Usages of Barcelona facts for kids
The Usages of Barcelona (called Usatges de Barcelona in Catalan and Usatici Barchinonae in Latin) were a very important set of laws and rules for Catalonia. They were like the basic rights and main laws for the people living there, and they started being written down way back in the 1100s.
These Usages were a mix of different legal ideas. They took parts from old Roman law and Visigothic law (laws from ancient kingdoms). They also included decisions made by the Count of Barcelona's court and religious rules from church meetings.
The first Usages were put together by Ramon Berenguer I, Count of Barcelona (who lived from 1035 to 1076). He wanted to fix problems with the older Gothic laws. However, we know about Ramon's work mostly from later versions of the laws, especially those from James the Conqueror's time (who ruled from 1213 to 1276).
James saw that some judges were using Gothic law, while others used Roman law. This was confusing! So, in 1251, he asked the Catalan Courts to make the Usages the most important laws. Even though the Usages were officially for the Barcelona area, they were used across almost all of Catalonia.
What Laws Were Included?
The Usages of Barcelona also brought together other important rules from that time. These included:
- Rules from Girona
- Customs from Lleida
- Customs from Tortosa
- The Furs (laws) of Valencia
- The Franquesas (special rights) of Majorca
- Rules from the areas of Athens and Neopatria
How We Know About Them
The oldest copy of the Usages we have today is from the late 1100s. People kept copying them often between the 1400s and 1700s. Later, new laws called the Nueva Planta decrees replaced them. However, the Usages still had some influence for a while.
See also
In Spanish: Usatges de Barcelona para niños
