Llibre dels fets
The Llibre dels fets (Catalan pronunciation:
James I of Aragon dedicates a couple of chapters to his mother
The conquest by James I in 1229 of
The oldest extant manuscript written in the original
Particular features
As the title itself indicates, more than a bare chronicle, the Llibre dels fets is in fact a "Book of Deeds". Studies conducted in the 1980s concluded that this medieval manuscript is of an undefined literary style, since it was dictated entirely orally. James I of Aragon, a cultivated man, dictated the entire book to royal scribes, who at that point in history commonly performed the labour of actually writing the king's words with pen on paper. Its style is informal and colloquial.
Here is an extract of the first lines:
... Raconta Mon Senyor San Jaume que la fe sense obres, morta es. Aquesta paraula va voler complr Senyor en els nostres fets...
(English: ... says My Lord Saint James that faith without actions, is dead. This word he wanted to accomplish, Lord, in our deeds...)
The principal characteristics of James' style are:
- Religious Feeling
- The love of the King for his realms
- Direct participation in the events described
- Military and heroic spirit
- Popular and improvised language
Structure
In the Llibre dels Fets, James I of Aragon describes his life and his most important actions, such as the conquest of the Muslim-held Valencia and Majorca. The narrative begins with his birth in 1203 and ends with his death in 1276. The prologue and epilogue are written in a different style, more erudite and perfectionist than the rest of the text, and presumably written after his death. James was generally very explicit in expressing himself, as shown in his recitation of his deeds:
E per tal que los hòmens coneguessen, quan hauríem passada aquesta vida mortal, ço que nós hauríem fet [...] e per dar eximpli a tots los altres hòmes del món...
(English: So that men acknowledge, when we have passed this mortal life, this that we have accomplished [,,,] and to give example to all the other men of the world...)
In the Latin translation of 1313 by Pere Marsili, the friar informs his readers that he has translated chapters from the manuscripts then kept in the royal archives, indicating that the texts of the chronicles already existed and that they were written in the vulgar language, i.e., not in Latin, but in Catalan.
The oldest preserved copy of the manuscript in the Catalan language is the copy ordered in 1343, more than 60 years after James' death, by the Abbot of the
The internal structure of both versions seems to indicate two moments in time: the first part may have been dictated around 1240, shortly after James' conquest of Valencia. The facts before 1228 are explained in a brief, imprecise way even with significant errors, while from then on, the narrative shows greater detail and precision.
The supposed second part might have been dictated around 1274, and has a similar structure; the facts from 1242 to 1265 are condensed in a few pages, while the later years are again explained in great detail. The prologue and the section that describes his illness and death were probably written or dictated by someone in James' trust. The Catalan copy of 1343 and the Latin translation of 1313 have left posterity the same content.[7]
General content
The content of the Llibre dels fets, the chronicles of James I, can be divided into four parts:
- 1208–1228: Some chapters dedicated to his ancestors and parents, his mother (military religious order within the medieval Crown of Aragon), guarded and raised him. James' childhood at Monzon Castle, (the Templars' main castle).[8]He also explains his further marriage to Eleanor of Castile.
- 1229–1240: The most detailed part of the "Llibre dels fets". The conquest of Majorca (1229). This would be the first step in the history of the Crown of Aragon. Shortly after that would come the conquest of Valencia in 1238. The book tries to prove how King James accomplishments were Divine Will.
- 1240–1265: Describes the conflicts with the Saracen rebels from Valencia.
- 1265–1276: Again a narrative describing the battles against the Moors. The conquest of Murcia. Also a lot of political episodes which claim to justify his actions. The last chapters, which explain the king's illness and death were written and included in the Chronicle presumably after James' death.
Language and style
A didactic and justifying intention is largely reflected throughout the chronicle as a religious impulse, indicating that James I believed the execution of the work was guided by divine providence. The king, who normally desired to appear as an epic hero, not only recounts military and political history in the narrative, but also frequently mentions small details of his daily life, as well as some of his most intimate thoughts.
A "popular and vivid language" full of proverbs and colloquial expressions is used in the chronicles, which also quote foreign personages speaking other languages such as
Chapters
Chapter I: Prologue
Chapters 2–4: Ancestors
Chapter 5: The holiness of his conception and baptism
Chapters 6–7: Dedicated to his parents Peter II of Aragon "the Catholic" and Maria of Montpellier.
Chapter 8–9: Tragic death of his father King
Chapter 10: Liberation of James I of Aragon, "the Conqueror" (he is 6 or 7 years old)
Chapter 11: Cortes de Lerida (Courts of Lerida)
Chapters 12–14: James' stay at Monzón Castle, where he was raised by the Templar Knights
Chapters 15–16: 1st Revolt of the Nobility
Chapters 17–19: Wedding with Eleanor of Castile
Chapters 20–25: 2nd Revolt of the Nobility
Chapters 26–34: 3rd Revolt of the Nobility
Chapters 35–46: War for the County of Urgell
Chapters 47–117: Conquest of Mallorca
Chapters 118–124: Submission of the island of Menorca (within the Balearic Islands, from the Muslim taifas by the Treaty of Capdepera
Chapters 125–126: Conquest of island of Ibiza in the Balearic Islands, from the Muslim taifas, all three islands forming the Christian Kingdom of Majorca)
Chapters 127–289: Southern Conquest of Valencia from the Moors' 'taifa' (formation of Kingdom of Valencia)
Codices and editions
Five codices of the text from the 14th century and two from the 15th are preserved, all based on a translation of the original Catalan text into Latin by the Dominican friar Pere Marsili at the order of King James' grandson (his namesake James II of Aragon). He intended to adapt the original text to contemporary manners and style, as can be read:
[...] So that the deeds of His glorious grandfather (James I), collected in a truthful but vulgar style, shall be put to date and once translated to Latin, form a single History volume, a full chronicle in which all the actions of the king his grandfather (James I the Conqueror) will be woven together.[9]
Friar Pere Marsili finished this royal assignment on 2 April 1313, and then petitioned the king that a copy of the manuscript be made for the
[...] with the purpose of the last day of the year, the annual feast which commemorates the conquest of the city of Majorca, for God's glory and the eternally worshiping memory of his Luckiest Prince (James I), and so the friars who preach on this significative solemn date in front of the whole clergy and people, could rely to this book, and more firmly be informed of the truth of the facts."[9]
The official delivery of the Cronice Illustrissimi Regis Aragonum domini Jacobi victorissimi principis was made on 2 June 1314[10] at the Church of the Friars Preachers (església dels frares predicadors) of Valencia.
Six official copies of the Latin translation by Pere Marsili exist. Four dating from the 14th century[