entre naciones hermanas, y que estan unidas en una corona, o por lo mejor decir, entre una misma nación, pues todos somos españoles29 (“may the hatred between sister nations not grow, and may they be united under one crown, or under one same nation, since we are all Spanish”). Thus, in these texts, using the comparison with

27

28

29

Marcos Salmerón, Recuerdos históricos y políticos de los servicios que los generales y varones ilustres de la religión de Nuestra Señora de la Merced (Valencia: Casa de los herederos de Chrysostomo Garriz, 1646), pp. 505-506. About Salmeron, see: Fernando Negredo, “Los predicadores...”, pp. 197-210. Diego Saavedra, “Las locuras de Europa. Diálogo entre Mercurio y Luciano”, Obras de don Diego de Saavedra Fajardo y del licenciado Pedro Fernandez Navarrete, 25 vols. (Madrid: Ediciones Atlas, 1947), vol. 25, p. 498. About this Saavedra’s book see: Soledad Arredondo, “Diálogo y política internacional en Locuras de Europa de Saavedra y Fajardo”, Criticón, 58 (1993), pp. 9-16. Alexandre Ros, La estrecha amistad que profesamos..., without place and without publisher, 1640, fol. 7.

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France, the way in which the concept “Spain” changed from a geographical notion to a political one can be observed. But perhaps most remarkable is that during the 1600s, the Castilian military effort stemming from the repression of the “separatist” movements of Catalonia and Portugal socially strengthened and expanded the idea of a Spanish homeland which, as we have observed, had been shaped at the end of the 1500s by the Castilian establishment intelligentsia. The human, economic, emotional and propagandist stimulation of the war in the Portuguese and Catalan fronts led to, in Castilian citizens, an increasingly Spanish and less Castilian political identity becoming more established30. The triumph in these “recovery” wars had to be the triumph of Spain. Placido Antonio Haro de Sotomayor, general preacher of the Order of Saint Benedict, preached an Oración in Salamanca at the end of 1652 to celebrate the conquest of Barcelona by Joan Josep d’Austria, comparing the war of Catalonia that had broken out in 1640 with the biblical punishment of the flood. Spain had received this divine hardship so that it could be reborn afterwards, guided by the hand of God, stronger and more vigorous than ever before: “This triumph is a new creation of Spain which it gladly accepts, as the Earth did before”. Haro de Sotomayor compared the conquest of Barcelona by Joan Josep d’Austria with Joshua’s conquest of Jericho, and he also put the ark of the covenant with manna from God that gave rise to the storming of the city of Canaan on an equal footing with Spain: “proud Jericho-Barcelona surrenders, the Ark-Spain besieges her, and there is no defence against such strength”. In Catalonia, the war had also encouraged a greater blend of the concepts of Spain and Castile. In the diary of the rural man from l’Esquirol, Joan Guàrdia, Philip IV quickly went from being “our king” to being the “king of Spain” or the “king of Castile”, against whom “ours” fought “to remove Castilians from the land”, as Joan Guàrdia stated when relating the battle of Montjuic31, in which, according to the testimony of minister 30

31

José M. Jover, “Sobre los conceptos de monarquía y nación en el pensamiento político español del siglo XVII”, Cuadernos de Historia de España, 13 (1950), pp. 101-150; Irving A. A. Thompson “Castilla, España y la monarquia...”, pp.  205-206; Antoni Simon, Ecos catalans i hispànics de la caiguda de Barcelona el 1652 (Barcelona: Institut d’Estudis Catalans, 2007), pp. 19-26. Diary ed. by Antoni Pladevall, Antoni Simon, Guerra i vida pagesa a la Catalunya del segle XVII (Barcelona: Curial, 1986), p. 62. See also: Xavier Torres, “Naciones sin nacionalismo...”, pp. 299-326.

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Francesc Ferrer, the troops of the Marquis of Los Vélez started their offensive ab un gran alarit de “Viva España”32 (“with a loud cry of ‘Viva España’”). Also, in Catalonia, that long and bloody war had opened up an identity-related abyss between Catalans and Castilians often identified with Spaniards. When, on 4th October 1652, John of Austria’s negotiators entered Barcelona, the book-keeper of the Generalitat reflected on the happiness of Barcelona citizens regarding the end of the hardship during the siege. However, quite probably unconsciously, he established a clear differentiation between Catalans and Spaniards: la multitud de dels cathalans que isqué a vèurer entrar los espanyols fonch sens número33 (“the crowd of Catalans who went out to see the Spaniards enter was countless”). After many years of seeing themselves being beaten and offended by Spaniards and French, the main feeling of Barcelona citizens, and of Catalans in general, was a cry of abhorrence against those who they considered their attackers, a feeling that also existed towards the powers – whether represented by the Court of Madrid or the Court of Paris – that guided these armies that violated the peasantry and the cities of the principality and counties. This was certainly the meaning of the cry of Joan Pey, day labourer at the sagrera (“sacred church grounds”) of Espinelves, who, in the summer of 1653, was prosecuted for being irate. Ni França ni Espanya, sinó visca la terra i muïra el mal govern34 (“Neither France nor Spain. Instead, may the earth live and the bad government die”). The 1640-1652 war had brought depth to the plan to construct the Spanish modern state, because it had broken the bonds of political trust between the Castilian centre and the Catalan historic formation. Perceptions on the causes and the development of the rupture process differed considerably, but they all led to a feeling of distance and mistrust. As regards the Castilian side, especially the Castilian establishment side, the Catalans’ revolt and also that of the Portuguese had hindered the construction of the

32 33 34

Francesc Ferrer, Sucesos de Catalunya en els anys 1640 a 1641, AHCB, ms. B-148, p. 51. Dietaris de la Generalitat de Catalunya, 10 vols. (Barcelona: Generalitat de Catalunya, 2000), vol. 6, pp. 540-541. Quoted by: Xavier Torres, “Segadors i miquelets a la Revolució Catalana (16401659)”, La Revolució catalana de 1640, Eva Serra, ed. (Barcelona: Editorial Crítica, 1991), pp. 66-96, quoted p. 88.

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compact, well connected and unified state, designed and governed from Castile. As regards the Catalan side, the Spanish unifying plan developed by the court intelligentsia and tested by Olivares had proved to be aggressive and unilateral, because it infringed the Catalan political and national identity. That which Olivares, in Gran memorial written in 1624 and Union de armas in 1626, had proposed as an ideal or a horizon to achieve between the Spanish citizens of the king: “end the drought and separation of hearts”, was further than ever from being achieved35. As a consequence of the violence and political confrontation during the years of the Catalan Revolt of 1640-1652, in Catalonia the identification between Spain and Castile and between Castilians and Spaniards started to increase. The artisan and chronicler Miquel Parets revealed the sentiment of hostility and distance between Catalans and Spaniards explicitly when, after referring to a big fight between Catalan and Castilian troops from the same army because some Castilian soldiers had called the Catalans “rebels”, he wrote in his diary: Perquè los espanyols tenen una nasió molt altiva y aroganta, y los Catalans no poden sufrir tanta arogàntia; y axí, no poden lligar, que amb alters nations lligan, y amb aqueixa no poden gaira36 (“Because the Spaniards have a very proud and arrogant nation, and Catalans cannot bear so much arrogance; and thus, they cannot bind. With other nations they bind, but with this one they cannot at all”). The political meaning that the concept of Spain had acquired clearly appears in an episode of tension and violence in March 1666. When, on the 17th of that month, a Catalan official named Miquel Rius, also known as Anxova, had to be executed in the Plaça del Rei, accused of different crimes of homicide and robbery, soldiers of the guard of the viceroy, fearing a mutiny or a conspiracy to free him charged violently at the crowd gathered to witness the execution. As reported in the Dietari de l’Antich Consell Barceloní, the troops “appeared furiously with swords in their hands, knocking down all the people, wounding some and maltreating others, who could not get out of the way, and crying ‘Viva España’ and 35 36

Memoriales y cartas del conde duque de Olivares, eds. John H. Elliott, José F. de la Peña, 2 vols. (Madrid: Ediciones Alfaguara, 1978), vol. 1, p. 187. Miquel Parets, Dels molts sucsesos que han sucseyt dins Barcelona, Biblioteca Universitària de Barcelona, II, ms. 225, f. 132v. About the Parets patriotism see: Xavier Torres, “Naciones sin nacionalismo...”, pp. 265-298.

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shooting shotguns”. The outcome of the charge was more than a dozen fatal victims and one hundred injured. That same month, councillors of Barcelona wrote two letters to the queen in which they related indignantly how the soldiers perpetrated the brutal act shouting “with a disconcerted voice ‘Viva España’”. As already pointed out by Henry Kamen, the cry “Viva España” was an echo of the Catalan Revolt, and this encouraged the sense of unease of members of the Council of Aragon, who, in a conference the following month, expressed worryingly how se ha esparzido voz en el Principado, de que fue encuentro entre Castellanos y Cathalanes, que ya se vee es invención de mal intencionados, y querer resucitar memorias pasadas37 (“word had spread in the Principality, that it was an encounter between Castilians and Catalans. It was the design of malicious people who wanted to revive old memories”). As a result of the events and the pressure of members of parliament and councillors, some soldiers were imprisoned. However, for certain court sectors, the reaction of the Catalan institutions was disloyal, because, as an anonymous court memorial writer who wrote an account of the events believed, the Catalan magistrates were annoyed not so much about the victims of the incident, but about the use of the cry “Long live the king of Spain”, to which the anonymous memorial writer attributed an undoubtedly political-identity-related aspect: Da mucho de discurrir aga tan mal estómago este apellido del Príncipe que con tanto amor deven venerar los vasallos, quando está estilado en las más nobles, en las más leales y populosas ciudades de España, en qualquier accidente, aclamar a su rey, sin que escarve tan vidriosa calunia, como se está aciendo en Barcelona, pues se sperimenta que por decir “Biba el Rey de España”, prenden a quien aclama a su real nombre38. It warrants discussion that the Prince’s name may provoke such rancour – he who is worthy of his vassals’ love and veneration – when it is the custom in the most noble, the most loyal and populous towns of Spain, in all circumstances, to acclaim their king, without the spreading of vicious calumnies, as in Barcelona, where it is seen that for crying “Long live the King of Spain” they arrest those who acclaim his royal name.

37 38

Henry Kamen, La España de Carlos II (Barcelona: Editorial Crítica, 1981), p. 27 (the first edition in Longman, 1980). Lo sucedido en Barcelona queriendo cortar la caveza a un militar llamado Anchova, Biblioteca Nacional de España (Madrid), ms. 11.137, f. 60.

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This more political identification of the term Spain established in Catalonia, did not however completely replace the traditional geographical-territorial meaning. And, in different texts from the second half of the 1600s the vindication of Spanishness typical of Catalans from the Renaissance continued to be observed. Thus, in 1674, the consuls of the guild of Barcelona protested to Marianna of Austria about the fact that Catalan traders were treated like foreigners in the Casa de Contratación (“House of Traders”) of Cadiz and recorded as such for tax purposes. The consuls revindicated the Spanishness of the Catalans stating that no ha sido ni es de quitar a los catalanes el ser tenidos por españoles como lo son39 (“now as in the past, the Catalans shall be taken for the Spaniards that they are”). Likewise, in a dispute regarding the place the militia of the Generalitat and of the city of Barcelona had to occupy in a procession, the parliament members argued before the viceroy, the Duke of San German, that it should only involve the tercios of the Generalitat, having been preceded by the regime of the Royal guard, because “the Catalans in Spain and in all parts should be as all Spaniards and should be treated in the same way”. In a similar manner, the councillors of Barcelona defended the precedence of their militia expressing that “Catalans as Spaniards” had the right to such precedence40. Nevertheless, I do not think that the existence of an awareness of a Spanish national-patriotic identity emerges from these texts and expressions. Aside from the obvious interest in exploiting the concept of Spain for economic or formal objectives, in the cited documents no political development or conceptualisation of the term Spain can be found. Nor is there an emotional identity-related link that, as we have observed, can indeed be found in important sectors of the Castilian intelligentsia. In fact, the concept of Spain used by the consuls of the guild of Barcelona in 1674 in the cited memorial continued to be essentially geographical, defining a common territorial origin:

39

40

Exposición del magistrado de la Lonja de Mar de Barcelona a la reina Gobernadora pidiendo que los mercaderes catalanes no estén sujetos al cónsul de Cadiz como extranjeros, Barcelona, 1674. Biblioteca Nacional de Catalunya, Fullets Bonsoms, 2752, f. 2v. Quoted by: Fernando Sánchez, Cataluña y el gobierno central tras la Guerra de los Segadores (1652-1679) (Barcelona: Publicacions de la Universitat de Barcelona, 1983), p. 229.

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Antoni Simon porque España [dicen los consellers] es todo lo comprehendido de los montes Pyrineos a los Océanos […] de suerte que incluye dentro diez y siete Provincias, entre las quales hay doze Reynos, Castilla antigua, nueva, León, Portugal, Navarra […] Luego bien se infiere, que Cathalunya es España, y que los cathalanes son españoles41. because Spain [the councillors say] includes everything from the Pyrenees Mountains to the oceans […] in such a way that it includes seventeen provinces, of which there are twelve kingdoms, old Castile, new Castile, Leon, Portugal, Navarra […] Therefore it can be deduced that Catalonia is Spain, and that Catalans are Spanish.

On the contrary, it is important to point out that the wars with France, combined with the memory of the Franco-Catalan alliance from 16411652, forced Catalans to continuously extol their Spanishness. As Antonio Espino noted when analysing Catalan printing from the reign of Charles II, Muchas exclamaciones ‘españolistas’ que aparecen en estos momentos, més que un sentimiento de union, nos señalan la necesidad casi física de no ser confundidos con los franceses42 (“Many ‘pro-Spanish’ exclamations that are appearing at the moment, more than a feeling of union, indicate the almost physical need to not be confused with French people”). Narcís Feliu de la Penya is another example of this ambivalence that the concept of “Spain” maintained in the period following the Catalan Revolt. In some expressions from his works he uses the territorial concept of Spain, while considering Catalans to be Spanish: que todos los españoles somos iguales en la firmeza I adelantamientos de la Fe Catholica43 (“all of us Spaniards are equal in the strength and advances of the Catholic faith”), or vanidad en que damos todos los españoles44 (“vanity which we Spaniards all have”). However, in others, when he uses more political language, he identifies his country with Catalonia, while making a clear difference between Catalans and Spaniards. Thus, in Anales he states that

41 42

43 44

Exposición del magistrado de la Lonja de Barcelona…, fol 1v. Antonio Espino, “La publicística catalana y el cambio dinástico: el ocaso de la dinastía de los Austria”, Cuadernos de Investigación Histórica, 19 (2002), pp. 287-312, quoted p. 287. Narcís Feliu, Fénix de Cataluña, compendio de sus antiguas grandezas y medio para renovarlas (Barcelona: Casa de Rafael Figueró, 1683), pp. 6-7. Narcís Feliu, Politico discurso en defensa de la cierta verdad que contiene vn memorial presentado á la nobilissima ciudad de Barcelona (Barcelona: Casa de Rafael Figueró, 1681), fol. 14r.

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he writes to vindicate the excellent qualities of his political nation, which he identifies with Catalonia: El cuidado de todas las naciones más políticas de Europa como españoles, italianos, alemanes, franceses y otros, fue descuido de la nación catalana, que siempre supo obrar, pero jamás escrivir. the care of all the most political nations in Europe such as Spanish, Italians, Germans, French and others, was carelessness of the Catalan nation, which always knew how to act, but never how to write45.

It is likely that the Catalan ruling class of the second half of the XVII was aware, or at least sensed, that the future and the very survival of the Spanish monarchy passed through the foundation of its Iberian territories. But this did not have to mean relinquishing its own laws and institutions, nor relinquishing the existence of a Catalan political “country”. And although there was a silencing of Catalan historical, political and legal thought in the period following the Catalan Revolt – especially evident in subjects and authors linked to the 1640 revolution –, a strong feeling of Catalan patriotism continued to be observed in the ideological production of the period46. By way of conclusion; at the start of the 1700s, when the War of the Spanish Succession broke out, the concept of Spain reflected a strong political and national contradiction. On the one hand, from the Castilian establishment a political and national plan had been developed and tested, in which “Spain” would be the fundamental historical, territorial, legal-political and emotional referent. However, this strongly Castilianist biased concept was not transferred to or established in all the peninsular territories  – Portugal and Catalonia especially  –, and generated ideological-political and military clashes that would openly break out again as a result of the blend of the dynastic and international conflict in which it had a more internal peninsular factor.

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Narcís Feliu, Anales de Cataluña (Barcelona: Juan Pablo Martí, 1709), 3 vols. See vol. 1 prologue “Al lector”. About the historical and political thought of Feliu, bassically: Eulàlia Duran, “Narcís Feliu de la Penya, historiador i politic”, Afers, 20 (1995), pp. 73-86. Antoni Simon, “Construccions polítiques...”, pp. 342-387.

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One of the contemporary authors who carried out an in-depth analysis of the nature of the national confrontation of the War of Succession, seeking to find the historical reasons behind it, was Agustín López de Mendoza y Pons from Aragon, count of Robres and dedicated supporter of Philip V. In his Historia de las Guerras Civiles de España, written around 1709 in the form of memoires encompassing the period 1700-1708, the count of Robres interpreted the political and military clashes leading to the extinction of the Austrian-Spanish dynasty as “national”47. For this Bourbon aristocrat, the conflict that broke out across the peninsula in 1705 was an internal struggle between the nations of Spain: Porqué hasta ahora los afectos de los españoles se consideraban divididos: toda guerra doméstica se había reducido a las plumas; más este año se ensagrentaron ya las espadas48. because until then Spain’s affections were divided: the entire domestic war had been reduced to feathers; this year the swords were stained with blood.

According to the count of Robres, the Nova Planta decrees of 1707 were essentially promoted by Castilian ministers such as Francisco Ronquillo, who saw it as an opportunity to recover the mythical political and national unity lost by the tearing apart of the kingdom of the Goths by the Muslims. The conviction of Ronquillo was, according to the count of Robres, that que reducida toda esta Península a la unidad que tuvo en tiempo de los godos, no habiendo ya otro nombre nacional que el de españoles, sería más tremenda su fuerza que lo era la diversidad de afectos casi extranjeros, resultas de la diferente economía de sus provincias49. on reducing this entire peninsula to the unity it had during the time of the Goths, with no other national name than that of Spaniards, its strength would outweigh the diversity of almost foreign affections that resulted from the different economies of its provinces.

For the count of Robres, this national confrontation that then mixed with the succession conflict was the start of a long historic process that was 47 48 49

Conde de Robres, Memorias para la historia de las Guerras civiles de España, ed. José M. Iñurritegui (Madrid: Centro de Estudios Políticos y Constitucionales, 2006). Conde de Robres, Memorias para la historia..., p. 177. Conde de Robres, Memorias para la historia..., p. 305.

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rooted in the division of Christian kingdoms – Asturias, Navarra, Aragon and Catalonia – which took place after the Muslim invasion and conquest of the peninsula in the VIII century. The marriage of Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella I of Castile ended with military rows between the Spanish Christians from medieval times: Mas no pudo extinguir la emulación de los pueblos, que se miraban con casi continuas desconfianzas50 (“the emulation of the people could not be extinguished, they looked at each other with almost continuous mistrust”), wrote Agustín López de Mendoza. The imperial phase of the Austrians confirmed the hegemony of the Castilians, “the dominant nation”, who intended to bring an end on various occasions to the differential laws and privileges of the other nations of Spain. When the succession conflict broke out it mixed the international conflict with the internal national one that was continuing: covirtiéndose la lid con los enemigos extranjeros en sangrientas representaciones entre nosotros mismos51 (“with the fight with foreign enemies becoming a bloody representation of us”).

50 51

Conde de Robres, Memorias para la historia..., p. 23. Conde de Robres, Memorias para la historia..., p. 177.

How “new” is the “New Monarchy”? Clashes between princes and nobility in Europe’s Iron Century1 Robert von Friedeburg Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam

A veritable research tradition, ranging back right to contemporaries of seventeenth century events, has recognized a curious intensification of civil wars and internal conflicts in Europe’s monarchies during the 1620s to 1650s. Among the most prominent are the Thirty Year War raging within the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation, entangled with the war between France and Spain between 1635 and 1659, the attempts at secession from the Catholic Monarchy in Madrid by Portugal, Naples and Catalonia (1640-47), the French Fronde (1648-52), and the British Wars of Religion, raging in Scotland, Ireland and England (from the rebellion in Ireland in late 1641 to the Civil Wars 1642-48 and the subsequent capture of Scotland by Cromwell and the War in Ireland). All these conflicts did not only deliver considerable bloodshed and misery, they seemed to be made of an uneasy mixture of dynastic rivalry, confessional hostility and

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The following paper was commissioned and published in Leidschrift 27 2012, 17-30, and also formed the basis of my contribution to the conference which results are published in this volume. Footnotes are kept to a minimum. However, readers are advised to consult: Robert von Friedeburg, Europa in der frühen Neuzeit. Fischer Weltgeschichte, Neue Folge (Frankfurt: Fischer, 2012); Robert von Friedeburg, ed., Murder and Monarchy. Regicide in European History, 1300-1800 (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2004); Robert von Friedeburg, “Response to Introduction: ‘Ideology’, Factions and Foreign Politics in Early Modern Europe”, Ideology and Foreign Policy in Early Modern Europe (1650-1750), Gijs Rommelse, David Onnekink, eds. (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2011), pp. 11-28; Robert von Friedeburg, “State Forms and State Systems in Modern Europe”, European History Online (EGO), Institute of European History, , 3th December 2010. I also thank Professor Dick de Boer and his colleagues within the ESF financed research group on European Regions for comments and criticism on an Evening lecture I had the pleasure to give in Groningen and on which some of the arguments in this article are based.

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unprecedented societal conflict between princes and their elites. Deploring the miseries of war, though in itself a Christian genre, became particularly topical. Still immediately prior to the outbreak of civil war in the British Isles, pamphlets in England deplored Germany’s fate and begged readers to consider that whatever the conflicts within England or within the Stuart Dynastic agglomerate, civil war had to be avoided at all cost – to no avail2. And once war seemed to have cooled down in Germany and the British Isles, the French Fronde seemed to throw France into chaos. In what follows, in section I a short historiographic survey will attempt to review how historians have attempted to make sense of this turmoil. It is only after briefly reviewing the significant findings of these generations of historians, but also of the problematic influence of sociology on later stages of research, that the usefulness (or lack thereof) of a new research initiative can be gauged, that on the “New Monarchy”. This concept will be outlined in section II. The period from the later 1650s and up to the 1680s is often regarded as the heyday of theories of monarchical absolutism, of the reception of Hobbes, of the introduction of the personal rule of Louis XIV in France and of absolutism in Denmark, of the establishment of territorial princely monarchies in Germany and of the re-establishments of the Stuart monarchy under Charles II in England, Scotland and Ireland. It is difficult to dispute that in this period political mobilization against the crown for religious reasons was increasingly identified with “phanaticism”. Writers who had – for whatever reasons – argued the feasibility of resistance against a legitimate prince were seen as being partly responsible for seducing hapless subjects into rebellions leading only to misery and bloodshed3. From the 2

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See for exemple: Ronald  G. Asch, Thirty Year War (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1997); for the reception of the bloodshed in Germany and the alleged lessons to preserve peace drawn from that see, for example: Robert von Friedeburg, “The Continental Counter-Reformation and the Plausibility of the Popish Plots, 16381642”, England’s Wars of Religion, Revisited, Glenn Burgess, Charles W. A. Prior, eds. (Farnham: Ashgate, 2011), pp. 49-74. A good example gives Clare Jackson, “Buchanan in Hell”, George Buchanan: Political Thought in Early Modern Britain and Europe, Caroline Erskine, Roger A. Mason, eds. (Aldershot: Farnham-Burlington, 2012). Though Buchanan was not at all a zealous Calvinist, his publications were, long after he died, seen in the context of illicit mobilization and inciting the people into sedition that led, eventually, into terrible disaster.

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later seventeenth century, from Pufendorf to Bayle, the blame for the mid seventeenth century bloodshed was increasingly less laid on unruly subjects or nobilities as such, but on the allegedly detrimental effects of confessional propaganda, of confessional clergy inciting subjects and raising them against each other, and on authorities exploiting religious differences4. Post World War II scholarship has undergone a whole range of transformation of arguments, each delivering important points of view that should not be ignored. A number of arguments formulated in relation to the “Crisis of the Seventeenth Century” debate argued around the clash of courtiers with regional and local elites. These courtiers had received office from their princes financed by rising taxes. And they clashed with country and local elites, who did mind about these very taxes and war – related burdens5. The Reformation and religious conflicts did play a role in this argument, but the major thrust was the accumulation of offices, linked to rights to resources, the profits of courtiers, and the revulsion of local taxpayers against these burdens. A good deal of French, German and English pamphlet propaganda undoubtedly pointed in this direction. The intensification of social historical research in the wake of the expansion of Europe’s university systems uncovered in more detail the social affiliation and political attitudes of Europe’s wider elites. It appeared, in particular with respect to England, that there was hardly a clear cut country-court dichotomy allowing to put a given Gentry family −according to its income and resources− on either side of the court-country divide. Families tried to mobilize all sorts of sources of income; royal offices and commissions played an increasing and important part6. Indeed, even some of the most outspoken critiques of the duke of Buckingham and his friends had earlier been clients of Buckingham but had been simply disappointed in their quest for office and patronage. Richelieu and Mazarin in France, though attacked viciously from time to time for their built up of 4

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See, for example, the argument of Pierre Bayle in his article in the Dictionnaire on “Macon”, edited and commented in: Sally Jenkinson, Bayle. Political Writings (Cambridge (UK): Cambridge University Press, 2000), pp. 172-180. See: Hugh Trevor-Roper, The Crisis of the Seventeenth Century (Indianapolis: Liberty Fund, 1999), summoning articles published between 1956 and 1967; Geoffrey Parker, Lesley  M. Smith, eds., The General Crisis of the Seventeenth Century (LondonNew York: Routledge, 1997). See: John Morrill, The Nature of the English Revolution (London-New  York: Longman, 1993).

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their own clientage-networks, did build them with the support and help of the French nobility, in the capital and the provinces7. Though the rhetoric of corruption and of evil courtiers was real enough, it did not reflect on a real social division of clear cut social groups, some profiting from princely offices and the administration of taxes, others not. For these new kinds of income were pursued by most and eschewed by few. Research has also pointed out the very real changes in the size and composition of armies, their huge increase in numbers – more then tenfold in the case of France between the 1490s and 1690s – and in the number of months these troops were held together, until eventually standing armies evolved. Also, the very real dynamic in the military competition among princes and dynasties has been recognized. It forced any dynasty that wanted to stay independent and play a role on the wider European stage to eventually mobilize substantial forces to take part in that competition. The history of Sweden and Denmark tells about the enormous consequences not least for smaller kingdoms in trying to raise these resources. But also for larger kingdoms and dynastic agglomerates, as for France and the Spanish Habsburgs, these challenges posed enormous problems. Nicholas Canny and others have stressed that the capture of middle and southern America by the Catholic monarchy in Madrid and the enormous extra resources coming about for this monarchy have to be taken into account in explaining the substantial and momentous increase in the scale of warfare from the late fifteenth century onwards, since the consequences of this rapid change “spilled over” to other monarchies. They had in particular consequences for the Valois, who had – almost unwittingly – taken on the emerging new monarchy of Spain in Italy and then became involved in two centuries of warfare against it8. The burdens associated with this clash did not only put considerable stress on both the Catholic monarchy 7 8

See, for example: James  B. Collins, Classes, Estates and Order in Early-Modern Brittany (Cambridge (UK): Cambridge University Press, 2003). Geoffrey Parker, The Army of Flanders and the Spanish Road (London: Cambridge University Press, 1975); Geoffrey Parker, The Military Revolution. Military Innovation and the Rise of the West (Cambridge (UK): Cambridge University Press, 1988); Andrew Ayton, Leslie Prince, The Medieval Military Revolution. State, Society and Military Change in Medieval and Early Modern Europe (New York: Barnes & Noble Books, 1998), with essays covering the more recent debate; Robert Frost, The Northern Wars (Edinburgh: Pearson Education, 2000); Lucien Bély, La Societe des Princes (Paris: A.  Fayard, 1999); Nicholas  P. Canny, Philip  D. Morgan, eds., The

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in Madrid and the French monarchy. Toward the end of the Thirty Year War both reckoned with rebellions breaking out in each other’s backyard – such as the Fronde and the break away or attempted break away of Portugal, Catalonia and Naples – and both Madrid and Paris hoped that such rebellions would weaken primarily the enemy, if one only hold out that one more year or two. That is, already contemporary reflections on the dynamics of war and princely competition reckoned with the overspill of it on “domestic” relations and even gambled on it. These insights have stood the test of time, but some of the more theoretical reflections based on them have not. To my mind, one of the most important casualties of the increasing empirical research of the last fifty years is the attempt to link these changes with the making of the modern state. Sociologists from Max Weber to Charles Tilly shifted emphasis from issues of legitimacy in explaining the nature of public order in the Latin West and instead focused on the organization of power, in particular of power organized in bureaucracies with their own written rules and standards of procedure. The armies and administrations that did develop during the later Middle Ages and throughout the early modern period became examples of such bureaucracies, i.e. of “early modern state building”, and the clashes of the seventeenth century, their religious motivation notwithstanding, clashes in a process where the early modern state gradually overwhelmed local and regional elites to establish a monopoly of coercive power9.

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Oxford Handbook of the Atlantic World (Oxford-New York: Oxford University Press, 2011). The traditional theory of state-building was devised toward the later nineteenth century and the early twentieth century by the emerging discipline of sociology, primarily by Max Weber, but historians such as Otto Hintze and Gustav von Schmoller, also a major representative of the younger school of national economy, interested in economics and sociology, had also a major part in it. See on the problems associated with this: Stefan Breuer, “Das Legitimitätskonzept Max Webers”, Die Begründung des Rechts als historisches Problem, Dietmar Willoweit, Elisabeth Müller-Luckner, eds. (München: R.  Oldenbourg, 2000), pp.  1-16; Charles Tilly, Coercion, Capital, and European States, AD 990-1990 (Cambridge (Mass.): B. Blackwell, 1990). See further below footnote 15. Outside Germany, the term state came much later into use by historians: The empirically quite good Cambridge Modern History, vol II, Reformation (1944), vol III, Wars of Religion (1934), and vol V, Age of Louis XIV (1934), has “states” only as “states-general”, in France or the Netherlands. I suppose that the influence of ‘state’ as sociological concept became first relevant in Germany

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The last fifty years have seen a gradual disintegration of this view on various counts10, the most important being considerations on constitutional and legal history, issues in financial history and considerations of the role of “opinion” and legitimacy among elites.

1. Heterogeneity of provinces and legal-political arrangements within them within any one monarchy The problem of the plurality of lands, customs, laws and societies within the dynastic agglomerate is has been increasingly taken serious by researchers. Right until the end of the Napoleonic wars, regimes were hardly constructed or even understood as the legal person of a single “state”. The Habsburg agglomerate in German, Italian and Spanish lands, the Valois takeover of Burgundy and Brittany and the Stuart rule in England, Scotland and Ireland are examples of the early modern dynastic agglomerate. A dynasty held lands, massively differing among each other in almost every respect, and held them according to very different legal relations depending on each individual province. Even insofar as “institutions” of public order operated across these different provinces  – courts of law, tax-offices  – they remained mainly responsible only within any single principality, kingdom or province, while the interaction of politics and elites among these composite units, and the management of this interaction by the reigning dynasty, appeared to be a major crux of early modern politics11.

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for specific, German reasons, and then only after World War II invaded other historiographies in the wake of the claim of sociology to be a master discipline. In England, the influence of Geoffrey Elton was considerable, and he had clearly continental roots. For early criticism of the actual reach of absolutism within society, see already the debates at the 1955 see: Cordula Nolte, “Konferenzreport”, The X Congresso Internazionale di Scienze Storiche. Organized by the German Historical Institute, Rome, and others (Rome, 21 – 24th September 2005), fothcoming. Over the last twenty years, reflections on this fact have clearly increased: John Huxtable Elliot, “A Europe of Composite Monarchies”, Past and Present, 137 (1992), pp.  48-71; Richard Bonney, The European Dynastic States 1494-1660 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1991), p.  524; John Morrill, Uneasy lies the

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Having said that, we must not ignore that on the periphery of Europe there existed ancient kingdoms since the high Middle Ages, such as Portugal, England, Scotland, Norway, Sweden and Denmark, all with a continuous territorial landmass, reasonable continuous borders with neighboring kingdoms, hardly any or rather no major independent jurisdiction of either church or high nobility within these borders (the palatinate of Durham in England remained rather an exception within this kingdom) a rather small higher aristocracy and strong legal resources of the king to punish offenders with a rather centralized court system. These characteristics to not allow to address the realm of England itself, or the kingdoms of Portugal or Denmark or Sweden, as a dynastic agglomerate, though each of these kingdoms became part of a larger dynastic agglomerate for a longer or shorter period. The others − the new monarchy Spain, the Valois and Bourbons in France, the Habsburgs in Germany, the Stuarts and the House of Hanover in Britain, the Vasa in Poland − did run highly heterogeneous lands and had to confront a whole political cosmos of dynasties of the higher aristocracy in these various lands12. Historians have thus shifted from addressing early modern kingdoms as composite states (Elliot) to composite monarchies (Bonney) to dynastic agglomerates (Morrill), each term emphasizing a bit more the sometimes haphazard manner of bringing

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head that wears a crown. Dynastic crises in Tudor and Stuart Britain 1504-1746 (Reading: University of Reading, 2005), p. 11; Lucien Bély, La societé des princes (Paris: A. Fayard, 1999). A prime example of empirical research informed by this assumption is: Jane  H. Ohlmeyer, Civil War and Restoration in the Three Stuart Kingdoms: The Career of Randal MacDonnell, Marquis of Antrim (Dublin: Four Courts, 1993). It needs to be said, however, that specifically leading in this field is perhaps Spanish historiography, see for example: Antonio Álvarez-Ossorio, Bernardo José García, Virginia León, eds., La Périda de Europa: la guerra de sucesión por la Monarquía de España (Madrid: Fundación Carlos de Amberes-Sociedad Estatal de Conmemoraciones Culturales, 2007); Antonio Álvarez-Ossorio, Bernardo José García, eds., La Monarquía de las naciones: patria, nación y naturaleza en la monarquía de España (Madrid: Fundación Carlos de Amberes, 2004). With respect to the kingdom of France, where the various provinces were inalienable parts of that kingdom, rather then possessions of a given dynasty, the nature of government within them remained clearly very varying and posed very different challenges to the crown. See, for instance: Jonathan Spengler, The Society of Princes (Farnham: Ashgate 2009).

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lands together and the utter heterogeneity of law, culture and sociological makeup of the various parts13.

2. Finance Pace Charles Tilly, wars did not make states, let alone finance them14. Wars cost money, indeed cost significantly more then monarchs could gather via demesne income or, where existing, reasonably regular taxes; what is more, once begun, wars enforced desperate politics of haphazard war financing. They forced monarchies into giving away resources − like selling or mortgaging offices, taxes, demesne lands  − and getting into debt. Therefore, after the experience of about a 150 year period of desperate financial measures and the catastrophe of the Fronde in 164853 as a direct result of Crown bankruptcy, in 1661, at the onset of Louis XIV new war politics, his minister Colbert begged him not to engage in wars yet again. Did Colbert also ask Louis to remember the catastrophic consequences of the war against Spain (1635-1659), when bankruptcy in 1648 prompted a breakdown of royal power, the Fronde, a breakdown that Louis (born in 1638) experienced as a small boy? Or did he not dare mention this disaster? In any case, Louis, now 23, would not listen but, pursuing the glory of himself and his dynastic house rather then any strategy of state-building, went on his adopted course. That had little to do with state building, or with consolidating long-term finances to make oneself independent from elites, but with very traditional princely ideas of status and glory15. Therefore, sociologists and historians increasingly 13

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See note above; their insights now begin to inform the textbook level: for example, Nicholas Henshall, The Zenith of Absolute Monarchy and its Elites (BasingstokeNew York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2010). Charles Tilly, “War and State Making as Organized Crime”, Bringing the State Back, Peter B. Evans, Dietrich Rueschemeyer, Theda Skocpol, eds. (Cambridge (Mass.)New York: Cambridge University Press, 1985), pp. 169-191. For Colbert’s advice on war see: Hamish Scott, “The Fiscal-Military State and International Rivalry during the Long Eighteenth Century”, The Fiscal-Military State in Eighteenth-century Europe, Christopher Storrs, ed. (Aldershot: Ashgate, 2009), pp. 23-53, in particular pp. 23-25; Paul Sonnino, “Plusroyaliste que le pape.

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begin to abandon Tilly in this respect16. The assumption of the development of a bureaucratic coercive tax state during the 16th and 17th century has been gradually invalidated. The actual early modern innovation was public debt on a hitherto unknown scale. Whatever relevance taxes had gained by 1500 (as in France, England or Castile), the exploding costs of the European arms- and war race severely qualified their contribution to paying overall costs, hence the fact of exploding debt. Other innovations were the massive sale of offices and the farming of taxes17. Rather then experiencing the emancipation of a bureaucratic state from its social and ecclesiastical elites, European monarchies became increasingly dependant on new power brokers and old and new elites to organize public debt, farm taxes and buy offices. While certain groups profited from these changes, others felt left behind. Debates and internal struggles ensued about this gradual reconfiguration of power, about access to offices and spoils, about the best course in costly foreign wars and about the legitimacy of the whole process18.

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Louis XIV Religious Policy and his Guerre de Hollande”, War and Religion after Westphalia, David Onnekink, ed. (Farnham: Ashgate, 2009), pp. 17-24; for the issues of princely glory and prestige and the very important place of military victory for reputation at home see: Timothy Blanning, The Pursuit of Glory (New York: Viking, 2007). On the problems of Tilly’s thesis and the sociological background to its success see: Philip S. Gorski, “How War Did not make the State”, The Protestant Ethic Revisited (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 2011). Richard Bonney, ed., Economic Systems and State Finance (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995), in particular: William Mark Omrod, “The West European Monarchies in the Later Middle Ages”, pp.  123-162, in particular pp.  146-155; Winfried Schulze, Marjolein t’Hart, “The Emergence and Consolidation of the Tax State”, Economic Systems and State Finance, Richard Bonney, ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995), pp. 261-280 and pp. 281-294 respectively establish, as do the chapters on Spain (G. Muto) and France (R. Bonney) the continued importance of demesne income, of the sale of offices, the farming of taxes and the overall establishment of a chronic and endemic state of indebtedness “solved” with ad hoc and haphazard means. These problems occurred first for the main combatants, the Spanish Habsburgs and the Valois, but since the seventeenth century also for most other dynasties or republics with active foreign policy. Steven Gunn, David Grummitt en Hans Cools concentrate on an earlier period, War, State, and Society in England and the Netherlands, 1477-1559 (Oxford-New York: Oxford University Press, 2007). See, for instance: Robert Mandrou, L’Europe absolutiste. Raison et raison d’État (1649–1775) (Paris: Fayard, 1977); Timothy Blanning, The Culture of Power and

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3. Opinion Contemporaries knew that there were tight limits to what could be coerced, and they reflected on the consequences of this fact. For example, in theses defended under Hermann Conring at Helmstedt University during the 1640s to 1650s, a cautious reception of Machiavelli is very visible, and a major theme is the importance of “opinion” among elites and subjects as a tangible, though difficult to measure, factor of power. Indeed, given the ongoing dependence on elites and subjects for rule, in particular for gathering resources to fight other princes, most princes made heavy use of pamphlets in order to influence opinion – for better or worse. It is clear that in particular the religious wars from the 1560s taught contemporary Europeans interested in politics that in several monarchies, certain issues of opinion had to be taken very seriously by any dynasty wishing to rule in the area, in particular religion. Whatever the dynastic legal title to rule by inheritance, monarchies had to submit in most cases to the confessional church and identity established in most countries during the later sixteenth century. The need for Henry of Navarre to convert to the faith of Rome, the failure of Catholic Christine and then Sigismund Vasa to establish themselves in Sweden, the problems of the Catholic match for Charles I, the ultimate failure of James II in England and Scotland, they all tell a similar story. Dynastic title had to bow ultimately to confessional identity. But also the collapse of the French monarchy in 1648-52 and the British wars of religion (1642-1648) and the upheaval in many parts of the agglomerates of the Spanish Habsburgs – Catalonia, Naples − clearly persuaded contemporary commentators to take “opinion” among both elites and people very serious19. None of this takes away the dense empirical evidence on at least two major structural changes in the outlook of European politics during the seventeenth century that have been admirably brought together in Heinz

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the Power of Culture. Old Regime Europe 1660-1789 (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002); James Collins, Classes, Estate and Order in Early Modern Brittany (Cambridge (Mass.): Cambridge University Press, 1994). A current application at Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) by David Onnekink suggests to seek further clarification about the place of ideology and opinion in European foreign politics.

