Season 1, Episode 166

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Violant communicates to the officials of Mallorca that Joan fired the assessor there.

Today’s Document

• Subject: replacing an assessor who was too slow
• Date: June 8, 1387
• Day of the Week: Saturday
• Language: Catalan
• Archival Reference Number: ACA CR R1819 f100v-101r
• Link to PARES
• Place: Barcelona
• Sender: Violant
• Recipients: the Governor of Mallorca, lawyer Johan Martin, Petro Tries a magistrate in Mallorca

Historical Thinking Notes

• Sourcing: Violant issues the directives in these documents but states that Joan made the decision to fire the previous assessor, Jacme de Vila; it is the likely impetus for this document was some merchants in Barcelona complaining about the delay in the ruling from the current assessor

• Contextualization: Mallorca was a vibrant trade port; several officials worked to assess the value of cargo for taxation purposes and in some ports there were overlapping multiple authorities doing this kind of work

• Corroboration: the document examined in Episode 69 corroborates this one in the importance of Mallorca as a center of maritime trade;

• Close-Reading: the inclusion of the royal procurator in these documents implies a close communication between him and the parties involved in whatever case has come before the assessor; I would like to know the function of the ‘estranyera’ in this document, whether it is referring to an actual foreigner or if it is a threat of what will happen if there is noncompliance

What is this document doing?

• This document reinforces the close connections between royal officials and high status merchants.
• The document smooths the way for trade goods to be processed through royal bureaucracy.

Questions

• Did Violant have the authority to remove the assessor if she had wanted to earlier?
• What was the cargo, or other property, being assessed in the case that caused this problem?
• Why had Jacme de Vila delayed his ruling on the case?
• Had Johan Martin already known about this and was he prepared to take over as assessor?
• Would the Governor and magistrate of Mallorca been resentful about this royal intervention?
• To what extent did Violant consult with Joan about this situation before composing these letters?

Additional Note

This document helped me to identify the word that starts with ‘geren…’ before Gubernatoris as a form of gero, gerrere. The meaning amounts to ‘the one who currently conducts the office of’ Governor.

AI Usage

The transcription and translation of this document was carried out by my OpenClaw pipeline. I also used Claude to research the position of assessor in the government of Mallorca.

Bibliography

• Ferrer i Mallol, Maria Teresa. “Catalan Commerce in the Late Middle Ages.” Catalan Historical Review, no. 5 (2012): 29-65.

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