Llibre del Repartiment (Valencia) facts for kids
The Llibre del Repartiment (which means "Book of Distribution" in English) is a very old record book from the 13th century. It was created after King James I of Aragon conquered the Kingdom of Valencia. In this book, royal scribes wrote down promises of land and property that would be given to people who helped in the conquest. Later, they added the names of those who actually received these properties. This book is important because it shows how the land was shared after the Christian armies took control of Valencia from the Muslims. It's not the only book of its kind; similar records exist for other places like Majorca, Seville, and Murcia.
Contents
How Valencia Was Conquered
The city of Valencia was taken by Christian forces on September 28, 1238. King James I himself was part of this victory. Even though official documents say this date, tradition often celebrates October 9 as the day the city was fully taken. This day is known as San Dionís.
Sharing the Land and Homes
On the very day Valencia was conquered, King James I began to distribute houses in the city and in a nearby area called Benimaclet. This was part of an agreement made during the siege, which was the long battle to take the city.
The Llibre del Repartiment carefully recorded all the houses or land grants. These grants were given by King James I to people from many different places. This included people from Aragon, Catalonia, Navarre, England, Hungary, Italy, and France. All these people had joined the "crusade," which was a religious war, to help conquer Valencia.
What the Book Recorded
The book recorded important details about each person who received property. It noted their family background, where they came from, and exactly what goods or land they were given.
The properties that were given away had originally belonged to the Muslims who lived there before. Some Muslims chose to leave and moved south to areas still controlled by Muslim rulers. They took their belongings with them. Others decided to stay and live in the new Christian kingdom.
Today, this important record book is kept safe in the Archive of the Crown of Aragon (ACA).
Special Property Gifts
The Llibre del Repartiment also lists some special donations of towns and lands. These were given to important people who helped in the conquest. Here are a few examples:
- Paterna and Menezar were given to Artal de Luna.
- Chiva was given to Berenguer de Entenza, who was the king's uncle.
- Sumacàrcer went to Diego Crespí.
- Moixent was given to Juan Caro.
- Ortells went to Pedro Artés.
- Chella was given to Jaime Zapata de Calatayud.
- Benafer went to Lope de Esparza.
- Genovés was given to Lope de Fenollet.
- Mascarell went to Alfonso Garcés.
- Tous and Carlet were given to Jaime Montagut.
- Benidoleig went to Sancho de Pina.
- Cirat and El Tormo were given to Bernardo Vilarig.
See also
In Spanish: Llibre del Repartiment de Valencia para niños
