TheLlibre dels fets (Catalan pronunciation:[ˈʎiβɾəðəlsˈfets]; fromCatalan, 'Book of Deeds';Old Catalan:Libre dels feyts) is theautobiographical chronicle of the reign ofJames I of Aragon (1213–1276). It is written in Old Catalan[2] in the first person and is the first chronologically of the four works classified asThe Four Great Catalan Chronicles,[3][4] all belonging to the early medievalCrown of Aragon (in the northeastern part of what is now Spain), and its first royal dynasty, theHouse of Barcelona. James I inherited as a child the titles ofKing of Aragon,Count of Barcelona, andLord of Montpellier, but also became by conquestKing of Majorca andKing of Valencia. James emphasises in his chronicles hisconquest of Majorca (1229) and ofValencia (1238).
James I of Aragon dedicates a couple of chapters to his motherMaria of Montpellier and his fatherPeter II of Aragon (called "Peter the Catholic"), who had been given the title of "Rex Catholicissimus" by the Pope after theBattle of Las Navas de Tolosa in which he helpedAlfonso VIII of Castile fight against theMoors, one year before his death. Peter II of Aragon died defending his vassal lords ofOccitania, who were accused of allowing theCathar heresy to proliferate in their counties. He was killed in theBattle of Muret, fighting against theCrusader troops commanded bySimon de Montfort.[5][6] Though the text of theLlibre dels fets was dictated and edited by James I, the actual writing was done by scribes, not James himself; it is written incolloquial language, representing the native tongue as spoken, and its style is direct.
The conquest by James I in 1229 ofMajorca, one of theBalearic Islands held by theMuslim Almohads, and his consequent founding of theKingdom of Majorca, probably inspired him to start the dictation of his chronicles, he having had an active part in theReconquista of theIberian Peninsula (in the context of Europe's medieval ChristianCrusades). TheLlibre dels fets narrative ends with James' death in 1276. Though the original is lost, many ancient copies of the codex have survived.
The oldest extant manuscript written in the originalCatalan language, a copy dating to 1343, was commissioned by the abbot of thePoblet Monastery. An older manuscript dating to 1313, the "Cronice Illustrissimi Regis Aragonum", was the version translated intoLatin from the Catalan original "Llibre dels Feyts del Rei en Jacme". The Latin translation is signed by theDominican friarPere Marsili, who was ordered byJames II of Aragon (James I's grandson) to honour his grandfather's memory by promulgating his words in the internationally used Latin language.
As the title itself indicates, more than a bare chronicle, theLlibre dels fets is in fact a "Book of Deeds". Studies conducted in the 1980s concluded that this medieval manuscript is of an undefined literary style, since it was dictated entirely orally. James I of Aragon, a cultivated man, dictated the entire book to royal scribes, who at that point in history commonly performed the labour of actually writing the king's words with pen on paper. Its style is informal and colloquial.
Here is an extract of the first lines:
... Raconta Mon Senyor San Jaume que la fe sense obres, morta es. Aquesta paraula va voler complr Senyor en els nostres fets...
(English: ... says My Lord Saint James that faith without actions, is dead. This word he wanted to accomplish, Lord, in our deeds...)
The principal characteristics of James' style are:
In theLlibre dels Fets, James I of Aragon describes his life and his most important actions, such as the conquest of the Muslim-heldValencia andMajorca. The narrative begins with his birth in 1203 and ends with his death in 1276. The prologue and epilogue are written in a different style, more erudite and perfectionist than the rest of the text, and presumably written after his death. James was generally very explicit in expressing himself, as shown in his recitation of his deeds:
E per tal que los hòmens coneguessen, quan hauríem passada aquesta vida mortal, ço que nós hauríem fet [...] e per dar eximpli a tots los altres hòmes del món...
(English: So that men acknowledge, when we have passed this mortal life, this that we have accomplished [,,,] and to give example to all the other men of the world...)
In the Latin translation of 1313 byPere Marsili, the friar informs his readers that he has translated chapters from the manuscripts then kept in the royal archives, indicating that the texts of the chronicles already existed and that they were written in the vulgar language, i.e., not in Latin, but inCatalan.
The oldest preserved copy of the manuscript in the Catalan language is the copy ordered in 1343, more than 60 years after James' death, by the Abbot of thePoblet Monastery. The text of the Catalan manuscript is nearly identical to that of the Latin translation, but the Catalan version cannot be a copy of the Latin version, as the Catalan one is written in the first person, mainly using the majestic plural "we", and only a few times the singular "I", while the Latin version is written in the third person, using the first person in only a few quotes. This fact makes it improbable that the Catalan manuscript comes from the Latin version.
