Season 1, Episode 87

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Joan grants privileges of becoming a public notary to Raymundo Diebra.

Today’s Document

• Subject: privileges for Raymundo Diebra
• Date: March 21, 1387
• Day of the Week: Thursday
• Language: Latin
• Archival Reference Number: ACA CR R1890 f5v-6r
• Link to PARES
• Place: Barcelona
• Sender: Joan
• Recipient: Raymundo Diebra

Historical Thinking Notes

• Sourcing: the recipient of this office, Raymundo Diebra, must have demonstrated his trustworthiness or had someone in his social network vouch for him; by investing this notary with the power of the state, Joan re-enacted his kingship

• Contextualization: the end of the document lists all the various government officials in the Crown of Aragon, including bailiffs and veguers; the state apparatus of the Crown of Aragon comprised many levels of authority and status for the individuals who held positions

• Corroboration: the document examined in Episode 67 offers an interesting comparison to this one, as it documents the end of a state official’s career in the granting of a pension whereas this document initiates the start of a career as a public notary

• Close-Reading: the word ‘tabellionatus’ appears to mean something like legal clerk, but a more particular usage of the term likely existed at the time; this document spells out that part of what produces a legitimate notarial contract is the requirement that the notary be present at the time of the drafting and signing of the document

What is this document doing?

• This document allows the recipient to act as a legitimate representative of the state apparatus.
• The document reinscribes the position of notary as authoritative.

Questions

• What else was known at the time about Raymundo Diebra?
• Had Joan or his father granted privileges to Raymundo Diebra before?
• Was anything about this appointment atypical?

AI Usage

I used Gemini for an initial transcription, which I then had Claude reconcile with its own initial transcription. Claude then produced a translation into English with footnotes. Gemini and Claude incorrectly transcribed ‘apposueris’ which turned out to be key to understanding the meaning of that sentence, however their transcriptions both turned out to arrive at the generally correct meaning of the sentence anyway.

Bibliography

• Bisson, Thomas N. Medieval Crown of Aragon: A Short History. Clarendon Press, 1986.

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