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Schilling’s painstaking analysis of the relation of confessionalization and “reason of state”20. One, by the second half of the seventeenth century, the role and function of the three Christian confessions in foreign politics had changed and shifted. Though religious issues did not entirely cease to play a role in foreign policy and the relations among princes21, the kind of dramatic religious confrontations as during the French Wars of Religion, the British Wars of Religion or, to a degree, the Dutch Revolt, did not return. Religion remained an issue that could be partly used for mobilization – as in the 1757-59 period when Britain and Prussia appeared to be united as Protestant powers against a Catholic League of France and Austria (and Orthodox Russia) – but clearly the direct relative weight of religion had become less. Instead, most of Europe’s dynastic agglomerates had acquired a public religion that bound the agglomerate not only together but was seen by many of its inhabitants as a factor of considerable identity. Second, the number of players on Europe’s political scene had been massively reduced. Even major towns such as Danzig or German or Italian towns with some independence up to the later fifteenth century had lost the capacity to entertain their own European diplomatic relations, so had most leagues or other associations of merchants or towns. Only a minority of princes, those at the helm of the major dynastic houses, remained as real players on the European scene. Also, the dynastic agglomerates received fairly continuous shape, though of course some  – the Catholic monarchy – lost most of her holdings outside the Spanish peninsula during the Spanish Wars of Succession, and further wars of succession emphasize the vital importance of dynasties and dynastic problems for eighteenth century Europe. Researchers such as Christine Roll, though not doubting the territorial consolidation of most dynastic agglomerates and the reduction of the international players to the major princely dynasties, thus do not

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Heinz Schilling, Konfessionalisierung und Staatsinteressen 1559-1660 (Paderborn: Ferdinand Schöningh, 2007). With 673 pages, among them fifty three on used secondary literature, this book will be for a long time the standard to pull together the considerable amount of research done on this period and this problem. It will not easily be superseded for a long time. This topic is treated not least by: David Onnekink, ed., War and Religion…, but also in David Onnekink, Gijs Rommelse, eds., Ideology and Foreign policy…

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find the term “state” really adequate for most eighteenth, let alone seventeenth century powers22. At this point, the research project on the “‘New Monarchy’ and its critiques”, pursued with a grant from NWO and in close cooperation with Lucien Bely (Paris), John Morrill (Cambridge), Robert Frost (Aberdeen), James Collins (Georgetown), and Bernardo Garcia and Antonio Alvarez Ossorio (Madrid), seeks to clarify a specific point, i.e. the actual meaning of ‘reason of state’ in several seventeenth century tracts and in political discourse. It is based on the findings of the last fifty years, and thus takes the language of “state” and “reason of state” not as a reflection of the – allegedly inevitable – rise of the modern state as institutional entity, but as part of a political rhetoric entertained against the background of specific problems of Europe’s major dynastic houses that were experiencing the intensification of warfare since the 1490s. Under pressure of competition with neighboring princes for power, influence and prestige, dynasties were not only forced to mobilize unprecedented resources, they had not only to contend with the vagaries of religious change, they also had to deal with the increasing role of “opinion” among those to be mobilized for support. In this context, the project argues, the language of reason of state did not mirror or signal an objective development of “state-building” (in terms of the coercive modern tax state as legal person) but one of the manifold attempts of contemporaries to both grasp the changing European scene and carve out a place for themselves in it. Monarchies differed from their late medieval predecessors by almost inevitable participation in the early modern war- and arms race; the subsequent requirement of huge budgets to pay for war; the emergence of new groups with a vested interest in the survival of the regime as debtors and officeholders; and significantly increased rhetoric addressing an ill – defined public (not to be confused with a modern public sphere)23. The sources this project researches are

22

23

Christine Roll, Auswärtige Politik und politisches Weltbild. Zar und Kaiser in der europäischen Politik des 17. Jahrhunderts (Konstanz: Instituts für Europäische Geschichte Mainz, 2003). On the conference “The Transformation of Christian Europe: Princes, Dynastic Agglomerations and Fatherlands in Shaping European Society”, June 12-14, 2008, and the conference “The New Monarchy” 2011 (see: ). The term “new monarchy” was suggested in particular in conversation with Professor Paul Rahe.

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analyses and polemics emerging in this new situation, in which the terminology of ‘reason of state’ is partly critically, partly affirmatively used. One example is the treatise L’Interest Des Princes et Estats De La Chrestiente by the Duc de Rohan (1579-1638). In this treatise, the Catholic Monarchy is  – rightly  – addressed as the “New Monarchy”, for it only emerged since the later fifteenth century. Rohan sought to find for himself as Protestant and prince a place in the emerging new arrangement between crown and aristocratic elites in France. An earlier favorite to Henry IV and main royal client in Brittany, the Protestant nobility had found service to the crown under the erstwhile Protestant Henry IV specifically beneficial. Protection of their faith, access to offices and resources by the grace of the king and living up to the reputation they demanded for themselves as defenders of France could all well be combined. The tumultuous history after the assassination of Henry IV, in particular over the reconstitution of (Catholic) church property from Huguenots in various regions led to eventual civil war and to Rohan leading Huguenot forces until their decisive defeat in 1629. Henri was accused of lukewarmness from within the fractured Huguenot camp and could neither entirely appease Protestant zealots nor the Royal court. He could neither find suitable military command in Venice nor gain suzerainty over Cyprus. Looking out for a prestigious post adequate to his social standing and aspirations, he was finally recruited by the French Crown for its wars against the Habsburgs24. Rohan’s career experienced in a nutshell the changing options of the French aristocracy from independent military leaders to government clients with access to significant financial resources. His leadership of the Protestant rebellion in 1627-1629 has also to be seen against the background of his loss of his position as client in Brittany25. Whatever his motives, while he stated that “princes” are governed by their interests (and not those of the modern “state”) he did, as Friedrich Meinecke rightly emphasized 90 years ago, combine his analysis of the interest of princes with a modern

24

25

Auguste Laugel, Henry de Rohan: son rôle politique et militaire sous Louis XIII (1579-1638) (Paris: Firmin-Didot, 1889); Jack  A. Clarke, Huguenot warrior: the life and times of Henri de Rohan, 1579-1638 (The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1966); Solange Deyon, Pierre Deyon, Henri de Rohan: huguenot de plume et d’épée, 15791638 (Paris: Perrin, 2000).  James B. Collins, Classes, Estates and Order in Early Modern…, pp. 183-184.

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historical account of the nature of their dynastic agglomerates and the political constraint necessarily arising from the need to maintain those agglomerates.

Conclusion The analysis of treatises such as the one by Rohan seeks to understand both the factual legal construction of the dynastic agglomerate and the fact that dynasties had to secure compliance less by coercion but by persuasion, a persuasion based not least on their function as protectors of public order and property. This is the most important angle of this research project. The right to rule in early modern Europe remained in almost all cases (except, of course, republics), with dynasties who kept building their dynastic agglomerates by accumulating diverse lands. The House of Stuart eventually ruled Ireland, England and Scotland; the Madrid Habsburgs Castile, Aragon, the South- and Middle American areas, Milano, Naples and Sicily, and so forth. And in particular under the pressure of mobilization for war, the tensions between their dynastic aims and the interests of local and regional elites grew. Insofar, Trevor Roper had an important point. But at the same time, while around 1400 the average middling to great noblemen would mainly base his resources on fiefs and ecclesiastical benefices and offices, by the later seventeenth century princely offices in army and administration and financial investment in the fate of the ruling dynasty had become a major item in the resources of most elites. They had become entangled, for better or worse, with the fate of the ruling dynasty. The period characterized by this immense strife among princes and nobilities did thus not see “state-building” in a modern sense, but rather an increasing involvement at least of elites with the fate of the ruling dynasty. In England and Scotland, for example, while most offices did hardly carry significant resources and were not for sale (as in the Catholic Monarchy or France), the acquisition of church lands in both kingdoms linked a considerable minority of landowners to the preservation of reformation settlements, however uneasy achieved. At the same time, Latin Europe hold on to a strict distinction between legitimate public rule and tyranny, and debate about this distinction became embroiled in the conflicts over

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the raising of unprecedented resources for the conflicts of the period. The “New Monarchy” engaged in this debate and sought to influence society, or at least elites, about the legitimacy of its endeavors, but it also invited criticism against the dynamics of war and office on which it seemed to flower.

Portugal unido, y separado. Propaganda and the discourse of identity between the Habsburgs and the Braganza1 Pedro Cardim Universidade Nova de Lisboa and Centro de História de Além Mar (CHAM)

This essay focuses on a treatise published during the late 1650s entitled Portugal unido, y separado. Escrevia el afecto español de Don Pedro Valenzuela. Al Excelentissimo Señor Don Agustin de Alencastre Sande y Padilla, Duque de Abrantes, &c. Written by Pedro Valenzuela, the treatise was published in Madrid by Mateus Fernandes in 1659, during a period of renewed, intensified propaganda against the Braganzas of Portugal. Shortly after the Portuguese rebellion, Spanish propaganda had pointed its batteries against the “Portuguese rebels”. In a short period of time, numerous articles were printed harshly criticizing the Duke of Braganza and his supporters. Nevertheless, from 1648 onward, the Portuguese rebellion passed to the background, and for the propagandists who defended Philip IV, the priority became the rebellion of Naples, the war with France, and especially the reestablishment of Habsburg rule in Catalonia. As a consequence, Spanish propaganda against Portugal2 faded away. After 1657, however, several works in favor of Philip IV were again published, and were specifically addressed to the Portuguese context. The victory in Catalonia enabled the Spanish Monarch to focus on the Portuguese front, and this turn was reflected in the pace of publication of reports on military actions. Between 1657 and 1661 more than twelve works were printed reporting on military operations, especially on the

1 2

I thank Alexander Ponsen for his comments and suggestions. Rafael Valladares, “Juristas por el rey. Felipe IV y la reivindicación de sus dominios, 1640-1665”, Hacer Historia desde Simancas. Homenaje a José Luis Rodríguez de Diego, Alberto Marcos Martín, ed. (Valladolid: Junta de Castilla y León, 2011), pp. 787-814.

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border between Portugal and Galicia. In parallel, several very critical texts of the Portuguese rebellion were also published announcing its defeat as forthcoming. The book by Pedro Valenzuela is one of them. Until today, Portugal unido, y separado was the focus of relatively little attention. José María Jover Zamora3, José Ares Montes4 and, more recently, Fernando Bouza Álvarez5 and Pablo Fernández Albaladejo have referred to this text, emphasizing its place in the political literature of these years, pointing to Valenzuela’s use of the phrase nación provincial de España (“provincial nation of Spain”) to denominate each of the Peninsular peoples that were part of the Monarchy. Javier García-Ibaseta’s6 study on Portugal unido, y separado is also noteworthy for its demonstration of the influence of religion in political language. However, beyond this, parallel to the investment in propaganda against the “rebels from Portugal”, Valenzuela‫ތ‬s book also includes very suggestive reflections about the identity (political and cultural) of the several peoples that were part of the Spanish Monarchy. This is precisely the topic analyzed in the following pages. Thus, in the first part of this study we will reconstruct the context in which Valenzuela‫ތ‬s treatise appeared. Then we will outline its main ideas. In the third and final part of this article we will demonstrate the relationship between Valenzuela‫ތ‬s views and the debates that were ongoing at least since 1581, the year when Portugal became part of the Spanish Monarchy.

3 4 5

6

José María Jover, “Sobre los conceptos de monarquía y nación en el pensamiento político español del XVII”, Cuadernos de Historia de España, 12 (1950), p. 104. José Ares, “Portugal en el teatro español del siglo XVII”, Filología Románica, 8 (1991), pp. 11-29. Fernando Bouza, “Felipe IV sin Olivares. La Restauración de la Monarquía y España en Avisos”, Actas de las Juntas del Reino de Galicia, 13 vols. (La Coruña: Xunta de Galicia, 1999), vol. 6, p. 74; also by: Fernando Bouza, “Papeles, Batallas y Público Barroco. La Guerra y la Restauração Portuguesas en la Publicística Española de 1640 a 1668”, Sala das Batalhas, Fundação das Casas de Fronteira e Alorna, March, 2005, , p. 15. Javier García-Ibaseta, “1659: ¿religión o política? A propósito del ‘Portugal unido o separado’ de Pedro Valenzuela”, VIIª Reunión Científica de la Fundación Española de Historia Moderna, Francisco Aranda Pérez, ed. (Albacete: Universidad de Castilla la Mancha, 2004), pp. 917-928.

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Valenzuela published his treatise in a period when the signing of the Treaty of the Pyrenees by France and Spain seemed increasingly likely, and at a time when many predicted that the end of the Portuguese revolt was approaching. In the book by Pedro Valenzuela it is apparent that Portugal would soon return to the obedience of Habsburg rule, following the same path as Catalonia. Incidentally, at the end of the 1650s several noblemen defected, the most prominent being Fernando Teles de Faro (a Portuguese nobleman who took advantage of the fact that he was in the Netherlands as a diplomat to flee from Portugal to the Spanish Monarchy), and Raimundo of Lencastre, 4th Duke of Aveiro7. Such desertions were a sign that confidence was fading among supporters of the Braganza dynasty. Meanwhile, members of the court of Madrid intensified their preparations to welcome the growing number of Portuguese who, predictably, would return to the obedience of Philip IV. At the same time, they discussed the best strategies for reconciliation with those who had rebelled in 1640. The Exortación al Reyno de Portugal, persuadiéndole buelva a la obediencia de su Rey y Señor natural Don Felipe Quarto nuestro Señor… (Madrid, 1658), by Manuel Franco de Cora y Baamonde, is a prime example. Additionally, in Madrid, the Council of Portugal was reactivated in 1658, a decision obviously rooted in the belief that the “restoration” of Habsburg rule in Portugal was approaching8. Pedro Valenzuela’s interesting book was published in this context. Very little is known about who Pedro Valenzuela was – licenses in this work only refer to him being a priest – but, the dignitary to whom the book was dedicated is better known: Agostinho de Lencastre Sande e Bovadilha was born in Lisbon and became Duke of Abrantes, Marquis of Porto Seguro, Sardoal and Valdefuentes, Earl of Mejorada, chief commander of the Order of Santiago, and perpetual Captain-General of Galleys of Portugal. As Fernando Bouza Álvarez points out9, Agostinho de Lencastre was one

7

8 9

Theresa Schedel, Vida de Francisco Mello Torres, 1º Conde da Ponte, Marquês de Sande. Soldado e Diplomata da Restauração, 1620-1667 (Lisbon: Livraria Férin, 1971). Rafael Valladares, La Rebelión de Portugal. Guerra, Conflicto y Poderes en la Monarquía Hispánica (Valladolid: Junta de Castilla y León, 1998), pp. 240. Fernando Bouza, “Papeles, Batallas y Público Barroco…”, p.  15; also by Bouza Álvarez, see: “Entre dos reinos, una patria rebelde. Fidalgos portugueses en la

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of the most prominent members of the Portuguese community to remain in Madrid after 1640. The group waited expectantly for Portugal‫ތ‬s return to the rule of Philip IV. It is highly likely, therefore, that Valenzuela was connected to the “entourage” of the noble houses of Abrantes and Aveiro. Valenzuela probably shared Agostinho de Lencastre‫ތ‬s concerns related to the recovery of his patrimony in Portugal. As mentioned, in the licenses to his work, Valenzuela is described as a priest; other sources add that he lived in Madrid, and that later he became canon at the cathedral of Leon10. It is important to note that the texts published in this period did not merely attack the Portuguese revolt. As  F. Bouza Álvarez pointed out, some of the best examples of the propaganda that denigrated the Braganza dynasty were promoted by Portuguese nobles who remained in the court of Philip IV. Those in this group became notorious enemies of the CountDuke of Olivares, and they systematically opposed the reforms he implemented in the 1620s and 1630s. No wonder then that such writings, along with attacks against the “Portuguese rebels”, included bitter remarks about Olivares and as well as more or less detailed reflections on the factors that caused the decline of the Spanish Monarchy11. To a large extent, Pedro Valenzuela‫ތ‬s book was one of these writings. Early in his Portugal unido, y separado, Pedro Valenzuela expresses the hope that his treatise would be decisive to call the “Portuguese rebels” to reason and to encourage them to lay down their arms. To do so, he gives the example of what happened in Barcelona in 1472, at the end of the civil war in Catalonia after which an effective policy of reconciliation was implemented. Living up to the title of his treatise, throughout its nearly one hundred pages, Valenzuela draws incessantly on the history of the Spanish Monarchy, ancient and recent, paying particular attention to the period during which the Monarchy was united in a cohesive manner, and stressing the contrast between the period of cohesion and the years after 1640, namely the time during which division predominated. Similarly to what many had done before him, Valenzuela also invokes the ancient Iberian past to demonstrate his thesis. Valenzuela, like many of

10 11

Monarquía Hispánica después de 1640”, Estudis: Revista de historia moderna, 20 (2004), pp. 83-104. Paulo Drumond Braga, “A habilitação de D. Agostinho de Lencastre para familiar da inquisição de Toledo (1680)”, Revista de História, 11 (1991), pp. 149-156. Fernando Bouza, “Papeles, Batallas y Público Barroco...”.

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his 17th century contemporaries, pointed to the Goths as the true ancestors of the Christian Iberian kingdoms, a theme that runs into the so-called “Reconquista” of Christian Iberia. Such a process is presented in this treatise as a “pan-Spanish” enterprise. Indeed, the text of Portugal unido, y separado is full of praise for the idea of union and full of criticism concerning the evils that stemmed from the division of the Iberian peoples12. For Valenzuela, the Iberian Peninsula was the natural homeland of all the españoles (“Spanish people”), a group that was geographically delimited, by nature, by the Pyrenees. Therefore, he argues that it was essential that the people who inhabited this geographic space never lost sight of the common traits that bounded them, reminding us that the Iberian Peninsula, while united, lived in prosperity, conquering many territories and extending its dominion to all parts of the world. However, he also calls our attention to the fact that everything changed in 1640, the year the division came and with it all its negative effects13. Rejecting the claims of the “Portuguese rebels”, Valenzuela categorically affirms that the rupture of 1640 was contrary to the “common good” of Portugal, pointing out that, after the secession, the Portuguese came to live in war, being obliged to bear very high taxes and to cope with innumerable economic difficulties14. Committed to demonstrating that Portugal, before 1640, was in a much more favorable situation, he reminds us that its nobility, before the revolt, could benefit from prestigious careers across the entire Monarchy, whereas after the rupture it became confined to Portugal and reduced to its narrow limits15. Again regarding the damage caused by the revolt of 1640, Valenzuela expressed his disapproval of the Portuguese decision to break the oath of allegiance that they had given to Philip IV, a particularly serious act in a realm so proud of its Catholic identity. For Valenzuela, as for many others, the movement that began in December 1640 was a “rebellion”, and, therefore, reprehensible and damaging to the reputation

12

13 14 15

Pablo Fernández, “Common souls, autonomous Bodies: the language of unification under the Catholic Monarchy, 1590-1630”, Revista Internacional de Estudios Vascos, 5 (2009), pp. 78. Pedro Valenzuela, Portugal unido, y separado (Madrid: Mateo Fernandez, 1659), pp. 12. Pedro Valenzuela, Portugal unido, y separado…, pp. 23. Pedro Valenzuela, Portugal unido, y separado…, pp. 27.

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of the Portuguese, with effects not only on their moral condition, but also on the governance and administration of justice in Portuguese lands16. As an example of the negative effect exerted by the stigma of “rebellion”, he recalls the arbitrary way a group of noblemen was accused of conspiracy against the house of Braganza in mid-164117. A second theme to which Valenzuela pays particular attention is the status that Portugal had within the Monarchy18. Based on the events of 1581, when Portugal was incorporated into the domains of Philip II, he argues that, no podía Portugal estar unido con la Monarchia por titulo mas decente, que el de la sucession (“could not Portugal be united with the Monarchy by a more decent title than that of the succession”). Valenzuela states that the Portuguese had no great motives for feeling unhappy, primarily because the union was a natural friendship between the Portuguese and the Castilian. The same would have been true for Castile in the early sixteenth century, entering a union with Portugal on the occasion of Prince Miguel’s inheritance19. He claims that the revolt of Portugal would have been acceptable if the ‫ދ‬title of union‫ ތ‬was unclear or damaging to its reputation, which, for Valenzuela, was not at all the case. […] una cosa es unión, y otra sujecion, porque esta tendrà aquel reino que fuere meramente conquistado, y aquella el que aunque ayan interuenido armas en su possession, se huiere incorporado con otro por la sucession, con la guarda, obseruancia de sus privilegios. 16 17

18 19

Pedro Valenzuela, Portugal unido, y separado…, pp. 34. Mafalda de Noronha, A Casa de Vila Real e a Conspiração de 1641 contra D. João IV (Lisbon: Edições Colibri, 2005). It is worth mentioning that the gesture of rebellion perpetrated by Portugal was very severely condemned, especially because it involved the breaking of oath of allegiance paid to king Philip IV. This explains why the propaganda campaign that the Portuguese had to assemble to justify the secession and to combat the stigma of “rebellion”. The protagonists of the revolt spared no effort to justify their separatist movement and, similarly to what had happened in the United Provinces and in Catalonia, in Portugal the “neo-scholastic” thinking and its theories of popular origin of the power provided the bulk of the argumentation: María de los Ángeles Pérez, Catalunya i Portugal el 1640: dos pobles en una cruilla (Barcelona: Curial, 1992). Pedro Valenzuela, Portugal unido, y separado…, pp. 12. Pedro Valenzuela, Portugal unido, y separado…, p.  35. About this topic, see: Fernando Bouza, “De un fin de siglo a otro. Unión de Coronas Ibéricas entre Don Manuel y Felipe II”, El Tratado de Tordesillas y su Época. Congreso Internacional de Historia (Valladolid: Junta de Castilla y León, 1995), pp. 1453-1463.

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[…] one thing is union, and another subjection, because this had that kingdom that was merely conquered, and that which although arms had intervened in its possession, would have been incorporated with another by the succession, with the guard, observance of its privileges.

Rejecting the opinion of those who argued that the incorporation of Portugal had been accomplished through military action and that it had entered the Habsburg Monarchy with the status of a “conquest”, Valenzuela argues that Portugal entered the Monarchy as an “inheritance” of Philip of Habsburg. In addition, he recalls that, precisely for this reason, the Portuguese had managed to avoid a status of submission (sujeción), and kept a wide range of rights which Valenzuela classifies as privilegios. The author argues that tantos, y tan grandes eran los [privilegios] que tenia Portugal, que ninguno otro Reyno unido a la Monarchia los gozava […] (“so many, and so great were the [privileges] that Portugal had, that no other Kingdom united to the Monarchy enjoyed […]”). For Valenzuela, Portugal, when compared with the other territories of the Monarchy, undoubtedly enjoyed a more advantageous condition: los Virreyes auiàn de ser de sangre real, o naturales, ò descendientes de aquel Reyno; teniendo demas desto separados Nuncio, y Colector General de la Sede Apostolica, Tribunal de la Inquisicion, y Comissario de Cruzada. Y en lo Militar, Generales de Mar y Tierra. Los bienes de la Corona, siempre caìan en ella conforme la ley mental, hazian los Reyes merced dellos a los naturales, con gran benevolencia y liberalidad […]20. the viceroys should be of royal blood or native or descendants of that kingdom; also the posts of nuncio, collector general of the Apostolic See, the court of the Inquisition and commissioner of the Crusade must be separate. As for the military aspect, the generals of sea and land. The goods of the crown always belonged to it, according to natural law, and therefore the kings did generous acts for the natives with these possessions, with great kindness and liberality […].

In addition to these privilegios Valenzuela also recalls that Portugal had been able to keep its…Casa Real separada, con todos sus oficios, gages, y emolumento (“the Royal House separated, with all its posts, accessories and emolument”), which was, in fact, a rather unique situation within

20

Pedro Valenzuela, Portugal unido, y separado…, pp. 35-36.

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the framework of the Monarchy. Valenzuela even compares the condition of Habsburg Portugal to that of the Castilian crown, stating that: […] con tantas prerrogativas estava unido Portugal, que en cierto modo quedò superior a Castilla, pues su Nobleza ocupava los mayores puestos de la Monarchia, sin que los Castellanos pudiessen ocupar los suyos, desigualdad que aun era de ponderar en Reynos iguales, tanto mas siendo Castilla Reyno mucho mas poderoso […]21. […] with so many prerogatives was Portugal united, that in a certain way it was superior to Castile, as its Nobility occupied the highest posts of the Monarchy, without the Castilians being able to occupy theirs, inequality that had to be considered equal between kingdoms, especially with Castile being much the most powerful kingdom […].

As can be seen, Valenzuela suggests that the condition of Portugal was actually so advantageous that, in some respects, it would even surpass that of Castile because while it had – at least allegedly – its institutions open to non-Castilians, Portugal had managed to seal off its judicial sphere and its institutions from non-Portuguese. Beyond this, and as another example of the preeminence that Portugal enjoyed within the Habsburg domains, he points out that the Portuguese nobles were granted the distinction of not being forced to remove their hat before the king and the royal courts, a distinction not enjoyed by the Castilian aristocracy. For Valenzuela, the rebellious Portuguese did not give proper value to these and many other gestures of deference and respect for their dignity, deserving, therefore, to be regarded as ungrateful. Still on the subject of the status of Portugal within the Monarchy, Valenzuela questions the political implications of the king‫ތ‬s absence, arguing that the rebels exaggerated whenever they reasoned on this subject. According to Valenzuela, it was a “fantasia” to give so much importance to this issue, adding that the absence of the sovereign was a normal situation in other conglomerates of that time. The Holy Roman Empire, France and the Spanish Monarchy, componiendose su dominio de diversos Estados que se han juntado, tienen el asiento de su Corte en uno solo, sin que los demás hagan reparo alguno por la razón referida22 (“although its domain is composed of the sum of several states that have been brought together, it has its court in one of

21 22

Pedro Valenzuela, Portugal unido, y separado…, p. 38. Pedro Valenzuela, Portugal unido, y separado…, pp. 12.

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these states, without the others complaining about that for the reason mentioned”). In this regard, he recalls that Rome had also handled a similar situation within its empire, but that the absence of the Roman emperor did not result in the same kind of recriminations. As to the question of the king‫ތ‬s “national” identity, Valenzuela argues that it was not relevant in this case, reminding us that Philip of Habsburg had assumed the throne of Portugal by inheritance, due to his kinship ties to the Portuguese royal family. According to Valenzuela the king era portugués (“he was Portuguese”), and the same could be said about his successors. Besides, to Valenzuela, the Habsburgs, while ruling Portugal had always behaved as Portuguese governors, dealing with matters in accordance with the Portuguese traditions and systematically using the Portuguese language. Faced with so many concessions, Valenzuela ends by stating that he does not understand why the Portuguese had rebelled, adding that the only plausible reason could be that they were possuídos pela paixão23 (“possessed by the passion”). Valenzuela then rebuts one of the most frequent arguments voiced by the supporters of the Duke of Braganza: that incorporation into the Monarchy had been the cause of Portugal’s decline. To those who said that Portugal, before joining the Monarchy, had achieved great victories and conquered many lands and that, after 1581, no political entity had been subdued by the Portuguese, he replied that, after Vasco da Gama had reached India, Portugal only managed to keep its Asian possessions because entonces no avia Olandeses unidos que lo embaçassen, ni los Ingleses, y Franceses y otras naciones tratavam de impedir lo24 (“Then there was nobody from the United Provinces who hindered it, nor English, or French or other nations trying to impede it”). And he points out that Portugal managed to conservar lo conquistado for many years […] estando ya incorporado Portugal con Castilla […]25 (“[…] Portugal being already incorporated into Castile […]”) precisely because, during that time, the Habsburgs were attacking the Dutch in Europe, and thereby diverting them from the overseas territories of Portugal.

23 24 25

Pedro Valenzuela, Portugal unido, y separado…, pp. 39. Pedro Valenzuela, Portugal unido, y separado…, p. 40. Pedro Valenzuela, Portugal unido, y separado…, p. 40.

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Based on everything exposed so far, Valenzuela qualifies as reckless what was happening in Portugal26. To make matters even worse, many members of the nobility supported the revolt. Valenzuela severely criticizes them, arguing that such a group should be particularly wise and set an example for the rest of the population. While specifically addressing this sector of Portuguese society, Valenzuela draws attention to the dangers arising from the fascination for a gloria injusta (“unjust glory”), giving as an example the fate of D. Sebastian, the deceased king of Portugal defeated at Alcácer Quibir in 1578. Valenzuela, like many other polemicists of the period, asserts that the Portuguese were not prepared to win the ongoing war against the forces of Philip IV. This was the reason why the Portuguese should surrender as soon as possible. As for the fact that the «rebellious» Portugal had been able to resist since the revolt began seventeen years before, Valenzuela argues that this only happened because, during the first twelve years, Philip IV had been focused on the wars with Catalonia, England and France. Pedro Valenzuela also points to the foreign influence over what was happening in Portugal forewarning, first of all, of the harmful effect of French interference, cuyo fin es la ruina del nombre Español27 (“whose aim is to ruin the Spanish name”). He draws a very negative portrayal of the French, of their character and their intentions, accusing them of cultivating deceit and of not meeting their commitments. He describes the kings of France as misleading for claiming they had rights to the crown of Portugal, and that such rights arose from the condessa Matilde, muger primera del Rey Don Alfonso, Conde antes de Bolonia; demas que quieren acreditar que fue antiguamente Colonia Francesa, y que por ello se llama Portugal, como si dixera Puerto de la Galia […]28 (“countess Matilda, first wife of King Alfonso, before Count of Bologna; moreover that they wanted to show was once a French colony, and that the name Portugal derives precisely from this as if it were ‘Port of Gaul’ […]”). He also criticizes the English, who had contributed to a great extent to defeat the Portuguese in Hormuz, an important strategic stronghold in the Persian Gulf. But the most suggestive passage from Valenzuela‫ތ‬s treatise is undoubtedly that in which he develops his ideas about the identity of the 26 27 28

Pedro Valenzuela, Portugal unido, y separado…, pp. 42. Pedro Valenzuela, Portugal unido, y separado…, p. 51. Pedro Valenzuela, Portugal unido, y separado…, p. 60.

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peoples of the Iberian Peninsula. Valenzuela argues that the division of the Monarchy had been, above all, a result of glorious emulation and not the outcome del odio ignominoso, y villano (“of the ignominious and vile hatred”). In order to prove this statement, he invokes what he knew about the Castilian, the Portuguese and other naciones provinciales de España (“provincial nations of Spain”), an undoubtedly evocative and unusual expression in the literature of the time. Although acknowledging that each of these naciones provinciales de España had a different name, he argues that, despite this, […] a todas les compete el español, comprehendiéndose debajo dél, sin distinción alguna, porque tan español es el portugués como el castellano, el catalán como el vizcaíno, el aragonés como el navarro, el valenciano como el andaluz29. […] all were considered Spanish, with no distinction, Portuguese being as Spanish as Castilian, Catalan as much as Vizcayan, Aragonese like Navarese, Valencian like Andaluz.

Valenzuela therefore considers that the wars between these naciones provinciales de España were always more lenient than ones against the naciones enemigas estrangeres (“foreign enemy nations”). And acknowledging the deep mutual emulation between the Portuguese and the Castilians, he argues that both peoples were similar […] en gloria y value (“[…] in glory and valor”). Valenzuela also stresses that this mutual emulation was never transformed into hatred, because the Portuguese Catholicos son como nosotros, Españoles son como nosotros30 (“Catholics are like us, Spanish are like us”). In order to substantiate this unconditional claim of the “Spanish character” of the Portuguese, Valenzuela draws on history, pointing out that Portugal had its origin in Castile-Leon and that since then the influence between these two kingdoms had always been very strong. Moreover, Valenzuela ensures that, throughout history, Castile had always contributed to the strengthen of Portugal, accusing supporters of the 1640 rebellion of denigrating the Monarchy and, ultimately, distorting reality. Valenzuela still reproaches the Portuguese clergymen, claiming that they were influencing the populations and deceiving them when they claimed that God 29 30

Pedro Valenzuela, Portugal unido, y separado…, p. 64. Pedro Valenzuela, Portugal unido, y separado…, p. 64.

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Pedro Cardim

supported them against Philip IV, or when enfurecieron la Plebe contra la Nacion Castellana31 (“They enraged the populace against the Castilian Nation”). He assured that the great majority of the Portuguese population not only opposed the revolt, but was even yearning for peace. Following this statement, he sets out warnings about the counselors who deceived the people, and launches various appeals to the Portuguese urging them to reconsider, and thus open the door to forgiveness. It is precisely from this point forward that the theme of forgiveness becomes central to Valenzuela´s treatise. Developing a long reflection on the implications of the princes’ errors and how to correct them, he presents several examples of kings who had been magnanimous, and reflects upon the political advantages of leniency32. In an excursus where he presents himself as a supporter of a catholic and patriarchal concept of kingship, Valenzuela praises the mercy that Philip II had demonstrated during the incorporation of Portugal and in the governance of the realm33. And while he emphasizes the role of love in the relationship between lords and vassals, he urges the Portuguese to lay down arms. Valenzuela ends his book with an exhortation to true peace and reconciliation, taking advantage of these last pages to defend the exiled nobles in Madrid. Although many accused them of treason (due to the fact that they remained faithful to Philip IV), these exiled noblemen were, according to Valenzuela, the true filhos da patria (“Sons of the homeland”). On the whole, Pedro Valenzuela’s book provides quite a unique picture of the condition of the Portuguese within the Habsburg Monarchy. Within his reflections about the form of union between Portugal and the Habsburg domains, Valenzuela not only discusses the concept of “conquest”, but also the distinction between “conquest” and “inheritance”. Moreover, Valenzuela focuses on the implications for Portugal and the Portuguese of the fact that they belonged to a large political entity such as the Catholic Monarchy. He addresses issues like, for example, the benefits the nobility could obtain from the insertion into the Monarchy, as well as the impact, in Portugal, of being part of a conglomerate oriented towards universal domination. Incidentally, there are many passages in the

31 32 33

Pedro Valenzuela, Portugal unido, y separado…, pp. 12. Pedro Valenzuela, Portugal unido, y separado…, pp. 79. Pedro Valenzuela, Portugal unido, y separado…, p. 83.

Portugal unido, y separado

407

book where it is clear that this is a treatise aimed at influencing the nobles supporting the rebellion. We noted above that history is Valenzuela’s subject of interest. Drawing on the time of the Goths and of the so-called “Reconquista”, he aims to identify Portugal’s place within the Iberian Peninsula’s political milieu. Although considering that Portugal originally came from Castile-Leon (through a process of secession), and claiming that Castile had always helped Portugal throughout its history, he does not hesitate to propose a strong similarity between the Portuguese and the Castilian. Valenzuela‫ތ‬s digression on the Iberian past led him to reflect upon Portuguese identity, which is the part of the book that truly conveys a sense of identity common to all the people of the Peninsula. Introducing the evocative term “provincial nations of Spain”, Valenzuela presents himself as a supporter of a plural idea of Spain, as well as of a certain unity of all naciones provinciales de España. The author of Portugal unido, y separado also focuses on the functioning of the union, for example when dealing with the issue of the absence of the king or the situation of the Portuguese overseas possessions. Finally, Valenzuela also discusses some central themes of the contemporary Catholic understanding of politics when he debates the implications of breaking the oath of allegiance, or when he addresses the theme of forgiveness at the very end of his book. Where should we position the ideas conveyed by the author of Portugal unido, y separado? And how are we to interpret the way he portrays Portugal within the Spanish Monarchy? To answer these questions, it is of major important to note that Pedro Valenzuela’s reflections about Portugal’s status in the Iberian context were far from unique at that time. As a matter of fact, his thoughts on the relation between Portugal and the Habsburg world restart discussions which had been underway for some time and, in fact, only become fully intelligible if we go back at least to the period when Portugal joined the Monarchy of Philip II, an event that inserted the Portuguese into a political universe far more complex than the one they were used to. Converted into vassals of a “monarch”, a king who ruled various kingdoms, the Portuguese began to live side-by-side with Castilian, Aragonese, Catalan, Valencian, Grenadian, Navarre, Neapolitan, Milanese, Flemish or “Creoles” of

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Pedro Cardim

“Indias de Castilla”, a set of very different peoples but which shared the same king34. As part of a dynastic conglomerate composed of a wide diversity of territories, the vassals of each constituent kingdom constantly compare their situation to that of the others. Portugal was no exception and, shortly after the oath of Philip of Habsburg at the Cortes of Portugal in Tomar in May 1581, the Portuguese began to compare their status with that of the other members of the Catholic Monarchy. The other kingdoms, in turn, were soon comparing their condition to Portugal, the newly entered territory, and positioned themselves vis-a-vis its elites and in relation to its claims. Thus, Portugal’s inclusion within the Habsburg conglomerate led to a significant increase of interest in its past in order to define, based on historical knowledge, its political status and position in relation to other areas of the Habsburg Monarchy. Valenzuela contributed to this growing debate on Portugal’s political condition and, as we have seen, he took a keen interest in its history. As Pablo Fernández Albaladejo pointed out, within the Hispanic context, the use of the past to establish the political status of a territory implied examining a number of topics deeply inscribed in the cultural matrix that was common to all the Iberian peoples35. The first was “Gothicism”, the idea of continuity between the ancient Visigoth kingdoms on the one hand, and, on the other, the Christian kingdoms born during the so-called Reconquista. Second was the memory of the Reconquista. The recollection of such a process varied from territory to territory. In regard to this, there was a persistent tension between the two contrasting views of this process. On one side were those who argued that each kingdom had fought, per se, against Muslim rule, having independently “reconquered” its own land. On the other, were the supporters of a univocal vision of the Reconquista,

34

35

Xavier Gil, “Un rey, una fe, muchas naciones. Patria y nación en la España de los siglos XVI y XVII”, La Monarquía de las Naciones. Patria, nación y naturaleza en la Monarquía de España, Bernardo García, Antonio Álvarez-Ossório, eds. (Madrid: Fundación Carlos de Amberes and Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 2004), pp. 39-76. Pablo Fernández, “Entre ‘godos’ y ‘montañeses’. Avatares de una primera identidad española”, Le sentiment national dans l’Europe méridionale aux XVIe et XVIIe siècles, Alain Tallon, ed. (Madrid: Casa de Velázquez, 2007), pp. 123-154.

How “new” is the “New Monarchy”?

409

who believed it had been led solely by the Asturian, Leonese and Castilian kings. Third was the providential dimension, almost always associated with the foundational moments of each political entity, in the case of Portugal, the so-called Milagre de Ourique, a mythical narrative that assigned the political community a divine origin. Fourth and last was the evocation of the foundational moments of “pactism”, referring back to a process of a voluntary subjection of the community to a ruler of its choice. This allegedly happened in Catalonia (voluntary submission to Charlemagne), in Aragon, and in Navarra (the episode of the so-called “fueros de Sobrarbe”). As for Portugal, there was also interest in episodes that spoke of a pact between the commonwealth and a ruler. However, such interest came relatively late, as the narrative of the representative assembly (the Cortes) that allegedly took place in Lamego (in the early stages of Portugal’s status as an independent realm) was only “revealed” in the 1630s. As pointed out, Pedro Valenzuela demonstrates that he knows these debates and echoes, albeit briefly, some of the topics listed. The nature of the union of Portugal to the Monarchy was of utmost concern to Valenzuela. As known, the Portuguese succession crisis was finally settled in 1581 after a quick military campaign of intimidation36 and the imposition of one of the candidates, Philip II37. Once the process was complete, there was a momentary hesitation before deciding between the two alternatives regarding the juridical-political manner in which Portugal would become part of the Habsburg monarchy. On one side were supporters of incorporation, those supporting the full integration of Portugal as a “conquered” land, with the consequent loss of its status as a realm. On the other side were the defenders of aggregation, in which the Portuguese privileges and political customs would be preserved. The issue referred to the contrast between the horizontal link among territories (aeque principaliter) and vertical integration, this last being typical of situations of “conquest” and involving a much greater degree of 36 37

Rafael Valladares, A conquista de Lisboa. Violência militar e comunidade política em Portugal, 1578-1583 (Lisbon: Texto Editores, 2010). Mafalda Soares da Cunha, “A questão jurídica na crise dinàstica”, História de Portugal. No Alvorecer da Modernidade, Joaquim Romero Magalhães, ed. (Lisbon: Estampa, 1997), pp. 552-559.

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Pedro Cardim

subjection38. In the end, as we know, Portugal became part of the Monarchy on a quasi-horizontal and quasi-equal basis, embodying a union in which the political and jurisdictional framework of the kingdom did not suffer any substantial alteration39. Moreover, the Portuguese jurisdictional sphere became closed to non-natives, but the Portuguese were allowed to circulate with some freedom through Habsburg domains. For the Portuguese, this type of incorporation proved to be positive – and Valenzuela classifies it as beneficial –, because it represented a sudden widening of the horizon of opportunities, a topic to which the author of Portugal unido, y separado… also alludes. Like many of his contemporaries, Valenzuela proves to be aware of the distinction between “conquest” and “aggregation”, especially when he distinguishes, on the one hand, integration by inheritance and, on the other, the type of incorporation in which […] ayan intervenido armas en su possession (“conquest”), the latter involving a much sharper “subjection”. Moreover, he demonstrates that he is fully aware that the entry of Portugal into the Habsburg domains led to divergent interpretations of the events of 1580-81. The controversy surrounding the modality of union was markedly strong. Was it an admission by inheritance and accomplished through an agreement? Or, was it a “conquest”? Many people discussed this issue from 1581 onward. But Valenzuela is definitive in stating that Portugal enjoyed the condition of inheritance and clearly not of “conquest”. That is precisely why Portugal achieved

38

39

Jon Arrieta, “Las formas de vinculación a la Monarquía y de relación entre sus reinos y coronas en la España de los Austrias”, La Monarquía de las Naciones. Patria, nación y naturaleza en la Monarquía de España, Bernardo García, Antonio ÁlvarezOssório, eds. (Madrid: Fundación Carlos de Amberes-Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, 2004), pp.  303-326; Jon Arrieta, “Formas de unión de reinos: tipología y casuística en perspectiva jurídico-política (siglos XVI-XVIII)”, 1512. Conquista e incorporación de Navarra. Historiografía, derecho y otros prochesos de integración en la Europa renacentista, Alfredo Floristán, coord. (Barcelona: Ariel, 2012), pp. 89125; John Elliott, “Introduction-Forms of Union: the British and Spanish Monarchies in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries”, Revista Internacional de Estudios Vascos, 5 (2009), pp. 13-19. Fernando Bouza, Portugal en la Monarquía Hispánica (1580-1640). Felipe II, las Cortes de Tomar y la génesis del Portugal Católico (Madrid: Universidad Complutense, 1987).

