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13th century. Catalonia (Iberia). A Latin chronicle of the monastic school of Ripoll. Initially a brief account of the Catalan counts of Barcelona, Besalú, Cerdanya and Urgell, constructed in 1180-4, the text was based on earlier chronicles of Ripoll as well as legends and traditions. A section on Alfons II's reign was added in 1200-8, a further section on the reign of Pere II and the minority of Jaume I in the 1220s, with a final section on Jaume I's reign written in the late 1260s. At the close of the 13th century a new text was constructed by three separate writers, this becoming t…

14th century. Catalonia (Iberia). A Dominican, Domènec was master of the order in Provence, then provincial of Aragon (1363-7) and inquisitor general in the kingdom of Mallorca. He was closely tied to the court of Pere IV of Aragon and tutor to Joan I. In 1360 Peter IV commissioned him to write a universal history which the king intended would complement the history of his own reign. This work, known as the Compendi historial, was an adaptation in Catalan of the Speculum historiale of Vincent of Beauvais. It is conserved in Paris, BnF, esp. 122. Only the first four parts of the work, …

late 15th century. Catalonia (Iberia). Historian and heraldist, belonging to a well-connected Catalan family. He wrote two works, the Arbre d'honor (1471), a wide-ranging and popular handbook of chivalric practices, and the Record (completed 1476), a history of the kings of Aragon and counts of Barcelona. The Record is heavily based on Pere Tomic's chronicle, in many places being an exact copy, and like Tomic, Turell sought to exalt the comital dynasty. There are some notable differences, however, with Turell adopting an independent line on the loss of Spain, the Carolingian origins …

1265-1336. Catalonia (Iberia). Author of the Crònica de Ramon Muntaner. His native town of Peralada having been destroyed in the French invasion of 1285, Muntaner participated as a soldier and administrator in the conquest of Menorca (1286-7) and in the almogàver expedition in the Byzantine empire (1302-9), then becoming governor of the island of Djerba (1309-15). He entered the service of Jaume III of Majorca in 1332.Muntaner's chronicle was written in Valencia ca 1325-8. His personal experience of the affairs of the crown of Aragon during a period of more than forty years ins…

1208-76. Aragon/Catalonia (Iberia). King of Aragon 1213-76. Author of the Llibre dels fets (Book of deeds). Written in Catalan prose, dictated by the king, probably during the last five years of his life. About 160,000 words in length, it is a history of Jaume's early life (1208-29), his successful military campaigns in Majorca (1229-35), Valencia (1232-58) and Murcia (1264-6), and his political relations, especially with Navarre, Castile, Urgell and the papacy. As the king's own version of events, it was intended for the use both of a general public …

early 15th century. Catalonia (Iberia). Knight and author of the Històries e conquestes del realme d'Aragó e principat de Catalunya, dedicated to Dalmau de Mur, archbishop of Tarragona and then Zaragoza (1419-56). Tomic's work runs from the origin of the world until the reign of Alfons V the Magnanimous. The first part closely follows Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada's De rebus Hispanie on the mythic origins of Spain; the following chapters on the Goths and the kings of Aragon until the union with Catalonia (1137) are also influenced by the Crónica de S. Juan de la Peña, as are those on the crown …

15th century. Catalonia (Iberia). Historian and orator. A student of law at Bologna, Margarit became bishop of Elne (1453), Girona (1462), cardinal (1483), chancellor of Joan II and Ferran II and ambassador to the papal court. He was one of the leading figures of Catalan humanism. Margarit's works include the brief De origine regum Hispanie et gotorum (1458-9); the Templum Domini (1464), a defence of ecclesiastical rights and property; and the Corona regum (1468), an educational treaty for the young Ferran. But his best-known work is the unfinished Paralipomenon Hispaniae, begun bef…

late 13th century. Catalonia (Iberia). Possibly to be identified with Bernat Escrivà, who fulfilled various administrative roles, including treasurer, in the royal court of Aragon and died in 1289. Author of the Catalan-language Llibre del rei En Pere, one of the four great chronicles of medieval Catalan literature. The work, of some literary merit, was written in 1280-6 and then probably revised 1286-8. The revision, which gives ever greater focus to the reign of Pere III (1276-85), was left unfinished. It was probably written to influence Alfons III (1285-91).The first part provi…

‘Book of deeds’ James I of Aragon Date: 1269-76 Original Language: Catalan Description The Llibre dels feyts is approximately 160,000 words in length. It was probably written in the last years of James’s reign, 1269-76. While the authorship has been disputed, most scholars now believe the work to be substantially James’s own account of what he considered to be the most important occasions when God had favored him during his long reign. The ‘Deeds’ are a treasure trove of information on the image, power and purp…

Biography James became king at the age of five when his father, Peter II, was defeated and killed at the battle of Muret on 12 September 1213. Brought up at the forbidding Templar fortress at Monzón, the years of his minority saw almost continuous fighting between the higher nobles. James’s first attempt to establish his own authority, a campaign against the Muslims of Peñíscola in 1225, ended in humiliating failure. His next campaigns were against the nobles in Aragon, with whom he came to terms…

14th century. Catalonia (Iberia). Administrator and chronicler. His family, from Badalona, advanced through a long association with the kings of Aragon, his father rising to the rank of vice-admiral. Bernat spent 60 years in the Crown's service, with a special association with the administration of newly-conquered Sardinia where he was already lieutenant of the Mestre Racional in 1336 from 1339. From 1348 he was a scribe in the royal chancery at Barcelona and a close confidant of Pere IV of Aragon (1336-87), who sent him on many missions. From ca 1372 his administrative …