CONSTRUCTING ROYAL POWER: HOST DESECRATION AND KINGSHIP IN THE FOURTEENTH-CENTURY CROWN OF ARAGON By ALANA LORD A DISSERTATION PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2017 © 2017 Alana Lord Allen, we can write our book now. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This study emerged from a paper that I wrote for a graduate seminar I took with my adviser, Dr. Nina Caputo, in 2011. I remember the delight I felt when Dr. Caputo confirmed that I could indeed write a dissertation about three fourteenth-century host desecration investigations. Looking back at the six years that have come and gone since that initial moment, I never imagined the adventures and struggles that I would experience in the process of completing a dissertation. During that time, I have benefited from the advice and support of many people who helped me turn a seminar paper into a dissertation and forever influenced the course of my life. First, I would like to thank my adviser who patiently allowed me to explore different questions and topics before settling on a study about kingship in the medieval Crown of Aragon. I owe her a debt of gratitude for teaching me about medieval Jewish-Christian relations and for reading countless drafts of seminar papers, conference presentations, articles, and dissertation chapters. Writing a dissertation would not have been possible without her guidance on finding and analyzing sources, paleography, visiting archives, writing chapters, and many other academic aspects. Furthermore, I would like to express my appreciation for her understanding and sympathy regarding some of the personal difficulties I encountered over my years as a graduate student. I would like to thank my mother for showing me that it is possible to love my work and for encouraging me to never give up on my dreams. In many ways, I grew up in the world of academia. As a child, I accompanied my mother, a researcher and college professor, to faculty meetings, dinner parties, and conferences. Between the age of five and fifteen, I explored college campuses with my bicycle, figured out how to take naps on strange chairs and couches in spare offices and conference rooms, and learned how to converse with adults whose entire lives revolved around their research. I recall her grading papers as she sat through ballet recitals and 4 soccer practices and set aside piles of data and drafts to read bed time stories or play dolls or soccer with me. My mother always managed to balance my needs with her professional aspirations, but at some point around the age of 11 or 12, I proclaimed that I would never become an academic like her because she never stopped working. At the time, I could not understand why she delighted in spending so much time on her students and her own research. And yet, here I stand having written my dissertation and preparing for a job as an instructor of history. It seems trite to say, but clearly the apple did not fall far from the tree, and I could not be happier about that phenomenon. I would also like to thank my father for keeping me grounded. His knowledge of everyday life helped me navigate the world outside academia. Over the years, as I sat among my books and papers, focused on writing the best possible dissertation chapter and making a name for myself in my field, my father changed the oil in my vehicle and made sure I had roadside assistance so that I would never be stranded. He reminded me to keep up with the necessary tasks of life, including but not limited to going to the doctor when I was sick and getting renter’s insurance – tasks easily overlooked when one is immersed in dissertation writing. In addition to this, I am grateful for the larger lessons that he imparted to me over the years. He taught me that life is what I make it so build the existence I want by being strong, resourceful, and making my voice heard. Because of my father, I know that I will always survive and succeed no matter what life throws at me. In addition, I would like to express my gratitude to Anna Lankina, Diana Reigelsperger, Eleanor Deumens, and Francesc Morales for their friendships. They were always there to offer a hug or a kick in the pants, depending on which was more necessary at the moment. Without them I would not have survived the ups and downs of graduate school. Finally, I would like to thank 5 my best friend and fiancé, Michael Gennaro. You are my broken hallelujah, and you have made all the hard work worth it. 6 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...............................................................................................................4 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ..........................................................................................................9 ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................................10 NOTE ON NAMES .......................................................................................................................12 1 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................13 2 PERE III: THE ULTIMATE GOVERNING AUTHORITY .................................................40 Introduction .............................................................................................................................40 Becoming the Ultimate Governing Authority: Mechanisms of Power ..................................44 The Jews of Aragon: Another Mechanism of Power ..............................................................54 Retaining Power: King Pere, Prince Joan, and the Count of Urgell .......................................64 Conclusion ..............................................................................................................................69 3 PRINCE JOAN: THE MAKING OF A KING .......................................................................71 Introduction .............................................................................................................................71 The Host Desecration Case of 1367: Barcelona .....................................................................73 The Host Desecration Case of 1377: Osca .............................................................................86 The Aura of a King .................................................................................................................99 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................103 4 JOAN I: FIRST AMONG EQUALS ....................................................................................105 The Decentralization of Royal Power ...................................................................................108 The Royal Court ...................................................................................................................115 The Great Western Papal Schism .........................................................................................123 Encroachment on the King’s Authority: The Royal Court and the Corts ............................127 Encroachment on the King’s Authority: Municipalities .......................................................132 The Effect of Joan’s Decentralization of Royal Power on Jewish Communities .................135 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................138 5 BARCELONA: AN ECONOMIC POWERHOUSE ...........................................................140 Introduction ...........................................................................................................................140 Barcelona and the Crown: Cooperation (1249-1300) ...........................................................144 Barcelona and the Crown: Autonomy (1300-1336) .............................................................148 Barcelona and the Crown: Antagonism (1336-1387) ...........................................................154 The Murder of Ramon de Sant Vincenç (1356) ...................................................................158 Attempted Host Desecration in 1367 ....................................................................................163 7 The Poisoning in 1374-1377 .................................................................................................168 King Pere Prevails in 1386 ...................................................................................................172 The Return of the Oligarchy under Joan I (1387-1396) .......................................................174 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................181 6 OSCA: CITY OF NOBLES..................................................................................................183 Introduction ...........................................................................................................................183 Jaume I: The Foundation of Self-Governance ......................................................................187 Pere II and Alfons II: Autonomy through Coercion .............................................................193 Jaume II: Confidence through Self-Governance ..................................................................199