How “new” is the “New Monarchy”?

411

such uniquely advantageous conditions, especially as compared to other territories40. In Valenzuela’s book there are also echoes of the controversy generated by the growing centrality of Castile within Habsburg domains, a process which was somehow linked to the increasing diffusion, from the end of the sixteenth century, of the expression, “the Spanish Monarchy”. The Castilian overtones of the term “Spanish Monarchy”, together with the “Castilianization” of Spanish patriotism, generated controversy, and some Habsburg territories that most felt the growing prominence of the crown of Castile also claimed the right to bear this same status41. Such was the case of Portugal, where the word “monarchy” began to gain popularity in the late sixteenth century, when Bernardo de Brito published the first part of his Monarchia Lusitana… (Alcobaça, 1597). The use of the term “monarchy” to classify Portugal was, after all, a way of expressing the Portuguese claim to maintain its special status within the Monarchy. However, it was also a way to remind authorities that the Portuguese crown was the head of a vast pluri-continental empire whose individuality had been expressly guaranteed by Philip II in 1581. In Valenzuela‫ތ‬s book, it is also possible to find some echoes of this controversy, especially in the section comparing the status of Portugal to that of Castile. Initially, Spanish patriotism, despite its Castilian overtones, coexisted without major difficulties with the other Hispanic patriotisms that were then flourishing, both in Europe and in America. This was possible due to the very plural notion of Spain which prevailed at the time42. Valenzuela seems to identify himself with this plural idea of Spain. However, from the first years of the seventeenth century on, the absence of the monarch – a topic also addressed by Valenzuela – became more controversial as it was discussed at a time when the king remained for longer and longer periods

40 41

42

Fernando Bouza, “1640 perante o Estatuto de Tomar. Memória e Juízo de Portugal dos Filipes”, Penélope. Fazer e desfazer a história, 9/10 (1993), pp. 17-27. Irving A. Anthony Thompson, “La Monarquía de España: la invención de un concepto”, Entre Clío y Casandra. Poder y Sociedad en la Monarquía Hispánica durante la Edad Moderna, Javier Guillamón, Júlio  D. Muñoz, Domingo Centenero, David Alonso García, eds. (Murcia: Universidad de Murcia, 2005), pp. 31-56. Bartolomé Clavero, “Lex regni vicinoris. Indicio de España en Portugal”, Boletim da Faculdade de Direito de Coimbra, 58 (1983), pp. 239-298.

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Pedro Cardim

in Castile, making his absence from other territories all the more evident43. And as this situation did not change in the following years, the uneasiness remained. This compelled Valenzuela to address the issue in order to devalue it. In spite of the fact that the author of Portugal unido, y separado did not attach great importance to the royal absence or to its political implications, there is no doubt that the discussion around the “absence” of the king led to very substantial issues from a “constitutional” standpoint. The debate generated by the repeatedly postponed visit of Philip III of Portugal, for example, demonstrates the extent to which the Portuguese population became politicized. The following questions were asked, on several occasions, between 1598 and 1619. Did the fact that Philip III repeatedly chose to postpone his visit to Portugal mean that the territory was being “demoted” and lowered from the status of “kingdom” to “province”? Was Philip III already king of Portugal even before he visited that territory? Was he obliged, in his first visit to Portugal as a regal person, to swear that he would respect the Portuguese legal and jurisdictional framework? Was Philip III obliged to summon the Cortes (the representative assembly), when he, as king, travelled to Portugal for the first time?44 As we can see, the theme of the royal oath and its political implications, an issue also discussed by Valenzuela, was central to the political debate in Habsburg Portugal in the first half of the 17th century. However, it is important to note that similar questions were raised at the same time in other territories of the Monarchy. Indeed, and as is well known, in Aragon the implications of the royal oath were also widely discussed, which reveals that this worry had become quite widespread, not only in response to the prolonged absence of the sovereign, but also as a response to the growing political influence of Castile across the broader Monarchy. 43 44

Fernando Bouza, “Lisboa sozinha, quase viúva. A cidade e a mudança da corte no Portugal dos Filipes”, Penélope. Fazer e desfazer a história, 13 (1994), pp. 71-94. Emilia Salvador, “Integración y periferización de las Coronas de Aragón y de Portugal en la Monarquía Hispánica. El caso Valenciano (1580-1598)”, Las sociedades ibéricas y el mar a finales del siglo XVI. El área del Mediterráneo, Luís Antonio Ribot, Ernest Belenguer, eds. (Madrid: Sociedad Estatal Lisboa 98, 1998), vol. 3, p. 174; Pedro Cardim, “Felipe III, la Jornada de Portugal y las Cortes de 1619”, La corte de Felipe II y el gobierno de la Monarquía Católica (1598-1621), José Martínez Millán, Maria Antonietta Visceglia, eds. (Madrid: Fundación Mapfre, 2008), vol. 4, pp. 900-946.

How “new” is the “New Monarchy”?

413

During the reign of Philip IV, and under the influence of his favorite, the Count-Duke of Olivares, war and fiscal pressure intensified the debate about these issues45. The autonomy of each territory was challenged in the period, and more and more people became interested in the time and circumstances of the incorporation of each kingdom across the Iberian Peninsula. The Iberian past, in particular the medieval past, again became an issue of intense debate, in particular the process of Reconquista and the foundation of each territory as an independent kingdom. The purpose was to extract as much evidence as possible from the history of each realm to justify the regal status of that land and the prerogatives of its inhabitants. This was the context in which many revisited the theme of the contribution of each Christian Hispanic kingdom in the fight against the Muslims. Valenzuela’s intervention fits precisely within this debate. As mentioned, opinions differed about the confrontation with the Muslims. Some argued that the Reconquista was a Castilian initiative, while others supported the idea of a plural response to Muslim domination. This latter view had very concrete implications regarding the political status of the territories: first, because it rejected the idea that Castile granted independence to each of the Iberian Christian kingdoms, an argument which hindered Castilian claims of supremacy within the Monarchy, and second, because it underlined the “specific”, distinct nature of each Iberian political entity. That is, each of them had a specific origin and historical trajectory; each of them had a particular profile that the Monarch was supposed to respect. The Portuguese case was central to this surge of interest in the particular history of each territory46, and under Philip IV there was a strong interest in the Portuguese past. This is clear, for example, in a treatise by Portuguese jurist João Salgado de Araújo, the Ley Regia de Portugal (Madrid, 1627)47. There were even contrasting views about the 45

46 47

Irving A. Anthony Thompson, “Castile, Spain and the monarchy: the political community from patria natural to patria nacional”, Spain, Europe and the Atlantic world. Essays in honour of John  H. Elliott, Richard Kagan, Geoffrey Parker, eds. (Cambridge (UK): Cambridge University Press, 1995), pp. 125-159. Francisco Bethencourt, “La sociogénesis del sentimiento nacional”, Manuscrits, 8 (1990), pp. 17-40. Jean-Frédéric Schaub, Le Portugal au temps du comte-duc d’Olivares (1621-1640). Le conflit de juridictions comme exercice de la politique (Madrid: Casa de Velázquez, 2001), pp. 130; Jon Arrieta, “La ‘Lex regia’ en la obra de Francisco Martí Viladamor:

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Reconquista among the Portuguese themselves. In Empresas Militares de Lusitanos… (Lisbon, 1624), Luís Coelho Barbuda argued that the Portuguese had priority in the struggle against the Muslims. As for João Salgado de Araújo, he argued in his Ley Regia de Portugal… (Madrid, 1627) that Portugal had been conquered from the Muslims by the kings of Leon and Castile, this being the crown that granted independence to the Portuguese territory. Unlikely, António de Sousa de Macedo, another Portuguese jurist, in a treatise entitled Flores de España, Excelencias de Portugal… (Lisbon, 1631), stated that es Portugal Monarchia soberana independiente, y sin reconocer superior alguno […] (“Portugal sovereign independent Monarchy, and without recognising any higher one […]”), defending the Portuguese priority in the Reconquista. Clearly, no agreement was reached among the Portuguese regarding the fight against the Muslims, as was the case in other parts of the Iberian Peninsula. In fact, and as we pointed out, Pedro Valenzuela himself adds his voice to those viewing the Reconquista as a common Spanish effort to defeat the Muslims and spread Catholicism. In addition, it should be recalled that the author of Portugal unido, y separado states that Portugal had only become an independent kingdom thanks to the help of Castile. The reformism of Olivares was often associated with the primacy of Castile within the Monarchy. Therefore, the tension generated by the measures of Philip IV’s favorite conferred a conflictive tone to several of the books devoted to the Iberian past. Various treatises published in those years deliberately highlighted episodes that focused on the hostility between the Portuguese and the Castilians, within the Reconquista for example, but also during the remaining medieval period and in the course of the overseas expansion. Throughout the 1630s some of the “black legend” topics were even used by the polemicists to criticize governors such as Olivares and to denigrate Castile. After 1640, anti-Castilian xenophobia further increased48, feeding on the aforementioned Castilian overtones of Olivares’ reforms. It

48

recepción y evolución del concepto”, Pedralbes. Revista d’història moderna, 28/1 (2008), pp. 103-140. João Francisco Marques, A Parenética Portuguesa e a Restauração 1640-1668. A Revolta e a Mentalidade (Porto: Instituto Nacional de Investigação Científica-Centro de História da Universidade do Porto, 1989).

How “new” is the “New Monarchy”?

415

also increased because of the war being waged on the Portuguese-Castilian border, which lasted for almost thirty years. Pedro Valenzuela, as we have seen, criticizes the campaigns to discredit Castile, and, while advocating the harmonious relationship between Portuguese and Castilians, restates the arguments from books published in the 1620s and 1630s. Among these, for example, are works by Luís Coelho Barbuda, or the treatise by Lourenço de Mendonça (a Portuguese clergymen who lived, during a long period, in Potosí, in the viceroyalty of Peru), Suplicacion a su Magestad Catolica del Rey nuestro señor, que Dios guarde. Ante sus Reales Consejos de Portugal y de las Indias, en defensa de los Portugueses (Madrid, 1630). It is precisely from these kinds of books that Valenzuela traced his argument for the longstanding harmonious connection between Portuguese and Castilians. Moreover, with the increase of military, financial and economic difficulties, the Spanish Monarchy gradually restricted the openness, which characterized it in the prosperous times of the sixteenth century. The resources provided by the Monarchy became scarcer and, therefore, even more disputed. It was also by then that the connection between Castile and the Spanish Monarchy was further strengthened. The non-Castilian vassals of Philip IV had no option then but to dispute the condition of “Spaniard”, since that had become the condition that increasingly gave access to the advantages offered by the Monarchy49. This environment led to a series of debates about the various Iberian territories and their degree of “Spanishness”. There were intense debates, for example, about which were the oldest people in Spain, or which was the most intensely Spanish territory of the Iberian Peninsula. Within this debate, the proximity to Castile was one of the most frequently used criteria. Lourenço de Mendonça, for example, in his treatise Suplicacion a su Magestad Catolica del Rey nuestro señor, que Dios guarde. Ante sus Reales Consejos de Portugal y de las Indias, en defensa de los Portugueses… (Madrid, 1630), presents a vehement defense of the “Spanishness” of the

49

Tamar Herzog, “Être Espagnol dans un monde moderne et transatlantique”, Le sentiment national dans l’Europe méridionale aux XVIe et XVIIe siècles, Alain Tallon, ed. (Madrid: Casa de Velázquez, 2007), pp. 1-18; see also: John H. Elliott, “Rey y Pátria en el Mundo Hispânico”, El Imperio Sublevado. Monarquía y Naciones en España e Hispanoamérica, Victor Mínguez, Manuel Chust, eds. (Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 2004), pp. 17-35.

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Portuguese, based largely on historical and cultural affinities between Castile and Portugal50. Peñalosa y Mondragon, in his Libro de las excellencias that despueblan del Español España to power y su mayor dilatación (Pamplona, 1629), also speaks about the Españoles as the whole of the peoples of the Iberian Peninsula, an ensemble that was divided into Españoles Portugueses, Españoles Castellanos, Españoles Aragoneses51, etc. (“Spanish Portuguese, Spanish Castilians, Spanish Aragonese”). The expression naciones provinciales de España (“provincial nations from Spain”), introduced by Valenzuela, derives from this tradition of thought. Like Peñalosa or Mendonça, Pedro Valenzuela created this expression in the 1650s to convey a sense of shared identity. In addition, Valenzuela also acknowledges that, within the Iberian Peninsula the several “provincial nations” (Castilians, Portuguese, Aragonese, Catalans, Valencians, Navarrans, etc.), coexisted with a more prominent one (the Spanish), all belonging to a plural whole that went by the name of “Spains”.

Conclusion Before concluding, it is important to note that Portugal was not the only territory to raise the kind of reflections just mentioned. In fact, since the mid-sixteenth century all members of the Habsburg Monarchy were reflecting simultaneously on their condition, history and identity. And as such reflection took place, each member continued to scrutinize the behavior of the monarch, constantly assessing whether he was respecting the political status of the territory. Portugal was deeply inscribed in this political milieu and the discussions that focused on it were neither innovative nor unique, quite the contrary. They resembled the controversies that, at the same time, flourished within all the territories under Habsburg rule, 50

51

Pedro Cardim, “‘Todos los que no son de Castilla son yguales’. El estatuto de Portugal en la Monarquía española en el tiempo de Olivares”, Pedralbes. Revista d’Història Moderna, 28/1 (2008), pp. 521-552. Frei Benito de Peñalosa, Libro de las excellencias del Español que despueblan España para su mayor potencia y dilatación… (Pamplona: 1629).

How “new” is the “New Monarchy”?

417

including – it must be remembered – Castile. Therefore, to capture the full meaning of what Pedro Valenzuela wrote about Portugal, it is indispensable to take this into account, and also the fact that there was a constant interaction between these debates. Similar discussions were taking place in all other Habsburg domains. Unless we take this into consideration, we run the risk of assigning an exceptional and unique character to the Portuguese case, which it did not have52.

52

Alfredo Floristán, “Las incorporaciones de Navarra y de Portugal a la monarquía española y la posibilidad irlandesa”, Irlanda y la Monarquía Hispánica: Kinsale, 16012001. Guerra, política, exilio y religión, Enrique García, ed. (Madrid: Universidad de Alcalá-Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 2002), pp. 341-355.

National history, own language and otherness: Catalonia in the 16th-18th Centuries1 Eulàlia Miralles Universitat de València

Some of the main lines in 16th- to 18th-century Catalan literature enable us to reconstruct the view its inhabitants had of the past and present of the Principality. This view was to a great extent stimulated by otherness; in the awareness of their own difference and singularity compared with other territories of the Hispanic monarchy: although there were common ties, the differences were perceived as overt. What singularised Catalonia, like other nations, was its history: its institutions, laws, language, symbols, etc., although not all these elements were determinant in constructing Catalan national identity during the Early Modern Age2. It is no easy task to offer a panorama of this outlook, one’s own or the one held of the Peninsular neighbour, through the Catalan literary production of the period. Naturally, I am referring to literature in the broadest sense of the term, as understood by the men of these centuries: as a synonym of written culture and not only restricted to the field of creative literature as we understand it nowadays. There are many texts, many different genres and a range of intentions by its authors when they wrote these. Moreover, there is more than one possible approach. We can focus our attention on the description that the Catalan works offer us of the

1

2

Used abbreviations: BC, Biblioteca de Catalunya; BnF, Bibliothèque nationale de France; RABLB, Reial Acadèmia de Bones Lletres de Barcelona. This work is part of the line of the research of the projects Identitats, Cultura i Pensament Polític en el procés de construcció nacional català (2009SGR-808) and Els clàssics i la llengua literària: norma i cànon (IEC, PPT2012-S04). For the configuration of Catalan identity, see: Antoni Simon, Construccions polítiques i identitats nacionals. Catalunya i els orígens de l’estat modern espanyol (Barcelona: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, 2005).

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other inhabitants of the Peninsula3, or attempt to clarify how the Catalans saw themselves (and thus how they see the others) through their reflections about their homeland, bearing in mind that the historical avatars will always affect certain viewpoints (accentuating some of these elements, changing others). To begin with, let us look at the opening paragraphs of a propaganda pamphlet from the Guerra dels Segadors (“The Reapers’ War”): El intento principal de esta Relación es referir con brevedad y succintamente las crueldades, tiranías, extorciones y execraciones que hizieron los castellanos de la villa de Perpiñán […], lo que ha de servir para estimarles el amor natural tuvieron [los de la ciudad] a su patria y también para compadecerse dellos en lo que padecieron4. The main aim of this Report is to refer with brevity and succinctly the cruelties, tyrannies, extortions and execrations that the Castilians did in the town of Perpignan […], which has to serve to esteem them for the natural love they [those of the city] had for their homeland and also to sympathise with them for what they suffered.

This conflict is retold in verse and prose that narrate recent events, provide direct, clear and forceful news about the course of the war, so that, from the first words it leaves no room for doubt about the authors’ philia and phobia. Thus, the Castilians are perceived as enemies in the same way that France is seen as the ally, and the utility of the relations (ha de servir) is explicit in function of a specific objective. The stereotypes continue: the Castilian troops commit atrocities and are violent, while the Catalans are characterised by their goodness and patriotism5. Other ideas in these pamphlets that arose from the Revolution 3

4 5

The thesis by: Núria de Lucas, Catalunya i Castella, 1598-1652: “nosaltres i els altres”. Les identitats nacionals en temps de conflicte a través de la literatura i la iconografia de l’època (Bellaterra: Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 2007), offers an overview of the mutual outlooks between Catalonia and Castile from the end of the 16th century to the mid 17th. See, also, the same author’s “Literatura i història. Identitats col·lectives i visions de l’‘altre’ al segle XVII”, Manuscrits, 24 (2006), pp. 167-192. Relación verdadera de todo lo que ha passado en Perpiñán en el tiempo que estuvieron cercados (Barcelona: Jaume Romeu, 1641), f. [A2]. Despite the abundant bibliography about the propagandists of the 1640 Revolution, I believe that for understanding the conflict and its depiction on paper, the basic works are, Antoni Simon, Els orígens ideològics de la revolució catalana de 1640

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of 1640 respond to the same scheme: the monarch and his ministers are incompetent, and the Catalans are in their rights to rebel against the tyranny, given that the system of government imposed by Castile clashes with the Catalan pactist system; the constant references to religion and the support of the local saints, as well as the mythical and Christian origins of the Catalan territory and the pre-eminence of this natio. The Catalans as flag-bearers of Christianity and Catholicism is another recurrent theme. We find a good part of these arguments not only in times of armed conflict between Catalonia and the Hispanic monarchy, but also at other moments, although not in such an exacerbated way, not so clearly. See, for example, the argument generated by an episode like Lepanto, from a specific case, the poem La singular and admirable victòria que, per la gràcia de Nostre Senyor Déu, obtingué el sereníssim senyor don Joan d‫ތ‬Àustria de la potentíssima armada turquesca (also known as Lepant; 1573) by Joan Pujol. Without disparaging the role of the Austrians in this struggle, and the importance and weight of the Castilian combatants, the author extols the exploits of his Catalan compatriots as defenders of Catholicism6. However, the detailed and stereotyped description of the other, the non-Catalan, rises to a higher level in the context of direct confrontation, in wartime. If the Hispanic monarchy is the enemy, it is clear that few

6

(Barcelona: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, 1999), pp.  163-230; Antoni Simon, Construccions polítiques i identitats nacionals..., pp. 261-268; Xavier Torres, La Guerra dels Segadors (Vic: Eumo, 2007); Xavier Torres, Naciones sin nacionalismo. Cataluña en la monarquía hispánica (siglos XV-XVII) (Valencia: Publicacions de la Universitat de València, 2008). Specifically for the printed leaflets like the Relación verdadera..., see: Eulàlia Miralles, “Els escriptors catalans en una Europa en conflicte: la propaganda política impresa de la Guerra dels Segadors”, Caplletra, 52 (2012), pp. 181-205. For Pujol and his particular view of Catalan participation at Lepanto, see: Eulàlia Miralles, “Muses i Fama: notes per a la lectura del Lepant de Joan Pujol”, Formes modernes de l’èpica (del segle XVI al segle XX), Eulàlia Miralles, Jordi Malé, eds. (Santa Coloma de Queralt: Obrador Edèndum, 2008), pp. 11-38; Eulàlia Miralles, Pep Valsalobre, “From Joan Lluís Vileta to Joan Pujol: Latin and Vernacular Poetry on the Battle of Lepanto in Catalonia”, Humanism and Christian letters in Early Modern Iberia (1480-1630), Alejandro Coroleu, Barry Taylor, eds. (Newcastle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2010), pp. 159-172; Pep Valsalobre, “La batalla de Lepant i Catalunya: aspectes religiosos, patriòtics i literaris”, Les altres guerres de religió. Catalunya, Espanya, Europa (segles XVI-XIX), Xavier Torres, ed. (Girona: Documenta Universitaria, 2012), pp. 133-157.

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eulogies and little praise for it will flow from Catalan pens. It is in wartime when the extreme differences are established and, if appropriate, the course is changed. In the same warlike context I refer to, the Guerra dels Segadors, the parallel established between Troy and Catalonia is remarkable. Until then, in the chronicles about the mythical Hispanic origins that followed the De primis temporibus et quatuor ac viginti regibus primis Hispaniae et eius antiquitate in the Commentaria by Giovanni Nanni (1498), Hispania was not linked with Troy, as did occur in other nations like France or Italy. Hercules was linked to the founding of Barcelona and the chronicles tell that he had been called on by the Greeks to fight against Troy. Indeed, in the context of the Guerra dels Segadors, Catalonia would be the new Troy, distancing it from Hispania and emulating France7. Warlike events generate extremes, accentuate the specificities and widen the gap between peoples. History multiplies its value as an instrument of the nation to generate adhesions, as the powerful propaganda tool it is. Although the exceptional circumstances modify and remould the ideology, and although the clashes between monarchy and Principality were frequent in those centuries, as far as possible, I will avoid writings from these moments of maximum tension, seeking instead other texts from the period with the view the Catalans had of themselves and, from this, their impressions of their Peninsular neighbours. For this, we begin with two instruments. On the one hand, history and necessity that was felt to institutionalise it from the Catalan point of view, to make official a national point of view, and, on the other, the language that, in contrast with other elements like the institutions or laws, in the Early Modern Age was not essential for the construction of Catalan identity. At least, not like it would become later, from the 19th century. In the mid 16th century, the Catalans requested the king to appoint an official chronicler for the Principality of Catalonia and the Counties of 7

In this sense, is illustrative the poem Comparació de Catalunya ab Troia (Lídia Ayats, “Comparació de Catalunya ab Troya”, Estudi General, 14 [1994], pp. 137-155; partial ed., regularised, in: Albert Rossich, Pep Valsalobre, Poesia catalana del Barroc. Antologia [Bellcaire d’Empordà: Ed. Vitel·la, 2006], pp. 271-277); see, for example, verses 31-32: te vull anar dient que Catalunya / de ser una altra Troia no s’allunya (“I want to tell you that Catalonia is not so far from being a new Troy”). See, also: Eulàlia Duran, “Sobre la mitificació dels orígens històrics nacionals catalans”, Estudis sobre cultura catalana al Renaixement (Valencia: Eliseu Climent, 2004), pp. 127-156; see: pp. 114-115.

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Roussillon and Cerdanya8. A few years earlier, in 1547, the post of chronicler to the Crown of Aragon had been approved and a year later, the position was awarded to the Aragonese Jerónimo Zurita. In Barcelona, it was then believed possible to obtain the longed-for post just like the Aragonese neighbours had and thus, in 1552-1553, coinciding with the celebration of the Cortes, a demand (capítulo) was drafted requesting this position. Despite this, it was not included in the printed minutes of the Cortes and consequently, it was not presented for royal approval. Years later, in 1564, the three estates (braços) again sent a demand to the Cortes for the creation of the post of official chronicler for the Principality and Counties: another step in the process that had begun much earlier, with the Aragonese decree and the 1552-1553 article. This demand from 1564, more detailed than the one a decade earlier, requested the appointment of a person la qual tinga particular càrrech de recopilar, ordenar y escriure una crònica en latí y una altra en vulgar cathalà, com a semblant Principat convé, y de totes les coses notables dels dits Principat y Comptats, axí passades com presents, segons deu fer un coronista savi y de experièntia9. who will devote himself to assemble, order, and write one chronicle in Latin and another in Catalan, as the Principality desires, with all the notable events of the said Principality and Counties in the past and today, as is fitting for a wise and experienced chronicler.

8

9

Antoni Simon (Construccions polítiques i identitats nacionals..., p. 136) places the period between the middle of the 16th and middle of the 17th centuries as the high point of the construction of Catalan national identity. This must be set in the context of a series of historical processes: distancing of Catalonia from the Hispanic monarchy (ideologically, economically and fiscally, etc.); progresive disintegration of the Crown of Aragon; reinforcing the Catalan institutions (Diputació del General and Consell de Cent); and development of cultural elements that would serve as the basis for nation building. Constitucions fetes per la sacra, catòlica y real magestat de don Phelip... en la primera cort de Barcelona celebrada en lo monastri de Sant Francesch dels frares menors de la dita ciutat... en l’any 1564 (Barcelona: Jaume Cortey, 1564), f. XXr-XXv. For the requests to the king to create the post of chronicler in the Principality, see: Eulàlia Miralles, “Estudi introductori” to Antoni Viladamor, Història general de Catalunya, 2 vols., Eulàlia Miralles, ed. (Barcelona: Fundació Noguera, 2007), vol. 1, pp. 24192, spec. vol. 1, pp. 116-119; Eulàlia Miralles, “National identity and political intentionality in Sixteenth-Century Hispanic Historiography: From Tarafa’s Las Españas to Santa Cruz’s La España”, Renaessanceforum, 8 (2012), [The role of Latin in Early Modern World. Linguistic identity and nationalism. 1350-1800, edited by Alejandro Coroleu, Andrew Laird and Carlo Caruso], pp. 87-101).

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Some years later, in the Cortes of Monzón in 1585, the need to have an official chronicler arose again10. 1552-1553 and 1564 were milestones in the Catalan claims for an official historian in the service of the homeland, like other Peninsular territories. The “informal” or “non-official” historians did not satisfy Catalan national aspirations, given that, without an appointment by the king, they could not be considered to be at the same level outside Catalonia as they would be if they had the desired title. If the traditional historiography, before the advent of historical criticism, based its discourse on the “approved” authors, it is evident that to become part of this tradition one had to be “approved”, in other words, with official appointment in the hand11. The wish was for this Catalan historian to be appointed by the king12, thus the demands made from the Cortes, and mainly concerned chronicling a specific territory, Principality and Counties, which naturally meant defending specific political interests. The Catalan request fell on deaf ears, the royal silence frustrated the naming and nobody managed to fill the post until Pau Ignasi de Dalmases i Ros at the beginning of the 18th century. However, some historians worked with the ambition to make it theirs and generated a historiography in line with the post they aspired to13. They built their chronicles extolling the glories of the Principality, seeking to differentiate it within the composite monarchy of the Austrians and emphasising its specificity without renouncing a shared Hispanic past and present. The Catalan historiography of the period bears witness to this, 10

11

12

13

Eva Serra, Josep M. Bringué, eds., Cort general de Montsó (1585) Montsó-Binèfar. Procés familiar del Braç reial (Barcelona: Generalitat de Catalunya, 2001), pp. 400 and 406; Eva Serra, Josep M. Bringué, eds., Cort general de Montsó (1585) MontsóBinèfar. Procés familiar del Braç eclesiàstic (Barcelona: Generalitat de Catalunya, 2003), pp. 530, 532 and 534; Eva Serra, Josep M. Bringué, Pere Gifre, eds., Cort general de Montsó (1585) Montsó-Binèfar. Procés familiar del Braç militar (Barcelona: Generalitat de Catalunya, 2003), p. 523. Jesús Villanueva, Política y discurso histórico en la España del siglo XVII. Las polémicas sobre los orígenes medievales de Cataluña (Alicante: Publicaciones de la Universidad de Alicante, 2004), p. 23. Starting from the Aragonese model, in Catalonia the chronicler should depend on the approval of deputies channeled through the royal way: the monarch had the last word about the appointment and administratively, the chronicler was linked to the royal court. Remember that no such appointment did not take place in the Principality. Up to the mid–17th century Francesc Tarafa, Antoni Viladamor, Francesc Calça, Onofre Manescal, Pere Gil and Jeroni Pujades, among other, tried to obtain the post.

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as do other authors who, one way or another, dwelt on themes that allowed them to reflect on issues of identity. The works of Francesc Tarafa (c. 1495-1556) from Barcelona are the earliest that can be included in this institutional interest for the gestation of chronicles of the territory. There was also a personal interest, to the extent that the historian took on a commission (whether explicitly formulated as such or not, by an institutional organism; or whether or not we have documents to show this). A change came with Tarafa. The most important part of his historiographic production dates from 1552-1553, coinciding with the drafting of the above-mentioned chapter of the Cortes that was not presented for approval and the publication, a decade later, of the Anales de la Corona de Aragón by Jerónimo Zurita (1562). His Anales generated a current of affections and disaffections throughout the Peninsula. Specifically in the Principality, his little interest for its Counts-kings was lamented, while in Castile he was considered not to have given enough lustre to its Crown. Each territory sought to exalt its roots and history, and to do so, had to claim a glorious past. There was also an awareness in each territory that it required men at its service to meet its aims: a coronista savi y de experièntia (“wise and experienced chronicler”) who relates the fets notables (“notable events”) of a “parcel” of this conglomerate that was Spain with its crowns and, at the same time, the Crown of Aragon with its kingdoms. Perhaps the king never approved the creation of the post of chronicler in the Principality because he considered that the Crown of Aragon already had Zurita. As Duran observed, Aragon won the game over Catalonia, at least in theory, with the royal approval of the title of chronicler and through having an asset real like Zurita14. In any case, it seems evident that the kingdoms of the Crown did not feel they were depicted in the same 14

Eulàlia Duran, “Espanya i Aragó en la historiografia catalanoaragonesa del segle XVI”, Estudis sobre cultura catalana al Renaixement (Valencia: Eliseu Climent, 2004), pp. 127-156; see pp. 155-156 (a first version of this study can be found in: Eulàlia Duran, “El comienzo de la modernidad”, Cuenta y razón, 36 [1988], pp. 25-31). In the same way that the parallels between the creation of the post of official chronicler in Aragon and the desire to have the same in Catalonia are evident, it is observed that there were other historiographic correspondences between the two reigns: the galleries of the counts and kings of Aragon and those of Catalonia; the prologue of the compilation of the Fueros of Aragon in 1551 and the Epítome of the Constitutions of Catalonia from 1588/89 (Eulàlia Miralles, “Notícies sobre l’Epítome de la genealogia dels comtes de Barcelona (C-1588/89)”, Quaderns de la Selva, 13

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way in the Anales. Antoni Viladamor (c. 1523-1585), one of the historians who wanted to take over from Tarafa in the Principality, insisted in his Història general de Catalunya (1585) that he was writing it in response to the Zurita‫ތ‬s Anales and that his nation, Catalonia, had the right to reply because the latter had manipulated the history15. In 1553, Tarafa had published his De origine ac rebus gestis regum Hispaniae liber (1553) in Antwerp16. This was the story of the “two Spains”, the Castilian and Catalan-Aragonese crowns. Although the theoretical setting was Hispania in general, the De origine was written in Latin by an author from the Principality and designed to make the Catalan identity known outside its frontiers. This work, like the rest of his historiographic output, seems to respond to Catalan claims for an official chronicler. In the De origine cited above, as well as in his Dictionarium geographiae universalis Hispaniae (1552), also in Latin and that never reached the printing press, and Crònica de la província de Catalunya en la Citerior Espanya (c. 1553), in Catalan and also handwritten, the author is extremely thorough and conscientious in the use of certain terminology17. Although the three works will serve to exemplify Tarafa’s thought, the De origine seems especially useful for its significance as a work created for export (in Latin) and that was printed. It was thought up and promoted to project a certain image of Catalonia. This image is not trivial, it responded to the need to give a voice to a nation that felt how its neighbours diluted it in a murky sea. The editions in Antwerp in 1553, Cologne in 1577 and

15 16

17

[2001], pp.  307-318; Eulàlia Miralles, “Estudi introductori…”, pp.  121-124; Jesús Villanueva, Política y discurso histórico…, pp. 69-70). For the anti-Zurita reaction, and especially the case of Viladamor, see: Eulàlia Miralles, “Estudi introductori…”. About Tarafa, his De origine and the translation by Santa Cruz, I return to some considerations already presented in: Eulàlia Miralles, “National identity and political...”. An overview of Tarafa and his production can be read in: Eulàlia Miralles, Maria Toldrà, “La tradició manuscrita de l’obra de Francesc Tarafa”, Anuari de Filologia, 20/C, 8 (1997), pp. 43-78. Duran (“Espanya i Aragó en la historiografia…”, p. 128) notes that, throughout the Early Modern era, the terminological combat goes through the historical chronicles and the free sheets, from the elites to the population in general. About the the social uses of the history in Early Modern Catalonia, see: Antoni Simon, “La divulgació social del discurs històric a la Catalunya del Barroc i l’ús de la història com a arma política”, Butlletí de l’Acadèmia de Bones Lletres de Barcelona (forthcoming).

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Frankfurt in 1607, confirm the success of the De origine in the European context. They show that the aims of its author and promoters were fulfilled, at least regarding its diffusion, because it seems that Tarafa wrote in response to the wishes of the Catalans institutions. The archivist Tarafa wrote a history of the two Spains and endeavoured to do so in a balanced fashion, and that is why he referred in rotund terms up to the time of the Catholic Monarchs in line with his ideology and that of the territory he represented, Catalonia. In this regard, the distinction established between Castile and Spain (Hispania), or between the Citerior and the Ulterior is particularly significant18. The equivalence of the Hispania Citerior and Ulterior with the Crown of Aragon and Castile, respectively, is commonplace, and was used at that time by, among others, Cristòfor Despuig from Tortosa in his Col·loquis de la insigne ciutat de Tortosa (1557) or the Barcelona printer, Claudi Bornat, in the prologue of the translations of Ausiàs March into Castilian (1560). The ideas that Tarafa sustained and defended were the result of him being Catalan, coming from and included in its own tradition. It is not difficult to show that these were not shared by all Peninsular historians. One only need read the Chrónica de España… traduzida de lengua latina en castellana (1562), the translation into Castilian of Tarafa’s De origine by the Sevillian Alonso de Santa Cruz (1505-1567), to discover how the terminology of the original work was twisted round. Santa Cruz, who did this translation to counteract the influence of the Anales by Jerónimo Zurita in the Peninsular territory, came from another tradition, the Castilian, that pushed him towards a constant search for equivalence between Castile and Spain, while at the same time leaving aside the Citerior / Ulterior division found in Tarafa. Other factors must be taken into account in this line of what I have called the “de-Catalanisation” of Tarafa’s work in this translation, i.e. the suppression of the Catalan neo-Gothic thesis19. The appropriation of the concept Spain/Hispania by the Castilian historians, observable since Jiménez de Rada and accentuated from the reign of the Catholic Monarchs on, clashed with the Catalan-Aragonese tradition, that needed to differentiate itself from the whole without renouncing being 18

19

In this context, one must bear in mind the full title of his longest historiographical work in Catalan: Francesc Tarafa, Crònica de la província de Catalunya en la Citerior Espanya (1553). Eulàlia Miralles, “National identity and political...”.

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part of the geographic Hispania that they postulated20. This was to avoid being dwarfed, and annihilated, by the progressive Castilianisation (political, cultural and linguistic) of the composite monarchy of the Austrians. This way, the authors in the Principality had a clear idea of the nation they had to individualise and promote. Without official recognition, they worked to serve their territory and not for others who already had someone to fulfil this role. This extreme, the urge to fill a vacuum they considered unjust, underlies many of their works. An example of this is the space they dedicated in their general chronicles of Hispania, or their territorial ones, to the king Hispano, who gave his name to the province of Hispania, previously Bética. The space is brief, very brief if we compare it with the space reserved for him in the Castilian chronicles. In his Catalan chronicle, Tarafa explains that part of the biography of this king should not be taken into consideration per ésser fora de la província de Catalunya21 (“because it is outside Catalonia”). The Barcelona archivist, Antoni Viladamor, does exactly the same when, regarding Hispano, he states that fundà y poblà molts llochs de Andaluzia y de altres parts de Castella, los quals, per no tocar a nostra història [de Catalunya], deix de anomenar22 (“founded and populated many towns in Andalusia and other parts of Castile, which I will not cite because they do not affect the history of Catalonia”). Jeroni Pujades (1568-1635) also worked along the same lines when he stated, Moltes coses se escrihuen de aquest Hispan […], però jo passaré ab brevedat sols per lo essencial23 (“Many things are written about Hispano […], but I only will discuss the most essential ones”). Compare these Catalan examples with Florián de Ocampo, the first official chronicler of Castile to use the Commentaria, who reserved a notable space for Hispano in his Crónica general de España24. There are many more examples. The authors dispute about the first place that Tubal, the first settler of Hispania, founded. The Castilian

20 21 22 23 24

Eulàlia Duran, “Espanya i Aragó en la historiografia…”, p. 138; Antoni Simon, Els orígens ideològics…, p. 30 and following. BC, ms. 497, f. 60. Antoni Viladamor, Història general de Catalunya…, vol. 1, p. 263. Jeroni Pujades, Corònica universal del principat de Cathalunya (Barcelona: Jeroni Margarit, 1609), f. 18v-19. Florián de Ocampo, Los cinco libros primeros de la crónica general de España (Medina del Campo: Guillermo de Millis, 1553), f. XLv-XLII.

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chroniclers claim that he arrived from the Atlantic Ocean and placed a first settlement in Andalusia. The Valencians assure that he came overland and first founded Amposta. The Catalans, on the other hand, also think he came overland but founded first the city of Tarragona, and state that the Valencian thesis is unlikely given that it is a long way from the Pyrenees to Amposta and Tubal must have had to rest. The argument is not free from controversy, because claiming a greater age for one population or another means granting it pre-eminence. That is why no efforts are spared to justify this kind of affairs, with the wish to grant prestige for each land. Many authors were involved in the argument about the mythical origins of Hispania. In these cases, there is a very well known aspect, namely the use (and abuse) of the genealogy of the twenty-four primitive kings of Hispania, from Tubal to Abidis, that appears in the Commentaria by Giovanni Nanni, stretching from settling in the Peninsula with Ocampo down to the beginning of the 18th century in the Catalan case, with detractors who become ever stronger and whose initiator is, basically, Zurita. This way, Nanni fosters common links for the ancient history of all the Peninsula from the beginnings and, at the same time, sets a distance between the chroniclers from the different crowns and kingdoms of the monarchy. In this context, it should be noted that, in the Catalan area, the reason why the genealogy of the primitive kings by the Nanni was still useful until the dawn of the 18th century, when it was already outdated, was the need to show the bonds between Catalonia and other Hispanic nations in the context of the War of the Spanish Succession with the aim of favouring the cause of Charles of Austria25. When Spain began to become synonymous with Castile for the historians of the Crown of Castile, in other Peninsular territories the feeling was different26. That is why it was necessary to insist on the old division between the Citerior and the Ulterior. In the second half of the 16th century, the author of the Col·loquis de la insigne ciutat de Tortosa, Cristòfor Despuig (1510-1574) writing shortly after Tarafa, wrote a dialogue with political aims in the service of his country. We know that Despuig has two

25

26

Antoni Simon, “La historiografia del segle del Barroc (de Jeroni Pujades a Narcís Feliu)”, Història de la historiografia catalana, Albert Balcells, ed. (Barcelona: Institut d’Estudis Catalans, 2004), pp. 93-116, spec., p. 100. Eulàlia Duran, “Espanya i Aragó en la historiografia…”, p. 137 and following.

