The Four Great Catalan Chronicles: Medieval Royal Histories

These four great Catalan chronicles are fundamental historical narratives detailing the reigns and achievements of the monarchs of the Crown of Aragon during the 13th and 14th centuries. These works provide invaluable insight into medieval politics, warfare, and culture.

The Book of James I (Llibre dels Fets)

This medieval narrative work (covering 1208–1276) is autobiographical. It begins with a brief family history of the monarch and quickly introduces his birth and early life. Key characteristics include:

• It exposes the initial difficulties of his reign.
• It narrates the major achievements, including the conquests of Mallorca, Valencia, and Murcia, and details the trip to Lyon.
• It does not hide the **human background** of the king.
• The narration strictly uses the first person and the majestic plural (the pronoun "We").
• The language is vivid and permeated by orality.

Bernard Desclot's Chronicle

Bernard Desclot, perhaps the official Escrivá Bernard (died 1289) of the royal curia, wrote this work, titled Book of King Peter of Aragon and their ancestors past (composed around 1283 and the late 1280s).

The chronicle is structured in three parts:

1. The first third refers to the reigns of three kings preceding Peter II, covering the period from 1162 to 1276.
2. The remaining two-thirds concentrate on the reign of King Peter until his death in 1285.

Desclot combines contemporary reconstruction of events with documentation from the royal archive. The expressiveness of the dialogues is remarkable and later served as a model for the author of Curial e Güelfa.

Ramon Muntaner's Chronicle

Ramon Muntaner's Chronicle (1265–1336) was written between 1325 and 1328. It spans the period from the birth of James I (1208) until the coronation of King Alfons III (1327).

Structured almost as a memoir, it details his lifelong relationship with the House of Barcelona, focusing especially on:

• His participation in the conquest of Minorca (1286–1287).
• The military campaign of the **Almogavars** in the Eastern Mediterranean (1302–1309).

Muntaner focuses on real events, aiming to portray the Kings of Aragon as figures of providential destiny (Gesta). The narrative language is agile and vivid, frequently employing colloquial expressions.

Chronicle of Peter IV of Aragon (The Ceremonious)

This chronicle was written by Peter IV between 1375 and 1383. Like James I, Peter IV explains his own reign. However, it differs markedly from the others because it reveals the king's own character. It preserves some heroic aspects found in the style of James I's chronicle.