‘Al qual donà ample e bastant poder a tots los actes faedors en les dites Corts’. Power and Municipal Representation of Lleida in the Catalan Corts (1416-1458)

Abstract

Municipal representation in the assemblies of the Catalan Corts (“Parliament”) is a particularly interesting argument to observe, especially from the point of view of the municipality, the main problems of the city and the intricacies of political and economic power between the city, the monarchy and the other estates. Therefore, analysing the power that the Consell General (“General Council”) of the royal towns and cities of the Crown of Aragon granted its procurators in the Corts enables us to more precisely explain the systems used by the municipality to control their representatives and be better informed of what was happening in the Royal Estate in particular as well as in the general assembly. Lleida will be used as a case study, given its importance and the interesting documentation in its municipal archives during the period of Alfonso the Magnanimous.