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alter egos in the text, Lívio and Fàbio. The former refers to the Citerior as la millor Espanya (“the best Spain”): La major part dels castellans gosen dir públicament que aquesta nostra província no és Espanya i, per ço, que nosaltres no som verdaders espanyols, no mirant los pecadors benaventurats quant gran engany reben, i quant ignorants són i quant cegos dҲenveja i malícia van, que aquesta nostra província no sols és Espanya mas és la millor Espanya, i en tot temps i per totes les nacions que ací són arribades per tal tinguda. Si prenen los temps més antics, quan se digué Espanya Celtibèria, invictíssima gent i en tot extrem bel·licosa; si en lo no tan antic, quan se digué Espanya Tarraconensis, o Citerior Espanya, una flama de guerra contra i en favor de romans, i fonc la força i potència sua per a domar les restants províncies de la mateixa Espanya i altres fora d’ella; si ara la prenen en lo modern temps, ¿quina província espanyola per mar i per terra ha fet millor mostra de si que aquesta que és avui la Corona de Aragó, i especialment nostra Catalunya? Açò és tan clar i tan notori que no hi ha home que gens lletrat sia que ignore. Ni tampoc lo ignoren los castellans, mas per no donar-nos lo que és nostre no sols ho volen ignorar, mas ho volen negar27. Most Castilians actually dare to say out loud that this province of ours isn’t Spain and that, therefore, we aren’t true Spaniards, and the blessed sinners don’t realise how wrong and how ignorant they are, and how blinded they are by envy and malice, for this province isn’t just Spain: it’s the best Spain, and it’s always been held up as such by every nation tht has reached our shores. If you go back to the earliest times, when Spain was called Celtiberia, we were regarded as warlike and utterly invincible. Then, when the Romans called us Hispania Tarraconensis or Hispania Citerior, we were thought of as a flaming torch of war, either for or against Rome, the force and the power that enabled them to tame the rest of the provinces of Spain, and other beyond. And if o¡you look at modern times, tell me what Spanish province has outdone the Crown of Aragon, and in particular our Catalonia, on land or at sea? It’s so obvious, so evident, that there’s no man, however ignorant he be, who doesn’t know it. Ant the Castilians know it, too. But, simply in order not to give us our due, they don’t just ignore it, but deny it28.

Despuig’s words clarify a reality: some Castilians exclude the Catalans from Spain and they are wrong, given that the history shows the excellence

27

28

Cristòfol Despuig, Los col·loquis de la insigne ciutat de Tortosa, Enric Querol, Josep Solervicens, eds. (Barcelona: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, 2011), p. 77. There’s an English version by Henry Ettinghausen: Cristòfol Despuig, Dialogues (Barcelona-Woodbridge: Barcino-Tamesis, 2014), p. 80. Cristòfol Despuig, Dialogues…, p. 80.

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of the Crown of Aragon and, specifically, the Principality, both in ancient times and nowadays. There are other elements that helped the configuration of the national identity and became reasons for reflection by the chroniclers, who saw these as a way of opposing the Hispanic uniformisation promoted by the monarchy. For example, the legendary medieval tradition about the Christian origin of Old Catalonia29, generally linked to the Carolingian dynasty and Charlemagne and used to exalt and legitimate the house of the Counts of Barcelona, took on new life in the second half of the 16th century with the (re)discovery of the precept from Charles the Bald in 844 that meant the Reconquest could be claimed for Catalonia. The document circulated in scholarly circles and was read as proof of a self-liberation by the people of Barcelona (and by extension, the Catalans) from the Muslim yoke and their voluntary surrender to the protection of Charlemagne and Louis the Pious. Although some authors, like Tarafa, knew about and consulted it, it was Francesc Calça from Barcelona (1521-1603) in his De Catalonia (1588) who rocketed it to fame. The date of 1588 coincides with a moment of political tension between the monarchy and the Catalan institutions. The spread thesis was that Catalonia had never been conquered and that the founding pacts helped to create “protection” for the country‫ތ‬s institutions, now in the hands of the decisions of the monarchy. With the controversy about the royal oath in 1622, and especially during the 1640 Revolution, the motif of self-liberation became a recurrent theme, then later becoming diluted. By the time the War of the Spanish Succession broke out with its propaganda machinery, it had weakened. The considerations expressed so far allow us to elucidate the feelings of the institutions, historians and Catalan elites regarding their history, and the need, generally felt for political and cultural reasons, to make it official, institutionalise it, build it and make it known beyond the country’s frontiers. Furthermore, and as a consequence of all that, they illustrate the perception among Catalans that the vision of Catalonia reflected in the texts by other Peninsular authors was far from the reality, a fact that encouraged and incited them to write to rebut it. The construction of the history (and the assumption of its temporary nature) played a fundamental role in the creation of Catalan identity, as it did in other collective identities.

29

For the details, see: Jesús Villanueva, Política y discurso histórico...

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In the Catalan historiographical debate, some binomials, like motherland and laws, stand out from the end of the 16th century on, and very especially from the first half of the 17th. These made the otherness visible and helped to configure the national identity30. Others, like language and motherland, while also contributing to emphasising the otherness, were not essential elements for the configuration of the identity. Language serves to characterise a territory, it is connatural to it and its inhabitants31, but it is not a privilege won by a people, it is not read as an act of power. In the mid 16th century, in his Col·loquis, the above-mentioned Despuig stated that he had not wished to write them in Castilian per no mostrar tenir en poc la [llengua] catalana i també per no valer-me de llengua estranya per a llustrar i defensar la naturalesa pròpia32 (“both in order not to appear to slight the Catalan language and also so as not to use a foreign language to illustrate and defend what is our identity”). The Catalan language served to exalt the naturalesa pròpia (“our identity”); that language of Castile was estranya (“foreign”), in the sense that it was not of the nation and not natural, so it could not have the same utility. As Despuig explained, the language allows us to differentiate between Catalans and Castilians (and also Aragonese), but it simultaneously relates the former to the peoples of the kingdoms of Valencia and Majorca. In the same line, a few years later, the historian (and also poet) Calça lamented the abandoning of Catalan by the poets in a heartfelt Sentència in the vexamen of the Certamen in honour of Saint Raymond of Peñafort (1601):

30 31

32

Antoni Simon, Construccions polítiques i identitats nacionals..., spec. pp. 161 and following. In this sense, the Valencian Martí de Viciana (1502-1574) described natural language as the one that the inhabitants of its land con la teta mamaron (“suckled from the breast”) (Alabanzas de las lenguas hebrea, griega, castellana y valenciana (Valencia: Librería de Francisco Aguilar, 1877), p.  18 [Ed. facs. Valencia: Librerías ParisValencia, 1979]). Cristòfor Despuig, Los col·loquis..., p. 29 (Dialogues…, p. 37); he also explained the reasons he did not write in Latin: perquè no pareguera ser tan generalment tractada i entesa per los de nostra nació com jo volguera (“in order to prevent this being understood only by a small readership and by fewer amongst our nation than I would wish”).

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En castellà tothom se dóna a escriure tenint per cert que els serà més profit i donaran així major delit; emperò molts han donat més que riure. (v. 21-24)33. In Castilian everyone starts to write taking it as true that it will be more useful to them and thus will give greater delight; but most have only laughed. (v. 21-24).

The reality that Despuig and Calça denounced (the need to use one’s own language; the abandoning of this language for Castilian) did not auger good fortune for Catalan. These were, however, texts denouncing a linguistic transfer with regard to the formal, written, language, not the spoken language. The arguments about the defence of the language that date back to the 16th century took shape in the so-called apologies of the language, mainly in the 18th century, although also with important antecedents from the previous two centuries34. In the Controvèrsia sobre la perfecció de l’idioma català by Agustí Eura (1684-1763), written before 1731, the Augustinian complained about those who did not take care of and belittled their own language. History and a return to the origins were required to show what the “extrinsic perfection” of the Catalan language was: Després del diluvi multiplicà Déu les llengües o idiomes i les famílies dels hòmens per vàries terres de l’univers […] Les llengües eren 72 i les famílies moltes […] Suposo […] que Tubal arribà primerament a Catalunya o per los Pirineus […] Tubal ab sa família i pobladors feren gran dentenció i assiento en esta primera part d’Espanya – dic-li, per ara, primera respecte de l’orient –, com se veu clarament de ser lo primer paratge a on aportaven, com també de la gran extensió que li donaren

33

34

Joaquim Molas, “Francesc Calça: Poemes”, Els Marges, 14 (1978), pp. 77-95. The Sentència’s edition is taken from: Albert Rossich, “La poesia de Jeroni Pujades, entre tradició i modernitat”, Butlletí de l’Acadèmia de Bones Lletres de Barcelona (forthcoming). For an overview of the apologies for the language in all the Catalan linguistic area, consult: Antoni Ferrando, Miquel Nicolás, Història de la llengua catalana (Nova edició revisada i ampliada) (Barcelona: Editorial Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, 2011). The volume by: Francesc Feliu, Sadurní Martí, Francesc Ten, Tractar de nostra llengua catalana. Apologies setcentistes de l’idioma al Principat (Vic: Eumo, 1992), collects and discusses some of them.

434

Eulàlia Miralles quan dividiren l’Espanya en tres parts que anomenaren regions o provínces; és a saber: Tarraconense, Bètica i Lusitània […], pués a la Tarraconense li donaren tal superioritat que comprenia no sols a Catalunya, Aragó, Navarra, València i Múrcia, sinó també tot lo Regne de Toledo i les províncies de Guipúscoa, Àlaba i Biscaia, les muntanyes dҲAstúries i Galícia fins les riberes del Duero, que per aquella part dividien la regió Tarraconense de la Lusitània […]. Resolc com a més verosímil que l’idioma català és un d’aquells 72 que Déu nostre senyor instituí després del diluvi. I que de Déu immediatament té son principi i origen […]. Açò se prova […] perquè Tubal aportà en Catalunya nació i llengua o idioma, sed sic est que l’idioma que aportà Tubal a Catalunya no se sap si és creïble s’haja perdut o olvidat, pués no olvidarien idioma de tan alt principi […]. Podrien-me respòndrer que la llengua que aportà Tubal a Espanya fou la castellana, pués esta i no les altres se diu espanyola. Al que responc que, dato que Tubal aportàs també a Espanya la llengua castellana, no obsta que no hi portàs també la catalana, i, en tal cas, fos dividida l’Espanya en Citerior i Ulterior, segons les dos llengües i famílies o nacions que pogué aportar-hi Tubal. Ni que juntament hi aportàs també la llengua portuguesa, i fos dividida aleshores l’Espanya en Tarraconense, Bètica i Lusitània, segons tres llengües i famílies que pogué Tubal aportar-hi. Però sempre la llengua catalana havia de ser de les principals, com se deixa fàcilment persuadir de la major extensió que donaren a la regió Tarraconense […], a on la llengua o idioma s’extenia, ampliada a proporció de les regions i les famílies. Ni deixo de dubtar si primitivament se parlava en tota Espanya una sola llengua que, després, dividint-se en regions, se dividí en idiomes, i si tal volta aquella primitiva és la catalana, perquè molts vocables acaba de deixar la llengua castellana que són propiíssims i indefectibles a l’idioma català […]. Ni obsta que la llengua castellana se diga espanyola, pus ara ocupa la major part d’Espanya; i així com quan la llengua catalana o tarraconense ocupava la major part d’Espanya no deixava la castellana de ser espanyola, així tampoc ara la catalana; com ni tampoc deixa la nació catalana de dir-se ni ser espanyola no menos que la castellana, perquè l’extensió local és accidental a l’idioma […]35. After the deluge God multiplied the tongues or languages and the families of men to various lands of the universe […] The languages were 72 and the families many […] I suppose […] that Tubal first reached Catalonia or through the Pyrenees […] Tubal with his family and settlers stayed there and settled in this first part of Spain – saying this, for now, first from the east –, as is seen clearly of being the first place that they went to, and also of the great extension that they gave it when they divided Spain in three parts that they named regions or provinces; namely: Tarraconense, Bética and Lusitania […], as they gave the Tarraconense such superiority that it comprised not

35

Agustí Eura, Obra poètica i altres textos, Pep Valsalobre, ed. (Barcelona: Fundació Pere Coromines, 2002), pp. 660-663.

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only Catalonia, Aragon, Navarre, Valencia and Murcia, but also all the Kingdom of Toledo and the provinces of Guipúzcoa, Álava and Vizcaya, the mountains of Asturias and Galicia to the banks of the Duero, that in that area divided the Tarraconense region from Lusitania […]. I resolve as the most likely that the Catalan language is one of those 72 that our Lord God instituted after the deluge. And that God immediately has their principle and origin […]. That is proved […] because Tubal brought to Catalonia nation and tongue or language, sed sic est that the language that Tubal brought to Catalonia it is not known if it is believable that it has been lost or forgotten, as they would not forget a language of such a high principle. […]. They could answer that the language that Tubal brought to Spain was the Castilian, as this and not the others is called Spanish. I respond to this that, dato that Tubal also brought to Spain the Castilian language, does not mean that he did not also bring the Catalan one, and, in that case, Spain was divided into Citerior and Ulterior, according to the two languages and families or nations that Tubal could have brought. Nor that together he brought also the Portuguese language, And Spain was then divided into the Tarraconense, Betica and Lusitania, according to the three languages and families that Tubal could have brought. But the Catalan language always had to be one of the principal ones, as can easily be persuaded by the greater extension they gave to the Tarraconense region […], and where the tongue or language spread, widened in proportion to the regions and the families. Nor do I stop doubting that primitively in Spain one single language was spoken that, later, on dividing it into regions, the languages were divided, and if perhaps that primitive one is the Catalan, because the Catalan language has left many words in Spanish, which are very close and similar in the Catalan language […]. It does not matter that that the Castilian language is called Spanish, as it now occupies the greater part of Spain; and thus when the Catalan or Tarraconense language occupied the greater part of major part Spain the Castilian did not stop being Spanish, nor now the Catalan; as neither does the Catalan nation stop being called or being Spanish any less than the Castilian, because the local extension is accidental to the language […].

With these words by Eura, we read a familiar set of arguments: it goes back to the origins (to the Flood, and to Tubal) to explain the origins of Catalan and Castilian, and insinuates that Catalan was first and that the latter adopted some words from it, which takes us right back to the debate about pre-eminence. It is also about the concept of Spain and how the Peninsular languages fit into this conglomerate. Catalan, like Castilian, is Spanish, because the language is not conditioned by the “local extention”: in other words, the name it can be given responding to a political division that can be very transitory. The apologists state that the essence of

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the language (or intrinsic or essential perfection) are its internal linguistic qualities, while other factors, like its extension, nobility or antiquity of its origin, are extrinsic and accessory perfections, that depend on the history of the territory36. In the condemnation by some authors from the Catalan linguistic area of the spread of the use of Castilian as a language of culture and erudition in certain environments, and the defence of their own language, there is a clear urge to differentiate, to emphasise the otherness, at the same time without forgetting to show the links with other territories that also share this with the Principality. Yet, during the Early Modern Age, some authors found themselves with the need to change their mother tongue (Catalan) or the language of culture (Latin) for another (Castilian), according to the political requirements and the needs of the market. The language of the Hispanic monarchy, of the king, was undoubtedly the strongest, and meant reaching a larger readership and, with luck, access to the printing press. However, this process of abandoning natural language in the formal setting occurred gradually and did not leave its actors indifferent. The association between language and nation appears in many works from the period: its differentiating character as a natural element is emphasised, as inherent to the nation, but it can be renounced if its use hinders reaching a final political (and even literary) target considered more important. The Barcelonan historian, Jeroni Pujades, drafted a chronicle of Catalonia in Catalan that he later translated into Castilian. In the first version of the Catalan chronicle, Calamicleon, ço és, història de les glòries i calamitats de nostra Catalunya i senyors de aquella, from c. 1604, he defended his linguistic option absolutely vehemently: Alguns desijàvan que esta obra fos general de tota España. Jo he entès en mi que era obra desigual a mes forces, temps y poder, y que no sols requeria la vida de un home però de molts […]. Y axí, jo, com mon intent sia estat reduir a la memòria los beneficis à fets Déu a nostra terra, los asots ab què la ha flagellada y, aprés de la glòria de Déu, sercar la honrra de nostra nació sens envejar la dels altres y considerar sos propris infortunis y sens llastimar als estrañs ab la memòria dels dañs dels altros, per ço esta mia obra sols comptarà lo bé y lo mal de nostra terra, sens tocar a les estrañes […].

36

Francesc Feliu, Sadurní Martí, Francesc Ten, Tractar de nostra llengua catalana…, p. 69.

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Resta altra cosa que alguns an volguda, és a saber, que esta història no fos en nostra llengua catalana sinó en castellà, dient que essent en català seria fastidiosa a la mateixa nació y no gens entesa per los strangers. Assò en ninguna manera ho puch jo comportar ni sufrir, [deleted una, perquè a mi me fóra mal y treballós dexar mon idioma per lo español y, altra,] perquè me par feria agravi a ma nació y desacreditava tota ma obra. La raó és perquè, dexant ma llengua, confessava haver-n’i altra millor que la materna y era ingrat a ma pàtria en dexar lo bon natural de ella. Més, que si en lo present tot és tractar de Cataluña, ¿per què usarem sinó llengua catalana? A no fer-ho no seria tot de Cataluña, quant més que si en tot lo present tractat se à de dir veritat, com és necessari per a la història, dit en altra llengua tot seria mentida y jo home de dos llenguas. Finalment, tingué temor no hi hagués contra mi altre Cató com fou contra Aulo Albino […]; axí temí no diguessen de mi, y per ço he usada ma llengua37. Some wanted this work to be general of Spain. For my part, I understood that it was a work inconsistent with my strength, power and time, and to carry it out it would be necessary to use not only the life of one man but that of many […]. So, my attempt has been limited to gathering the memory of the benefits that God has given to our country, and the blows it has suffered, and seek first the glory of God, and then, the honour of our nation, without envying other nations nor considering their misfortunes or trying to hurt others by explaining the memory of the damage they have suffered; which is why my work only explains the good and evil in our land, without mentioning the others […]. There is still something that some would have wished, namely, that this history was not in our Catalan language but rather in Castilian, saying that being in Catalan it would be irksome for the same nation and not at all understood by the foreigners. That in no way can I share or bear, [deleted one, because for me it would be bad and laborious to leave my language for the Spanish and, another,] because I think it would offend my nation and discredit all my work. The reason is because, leaving aside my language, I demonstrated that there was another language better than the mother tongue so I was ungrateful to my homeland for neglecting one of his natural gifts. Moreover, if in the present everything is about Catalonia, what will we use if not the Catalan language? Not doing so would not be all of Catalonia, more so if in all this present treatise the truth must be told, as is necessary per a la history, said in another language everything would be a lie and I a man of two languages. Finally, I feared that someone it could arise against me like Cato against Aulus Albinus […], and that is why I feared I would be criticised which is why I have used my language.

37

RABLB, ms. 3-I-26, ff. 4v-5. The Calamicleon is the hand-written version of the Corònica universal del principat de Cathalunya (Barcelona: Jeroni Margarit, 1609). For Pujades: Eulàlia Miralles, Sobre Jeroni Pujades (Barcelona: Institut d’Estudis Catalans, 2010) [with the edition of the texts by Pujades referred to here]; for the languages this author used, spec., pp. 77-94.

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Pujades refused to write a general history of Spain, to be able to concentrate himself on another focussed on nostra terra (“our land”), Catalonia. His aim was not to impinge on the misfortunes, or rub salt into the wounds, of the others (Spanish), but to focus only and exclusively on his territory. He claimed to have written in Catalan not to offend his homeland using a language that was not Catalonia’s own, given that being a chronicle of this land, the language should be the natural language of its inhabitants. For these reasons, he omitted Castilian, despite the opinion of alguns (“some people”), but also for his limited knowledge of the language of Castile. However, independently of his option, the author was aware that Catalan had fewer possibilities of being known abroad and that this meant the reach of Catalan works would be limited. Like other historians before him, by writing his chronicle, Pujades wanted to turn himself into that official chronicler of the Principality that the Catalan institutions had requested the king to approve on more than one occasion. That is why it was normal for him to use Catalan and underscore its condition as the natural language of the territory. Furthermore, if his aim was not to write a general work about all of Spain, it was also normal that the “abandoned” language should be that of the monarchy. An “official history” had to be written in an “official language”, and in the same way that Castilian was the language of the court, Catalan was the same for the country’s institutions38. Pujades was one of the Catalan authors of the time who presented a clear picture of the situation of Catalan: Castilian was preferred for preaching, some elites abandoned their own and natural language, ever more documentation was being written in the language of the monarchy, etc39. We can say that the situation the historian 38

39

Joan Lluís Marfany, La llengua maltractada. El castellà i el català a Catalunya del segle XVI al segle XIX (Barcelona: Empúries, 2001); Joan Lluís Marfany, “Per a la història de la introducció del castellà a Catalunya”, Estudi general, 22 (2002), pp. 65-87. He states, Ni pot dexar de advertir, per confusió nostra, axí lo que molts religiosos predicant com molts cavallers converçant fan, qui no han vista Castella sinó pintada, sens esser-hi estats, dexant sa pròpria y natural llengua pàrlan la estraña y, com no la sàban, diuen mil coses que offenen les orelles. Mes, ¿què dich? No sols açò, però encara des del temps del cathòlic rey don Ferrando ençà se veuen ab los llibras, actas e instruments cathalans tanta mudança de llengua que si los vells de llavors venían ara trobarían tanta mudança en nostra pròpria llengua que ja no la entendrían, com los qui vull són apenas entenen la simple sensilla llemosina de llavors. Y an

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described responded to the uses of the language in formal registers, culture and high social circles, as well as in the cities like Barcelona (which was nothing like the use of the informal and colloquial spoken language), and we can read in his words his uneasiness with these circumstances. He felt unease and, consequently, so must have his contemporaries and countrymen: praise for the natural language became habitual among Catalan authors, mainly when they had to abandon it. Pujades’ Catalan chronicle was later revised, translated into Castilian and extended with another two parts. The author changed his mother tongue for that of the king, following in the steps of other writers in the Catalan domains, like those of the Valencian Pere Antoni Beuter, the first historian to take the big step: his Primera part de la història de València (1538) was published in Catalan, and shortly afterwards his Primera [-segunda] parte de la crónica general de España y especialmente del reyno de Valencia (1546; 1551) appeared. This was a translation and extension of the first in Castilian40. Thus, like so many others, Pujades needed to justify himself. If he used his language in the Catalan version it was because he was Catalan, the subject of the work was Catalonia, and also because it was dedicated to the members of the Consell de Cent of the City of Barcelona. After this, be realised that his chronicle had had less impact than he wanted and the Principality deserved, and became convinced that it was necessary to write it in Castilian to reach beyond the borders of the nation. In this context, his own evaluation of this switch of language is significant: Mas ahora, yo que algún tiempo reprehendí a los de mi nación porque usavan lenguaje estranyo, si esto es falta caygo en la misma oya y me despeño en el mismo

40

donat molts en tal error [?] que, essent la falta ab ells, dejéctan, llànçan, avorréxan y lacéran la dita llengua llemosina, y a mi en negocis forensses me n’an mordicat alguns perquè la usava y en alguna cosa retenia lo parlar de aquella, però no se’m dóna res (RABLB, ms. 3-I-26, ff. [249-249v]). For the language of preaching, see: Modest Prats, Política lingüística de l’Església Catalana. Segles XVI-XVII (Vic: Eumo, 1995). For Beuter’s translation and its political intentionality, in line with the idea of a unique monarchy (paresce que el mismo tiempo requiere que [en España] sea en todos [los reynos] una común lengua [“the monarchy seems to want that the same language be spoken in all the kingdoms”]), see: Vicent Escartí, “Estudi introductori” (Pere Antoni Beuter, Primera part de la Història de València [Valencia: Universitat de València, 1998], pp. 7-32, spec., p.13 -15).

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Eulàlia Miralles precipicio. Digno soy, pues, de reprehención, si los cuerdos no me escusan con los no tales41. More now, I do that some time I reprehended my nation because they used a strange language, if this is an error in the same direction and I leap off the same cliff. Worthy am I therefore of reprehension if the sane do not excuse me from the not so.

Pujades had no choice but to abandon his love of the natural language for a political question and segments of the potential readership, although he continued to make attempts to excuse himself. His desire to be read beyond the Catalan linguistic area would be seen as a benefit for Catalonia. He would do what he had been advised to do (he had also received, and ignored, the same advice about the first draft of the chronicle) and he would justify himself by referring to earlier Catalan authors who had blazed the trial towards the change of language. In truth, the language had no specific political translation for the authors of the time and so they could renounce it. However, it did characterise the patria and was a differentiating element they often resorted to. The apologies of the language repeated a series of arguments. There was an awareness of the position of strength of Catalan in the times of the Counts, while the authors were also aware of the strength of Castilian since the court had moved to Castile. That was the reason they gave for foregoing this differentiating element: language transmits a message and the most important is for this to reach its target, not the instrument that transmits it. Only this way could it fulfil the purpose of explaining the difference and of this being listened to and, with luck, understood; only this way would the Principality have what that history required. Mythifying the origins, claiming a legendary past, one’s own laws, etc., is useless if the other, who has the power and capacity to act accordingly, is unable to understand this. What these justifications and apologies implied was an awareness of the situation of inferiority of Catalan compared with Castilian regarding the number of people who knew the language beyond the borders of Catalonia or the Catalan-speaking territories. Among the Romance languages, Castilian is no more or less appreciated than Catalan, but more widespread and understood42. The justifications for changing language 41 42

BnF, ms. Esp. 117, f. 2v. Mas aora que los católicos reyes de España pussieron su asiento y corte en Castilla, del trato que todos y mil diferentes naciones tienen con los de aquella tierra [Castilla]

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(generally, from Catalan to Castilian, although also from Latin to vernacular) were common among the authors of the Early Modern Age, and often occurred among historians, for whom changing the language, as we have seen, served to defend the nation. That is why Pujades se despeña (“hurls himself ”) consciously. But Calça had already warned us that the poets were doing the same, and Pujades himself echoed the debates about the language of preaching and the Castilianisation of the upper layers of society, among other examples. The assertion of the natural character of one’s own language does not annul the fact that the scholars have a clear idea of the linguistic order established in function of the political necessities. As Francesc Fornés stated in a sermon published in 1646, the awareness of reality can mute the mother tongue but not the feelings, Prediquéle en mi lengua materna, pero si en la impresión he mudado el lenguaje, sepa Dios y el mundo todo que no he mudado de coraçón, sino que por ser el lenguaje castellano más común and entendido de todos, no sólo en España sino en Francia, Italia y en casi toda la Europa, lo he hecho así43. I preach it in my native language, but if in print I have changed the language, God and all the world know that I have not changed my heart, but as the Castilian language is the most common and understood of all, not only in Spain but also in France, Italy and most of Europe, I have done so.

The writings in the wartime context of the Reapers’ War also show arguments in favour of the use of Catalan or Castilian (also Latin, and even French or Portuguese). In his Noticia universal de Catalonia, Francesc Martí Viladamor (1616-1689) stated,

43

se ha seguido ser el lenguaje castellano no más bueno (que esso al parecer de doctíssimos varones y que supieron halgo del origen de las lenguas tiene arta dificultad, y no falta quien la condene [...]) sino más común y platicado (“More now that the Catholic kings of Spain placed their seat and court in Castile, of the dealings that all the thousand different nations have with those of that land [Castile] it has been the Castilian language not being better (that it seems that this in the opinion of very learned authors and that knowing anything of the origin of the languages is very difficult, and there are those who condemn it [...]) but more common and talked about”). BnF, ms. Esp. 117, f. 3v. Francesc Fornés, Sermón que predicó... en la festividad de san Joan Evangelista en la iglesia del religiosíssimo y real convento del seráphico padre san Francisco de la misma ciudad, año 1645 (Barcelona: Viuda Matevat, 1646), f. 1.

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Eulàlia Miralles Y para que lo afectado de éste [discurso] supla la senzillez del catalán idioma, evocando su universal jurisdicción al más dessabrido pecho, dexo industrioso por remissa la lengua de mi querida nación y hurto lícitamente al enemigo la suya, no para destemplar los filos de su harto destemplado corte, sino para que la misma que persigue falsa, defienda verdadera y juntamente esplaye las plumas de mi corazón, propriedad que mi naturaleza nueva nunca ha comunicado a vanidades de lengua sino a eficacias de las manos; pero tal vez el publicar la excecución, aunque sirve de aviso al contrario, despide sus temeridades44. because the twisted nature of this [discourse] makes up for the simplicity of the Catalan language, evoking universal jurisdiction against the most fervent of its opponents, I carefully leave the language of my esteemed nation as abandoned, and to licitly take the enemy’s one, not to undo the threads of his sufficiently disorganized court, but because the same language that misrepresents thus defends the truth and contribute to working the feathers of my heart, a characteristic that my new nature has never communicated to vanities of language but rather effectiveness of the work of the hands; perhaps the publication of the execution, although it serves as a warning to the contrary, also dissipates the fears.

At the start, I stated that I would avoid writings that showed the typical exacerbation of periods of instability, although it is worth mentioning one to draw attention to the expression vanidades de lengua (“vanities of language”). Despite being times of war, despite the confrontation with the Hispanic monarchy, despite being in a pamphlet and despite its author being one of the standard bearers of the pro-French political propaganda; despite all this, the lengua is nothing other than vanidad. Martí Viladamor stole the language that pursued falsehoods from the enemigo (“enemy”) to make it defend truths: those of his querida nación (“esteemed nation”). So he left aside the language of his nation because it was not a question of losing power through vanidades de lengua but rather of being expeditious (eficacias de las manos). During the war, the habitual arguments in favour of the use of Castilian were complemented with others, like the impact on the enemy of reading about their defeats in their own language.

44

Xavier Torres, Escrits polítics del segle XVII, I: Notícia universal de Cataluña, de Francesc Martí Viladamor (Barcelona: Eumo-Institut Universitari d’Història Jaume Vicens Vives, 1995), pp. 31-32. Martí Viladamor was one of the most active publicists of the time. His production stretched from 1639 to 1648 and was mainly in Castilian although he also wrote in Catalan and Latin. August Rafanell, La llengua silenciada (Barcelona: Empúries, 1999), pp.  52-58, also comments the cited fragment, as well as the non-existence of a Catalan vs. Castilian “linguistic war”.

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The writers in the Early Modern era always refer to the pròpia (own) or natural (natural) language of the Catalan nation. Rafanell emphasised that for them, the country’s language meant a great deal, as they saw in it their “national” language, and realised that they could convert the idiomatic differentiality into a symbolic complement45. This complement enabled the particular nature of Catalan in the conglomerate of the Hispanic monarchy to be emphasised, and associated the nation with such other territories as Majorca and Valencia, just as we have seen that Despuig did, but without a very clear political translation like it had later, after the Nineteen Renaissance. If Catalan had been inalienable, like the Catalan institutions or legal system, no questions of any type (neither political, patriotic, nor cultural) would have justified changing it for the language of the other, that of Castile. Although it may seem a contradiction, it is logical that the writers needed to justify abandoning something that they considered natural, their own and distinctive: it was when the consequences of the union of Castile with the Crown of Aragon and the uniformising pressure of the monarchy began to be felt, that praise for the language of the nation increased. In the same way that Catalans historians teach us that Spain is not only Castile and there is more than one Spain, the language is another vehicle that serves to mark the otherness. Despite this, until today we have not managed a clear explanation that justifies the reason why the language is “alienable” in the formal ambit from the point of view of political arguments. The language is stripped of political transcendence perhaps through being an inherent natural element of the nation, one that had not been acquired by force by the inhabitants of the nation nor recognised by the laws. We can also ask whether, in this sense, it could be the fact of being a language shared with other kingdoms, like Valencia or Majorca (or even the diffuse northern frontier with Roussillon), that helped to distance it from becoming a political element fully apt for national construction – although this extreme is not formulated explicitly in any text I know. Whatever, at the beginning of the 18th century, Feliu de la Penya, heir to the Baroque historiographic tradition, continued using the arguments that we already know, Siendo catalán y natural de Barcelona parece devía escrivir esta obra en el catalán idioma. Pero para que se dilaten las noticias y por los papeles y libros que en la

45

August Rafanell, La llengua silenciada…, pp. 54-55.

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Eulàlia Miralles centuria de 1600 se han escrito en idioma castellano, desdorando algunas acciones de Cataluña, deviendo manifestar su equivocación no puedo escusar la respuesta en la lengua castellana para que igualmente se entienda el cargo y la defensa, la equivocación y la verdad46. It seems that, being Catalan and a native of Barcelona, I should write this book in the Catalan language. However, in order to reach a wider audience and to promote books and writings that correct the often unwarranted portrayal of Catalonia, it is necessary to write in the Castilian language. This will facilitate an understanding of both the prosecution and the defence, of error and truth, much in the way that the Castilian language was used in the 1600s for tarnishing our actions.

At the beginning, I stated that my purpose was to recreate the view that the Catalans had of their past and present in the Early Modern Age. The desire to have an official chronicler, appointed by the king, and the vision of their own language are two of the axes that have structured this article. As we have seen, the need to institutionalise the post of chronicler was seen as the only way to officialise the account this person wrote and convert it into “approved” by Catalan and foreign authors. On the other hand, the language did not become an indispensable element for the configuration of the nation, in contrast with what happened with the institutions and laws. Perhaps it was its natural character (not acquired by the force of a people but rather inherent to it) and one shared with other parts of the Peninsula that led it to become a “complement” more than an “element” for national construction. It was later, with the direct attack on this “complement”, with the prohibitions from Spain (and France) restricting its uses in formal and informal fields, when it would become the indispensable “element” we know nowadays. But for this, more time will have to pass.

46

Narcís Feliu de la Penya, Anales de Cataluña, 3 vols. (Barcelona: Josep Llopis, 1709). The quote is from the prologue “Al letor” (vol. I, f. 7v).

Uses of the Medieval Past in the Political Culture of 19th Century Catalonia Giovanni C. Cattini and David Cao Universitat de Barcelona

This paper is a contribution to studies in the past two decades that have offered reflections and analysis of the nineteenth century as a “laboratory” in which to investigate the fundamental subject of the “transition” to the contemporary era. The interest raised by this question is closely bound up with the crisis marking the close of the twentieth century and the ultimate collapse of the century’s totalitarian ideologies. When social scientists today examine the legitimation of electoral democracy and the representation of popular sovereignty, they are mindful of the limits of their field of investigation. At the same time, however, they underscore the importance of studying the values that underpin political society and the relations among citizens: individual rights, equality, public morality, solidarity, the idea of country and so forth. Studying the nineteenth century from the standpoint of a history of social processes requires us to revisit the various liberal projects put forward at this stage of “transition” to the contemporary era, examining the national and territorial factors involved, as well as the essential characteristics of the citizenry. As Paolo Macry1 pointedly observed more than a decade ago, the nineteenth century is the period when great theoretical edifices were erected to explain, interpret, legitimate and seek to steer the direction of social processes. They ranged from Bentham’s notion of utility, Cobden’s free market and Mill’s government based on intelligence to Mazzini’s concept of the nation, Marx’s class struggle and Spencer’s “survival of the fittest”.

1

Paolo Macry, “Appunti sulla storiografia ottocentista”, Bollettino del diciannovesimo secolo, 1 (1993).

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Each of these intellectuals comes from different families within the intellectual universe of liberalism. In this context, our interest is to explore the medieval touchstones of Catalan constitutional culture. Classic studies in the history of law (e.g., Peter Häberle2 and Maurizio Fioravanti3) have enabled us to study constitutions from a broader perspective than the merely normative. By regarding them as cultural products, the expression of theoretical political models, but also the embodiment of attitudes, ideas and values produced and interpreted by the public at large, we pursue questions that explore the existence and nature of constitutional culture in contemporary Catalonia, a subject that has attracted rather scant attention in our historiography. Our exploration follows in the footsteps of authors as varied as Pettit, Skinner and Viroli4, whose thinking, in recent decades, has brought to light the value of Republican culture and civic humanism to the construction of a political community, putting emphasis on the importance of the community’s pride in its own traditions of self-government. As Maurizio Viroli puts it5, genuine patriotism is born and flourishes in local self-government when citizens develop a sense of pride in good government and in participation in public life. For the purposes of this paper, our objective is to trace the use of the Catalan constitutional past at critical junctures of the nineteenth century, paying attention to strands of continuity, but also underscoring certain transformations. The text focuses by and large on a handful of such critical junctures: the Peninsular War and the constitutional process of Cadiz (1808-1814), the Liberal Triennium (1820-1823), the Liberal Revolution (1833-1843), the Progressive Biennium (1854-1856); the Glorious Revolution and its immediate aftermath (1868-1874); the early years of Bourbon Restoration (1876-1878), and lastly, the politicisation of the 2 3 4

5

Peter Häberle, Teoría de la Constitución como ciencia de la cultura (Madrid: Tecnos, 2000). Maurizio Fioravanti, Constitución, de la antiguedad a nuestros días (Madrid: Trotta, 2001). Philip Pettit, Republicanism. A Theory of Freedom and Government (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997); Quentin Skinner, Machiavelli (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1981); Maurizio Viroli, Per amore della patria. Pattriotismo e nazionalismo nella storia (Rome: Laterza, 1995); Maurizio Viroli, Repubblicanesimo (Rome: Laterza, 1999). Maurizio Viroli, Republicanisme (Barcelona: Angle, 2006), p. 113.

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Catalan nationalist movement (1886-1898). At each of these junctures, we have focused on authors, works and initiatives that are particularly important for our subject. The approach is necessarily limited and fragmentary, but the evidence is clear enough to show that appeals to the medieval past and its political use were recurrent, persistent and cut across society. Such appeals were a prominent element in the configuration of the political cultures of contemporary Catalonia and in the formation of a differentiated Catalan identity. Ultimately, they became a central component in the culture of contemporary Catalan nationalism.

1. Historicism and Medievalism in the Context of the Peninsular War and the Constitutional Debate in Cadiz (1808-1814) In recent years, several studies have shown how the political speeches, debates and proposals generated in the context of Spain’s first contemporary attempt at a constitution often rested on historicist approaches and on a rhetorical appeal to the past6. References to ancient constitutionalism and an invocation of the legal and institutional tradition of a variety of peninsular kingdoms and territories were highly prevalent in certain late Enlightenment sectors and in early liberalism. The Middle Ages were a special object of study and source of vindication. They held a central place in the political uses of the past mentioned earlier. The medieval period was invoked by individuals of varied ideological sensibilities and it served as a rich storehouse of historical material for a substantial portion of the political discourse of the early nineteenth century. 6

Leading explorations of the issue include: José María Portillo, Revolución de nación. Orígenes de la cultura constitucional en España, 1780-1812 (Madrid: Boletín Oficial del Estado-Centro de Estudios Políticos y Constitucionales, 2000); Carmen García, “Lectores de historia y hacedores de política en tiempos de fractura ‘constitucional’”, Historia Constitucional [electronic journal], 3 (2002), pp. 39-98; José Manuel Nieto, Medievo constitucional. Historia y mito político en los orígenes de la España contemporánea (ca. 1750-1814) (Madrid: Akal, 2007).

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The critical juncture of 1808-1814 was marked by war and debate. The implementation of a new political, legal and institutional order drew on certain medieval experiences as antecedents to give legitimacy to the new system. It was advisable to shore up competing political projects and the new constitutional framework under discussion, preventing the sensation of historical rupture as far as possible and refuting any accusation of foreign innovations. In short, it was necessary to present constitutional rule as an outgrowth that was both coherent and in harmony with the unfolding history of the society and its deepest predispositions. This same process also entailed the mythologising of medieval political and institutional experiences, their linkage to contemporary constitutionalism and the portrayal of despotism and absolutism in recent centuries almost as a kind of imported anomaly. Among the ruling classes of Catalonia, there also arose examples of historicist approaches and of the political use of history at this critical foundational moment7. The continued existence of a particularist legal and political culture among sectors of Catalonia’s elite led to the reinvigoration and vindication of the Catalan constitutional past, in the context of Spain’s legal and political transformation. The appropriation of that past was plural in nature, just as the historicist approaches took shape out of an array of political and ideological sensibilities. One of the most illustrious representatives of Catalan political historicism at that time was the philologist, historian and politician Antoni de Capmany (1742-1813)8. Capmany was one of the leading figures in this

7

8

Here, we follow: Lluís Ferran Toledano, “Historicisme i política de la classe dirigent catalana en el debat constitucional gadità”, Entre la construcció nacional i la repressió identitària. Actes de la primera trobada Galeusca d’historiadores i d’historiadors. Barcelona, 10 i 11 de desembre de 2010, Agustí Alcoberro, Giovanni C. Cattini, eds. [electronic resource] (Barcelona: Museu d’Història de Catalunya, 2012), pp.  203-218. Additional evidence of interest can be found in: Pere Anguera, Els precedents del catalanisme. Catalanitat i anticentralisme: 1808-1868 (Barcelona: Empúries, 2000), pp. 53-88. See: Ramon Grau, Marina López, “Antoni de Capmany: el primer model del pensament polític català modern”, Història del pensament polític català del segle XVIII a mitjan segle XX, Albert Balcells, ed. (Barcelona: Edicions 62, 1988), pp. 13-40; Ramon Grau, Antoni de Capmany i la renovació de l’historicisme polític català (Barcelona: Ajuntament de Barcelona-Quaderns del Seminari d’Història de Barcelona, 2006); Francisco José Fernández, Estanislao Cantero, Antonio de Capmany (1742-1913).

