Alejandro Martínez Giralt
PhD in Medieval History (Universitat de Girona). My Doctoral Thesis is about the Catalan noble lineage of the Viscounts of Cabrera between 1199 and 1423. It focuses mainly on political maneuvers of individuals, family memory and family patterns, as well as the making of and the administration of the dominion. It was defended on 10 February 2016.
Supervisors: Pere Orti Gost (Universitat de Girona)
Supervisors: Pere Orti Gost (Universitat de Girona)
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No restrictions for research or teaching purposes. If that is not the case, please contact me (please find below my Email address).
Sense restriccions pel que fa a usos de recerca i de docència. En cas contrari, els prego que es posin en contacte amb mi (vegeu la meva adreça d'e-mail, que figura més a baix).
Sin restricciones en lo que concierne a usos de investigación y docencia. En caso contrario, les ruego se pongan en contacto conmigo (véase mi dirección de e-mail, que figura más abajo).
E-mail: alexmgiralt@gmail.com
No restrictions for research or teaching purposes. If that is not the case, please contact me (please find below my Email address).
Sense restriccions pel que fa a usos de recerca i de docència. En cas contrari, els prego que es posin en contacte amb mi (vegeu la meva adreça d'e-mail, que figura més a baix).
Sin restricciones en lo que concierne a usos de investigación y docencia. En caso contrario, les ruego se pongan en contacto conmigo (véase mi dirección de e-mail, que figura más abajo).
E-mail: alexmgiralt@gmail.com
A mere glance at sources issued by public notaries subjected to the authority of those high nobles reveals that, at least in some cases, local communities evolved similarly to their royal counterparts, thus developing legal personalities that preserved their communal traits and made them capable of defending themselves against abuse or limiting further seigneurial demands.
In these baronial contexts, local communal identities and their legal personalities appear to have adopted a public discourse that not only exposed a clear, respectful, and therefore cautious recognition of the reality of power relationships, but also tell us much about negotiation processes that initially are not expected from feudal nobility. Yet those identities arose of an acknowledgement that the future of noble lordship in such an age of crisis would depend mainly on fostering acceptancy by granting privileges. In return, barons may even have relied on this strategy to obtain immediate political and military support when necessary.
The estates of the viscounts of Cabrera (one of the more powerful and long-lasting lineages of the Medieval Catalan high nobility) provide us with some instances of this kind. In this sense,
the aim of this paper is to show when and how communal identities began to emerge in the Cabrera states; in which manner they used discourse to ensure that their otherwise evolving legal personalities were respected; and, finally, how their building strengthened bonds between viscounts and subjects to the extent of creating a true belief in the legitimacy of defending the former against whatever foe, even the king himself.