Analecta Cisterciensia 29 (1973) Sobre Poblet

TH E F R O N TI E R O F TH E S P A N I S H R E CO N O U E S TA N D TH E
L A N D A CQ U I S I TI O N S O F TH E CI S TE R CI A N S O F P Ö B L E T,
1150-1276 (* )
L awrence J . McCrank
The Cistercian O rden play ed a crucial role in the development of
E urope' s medieval f rontiers. W hile the contrib utions of these W hite
Monk s are well k nown, especially in the clearing of f orest in F rance
and S ax on Germany and f or their sheep raising in W ales and E ngland,
little attention has b een paid to the O rder' s inf luence in the development
of the I b erian peninsula during the R econq uest. O nly recently have
historians sough to delineate the growth patterns of the Cistercian mo-
vement into S pain (' )• The greatest of all the S panish Cistercian f oun-
dations was the R oy al Monastery of S anta Maria de P ö b let, located in
the f rontier of Catalonia which was created b y the R econq uest of the
H ouse of B arcelona. F ounded in 1150, P ö b let reached its apogee of
power and wealth in the f ourteenth century .
The growth of P ö b let' s domain may b e ex plained largely in terms
of the close relation of her land acq uisitions to the movement of the
b attle zones on the f rontier. The monastery was f ounded nex t to a
virtual « no-man' s land » , and was surrounded b y lands which had
b elonged to the Moors only af ew y ears b ef ore. The ex treme limits of
the f rontier in 1150 were neither tangib le nor stationary as on a b order,
b ut were merely the most remote areas of Christian penetration (2).
(* ) This paper was read b ef ore the Cistercian S tudies Conf erence held in con-
j unction with the S ix th A nnual Medieval S tudies Conf erence, May 1971, at W estern
Michigan U niversity .I t is a preliminary study b ased on the chronicle ref erences
of P ob let' sF r. J aime F inestres y de Monsalvo and the Tarragona manuscript of the
ab b ey ' s cartulary .V arious aspects of this paper are b eing ref ined and ex panded
presently through the study of the parchments of P ö b let, 1150-1276, housed in the
A rchivo H istorico N acional in Madrid.
(' ) Maur Cocheril, « L ' implantation des A b b ay es Cisterciens dans la P eninsule
I b eriq ue » , A nuario de estudios medievales, I (1964), pp. 217-287.
(2) The term « f rontier » comes f rom the L atin « f rons » , meaning a f orehead,
an ex terior, or a f ront, and has the romantic inf erence that what lies b ey ond the
« f rontier » is unk nown and challenging. I t means something more than « b order » ;
to b e on a b order is to b e contiguous or prox imate to something else. L ate L atin

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58 L awrence J . McCrank
P ö b let prospered b y ex ploiting its position as a f rontier monastery :
as the Christians drove the Moors southward, the Cistercians acq uired
lands on the shif ting f rontier. The monk s aided the Christian cause b y
f inancing military campaigns to sub due Moorish reb els in the highlands,
b y rendering diplomatic service, and b y redeeming captives (3). Most
important, the monastery contrib uted greatly to the development and
settlement of the f rontier. P ö b let reclaimed land through irrigation;
ex perimented in cattle b reeding; attracted a lab or supply through the
Cistercian institution of the conversi, the lay b ethren; opened up new
f ields around scattered granges which were work ed b y lay b rothers
under the direction of the ab b ey ' s cellarer; encouraged settlement
through lend-lease contracts whereb y lay men rented monastic lands
and promised to improve the property in order to f ulf ill the terms of
their leases; f ostered short distance trade in wine, olive oil, and other
products; f urthered viniculture; and estab lished such b asic industries
as milling, mining, pottery work s, glass b lowing, and b lack smiths (4).
These were methods of ex ploiting, thereb y developing, land. The success
of P ob let' s growth thus depended upon the monastery ' s acq uisitions.
The relationship b etween P ob let' s land acq uisitions and the ex pansion
of the f rontier b y military conq uests is a primary aspect of P ob let' s
« f rontier » character.
A t the close of the tenth century the lines which separated Christian
f rom Moor in northeastern S pain were much the same as they had
b een in the day s when Charlemagne estab lished the S panish March.
S ignif icant revival of the Christian cause came only af ter the y ear 1000
when B arcelona was recaptured and the Country ' s southern b orders
were pushed to the R iver L lob regat (5). Thereaf ter the Counts of B ar-
celona and U rgel made slow b ut consistent progress in driving their
b oundaries f urther south b y waging a series of b order wars. B y 1023
the f rontier was situated along the R iver Gaiä , and b y 1038 Count R amon
used the word f rontaria more technically : in the second century it was a survey or' s
term to describ e the b oundary of a section of survey ed land. The term « « f rontier »
was not used in the modern sense until 1413 in E nglish. S ee the Thesaurus linguae
latinae (B . G. Teub ner: L eipzig, 1926), V I , col. 1360, 1363, and 1365.
F or a b rief description of Catalonia as a military f rontier, see A .R .L ewis,
« Cataluf ia como f rontera militar (870-1050)» , A nuario de estudios medievales, V

