Politics in a medieval kingdom: a collection of documents that governed all aspects of life in Catalonia for 400 years
Furs
Valencia (Spain) — 1261

Furs
Valencia (Spain) — 1261
This document is a collection of "Furs" – legal norms and precepts establishing the medieval Kingdom of Valencia
It regulated all aspects of political life in Catalonia and remained in effect for more than four hundred years
The kingdom was officially proclaimed in 1261 by the first king of Valencia, Jacob the Conqueror (1208–1276)
Furs
- Els Furs de València
- Furs de la Ciutat i Regne de València
- Furs valencians
- Llibre dels furs
Short Description
The so-called Furs de Valencia are a collection of legal norms and precepts establishing the political and legal life in the Kingdom of Valencia during the Middle Ages. The code of laws evolved over many years and was first officially proclaimed in the year 1261, as James I of Valencia swore his oath of office. The specimen of the significant historical document at hand is furnished with gorgeously colored illustrations on precious golden backgrounds and numerous marginal decorations, as well as colorful initials.
Furs
The so-called Furs de Valencia is a collection of laws which were in effect in the Kingdom of Valencia during the Middle Ages and during the Early Modern Period. The legal code was a compilation of numerous legislative contracts and can be compared with a modern constitution. The Furs are one of the few surviving documents in existence that is a source about the separation of power, the monarchy, and the system of rights in medieval Europe. The political and historical significance of this influential codex is immeasurable. Numerous illustrations in vivid colors and with the lavish application of gold adorn the pages of the manuscripts as well as artfully designed, colorful historiated initials subdividing the significant text.
A Document of Historical Significance
The laws contained in the Furs de Valencia are based on various legal norms, which had already manifested themselves in Catalonian society before the beginning of the Middle Ages. The most important foundation thereof was the so-called Customs of Barcelona, which recorded the basic laws and rights of the citizens of Catalonia. Also, the common law of Lleida and the laws of Aragon were included in the creation of the handwritten list of rights. The Furs were officially proclaimed in the year 1261 by the first King of Valencia, James the Conqueror. In a solemn ceremony, he read the code of laws before the people and thereupon swore his oath of office as King of Valencia before the parliament that had been founded in the same year.
The Law of Catalonia
The Furs de Valencia regulated all aspects of political life in the Catalonian kingdom. It specified the succession to the throne, as well as regulating the separation of powers between the royal family, the nobility, the princes of the Catholic Church, and those in the legal field. This legal code remained in effect for more than four hundred years. Finally in the year 1707, the Furs were finally replaced by the Decretos de Nueva Planta – literally translated as the ordinances for complete renewal – which were signed by Philip V of Castile. Only recently, in the course of the amended agreement concerning the autonomy of the community of Valencia in the year 2006, a few precepts of citizenship from the Furs have been made binding once again.
Codicology
- Alternative Titles
- Els Furs de València
Furs de la Ciutat i Regne de València
Furs valencians
Llibre dels furs - Size / Format
- 254 pages / 38.0 x 27.0 cm
- Origin
- Valencia (Spain)
- Date
- 1261
- Epochs
- Style
- Artist / School
- Boronat de Pera
1 available facsimile edition(s) of „Furs“
Llibre dels furs
- Publisher
- Vicent Garcia Editores – Valencia, 1976
- Limited Edition
- 2000 copies
- Binding
- Engraved leather on wooden board with metallic shield. Presentation dust jacket includes facsimile and commentary volume.
- Commentary
-
1 volume (274 pages) by Arcadi Garcia I Sanz and Alfons Guirau
Language: Valencian - More Information
- Specially made paper with the same characteristics as the original. Limited edition numbered and signed by notary.