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attempt to link Spain’s contemporary constituent process historically to a constitutional tradition with medieval roots, which the advance of absolutism had extirpated. In his search for autochthonous forerunners to serve as inspiration or legitimation, Capmany defended the primacy of the political and institutional model offered by the Crown of Aragon. In his 1809 report written at the request of the parliamentary committee Comisión de Cortes, Capmany clearly systematised the results of the so-called public consultation9. He refuted those who maintained that Spain had no valid legal or institutional precedents to limit authority and safeguard rights and freedoms. While these precedents might have been weak and incomplete under the Crown of Castile, the Crown of Aragon, by contrast, tuvo por espacio de cinco siglos fueros, constituciones, libertades y franquezas invulnerables10 (“had five centuries of invulnerable charters, constitutions, freedoms and exemptions”). In the same report, Capmany recalled that those legal and institutional arrangements had been abolished by force in the aftermath of the War of Spanish Succession (1702-1714), and he concluded with a recommendation for the creation of a permanent institution to safeguard the rights of the people against royal power, a solution inspired by the former regional councils of the territories under the Crown of Aragon11. In the same period, the Comisión de Cortes also charged Capmany with gathering an entire series of historical information on medieval constitutions and parliamentary practices relating to the various kingdoms. Capmany’s work was gathered and published posthumously in a volume entitled Práctica y estilo de celebrar cortes12. The political, legal and institutional system of the former territories of the Crown of Aragon merited

9

10 11 12

Pensamiento, obra histórica, política y jurídica (Madrid: Fundación Francisco Elias de Tejada, 1993). Reproduced in full in: José Álvarez, “Capmany y su informe sobre la necesidad de una Constitución (1809)”, Cuadernos Hispano-Americanos, 210 (1967), pp.  520-551. As indicated in Portillo Valdés, Revolución de nación…, p. 266, the text was basically written in the summer of 1809, submitted in October of that year to the Comisión de Cortes and published anonymously in 1811 in Cádiz under the title Informe sobre Cortes nacionales. José Álvarez, “Capmany y su informe...”, pp. 546-547. José Álvarez, “Capmany y su informe...”, pp. 547, 549-550. Antoni de Capmany, Práctica y estilo de celebrar cortes en el reino de Aragon, principado de Cataluña y reino de Valencia y una noticia de las de Castilla y Navarra

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special attention and a clearly positive appraisal, although Capmany did not take the view that it offered a perfect model or could be taken up as is and transferred unmodified to the present situation. In his introduction to the volume, Capmany drew clear links between the political, economic and military strength of the Principality of Catalonia and the realms under the Crown of Aragon in the Late Middle Ages with their auspicious legal and political set-up13. This was not the first occasion that Capmany had formulated an equation of this kind. He had solidified his reputation as a distinguished historian with his series Memorias históricas sobre la marina (1779-1792), which plainly conveyed his admiration for the Catalan medieval past and tied Barcelona’s opulence, it power and its thriving navy, trade and industry to the existence of exemplary social, political and institutional arrangements14. As a member of the Cadiz parliament, Capmany made a number of speeches along these lines, extolling Barcelona’s municipal rule in force until 1714, the year en que las armas de Felipe V, más poderosas que las leyes, hicieron callar todas las instituciones libres en Cataluña15 (“in which Felipe V’s arms, more powerful than the laws, silenced all the free institutions of Catalonia”). Despite the leading role played by figures like Capmany, Catalan historicism held a marginal place in Spanish political culture, which was basically centred on Castile. Put differently, in these foundational moments of contemporary Spain, any inclusion of the Catalan political, legal and institutional past as part of a shared Spanish national historical discourse was seriously wanting16.

13 14

15 16

(Madrid: Imp. de don José del Collado, 1821). See the introduction by Eva Serra and Josep Fontana in a recent facsimile edition (Barcelona: Base, 2007), pp. 7-64. Antoni de Capmany, Práctica y estilo…, pp. 5-7. Antoni de Capmany, Memorias históricas sobre la marina comercio y artes de la antigua ciudad de Barcelona, 4 vols. (Madrid: Imprenta de D. Antonio de Sancha, 1779-1792). Diario de Sesiones de las Cortes Generales y Extraordinarias (1810-1813) (Madrid: Imprenta de J. A. García, 1870), V, session of 10th August 1812, p. 3522. Lluís Ferran Toledano, “Historicisme i política de la classe…”, pp. 204-208.

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2. Constitutional History and Culture in the Liberal Triennium (1820-1823) In 1820, a series of liberal uprisings scattered across Spain forced Fernando VII against his wishes to reinstate the Constitution of 1812. This set in motion a liberal regime that lasted only until 1823, when it was cut short by the invading troops of the Holy Alliance, in the context of Restoration Europe. These three years, however, saw the continuation or revival of a number of the features indicated in the first of the critical junctures treated here. Once again, history appears prominently as a storehouse to which the politics of the period turned for arguments and imagery and to settle differences. Various researchers have demonstrated that the attention given to Catalan medieval history and the appeal made to the laws and institutional structures in place until the defeat of 1714 were relatively typical phenomena in the activity of publicists, propagandists and scholars who were broadly within the orbit of liberalism17. Consequently, historicism has been pointed to as a fundamental component of the constitutional culture of Barcelona liberals of the period. At the same time, however, it has been emphasised that the approach and use of the past was plural in nature, marked by the coexistence of varied political and ideological projects and sensibilities18. Regardless of their differences, none harked back to the Catalan past and the vindication of the laws and institutions of the Crown of Aragon as a way to question whether Catalonia belonged within the legal and political framework of the Spanish nation. In fact, it was quite the contrary. 17

18

Ramon Arnabat, La revolució del 1820 i el Trienni Liberal a Catalunya (Vic: Eumo, 2001), pp. 82-87; Ramon Arnabat, “Austriacisme, catalanitat i provincialisme. De la Guerra del Francès al Trienni Liberal”, Entre la construcció nacional i la repressió identitària…, pp. 187-201; Pere Anguera, Els precedents del catalanisme…, pp. 88105; Jordi Roca, Política, Liberalisme i Revolució. Barcelona, 1820-1823 (Barcelona: Universitat de Barcelona, PhD Dissertation, 2007), pp. 430-463; Jordi Roca, “Una sola nación con múltiples historias nacionales. La nacionalización de los ciudadanos a través de los discursos históricos del primer liberalismo catalán”, Procesos de nacionalización en la España contemporánea, Mariano Esteban de Vega, Mª Dolores de la Calle, eds. (Salamanca: Universidad de Salamanca, 2010), pp. 19-46. See the contributions of Jordi Roca Vernet indicated in the previous footnote.

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However, they did bring to light that Catalonia had a relatively differentiated political culture that was not built exclusively on Castilian models. With the arrival of the triennium and freedom of the press, new periodicals made their appearance. One of particular importance was the Periódico Universal de Ciencias, Literatura y Artes (1821), launched by the jurist Ignasi Santponç (1795-1846). The prospectus announced their intention to publish a collection of ancient documents relating to the Kingdom of Aragon and the Principality of Catalonia, but the lack of subscribers doomed the periodical and the project sank. Nevertheless, in a zeal to disseminate the constitutionalism and history of Catalonia, some documents of note were published, such as a bilingual edition (Latin and Spanish) of the constitutions drawn up by the Parliament of Barcelona in 1283, which was held during the reign of Pere II el Gran (1276-1285) and had great importance in the institutionalisation of the medieval and modern Catalan constitutional system. This was not an isolated interest. Like Santponç, fellow jurist and scholar Ramon Muns (1783-1856) came under the umbrella of moderate liberalism. In July 1820, Muns wrote an article in July 1820 recalling that he had pointed out only a year earlier, while the absolutist regime still held power, that a compendium of the history of Catalonia was needed, one “aimed principally at reviving the memory of our ancient institutions” and at recovering the virtuous and exemplary observers of those “happy times”19. Muns extolled the ancient Catalan constitutional system, the origin and foundation of the rights and freedoms stamped out in 1714, but his praise did not lead him to advocate the re-establishment of the ancient laws and institutions, which he thought were unsuitable “to the current state of civilisation”. Indeed, based on his interpretation and that of many moderate liberals of the era, those laws and institutions had already, to some extent, been restored and improved in the Constitution of 1812. In addition, he held the view that the “humiliation” suffered in the wake of 1714 had been wiped clean by “the liberal principles of the constitutional code”.

19

Ramon Muns, “Observaciones sobre la antigua Constitucion de Cataluña, leidas en una Sociedad literaria particular el dia 11 de julio de 1820”, Diario constitucional, politico y mercantil de Barcelona, 117 (17th July 1820), pp. 2-3; 118 (18th July 1820), pp. 2-3.

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In his bid to establish a line of descent from the ancient freedoms and institutions to the new ones, Muns suggested that the parliamentary standing committee instituted in the Cadiz text had a solid precedent in the history of Catalonia: the Diputació del General (the historical name of the Generalitat, Catalonia’s present-day government). Continuing with the same discursive logic, Muns concluded his article with a call for Catalonia’s current provincial council, restored only a month earlier with the proclamation of the Constitution of 1812, to be ceded the historic building of the former Diputació del General, occupied since the time of Felipe V by the Territorial Audiència. The official request for “restitution” of the building came from Catalonia’s provincial council. Over the months of March and April 1821, the final arrangements were made and, shortly afterwards, the legislative committee of Parliament gave its approval to the move20. A substantial portion of the arguments put forward in the exhibition aimed at Parliament rested on a notion of institutional continuity between the two governing bodies21. Their reasoning shared many points in parallel with the article penned by Ramon Muns, who was actually interim secretary of the Catalan delegation at the time. However, moderates were not the only figures to make political use of the history of Catalonia. The more extreme liberals did so as well, although with different nuances and intentions22. In this regard, it is intriguing to note the manner and circumstances in which Barcelona’s radical liberals chose the figure of Pau Claris (1586-1641) as a guiding light. Claris had served as president of the Generalitat during the revolt of 1640, when Catalonia’s institutions came into direct conflict with the government of Count-Duke Olivares, the favourite of Felipe IV. For a brief moment, 20

21

22

Diario de las sesiones de Cortes. Legislatura de 1821 (Madrid: Imprenta de  J. A. García, 1871), II, session on 2th April 1821, p. 830; session of 30th April 1821, pp. 1356-1357. The provincial council of Catalonia had functioned between 1812 and 1814, but was abolished with the return of absolutism. In 1813, the body had already formulated a request to the Spanish parliament to recover the former home of the Generalitat. Representacion que dirige á las Córtes la Diputacion Provincial de Cataluña, Para que se le mande restituir el edificio ó casa que perteneció á la antigua Diputacion del Principado, y que fué cedida y hoy ocupa la Audiencia territorial (Barcelona: Imprenta del Gobierno Político Superior, 1821). Jordi Roca, “Una sola nación con múltiples historias nacionales…”, pp. 19-46,

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events led to the proclamation of a Catalan republic. Significantly, the more extreme liberals raised Claris into a myth just at the moment when the figure of Fernando VII was coming under fire amid serious suspicions about the king’s loyalty to the constitutional system23.

3. Historicist Romanticism and Liberal Revolution (1833-1843) The death of Fernando VII (1833) opened the door to political change and a more liberal period began, marked by profound political, social and economic transformations that would ultimately dismantle Spain´s ancien régime and lay the foundations for a new liberal state. This process drew strong opposition, represented in part by the forces of Carlism. These years coincided with the spread of an emergent Romanticism and the early years of Catalan Romantic historiography. The period abounded in examples of the political uses of the past and it was a critical time in the early configuration of a political culture and of a repertoire of myths and symbols predominantly drawn from examples in the history of Catalonia, most conspicuously from the Middle Ages. In this regard, the historiography and literature produced under the influence of Romantic historicism made a decisive contribution to the construction of the discourse of the Catalan political elite and to the formation of a distinctive Catalan identity24. 23

24

See the excellent contribution of: Jordi Roca, “Pau Claris i la cultura constitucional catalana del Trienni Liberal (1820-1823)”, Manuscrits, 27 (2009), pp.  161-186. Later, Catalan federalist republicans were to turn Claris into one of their chief touchstones: Pere Gabriel, “Mites republicans. Els federals catalans i Pau Claris”, Símbols i mites a l’Espanya Contemporània, Pere Anguera, ed. (Reus: Centre de Lectura, 2001), pp. 87-101. Albert Ghanime, “Apunts i reflexions al voltant dels referents medievals en la política catalana de la primera meitat del segle XIX”, L’edat Mitjana. Món real i espai imaginat, Flocel Sabaté, ed. (Catarroja-Barcelona: Afers, 2012), pp. 205-215; Josep M. Fradera, “La política liberal y el descubrimiento de una identitad distintiva de Cataluña (1835-1865)”, Hispania, 60/2, 205 (2000), pp. 673-702; Pere Anguera, “Pròleg”, Els mites nacionals Catalans, Magí Sunyer, ed. (Vic: Eumo-Societat Verdaguer, 2006),

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The political change of 1833 favoured expansion and renewal of the offering of publications. Out of this context emerged El Vapor (18331838), which was ideologically in the line of doctrinaire moderate liberalism. Its editor-in-chief was the journalist and writer Ramon López Soler (1799-1836), a leading proponent of Romanticism in Catalonia. López Soler introduced the literature of Sir Walter Scott and wrote numerous historical novels, some with medieval subject matter. His example was followed by the lawyer, historian and novelist Joan Cortada (1805-1868). From 1835 onwards, Cortada’s works made a significant contribution to the development of Catalan subjects in literature, promoting interest in the history of Catalonia and the Crown of Aragon, particularly the Middle Ages25. In the area of dramatic production, Jaume Tió (1816-1844) played a role of similar importance. López Soler was the author of the treatise Constitución Catalana y Cortes de Cataluña (1835), written largely on the basis of extracts from the classic work of Lluís Peguera, Practica, forma, y stil de celebrar Corts generals en Cathalunya, published in 1632 and reprinted in 170126. Previously, López Soler had published a large portion of the contents of his treatise in a series of three instalments in El Vapor in February 1834 under the title “Cortes de Cataluña”, a timely and deliberate revival of the Catalan constitutional tradition at a time when the draft legislation of the Estatuto Real was under discussion. When the articles appeared in treatise form in the following year, the author added an introduction that laid out

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pp.  11-14. For the Romantic historiography of the period, see: Ramon Grau, “La historiografia del romanticisme (de Pròsper de Bofarull a Víctor Balaguer)”, Història de la historiografia catalana, Albert Balcells, ed. (Barcelona: Institut d’Estudis Catalans, 2004), pp.  141-160; Ramon Grau, “L’aportació dels historiadors romantics”, Història de la Cultura Catalana. Romanticisme i Renaixença 1800-1860, 10 vols., Pere Gabriel, dir. (Barcelona: Edicions 62, 1995), vol. 4, pp. 221-248. Albert Ghanime, Joan Cortada: Catalunya i els Catalans al segle XIX (Barcelona: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, 1994). Constitución catalana y Cortes de Cataluña. Resumen de las antiguas constituciones, prerrogativas, fueros y privilegios de que disfrutó el principado de Cataluña, en unos tiempos en que lo restante de Europa gemia aún bajo el peso de la odiosa esclavitud (Barcelona: Imprenta de Manuel Texero, 1835). Jaume Ribalta Haro identified authorship of the treatise in a highly documented article: Jaume Ribalta, “Constitución catalana y Cortes de Cataluña. Excerpta vuitcentista de Peguera, a càrrec de Ramon López Soler”, Revista de Dret Històric Català, 2 (2002), pp. 11-119.

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a defence of Catalan traditions and a quasi-liberal interpretation of the ancient Catalan constitutional system. The publication of the treatise, which coincided with the publication of similar texts, is not very far from the appearance of another volume crucial for the Catalan historiography of the era, Los condes de Barcelona vindicados (1836), by Pròsper de Bofarull (1777-1859)27. Bofarull’s work recalled that the Principality of Catalonia had a past as an independent political entity. It highlighted the need to make this history known and, ultimately, asserted the important role played by the House of Barcelona and the Crown of Aragon in the construction of Spain. Along these lines, he pointed out that Guifré el Pilós (in the ninth century) and his successors had founded una Patria, Soberanía y Constitución civil que nos han transmitido, y cuyo origen y vicisitudes conviene tener muy presentes28 (“a Country, Sovereignty and Civil Constitution that have been transmitted to us, and whose origins and vicissitudes should be ever present”). Bofarull, first in a line of Catalonia’s most prominent historians and archivists of the nineteenth century, rose to become director of the Archive of the Crown of Aragon in 181429. In 1821, under a pseudonym, he published a treatise in opposition to the draft decree of March 1814, which sought to transfer the provincial archives to Madrid in order to create a single, unified documentation centre30. Bofarull recalled the composite nature of the Spanish monarchy, noting the institutions of the ancient kingdoms that survived under it and adding that until the present-day jamás ha podido considerarse la península como una sola nacion o reino sino como un conjunto de estados independientes gobernados por un mismo príncipe (“it has never been possible to consider the peninsula as a single nation or kingdom, but rather as a set of independent states ruled by a single prince”). The archivist contended that the proposed removal of the archives would have highly negative effects on Catalonia, where deep 27

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Próspero de Bofarull, Los condes de Barcelona vindicados, y cronología y genealogía de los reyes de España considerados como soberanos independientes de su marca, 2 vols. (Barcelona: Imp. de Juan Oliveres y Monmany, 1836). Próspero de Bofarull, Los condes de Barcelona vindicados…, vol. 1, pp. 5-6. For additional information on the Bofarulls, see: Ramon Grau, “El pensament històric de la dinastia Bofarull”, Barcelona Quaderns d’Història, 6 (2002), pp. 121-138. Felix Fluralbo [Pròsper de Bofarull], Reflecsiones sobre los perjuicios que ocasionaría á algunas provincias de España y en particular á la de Cataluña la traslación de sus archivos á Madrid… (Barcelona: Imprenta de José Torner, 1821).

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ties persisted between those bodies and the institutions and people of the country31. Maintaining the archive in Barcelona was fundamental to enabling the publication of historical studies and collections of documents like the one that Bofarull himself started in 1847, entitled “Colección de documentos inéditos del Archivo General de la Corona de Aragón”. This towering collection paid prominent attention to the Compromise of Casp (1412), to the ascendancy of the Trastamara dynasty to the throne and to the civil war of the fifteenth century as pivotal moments in the history of Catalonia, a perspective shared by many nineteenth-century historians, literati and publicists32. An example of this fact is the myth made out of Joan Fiveller, counsellor for the city of Barcelona in the time of Fernando I of Antequera. In the middle decades of the nineteenth century, Fiveller was raised into a symbol of municipal freedoms in the face of royal power33. In the years of the liberal revolution, the vindication of ancient constitutionalism and of the history of Catalonia was not exclusively the domain of moderate liberalism. The appeal to ancient laws and institutions, the glorification of a model based on pacts, the recollection of episodes in defence of the constitutional system and the historical sweep of a putatively Catalan liberal spirit were commonplace in the progressive discourse of the liberal revolution34. Along the same lines, publicists, politicians and intellectuals tied to advanced liberalism within Catalonia and the remaining lands of the former Crown of Aragon shaped a historicist discourse rooted in a past featuring regional privileges arising out of royal charters, the Furs. While these elaborations in no way refuted membership

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Felix Fluralbo [Pròsper de Bofarull], Reflecsiones sobre los perjuicios…, p. 4. Ramon Grau, “El pensament històric de la dinastia Bofarull…”, pp. 121-138. Ramon Grau, “Joan Fiveller, Ferran I i les imposicions municipals de Barcelona. Repàs a un mite historic”, Barcelona Quaderns d’Història, 2/3 (1996), pp. 53-98. Genís Barnosell, “Consens i revolució. Poble i nació a la Barcelona de la Revolució Liberal, 1835-1843”, Barcelona Quaderns d’Història, 10 (2004), pp. 137-170, and particularly the works of Josep-Ramon Segarra, “El ‘provincialisme’ involuntari. Els territoris en el projecte liberal de nació espanyola (1808-1868)”, Afers. Fulls de recerca i pensament, 48 (2004), pp.  327-345; Josep-Ramon Segarra, “Liberales y fueristas. El discurso ‘neofuerista’ y el proyecto liberal de la nación española (18081868)”, Provincia y nación. Los territorios del liberalismo, Carlos Forcadell, María Cruz Romero, eds. (Saragossa: Institución Fernando el Católico-Diputación de Zaragoza, 2006), pp. 73-99.

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within the Spanish national political framework, they did seek to promote and justify anti-centralist dynamics and propositions originating from the more far-flung corners of the state35.

4. The Progressive Biennium (1854-1856) and the Propositions of Víctor Balaguer The Progressive Biennium (1854-1856) was a short-lived period of deepening liberalism and prominent progressive politics sandwiched between two long periods of moderate ascendancy. The experience was brief and the economic and political reforms did not have the necessary depth or scope to consolidate a genuine alternative to the state model instituted by the moderates. Víctor Balaguer (1824-1901), a prominent Catalan writer, historian and politician of the nineteenth century, made his definitive entry into politics in the context of the revolution of July 185436. Out of this context came the idea to set up La Corona de Aragón (1854-1856), a joint journalistic venture involving progressive minds from Aragon and Valencia as well. With its allusive title, the publication became one of the Balaguer’s most noteworthy initiatives in the field of journalism, seeking to act as a mouthpiece for progressives in the territories of the ancient confederation and defending a way of thinking that treated the concepts of freedom, progress and political decentralisation as inseparable. A plural vision of the peninsular past, a positive appraisal of the Crown of Aragon’s model of confederation, a reclaiming of the history of Catalonia and a glorification of the ancient Catalan constitutional system were all put to the service of a political project that sought to offer an alternative to the centralist, unitary and exclusive state model implemented by the moderates. Balaguer is a brilliant example of the political use of history on behalf of a progressive and decentralising liberal programme. In 1856, after

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See the works of Josep-Ramon Segarra indicated in the previous footnote. Joan Palomas, Víctor Balaguer. Renaixença, Revolució i Progrés (Vilanova i la Geltrú: El Cep i la Nansa, 2004).

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leaving the editorship of La Corona de Aragón, he joined with his friend Lluís Cutchet (1815-1892) in a new periodical venture, El Conceller (1856-1857), a title alluding to the representatives sitting on the historical municipal institutions. As Balaguer himself later acknowledged, his aim was to take action in the present to win the future, but the impediments raised by censorship frequently forced him to resort to a historical discourse to deliver his messages37. In his multifaceted efforts as a writer, publicist, historian and chronicler, Balaguer made highly effective contributions to the construction of a mythic and symbolic popular imagination for Catalans of the era and he did so by drawing on native models. Some of his most important historical studies, essays and popular writing, such as Bellezas de la historia de Cataluña (1853)38, La libertad constitucional (1858) and Historia de Cataluña y de la Corona de Aragón (1860-1864)39, circulated and amplified a set of ideas and conceptions of the Catalan past that were to become an enduring part of the historical and political discourse. In Balaguer’s view, the history of Catalonia contained all the necessary examples of civic duty and love of country. Specifically, he held that what merited the highest consideration were Catalonia´s political and institutional model and the Catalan people’s secular devotion and struggle for civil and political liberties. Balaguer gave very high marks to the ancient constitutional system and advanced a democratic liberal interpretation of it, basing his reading on the notions of pact, balance of powers, respect for the law, civic-mindedness, patriotism, and popular representation and participation in public affairs. Drawing on the past served to demonstrate that the truly genuine and traditional political system of the country was constitutionalism, in contrast to what anti-liberal options advocated. Despotism and absolutism were foreign phenomena that had arrived in recent times and brought nothing

37

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Víctor Balaguer, La libertad constitucional. Estudios sobre el gobierno político de varios paises y en particular sobre el sistema por el que se regía antiguamente Cataluña (Barcelona: Imprenta Nueva de Jaime Jepús y Ramon Villegas, 1858), pp. 228-229. Víctor Balaguer, Bellezas de la historia de Cataluña, 2 vols. (Barcelona: Impr. de Narciso Ramírez, 1853). Víctor Balaguer, Historia de Cataluña y de la Corona de Aragón, 5 vols. (Barcelona: Librería de Salvador Manero, 1860-1864).

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positive. “Liberty is ancient and despotism modern”, announced the title of a chapter in La libertad constitucional. Balaguer took the view that the history of Spain and particularly that of Catalonia more than demonstrated this fact. And it was Catalonia, in this regard, that presented a differential reality based on the precociousness, durability and intensity of its devotion to its system of freedoms, a circumstance that made Catalonia comparable to the English case40. During the same period, Cutchet voiced similar opinions. In a work aimed at legitimising the war waged by the Catalan people against Juan II (1462-1472), Cataluña vindicada (1858), Cutchet lauded the historical commitment of the Catalans to their laws and institutions, affirming the “spirit of government” shared by the Catalans and the English. He praised the organisational model of the Crown of Aragon, which had given a robust and advantageous form to the pre-existing political units in its territories, and broke with the deterministic, providential and irreversible perspective that was usually adopted to interpret the dynastic union of the crowns of Aragon and Castile in the last quarter of the fifteenth century. It is well known that Balaguer was one of the forces behind the definitive “restoration” of the Jocs Florals of 1859. The contest, which imitated the literary festivals of the Middle Ages, became the chief platform for the promotion of the Catalan language. In the same year in which this initiative got underway with its archaic and medievalising aesthetic, the Cerdà plan for the expansion of Barcelona received the go-ahead and the city’s new Eixample district soon became a symbol of growth and modernisation in the most industrial city in Spain at the time41. Balaguer, chronicler of the city from 1852 and member of the advisory board responsible for giving counsel to the Municipal Committee of the Eixample from 1859, was called on to mastermind a set of names for the planned new streets of the city42. He submitted his nomenclature in 1863 and, two years later, 40 41

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See, for example: Víctor Balaguer, La libertad constitucional…, pp.  113-114, 120-123. For more on the intersection of these events, see: Josep  M. Domingo, “Barcelona i els Jocs Florals, 1859. Literatura, modernització urbana i representació col·lectiva”, Barcelona i els Jocs Florals, 1859. Modernització i romanticisme, Josep  M. Domingo, ed. (Barcelona: Ajuntament de Barcelona-Institut de Cultura-Museu d’Història de Barcelona, 2011), pp. 39-76. Joan Palomas, “Víctor Balaguer i la toponímia identitària: formació del primer nomenclàtor de l’Eixample de Barcelona”, Les identitats a la Catalunya contemporània,

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published Las calles de Barcelona (1865-1866)43, in which he marked out the extent of his contribution to the names ultimately approved by the committee. Broadly, Balaguer’s selection of institutions (Consell de Cent, Corts Catalanes, etc.), individuals (Roger de Llúria, Pau Claris, Aribau, etc.), territories (Valencia, Sardinia, Naples, etc.) and activities (Trade, Industry, Navy, etc.) gave shape to a public discourse that demonstrated the differentiated historical personality of Catalonia and rooted its contemporary rebirth in the splendours of its past. An extensive portion of his selections emphasised Catalonia’s past as a sovereign entity, paying tribute to the institutions of its ancient political system and recalling episodes in defence of freedoms.

5. The Glorious Revolution and Its Immediate Aftermath (1868-1874): Catalan Civic Culture and Political Options The Glorious Revolution in Spain and its immediate aftermath (18681874) represent a historical period of great complexity. It is the product of the powerful tensions, both internal and external, that characterised the decade of the eighteen-sixties, a key phase in understanding the processes of modernisation in the West, which, of course, came to affect Catalan and Spanish society in general. The financial and economic crisis of those years is a fundamental element in grasping the numerous upheavals that ultimately destabilised the Isabelline system. The new political regime, which was unambiguously liberal, incorporated universal male suffrage and the recognition of broad individual freedoms. Despite the hardships and limitations of the period, steps proceeded toward the political modernisation of the country.

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Jordi Casassas, coord. (Barcelona: Galerada, 2009), pp.  293-316. In addition, see: Stéphane Michonneau, Barcelona: Memòria i identitat: Monuments, commemoracions i mites (Vic: Eumo-Universitat de Vic, 2002), pp. 35-55. Víctor Balaguer, Las calles de Barcelona. Origen de sus nombres, sus recuerdos, sus tradiciones y leyendas…, 2 vols. (Barcelona: Salvador Manero, 1865-1866).

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In Catalonia, on the eve of revolution, the liberal monarchical regime had almost no support. For this reason, the Revolution of 1868 was accepted as inevitable even by Catalan conservatives44. Within the profoundly heterogeneous political spectrum of Catalonia, there were individuals of a progressive monarchical inclination who grouped around Víctor Balaguer and his mouthpiece La Montaña Catalana in support of a “provincialist” policy, i.e., decentralising approaches to the state, and there were others who took their lead from La Crónica de Cataluña, which was then under the baton of Llorenç Mas i Oliver and voiced more tepid, accommodating approaches amid unfolding events45. In parallel, at the same critical juncture, Joan Mañé i Flaquer represented the voice of greatest authority within Barcelona’s Catholic liberal conservatism, pursuing a line of thought and action that had its origin in the eighteen-thirties. This last sector also had pro-decentralisation approaches based on a medieval neo-foralism that borrowed elements spelled out by Víctor Balaguer as mentioned earlier, but with the addition of significant doses of conservative Catholicism46. In this context, the contribution of Francesc Romaní Puigdengolas (1830-1912) stands out. Declaring himself a federalist and a Catholic, Romaní headed the Catholic Unity list in the elections of January 1869. The list brought together Catholics as diverse as the moderate old guard and the neo-Catholics and Carlists and it became a platform from which

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Marició Janué, Els polítics en temps de revolució. La vida política durant el Sexenni revolucionari (Vic: Eumo, 2002); Marició Janué, La Junta Revolucionària de Barcelona de l’any 1868 (Vic: Eumo, 1992). Also, see: La Diputació revolucionària 1868-1874 (Barcelona: Diputació de Barcelona, 2003). Marició Janué, La Junta Revolucionària de Barcelona…, pp. 73-78. See: Casimir Martí, L’Església de Barcelona (1850-1857), 2 vols. (Barcelona: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, 1984); Josep M. Fradera, Cultura nacional en una societat dividida (Barcelona: Curial, 1992); Manuel Carrillo, “Juan Mañé i Flaquer y el Primer Congreso de Malinas”, Cercles. Revista d’Història Cultural, 5 (2002), pp.  154-169; Jordi Bou, Correspondència entre Benet de Llanza i Joan Mañé i Flaquer. Epistolari social, polític i cultural (1847-1862) (Barcelona: Curial Edicions-Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, 2002); Jordi Bou, Joan Mañé i Flaquer i el Diario de Barcelona (1823-1868). Cultura, política i periodisme a la Catalunya dels vuit-cents (Barcelona: Universitat de Barcelona, PhD Dissertations, 2009).

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emerged a large number of the exponents who raised the loyalist flag in the later Carlist war47. In his book El federalismo en España (1869), Romaní focused on the elements that characterised the building of the Spanish liberal national state. He situated these elements in the outcome of the triumph of constitutional doctrines that appeared in Cadiz “as an import from abroad” and were realised in the Constitution of 1837. In particular, he underscored that the principle of national sovereignty had won out over the principles of family and dynasty, as well as over the ancient rights and privileges of autonomous provinces and municipalities. The author was emphatic that this ancient jurisprudence had held the different peoples of the peninsula together and made them strong. His view was that it had become a unique and intrinsic feature of these territories that should be preserved. In short, Romaní crafted his approach around four major demands: a restoration of ancient institutions inspired by a clear idealisation of the medieval past, the adoption of protectionist measures to defend Catalan industrial output; the rejection of standardising, centralist policies on behalf of a decentralisation that must be able to provide an approach to the entire peninsula, including Portugal; and, lastly, a defence of the Roman Catholic Church. El Federalismo en España offered a concrete expression of the Catalan perspective on the subject of building the Spanish liberal state in the nineteenth century. Part of its uniqueness and importance is due to the impact of its federalist proposals among the conservative camp.

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For more information on Romaní Puigdengolas and the platform of Catholic Unity: Giovanni  C. Cattini, “La construcció de l’Estat nacional espanyol i els intel·lectuals perifèrics. La crítica regionalista d’en Francesc Romaní Puigdengolas”, L’Estat nació i el conflicte regional: Joan Mañé i Flaquer, un cas paradigmàtic 1823-1901 (Barcelona: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, 2004), pp. 33-62; Giovanni C. Cattini, “Les eleccions del gener de 1869: la plataforma per a la Unitat Catòlica i la politització del regionalisme catholic”, Església, societat i poder a les terres de parla catalane, Lourdes Plans, dir. (Barcelona-Valls: Publicacions de la Coordinadora de Centres d’Estudis de Parla Catalana-Cossetània Edicions, 2005), pp.  279-290. For more on Carlism in this period, see: Lluís Ferran Toledano, Entre el sermó i el trabuc. El carlisme català contra la revolució setembrina (1868-1872) (Lleida: Pagès Editors, 2001); Lluís Ferran Toledano, Carlins i catalanisme. La defensa dels furs catalans i de la religió a la darrera carlinada 1868-1875 (Manresa: Farell, 2002); Lluís Ferran Toledano, La muntanya insurgent. La tercera guerra carlina a Catalunya 1872-1875 (Girona: Quaderns del Cercle, 2004).

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As the Tarragona politician and historian Antoni Rovira i Virgili recalled, the innovation of Romaní´s ideas stemmed from his separating federalism from the progressive and secular ideas that had identified it almost exclusively with the republican party. Instead, Romaní gave federalism a traditionalist and Catholic aspect that made it easier to assimilate by the world of Catalan conservatism48. In any event, the republican movement during the period being analysed was the chief political force in the city of Barcelona and had great strength in Catalonia as a whole. In the first elections of January 1869, voter turnout stood at 70% and the federalist republicans became the leading force in the Principality, securing 28 delegates out of a total of 37. These results, however, were not mirrored elsewhere in Spain, where the republicans won only 57 delegates out of 304. Catalan federalist republicans were 40% of the republicans present in the first constitutional convention. The federalists were the largest party in Catalonia, but only a minority party in the rest of the state. Their blueprint for an alternative Spain made room for Catalonia and its aspirations for self-government and their proposals rested largely on rationalist and universalist criteria, with Francesc Pi i Margall as their most representative theorist. Nonetheless, their Catalan adherents were willing to put these ideas into practice to create an autonomous Catalan power without proposing the secession of Catalonia from Spain. In addition, it should be noted that federalism appealed to the working classes as well, although it frightened leaders from the middle and upper classes. Essentially, the federalists’ inclination was interclassist and they used an openly anticlerical rhetoric and advocated social reform. The federal restructuring of the state was based on ancient peninsular or regional kingdoms and municipal autonomy. The belief was that federalism could bring an end to the war in Cuba and represent a foundation for understanding on the peninsula, including Portugal. This restructuring took shape in the Federal Tortosa Pact, which was signed on 18 May 1869 by the federalist forces of Catalonia, Aragon, Valencia and the Balearic Islands. Its prime movers were Valentí Almirall and  Josep Anselm Clavé. The pact’s signatories extolled the popular freedoms of the

48

Antoni Rovira i Virgili, Resum d’història del catalanisme (Barcelona: Magrana, 1983), p. 32.

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former territories of the Crown of Aragon and voiced demands for, and proclaimed themselves successors of, the historical struggle of their fellow inhabitants against tyranny: sabremos continuar nuestras gloriosas tradiciones liberales49 (“We shall continue our glorious liberal traditions”). The political dynamics of this six-year period resulted in the overthrow of Amadeu I of Savoy and the proclamation of a republic on 11 February 1873, one month after intransigent Catalan federalists had tried to proclaim a Catalan state from the provincial council of Barcelona in order to make the Spanish republic federal and not unitary. Pi i Margall, Valentí Almirall and Estanislau Figueras succeeded in easing tensions, but the Republic was short-lived.

6. Bourbon Restoration and Vindications of the Catalan Constitutional Past (1876-1878) From the outset, the new regime installed by Cánovas del Castillo demonstrated the will to lay down the foundations of a liberal national state that would be centralised and have openly homogenising intentions. One of the regime’s challenges was to bring an end to military insurrectionism and political meddling. The peaceful changeover of government between the two main parties, reconciliation between the Crown and more liberal sectors and the participation of Catholics in political life, with a corresponding and gradual distancing from Carlism, were among its primary achievements. It should be stressed that elections featured irregular mechanisms that alienated the electorate from the political system and that they were affected by the network of local bosses that stretched across the entire state. However, as experts have underscored, this was not a “stigma” or feature unique

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The text of the Tortosa Pact appears in: José Antonio González, Federalisme i autonomia a Catalunya (1868-1938) (Barcelona: Curial, 1974), pp. 436-441. For more on Catalan republicanism, see: Àngel Duarte, Història del republicanisme a Catalunya (Lleida-Vic: Pagès Editors-Eumo Editorial, 2004); Josep Pich, Valentí Almirall i el federalisme intransigent (Catarroja: Afers, 2006). Also: Valentí Almirall, Obra complete, 2 vols., Josep M. Figueras, ed. (Barcelona: Institut d’Estudis Catalans, 2009), vol. 1.

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solely to Restoration Spain50. Indeed, democratic representation was practically non-existent in Europe during the period and cronyism, distortions of the truth and election rigging were widely practiced. Cánovas del Castillo, the mastermind of the new political regime, presided over the Real Academia de la Historia and he wasted no time in using the role of this institution to manage the national past and formulate interpretations aimed at legitimising the standardising policies pursued by the new model of the state. In reality, this aim of the academy harked back to the eighteen-sixties. However, it was during the Restoration that the institution became the nerve centre for the cultural articulation between power and Spanish society51. At first, the royal academies were some of the main centres used by supporters of the Bourbon Restoration in order to build consensus around the cause of Alfonso XII. Subsequently they proceeded to disseminate a revival of the past underpinning a discourse that favoured strengthening the centralising and unitary state. Efforts to draft the constitutional charter became crucial, because it was necessary to lay the groundwork for the development of the national liberal model of the state. In July 1876, shortly after the publication of the Constitution, the abolition of Basque chartered rights confirmed the standardising intentions of the new rulers. There was no lack of voices interpreting their abolition as retaliation for the strong backing that Carlism had received in the Basque lands in the last war and, in a larger context, as an attempt to treat the peninsula’s historical past as a tabula rasa, erasing its distinctive cultural and legal characteristics. In response to these centralist approaches and reinterpretations of the past with a Castilian bias, there was regionalist input from various corners of Spain’s territory. In Catalonia, prominent contributions were made by 50

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Manuel Suárez, La España liberal: 1868-1917: política y sociedad (Madrid: Síntesis, 2006); Manuel Suárez, Las máscaras de la libertad. El liberalismo español 18081950 (Madrid: Marcial Pons, 2003); Carlos Dardé, La aceptación del adversario. Política y políticos en la Restauración 1875-1900 (Madrid: Biblioteca Nueva, 2003); José Varela, coord., El poder de la influencia. Geografía del caciquismo en España (1875-1923) (Madrid: Centro de Estudios Constitucionales-Marcial Pons Historia, 2001). Ignacio Peiró, Los guardianes de la historia. La historiografía académica de la Restauración (Saragossa: Instituto Fernando el Católico, 1995); Ignacio Peiró, Gonzalo Pasamar, La Escuela Superior de Diplomática (los archiveros en la historiografía española contemporánea) (Madrid: Anabad, 1996).

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Josep Coroleu and Josep Pella i Forgas, who published works which defended the modernity of Catalonia’s medieval institutions along the lines of the ideas put forward by Víctor Balaguer, but they made use of a scrupulous, scientific methodology. If Josep Coroleu (1839-1895) was a journalist with a bohemian past and a deep vocation for historical research, Josep Pella i Forgas (1852-1918) was then a young lawyer52. In two works of great relevance like Las Cortes Catalanas (1876) and Los Fueros de Cataluña (1878), Coroleu and Pella took up the challenge to elucidate the Catalan medieval past in an entertaining fashion and to show that it was still valid. They devoted the first work to explaining the sessions of Barcelona’s Parliament and drawing analogies between its operation and contemporary parliaments, emphasising that many countries, particularly England, enjoyed continuity between the institutions of their medieval estates and their modern parliamentary assemblies. In Los Fueros de Cataluña, the two authors collected and systematised the Catalan legislative past (e.g., charters and chapter assemblies) and they presented it as a modern constitution broken down into ninety-seven articles, gathered in five sections. Once again, they offered a “liberal” reading of this past intended to inspire political undertakings in the present. The work of Coroleu and Pella represented a milestone in the revival of Catalan society’s interest in the legal history of the country or, put another way, in the history of Catalan freedoms. Their output, which owed a debt to Balaguer’s interpretations of the history of the Principality, played an important role in providing an essential structure for the political thought of the period. In addition, the scrupulous methodology of their writing, with its debunking of myths and its scientific use of sources, found favour among readers and contributed to the legitimacy of historicist political discourse. These studies, which celebrated the rights and constitutions of the Catalan-Aragonese past, its political institutions and its shared freedoms, constituted a repertoire that had an influence on and coexisted with other commonplaces of Catalan Romantic nationalism. In other words, these assertions about the Principality’s ante litteram constitution could be read, as mentioned earlier, as an expression of civic or republican patriotism, since it sought to inspire love of the political institutions and values that stood 52

For biographies of these two figures, see: Giovanni C. Cattini, Historiografia i catalanisme. Josep Coroleu i Inglada (1839-1895) (Catarroja: Afers, 2007); Lluís Costa, Josep Pella i Forgas i el catalanisme (Barcelona: Rafael Dalmau, 1997).

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behind the shared freedoms of the Catalan people. Unsurprisingly, in those same years, other currents of republican thought also pressed claims about the Catalan past, with its struggles for freedom, to explain their own historical roots. One obvious example is the study by Rodríguez Solis on republicanism in Spain53.