(1968), pp. 15-29.
(3) J .P ans i Marq ues, ed., Cartulari de P ö b let: E dicio del manuscrit de Tarra-
gona (I nstitut d' E studis Catalans: B arcelona, 1938), Cart. 264, pp. 159-161.
(4) I argue this more ex tensively in Chapter I , « The F oundation of P ö b let » ,

and Chapter I V , « P ob let' sR evenues f rom the E x ploitation of her Monastic D o-
main » , in my « The D evelopment of a Monastic D omain on the S panish F rontier» b y
the Cistercians of P ö b let, 1150-1276 (unpub lished M. A . thesis, U niversity of K ansas,
1970).
(s) F ederico U dina Martorell, ed., E l« L lib re B lanch » de S antas Creus: Cartu-
lario del siglo X I I (Casa P rovincial de Caridad: B arcelona, 1947), p. iv, doc. 3.
The F rontier of the S panish R econq uest 59
B erenguer I of B arcelona made incursions as f ar as Conesa, O lles, R o-
caf ort, and F ores (6). B elow this area lay the no-man' s land which stret-
ched b ey ond the R iver F rancoli toward L erida and Tortosa, the two
main ob j ectives of the Catalan R econq uest (7). The Christian advance
moved slowly until af ter 1079 when the two Counts of B arcelona, R amon
B erenguer I I and his b rother B erenguer R amon I I , took control of L ar-
deta, a district the Christians called the « S hell of B arb erä » . D uring
the the nex t half -century the f rontier shif ted westward, some two and
one-half miles f rom the R iver Gaiä , to the area around modern Mont-
b lanch. The whole Conca de B arb erä was describ ed b y contemporaires
as a « desolate place » , and the upper F rancoli b asin was « the very
outer edge of the March » (8). A t this j uncture the movement of the
Christian f orces down the coastline halted, b ut progress continued in
the highlands where Moorish settlement was sparse. A s a result of
ihe comb ined ef f orts of the Counts of U rgel and B arcelona, the Chri-
stians erected b y the turn of the twelf th century af ortif ication line
ex tending southward f rom Tä rrega.
The territory b ehind this def ensive line was clearly in Christian
hands, b ut it was not densely settled b y the Christians. The R econq ue-
rors, however, thought of the annex ed lands as their own; they spok e
of their war as an of f ensive action « in the def ense of our country » (' ).
The f rontier continually edged f urther southwest, b ut settlers did not
move into the newly acq uired land as rapidly as it was tak en f rom
the Moors. A vast stretch of land lay b ehind the Christian b attle zone,
unsettled and undeveloped, b ut not unwanted. This undeveloped f ron-
tier area served b oth to limit the conf ines of the older, repopulated
counties of B arcelona, U rgel, A mpurias, Cerdagne, and R ousillon, and to
contrast them with lands which awaited the R econq uest. The older S pa-
nish March of the Carolingians later b ecame as Cataluna V iej a and the
lands tak en under the B erenguers constituted Cataluna N ueva. The lat-
ter ex tended f rom Tarragona to Monstant, south through the S ierra de
P rades, and west b ey ond Cervera. The completion of the R econq uest in
Catalonia was the work of Count R amon B erenguer I V , who af ter 1137
(* ) Martorell, « Marco histö rico del ' L lib re B lanch' » , L lib re B lanch, pp. x x iv-
x x ix . The ex pansion of the S panish March is treated b y P etrus de Marca, Marca
H ispanica sive limes H ispanicus, tr. into Catalan b y J oaq uim I cart (L lib eria J osep
S ala i B adal: B arcelona, 1965); R amö nA b adal i V iny als, E ls primers comtes Cata-
lans (B arcelona, 1958), and his D els V isigots als Catalans, V ol. I I , L af ormaciö de
la Cataluny aI ndependent (E diciö de J aume S ob req u^ s i Callico: B arcelona, 1970);
J ose" B alari y J ovany , O rigenes histö ricos de Cataluna (B arcelona, 1899, repr. 1964);
and F erran S oldevila, H istö ria de Cataluny a (B arcelona, 1964).
(7) Martorell, p. x x vi.
(* )« locu solitudinis» and « ipsa Marcha ex trema» , L lib re B lanch, doc. 16,
p. x x vii.
(» )L lib re B lanch, doc. 22, p. x x viii.

