The Dominion of Valencia over the Viscounty of Chelva, 1395-1408: The Freedom of the City and the Freedom of the Kingdom

Abstract

The delegation of the monarchy's sovereign powers through the granting of charters and privileges upheld the exercise of urban freedoms which inescapably had to be sworn by the king to take possession of the throne and thus be recognized by his subjects in the Crown of Aragon. The case study of an exercise of these freedoms, such as the prerogatives of the city of Valencia applied to the viscounty of Chelva, reveals that they had a great political, social and economic impact, far from the emotional burden inherent to the medieval social movements, and especially to those who sought to achieve freedom through programmatic demands or violent revolts. The use of Valencia´s freedoms, guaranteed by the legal prerogatives of the granted charters and privileges, made it possible to impose the capital’s political will with recourse to a military force to enforce its jurisdictional rights.