Metadata: Notarial District of Figueres. Castelló d’Empúries
Collection
- Country:
- Spain
- Holding institution:
- Historical Archive of Girona
- Holding institution (official language):
- Arxiu Històric de Girona
- Postal address:
- Plaça de Sant Josep 1. 17004 - Girona
- Phone number:
- +34 972 225 500
- Web address:
- http://cultura.gencat.cat/arxius/ahg
- Email:
- ahg.cultura@gencat.cat
- Reference number:
- AHG170-382
- Title:
- Notarial District of Figueres. Castelló d’Empúries
- Title (official language):
- Districte notarial de Figueres. Castelló d’Empúries
- Creator/accumulator:
- Notaries of Castelló d’Empúries
- Date(s):
- 1260/1799
- Language:
- Latin
- Extent:
- 116.1 linear metres
- Type of material:
- Textual material
- Physical condition:
- Good
- Scope and content:
-
The group of fonds of the Notarial District of Figueres consists of 27 notaries, among which the notaries of Castelló d'Empúries deserve special mention for their documentary richness and volume. The collection of notarial documents of the capital of the County, Castelló d'Empúries, preserves the oldest documentation of the Figueres District (general logbooks since 1260) and is the one that presents the series libri iudeorum in a more continuous way and with a larger volume, compared to the rest of the Catalan Jewish communities. These specific books, in which each registered event has the participation of a Jewish individual, are a testimony to the activities that took place in the prosperous Jewish community of Castelló. These are 119 books and logbooks between 1310 and 1413, which are distributed as follows:
Bernat de Jonquer (4 books, 1310-1335), Pere Perrí (39, 1307-1342), Pere Mateu (17, 1346-1361), Guillem Costa (3, 1336-1340), Pere de Pujol (4, 1340-1363), Guillem de Mallorques (5, 1369-1383), Berenguer Febrer (8, 1354-1365), Pere Pellicer (10, 1384-1403), Ramon Bussigues (2, 1363-1371), Guillem Vidal (8, 1357-1361), Pere Jaume, Sr (2, 1398-1402), Bernat Bonfill (3, 1374-1378), Joan Tomàs (2, 1387-1393), Pere Jaume, Jr (4, 1404-1413), unidentified (8, 1361-1402).
The titles that notaries give to their books differentiate between books of Christians and books of Jews or, rather, books of Jews and Christians. Some notaries give them the names of the books, following the activity of certain members of the community, such as the notary Pere de Perrí (Primo Liber Jaffie Ravalia et filii eius Vitalis, AHG Ca 44) or the Liber secretariorum et comunis aljame iudeorum ville Castilionis that records the payments made by the secretaries of the Aljama (AHG). The only title that refers to the converts among all Catalan logbooks is the Liber contractorum iudeorum et christianorum, cum ipsis judeis et converso fiendorum, by Guillem Vidal (AHG Ca 288).
Within the general logbooks, there is dispersed information about Jews and the Jewish community of Castelló. Some provide data on communal organization, the Jewish quarter, or the role of Jews in the judicial system (as in volumes Ca35, 44bis, 46, 77, 92, 96, 105, 118, 120, 122, 368, 2093, 2137). A document from the common book of the notary Bernat Junquera stands out, explaining that the Count of Empúries and his mother confirm the appointment of the secretaries (elders) of the Aljama of Castelló d’Empúries. An earlier privilege was also confirmed, according to which a single testimony of a Christian could not be used alone against a Jew in civil and criminal cases; it required collecting of testimonies by Jews, too. The document also notes the confirmation of the enlargement of the synagogue (AHG, Ca 105).
The presence of Jews in Castelló has been documented since 1238, when Count Hugh III of Empúries issued an extensive privilege to the Jews in his territory. In exchange for protection, the foundations for the constitution for their autonomous institutions were laid, which led to the establishment of Jews from nearby communities.
- Archival history:
- The notarial fonds of the district of Figueres have been kept in that city since the concentration of collections in the capitals of districts promoted by the Notarial Law (1862). During the Spanish Civil War, the Generalitat decided to transfer them to the refuge archive of Viladrau (1938), and after the war they were moved to the deposits of the Archive of the Crown of Aragon where they remained until August 1952, when they entered the Provincial Historical Archive of Girona, a few months after its creation.
- Administrative/biographical history:
- The history of the notaries of the town of Castelló d'Empúries is linked to the counts, on whom they had total dependence. In 1210, a privilege established that Count Hugh IV preserved the royalties and sovereignty of the county and among the reserved royalties was the power to appoint public notaries. In the 13th century, two public scribes owned by the Count were, independent of the scribe of the County Curia, known commonly as Bofill and Mallén.
- Access points: locations:
- Castelló d’Empúries
- Catalonia
- Figueres
- Girona
- Viladrau
- System of arrangement:
- Each notary’s documentation follows an order by series, each of which is ordered chronologically.
- Access, restrictions:
- The notarial documentation is public and freely accessible according to current Spanish and Catalan legislation.
- Finding aids:
- The archive has catalogues of notaries and a general notarial index. Data are available on the website of the archives of the Department of Culture of the Generalitat de Catalunya.
- Links to finding aids:
- http://arxiusenlinia.cultura.gencat.cat/ArxiusEnLinia/
- Yerusha Network member:
- Spanish National Research Council
- Author of the description:
- Irene Llop Jordana; UVic-UCC; May 2021
