This document records the death of Pere the Ceremonious in a manner of certification at the end of a treasury record book. The episode relates a few notable events from the life of King Pere, who reigned from 1336-1387.
Episode 17
ACA RP MR, vol. SG, 652, inside back cover (image 258) Source: PARES
Today’s Document
Subject: an official record of the death of King Pere the Ceremonious
Date: January 10, 1387
Day of the Week: Thursday
Language: Latin
Archival Reference Number: ACA RP MR, vol. SG, 652, inside back cover (image 258)
Sourcing: we do not know who wrote this and that is not the usual kind of treatment in the chancery and treasury records, in which a lot of dedication gets put into notarizing by name
Contextualization: this document glories in the vast Mediterranean territorial holdings of the Crown of Aragon, currently at its apex
Corroboration: Violant’s letters signed as La Reyna begin on January 6th
Close-Reading: the document begins Migrauit ab hoc seculo, he departed from this earthly world;
What is this document doing?
This document literally closes the book on Pere’s reign, certifying its end in the format and language appropriate to the state bureaucracy.
Questions
Was it standard practice to close out the last treasury record volume like this when the subject died?
How were these volumes bound and re-bound over the centuries since their creation?
Is the back cover reinforcement material made of parchment?
Bibliography
Bisson, Thomas N. Medieval Crown of Aragon: A Short History. Clarendon Press, 1986.
Catlos, Brian A. “Contexto y conveniencia en la Corona de Aragón: Propuesta de un modelo de interacción entre grupos etno-religiosos minoritarios y mayoritarios.” Revista d’història Medieval 12 (2001-2002): 259–68.