Matching Works
Liber Chronicarum by Hartmann Schedel
The world-famous chronicle with beautiful cityscapes: the largest and perhaps most important project of early book printing
Experience MoreParis Alexander Romance
In the possession of Henry VIII: the most magnificent version of a medieval biography of Alexander the Great
Experience MoreMatching Background Articles
Gothic
Gothic illumination is some of the most spectacular and iconic imagery of medieval art and first emerged in Northern...Experience more13th Century
Despite ongoing religious wars and the threat of Mongol invasion from the East, this is a time of great personalities,...Experience moreChronicles
Take a deep dive into history with a medieval chronicler, trace the history of the world or focus on the history of a...Experience more
- Treatises / Secular Books
- Apocalypses / Beatus
- Astronomy / Astrology
- Bestiaries
- Bibles / Gospels
- Chronicles / History / Law
- Geography / Maps
- Saints' Lives
- Islam / Oriental
- Judaism / Hebrew
- Single Leaf Collections
- Leonardo da Vinci
- Literature / Poetry
- Liturgical Manuscripts
- Medicine / Botany / Alchemy
- Music
- Mythology / Prophecies
- Psalters
- Other Religious Books
- Games / Hunting
- Private Devotion Books
- Other Genres
- Aboca Museum
- Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt (ADEVA)
- Aldo Ausilio Editore - Bottega d’Erasmo
- Alecto Historical Editions
- Ars Magna
- ArtCodex
- AyN Ediciones
- Bärenreiter-Verlag
- Belser Verlag
- Belser Verlag / WK Wertkontor
- Bernardinum Wydawnictwo
- BiblioGemma
- Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana (Vaticanstadt, Vaticanstadt)
- Bibliotheca Palatina Faksimile Verlag
- Bibliotheca Rara
- CAPSA, Ars Scriptoria
- Circulo Cientifico
- Club Bibliófilo Versol
- CM Editores
- Collezione Apocrifa Da Vinci
- Comissão Nacional para as Comemorações dos Descobrimentos Portugueses
- Coron Verlag
- De Agostini/UTET
- DIAMM
- E. Schreiber Graphische Kunstanstalten
- Ediciones Boreal
- Ediciones Grial
- Edilan
- Editalia
- Edition Leipzig
- Edition Libri Illustri
- Editiones Reales Sitios S. L.
- Editions Medicina Rara
- Editorial Mintzoa
- Egeria, S.L.
- Extraordinary Editions
- Facsimile Editions Ltd.
- Facsimilia Art & Edition Ebert KG
- Faksimile Verlag
- Franco Cosimo Panini Editore
- Fundación Hullera Vasco-Leonesa
- Giunti Editore
- Graffiti
- Grafica European Center of Fine Arts
- Helikon
- Herder Verlag
- Hes & De Graaf Publishers
- Hugo Schmidt Verlag
- Idion Verlag
- Il Bulino, edizioni d'arte
- Imago
- Insel Verlag
- Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana - Treccani
- Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato
- Kaydeda Ediciones
- La Meta Editore
- Leo S. Olschki
- Libreria Musicale Italiana
- Lumen Artis
- M. Moleiro Editor
- Manuscriptum
- Millennium Liber
- Nova Charta
- Orbis Mediaevalis
- Orbis Pictus
- Österreichische Staatsdruckerei
- Patrimonio Ediciones
- PIAF
- Popyläen Verlag
- Prestel Verlag
- Priuli & Verlucca, editori
- Pro Sport Verlag
- Pytheas Books
- Quaternio Verlag Luzern
- Reales Sitios
- Reichert Verlag
- Roberto Vattori Editore
- Salerno Editrice
- Schöck ArtPrint Kft.
- Scrinium
- Scripta Maneant
- Scriptorium
- Siloé, arte y bibliofilia
- Styria Verlag
- Tempus Libri
- Testimonio Compañía Editorial
- The Clear Vue Publishing Partnership Limited
- The Facsimile Codex
- The Folio Society
- Tip.Le.Co
- TouchArt
- Trident Editore
- Vallecchi
- Van Wijnen
- Vicent Garcia Editores
- Wiener Mechitharisten-Congregation (Wien, Österreich)
- Yushodo