7. The Politicisation of the Catalan Nationalist Movement and the Continuation of the Medievalist Discourse (1886-1898) The history of contemporary Catalonia reached a turning point in the eighteen-eighties, when the Catalan nationalist movement, whose demands had been almost exclusively cultural up to that point, entered into a spiral of increasing politicisation. This was possible because of the crisis, in Catalonia, of the two major Spain-wide parties and their inability to influence the policies of Spanish governments, which pursued campaigns of legal standardisation that threatened the continued existence of Catalan civil law on the one hand and, on the other hand, promoted freetrade measures that threw the Catalan textile industry into crisis. Against this backdrop, the milestones of the movement were: the organisation of two Catalan nationalist congresses (1880 and 1882-83); the creation of the Centre Català (1882)54, a political organisation that ran candidates at the legislative elections of 1886, but obtained no representation; and the delivery of the Memorial de Greuges (1885) to Alfonso XII, a declaration of Catalonia’s grievances and demands. In this context, the leading figure and driving force behind the discourse and the practices of the Catalan nationalist movement was Valentí Almirall (1841-1904), formerly a federalist republican who, as we have seen earlier, had been highly active in the Glorious Revolution and its aftermath. Prominent among Almirall’s works were Lo Catalanisme (1886), the first major written doctrine of the Catalan nationalist movement. In his 53

54

Enrique Rodríguez, Historia del partido republicano español: de sus propagandistas, de sus tribunos, de sus héroes y de sus mártires, 2 vols. (Madrid: Imp. Fernando Cao and Domingo del Val, 1892-1893). Josep Pich, El Centre Català (Catarroja: Afers, 2002).

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book, Almirall lays the scientific foundations for the Principality’s claims, as well as practical solutions to resolve how Catalonia fit within Spain. In keeping with his federalist past, Almirall took the view precisely that asymmetric federalism was the tool that could resolve the frictions between Catalonia and the capital of the state. He viewed this solution as possible within either a republican system or a monarchy. Nevertheless, Almirall reclaimed the Catalan constitutional past of the Middle Ages and spelled out the need to restore the Parliament of Catalonia with its own legislative power. He envisaged a Catalan parliament selected by indirect universal suffrage. That is, the Catalan chamber should be formed equitably of individuals previously chosen by district representatives, by members of local government and, lastly, by direct suffrage. In this context, he again drew on the liberal side of the Catalan constitutional past much as the previously discussed authors. Almirall’s dominance in the Catalan nationalist movement slumped precisely at the critical juncture of 1886, when his leadership was thrown into question by various figures in the movement, particularly university students grouped around the Centre Escolar Catalanista. After a number of accusations were fired back and forth, this dissident sector (around 40% of the membership) withdrew from the Centre Català and formed La Lliga de Catalunya, a name with clear overtones from the Irish cause55. However, if a liberal-minded use of the medieval past was a constant feature of Catalan progressivism, conservative sectors also turned to the Middle Ages for the roots of Catholic social cohesion, which guildbased society appeared to offer. Notable, for example, is the output of Enric Prat de la Riba (1870-1917)56, one of the most prominent figures 55

56

Jordi Llorens, La Unió Catalanista i els orígens del catalanisme polític (Barcelona: Publicacions de l’Abadia de Montserrat, 1992); Jordi Llorens, La Lliga de Catalunya i el Centre Escolar Catalanista. Dues associacions del primer catalanisme polític (Barcelona: Rafael Dalmau, 1996). For more on Prat de la Riba: Jordi Casassas, “Enric Prat de la Riba: la tenacitat d’un estratega”, Història del pensament polític català del segle XVIII a mitjan segle XX, Albert Balcells, ed. (Barcelona: Edicions 62, 1988), pp. 179-192; Manuel Pérez, Prat de la Riba: nacionalisme i formació d’un estat català (Barcelona: Base, 2007); Giovanni C. Cattini, Prat de la Riba i la historiografia catalana (Catarroja: Afers, 2008). Recently, Prat’s medievalism has been revisited by: Maximiliano Fuentes, “Continuïtat i ruptura en la construcció del nacionalisme català en el tombant de segle: la Catalunya medieval en Prat de la Riba i Eugeni d’Ors”, Projectes nacionals,

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in Catalan politics from the last decade of the nineteenth century to his death in 1917. From his first speeches at the Centre Escolar Catalanista (1889), to the Manresa Assembly (1892) or in the breviary he co-wrote with Pere Muntanyola, Compendi de Doctrina Catalanista (1895), he reclaimed medieval Catalonia as a period of national greatness; not only had it crystallised in the Catalan language and culture, but it had also forged the institutions of self-government whose spirit needed to be revived. In accordance with this framework, the Generalitat had safeguarded Catalan constitutions and freedoms, while Parliament held constituent and legislative power. In addition, Prat’s style of conservatism idealised the medieval guilds for their function in providing social cohesion. These reflections, which were central to Prat’s thinking, were adapted pragmatically to the unfolding of events when, after the crisis of 1898, the Catalan nationalist wing of conservatism decided to take part in the elections and, from 1901, gradually became one of the main groups on the Catalan political scene, along with the republicans. The modernisation of Catalan society rendered medievalising nostalgia and restoration of ancient practices (such as suffrage by guild and so forth) unworkable. By contrast, however, the historical and cultural legacy of the medieval past and ancient constitutionalism, so pervasive throughout the nineteenth century, was ultimately put to service in the defence of Catalan autonomy.

identitats i relacions Catalunya-Espanya. Homenatge al doctor Pere Anguera, 2 vols. Ramon Arnabat, Antoni Gavaldà, eds. (Catarroja: Afers, 2012), vol. 2, pp. 451-460.

Historical Reference in the 19th Century Portuguese Discourse Maria da Conceição Meireles Pereira Universidade do Porto and Centro de Estudos da População, Economia e Sociedade (CEPESE)

The issue described above is so vast and complex that the need to define its exact scope is required. As to what time references are concerned, the focus falls on the second and third quarters of the 19th century in Portugal with one or other referenced at the beginning and end of the century. Regarding the historical discourse, it is wide-ranging and encompasses different genres. Resorting systematically to History was an ethical and aesthetical imperative of romanticism as well as a strategy to anchor the nationalistic ethos, a propaganda vehicle of the nation-state inspired in the liberal and romantic historicism. Las metodologías y los soportes teóricos [de la historia] fluyen sin fronteras dentro de Europa por encima de las adscripciones nacionales de los autores […]. Pero sobre todo, la historia se escribe desde coordenadas liberales – léase también románticas  – y nacionales, lo que condiciona los temas de estudio predominantes […]. Y, lógicamente, la hegemonía del tema nacional, la historia nacional propiamente dicha, que nace como expresión de la nueva realidad social política1. The methodologies and theoretical support [of history] flow without borders within Europe over the national affiliations of the authors […]. But above all, history is written from liberal coordinates – see also romantic – and national, which conditions prevailing topics of study […]. And, of course, the issue of national hegemony, national history itself, which was created as an expression of the new social and political reality.

The close relation of the historiographical writings with social and political conditions generates a new conception of history, based on the 1

Paloma Cirujano, Teresa Elorriaga, Juan Sisinio Pérez, Historiografía y Nacionalismo Español (Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 1985), pp. 1-2.

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democratization of its distribution, progressively becoming a subject taken in by the general public. After electing the people as a political asset of national history, and the whole historical process, and identifying the citizens with the characteristics of an indestructible country, romantic history multiplied its receivers; therefore, historical booklets were edited with political purpose, the past was systematized in the form of manuals for the three levels of education2. Analysing the past/present dialectic, Jacques Le Goff recalls all of the issue raised by Hobsbawm in his approach of the “social role of the past” as well as the theory of François Châtelet who showed that the past and present can be seen as identical, and with different categories, which means that, what is not contemporary cannot be identified with what is not factual. He also emphasized that the lessons of the past also refer to the notion of uniqueness between the past and present, and that history should use scientific methods to study the past, considered as real and decisive. To this past are given present day features in order that, any of its meaningful discourse may estabelecer claramente por que razão – em função de quais documentos e testemunhos – ele dá, de uma dada sucessão de acontecimentos, uma versão e não outra3 (“clearly identify the reason why – according to specific documents and sources – it conveys, for a given sequence of events, a specific version and not another”). In the 19th century, pedagogy of the past was shed on the various genres of literary creation, from drama to poetry, novel to novella, personal essay to newspaper serial, essay to textbooks, including the politically biased historical booklets. These, as well as the “literary” texts published in periodicals from all over the country, were the favoured means of disseminating information and public opinion making, Apart from these, history (textbooks) and school textbooks are the main sources of this study. From this vast realm of unsealed borders, arises a political intention of bringing forth facts and people of the past in such a way as to legitimate the present. Although historical fiction reached its literary peak with Herculano and Garrett, the resort to a national history education is apparent, especially throughout the 1860’s and 70’s by what one would 2 3

Paloma Cirujano, Teresa Elorriaga, Juan Sisinio Pérez, Historiografía y Nacionalismo Español…, pp. 18-19. Jacques Le Goff, “Passado/Presente”, Memória-História, Enciclopédia Einaudi, 39 vols. (Lisbon: Imprensa Nacional-Casa da Moeda, 1984), vol. 1, pp. 300-301.

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call historical fiction essays, in order to answer the call of the country or Peninsula, whenever needed. The press was a solid stepping stone on disseminating the fondness for historiographical prose saving a section in the paper. Magazines often gave such items away to subscribers as gifts, but they mostly took their place as newspaper serials. France gave birth to this phenomenon, as René Guise explains, in newspapers such as the Journal des Débats, La Presse and Le Siècle, making the magazine growing ever so dependent on its roman-feuilleton. Stepping at first on politically neutral grounds, the newspaper serial grows more political, as it follows the developments of the political and ideological press. Fertile ground for predication and instruction, the newspaper serial has contributed to the people’s education by turning political, ideological and social principles and ideas into common terms, and foreshadowing certain points of view4. One should note that the historiographical discourse produced in Portugal by then, immensely reflected the great Iberian issue – the Iberian doctrine and its dispute and manipulation – that took over the country, its political strategy, public opinion and shared imagination. Portugal is often represented as a peninsular periphery, while the centre  – Castile  – is known for its voracity towards the territory that proudly wore out its centuries-old autonomy. The chosen times to show the contrast on the statement of independence towards Castile’s centrality are the crises of nationality and its widened historical context: the 1383-1385 period and the sixty years (1580-1640) that the Habsburgs were assigned to rule in Portugal, with preference to the latter. Let us focus on some examples starting by two issues chosen by Diário de Notícias (Lisbon) to be given away as gifts to their subscribers (1875 and 1878). The Legend of the Ruins is an example of this hybrid genre that became common, crossing historical methodology with biography contributions, speech techniques of the novel with political judgments of journalism. In this historical narrative, Eduardo Coelho dealt with the mythical figure of Nuno Álvares and the political crisis of the 14th century using anachronisms that made the concerns of the moment come to light. Thus, the marriage between Beatrice of Portugal and the king of Castile celebrated the “treaty of the Iberian union”, dubbed the streets cries “festival for 4

René Guise, “Le roman-feuilleton et la vulgarisation des idées politiques et sociales sous na Monarchie de Juillet”, Romantisme et Politique (1815-1851) (Paris: Armand Colin, 1969), pp. 316-328.

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the Castilian queen” as a sort of national suicide and showed the image of the sovereign neighbour invading Portugal raising a bandeira ibérica, na qual apareciam os escudos de armas dos dois povos, sendo o de Portugal,  – vede esta síntese significativa – meio escondido por detrás do de Castela5 (“the Iberian flag, with the coat of arms of both peoples, where the Portuguese one, – note this significant detail – appeared half hidden behind the Castilian one”). On the other hand, Mestre de Avis’s life story was used by Pinto d’Almeida in a “novel founded on history”, naming the Spanish rival as “damned Castilian” and perro (ironically using the Spanish word for dog)6. Under the title A Renascença e o Mosteiro da Batalha (“The Renaissance and the Batalha Monastery”), Lopes de Mendonça published, in a Lisbon magazine, an essay that intended to show that modern monarchy begun taking shape with John I, a time that could have been the prelude of democratic and representative royalty if the arrogance of the State and of the Church had not put the country to slumber for three centuries. Those days were engulfed in various legends (for instance, the female baker of Aljubarrota and the armourer of Santarém), legendas em que […] revelam realmente o sentimento nacional, e as generosas aspirações dessa revolução popular, que firmou a nossa independência em nome do direito social7 (“legends that […] truly revealed the national feeling and the generous wishes of this popular revolution that made our independence set root on behalf of the social right”). Aljubarrota was also the title of a volume of one collection meant for the enlightenment of the general public, stating Pinheiro Chagas that povo que assim afirmava a sua autonomia, não podia ver o seu nome riscado da lista das nações independentes8 (“people who assure its autonomy like this, could not be crossed off the list of independent nations”). The topic on conflicts and parallels between the Spanish and the Portuguese in the 1400’s made headlines in various newspaper serials of

5 6 7 8

Eduardo Coelho, A Lenda das Ruínas. Narrativa extraída da crónica do Condestável (Lisbon: Tip. Universal, 1875), pp. 89, 91 and 92. Carlos Pinto d’Almeida, Mestre d’Avis (Romance fundado sobre a História) (Lisbon: Tip. Universal, 1878), p. 105. Lopes de Mendonça, “A Renascença e o Mosteiro da Batalha”, Revista Contemporânea de Portugal e Brasil, 2 (1860), p. 13. Pinheiro Chagas, Aljubarrota (Lisbon: Lucas & Filho Editores, 1874), p. 122.

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the time. An example of this is that of Guerras entre Portugal e Castela no século XIV (“Wars between Portugal and Castile in the 14th century”), by Ribeiro Gonçalves, published in the newspaper A Crença; 14 de Agosto de 1385 (“14th August, 1385”), by Costa Pereira, edited in Viriato; D. João I de Castela é vencido na batalha de Aljubarrota (“John I of Castile is defeated at the Battle of Aljubarrota”), made known by the Português; and D. Afonso XI de Castela e D. Afonso IV de Portugal ganham aos mouros a batalha do Salado (“Afonso XI of Castile and Afonso IV of Portugal defeat the Moors at the Battle of Salado”), by Rodrigues Cordeiro, published in the Tribuno Popular. Andrade Ferreira illustrated this topic with three historical narratives: Batalha de Aljubarrota (“Battle of Aljubarrota”); Casos da Vida do Condestável  D. Nuno Álvares Pereira (“Episodes of the Life of the Constable D. Nuno Alvares Pereira”); Duas Épocas Notáveis da História Portuguesa: Batalha de Alcácer-Quibir e Revolução de 1640 (“Two remarkable facts of the Portuguese History: the Battle of Alcazarquivir and the Revolution of 1640”)9. The approach made to such topics is accomplished by a pilgrimage along the sacred places inside the memories of the homeland, symbols of victory and national self-assertion: a monastery, a shovel, or a sidewalk paved with the enemy’s skulls and bones. The virtue of patriotism is celebrated with the forefathers in order to instruct the young: O temível poder de Castela veio sobre nós, e contudo nada pôde contra o ânimo patriótico deste povo, porque, se […] o lustre das quinas portuguesas se viu obumbrado pela sombra do Leão de Castela, a mancha foi bem lavada por vinte e cinco anos de combates, em que a bandeira portuguesa sempre tremulou como emblema de vitória. […] Portugal, manietado por alguns bastardos vis, sentiu nos pulsos os ferros do cativeiro, mas não ajoelhou a seus opressores, nem sucumbiu. […] É esta a sorte das grandes causas: podem atraiçoá-las, mas não pervertê-las10. The dreadful power of Castile came upon us; however, nothing could stop the patriotic spirit of this people because, if […] the glitter of the Portuguese shields with bezants was clouded by the shadow of the Lion of Castile, the blemish was properly cleansed with twenty five years of battle fighting, where the Portuguese flag waved as a victory emblem. […] Portugal, bound by some vile bastards, felt the iron of

9 10

José Maria Andrade Ferreira, Literatura, Música e Belas-Artes (Lisbon: Rolland & Semiond, 1872), vol. 2, pp. 89-101, 103-128 and 129-151. José Maria Andrade Ferreira, Literatura, Música e Belas-Artes..., vol. 2, p. 151.

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Maria da Conceição Meireles Pereira captivity in the wrists, but did not bow down or collapsed to the mercy of its oppressors. […] This is the fortune of great causes: you can fail them but not distort them.

According to what has been said, it was the long period between the Alcazarquivir misfortune and the establishment of the Braganza dynasty that, in this historical time fraction, made possible the most comprehensive and frequent thought about the Portuguese-Castilian relationship in newspapers and magazines, emphasising the parallels with the facts of the 1800’s. The moments of increased incidence amount to the four higher peaks of Iberian controversy in Portugal: I.

halfway through the century, upon the distribution of the first federalist republican newspapers and the work of Sinibaldo de Mas, A Ibéria, which advocated the peninsular monarchic union (Portuguese editions of 1852, 1853, 1855); also including in this decade the publishing of Iberian newspapers; II. the early sixties that mark the soaring Iberian advertising in Spain, and the creation of the 1st December Committee in Portugal to fight against those ideas; III. the time elapsing between 1866 and 1869, since the attempted overthrow of the Spanish queen Isabel II until its achievement, in 1868, and immediate outcomes; IV. the first half of the 1870’s, concerning the demand of a king for the Spanish throne as well as the installation and failure of the republican regime in Spain. More than half of these historical records strengthen the celebration of the 1st December, a special date that, since 1861, would most certainly make the newspaper headlines; many even produced special editions commemorating the event, some as gifts to their subscribers11. Others are newspaper articles addressing topics such as the rule under the Habsburgs and the consequent nationalist resistance, the 1640 revolution, the establishment of the Braganza dynasty with special focus on its founder and Afonso VI, and lastly, the war and diplomacy of the Restoration war.

11

Among others, one can refer newspapers as Crisálida (Coimbra: 1863), Rossi (Lisbon: 1869), Borboleta (Braga: 1876) and A Vigília (Porto: 1876).

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Nevertheless, a central figure also filled this historiographical prose which received the most negative representation: Sebastian I, whose character and political activity were portrayed as the cause for the political downfall that ended in the loss of independency. In his trilogy on the 16th century, Pereira Lobato emphasised the impetuous and stormy character of this monarch12 whom he often named “crazy” or “the lunatic of Alcazarquivir”, reminding us that the “mistakes made by his tutors”13 dug his grave in battle. This notion of historical breakdown is also present in the work of a scholar of the legends of Sebastian I, the diplomat Miguel d’Antas who stated that the dynasty founded John the Victorious went off at Alcazarquivir with Sebastian the Defeated14. Regretting the temporary blackout of the Portuguese nationality in the 16th and 17th centuries, this counsellor of the Portuguese legation in France gave reasons to the somewhat successful frauds of King Sebastian legends, explaining that the credit they obtained in the country was the manifestation of a repressed national instinct as well as the fear for foreign yoke15. Sales Loureiro stressed that Antas had well perceived the refusal of Portugal on facing the king’s demise and this is why the myth rooted in the belief of the homeland’s redemption helped the Portuguese spirit to rise again from bowing down to the extortion of the Philips of Spain16. We might perhaps say that the most striking journalistic series about the misfortune of King Sebastian was Portugal Cativo (“Captive Portugal”), by Eduardo Coelho, published in the Diário de Notícias, between 1st December, 1868 and 20th January of the following year. The traditional plot, from the ill-advised impetuousness of the young sovereign to the Escorial intrigue, produced a text of cautious resistance to the yet mysterious plans of the recent Spanish revolution in September 1868.

12 13 14 15 16

Manuel Pereira Lobato, Os Fidalgos do Coração de Ouro. Crónica do reinado de D. Sebastião, 2 vols. (Lisbon: Lucas & Filho Editores, 1874). Manuel Pereira Lobato, A Queda dum Gigante. Romance original do século XVI (Lisbon: Lucas & Filho Editores, 1875), pp. 7 and 268. Miguel d’Antas, Les Faux Don Sébastien. Étude sur l’Histoire de Portugal (Paris: Auguste Durand Libraire, 1866), p. 2. Miguel d’Antas, Les Faux Don Sébastien… p. 5. Miguel d’Antas, Os Falsos D. Sebastião, Sales Loureiro, ed. (Lisbon: Heuris, 1984), p. 32.

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Among these fables, the most notorious one was the Pasteleiro do Madrigal that gave way to the Rei ou Impostor (“King or Impostor”) by José de Torres, originally published as a newspaper serial and, in 1856, it was also published in a journal from the capital – A Pátria. This tale would come to be part of the collection Lendas Peninsulares where the references to the Iberian issue are not treated lightly, as it could be expected from the editor of O Progresso (1854-1856), one of the press bodies that most resolutely stood up for the Iberian doctrine. Despite the author’s claims that there was no political intention in this book, the prose cannot detach itself from an Iberian philosophy, as it can be seen in the reflections displayed in the tale Brazão d’Elvas, with the river Caia in the background, where “one is neither in Spain nor in Portugal, but in the peninsula”, where one feels “great bitterness, contemplating the detrimental effects from the lack of unity of what God joined together in natural and moral conditions, and what the ambitions and passions of men, influences of impolitic times kept separated”17. The “impolitic times” mentioned is the centralizing monarchic absolutism which supposedly stopped the success of the dual monarchy in the Peninsula, as stated in another tale: Eram maus também esses tempos, mas ainda as recordações de nossos recentes feitos gloriosos, na descoberta e na conquista, podiam servir a temperar com a esperança a amargura das lágrimas arrancadas pelas perdas de Alcácer-Quibir, e pela infausta e impolítica opressão de Castela, que jogava aos dados da cobiça e da deslealdade a nossa escravidão e a sua tirania recrescente. Que coisas as de então! Se o espírito delas, animado por tão gerais exemplos assumisse outras formas, e tomasse outra direcção, que de benefícios se não gozariam inda hoje, em resultado desses esforços edificantes!18 Those days were troubled also, but the memories of our recent glorious accomplishments, discovering and conquering, could bring hope to the bitter tears shed over the losses in Alcazarquivir and in the infamous and impolitic oppression of Castile that gambled our enslavement and their ever growing tyranny with the cards of greed and unfairness.

17 18

José de Torres, Lendas Peninsulares (Lisbon: Livraria de António Maria Pereira, 1861), vol. 1, p. 93. José de Torres, Lendas Peninsulares..., vol. 1, pp. 165-166.

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Those were the days! If the spirit of those days cheered by such general examples took other forms and other directions, such benefits could we still have today as a result of those uplifting efforts!

This point in the history of the Peninsula had already been under study by this Azorean writer, who, in 1855, was preparing a major work about the Prior of Crato and Philip II of Castile – the two main pretenders to the throne of Portugal, at the end of the 16th century –, resulting from fourteen years of research in national and foreign archives19. Moreover, Philip II has become a recurring figure in Portuguese historical literature, generally depicted as a character with a perfidious nature, also known as “midday devil”, and as the responsible for the illegitimate annexation of Portugal. In this respect, it should be noted the comprehensive anonymous historical essay published in the bi-weekly newspaper Tasso in 1869 (from January to October) under the evocative title: Mostrase e prova-se evidentemente a injustiça com que el-rei D. Filipe de Castela se apossou indevidamente do reino de Portugal (“One can show and prove clearly the injustice with which Philip II of Castile wrongfully took possession of the kingdom of Portugal”). Likewise, the text O Esquife dum Rei de Espanha (“The coffin of a Spanish King”) published in the newspaper Mocidade, evoked the figure which Garrett called, in his work Camões, “the disloyal double-crosser from Escorial”. This also anonymous study examined the son of Charles V under a religious and political point of view, portraying him in the first aspect as “the statue chiselled by the Inquisition”, because “what tarnishes Philip’s character is his excessive religious intolerance and extreme fanaticism”. Furthermore, the evaluation on his political personality was not less dark: Filipe II se não tinha o valor e audácia de Carlos V, possuía em grau subido a astúcia, e um certo negrume de carácter, que alguma gente chama rigidez, e outra hipocrisia. A sua política era a política da sombra. O seu rosto taciturno era a imagem do seu governo. Caminhava a ocultas como o réptil. O que seu antecessor fazia pela espada, obrava ele com o ouro e com a intriga. A sua estrada era a das trevas20.

19 20

So it was noticed by the newspaper O Progresso (Lisbon), 21th June 1855, but never published. “O Esquife dum Rei de Espanha”, Mocidade (Porto), June 1867, pp. 6-8.

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Maria da Conceição Meireles Pereira If Philip II did not have the bravery and audacity of Charles V, he did have a high level of shrewdness and a certain bitter streak that some called stiffness and others hypocrisy. His policy was a shady one. His taciturn face was his government’s image. He slithered in the shadows. What his predecessor achieved by sword, he obtained with gold and intrigue. His path was thus tainted.

The disorientation, corruption and government failure of the country in the 1578-1580 crisis was the topic of a newspaper serial published in 1867 in O Distrito, entitled D. Cristóvão de Portugal filho de D. António Prior do Crato (“D. Cristobal of Portugal son of D. Antonio Prior of Crato”). A fresh and memorable work on the matter came out that same year, from the hand of Oliveira Martins who chose as the main character a prosecutor elected by the city council of Lisbon to be part of the Cortes of Almeirim in 1580, an unbending champion of the national independency cause – Febo Moniz. Drawn up between May 1866 and October 1867, this novel is considered to have a “political aim” and “a wake-up call against Portugal being absorbed by Spanish policies coming from the Napoleonic Empire”21. This “political aim” was immediately accepted by the Portuguese society of the time, as is shown in several texts by Mendes Leal and Luciano Cordeiro, published in several Portuguese and Brazilian newspapers. Cordeiro called Febo Moniz a giant in the Cardinal-King’s era, before Portugal fall prey to the “sinister and grotesque Philip of Castile”. Evocative terms were abundant in order to portray a character that was “the example that shows there is only one eternal and incorruptible thing in a nation: nationality.” The criticism expressed in the Final Comment is interesting: Cordeiro refused the democratic and federative formula that Martins supported, though the writings of Hegel, Proudhon and others had spread the federal republican tendency, mainly among the young Coimbra generation of the 1860’s. The History of Portugal in the era between Sebastian I and John IV’s children particularly stroke Camilo Castelo Branco who wrote important texts for over thirty years. In 1868 he published As Virtudes Antigas (“The Old Virtues”) that covered the story of the Frade que fazia Reis (“The

21

Francisco d’Assis Oliveira Martins, “O Iberismo de Oliveira Martins”, Febo Moniz. Romance Histórico Português do Século XVI (Lisbon: Guimarães Editores, 1988), p. 10.

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Friar that made Kings”), in which Friar Miguel dos Santos, preacher of Catherine of Austria and Sebastian I and confessor of Antonio Prior of Crato, was the main character. The story unfolds around the actions he took to support national independence, backing the prior of Crato’s faction and even in the making of the phony Sebastian I as Gabriel de Espinosa. Lengthening in time, the story is completed in an appendix of Virtudes Antigas, under the title A Filha do Pasteleiro do Madrigal (“The Daughter of the Madrigal’s Pastryman”). The interest Camilo took for the prior of Crato and his descendants came later on, but it was not minor; Alexandre Cabral reminds us that such commitment dated from 1875, when he lived in Coimbra, gathering “evidence to draw the true biography of the prior of Crato, which he also intended to entitle D. António, given that the writer was interested in the historic period of the Restoration rather earlier than that”22. Although the project fell, something was brought to light from this. In 1879, he published the Estudos para a Formação do Livro D. António, Prior do Crato e seus Descendentes (“Studies for the Book  D. Antonio Prior of Crato and his Descendants”) and in 1883 was edited D. Luís de Portugal Neto do Prior do Crato. Quadro Histórico 1601-1660 (“D. Louis of Portugal, Prior’s of Crato grandson. Historical Table”), that enclosed twenty documents, the majority of which taken from the correspondence between Louis of Portugal and his wife Ana Galeoti. Let us also remember his novel written in1867, O Senhor do Paço de Ninães (“The Lord of the Palace of Ninães”) that, in a simultaneously fictional and documented fashion (note the wealth of historical sources used), he readdressed the feat of Alcazarquivir, the actions taken by Antonio Prior of Crato and of some of his entourage, and the earliest times of the Habsburgs reign in Portugal. His obsession for the story of the Restoration compelled him to the reading of countless historical documents, producing an extensive and thick prose, between the historical narrative and the novel, that is, a mix of historical facts and emotive plots. An example of this is Luta de Gigantes (“Fight of Giants”), published in 1865 in the Comércio do Porto newspaper serial, describing the hatred of two rival families in the middle of the

22

Alexandre Cabral, Dicionário de Camilo Castelo Branco (Lisbon: Caminho, 1989), p. 372.

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war against Castile, where those two parties even “foolishly – when faced with their irreconcilable hatred –, endanger their homeland’s liberty”. Also on the intricacies of the independence and treason issues, the historical novel O Regicida (“The Regicide”) (1874) unfolds a plot whose main focus is João IV, forming a trilogy with A Filha do Regicida (“The Regicide’s Daughter”) (1875), and A Caveira da Mártir (“The Skull of the Martyr”) (1875-76), that deals with the events that took place in Portugal in the 17th and 18th centuries, which has conventionally been regarded as vendetta against the Braganza dynasty for refusing Camilo’s aristocratic title thrice23. In the monthly newspaper Noites de Insónia (1874) his criticism is also corrosive, fierce and direct. From the general picture of the literature of the time, the figure of an adulterous, lecherous, disloyal, leader of the rabble, lacking principles and honour, John IV really comes out blemished (even in 1847, in the drama Agostinho de Ceuta, the author tackled the monarch’s monastic love life), whilst, in general, prose and poetry glorified the attributes of the restorer of national independence. At times, more or less fictionalized characters were chosen to symbolize the dedication to the national cause weaved with deep-seated hatred against Castile’s despotic shackles. Thus goes the work of Franco de Castro – D. Alvar de Zuñiga. Factos do reinado de Filipe III em Portugal – a tale about a Portuguese aristocratic woman who shows contempt for a marriage with a Castilian nobleman, choosing to wed a Portuguese instead. The newspaper serials of Mendes Leal Como um Povo Surge! and Amostra de um grande dia (“As a people arises” and “A Great Day”), both giving accounts on the Restoration, a topic the author had previously addressed in poetry and drama, suggested him the following words that show the common fear, at the time, of insulting Spain, as a high number of writings about the neighbouring country were unflattering: Sabe o autor que os ódios e rancores do seculo XVII entre os habitantes dos dois reinos peninsulares são hoje condenados por todos os homens esclarecidos de um e outro país; sabe que num e noutro só os alimentam os ignorantes e fanáticos, sabe que são incompatíveis com as ideias de fraternal civilização; sabe enfim que o amor da pátria nem se prova nem se estimula com estas paixões brutais e agressivas, que

23

Alexandre Cabral, Dicionário de Camilo Castelo Branco..., pp. 373-374 and 554.

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podem sem nenhum proveito despenhar-nos em precipícios. Não teve portanto o mínimo intuito de ressurgir as rivalidades mortas24. The author knows that the hatred and bitterness of the 17th century between the two peninsular kingdoms are nowadays condemned by all enlightened men from both countries; he knows that in both, hatred is only fuelled by the ignorant people and fanatics, he knows it is incompatible with the ideas of brotherly civility; finally, he knows that the love for our homeland is not proven or inspired with brutal and aggressive emotions that can throw us in an abyss with no good done. Thus, he did not have the least intention to bring to surface dead rivalries.

The writer and journalist from Porto, Coelho Lousada, also used his city as the setting ground for the writing of his novel A Rua Escura (“The Dark Street”) whose plot takes place during the breaking out of a riot, led by the Portuguese women spinners (motim das maçarocas), due to the tax on the linen enforced by Francisco de Lucena, Council secretary of Philip IV, focussing issues of acceptance and rejection of the conceited Spanish occupiers. However, the figures of the Duke of Braganza and the forty conspirators have systematically been the focus of attention, embodying the stereotype of the national supporter facing the Castilian oppression. Some newspaper serials stood out for the repeated intention of participating in the laudatory movement of the 1640 Restoration. This is the case of O Conimbricense. In 1860 the section Comemorações (“Commemorations”) included many texts on that matter, as for example: D. João IV. Restauração de Portugal. 1 de Dezembro de 1640 (“John IV. Restoration of Portugal. 1st December, 1640”), D. João I. Batalha de Aljubarrota (“John I. Battle of Aljubarrota”) by Fonseca Pinto, and Batalha do Ameixial. 8 de Junho de 1663 (“Battle of Ameixial. 8th June, 1663”) by Costa Alemão. The following year, the section Arqueologia, covered the topics of the Aclamação de D. João IV (“Acclamation of John IV”) and of the Restauração de Portugal (“Restoration of Portugal”), where the main responsible for the newspaper, Martins de Carvalho, recalled the six memorable battles against the Spanish (Montijo, Forte de  S. Miguel, Linhas de Elvas, Ameixial, Castelo Rodrigo e Montes Claros). From 1866, this newspaper serial took the general heading of Miscelâneas, and until 1868 published texts that addressed recurrent issues: Aclamação de  D. João 24

Mendes Leal, “Amostra de um grande dia”, Jornal do Comércio (1860), p. 1.

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IV em Coimbra; Portugal e a União Ibérica; Restauração de Portugal, among several others that mostly transcribed ancient documents, that intended to show how any kind of connection with Spain had always been despised by the true Portuguese. Thus, they reveal the list of the names of the Portuguese who were “traitors to Portugal”, and who accepted to bow down to Philip II of Spain, or depict the University of Coimbra’s involvement in the “patriotic task” of resisting Castile. Undoubtedly, the main purpose for unearthing historical documents was the indoctrination of anti-Iberian and anti-Castilian reaction, also present in school textbooks that similarly chose the Restoration era as a favourite subject of educating through history. On public interest grounds, mainly for the education of youth in primary schools, in 1803, Ferreira Lobo compiled the contributions of several authors on the acclamation of John IV. This work depicted the 1640 revolution as a respectable monument of History that decided the fate of the Nation and emphasised the oppressive character of the government of the captives. For instance, the Count Duke of Olivares “never lost a rebellion out of sight, because he was fully aware that the natural antagonism between these two nations would always make the Spanish dominion hateful in the Portuguese people’s eyes”25. This deep-seated negative vision of the Iberian dual monarchy is widespread in almost every book of the History of Portugal, published in the 1800’s. It presents the Restoration as an event of the utmost importance and superior political meaning, comparable only to the foundation of the nationality. Luís Midosi was the author of an accredit book “for the education of the youth and for school use”, published for the first time in 1843, and going for the 13th edition in 1870, which suggested an equally negative portrayal of the three Philips who ruled Portugal. The first was shown as a shrewd, proud, ungrateful, cruel man and lacking ability to govern the vast empire his father had left him; the second is seen as a superstitious monarch, feeble, negligent, underhanded, and ungrateful, with no political skill; as for the third, he is labelled as lazy, despotic, fanatic and snobbish26. 25 26

Roque Ferreira Lobo, História da Feliz Aclamação do Senhor Rei D. João o Quarto (Lisbon: Oficina de Simão Tadeu Ferreira, 1803), p. 95. Luís Francisco Midosi, Compêndio da História de Portugal para instrução da Mocidade e Uso da Escolas (Lisbon: Tip. G. M. Martins, 1843), pp. 62-65.

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In 1872, a work by Vilhena Barbosa, another equally successful schoolbook approved by the government, as in 1891 it reached its 9th edition. There, dismay and inertia were considered as the main reasons why Castile bound Portugal with chains. The anti-Iberian propaganda caused rivers of ink to flow on historiographical writings, which made education through history widely used, either through the editing of original texts, or through republishing as well as translating. When it comes to republishing, the anonymous booklet A Restauração de Portugal no 1º de Dezembro de 1640 is worth mentioning; aiming to remind the recovery of the rights and benefits of the Portuguese after the “menacing oppression that Fate brought upon us for sixty years”27, chose to take excerpts from the work Gabinete Histórico (17 volumes), by the friar chronicler Cláudio da Conceição, published from 1818 to 1831. Valdez also wrote about the Restoration topic using the teachings of several authors, making in 1868 a longer 2nd edition than the one he had published in 1861. The originality of this booklet is the opening topic that addresses the commitment of France, in Richelieu’s time, in reacting “against the unfair acts that gave the Portuguese crown to Philip II of Spain”28. A booklet by Moreira de Sá followed an identical path. After its first edition, the year Peter V died, was reedited in 1868 with the opinion of Rebelo da Silva and the approval of the General Council of Public Instruction. The primary education teacher explained that his work came out for the first time in 1861 and nesse ano, como infelizmente no presente, vogou muito, em limitadas e determinadas regiões, o pensamento da União Ibérica. […] Era o assunto nas praças e no íntimo das famílias29 (“in the same year, as unfortunately in the present year, the doctrine of the Iberian Union were more often than not frequent in certain defined areas. […] That was the general issue in the streets and at home”). Moreira de Sá admitted that the revitalization of that controversy was due to the sabre rattling by the Spanish press and the recent events in Madrid. As to the

27 28 29

A Restauração de Portugal, 1th December 1640, pp. 3-4. José Joaquim de Ascensão Valdez, Restauração de Portugal em 1640. Opúsculo extraído de vários auctores. (Lisbon: Tip. da Rua da Vinha, 1868), p. 5. António Francisco Moreira de Sá, O Dia 1º de Dezembro de 1640 ou Memória Histórica dos Sucessos em Portugal desde a Morte d’El-Rei D. Sebastião até à Feliz Aclamação de D. João IV (Lisbon: Tip. Portuguesa, 1868), pp. 5-6.

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contents of the booklet, its didactic quality is noteworthy which made it liable for primary school use, tracing, in summary form, the Portuguese history since the post-Alcazarquivir war downfall, to the success of the Restoration, in 1640. On the other hand, Domingues de Mendonça continued the translation of the History of Portugal by Henri Shaefer, considering the period from 1580 to 1640 as a break or gap of the “three usurpers”. In the work Quadros da História Portuguesa (“Portuguese History Frameworks”) of 1869, Silveira da Mota divided the History of Portugal into two great stages separated by the “burial of 1580”30, in which he blends the report taken on the past with given advice on the present, making an appeal to the Portuguese to drive back any such threats to the land they inherited as free men and where they should die as free men. In this context, as in many others, the historiographical discourse takes a propagandist role. History is shown as a school of virtue carrying a nationalistic message where national heroes are treasured, instilling devotion likely to be emulated. Thus, it does not come as a surprise the positive review it earned from the Gazeta Pedagógica that considered it a timely book, rendering the country and schools a great service. Mendes Leal presented it in the pages of the newspaper América as a precious contribution to people’s education. The historiographical works that Rebelo da Silva published in the 1860’s permanently etched the state of art regarding the knowledge and expressions of the reign of the Spanish kings and the 1640 revolution, specially the História de Portugal nos séculos XVII e XVIII (“History of Portugal 17th and 18th centuries”), which published five volumes from 1860 to 1871. Apart from readdressing the topic of illegitimacy under which the actions and pretensions of Philip II were based, the key point that runs throughout his writings focused in the Habsburgs dominance, as the reason why the moral, intellectuality and economy were annihilated. The historian Reis Torgal underlined that liberalism and republicanism, “due to their ideological motivation where political views were infused by nationalism and heroes, theories then in vogue, also created, in some way, their myths around Restoration”, and specified that the History

30

Inácio Francisco Silveira da Mota, Quadros de História Portuguesa (Lisbon: Tip. Franco-Portuguesa, 1869), pp. 6-7.

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by Rebelo da Silva, had been “drafted according to a certain ideological prejudice  – to provide scientific evidence, through historical background, about the mistake of the Iberian position, then supported in certain sectors”31. Borges de Macedo put the drafting of this work into context in his review-foreword of the republishing of the History by Rebelo da Silva, considering that “not many books exist that were the direct result of the pressing needs of their own time”, in other words, in an environment where the Iberian movement and the reaction to it urged and even polarized the attention of its peers32. In turn, Fidelino de Figueiredo did not withhold criticism of this work, pointing it out as as uma entusiástica apologia do nativismo nacionalista (“an enthusiastic praise to the nationalist nativism”), to which the author gave um carácter de patriotismo tão intenso, que o levou a proferir a frase seguinte, aliás bem imprópria de um historiador: Permita Deus que não sejam precisos novos prodígios para provar que nenhum povo perde a autonomia senão suicidado por suas mãos33 (“such a patriotic nature that led him to utter these improper words for a historian: may God permit that there is no need of new prodigies to prove that no people loses its autonomy except by its own hands”). The need to disclose the topic of illegitimacy and the tragic outcome of a dual Iberian monarchy grew over those years, both in a view for domestic reading as well as in a view to provide explanation to foreign public opinion. This is shown in the work by Rebelo da Silva, Invasion et Occupation du Royaume de Portugal en 1580, published in Paris (1864), which is the translation of the first part of his aforementioned History. This topic was simultaneously the support of an idea of nationality and an antidote to propaganda of the Iberian union through the screening of old ghosts that would cast a shadow over disguised aspirations.

31 32

33

Luís Reis Torgal, “A Restauração. Breves Reflexões sobre a sua Historiografia”, Revista de História das Ideias, 1 (1977), pp. 25-26. Jorge Borges de Macedo, “A História de Portugal nos séculos XVII e XVIII e o seu autor”, Rebelo da Silva, História de Portugal nos séculos XVII e XVIII (Lisbon: Imprensa Nacional, 1971), pp. 9-130. Fidelino Figueiredo, História da literatura romântica portuguesa (Lisbon: Livraria Clássica Editora de A. M. Teixeira, 1913), p. 277.

