Season 1, Episode 99
Joan authorizes a salary for an official.
Episode 99
](/historians-notebook-s1-episodes/images/apr-2-aca-cr-r1945-f1r-joan.jpg)
ACA CR R1945 f1r Source: PARES
Today’s Document
- Subject: Joan authorizes a salary for an official
- Date: April 2, 1387
- Day of the Week: Tuesday
- Language: Latin
- Archival Reference Number: ACA CR R1945 f1r
- Link to PARES
- Place: Barcelona
- Sender: Joan
- Recipient: Petrus Sorridos
Historical Thinking Notes
-
Sourcing: it is notable that Joan himself appears to authorize the salary or pension for an official that might not have had very high status in the state bureaucracy; perhaps bureaucrats performed most of the authorial tasks related to this document and Joan merely approved it quickly as one small task during his day
-
Contextualization: over the long term, the multiplicity of pensions would have added up to a major budget item for the treasury; at the same time, the kings and queens of the Crown of Aragon this instrument ensured loyalty through as a social welfare program for retired officials and others who had proved their loyalty
-
Corroboration: comparing this document to others about pensions would likely provide us with additional confirmation of this document’s purpose and context; the other pension-related documents thus far in the podcast have been those examined in Episode 67, Episode 76, Episode 87, and Episode 89
-
Close-Reading: the type of payment described in this document is called a ‘cena’ which does have an origin in some kind of feast but by this time it was monetary only; it is possible that I am misreading this document and the payment is being made to Joan from Petrus Sorridos, but at this point I think that is not likely
What is this document doing?
- This document rewards loyal service through an annual salary.
- The document possibly establishes a state pension for an individual.
Questions
- Had Joan heard of Petrus Sorridos before the day that he authorized this pension?
- What had Petrus Sorridos’s position been in the state bureaucracy?
- Why had the chancery scribes chosen this type of register, Curie, versus Commune or Gratiarum, for this document?
- Why do some documents later in the register have the date listed as a top heading of the document instead of the usual placement at the end of the text of the document?
- Was this cena pension quite typical or was there anything unusual about it?
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.
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.