Ordination and Ceremonial of the Coronation of the Monarchs of Aragón

On 232 pages, the wonderful manuscript from the mid–14th century offers a glimpse of both the formal as well as the intimate and personal ceremonies of the Spanish King and his royal household. King Pedro IV of Aragón decreed that his court regulations should be drafted in such a manuscript. Alongside these regulations concerning the various administrators and functionaries and the course of daily life at court was a second part concerning the ceremonial coronation of the King of Aragon and his Queen. An unbelievable glimpse into the life of the Aragonese royal court in the 14th century!

A Rule Book at the Order of the King

King Pedro IV of Aragón (1336–87), who also ruled over Barcelona, Valencia, and Mallorca in addition to his heartland of Aragón, commissioned the transcription of the complicated Spanish court ceremonials. His rules of the house and court were supposedly based on the model of the Leyes Palatinas of Jaime III. de Mallorca. Furthermore, this manuscript, in which the house rules and the official ceremonial of the court were collected, was completed in three copies for Saragossa, Barcelona, and Valencia; in their three respective vernaculars, naturally!

The Everyday Life of the King

The first part of the manuscript from 1344 contains these regulations for the royal house. Based on the four main offices of the court – Court Marshall, Chancellor, Chamberlain, and Maestre Racional, the treasurer – the administrators and functionaries of the court, the course of daily life, and other special occasions were regulated. Thereby the document offers a glimpse into the most intimate and private affairs of the Aragonese King and his royal household.

The Coronation Ceremony

The second part of the 232 page manuscript with the dimensions of 36.8 x 26.8 cm concerns itself with a special occurrence at the Aragonese royal court: the coronation of the new king. The coronation ceremony was explained here in all detail. Thus the procedures of the official ceremony follow the events on the eve of the coronation. Subsequently, a section is devoted to the anointment and coronation of the Queen. The manuscript offers therewith an unbelievably imminent, direct glimpse into the exciting events of the royal court of Aragon!