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The essay of literary history by Freire de Carvalho (1845) showed that the intrusion of the Spanish government caused times of mourning to Portuguese literature, giving the fact that this violent take over, followed by a long lasting and tyrannical domination, led to a “darkness of ignorance”, by which the Castilian bondage by mid 17th century, in coordination with the Jesuitical bondage until the middle of the next century, have shown the general overview of national literary annihilation.34 Oddly enough, this theory is resumed a quarter of a century later by Barros e Cunha in his work História da Liberdade em Portugal (“The History of Freedom in Portugal”), where the bonding of Jesuitism and the Inquisition to the Castilian’s purposes is clear: Os jesuítas, que tinham sido instrumentos da ambição de Castela aconselhando a D. Sebastião a jornada a África, ganharam vitória esplêndida quando o cardeal foi jurado rei pelos portugueses e, aproveitando-se da debilidade senil do monarca, corromperam a nobreza e o clero e prepararam a Filipe II a entrada triunfal que D. João I tinha sonhado séculos antes, mas que Aljubarrota lhe mostrou quão difícil era de realizar. O domínio de Castela acabou o que o fanatismo havia principiado. A nação já esmagada pela inquisição, corrompida pelos jesuítas, perdeu todo o sentimento de dignidade colectiva e de brio individual35. Jesuits who had been the tools working for the ambition of Castile, advising Sebastian his travel to Africa, won a splendid victory when the cardinal was acclaimed king by the Portuguese and, taking advantage over the monarch’s senile frailty, corrupted the nobility and clergy and prepared Philip II the triumphant entry John I had envisioned centuries before but which Aljubarrota had proven difficult to accomplish. The reign of Castile ended what fanaticism had begun. The nation already annihilated by Inquisition and corrupted by the Jesuits, lost all its feeling of collective dignity and individual pride.

Andrade Ferreira took a similar position, identifying the “Philips’ take over” with the Portuguese dramatic literature’s demise, which he related to the tyranny of the Inquisition and to the Jesuitical supervision, two factors

34

35

Francisco Freire de Carvalho, Primeiro Ensaio de História Literária de Portugal, desde a sua mais remota origem até o presente tempo (Lisbon: Tip. Rollandiana, 1845), pp. 127-129. João Gualberto de Barros e Cunha, História da Liberdade em Portugal (Lisbon: Tip. Universal, 1869), p. 10.

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he considered to have interfered more directly and harmfully in the expressions of the Portuguese thinking36. Furthermore, from the many clearly anti-Iberian books and serials, a lot of them used History as a deterrent element of the peninsular union. Considering that “in history the future reflects the past”, the editor Quintino Antunes asked Ribeiro de Sá a preface for the text of the conspirator of 1640 João Pinto Ribeiro, Usurpação, Retenção e Restauração de Portugal (“Usurpation, Retention and Restoration of Portugal”), which was thus republished in 1860, as part of a work which title leaves no room for doubt when it comes to its purpose: Brado aos Portugueses. Opúsculo Patriótico contra as Ideias da União de Portugal com a Espanha (“An outcry to the Portuguese. Patriotic booklet against the idea of uniting Portugal with Spain”). This booklet was not only the glorification of the 1640 accomplishment, but it also took the opportunity to compare the traitors and the promises of the 1500’s with the ones from then. Apart from underlining the grim results from the politics by the descendants of Charles V in the mainland and in the colonies, it also gave a reminder about Philip II when he “came for the cortes” in Portugal, which means, he came in a legal way. Beyond the sale success, this booklet was hailed by the press throughout the country, which was also common to all the anti-Iberian historiographical literature whose extensive excerpts were transcribed in a vast number of newspapers and magazines. The dispute of the Iberian propaganda justified through history had already been tried out a few months earlier by Teixeira de Vasconcelos in the 2nd volume of the collection Livros para o povo (“Books for the people”), a booklet approved by the Council for Public Instruction that came out under the title A Fundação da Monarquia Portuguesa. Narração Anti-Ibérica (“The Foundation of Portuguese Monarchy. An Anti-Iberian Narrative”), and which reading was recommended by Ribeiro de Sá in his preface, giving a reminder that “it has been unusually sought for”37.

36 37

José Maria Andrade Ferreira, Literatura, Música e Belas-Artes..., vol. 2, pp. 153-165 and 167-182. Ribeiro de Sá, Brado aos Portugueses. Opúsculo Patriótico contra as Ideias da União de Portugal com a Espanha (Lisbon: Editor Tomás Quintino Antunes, 1860), pp. XXV.

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Believing that “the working classes lack a library of useful books, sound doctrine, inquisitive lessons and cheap books”38, Teixeira de Vasconcelos decided to teach the people, in a simple manner, the founding and establishing of Portugal. This “lesson of nationality”, as he called it, intended to educate the people, so that they were aware of those who ill-advised them to turn their backs on the nation. Furthermore, according to Vasconcelos, it was the people who “did not want to be Castilian”39, and he saw the solving of the great national crisis in people’s nature: in 1385, in 1640-68, but also in 1807, fighting against the French invasion, in 1820 rising against the English mismanagement, and still in 1847 against the English “joining arms with Castilians”40. The success of this book is seen in various ways: it was sold in the bookshops of Rio de Janeiro; it was said that Peter V had ordered a considerable amount of books to be given away to students of the school he sponsored in Mafra; in 1865, a Portuguese emigrant in Brazil that returned to his homeland offered books to a local administrator to be distributed to the students of the local schools in the first day of December; it finally became a formal school textbook when it was used by the Lisbon High School as well as several others in the country for reading material. The historiographical prose of Vasconcelos, built on a linear patriotic praise, marked that literary category that so many followers had at the time. But it was not really about history. Of his Glórias Portuguesas (“Portuguese Glories”) (1869) Luciano Cordeiro said that they were close to patriotic proclamation, to the distortion or mystification of history for the benefit of tradition and common prejudice. Fighting for historical interpretation, Cordeiro reminded us that the hero worship distorted criticism, stating the following: O nosso grande mal, a nossa enfermidade terrível, é a tradição, ou antes, é a má, a falsa, a absurda história; – a história patriótica41 (“Our great evil, our terrible disease is tradition, or

38 39 40 41

António Augusto Teixeira de Vasconcelos, A Fundação da Monarquia Portuguesa. Narração Anti-Ibérica (Lisbon: Imprensa Nacional, 1860), p. 9. António Augusto Teixeira de Vasconcelos, A Fundação da Monarquia Portuguesa..., pp. 20 and 26. António Augusto Teixeira de Vasconcelos, A Fundação da Monarquia Portuguesa..., pp. 30. Luciano Cordeiro, Arte e Literatura Portuguesa de Hoje (Livros, Quadros e Palcos) (Porto: Tip. Lusitana, 1871), p. 195.

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rather, it’s the evil, false and absurd history; the patriotic history”). But he still considered this an excellent book when corrigidos os exageros patrióticos e as mistificações críticas42 (“the patriotic excess and critical mystifications”) were corrected. Less pamphleteering but with the identical purpose of educating people, the Quadro Histórico da Restauração e Independência de Portugal em 1640 (“Historical Frame of Restoration and Independence of Portugal in 1640”), by Pinheiro de Melo, was published in 1861. This historical narrative conveyed a profoundly negative image of the Spanish and their government in Portugal, calling them “oppressive tyrants” that inspired hatred and outrage towards a people that suffered a “most strenuous yoke” and a “mischievous dominance”. Great advertising and successful review were also achieved by the book of Pereira da Cunha, Brios Heróicos de Portuguesas (“Heroic Pride of Portuguese Women”), praised by scholars like Estácio da Veiga or Pinheiro Chagas. To note that the fourteen heroines of Pereira da Cunha had become known in the suffering of fights against the Castilians, nine in the 14th century wars and the rest during the Philips’ governments. With a display of superior knowledge but with identical purpose, the study by Estácio da Veiga about Gibraltar and Olivenza was distinguished, explaining that the restitution of the latter would legitimate the claim for Gibraltar. After showing the Spanish Crown’s right of property over that place, the author argued that “Portugal had an equal right over Olivenza, its territory, and the people all the way from the Guadiana”43. It is worth remembering the contribution of the legitimist authors in the effort of bringing back the memory of the fights where the Portuguese managed to defeat their Spanish neighbours. As Cunha and Veiga, prestigious collaborators of the Nação, also Miguel Sotto-Mayor tried, without intention to “taunt our neighbour Spain”, to show the formation of the Portuguese nationality in the work As Vitórias dos Portugueses em defesa

42 43

Luciano Cordeiro, Arte e Literatura Portuguesa de Hoje..., p. 214. Sebastião Philippes Martins Estácio da Veiga, Gibraltar e Olivença. Apontamentos para a história da usurpação destas duas praças (Lisbon: Tip. da Nação, 1863), p. 14. This text was originally published in several newspaper serials, namely in the legitimist newspaper A Nação.

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da sua Independência (“Aljubarrota, Valverde, Montijo, Linhas de Elvas, Ameixial, Montes Claros e Bussaco”)44. The sensitivity that these texts might cause in the neighbouring country was often smoothed away. In 1868 the Diário Mercantil warned against the booklet Hoje (“Today”) by Barros e Cunha which had resulted in another by Frederico Guardon Gallardo, entitled Cuestión de Actualidad (“AMatter of Daily Update”), and towards which the newspaper from Porto could not hide, if not its sympathy at least its understanding, as it considered the writings of Barros e Cunha “extemporary”, to say the least. This specific situation happened after the notorious article of the Madrid newspaper Época on its accounts of the conquest of Portugal. However, after this, the Spanish newspaper had to justify itself. The booklet by Andrade Ferreira – A Questão Ibérica em relação à nossa História e os Deveres do Professorado (“The Iberian Issue regarding our History and Duties of Professoriate”)  – showed that education through the homeland’s history and the Iberian issue were topics intrinsically linked. This serial presented teachers as preventive agents for disseminating the Iberian doctrine fazendo beber à infância a boa doutrina exarada e resumida nos capítulos da nossa história45 (“serving the youth with the good doctrine written and summarized in the chapters of our history”). Nothing was there to refute, but to educate. The purpose of this comprehensive booklet, offered to the teachers of primary and high school education, was to prove in its first chapter that national history is a pure source of patriotism, containing the arguments and elements of nationality, in coordination with geography, law and ethnography. Contrary to politics, it did not want to oppose history, for it supports economic coordination and the league of peninsular customs. The remaining fifteen chapters are composed of a historical display from the union of Lion to Castile until the reign of Joseph I, with particular emphasis to the disagreements between Portugal and Spain.

44

45

Miguel Sotomayor, As Vitórias dos Portugueses em defesa da sua Independência. Escrito anti-ibérico (Porto: Tip. da Livraria Nacional de B. H. de M. & C.ª, 1868), p. 7. José Maria Andrade Ferreira, A Questão Ibérica em relação à nossa Historia e os Deveres do Professorado (Lisbon: Imprensa de Joaquim Germano de Sousa Neves, 1864), p. 5.

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The booklet of the Viscount of Trancoso entitled Apontamentos para a História da Dominação Castelhana em Portugal (“Notes on the History of Castilian domination in Portugal”) adressed the “rough captivity” of the Spanish kings and the “treacherous Iberian outcry” in a highly anti-Castilian tone, also reviling the bloodlust Spain’s death penalty. Para mim o desgosto de ser espanhol é superior ainda ao medo que tenho de ser escravo. […]. Sejamos finalmente tudo se é preciso, menos espanhóis. Conheço-lhes os usos, a vida, a educação, e estamos por este lado separados felizmente por uma larga barreira. O nosso povo compraz-se no trabalho, enquanto os cafés e passeios do reino vizinho se povoam de ociosos e inúteis. É o pasto às revoluções. É o progresso na ignorância, no vício e no crime.46 For me the heartbreak of being Spanish is more severe than the fear of being a slave. […]. If we have to, let us be everything except Spanish. I know their ways, their life, their education and luckily a wide barrier separates us from them. Our people are satisfied with work, while the coffee shops and sidewalks of the neighbouring country are filled with useless idle people. It is the ground for revolutions. It is the progress of ignorance, vice and crime.

Notwithstanding the conservative ideological position of the author that completely rejected republic and Iberian thought, these writings were published in periodicals from different political-doctrinal backgrounds. In 1871, the teacher Pereira Caldas retrieved contemporary texts of the Restoration, more specifically, a work of the poet and bookseller Francisco Lopes, published in 1642, intending to revive the miracle of divine signs at the time of the acclamation of the first Braganza: the arm of Christ that detached itself from the cross during the procession in Lisbon, the host seen over Braga in the sky, among others. It was, all in all, the

46

Visconde de Trancoso, Apontamentos para a História da Dominação Castelhana em Portugal. Opúsculo Anti-Ibérico (Lisbon: Tip. do Bem-Formoso, 1870), pp. 38-39.

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“protection to Portugal given from the Heavens. There was nothing that happened in the country that would not be felt as miraculous”47. By the end of the century, Olímpio de Freitas published the text Os Heróis de 1640 in a popular educational collection in order to mark the unveiling of the Restorers’ monument and, in this way, evoke popular anti-Castile songs, uncover the heroes and traitors of 1580 and upbraid the reign of the Spanish kings as the era of all misfortunes. Such expressions were countered in Spanish historiography that saw the restoration of the Portuguese independence mainly due to the Braganza’s ambition. Cánovas del Castillo, for example, supported this thesis in his Estudios del Reinado de Felipe IV (“Studies on the Reign of Philip IV”). Acknowledging that there was an accepted silence about this revolution in the Spanish historical essays, he set out to analyse the political and military reasons for that loss, coming to the conclusion that the responsibility for the short life and ending of the “national unity” fell over everyone, inclusive those of power in Madrid48. In a diverse ideological framework, the study that José Ferrer de Couto begun in 1855 about the Historia de la Unión de España y Portugal bajo el cetro de los tres Felipes (“History of the Union of Spain and Portugal under the scepter of the three Philips”) tried to reconcile the two peoples, seeing both of them as victims of a tyrannical government. This attitude was not uninterested; that Galician military intended to highlight the differences between the historical context in the time of the Habsburgs and of the Peninsula in the 1800’s, speculating on the possibilities of success if a union occurred in modern times. Not surprisingly, the Spanish thought was not monolithic in respect to the accomplishment of the peninsular unity: Hay versiones que, como Pi y Margall, integran a Portugal y España en un mismo proyecto peninsular, con los consecuentes argumentos históricos. Y existen otras dimensiones que, a fuerza de respetar la tradición como definición de un pueblo,

47

48

Francisco Lopes, Favores do Céu a Portugal, na aclamação do Rei  D. João IV, e acabamento da opressão dos Reis Filipes (…) precedidos de uma notícia (…) escrita pelo Professor Pereira-Caldas (Porto-Braga: Livraria Internacional de Ernesto e Eugenio Chardron, 1871), p. 46. Antonio Cánovas del Castillo, Estudios del Reinado de Felipe IV (Madrid: Imprenta de A. Pérez Dubrull, 1888), p. 9.

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generaban nacionalismos internos que iban desde las posiciones carlistas al radicalismo federal49. There are versions that, as Pi y Margall, join Portugal and Spain to the same peninsular project, consistent with historical arguments. And there are other dimensions that, by dint of respecting tradition of the definition of a people, generated internal nationalisms ranging from Carlist positions to federal radicalism.

In conclusion, as reminded by Pierre Nora, memory helped finding the nation, as a will and as representation, offering it the unity and legitimacy that was possible, even when the authoritarian construction of historical memory was meant to be an instrument of national greatness; it was simultaneously the expression of an innate frailty50.

Annexe References and Bibliography Alexandre Cabral, Dicionário de Camilo Castelo Branco (Lisbon: Caminho, 1989). Alfredo Carlos Franco de Castro, D. Alvar de Zuñiga. Factos do reinado de Filipe III em Portugal (Lisbon: Livraria Central, 1862). A Restauração de Portugal no 1º de Dezembro de 1640 (Lisbon: Imprensa Nacional, 1868). António Augusto Teixeira de Vasconcelos, A Fundação da Monarquia Portuguesa. Narração Anti-Ibérica (Lisbon: Imprensa Nacional, 1860). António Augusto Teixeira de Vasconcelos, Glórias Portuguesas (Lisbon: Tip. Portuguesa, 1869). Antonio Cánovas del Castillo, Estudios del Reinado de Felipe IV (Madrid: Imprenta de A. Perez Dubrull, 1888). 49 50

Paloma Cirujano, Teresa Elorriaga, Juan Sisinio Pérez, Historiografía y Nacionalismo Español…, p. 24. Pierre Nora, “La nation-mémoire”, Les Lieux de la Mémoire. La Nation (Paris: Gallimard, 1986), p. 647-658.

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António Coelho Lousada, A Rua Escura (Porto: Tip. do Nacional, 1854). António Pereira da Cunha, Brios Heróicos de Portuguesas (Lisbon: Tip. Universal, 1869). António Francisco Moreira de Sá, O Dia 1º de Dezembro de 1640 ou Memória Histórica dos Sucessos em Portugal desde a Morte dҲElRei D. Sebastião até à Feliz Aclamação de D. João IV (Lisbon: Tip. Portuguesa, 1868). Camilo Castelo Branco, Obras Completas, 18 vols., ed. Justino Mendes (Porto: Lello & Irmãos Editores, 1982-2002). Carlos Pinto d’Almeida, Mestre dҲAvis (Romance fundado sobre a História) (Lisbon: Tip. Universal, 1878). Costa Pereira, “14 de Agosto de 1385”, Viriato (Viseu), 16th August 1870. “D. Cristóvão de Portugal filho de D. António Prior do Crato”, O Distrito (Braga), 11th and 18th August 1867. D. J. Azevedo, A. Libano, Resumo Histórico da Dominação de Castela em Portugal e da Famosa Insurreição do Dia 1º de Dezembro de 1640 (Lisbon: Tip. Franco-Portuguesa, 1868). D. Miguel Sotto-Mayor, As Vitórias dos Portugueses em defesa da sua Independência. Escrito anti-ibérico (Porto: Tip. da Livraria Nacional de B. H. de M. & C.ª, 1868). Eduardo Coelho, A Lenda das Ruínas. Narrativa extraída da crónica do Condestável (Lisbon: Tip. Universal, 1875). Eduardo Coelho, “Portugal Cativo”, Diário de Notícias (Lisbon), 1th December 1868-20 January 1869. Fidelino Figueiredo, História da literatura romântica portuguesa (Lisbon: Livraria Clássica Editora de A. M. Teixeira, 1913). Francisco d’Assis d‫ ތ‬Oliveira Martins, “O Iberismo de Oliveira Martins”, Febo Moniz. Romance Histórico Português do Século XVI (Lisbon: Guimarães Editores, Lda., 1988), pp. 7-38. Francisco Freire de Carvalho, Primeiro Ensaio de História Literária de Portugal, desde a sua mais remota origem até o presente tempo (Lisbon: Tip. Rollandiana, 1845). Francisco Lopes, Favores do Céu a Portugal, na aclamação do Rei  D. João IV, e acabamento da opressão dos Reis Filipes (…) precedidos de uma notícia (…) escrita pelo Professor Pereira-Caldas (PortoBraga: Livraria Internacional de Ernesto e Eugenio Chardron, 1871). Frederico Guardon, Cuestión de actualidad. Breves consideraciones sobre el folleto Hoje (Hoy) ofensivo à España (Lisbon: Libraria Central. 1868).

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Inácio de Vilhena Barbosa, Exemplos de Virtudes Cívicas e Domésticas colhidas na História de Portugal (Porto: Imprensa Portuguesa, 1872). Inácio Francisco Silveira da Mota, Quadros de História Portuguesa (Lisbon: Tip. Franco-Portuguesa, 1869). Jacques Le Goff, “Passado/Presente”, Memória-História, Enciclopédia Einaudi, (Lisbon: Imprensa Nacional-Casa da Moeda, 1984), vol. 1. J. Pinheiro de Melo, Quadro Histórico da Restauração e Independência de Portugal (Lisbon: Tip. Universal, 1861). João Gualberto de Barros e Cunha, Hoje (Lisbon: Tip. Portuguesa, 1868). João Gualberto de Barros e Cunha, História da Liberdade em Portugal (Lisbon: Tip. Universal, 1869). Jorge Borges de Macedo, “A História de Portugal nos séculos XVII e XVIII e o seu autor”, Rebelo da Silva, História de Portugal nos séculos XVII e XVIII, (Lisbon: Imprensa Nacional, 1971), vol. 1, pp. 9-130. José de Torres, Lendas Peninsulares, 2 vols. (Lisbon: Livraria de António Maria Pereira, 1861). José Joaquim de Ascensão Valdez, Restauração de Portugal em 1640. Opúsculo extraído de vários autores (Lisbon: Tip. da Rua da Vinha, 1868). José Maria Andrade Ferreira, A Questão Ibérica em relação à nossa História e os Deveres do Professorado (Lisbon: Imprensa de Joaquim Germano de Sousa Neves, 1864). José Maria Andrade Ferreira, Literatura, Música e Belas-Artes, 2 vols. (Lisbon: Rolland & Semiond, 1872). Joseph Lourenço Domingues de Mendonça, História de Portugal desde o começo do reinado dҲel-rei D. João II (1481), até à actualidade, para servir de continuação à tradução da do D.or Henrique Schaefer, 12 vols. (Lisbon: Tip. de José Baptista Morando, 1846). Luciano Cordeiro, Arte e Literatura Portuguesa de Hoje. (Livros, Quadros e Palcos) (Porto: Tip. Lusitana, 1871). Luís Augusto Rebelo, História de Portugal nos séculos XVII e XVIII, 5 vols. (Lisbon: Imprensa Nacional, 1860-1871). Luís Augusto Rebelo, Invasion et Occupation du Royaume de Portugal en 1580 (Paris: A. Durand, 1864). Luís Francisco Midosi, Compêndio da História de Portugal para instrução da Mocidade e Uso da Escolas (Lisbon: Tip. G. M. Martins, 1843). Luís Reis Torgal, “A Restauração. Breves Reflexões sobre a sua Historiografia”, Revista de História das Ideias, 1 (1977), pp. 23-40.

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Lopes de Mendonça, “A Renascença e o Mosteiro da Batalha”, Revista Contemporânea de Portugal e Brasil, 2 (Lisbon), 1860. Manuel Pereira Lobato, A Queda dum Gigante. Romance original do século XVI (Lisbon: Lucas & Filho Editores, 1875). Manuel Pereira Lobato, Os Fidalgos do Coração de Ouro. Crónica do reinado de  D. Sebastião, 2 vols. (Lisbon: Lucas & Filho Editores, 1874). Mendes Leal, “Como um Povo Surge!”, O Campeão das Províncias (Aveiro), 12th November, 1859-7th January,1860. Mendes Leal, “Amostra de um grande dia”, Jornal do Comércio (Lisbon), 8th September, 1860-20th December,1861. Miguel d‫ތ‬Antas, Les Faux Don Sébastien. Étude sur lҲHistoire de Portugal, (Paris: Auguste Durand Libraire, 1866). “Mostra-se e prova-se evidentemente a injustiça com que el-rei D. Filipe de Castela se apossou indevidamente do reino de Portugal”, Tasso (Porto), January-October, 1869. “O Esquife dum Rei de Espanha”, Mocidade (Porto), June, 1867, p. 6-8. Paloma Cirujano, Teresa Elorriaga, Juan Sisinio Pérez, Historiografía y Nacionalismo Español (1834-1868) (Madrid: Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, 1985). Ribeiro Gonçalves, “Guerras entre Portugal e Castela no século XIV”, A Crença (Lisbon), 11th and 20th May 1864. Rodrigues Cordeiro, “D. Afonso XI de Castela e D. Afonso IV de Portugal ganham aos mouros a batalha do Salado”, Tribuno Popular (Coimbra), 20th and 27th November 1858. Rodrigues Cordeiro, “D. João I de Castela é vencido na batalha Aljubarrota”, O Português (Lisbon), 24th October 1860. Sales Loureiro “Introduçaõ”, Os Falsos D. Sebastião de Miguel dҲAntas, ed. Sales Loureiro (Lisbon: Heuris, 1988). Sebastião Philippes Martins Estácio da Veiga, Gibraltar e Olivença. Apontamentos para a história da usurpação destas duas praças (Lisbon: Tip. da Nação, 1863). Olímpio de Freitas, Os Heróis de 1640. Opúsculo adornado com o retrato de el rei D. João IV (Lisbon: David Corazzi Editor, 1888). Pierre Nora, “La nation-mémoire”, Les Lieux de la Mémoire. La Nation, 3 vols. (Paris: Gallimard, 1986), pp. 647-658. Pinheiro Chagas, Aljubarrota (Lisbon: Lucas & Filho Editores, 1874).

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René Guise, “Le roman-feuilleton et la vulgarisation des idées politiques et sociales sous na Monarchie de Juillet”, Romantisme et Politique (1815-1851) (Paris: Armand Colin, 1969). Ribeiro de Sá, Brado aos Portugueses. Opúsculo Patriótico contra as Ideias da União de Portugal com a Espanha (Lisbon: Editor Tomás Quintino Antunes, 1860). Roque Ferreira Lobo, História da Feliz Aclamação do Senhor Rei D. João o Quarto (Lisbon: Oficina de Simão Tadeu Ferreira, 1803). Visconde de Trancoso, Apontamentos para a História da Dominação Castelhana em Portugal. Opúsculo Anti-Ibérico (Lisbon: Tip. do Bem-Formoso, 1870).

Re-imagining the State: Pan-Iberianism and Political Interventionism in the Context of Catalan Nationalism Òscar Costa Universitat de Barcelona

As early as the seventeenth century, a nostalgic view of Portugal arose in Catalonia, and for the past two centuries, the Atlantic nation has become a focal point of continuous interest, despite the scarcity of actual contacts and the minimal extent of Lusophilia within Catalonia. Such a fascination has been justified partly because the distant reality at the far end of the Iberian Peninsula has successfully kept its back turned resolutely on the Spanish state; partly because of the frustrations that were stoked by the creation of the liberal state in Spain and acted as a catalyst for the formation of political Catalan nationalism; and lastly, once this nationalism had taken hold, by the fact that political union with Portugal became the necessary corollary of a plurinational state spanning the entirety of the Iberian Peninsula. However, the Catalan gaze has moved through varying stages, proceeding beyond mere fascination with Portugal toward the establishment of a Pan-Iberianism with specific connotations, i.e., drawing Spain’s Atlantic neighbour into a plurinational state. This process has been closely related to the emergence of political Catalan nationalism and its later reversals of fortune. At least four significant periods can be identified along this path. The first period stretches across much of the nineteenth century and is associated with the formation of the liberal state. In 1828, shortly after Antonio de Marchena hinted at the creation of a state spanning the Iberian Peninsula, Antoni de Puigblanch1 put forward a proposal for an Iberian state organised along the lines of nationality. This, though, was no more than a speculative proposal with no worked-out details of a practical nature and 1

Antoni Puigblanch, Opúsculos gramátco-satíricos (Barcelona: Curial, 1976), facsimile copy from London: printed by G. Guthrie, 1828.

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no impact in any specific area. At that time, Spanish Pan-Iberianism was a position shared by certain political and cultural elites, especially those connected to progressivism. Although we cannot speak of a specifically Catalan strand in this respect, there were nevertheless Catalans in the ranks of Spanish Pan-Iberianism2. Both Víctor Balaguer and General Prim were among those who envisioned some kind of peninsular state. Notable in this period was the publication of La Iberia by the Catalan diplomat and writer Sinibald de Mas, the most active and most significant figure of the mid-nineteenth century3. Also in this initial period, specifically in the latter half of the century, the publication of Las nacionalidades (1877) by Pi i Maragall gives us a much more fully sketched-out proposal, one that resembled in technical terms what was later to become the Catalan nationalist Pan-Iberianism of the twentieth century4. Pi i Maragall’s volume attracted the attention of a core of Portuguese émigrés who were also Pan-Iberian proponents. In addition, the abrupt shift in the international climate, typified by tensions stirred up by the colonial crisis at the century’s close, intensified interest in Portugal on the Barcelona scene. Thus, beginning with the experience of the Noucentisme movement during the brief tenure of Solidaritat Catalana (1906-1909), Pan-Iberianism came to be surprisingly present in the Catalan cultural tradition. Although attempts to devise concrete political initiatives met with frustration, the powerful semantics of the idea permeated political discourse, journalism and especially literature. In this second period up until the Spanish Civil War, the list of authors writing on the subject grew long and the presence of one kind of Pan-Iberianism or another crystallised into a road map for Catalonia’s “foreign” policy. Cases-Carbó’s book El problema peninsular (1933) became the leading synthesis of all the concerns stirred up in that prolific time5.

2 3 4 5

José Antonio Rocamora, El nacionalismo ibérico: 1732-1936 (Valladolid: Universidad de Valladolid, 1936). Sinibaldo de Mas, La Iberia: memoria sobre la conveniencia de la unión pacífica y legal de Portugal y España (Barcelona: Imprenta de Narciso Ramírez, 1856). Francesc Pi i Margall, Las nacionalidades (Madrid: Impr. de Enrique Rubiños, 1882). Joaquim Cases-Carbó, El problema peninsular (1924-1932). Història d’una campanya Epistolar a favor de l’Autonomia de Catalunya i de la Unió d’Espanya amb Portugal, feta al gener, febrer i març de l’any 1924, en Plena dictadura militar.

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The third period stretches over Francoism’s so-called “years of lead”. At that time, Portugal served as a metaphor for talking about Catalonia and pan-peninsular pacts in the work of Gaziel, Pla and most especially Félix Cucurull. As Catalonia’s national culture rebounded, new life was breathed into Pan-Iberianism. Lastly, a fourth period got underway with Spain’s transition to democracy. Here, the common denominator is the normalisation of relations of all kinds with the Lusitanian world and the systematisation and study of the history of Pan-Iberianism. Reaching nearly 150 years in length, this history is characterised by a multiplicity of interventions that have raised a series of questions. How should the constant presence of Pan-Iberianism in the Catalan sphere be addressed? How has interest in Portugal varied from one period to the next? And how can we account for a strand of thought that gave rise to no specific political initiatives of importance and yet exercised a recurring presence in Catalan thought? The response to these questions is not to be found in the realm of political theory but rather in the shifting uses to which the concept of PanIberianism has been put. The present paper takes a detailed look at the four periods introduced above, focusing on the shifts in uses that have shaped the complex overlay of meanings that Pan-Iberianism has held in different Catalan settings6.

6

Antecedents més o menys llunyans i perspectives més o menys próximes. Un assaig de repertori de l’iberisme fet de… (Barcelona: Llibreria Catalònia, 1933). For more on the shifting meaning and evolution of political concepts and their relationship to the historical context, consult: John G. A. Pocock, Pensamiento político e historia: ensayos sobre teoría y método (Madrid: Akal, 2011), Quentin Skinner, “Meaning and understanding in the history of ideas”, Visions of Politics, Regarding method, 3 vols. (Cambridge (Mass.): Cambridge University Press, 2002), vol. 1, pp.  57-89. See, also: Fernando Vallespin, “Giro lingüístico e historia de las ideas: Q.  Skinner y la Escuela de Cambridge”, El individuo y la historia. Antinomias de la herencia moderna, Roberto R. Aramayo, Javier Muguerza, Antonio Valdecantos, Francisco Álvarez, dirs. (Barcelona: Paidós, 1995), pp. 287-301; Javier Fernández, Juan Francisco Fuentes, “Introducción: Historia, lenguaje, sociedad: conceptos y discursos en perspectiva histórica”, Diccionario político y social del siglo XIX español, Javier Fernández, Juan Francisco Fuentes, dirs. (Madrid: Alianza, 2002), pp. 23-30; Reinhart Koselleck, Elías José Palti, Los estratos del tiempo: estudios sobre la historia (Barcelona: Paidós-Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 2001).

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1. Defence against the North: the Portuguese problem and the colonial crisis From 1880 onwards, eyes looked to Portugal from various quarters with mounting anxiety as the former colonial powers of the Iberian Peninsula were pushed aside amid the scramble of the countries of the North to divide up the planet among themselves. In this respect, the Portuguese crisis was the correlate of the same process and fears experienced in Barcelona over the fate of Spain’s colonies. The question of the Congo and the territories on either bank of the Congo River lay at the heart of the Berlin Conference convened by Bismarck in 1884. Portugal was directly involved. Portugal’s defence of its historic rights collided head-on with the new doctrine of “effective occupation” proclaimed by the great powers interested in divvying up Africa. Only English machinations saved the North Atlantic nation’s colonial interests. But it was also England that drafted the Ultimatum of 1890 that pushed Portugal against the ropes and overturned its historic claims in favour of the force deployed by the industrial powers7. At that time, the gaze directed at Portugal from Catalan circles was one of unease. The issue did not lie in defining the possibilities of a theoretical Pan-Iberianism. Rather, heightening tensions were giving shape to a new Europe. Out of this context rose voices looking for new strategies, ones that included closer relations with Portugal or even Portugal’s inclusion within a new model of state. It was lost on no-one that the Iberian Peninsula, particularly the Catalan region, had been a fertile ground in the nineteenth century for proposals aiming at political reorganisation amid the painful, embattled implementation of the liberal state in Spain. Both in Spain and in Portugal, Pan-Iberianism became an avenue for frustrated nationalism. At the same time, however, it was ever-present in political debate, as noted in a book by José Antonio Rocamora8.

7 8

José Hermano, Historia de Portugal (Madrid: Alianza Editorial, 1989), pp. 402-412; David Birmingham, Historia de Portugal (Madrid: Akal, 2005). José A. Rocamora, El nacionalismo ibérico: 1732-1936…

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For the conditions and prospects of Pan-Iberianism in the nineteenth century prior to the colonial crisis, we can follow the lead of L. Ribera i Rovira in his text of 1907, Iberisme9, a touchstone for examining this strand of thought in Catalonia. While forerunners of Pan-Iberianism were to be found among the eighteenth-century forces supporting the claims staked by Archduke Charles III of Austria on the throne of Spain, it did not appear as a strand of modern political thinking properly speaking until after the French Revolution. At mid-century, the Catalan diplomat and writer Sinibald de Mas published La Iberia10, the most representative memoir of Pan-Iberian ideals in the nineteenth century. The book was translated in Portugal by the leading scholar and politician Jose Mª Latino Coelho, and its appearance led to the creation of a new publication called O Progresso, which was focused on spreading the ideals espoused by de Mas in his book. Nonetheless, the idea came to naught, as did the Pan-Iberianism of the journal Revista Peninsular (1855), a bilingual publication that did not, according to Ribera, win favour among the public, in this case the readership of Madrid. As it was, the envisioned union raised Portuguese suspicions and fears because Pan-Iberianism as an ideal failed to mask an underlying element that suggested annexation as a goal. Also on any list of Pan-Iberian proposals in the nineteenth century must be put Pi i Maragall’s book Las nacionalidades11, of 1877, which set out his idea of a Pan-Iberian union founded on a federal system strong enough to provide a counterbalance to the foreign power of France in southern Europe. The prejudices and misgivings aroused by Pan-Iberianism in those closely connected to La Renaixensa were, in reality, a product of PanIberianism understood as an excuse for the absorption and hegemonisation of the Iberian Peninsula by Castilian culture. In 1890, the historian and legal scholar Josep Pella i Forgas published an article in La España Regional12 on the crisis caused by the English ultimatum to Portugal. In his article, Pella i Forgas developed an in-depth critique of Castile’s predilection for uniformity. 9 10 11 12

Ignasi de L. Ribera, Iberisme (Barcelona: Biblioteca Popular de L’Avenç, 1907). Sinibaldo de Mas, La Iberia: memoria sobre la conveniencia… Francesc Pi i Margall, Las nacionalidades... Josep Pella, “De la propaganda para la unión entre España y Portugal”, La España Regional, 8 (1890), pp. 26-35. Our thanks go to Giovanni Cattini for this citation.

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Some months earlier, Pere Bosc Labrús, a leading Catalan economist and conservative authority, had written in the same journal of the advantageousness of an economic unification of the two states in order to create a peninsula-wide market. Later, La España Regional also published articles by Arturo Campión, who argued along the same lines as Pella, while in the last phase of its publication, space was given directly to J. P. Oliveira Martins, a Portuguese historian and staunch supporter of Pan-Iberianism, clearly signalling interest at the level of Catalonia in a strategic relationship with Portugal. At the end of the century, a late echo of this interest in Pan-Iberianism can be heard in the public writing of the Portuguese Gonzalo de Reparaz, who had ties to the colonialist and Regenerationist circles of the Aragonese politician Joaquín Costa. De Reparaz, a geographer, argued in favour of the colonisation of the African continent, to be driven chiefly from Barcelona and in close partnership with Portugal, as a Regenerationist strategy in the wake of the disaster of 1898. Of all this, what was to survive going forward was an idea of economic and colonial strengthening that looked to a unified peninsular market and the shared exploitation of the Portuguese colonies for a Regenerationist approach to counteract the growing pressure of the northern powers.

2. Pan-Iberianism and a new peninsular hegemony: political Catalan nationalism Attention has been drawn to the importance of Modernisme13, which put forward the earliest sharply-drawn formulations of a Pan-Iberianism that was properly Catalan nationalist in nature, publishing these proposals in the pages of publications such as the now radicalised Catalònia of Joaquim Cases-Carbó14. In another register, the poet Joan Maragall took steps along the same path, showing a growing interest in Portuguese 13 14

Enric Ucelay, El imperialismo catalán. Prat de la Riba, Cambó, D’Ors y la conquista moral de España (Barcelona: Edhasa, 2003), pp. 250-263. Joaquim Cases-Carbó, foreword to Ignasi de L. Ribera, Iberisme… By the same author, see, also: Catalònia (assaigs nacionalistes) (Barcelona: l’Avenç, 1908).

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culture. The ultimate expression of these two tendencies, however, does not appear until the first decade of the following century. In the twentieth century, a new phase of Catalan nationalism was also to lead to new theoretical developments, which were laid out in a number of works that appeared. Among these, the one that had the greatest impact and would go on to become the new gospel of political Catalan nationalism was La nacionalitat Catalana by Prat de la Riba, in which he expounded on the basic features of the creed of this interventionist phase15. In La nacionalitat Catalana, Prat de la Riba also set out the guidelines for the new imperialism at the forefront of Catalonia’s Regenerationist activity at the Iberian level. Through the creation of a “Greater Spain”, the aim was to sort out the organisation of the state neatly, federalising the various nationalities of the Iberian Peninsula. Catalonia, Castile and the Galician/Portuguese region would appear as three major entities toward which the activities of Catalan nationalism would be galvanised and directed in the constitution of a regenerated state. In this way, Pan-Iberianism became a part of the ideological and strategic foundation of political Catalan nationalism. In the real politics of Catalonia’s “foreign” policy under the exceptional leadership of Cambó, Pan-Iberianism remained constrained for much of this time to an ideological space defined by the need to work effectively with the political forces of the Restoration. In general, no proposals came about that had any real possibilities of materialising in Pan-Iberian agreements or initiatives. That is not to say, however, that the discourse of PanIberianism was not present in all strains of political Catalan nationalism or that it was not raised reiteratedly in intellectual circles. In practice, however, there was an enormous lack of knowledge about Portugal and practically no relationship at all until the sudden emergence of Solidaritat Catalana. The appearance of a Pan-Iberian strand in the frenetic activity of the journalist Ignasi de L. Ribera i Rovira took the form of a series of interpretative problems directly relating to the meaning of Catalan nationalist Pan-Iberianism and to its later usage.

15

See: Jordi Casassas, “La nacionalitat Catalana”, foreword to: Enric Prat de la Riba, La nacionalitat Catalana, Compendi de la Doctrina Catalanista (Barcelona: La Magrana, 1993).

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In 1967, the writer and poet Fèlix Cucurull published Dos pobles ibèrics16 in which he brought to light the activity of the Catalan nationalist Pan-Iberianism of the early twentieth century, putting the accent on its humanism, tolerance and desire to promote peaceful understanding among the peoples of the Iberian Peninsula through cultural and political relations established on the basis of equality – in short, an alternative approach to the imperialist aspects of conservative Catalan nationalism. Dos pobles ibèrics appeared in print at a time when Catalan nationalism was undergoing revival and gaining in intensity amid the struggle against Francoism. The book pulled together a variety of pieces grouped under four major headings, the first of which focused mainly on PanIberianism and relations between Catalonia and Portugal. The volume Catalunha e as Nacionalidades Ibéricas17 by Julio Navarro Monzó also enjoyed revival at this time. In his book, Navarro Monzó had presented an approach that ran parallel to that of Ribera i Rovira, although the two were mutually unaware of one another and Navarro Monzó achieved much more limited impact than his counterpart from Manresa. Rescuing the efforts of Ribera i Rovira from oblivion served to clearly establish the identification between Pan-Iberianism and Catalan nationalism explored in this paper18. A painstaking study carried out by Víctor Martínez-Gil on the birth of Pan-Iberianism within the Catalan nationalist movement has underscored the literary activity of the movement, the journalism of the Manresa writer and his relationship with the poet Joan Maragall19. Martínez-Gil’s study also introduces a distinction between the Lusophilia of the earlier phase and the movement toward PanIberianism occurring at the time of the emergence of Solidaritat Catalana, a shift that soon led Ribera to re-align himself with republicanism. Ribera’s conversion was motivated more by the support that he received from a group called the Penya de l’Avenç, which held meetings in 16 17 18

19

Fèlix Cucurull, Dos pobles ibèrics (Barcelona: Editorial Selecta, 1966). Julio Navarro, Catalunha e as nacionalidades ibéricas (Lisbon: Livr. Central de Gomes Carvalho, 1908). For biographical information and an overview of the multi-faceted activities of Ribera i Rovira, see the most recent biography of the man by: Joan Valls, Ignasi Ribera i Rovira. Un gran periodista nascut a Castellbell i el Vilar (1880-1942) (Castellbell: Ajuntament de Castellbell, 2002). Víctor Martínez-Gil, El naixement de l’iberisme catalanista (Curial: Barcelona, 1997).

