Traces of The Destitute among The Papers of the Hospital of Barcelona

Aquest text, que té el seu origen en la ponència que vam presentar al simposi internacional Fonts gràfiques i documentals per a l’estudi històric dels hospitals (abril 2013), pretén oferir un petit mostrari de la informació que es pot extreure i les conclusions que se’n deriven, de la consulta directa de les fonts documentals de l’antic hospital de la Santa Creu de Barcelona. El punt de partida de la nostra recerca s’emmarca en els mateixos orígens històrics d’aquesta centenària institució, és a dir, l’albada del segle xv. En aquest sentit, bàsicament hem fet servir els llibres d’entrades de malalts i d’expòsits, un minutari comptable i uns manuals notarials del quatre-cents i d’èpoques posteriors, conservats a la Biblioteca de Catalunya i a l’Arxiu Històric de la Fundació de l’Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau. El nostre propòsit no és fer-ne un estat de la qüestió, ni esbossar una història de la pobresa barcelonina, ni tampoc plantejar una visió comparativa de les institucions hospitalàries, senzillament, després de reflexionar sobre el tema, mirarem de dialogar amb les fonts i que siguin elles les que parlin. Procurarem, en el possible, sentir la veu dels pobres del passat, però sense oblidar que la pobresa no és propietat exclusiva dels temps medievals.This essay is based on the paper presented at the International Symposium Documentary and visual sources for the historical study of hospitals (April 2013), and it aims to offer a small sample of the information that can be extracted from the direct consultation of the documentary sources of the old Hospital de la Santa Creu in Barcelona, and the conclusions that can be derived from it. Our research begins with the birth of this centuries-old institution, that is, at the dawn of the fifteenth century. In this sense, we have basically used the books of admission of patients and foundlings, a minute book and several notarial manuals from fifteenth-century and later, preserved in the Library of Catalonia and the Historical Archive of the Foundation of the Hospital de la Santa Creu i Sant Pau. Our purpose is not to overview the history of poverty in Barcelona or to establish a comparison between its hospitals, but rather to reflect upon the sources, enter into a dialogue with them and let them speak for themselves. When possible, we will try to listen to the voices of the poor of the past, without forgetting that poverty is not exclusive to the medieval period

El clam d'una noia per no perdre els orígens, el clam per la llibertat. Una estampa barcelonina del segle XV

I would like to present a document kept in the archive of the cathedral of Barcelona that corresponds to the examinations of a trial. It is a vivid text that introduces us to the history of feelings and the history of human relations. The aim of this article is to apply what we know about slavery in the medieval Barcelona to this particular case. This allows us to show how the history facts become more human. These are the hopes of a young slave who had the legitimate desire to become free. It is a story about slavery and freedom, oppressions and solidarities. It is a girl’s clamour to remain stuck to her origins in order to avoid her uprootingI would like to present a document kept in the archive of the cathedral of Barcelona that corresponds to the examinations of a trial. It is a vivid text that introduces us to the history of feelings and the history of human relations. The aim of this article is to apply what we know about slavery in the medieval Barcelona to this particular case. This allows us to show how the history facts become more human. These are the hopes of a young slave who had the legitimate desire to become free. It is a story about slavery and freedom, oppressions and solidarities. It is a girl’s clamour to remain stuck to her origins in order to avoid her uprootin

Unes cartes de dones del segle XV, notes sobre la crisi feudal

Our work deals with the contents of some letters received form Sança Ximenis de Fox i de Cabrera and some of her rough drafts and copies of letters sent by her and now kept in the Archive of Barcelona Cathedral. Their contents has undoubtedly disclosed to us her behaviour and state of mind during the feudal crisis she had to endure and more specifically during her stay in the Osor Valley (Girona). Most of these letters make reference to an incident that took place in a country house in the course of the Catalonia country corkers uprising of 15th century. From their contents, it may be clearly seen the damage caused to the system, on which base the daily life was supported, by way of the existing fragmented vision of authorities, the resistance offered by feudal lords, the violence resorted against their representatives, the ambushes laid by crossbowmen which fact forced the country people to take up arms and the attempts on the family institution. In the meantime, the punishing right, the direct liability and the dominium utile were in the hands of women

La princesa ermitana, Elionor d’Urgell

In this paper we present a brief biography of Elionor of Urgell, a descendant of the kings of Aragon and the emperors of Constantinople, with the aim of understanding her eremitic vocation during the last period of her life. Elionor was born around 1380, the daughter of Count Pere of Urgell and Margarida of Montferrat. She found herself involved in the political and military confl icts triggered by the demise of King Martí I of Aragon, since her brother Jaume was one of the pretenders to the throne. After the enthronement of Ferran I (1412) and the rebellion of Jaume of Urgell, Jaume, his mother and Elionor herself were judged and condemned. Elionor had all her properties confi scated and was exiled from the county. After a long pilgrimage across the country with her sister and her sister in-law, during which she lived in poverty and constantly struggled to recover some part of her patrimonial wealth, she decided to withdraw from the world and live as a hermit in the solitude of an abrupt mountain slope, in a sparsely- inhabited place. She followed in the footsteps of a penitent, the hermit monk Pere Marginet, and led a life of penance, fasting and prayer in the hermitage of Sant Joan de Montblanc, in a cave called Nialó, until her death during the plague outbreak Of 1430.[ca] Presentem una breu biografia d’Elionor d’Urgell, descendent dels reis d’Aragó i dels emperadors de Constantinoble, amb l’objectiu de comprendre especialment la seva opció de vida ermitana duta a terme en la darrera etapa de la seva vida. Elionor va néixer vers 1380, era fi lla del comte Pere d’Urgell i de Margarida de Montferrat. Es va veure immersa en els confl ictes politics i bèl·lics que s’esdevingueren després de la mort del rei Martí I d’Aragó, ja que el seu germà Jaume era un dels pretendents a la corona. Després de l’entronització de Ferran I com a rei (1412) i de la rebel·lió de Jaume d’Urgell, aquest, la seva mare i ella mateixa van ser jutjats i condemnats. Elionor va veure confi scats tots els seus béns i fou exiliada del comtat. Després d’un llarg pelegrinar pel país, amb la seva cunyada i la seva germana, vivint pobrament, lluitant perquè se li tornés alguna part del seu ric patrimoni per poder viure, va decidir apartar-se del món i fer vida d’ermitana en la solitud d’una muntanya abrupta i en un indret poc habitat. Va seguir les petjades d’un penitent, el monjo ermità Pere Marginet, i va fer vida de penitència, dejuni i pregària a l’ermita de Sant Joan de Montblanc i a la cova dita de Nialó, fi ns a la seva mort, esdevinguda l’any 1430 en una epidèmia de pesta