Libre dels privilegis de Valencia

Libre dels privilegis de Valencia

The so-called Privileges of Valencia is a collection of legal documents, which were ordered by various noble dignitaries of the Kingdom of Aragon. The handwritten, repeatedly reworked and appended codex possesses inestimable worth for historical research. It is one of the most comprehensive legal texts from the Kingdom of Valencia’s period of origin. The manuscript in the Gothic style is illustrated with numerous decorative initials, which are elaborately patterned and designed with high-quality colors.

A New Realm Emerges

The Privileges of Valencia was commissioned by the Aragonese monarchs for a specific purpose. The book’s norms and legislative regulations were meant to serve as a direct connector between the monarchy and the common people. The commoners of Valencia were meant to obtain insight into all of the levels of government administration. The book regulated the separation of powers and established certain processes in the realm that was recently founded by the Crown of Aragon. The codex delivers detailed information about the reign of the first monarchs, King Jaime I in particular.

Various Versions

The privileges were originally written on parchment. Having said that, the texts were integrated into various collections, reconditioned, and expanded. The Libre dels privilegis de Valencia is the most comprehensive collection of the written laws steeped in tradition. It is also simultaneously the first truly complete collection of this text and its original specimen has been stored in the royal archive of the Crown of Aragon for centuries – possibly since its genesis. This historically important collection of texts contains over 100 documents from the reign of Kings Jaime I, Pedro I, Alfonso I, and Jaime II of Valencia. That being said, the majority of the documents, 75 altogether, originate from the reign of Jaime I, the Conqueror.