The internal structure of both versions seems to indicate two moments in time: the first part may have been dictated around 1240, shortly after James' conquest of Valencia. The facts before 1228 are explained in a brief, imprecise way even with significant errors, while from then on, the narrative shows greater detail and precision.
The supposed second part might have been dictated around 1274, and has a similar structure; the facts from 1242 to 1265 are condensed in a few pages, while the later years are again explained in great detail. The prologue and the section that describes his illness and death were probably written or dictated by someone in James' trust. The Catalan copy of 1343 and the Latin translation of 1313 have left posterity the same content.[7]
The content of theLlibre dels fets, the chronicles of James I, can be divided into four parts:
A didactic and justifying intention is largely reflected throughout the chronicle as a religious impulse, indicating that James I believed the execution of the work was guided by divine providence. The king, who normally desired to appear as an epic hero, not only recounts military and political history in the narrative, but also frequently mentions small details of his daily life, as well as some of his most intimate thoughts.
A "popular and vivid language" full of proverbs and colloquial expressions is used in the chronicles, which also quote foreign personages speaking other languages such asAragonese,Galician-Portuguese (used by the Crown of Castile),Arabic orOld French.
Chapter I: Prologue
Chapters 2–4: Ancestors
Chapter 5: The holiness of his conception and baptism
Chapters 6–7: Dedicated to his parentsPeter II of Aragon "the Catholic" andMaria of Montpellier.
Chapter 8–9: Tragic death of his father KingPeter II of Aragon "the Catholic" at thebattle of Muret in 1213 defending hisvassal lords, against theFrankish crusaders who were invadingOccitania, in the context of theAlbigensian Crusade (also called theCathar Crusade). The Captivity of King James I of Aragon bySimon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester, commander of the Frankish crusaders.
Chapter 10: Liberation of James I of Aragon, "the Conqueror" (he is 6 or 7 years old)
Chapter 11:Cortes de Lerida (Courts ofLerida)
Chapters 12–14: James' stay atMonzón Castle, where he was raised by theTemplar Knights
Chapters 15–16: 1st Revolt of the Nobility
Chapters 17–19: Wedding withEleanor of Castile
Chapters 20–25: 2nd Revolt of the Nobility
Chapters 26–34: 3rd Revolt of the Nobility
Chapters 35–46: War for the County of Urgell
Chapters 47–117: Conquest of Mallorca
Chapters 118–124: Submission of the island ofMenorca (within theBalearic Islands, from the Muslimtaifas by theTreaty of Capdepera
Chapters 125–126: Conquest of island ofIbiza in the Balearic Islands, from the Muslimtaifas, all three islands forming the ChristianKingdom of Majorca)
Chapters 127–289: Southern Conquest ofValencia from the Moors' 'taifa' (formation ofKingdom of Valencia)
Five codices of the text from the14th century and two from the15th are preserved, all based on a translation of the original Catalan text intoLatin by theDominican friarPere Marsili at the order of King James' grandson (his namesake James II of Aragon). He intended to adapt the original text to contemporary manners and style, as can be read:
[...] So that the deeds of His glorious grandfather (James I), collected in a truthful but vulgar style, shall be put to date and once translated to Latin, form a single History volume, a full chronicle in which all the actions of the king his grandfather (James I the Conqueror) will be woven together.[9]
Friar Pere Marsili finished this royal assignment on 2 April 1313, and then petitioned the king that a copy of the manuscript be made for theFriars Preachers ofMajorca, his homeland, to be used on the day of the "Feast of the Banner":
[...] with the purpose of the last day of the year, the annual feast which commemorates the conquest of the city of Majorca, for God's glory and the eternally worshiping memory of his Luckiest Prince (James I), and so the friars who preach on this significative solemn date in front of the whole clergy and people, could rely to this book, and more firmly be informed of the truth of the facts."[9]
The official delivery of theCronice Illustrissimi Regis Aragonum domini Jacobi victorissimi principis was made on 2 June 1314[10] at the Church of the Friars Preachers (església dels frares predicadors) of Valencia.
