Libellus de batalla facienda: Judicial Combat in Catalonia from the Eleventh to the Thirteenth Century

This article gives an overview of the evolution of trial by combat in the Principality of Catalonia, culminating in a study of this interesting treaty that, because of historiographic circumstances, is relatively unknown to most academics. The Libellus de batalla facienda is a brief Catalan legal tr...

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Main Author: Cornel Peter Rodenbusch
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Bern Open Publishing 2020-10-01
Series:Acta Periodica Duellatorum
Subjects:
Online Access:https://bop.unibe.ch/apd/article/view/7128
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author Cornel Peter Rodenbusch
author_facet Cornel Peter Rodenbusch
author_sort Cornel Peter Rodenbusch
collection DOAJ
description This article gives an overview of the evolution of trial by combat in the Principality of Catalonia, culminating in a study of this interesting treaty that, because of historiographic circumstances, is relatively unknown to most academics. The Libellus de batalla facienda is a brief Catalan legal treatise that regulated judicial combat in the Principality of Catalonia, especially Barcelona. There are some characteristics to it that make it unique. Written in around 1255, it is not only very early for its time, but is also a very clear and detailed description of the formalities and the procedures that the two combatants had to go through before, during, and after the fight. Written in a down-to-earth fashion, it starts with the prearrangements – such as guarantees and pledges, or the oath taking – before detailing the preparation of the lliça – the battleground. It continues with a description of the rules for combat and finally ends with regulations regarding the outcome and its aftermath. The Libellus ultimately provides historians with a testimony of a common practice used to resolve legal issues that stems from a long tradition with its roots in the eleventh century.
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spelling doaj-art-e33977eb24424f629390124c58b9b0dd2025-08-20T02:51:04ZengBern Open PublishingActa Periodica Duellatorum2064-04042020-10-018110.36950/apd-2020-003Libellus de batalla facienda: Judicial Combat in Catalonia from the Eleventh to the Thirteenth CenturyCornel Peter Rodenbusch0University of BarcelonaThis article gives an overview of the evolution of trial by combat in the Principality of Catalonia, culminating in a study of this interesting treaty that, because of historiographic circumstances, is relatively unknown to most academics. The Libellus de batalla facienda is a brief Catalan legal treatise that regulated judicial combat in the Principality of Catalonia, especially Barcelona. There are some characteristics to it that make it unique. Written in around 1255, it is not only very early for its time, but is also a very clear and detailed description of the formalities and the procedures that the two combatants had to go through before, during, and after the fight. Written in a down-to-earth fashion, it starts with the prearrangements – such as guarantees and pledges, or the oath taking – before detailing the preparation of the lliça – the battleground. It continues with a description of the rules for combat and finally ends with regulations regarding the outcome and its aftermath. The Libellus ultimately provides historians with a testimony of a common practice used to resolve legal issues that stems from a long tradition with its roots in the eleventh century.https://bop.unibe.ch/apd/article/view/7128Trial by combatCataloniaLibellus de batalla faciendamartial culturecentral middle ages
spellingShingle Cornel Peter Rodenbusch
Libellus de batalla facienda: Judicial Combat in Catalonia from the Eleventh to the Thirteenth Century
Acta Periodica Duellatorum
Trial by combat
Catalonia
Libellus de batalla facienda
martial culture
central middle ages
title Libellus de batalla facienda: Judicial Combat in Catalonia from the Eleventh to the Thirteenth Century
title_full Libellus de batalla facienda: Judicial Combat in Catalonia from the Eleventh to the Thirteenth Century
title_fullStr Libellus de batalla facienda: Judicial Combat in Catalonia from the Eleventh to the Thirteenth Century
title_full_unstemmed Libellus de batalla facienda: Judicial Combat in Catalonia from the Eleventh to the Thirteenth Century
title_short Libellus de batalla facienda: Judicial Combat in Catalonia from the Eleventh to the Thirteenth Century
title_sort libellus de batalla facienda judicial combat in catalonia from the eleventh to the thirteenth century
topic Trial by combat
Catalonia
Libellus de batalla facienda
martial culture
central middle ages
url https://bop.unibe.ch/apd/article/view/7128
work_keys_str_mv AT cornelpeterrodenbusch libellusdebatallafaciendajudicialcombatincataloniafromtheeleventhtothethirteenthcentury