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King Louis’s renunciation of claims in Catalunya. In this period Catalunya’s
economic development
was rapid,fuelled by the exploits of Barcelona’s mercan-
tile class, who were quick to see the possibilities of Mediterranean commerce.
Maritime customs were codified in the so-called
Llibre del Consolat de Mar
, trade
relations were established with North Africa and the Middle East, and consulates
opened in foreign ports to protect Catalan interests.
Equally important during Jaume’s reign was the establishment of the
Corts
,
Catalunya’s first parliament – one of the earliest such bodies in Europe, and
demonstrative of the confidence developing within the region. In 1249, the first
governors of Barcelona were elected, nominating councillors to help them who
became known as the Consell de Cent.
On Jaume’s death, his kingdom was divided between his sons, one of whom,
Pere II
(“the Great”), took Catalunya,Aragón andValencia. Connected through
marriage to the Sicilian Crown, Pere used the 1282 “Sicilian Vespers” rising
against Charles of Anjou to press his claim to the island. In August that year,
Pere was crowned at Palermo, and Sicily became the base for Catalan exploits
throughout the Mediterranean. Athens and Neopatras were taken between
1302 and 11 by Catalan mercenaries, the
almogávares
, and famous sea-leaders-
cum-pirates such as Roger de Flor and Roger de Llúria fought in the name
of the Catalan-Aragonese crown. Malta (1283), Corsica (1323), Sardinia (1324)
and Naples (1423) all fell under the influence of successive count-kings.
With the territorial gains came new developments with a wider significance.
Catalan became used as a trading language throughout the Mediterranean,
and 1289 saw the first recorded meeting of a body that became known as the
Generalitat
, a sort of committee of the Corts.Within it were represented each
of the three traditional estates – commons, nobility and clergy – and it gradually
became responsible for administering public order and justice, and maintaining
an arsenal and fleet for the defence of the kingdom.
Social and economic developments
By the mid-fourteenth century Catalunya was at its economic peak. Barcelona
had become an important city with impressive new buildings, both religious and
secular, to match its status as a regional superpower – the cathedral, church of
Santa María del Mar, the Generalitat building, the Ajuntament (with its Consell
de Cent meeting room) and the Drassanes shipyards all testify to Barcelona’s
wealth in this period. Catalan became established as a
literary language
, and
Catalan works are recognized as the precursor of much of the great medieval
European literature: the Mallorcan Ramon Llull’s
Book of Contemplation
appeared
in 1272, and his romance
Blanquerna
was written a century before Chaucer’s
Canterbury Tales
.
Architecture
progressed from Romanesque to Gothic styles,
with churches displaying features that have become known as Catalan-Gothic
– such as spacious naves, hexagonal belfries and a lack of flying buttresses.
Even while this great maritime wealth and power were being celebrated in
such fashion, the seeds of decline were being sown. The
Black Death
made
its first appearance in the Balearics in 1348 and visited Catalunya several times
over the next forty years, and by the end of the century half the population
had succumbed to the disease. As a result, there was increasing pressure on the
peasantry by the landowners, who were determined not to let their profits fall.
The rise of Castile
The last of Wilfred the Hairy’s dynasty of Catalan count-kings, Martin the
Humane (Martí el Humà), died in 1410 without an heir. After nearly five
CONTEXTS
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A history of Barcelona and Catalunya