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Testament of Ramon de Terrades, merchant from Vic, who gave all his property to found a hospital for the poor. Origin of the Hospital de la Santa Creu.

Date
1348
Archive
County Archives of Osona
Document type
Textual
Reference code
CAT-ACOS80-23-T-5741
Link to the online document
Description

The testament of Ramon de Terrades, a merchant from Vic, dated 1348, is a founding document of one of the oldest and most emblematic medieval hospitals in Catalonia: the Hospital de la Santa Creu. In the midst of the Black Death crisis, Terrades ordered that all his assets be used for the creation of a hospital to care for the poor and sick of the city. This gesture of solidarity and social responsibility reflects the values ​​of charity and assistance that were the backbone of medieval Catalan society. The document, preserved in a hospital fund of great patrimonial value, shows how civil society and individuals contributed to the construction of a health care network that would last for centuries. This legacy connects with the European values ​​of social justice and protection of the most vulnerable, and places Catalonia as a pioneering territory in the institutionalization of public assistance.