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the backroom of the l’Avenç bookshop. The group, which counted on the involvement of Maragall himself, was attended by significant figures in the Catalan cultural movement of Modernisme, figures who in some cases shared an allegiance to Catalan nationalist republicanism, which had split from the Regionalist League in 190420. This state of affairs goes some way to explaining Ribera’s identification from that time forward with republicans as he converted to Pan-Iberianism, a fact which the biographers have noted21, and it also shows the importance of figures such as CasesCarbó, who had written a foreword to Iberisme in 1907, as had the leading Portuguese republican Teófilo Braga22. This interpretation underlines the notion of two contrasting Pan-Iberianisms: one that was progressive and republican, based on the equality of the peoples of the Iberian Peninsula and the republics of South America, and another that was conservative and rested on Prat de la Riba’s conception of interventionist imperialism with the aim of securing a stronger hegemonic role for Catalonia. Important in lending credence to Cucurull’s idea of a republican, humanist Pan-Iberianism was the notorious denunciation voiced in 1910 by Eugeni d’Or’s23 and some of his followers, who formally broke with the 20

21

22 23

Josep Maria de Sagarra, in his memoirs, provided a description of the Penya de l’Avenç and the principal figures who attended these meetings in the bookshop and the publishing-house offices. Although Sagarra definitely joined the group at a time later than the years addressed here thanks to an introduction from Jaume Massó i Torrents’s son, Josep Massó i Ventós, his descriptions of the participants and the group’s intellectual bent can by extrapolated to the years of 1905 and 1906. See: Josep Maria de Sagarra, Memòries, 2 vols. (Barcelona: Edicions 62, 1981), vol. 2, pp. 21-30. In: Joan Valls, Ignasi Ribera i Rovira. Un gran periodista nascut a Castellbell i el Vilar (1880-1942)…, Valls i Pueyo concurs with Victor Martínez-Gil on the centrality of Maragall in Ribera’s process of converting to Pan-Iberianism, but he also draws attention to the role of Cases-Carbó. By contrast: Thomas Harrington, “The Hidden History of Tripartite Iberianism”, A Comparative History of Literatures in the Iberian Peninsula, Fernando Cabo, Anxo Abuín, César Domínguez, eds. (AmsterdamPhiladelphia: John Benjamins Publishing Company, 2007), vol. 1, takes a different view, reasserting Cucurull’s idea of Ribera as a Pan-Iberian republican thanks to the support and encouragement of Catalan nationalist republicans. Joaquim Cases-Carbó, El problema peninsular… Eugeni d’Ors, “Glosa Portuguesa” (26th February 1908) and “Nova Glosa Portuguesa” (17th March 1908), Glosari 1908-1909, ed. Xavier Pla (Barcelona: Quaderns Crema, 2001). See, also: Manuel Raventós, “La Revolución y España”, La Cataluña (22th October 1910), where he hailed “the renewed flourishing of revolutionary literature

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Pan-Iberian writer that same year as a result of the proclamation of a republic in Portugal. The provisional head of the government of the young Atlantic republic was Teófilo Braga, the same man who had penned a foreword to Iberisme in 190724. On closer look, however, these broad brushstrokes give way to a more nuanced picture. Ribera i Rovira collaborated vigorously with La Veu as a correspondent and with other mouthpieces of the early Noucentisme movement, such as La Cataluña. Ribera also took part in the enormous push that Prat, through his imperialist interventionism, gave to the activity of the young intellectuals of Noucentisme defining new cultural aspects of Catalan nationalism at that time. Likewise, the Pan-Iberian content of the Regionalist League’s programme – if that characterisation is apt – was not so radically different. Nor was there an a priori rejection of Ribera’s ideas for the creation of a peninsula-wide “Zollverein”, which the intellectual circles of the Regionalist League were to adopt to counteract the militaristic expansionism of the Spanish state in Morocco. The breaking point came with Ribera i Rovira’s republicanism, but it was also provoked by the rivalry between the conservatives and l’Avenç group over control of the Noucentisme movement, a battle lost by the l’Avenç group. In any event, the cultivation of Pan-Iberianism was not abandoned by the intellectual milieu surrounding Ribera i Rovira. A number of young technicians who were gathering around Guillem Graells in the labour department Foment del Treball and who would soon become officials at the Mancomunitat published their reflections on Pan-Iberianism in Estudio, a journal promoted by the writer and journalist Aureli Ras, a partisan of the imperialist group, and by the Society for Economic Studies. The pages of Estudio (1913-1920) also contained references to the movement of the Renascimento, a Porto-based group with which Ribera i Rovira came into contact, and to the relationship with writers such as Enrique Díaz-Canedo,

24

with prophetic overtones, recalling Roman history or the French Revolution and thereby intending that something of the kind would shortly be coming to Spain”. For more on the role of Braga and on the revolution of 1910 generally, see: Hipólito de la Torre, Josep Sánchez, Portugal en el siglo XX (Madrid: Ediciones Istmo, 1992). pp. 19-39 (“Primara Parte, Del Establecimiento de la República al fin de la Segunda Guerra Mundial (1910-1945), Introducción, La primera república”).

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who were members of a core group of Madrid intellectuals receptive to Pan-Iberian proposals25.

3. Pan-Iberianism as a part of the Pan-Latinism Movement The enormous impact of the Great War turned Catalan culture upside down. The issue went much farther than the division of opinion between those who supported Allied Forces and those supporting Germany. The conflict opened the doors onto European cultural tensions and it left open windows that reflected – insofar as the matter concerns us here – a new dimension of Pan-Iberianism that, at that juncture in time, would seek out points of reference farther afield in the Pan-Latinism movement. Once the Great War began, the journal Ibèria (1915-1918), which was published by Claudi Ametlla with sponsorship from the French disinformation services, brought together a stable of French-speaking intellectuals who included Rovira i Virgili and Màrius Aguilar. Also collaborating with them were  J. Carner, J.M.  López-Picó, E.  Xammar (editor-in-chief), J.M. Junoy, R. Jori, Alexandre Plana, J. Brossa, M. de Unamuno, R. Pérez de Ayala, R.M. del Valle-Inclán, and more. In addition, the journal published poems by  G. Apollinaire and  M. Jacob and featured mentions of Portugal and even texts in Portuguese in its pages. However, it is important to bear in mind that the Pan-Iberian vision of this group put its accent on Pan-Latinism, adding a pro-European strand to their Pan-Iberianism, which had been present in the thinking of some intellectuals of the fin de siècle and was now taken up by a new generation of Francophile republicans in search of a framework for intervention on a European scale26. In the pages of the journal Messidor (1918), the lawyer, writer and poet Pau Turull i Forner focused on a Pan-Iberianism that was supposed 25

26

Thomas Harrington, “The Hidden History of Tripartite Iberianism...”. In his suggestive paper, the author explores the journal Estudio in a manner that is sometimes decontextualised from what imperialism meant as a strand of thought for this group. Joan Safont, Per França i Anglaterra. La I Guerra Mundial dels aliadòfils catalans (Barcelona: Acontravent, 2012).

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to go beyond a virtual Latin confederation, expanding the field of view onto a much more modern European horizon, one based on nationalist demands and the search for alliances with other national minorities. From another perspective, the European activity instigated by Joan Estelrich and his group the Junta d’Expansió Catalana came to show how the new interventionist framework was also unfolding in Europe, binding up PanIberianism with the new continental scenario preferred by Catalan nationalism. Josep Carbonell expressed as much in the journal Monitor, which he edited together with the poet J.V. Foix: […] Ens ha semblat que, mantenir el nostre problema en els seus justíssims límits naturals, oblidant les veritats circumdants les nostres realitats circumdants  – les nostres relativitats- refusant tota col·laboració generosa amb elles era obra suïcida […]. 1. No es pot pensar, ens havem dit, en l’esdevenidor polític del nostre problema nacional, sense capir alhora el de les dues unitats geogràfiques en Catalunya és enclavada: la península ibèrica i França. 2. L’esdevenidor polític de Catalunya és, per damunt tota altra cosa, l’esdevenidor polític d’Occident. La causa nacional de Catalunya, només trobarà solució total, a l’hora i en la forma en què la trobin els altres pobles d’Europa i Llà mar27. […] It has seemed to us that keeping our problem within its naturally very narrow bounds, forgetting the surrounding truths of our surrounding realities – our relativities – refusing all warm-hearted collaboration with these would be an act of suicide […]. 1. As we have said, it is not possible to think of the political future of our national problem without including at the same time the future of the two geographical entities in which Catalonia is embedded: the Iberian Peninsula and France. 2. The political future of Catalonia is, above all else, the political future of the West. The national cause of Catalonia will only find a complete solution at the time and in the form in which the other peoples of Europe and its sea find theirs.

This emphasis on European activity connected to the demands of European minorities was kept up during the dictatorship of Primo de Rivera. In some cases, like that of Cases-Carbó, Pan-Iberianism took on a combative tone from 1923 onwards, providing a way to speak of Catalonia and 27

Josep Carbonell, “Política peninsular. Assaig d’internacionalització del nostre problema nacional i de l’Ideal peninsular”, Monitor (1th December 1921).

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Catalan demands in terms of peninsular problems, because the regime’s censorship against Catalan nationalism impeded any open discussion of these issues.

4. Between two fires: Catalan Pan-Iberianism and the polarisation of the thirties This situation took another turn with the advent of the Second Republic. Some republicans, such as Rovira i Virgili and especially Marcel·lí Domingo, had been outspoken adherents of Pan-Iberianism. With the proclamation of the new regime, however, they adapted to the decentralising framework of republican governments and let their support of federalism and an association with Portugal slip into the background28. At the same time, however, a new push for Pan-Iberianism came from the ranks of the Regionalist League. In this respect, Cambó’s Per la concòrdia (1930)29 signalled the new policy, which involved seeking allies among the Spanish right now that the Second Republic was underway30. Indeed, the economic depression of the nineteen-thirties gave rise to a wave of protectionism that caused eyes once again to look toward Spain’s home market and Pan-Iberianism rebounded. Both the economic and social effects of the crash of 1929 contributed to these developments. From a broader perspective, so did the confrontation of the capitalist

28

29 30

See: Josep Sánchez, “Les relacions entre Catalunya i Portugal des del 1640 fins ara”, Uns Apartats Germans: Portugal i Catalunya. Irmãos afastados: Portugal e a Catalunha, Víctor Martínez, ed. (Lisboa-Palma de Mallorca: Instituto CamõesLleonard Muntaner Editor, 2010). Sánchez Cervelló tries to debunk the myth of an attempt by the Second Republic at assimilating Salazar’s Portugal, see pages 29-31. Francesc Cambó, Per la concòrdia (Barcelona: Catalònia, 1930). See: Xosé Manoel Núñez, Internacionalitzant el nacionalisme. El catalanisme polític i la qüestió de les minories nacionals a Europa (1914-1936) (Catarroja-València: Editorial Afers-Universitat de Valencia, 2010); especially, “El canvi d’orientació internacional d’Estelrich i la Lliga”, pp. 220-230. This context may have contributed to the book’s impact among conservative elements of Catalan nationalism.

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system with socialism, as Josep Mª Tallada explored in La crisi d’una civilització31. All told, this was a propitious setting for the writer Joaquim CasesCarbó to publish El problema peninsular32. A former member of the Modernisme movement, Cases-Carbó now enjoyed the aura of having been especially belligerent during the dictatorship of General Primo de Rivera, and his new work, which was the most extensive text to appear on Pan-Iberianism, provided the inspiration for most of the subsequent works on the subject. Cases-Carbó’s book distilled a lifetime of thinking on the political articulation of the state and reproduced the letter-writing campaign that he had led in 1924 as a reaction to the dictatorship’s censorship and its banning of his article El problema peninsular. Well-received among the Regionalist League, the author did not conceal from the opening pages of his long work, its dedication to Francesc Cambó. In turn, writer and philosopher Francesc Pujols would dedicate his short work Un llibre estel of 1935 to providing a gloss on the revival of Catalan imperialism contained in Cases-Carbó’s work33. Catalan intervention was seen as the agent driving the reorganisation of the Spanish state according to the principle of nationalities, and one major consequence of the interventionism/imperialism of Catalan nationalism was to call for an integration of Portugal within the framework of a new and regenerated Spanish state. The thirties again put the spotlight on Pan-Iberianism, which occupied a central place in the world view of the Regionalist League at that time, standing as an old theoretical corpus retrieved from the early days of the twentieth century, one that some wished to elevate to the same stature as the writings of Prat de la Riba. In this context, it appeared at least to some sectors to offer a solution to the powerful cultural and political polarisation of pre-war Europe, adding a new functionality to Pan-Iberianism.

31 32 33

Josep Mª Tallada, La crisi d’una civilització (Barcelona: Llibreria Catalonia, 1935). Joaquim Cases-Carbó, El problema peninsular (1924-1932)… Frances Pujols, Un llibre estel de Joaquim Cases-Carbó “El problema peninsular” (Barcelona: Llibreria Catalònia, 1935).

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5. Pan-Iberianism amid the dictatorship’s “years of lead” Traces of Pan-Iberianism, it has been said, can be found in the Germaninspired geopolitics cultivated in the ranks of Catalan Francoists. This can be seen in the articles of Vicens Vives appearing in the journal Destino under the pseudonym of Lorenzo Guillén and in the book España: Geopolítica del Estado y el Imperio. These texts speak to an idealisation of the Spanish empire in which room could be found for Portugal. However, the idea went no further than that, neither giving support to any subsequent development nor having any basis in a real political orientation of Francoism34. What is more interesting and yet equally inconsequential is the attempt to endow Francoism with a content based on the Catalan political tradition. Once the war had ended, Cases-Carbó wrote an essay of a historical bent entitled La Hispanidad triunfante (1939) in which he reworked subjects previously explored in El problema peninsular, but this time with the aim of synthesising a shared culture whose final stage would be a putative multinational dictatorship under Franco. However poignant this effort may have been, it was nevertheless a tragic testimony to the upheaval caused by the conflict and to the type of expectations that could be stirred in some conservative sectors. However, Pan-Iberianism was to make another appearance in the works of authors who were far removed from fascism, once again as a way to speak of Catalonia and Catalan issues through the foil of Portugal. One highly paradigmatic example is the case of Gaziel in La trilogia ibèrica35. Castile, Galicia and a second volume dedicated to Portugal are three examples of travel books that teem with the author’s direct references to the spots visited. At times, they are also full of stereotypes, as Cucurull has rightly noted, but they enabled Gaziel to revisit arguments on the cultural and national diversity of the Iberian Peninsula. In the volume on Portugal, he not only recorded observations typical of the travel genre, 34

35

See the pages devoted to the subject in the biography of Vicens Vives written by: Josep Mª Muñoz, Josep M. Jaume Vicens i Vives. Una biografia intel·lectual (Barcelona: Edicions 62, 1997), pp. 110-124. Gaziel, Viatges i Somnis, Portugal enfora. Trilogia ibérica (Barcelona: Selecta, 1963), vol. 2.

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but also worked in numerous references to Catalonia and its history, once again using Portugal as a mirror and a pretext to speak openly of Catalan matters36. Another, more complex case in terms of an author’s relationship to Pan-Iberianism is that of Josep Pla, who had longstanding ties to Portugal, which he explored in his volume entitled Direcció Lisboa37. However, the revival of Pan-Iberianism and the consequent rediscovery of the Pan-Iberianism of the early years of the century came at the hands of Fèlix Cucurull and the Portuguese writer and poet Manuel de Seabra. Cucurull came into contact with Seabra and the Portuguese cultural world through Antoni Ribera, who was the son of the Pan-Iberian proponent of the early twentieth century Ignasi de L. Ribera i Rovira and who also served until the end of the nineteen-forties as editor of the journal Antologia, a publication whose aim was to put up resistance in the face of the repression and hostility waged against Catalan culture by early Francoism38. Cucurull and Seabra rose to become the two central figures of Lusitanism in the nineteen-fifties and sixties. The cultural context of resistance gives us a clue that may be taken as fundamental when looking at the revival of the old Pan-Iberianism undertaken most prominently by Cucurull, a revival that reaches its high point in 1967 with the publication of Cucurull’s Dos Pobles Ibèrics. This book not only looked at Joan Maragall and Catalan culture, but also reawakened memory of the almost totally forgotten proponent of Pan-Iberianism Ribera i Rovira, who as a member of the Noucentisme movement emerges not only as a poet, journalist and lawyer forging a modern bridge between Catalan nationalist culture and Portuguese culture, but also as a republican connected to a Portugal in upheaval, where republican intellectuals were bringing the monarchy to an end. In the same way, Cucurull’s stay in Portugal in the nineteen-sixties

36 37

38

Gaziel, Viatges i Somnis…, chap. IX, pp. 165-203. The subject of the historical moment serves as a leitmotif for his appraisal of Catalonia. Jesús Revelles, La interpretació portuguesa de Josep Pla (Research project for a doctorate in Humanities, Thesis supervisor: Víctor Martínez-Gil, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 2008). Joaquim Sala-Sanahuja, “El lusitanisme a Catalunya: Ignasi Ribera i Rovira, Antonio Ribera, Fèlix Cucurull i Manuel de Seabra”, Uns apartats Germans: Portugal i Catalunya. Irmãos fastados: Portugal e a Catalunha..., pp. 135-147.

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brought him into contact with the militant intellectual world in opposition to the Salazar dictatorship. On his return to Barcelona, he entered into a phase marked by political commitment and militancy from which his book Panoràmica del nacionalisme català (1974) was to emerge. In this context of the struggle for liberty and the reawakened memory of historical Pan-Iberianism, it is understandable that the accent was put on its progressive and republican Catalan nationalist character, pushing the actions and role of Noucentisme into the background. It is necessary to keep in mind, therefore, that with the arrival of Spain’s transition to democracy Pan-Iberianism was also to bear the weight of this refractory legacy.

Conclusion: democratic normalisation and the persistence of Portugal as a metaphor The revival of historical Pan-Iberianism as a progressive force gathered strength from the Carnation Revolution that marked the end of Portugal’s dictatorship and the impact this event had on the Anti-Francoist opposition in Catalonia. Spain’s democratic transition and the restoration of autonomy were instigated under a progressive banner. The image of Portugal gained in force thanks to a set of circumstances that encouraged all of the effects that Pan-Iberianism had had on Catalan culture, above all on the Catalan nationalism of the first part of the twentieth century, with an especial boost being given to the mythic dimension of the Atlantic country’s image. Spain’s political and social stability and its admission into the European Union at the same time as Portugal also brought a normalisation of relations. From this perspective, institutional relations drawing on the involvement the newly restored Generalitat, the government of Catalonia, as well as the social and economic relations forged among society at large served to promote exchanges of people, an increase in information and the creation of shared institutions. In this context, there was also a new interest in Portugal within the academy that translated not only into a reappraisal and deepening of mutual understanding, but also into a fresh look at the trajectory of

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Pan-Iberianism itself. The preparation of monographs, the study of literary and journalistic exchanges and the examination of all strands of historical Pan-Iberianism made possible a more considered assessment of what it meant and of its importance to Catalan culture. Despite the existence of this normalised state of affairs, it is easy to detect the persistence of a historical semantics. Portugal’s use as an inverted metaphor for Catalan history appears in political discourse. The philologist and journalist Patricia Gabancho recently published a polemic in support of Catalonia’s sovereignty that conveys a clear sense of the use of Portugal as a metaphor for Catalan reality. Her piece, entitled La única autonomia que ens cal és la de Portugal39, which translates roughly as “the only autonomy we need is the kind Portugal has”, makes clear reference to the mythical content that Portugal carries locally as a mirror for an independent Catalonia. From another viewpoint and one that is equally symptomatic, the journalist Enric Juliana harks back to Portugal from the tradition of geopolitical reflections that arose out of the earliest days of Catalan nationalist Pan-Iberianism, critically observing the political configuration of the Iberian Peninsula through reflections on Portugal40. His observations, like Gaziel’s, are not developed in the abstract space of political theory, but are built on direct observation through reportage. In conclusion, Pan-Iberianism is a strand of thought born out of frustration that has seemed never to materialise in particulars, yet it nonetheless maintains a level of existence, a reality that goes beyond the mythic “saudosism” that Ribera borrowed from Teixeira de Pascoaes. And it continues to encompass a wide variety of transversal meanings and references within the political culture of Catalan nationalism, ranging from resistance to geopolitics, from the literary to the polemical and journalistic, from political theory to its usage as a metaphor for identity. All of these uses and meanings can be found throughout the course of the last century as a necessary corollary when reimagining the state from the periphery.

39 40

Patricia Gabancho, L’autonomia que ens cal és la de Portugal: contra l’Espanya de Peces-Barba (Barcelona: La Mansarda, 2012). Enric Juliana, “El dominó de la Europa del sur”, Modesta España. Paisaje después de la austeridad (Barcelona: Ediciones RBA, 2012), pp. 190-215.

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Annexe Bibliography David Birmingham, Historia de Portugal (Madrid: Akal, 2005). Francesc Cambó, Per la concòrdia (Barcelona: Catalònia, 1930). Josep Carbonell, “Política peninsular. Assaig d’internacionalització del nostre problema nacional i de l’Ideal peninsular”, Monitor gaseta nacional de politica, d’art i de literatura, 1 (1921). Jordi Casasssas, “Prat de la Riba and ‘La nacionalitat Catalana’”, La nacionalitat Catalana (Barcelona: Edicions de la Magrana-Diputació de Barcelona, 1993). Joaquim Cases-Carbó, Catalònia. Assaigs Nacionalistes (Barcelona: Tipografia L’Avenç, 1908). Joaquim Cases-Carbó, El problema peninsular (1924-1932), Història dҲuna campanya Epistolar a favor de lҲAutonomia de Catalunya i de la Unió dҲEspanya amb Portugal, feta al gener, febrer i març de lҲany 1924, en Plena dictadura militar. Antecedents més o menys llunyans i perspectives més o menys próximes. Un assaig de repertori de lҲiberisme fet de… (Barcelona: Llibreria Catalònia, 1933). Fèlix Cucurull, Dos pobles ibèrics (Barcelona: Editorial Selecta, 1966). Patricia Gabancho, L’autonomia que ens cal és la de Portugal: contra l’Espanya de Peces-Barba (Barcelona: La Mansarda, 2012). Gaziel, Viatges i Somnis, Portugal enfora. Trilogia ibérica, 5 vols. (Barcelona: Selecta, 1963), especially vol. 2. Juan Fco. Fuentes, José Marchena: biografía política e intelectual (Barcelona: Crítica, 1989). Enric Juliana, “El dominó de la Europa del sur”, Modesta España. Paisaje después de la austeridad (Barcelona: RBA, 2012), pp. 190-215. Thomas Harrington, “The Hidden History of Tripartite Iberianism,” A Comparative History of Literatures in the Iberian Peninsula, Fernando Cabo, Anxo Abuín, César Domínguez, eds. (AmsterdamPhiladelphia: John Benjamin Publishing Company, 2007). José Hermano Saraiva, Historia de Portugal (Madrid: Alianza Editorial, 1989). Víctor Martínez-Gil, El naixement de l’iberisme catalanista (Barcelona: Curial, 1997).

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Víctor Martínez-Gil, ed., Uns Apartats Germans: Portugal i Catalunya. Irmãos afastados: Portugal e a Catalunha (Ciutat de Palma: Instituto Camões-Lleonard Muntaner Editor, 2010). Sinibaldo de Mas, La Iberia: memoria sobre la conveniencia de la unión pacífica y legal de Portugal y España (Barcelona: Imprenta de Narciso Ramírez, 1856). Josep  M. Muñoz, Jaume Vicens i Vives. Una biografia Intel·lectual (Barcelona: Edicions 62, 1997). Julio Navarro, Catalunha e as nacionalidades ibéricas (Lisbon: Livr. Central de Gomes Carvalho, 1908). Xosé Manoel Núñez, lnternacionalitzant el nacionalisme. El catalanisme polític i la qüestió de les minories nacionals a Europa (1914-1936) (Catarroja-València: Editorial Afers-Universitat de València, 2010). Eugeni d’Ors, Glosari 1908-1909, ed. Xavier Pla (Barcelona: Quaderns Crema, 2001). Josep Pella, “De la propaganda para la unión entre España y Portugal”, La España Regional, 5/8 (1890), pp. 26-35. Francesc Pi i Maragall, Las nacionalidades (Madrid: Impr. de Enrique Rubiños, 1882). Antoni de Puigblanch, Opúsculos gramátco-satíricos (Barcelona: Curial, 1976) facsimile copy from (London: G. Guthrie, 1828). Francesc Pujols, Un llibre estel de Joaquim Cases-Carbó “El problema peninsular” (Barcelona: Llibreria Catalònia, 1935). Ignacio de Loyola Ribera, Portugal Artístic (Barcelona: Biblioteca Popular de L’Avenç, 1905). Ignacio de Loyola Ribera, Iberisme (Barcelona: Biblioteca Popular de L’Avenç, 1907). José Antonio Rocamora, El nacionalismo ibérico: 1732-1936 (Valladolid: Publicaciones de la Universidad de Valladolid, 1994). Jesús Revelles, La interpretació portuguesa de Josep Pla (Research project for a doctorate in Humanities, Thesis supervisor: Víctor MartínezGil, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, 2008). Joan Safont, Per França i Anglaterra. La I Guerra Mundial dels aliadòfils catalans (Barcelona: Acontravent, 2012). Joaquim Sala-Sanahuja, “El lusitanisme a Catalunya: Ignasi Ribera i Rovira, Antonio Ribera, Fèlix Cucurull i Manuel de Seabra”, Uns apartats Germans: Portugal i Catalunya. Irmãos Afastados: Portugal

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e a Catalunha, Víctor Martínez-Gil, ed. (Ciutat de Palma: Instituto Camões-Lleonard Muntaner, 2010). Josep Sánzhez, “Les relacions entre Catalunya i Portugal des del 1640 fins ara”, Uns Apartats Germans: Portugal i Catalunya. Irmãos afastados: Portugal e a Catalunha, Víctor Martínez-Gil, ed. (Ciutat de Palma: Instituto Camões-Lleonard Muntaner, 2010). Josep Maria de Sagarra, Memòries, 2 vols. (Barcelona: Edicions 62, 1981), especially vol. 2. Josep Mª Tallada, La crisi d’una civilització (Barcelona: Llibreria Catalònia, 1935). Enric Ucelay-da Cal, El imperialismo catalán. Prat de la Riba, Cambó, D’Ors y la conquista moral de España (Barceloan: Edhasa, 2003). Hipólito de la Torre, Josep Sánchez, Portugal en el siglo XX (Madrid: Ediciones Istmo, 1992). Joan Valls, Ignasi Ribera, Un gran periodista nascut a Castellbell i el Vilar (1880-1942) (Castellbell: Ajuntament de Castellbell, 2002).

Iberian identities – some final remarks Dick E. H. de Boer Rijksuniversiteit Groningen

The conference that based the present book  – in which Catalonia and Portugal both were observed as Iberian regions, or better, in which the Iberian peninsula was treated as a large geological entity, of which Catalonia and Portugal were the periphery  – was organized within the framework of the large European Science Foundation project Cuius Regio. This project itself is part of the programme EuroCORECODE. Whereas the programme as a whole aims at acquiring a better understanding of the role and dynamics of regions and regionalism (from their very origins throughout historical times) through a comparative and inter-disciplinary approach, Cuius Regio was designed as a cooperative project, in which the historical developments of a group of eight regions, representing a multi-levelled, cultural, morphological, typological and historical variety, spread over Europe, are compared. This approach will lead to a better understanding of the cohesive and disruptive dynamics of regions over a period of about seven centuries in a “Braudelian” way. The starting point lays around the year 1200, when the process of regional clustering at a larger scale begins to leave its footprints in the written sources at a larger scale. These footprints can be both directly and indirectly; historiography, expressing a regional identity or identification; development of literary and linguistic texts with regional specifics, showing the attachment of people, both as individuals an as groups to a clearly distinguishable territory, or showing the politicizing and institutionalizing of the region into polity. But also the role of symbols and customs, and last but not least of the natural environment as elements of “regio-genesis”1 would be involved as well.

1

Compare the concept of ethnogenesis as developed by: Walter Pohl, “Aux origines d’une Europe ethnique. Transformations d’identités entre Antiquité et Moyen Age”, Annales. Histoire, Sciencies Sociales, 60 (2005), pp. 183-208.

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Of course, the fate of regions would be studied within the context of a constantly changing European interplay of powers, in which dynasties could function both as region-makers and as region-breakers, and in which the more informal characteristics of regions would be increasingly subordinated to the formal characteristics of the emerging nation-state. The concept of region, applied in Cuius Regio is derived from the social sciences, esp. social or human geography, seeing the region mainly as a social construct. The ideas of the Finnish geographer Anssi Paasi and his German colleague Hans Blotevogel helped to develop the conceptual framework. Both see regions as “time-space-constructions”. Paasi distinguishes four aspects of the institutionalizing-process of regions: a. the territorial form, b. the symbolic form, c. the institutional form and c. the functional role of a region2. This comes close to the division made by Blotevogel in: a. Realregionen (being in his vision the natural or economic landscape), b. Tätigkeitsregionen (spaces of action of (groups of) persons) and c. Wahrnehmungs- und Identitätsregionen (regions as an aspect of corporate identity, and the goal of social and political systems)3. So far these ideas were mainly applied by (social) geographers to modern European regions. By applying them to the medieval and early modern period of Europe, and questioning all regions within the Cuius Regio-project with a questionnaire that systematically asks after the presence of regional consciousness, the bearers of such consciousness, elements of internal and external identification, institutions and formal and informal networks etc., a new methodology of regional historical research was developed in which not the apparent uniqueness of regions, but the manifest comparability, through structural similarities in different phases and shapes, contributes to a better understanding. This approach implies that the emphasis lays on the region as a spatial entity, as a product of human agency, the unity of which is dependent of the inhabitants who, as “stakeholders”, experience, create, adhere, express, form and transform their region. Yet, undeniably, the dynastic and national paradigms tend to dominate the field. There is an almost inevitable double interdependency in which regions create dynasts, and dynasts create (and 2

3

Anssi Paasi, “The institutionalization of regions. A theoretical frame work for understanding the emergence of regions and the constitution of regional identity”, Fennia, 164 (1986), pp. 105-146; since then expressed in many other publications. Hans Heinrich Blotevogel, “Zur Konjunktur der Regionsdiskurse“, Informationen zur Raumentwicklung, 9/10 (2000), pp. 491-506.

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destroy) regions. When counts, dukes and kings changed from “rulers in certain territories” into “rulers of these territories”, the formalization and politicizing of space gradually changed what we could call with a German word Personengruppenverbandregionen (regions composed of personal networks) into counties-provinces-nations-states. This process of institutionalization and state-formation tended to erode and consume the region. The “dynastic pitfall” is even more manifest in the field of historiography, since most historiography over time was commissioned by, or dedicated to a ruler, and thus turned the entity of authority into the synonym or at least homonym of the region. As an inevitable consequence, the regions studied in the Cuius Regioproject in part reflect older or more recent political entities, or have to be understood in relation to the impact that state formation and modern borders have on older notions of togetherness. These regions are (roughly clockwise presented): 1.

2.

3.

The Guelders-Lower Rhine-region: a small/middle sized more or less informal region, composed of the former duchy of Guelders, several smaller principalities (like Jülich and Cleves) and parts of the archdiocese of Cologne, which for a long time functioned as a cultural and economic entity, but after 1648 grew apart since the Netherlands separated from the German Empire, and Guelders and the Oversticht became provinces of the Dutch Republic, whereas the other parts remained principalities within the Empire, later Germany. The Danish-German marshes as border-regions during a long period functioned as one of the main contact zones between Scandinavia and the rest of Western Europe. The Danish-German duchies developed a complicated political structure which offers an interesting element to the discussions of state formations and of different kind of states and power. This region also allows the inclusion of a different type of non-stately region, being the “Hanseatic system”, which developed partly in confrontation, partly in cooperation with the Danish region. The former “Livonia” (German: “Livland”). The expansion of the Teutonic Order in the eastern Baltic area  – nowadays Estonia and Latvia  – created a region with a multiple linguistic, juridical, ethnic, cultural and religious layering. The different indigenous tribes and power-structures were incorporated in the political structure of the Teutonic Order and came under “German” supervision, without

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5.

6.

7.

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becoming really integrated. After the disintegration of the Teutonic Order and the German Hansa and during Swedish and Russian domination the regional entities managed to survive. Silesia, Upper-Lusatia nowadays is a combined region at a point where Poland, Germany and the Czech Republic share borders, and where different aspects of Europe’s ethnic (and military) past meet. The creation of a Silesian “sub-nation” as a historical potential never came into being, although efforts have been made to do so. Therefore Silesia is not only an example of a region in between nations, it is also the scenery where many actors have been trying to create Silesian identity. In this region several layers of ‘social memory’ are visible. The Bohemian-Luxemburg crown-lands offer the very interesting example of a “virtual region” in the sense that as the (partially scattered) territories of the “Hausmacht” of the Bohemian-Luxemburg dynasty, they shared many aspects (culture, dynasty, institutions) that could have led successfully to the development of a large region, yet did not (or only did temporarily). As such they form a very interesting testcase, or even object of verification/falsification where cohesive and disruptive forces can been seen at work. Transylvania is the only Balkan-region included in the project, and as such the region which through the ages witnessed the largest linguistic, ethnic, religious and political variety of all regions involved and yet preserved a very strong cohesion, in which the processes of integration and assimilation are very interesting. Its position in the eastern parts of the (Austrian) Hungarian realm, in the transitional zone with Rumania lead to a delicate situation, which even nowadays has social, cultural and political consequences. Portugal: seen as an Iberian region that developed into a nation on its own. The development of regional attachment towards a national expression is therefore highly interesting, and the role played by linguistic diversification, dynasty, the confirmation of cohesion through trade and expansion, the relation between “natural region” and “historical region” are important elements here. Next to this the existence of regions within Portugal and the special function of border-regions like Galicia deserve attention. Catalonia on the one hand may be seen as a counterpart to Portugal, being a very large region, itself subdivided into many sub-regions, but not developing into a nation, although many elements like cultural

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expression, linguistic peculiarity, and commercial networks pointed into that direction. On the other hand it is important because of the existence of regional cohesion across a major natural barrier (the Pyrenees), that obviously functioned as a connecting zone as well. Also it is one of the best examples of a region where in recent times tradition and identity have been expressed vehemently, and regional autonomy has been propagated within the nation-state. Of course, more regions could have been included in the research project, especially historical regions that have been absorbed by the development of nations, and/or cut through by modern borders, like Hainaut, “Frisia Magna”, Savoy-Piemonte, Tirol-South Tirol, the British-Scottish border-marshes, Graubünden-duchy Milan. For practical – mainly financial – reasons they have been left out. But without doubt the methodology and concepts as developed in Cuius regio will serve as an excellent tool to better understand the character of these and other regions. The present conference has been quite exemplary in dealing with the different elements of our regional analysis, while comparing the two last regions of my survey: Portugal and Catalonia. I just can mention a few aspect that drew my attention. Already in the first paper, presented by Luis Moreno the role of social networks as “stakeholders” of a region, and their survival strategies that helped creating, keeping alive (and in rare occasions deconstructing) the region became clear, while showing how the different choices and loyalties already in the very early development of the Iberian peninsula explain the differences in the “musulman” success. I even wondered if a stronger role of the urban-based nobility might have created stronger entities which might not have needed the pactos de paz, and thus could have prevented a conquest, which in fact was just a take-over. When studying regions one of our main problems is the teleological approach: we mostly understand the region in the light of the outcome of the historical process; therefore we are conceptually held hostage by the image of the nation state. Colleague Sottomayor-Pizarro clearly has shown in his paper how important a new “value-free”, “denationalized” approach can be to understand old data in a new way, no longer regarding the known historical result as the only path history could have followed. Several other papers also showed a fresh approach that not was dominated by a “Castilian frustration” but instead was looking at the elements that served as the building blocks and the transmitters of different kinds of

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attachments and identities. Among them architecture as one of the means to express the appropriation of identity, the symbolic domination of space, in an effort to create a bond between a (new) ruler and a territory. This possibility to create a link between a (new) dynasty and a region, and thus to communicate both transfer and preservation of identity with a wider audience, is a nice example of the multidisciplinary way to understand regions. Lucia Rosa’s paper gave nice examples of the functionality of architecture, without taking the next step and asking if the coming of the Burgundian dynasty in Portugal brought about a change in architecture, and was there a policy of deliberate founding and building to create a tangible bond. Or even asking: was there a visible appropriation of the region by the ruler and of the ruler by the region (and its stakeholders). The various processes of mutual appropriation and the role and function of different networks and different tools seem to be an essential instrument to understand the dynamics of regions. As such, this conference showed already a rich harvest of new approaches and ideas. Yet, to my opinion one key-notion remained a bit problematic: being the one of “periphery”. Although implicitly questioned in several papers (e.g. the ones by Cristina Pimenta and Antoni Simon), the notion of periphery seems to confirm and to create a problem. First of all, it confirms an approach that looks upon the Iberian peninsula almost as a world on its own, as a real island, organized, experienced, and interpreted from a Habsburg-Castilian centre. A seemingly unique microcosm, or at least solar system, of which Catalonia and Portugal are the outer planets. This approach takes the central and leading role of Castile for granted as the main explanatory factor. This creates another problem: next to the confirmation of the teleological approach, it prevents the appreciation of the peripheries becoming centre and the centres becoming periphery. This is one of the most fundamental dynamics of regions: their interaction with other regions constantly changes along processes of domination, equilibrium and subordination. Spain itself is a nice example of this, if we look at the Iberian peninsula as the southwestern region of Europe. One might argue that during certain periods the Iberian peninsula belonged to the periphery of Europe, but at the same time was a central region in the exchange between Western Europe and western North-Africa. And of course two “inner regions” of Spain became central in two colonial systems, although seen from Latin America and East-Asia they were peripheral.

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To my opinion this conference strongly contributed to a better understanding of Iberian plurality, and to our awareness that attachments to regions and expressions of regional identities, from within and from without, have to be studied through analysis of the noble, commercial, intellectual, cultural and political networks in which the stakeholders of a region – of any size and form – create its cohesion.

Identities. An interdisciplinary approach to the roots of the present Identités. Une approche interdisciplinaire aux racines du présent Identidades. Una aproximación interdisciplinar a las raíces del presente

Individual or collective, assumed or imposed, accepted or disputed, identities mark out the basic framework that root the human being in society. Language, literature, the creation of a shared memory, social formulas and the range of all cultural expressions have contributed to articulating human life as a mixture of identities. Given these concerns, this series publishes books from the different branches of the Humanities and Social Sciences, which have taken identity as a prism through which the problems of current society and its historical roots are studied. The preferential use of English, French and Spanish ensure greater dissemination of research collected here. The series includes monographs, collected papers, conference proceedings. Individuelles ou collectives, assumées ou imposées, acceptées ou combattues, les identités configurent le premier cadre d’enracinement de l’être humain en société. La langue, la littérature, la création d’une mémoire commune déterminée, les formules sociales et toutes les expressions culturelles ont contribué à articuler la vie humaine comme un treillis d’identités. Compte tenu de ces préoccupations, cette collection publie ouvrages depuis les diverses branches des sciences humaines et sociales qui prennent l’identité comme prisme par lequel étudier les problèmes de la société d’aujourd’hui et ses racines historiques. L’utilisation préférentielle de l’anglais, le français et l’espagnol assure une plus grande diffusion des recherches ici présentés. La collection accueille des monographies, ouvrages collectifs et actes de congrès. Individuales o colectivas, asumidas o impuestas, aceptadas o combatidas, las identidades configuran el primer marco de enraizamiento del ser humano en sociedad. La lengua, la literatura, la creación de una determinada memoria común, las fórmulas sociales y todas las expresiones culturales han contribuido a articular la vida humana como un entramado de identidades. Asumiendo estas preocupaciones, esta colección publica obras provenientes de las distintas ramas de las Humanidades y las Ciencias Sociales que adopten la identidad a modo de prisma con que estudiar los problemas de la sociedad actual y sus raíces históricas. El uso preferente del inglés, el francés y el castellano garantizan una mayor difusión de las investigaciones aquí recogidas. La colección acoge monografías, obras colectivas y actas de congreso.

Editorial address:

Institut for Research into Identities and Society (IRIS) University of Lleida Plaça Víctor Siurana 1 25003 Lleida Catalonia / Spain

Vol. 1 Flocel Sabaté (ed.) Identities on the move ISBN 978-3-0343-1296-7, 2014 Vol. 2 Flocel Sabaté (ed.) Hybrid Identities ISBN 978-3-0343-1471-8, 2014 Vol. 3 Flocel Sabaté (ed.) Perverse Identities ISBN 978-3-0343-1556-2, 2015 Vol. 4 Flocel Sabaté (ed.) Conditioned Identities ISBN 978-3-0343-1618-7, 2015 Vol. 5 Flocel Sabaté & Luís Adão da Fonseca (eds.) Catalonia and Portugal ISBN 978-3-0343-1650-7, 2015