Season 1, Episode 39

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Joan authorizes a personnel change at Perpignan Castle.

Today’s Document

• Subject: governance of Perpignan Castle
• Date: February 1, 1387
• Day of the Week: Friday
• Language: Latin
• Archival Reference Number: ACA CR R1912 f96v
• Link to PARES
• Place: Barcelona
• Sender: Joan
• Recipients: Johan del Moli

Historical Thinking Notes

• Sourcing: As king, Joan held supreme authority over the governance of royal properties and I think the Perpignan Castle is likely one of those properties

• Contextualization: Claire Ponsich wrote a detailed article about Joan and Violant’s customs and furnishings at Perpignan Castle, mostly citing documents from later in their reign¹; it’s clear that they filled the space of this castle with splendor

• Corroboration: a document from Martí’s register would help with corroborating this; a far deeper knowlege of the history of Perpignan would also inform the meaning behind Joan’s decision to support this change of personnel

• Close-Reading: I suspect that, following the examples of some of the other documents, Johan del Moli has performed admirably for Martí and that this plays into whatever development this document traces

What is this document doing?

• This document reiterates the king’s authority over the governance of royal properties in Perpignan.
• The document furthers the cooperation between Joan and Martí in the establishment of the new reign.

Questions

• Who was Johan del Moli and what was his new role at Perpignan Castle?
• How had Martí been involved in this?
• Why did this document later need the additional squeezed-in note of April 1st?
• Are the rings mentioned in this letter related to the rings sent by Violant to Joan on January 6th?
• What was the larger context for the governance of Perpignan Castle at this time?
• How often had Joan and Violant stayed in Perpignan Castle before their reign?

AI Usage

I used ChatGPT to help with the transcription and translation of the Latin in this text. I especially got caught up in trying to figure out the scribe’s use of the word “Nora” which begrudgingly I am accepting as an abbreviation for ‘nostra.’ Without ChatGPT’s help, I would probably not have noticed the potential Team NextGen moment in this document.

Bibliography

• Ponsich, Claire. “Perpignan au féminin, 1380-1431. Quand une femme de pouvoir codifie l’espace, maîtrise l’émotion politique mais libère le sentiment familial.” In Perpignan une et plurielle, edited by Raymond Sala and Michelle Ros, 177–203. Canet: Trabucaire, 2004.

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