Season 1, Episode 40

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Joan recommends Arnaldo Torrelles for a position connected to the Bishop of Tortosa.

Today’s Document

• Subject: Recommendation for Arnaldo Torrelles
• Date: February 2, 1387
• Day of the Week: Saturday
• Language: Latin
• Archival Reference Number: ACA CR R1923 f19v-20r
• Link to PARES
• Place: Barcelona
• Sender: Joan
• Recipients: Bishop of Tortosa

Historical Thinking Notes

• Sourcing: another example of the top secular authority of a realm, in this case the King of the Crown of Aragon, interceding in the process of filling an ecclesiastical position; as king, Joan’s recommendation will likely persuade the Bishop of Tortosa to give Arnaldo Torrelles the posting

• Contextualization: the intertwined character of royal and ecclesiastical authority within the Crown of Aragon; the situtation of Tortosa as a key municipality firmly within the sovereignty of the Crown of Aragon

• Corroboration: with several letters now examined in which the King and Queen of the Crown of Aragon intercede in the process of ecclesiastical appointments, this document appears to fit in a well-established pattern of shared authority between the state and the church on the topic of who will occupy positions of power in municipalities across the realm

• Close-Reading: the inclusion of Raymundo Barbera and the mention of a fine of 1000 florins in connection to his actions raises questions about the meaning and purpose of the entire document

What is this document doing?

• This document reinforces the connection between secular and religious authority in the Crown of Aragon.
• The document also activates the social network of Arnaldo Torrelles to secure a post.

Questions

• Is this a straightforward recommendation letter or does the additional text hint at larger problems in Tortosa?
• What is Arnaldo Torrelles’s background?
• What kind of position was Arnaldo being considered for by the Bishop of Tortosa?
• Who was Raymundo Barbera?
• Is the threatened fine a warning to Barbera? What behavior or action is the fine referring to?
• Was the governance, secular and ecclesiastical, of Tortosa stable or chaotic at this time?

Additional Notes

Sicily became a territory of the Crown of Aragon in the context of the War of the Sicilian Vespers in the late thirteenth century. The role of Sicily in the disagreement between Pere the Ceremonious and Joan about Joan’s second marriage was discussed in Episode 7.

AI Usage

I used ChatGPT to figure out that Dertusen was the Latin toponym for Tortosa and also to attempt to find additional information about Arnaldo Torrelles and Raymundo Barbera.

Bibliography

• Girona y Llagostera, Daniel. “Itinerari de l’Infant En Joan, Fill Del Rei En Pere III. 1350-1387.” III Congreso de Historia de La Corona de Aragón (Valencia), Hijo de F. Vives Mora, 1923, 169–592. Available on Google Books, accessed December 26, 2025.
• Udina i Martorell, Frederic. Guía histórica y descriptiva del Archivo de la Corona de Aragón. Madrid: Ministerio de Cultura, Dirección General de Bellas Artes y Archivos, Dirección de los Archivos Estatales, 1986.

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