Season 1, Episode 52

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Violant writes to the Avignon Pope urging him to expedite the promotion of James the Bishop of Valencia to Cardinal.

Today’s Document

• Subject: James the Bishop of Valencia wants to become a Cardinal
• Date: February 14, 1387
• Day of the Week: Thursday
• Language: Latin
• Archival Reference Number: ACA CR R1818 f97v
• Link to PARES
• Place: Barcelona
• Sender: Violant
• Recipients: Avignon Pope Clement VII

Historical Thinking Notes

• Sourcing: As I have started to notice the high frequency with which Violant writes to Avignon Pope Clement VII, I am wondering about whether she knows him or if her family connections give her more influence with him; at the very least, as Queen of the Crown of Aragon, one of the powerful polities to throw its support behind the Avignon Papacy, Violant knows that she has abundant sway with Clement VII

• Contextualization: Western Schism of 1378, Pere attempted neutrality and Joan sided with Avignon; the Western Schism arose not from doctrinal dispute but from leadership dynamics; the sovereignty that the Crown of Aragon possesses over the ‘Kingdom of Valencia’ at times might feel tenuous due to the distance between Barcelona and Valencia, however by this time Valencia had been part of the Crown of Aragon for over 150 years

• Corroboration: this document is a follow-up to the one we examined in Episode 50 and provides us with another example of Violant and Joan collaborating on a pressure campaign; if the promotion of James to become a Cardinal was a simple matter, it would not require this follow-up letter; at times, Violant might have written follow-up letters to Joan’s as a matter of routine, but the language choices in this letter demonstrate that Violant intended to use her clout (see Close-Reading directly below)

• Close-Reading: Violant uses the word ‘expedire’ and elsewhere in the letter refers to earlier communication about this topic, leading me to think that this letter is meant to come across as a reminder and an increase in pressure toward the Pope about this topic

What is this document doing?

• This document positions the Pope as someone who needs reminding by the Queen of the Crown of Aragon, a move that reduces the usual amount of deference that we might see in other relationships between sovereigns and the Pope.
• The document also puts forward an effort to strengthen the ties between the Crown of Aragon and the Avignon Papacy through raising a member of the royal family into a position of higher authority in the Papal bureaucracy.

Questions

• Why did the promotion of James the Bishop of Valencia require reminders and additional explanations?
• Was James the Bishop of Valencia operating as a quasi-viceroy for the royal family at this time?
• What was the process for becoming a Cardinal and how many new ones were appointed each year?
• Is Violant frustrated with Pope Clement VII’s lack of action on this topic?
• How would James’s promotion to Cardinal change things for the rule of Valencia or for Joan and Violant’s rulership?

AI Usage

I used ChatGPT to help with paleography and Latin translation. ChatGPT wanted to amp up some of its odd emotional responses and it claimed that this was a ‘classic’ document and says that ‘Violant’s voice is quietly present.’ I cannot for the life of me understand why it would choose to use ‘quietly present’ as a phrase to describe a chancery document. Also, ChatGPT is starting to succumb to confirmation bias regarding the cooperation between Violant and Joan because it knows that I am looking for evidence of that.

Bibliography

• Ponsich, Claire. ‘De la parole d’apaisement au reproche: un glissement rhétorique du conseil ou l’engagement politique d’une reine d’Aragon?,’ Cahiers d’études Hispaniques Medievales 31 (2008): 81–117.
• Rollo-Koster, Joëlle, and Thomas M. Izbicki, eds. A Companion to the Great Western Schism (1378-1417). Brill, 2009.

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