Six official copies of the Latin translation by Pere Marsili exist. Four dating from the 14th century[citation needed] (conserved respectively in theNational Library of Catalonia, the Archives of theKingdom of Majorca, the Archives of the Cathedral ofPalma de Majorca and theUniversity of Barcelona's Library). A copy from the 17th century is kept at theArchives of the Crown of Aragon and another from the 19th in theReal Academia de la Historia of Spain.
Dated to 1343, the oldest surviving codex in the original Catalan language is the copy ordered by Ponç de Copons, the abbot of thePoblet Monastery, as mentioned:
Aquest libre féu escriure l'onrat en Ponç de Copons, per la gràcia de Déu, abbat de l'honrat monestir de Sancta Maria de Poblet, en lo qual monestir jau lo molt alt senyor En Jaume, aqueyl que aquest libre parla, dels feyts que féu ni li endevengueren en la sua vida
(English: This book was ordered by the honorable Ponç de Copons, by God's grace, abbot of the St Maria Poblet Monastery, where there lies the most high Lord Sir James, the one about who the book tells, about the deeds and acts that he encountered in his lifetime). Friar Celestí des Torrents, who finished this manuscript on 17 September 1343.
This copy from the Poblet Monastery was made from an original manuscript owned by the Royal Chancellery. On 11 November 1343, KingPeter IV of Aragon sent a letter to the abbot of the Poblet Monastery demanding the return of the original codex[11] In 1585 KingPhilip II of Spain visited the Poblet Monastery and ordered a copy of the chronicle for theRoyal Library of San Lorenzo de El Escorial, Madrid.
The second Catalan codex manuscript source, dating to 1380, comes directly from the Royal Chancellery of King Peter IV of Aragon, and must be a direct copy of the original, as the king himself commanded Johan deBarbastro to make it. The text in Latin:
Mandato serenissimi domini petri dei gratir regis Aragonum valentiae, Majoricarum, cardinieae et Corsicae, Comitisque Barchinonae, Rossilionis et Ceritaniae [...] Ego Iohannes de Barbastro de scribania predicti domini Regis Aragonum, oriundus Cesaraugustae scripsi Ciuitate Barchinonae Anno a Nativitate Dmi. Mo. CCCo. octuagesimo sripsi
(English: By order of Peter, by God's Grace King ofAragon,Valencia,Majorca,Sardinia andCorsica, Count of Barcelona,Roussillon andCerdanya [...] I Johan de Barbastro, scribe chosen by the King of Aragon [...] in the City of Barcelona, year of The Lord's Nativity, 1380)
Its prologue, in Catalan, reads:
Aquest es lo començament del prolech sobre el libre que feu el rey en Jacme per la gracia de Deu rey de Arago e de Mallorches e de Valencia, comte de Barchinona e d'Urgell e senyor de Muntpesler de tots los fets e de les gracies que Nostre Senyor li féu en la sua vida
(English: This is the beginning of the prologue about the book that King James made, by Holy Grace,King of Aragon, ofMajorca andValentia, Count of Barcelona and Count of Urgell, and Lord of Montpellier, of all his deeds and gifts our Lord gave to him in his lifetime.)
A relevant fact about this copy is that Johan deBarbastro used an official codex from the Royal Chancellerie (now disappeared). King Pere IV ("the Ceremonious") ordered three copies: one for Majorca, one for Barcelona and another for Valencia. Only the Majorcan copy has survived, and is now preserved in theNational Library of Catalonia.
This first printed edition was ordered and paid for by theJury of the city of Valencia in 1557. Made in a period of historical inquiries, once the print was finished, a copy was sent to Madrid to King Philip II of Spain (known by the Catalans asPhilip II of Castile) from theHouse of Habsburg, who had also been very interested in the manuscript codex kept in the Poblet Monastery.
Other manuscripts have survived, all copies of the one made for the Poblet Monastery in 1343. There is one relevant codex between them conserved in the library of the University of Barcelona made by student Jaume Ferrera by order of his master, Prior Jaume Ramon Vila,[12] who added a prologue, which is its singular feature. The Prior explains the reason he ordered the present copy of theLlibre dels fets, was "to deny the forgery issues thatCastilian historians were throwing atCatalans". He indicates as well that the illustrations are faithful copies of the manuscript dated 1343 from the Poblet Monastery. The other relevant feature of this codex is the second original illustration that did not survive from the Poblet manuscript. In this picture theMayor of the Palace, Hugh de Forcalquier, and Blasco de Alagón are kneeling before James I.