The Customs of Tortosa
File:Costums de Tortosa (1881).djvu
The Customs of Tortosa (Catalan: Els Costums de Tortosa), officially the Book of the General Written Customs of the Illustrious City of Tortosa is a compilation of Tortosan civil law, produced in 1272 and promulgated in 1279. It is the first extant entry into Catalan civil law. A parchment codex from 1272 survives; it measures 49 x 34 cm and is the flagship documentary piece of the Regional Archive of Baix Ebre. Its particular importance—from the perspectives of law, history, and Catalan philology—makes it a landmark not only of Tortosa’s past but also of the entire realm of the Crown of Aragon.[1]
Beginning with the conquest of Ramon Berenguer IV and the Charter of Settlement (Carta de Poblament) granted in 1149, a legal corpus began to take shape to regulate the society of Tortosa and its extensive territory. Tensions soon arose between the feudal lords who held authority over Tortosa and the emerging bourgeois class, eventually developing into an open struggle. The codification of the customs sought to contain this conflict by framing and balancing these opposing interests.[1]
The codex in question is a 13th-century manuscript made of parchment. It appears to correspond to the commission the city entrusted to the notaries Pere de Tamarit and Pere Gil, and it bears the date 1272.[1]
The origin of the Customs of Tortosa lies in the charter of settlement granted by Ramon Berenguer IV on November 30, 1149, which established the foundations of a new administration that was non-feudal (or less feudal), a model he would repeat in Lleida a year later.[2]
This charter contains the first reference to mores bonos et consuetudines (“good customs and usages”), customs that met opposition from the dual lordship of the House of Montcada and the Knights Templar. Some of the customs that would later be applied were already written into this charter and were subsequently expanded and clarified through judicial rulings and royal privileges.
Although these customs were not formally codified until 1272, they had been used in the court of Tortosa since 1149. Several disputes arose concerning them, particularly because one of the charter’s key provisions assigned jurisdiction to a mixed, multi-member tribunal composed of both lords and citizens: the “court and worthy men” (cort i prohoms). Conflict emerged whenever the lords felt threatened or constrained by these customs.
The legal disputes continued, and eventually the matter was arbitrated by the bishop of Lleida, Ramon de Siscar, who in 1241 issued the Sentence of Flix (1242). This ruling restricted civic jurisdiction and reserved serious criminal matters to the lordship. It also declared the Usatges of Barcelona and the customs of the city to be supplementary law.[2]
This arrangement remained in place until 1272, when it was agreed to put the Customs of Tortosa into writing so that they would serve as the primary law governing the city, with the Usatges of Barcelona applied whenever the Costums were silent on a matter.
The text
The Customs of Tortosa emerged from the reception of Roman law in the Crown of Aragon, drawing specifically on the Justinian legal code. It is the first written legal code in Catalan and served as the basis for the Furs (charters) of Valencia.[3]
It is also the first legal code in which the Customs of the Sea (Costums de Mar) appear in written form (1272). These maritime customs were introduced into Valencia in 1283 and eventually gave rise to the earliest known version of the Llibre del Consolat de Mar (Book of the Consulate of the Sea) in 1385.
Editions
The compilation of the Customs of Tortosa was published in 1539 under the title Llibre de les costums generals escrites de la insigne ciutat de Tortosa (Book of the General Written Customs of the Illustrious City of Tortosa).[4] It was later republished in 1912 and again in 1972.[5]
The four volumes of the 1912 edition can be consulted through the Biblioteca Digital Hispánica.[6]
Content
There are several incomplete manuscripts of the Customs of Tortosa. The manuscript known as A contains the text prepared by the notaries Pere Tamarit and Pere Gil; it predates the ruling (sentència) and was rejected by the lordship in 1274. The manuscript known as B contains the text adapted to the ruling of 1277. These customs were not formally promulgated until 1279, following the mediation of the bishop of Tortosa, Arnau Desjardí, the archdeacon of Lleida, Ramon de Besalú, and Domènec Terol. Both manuscripts are preserved in the Arxiu Històric de Tortosa.
The third manuscript is the so-called C manuscript, an exemplar belonging to the Marquis de la Roca.
Although public law was abolished by the Nueva Planta decrees, private law remained in force until the 1960 legal compilation, which relegated the Customs of Tortosa to a secondary role. In Tortosa, from the 13th century onward, the Customs established the Justinianic legitime (forced inheritance share): one-third of the estate if there were four or fewer children, and one-half if there were five or more. Legal commentators agreed on the continuing validity of this rule because it had long been observed in practice and because the Constitution of Catalonia was understood to concern not public utility but the interests of individuals or principal households.
Observance
The provisions governing "public law" were abolished and repealed by the Nueva Planta decrees.[when?] In other respects, the legal order remained in force until the Compilation of the Special Civil Law of Catalonia (Compilació del dret civil especial de Catalunya) of 1960 under the Franco Regime.[citation needed]
Today;[when?] however, the 1960 Compilation has been repealed and completely replaced by the Civil Code of Catalonia, which preserves the legal rules that the Compilation had adopted from the Customs of Tortosa.[citation needed]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Els documents escollits: Llibre de les Costums". Gencat. Generalitat de Catalunya. Retrieved 27 March 2015.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 MASSIP, Jesús. (1991) pp. 137–138
- ↑ MASSIP, Jesús. (1991) p. 148
- ↑ Libre de les costums generals scrites dela insigne ciutat de Tortosa: ab algu[n]s priuilegis co[n]firmacions e sente[n]cies fahents pera la administracio de la justicia. estampat en la mateixa ciutat per ... Arnaud Guillem de Mont pesat. 1539. pp. 142–. Search this book on
- ↑ Tortosa (Spain); Ramon Foguet; José Foguet Marsal; Juan J Permanyer; Victor Covián y Junco (1912). Código de las costumbres escritas de Tortosa a doble texto. Impr. Querol. pp. 410–. Search this book on
- ↑ "Historia del derecho en Cataluña, Mallorca y Valencia Código de las costumbres de Tortosa / por el doctor Bienvenido Oliver". BNE Digital. Biblioteca Nacional de España.
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