was ab le to enlist A ragonese and Catalan as well as F rench f orces f or his
ex peditions (10).
S eek ing a cataly st to speed colonization and development in the
lands secured b y his military successes, the Count f ound a ready -made,
time-tested remedy in the Cistercian O rder. D uring his campaigns
against the Moorish stronghold of Ciurana in 1148, R amon B erenguer,
« the S aint » , as the legend ab out the hermit named P ö b let relates, wit-
nessed a miracle involving three my sterious lights. The Count attrib uted
his victory to divine intervention and this ex perience inspired him to
invite the Cistercians of F ontf roide in southern F rance to estab lish a
monastery in his domain (" )• I n 1150 a colony of thirteen F rench monk s
arrived to f ound their daughter house upon the site of the miracle in
the western conf ines of the recently retak en Conca de B arb erä .R amö n
B erenguer I V ' s grant of the H uerto de P ö b let, a valley encompassing
ab out 2800 acres in which the hermit' s cave was located, and his con-
tinued support of the Cistercians at P ö b let were more than pious deeds.
The f oundation of P ö b let in the heartland of Cataluna N ueva was part
of his strategy to consolidate the land b ehind the def ense zone. P ö b let
was f ounded as a f rontier monastery , and with her sister institution,
the monastery of S antes Creus, signaled a new direction in the ex pan-
sion of the old County of B arcelona (12).
P ö b let b egan to ex pand her holdings b ey ond the conf ines of the
H uerto de P ö b let within the f irst decade of her f oundation. H er f irst
acq uisition, in 1153, led her toward L erida where a vast ex panse of land
was made availab le b y the conq uests of the previous f ive y ears (13). The
maj or thrust of the Christian R econq uest moved south af ter the f all
of L erida in 1148, and the old line of f ortif ications near Tä rrega, the
well f ortif ied masos or large f arm houses, as well as some of the less
strategically placed castles lost their original f unction (M). N ow they
b ecame f ocal points f or repopulation and colonization. The nob ility
(, 0) I n 1137 R amö nB erenguer I V ' s marriage was arranged with Q ueen P etronila
of A ragon, and their son, R amö nB erenguer V , took the A ragonese name of A lf onso
I I upon his succession in 1162. A f ter J aime I ' s conq uest of V alencia in 1238, the
H ouse of B arcelona ruled A ragon proper, V alencia, and the P rincipality of Cata-
lonia under one Crown, and the descendants of R amö nB erenguer I V remained on
the throne of the Corona de A ragon until 1410.

