The Llibre dels fets (Catalan pronunciation: [ˈʎiβɾə ðəls ˈfets]; from Catalan, 'Book of Deeds'; Old Catalan: Libre dels feyts) is the autobiographical chronicle of the reign of James I of Aragon (1213–1276). It is written in Old Catalan[2] in the first person and is the first chronologically of the four works classified as The Four Great Catalan Chronicles,[3][4] all belonging to the early medieval Crown of Aragon (in the northeastern part of what is now Spain), and its first royal dynasty, the House of Barcelona. James I inherited as a child the titles of King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier, but also became by conquest King of Majorca and King of Valencia. James emphasises in his chronicles his conquest of Majorca (1229) and of Valencia (1238).
James I of Aragon dedicates a couple of chapters to his mother Maria of Montpellier and his father Peter II of Aragon (called "Peter the Catholic"), who had been given the title of "Rex Catholicissimus" by the Pope after the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in which he helped Alfonso VIII of Castile fight against the Moors, one year before his death. Peter II of Aragon died defending his vassal lords of Occitania, who were accused of allowing the Cathar heresy to proliferate in their counties. He was killed in the Battle of Muret, fighting against the Crusader troops commanded by Simon de Montfort.[5][6] Though the text of the Llibre dels fets was dictated and edited by James I, the actual writing was done by scribes, not James himself; it is written in colloquial language, representing the native tongue as spoken, and its style is direct.
The conquest by James I in 1229 of Majorca, one of the Balearic Islands held by the Muslim Almohads, and his consequent founding of the Kingdom of Majorca, probably inspired him to start the dictation of his chronicles, he having had an active part in the Reconquista of the Iberian Peninsula (in the context of Europe's medieval Christian Crusades). The Llibre dels fets narrative ends with James' death in 1276. Though the original is lost, many ancient copies of the codex have survived.
The oldest extant manuscript written in the original Catalan language, a copy dating to 1343, was commissioned by the abbot of the Poblet Monastery. An older manuscript dating to 1313, the "Cronice Illustrissimi Regis Aragonum", was the version translated into Latin from the Catalan original "Llibre dels Feyts del Rei en Jacme". The Latin translation is signed by the Dominican friar Pere Marsili, who was ordered by James II of Aragon (James I's grandson) to honour his grandfather's memory by promulgating his words in the internationally used Latin language.
- ^ Jordi Bruguera; Maria Teresa Ferrer i Mallol (2007). Les quatre grans croniques: Llibre dels feits del rei En Jaume. Institut d'Estudis Catalans. p. 44. ISBN 978-84-7283-901-4.
- ^ David S H Abulafia; David Bates (17 June 2014). The Western Mediterranean Kingdoms: The Struggle for Dominion, 1200-1500. Routledge. p. 263. ISBN 978-1-317-89741-5.
- ^ Ramón Muntaner (2006). The Catalan Expedition to the East: From the Chronicle of Ramon Muntaner. Tamesis Books. p. 9. ISBN 978-1-85566-131-8.
- ^ Sharq al-Andalus, estudios árabes: anales de la Universidad de Alicante. Secretariado de Publicaciones, Universidad de Alicante. 1987. p. 49.
- ^ Samuel N. Rosenberg; Margaret Switten; Gérard Le Vot (5 September 2013). Songs of the Troubadours and Trouveres: An Anthology of Poems and Melodies. Routledge. p. 118. ISBN 978-1-134-81914-0.
- ^ Malcolm Barber (2 August 2004). The Two Cities: Medieval Europe 1050–1320. Routledge. p. 181. ISBN 978-1-134-68751-0.