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‘Diary of the Board of Arms of Catalonia’ (1640-1641)

Date
1640 - 1641
Archive
National Archive of Catalonia
Document type
Textual
Reference code
ANC1-25-T-40
Link to the online document
Description

“The manuscript contains the copy of five documents (1641-1642) relating to the protection granted by the King of France Louis XIII over the Principality of Catalonia and the counties of Rosselló and Cerdanya, during the Catalan revolt known as the Reaper War. The document is a key piece to understand the maneuvers towards secession from the Castilian crown made by the Catalan political bodies. Military help was sought from the French crown, which was so necessary to counter the attacks of the army of Felipe IV.
It includes the agreements of the Council of Hundred (following the proposal agreed by the Catalan deputies) to request the protection of the French king; the acceptance of Lluís XIII, new count of Barcelona; the sending of a special procurator to proceed with the oath of the pacts adjusted between the Catalan and French parties; and, finally, the authorization granted to the city of Barcelona by the new French lieutenant and captain general to mint a certain type of coin. The copying of this last document is interrupted.
The manuscript, on parchment, has great aesthetic value. Written in humanistic librarian font, it contains on the cover three golden shields (that of the French king, which incorporates the Catalan bars next to the fleurs-de-lis, that of Catalonia and that of Barcelona) within a large golden border. “