TheUsages of Barcelona (Catalan:Usatges de Barcelona,IPA:[uˈzadʒəzðəβəɾsəˈlonə];Latin:Usatici Barchinonae) were the customs that form the basis for theCatalan Constitutions. They are the fundamental laws and basic rights ofCatalonia, dating back to their codification in the twelfth century.
The Usages combined fragments ofRoman andVisigothic law with the resolutions of thecomital court of Barcelona and the religiouscanons of ecclesiastic synods. The first Usages were compiled and codified byRamon Berenguer I, Count of Barcelona (1035–1076), to repair the deficiencies ofGothic law. However, the evidence for Ramon's work dates from the codes ofJames the Conqueror of a later date (reigned 1213–1276). James, seeing that some judges ruled by Gothic law and some by Roman law, according to a tradition ofusus terrae (local custom), approached theCatalan Courts in 1251 to establish the primacy of the Usages. Though the Usages applied legally only to theBarcelonan county, in practice they were applied to the entirePrincipality of Catalonia.
The Usages incorporated several other competing codes of the same era:
The oldest manuscript containing the Usages dates from the end of the 12th century. Between the 15th and 18th centuries, they were copied frequently. TheNueva Planta decrees superseded them with the central legislation of theBourbons, though continued to have some force.