(u) J aime F inestres y de Monsalvo, H istoria del real monasterio de P ö b let
(B arcelona, 1746, repr. ed. 1947-1955), I I , pp. 4345; an ab b reviated f orm the legend
is f ound in J oaq uim Guitert y F ontsere\ R eal monasterio de P ö b let (B arcelona,
1929), pp. 107-109; and one of the most elab orate versions of the « L ey enda de
P ö b let» is told b y V ictor B alaguer, L as R uinas de P ö b let (Madrid, 1885), pp. 55-93.
(12) Martorell, p. x x x .
(1J )F inestres, I I , p. 56.
(M) The Catalan mas is treated b y J oaq uim de Campo i A rb oix , L a Masia Cata-
lana (B arcelona, 1959), and in his « E l mas f eudal» , H istoria de V agricultura Cata-
lana (E d. Tab er: B arcelona, 1969), pp. 50-54. The older standard work on the mas
is J osep P uig i Cadaf alch, L a casa Catalana (P rimer Congrds d' H istö ria de la Corona
tended to concentrate their holdings around their largest estates, usually
lands which they had carved out f or themselves or which had b een
granted b y the Crown. Their peripheral lands lost importance simply
b ecause land was plentif ul and only partially developed. L and could b e
given away or sold, theref ore, without any immediate loss to the
owner (l! ).
Two areas were especially attractive to the Cistercians of P ö b let.
The f irst lay along the soutern P lain of U rgel, f rom the R iver L lob regö s
in the north to the S ierra de L lena in the south, and f rom the S ierra de
R ub io in the east to the E b ro R iver in the west. P ö b let was located on
the edge of these areas, and it was natural f or her to look immediately
north and west f or possib ilities of new land acq uisitions. The main f low
of settlers along the coast f rom the counties in the northeast. L and to
the east of the monastery soon b ecame less readily availab le f or acq ui-
sition than the plains and highlands in the opposite direction. F or in-
stance, the Campo de Tarragona, although still not entirely f ree f rom
Moslem incursions, b egan to b e colonized shortly af ter 1131, some
twenty y ears b ef ore P ö b let had made her f irst acq uisition (' * ). The areas
directly east of the monastery were b eing colonized b y settlers moving
inland f rom the coast, northward along the valley s of the Gaiä and F ran-
coli R ivers. Moreover, af ter 1133 the K nights Templars of B arb erä , and
later those of Montb lanch and E spluga de F rancolf , sought lands in this
direction, and af ter 1153 the Cistercians of S anties Creus j oined the com-
petition C7). These lands had b een in Christian hands since 1006, and
d' A ragö de 1908: B arcelona, 1913). The early mas was merely af orerunner of the
f amous f ourteenth century mas, b ut was a f arm lay out large enough to support
an ex tended f amily . The term is derived f rom mansum, meaning the land needed
to f eed a f amily , and usually ref erred to a f arm on the open range, a« casa de
campo de descanso » .S ee A ntoni Maria A lcover, et al. ed., D iccionari Catalä -V alenciä -
B alear (B arcelona, 1969), V I I , p. 276.
(" )F or a treatment of the nob ility ' s landed wealth and policy see E duardo de
H inoj osa, E l regimen senorial y la cuestion agraria en Cataluila durante la E dad
Media (Madrid, 1905). F or an introduction to the study of the leading f amilies of the
Catalan nob ility , see S .S ob req ues i V idal, E ls b arons de Cataluny a (ed. V icens
V ives: B arcelona, 1957).
(' * )P roceedings of the Cortes in 1131, F idel F ita, ed., Cortes de los A ntiq uos
R einos de A ragon y de V alencia y P rincipado de Cataluna (R eal A cademia de la
H istoria: Madrid, 1896-), I ; J ohannes Mansi, S acrorum conciliorum nova et amplis-
sima collectio (H . W utter, ac. ed.: P aris 1930), X X I , col. 311; E nriq ues F lö rez et al.,
E spana S agrada (Madrid, 1746-), X X I X , p. 277; and E milio Morera y L lauradö , Tarra
gona Cristiana, H istoria del Tarragona y del territorio de su P rovincia (Tarragona,
1897), I , pp. 562-563.
C7) There is no adeq uate treatment of the economic role play ed b y S antes
Creus in the development of the Gaiä R iver V alley .S ee H ernandez S anahuj a, E l
Monasterio de S antes Creus (Tarragona, 1886); the b est survey is J oaq uin Guitert
y F ontsere\ R eal monasterio del S antes Creus (Tarragona, 1927), supplemented b y
his L ' esglesia de S anta L lucia de S antes Creus, N oticias historiq ue del * vere nullius*
i de la P arroq uia (S antes Creus, 1954).

the b est land in the valley s had long since b een claimed b y other lords.
B y 1056 the old f rontier had moved west of Tä rrega, allowing f or a cen-
tury of gradual occupation in the areas east of the F rancoli.
The second area which of f ered f ertile opportunities f or land acq ui-
sitions was the newer f rontier b etween A ragon and V alencia. The lower
E b ro V alley was opened up when the Christian f orces advanced south,
past Tortosa, in 1149, the y ear f ollowing the capture of L 6rida. H owever,
the Count did not ef f ectively control the southern road f rom Tarragona
to Tortosa until May , 1151, slowing the Christian movement into these
newly acq uired lands. Tortosa itself was sub j ugated b y the Count b y
May 5 of that y ear, the date when the Church of Tortosa was restored (19).
H owever, the lands within the b oundaries of Tortosa were not sub dued
until March, 1154, and the area south of Tortosa was not open to Chris-
tian occupation until 1172 when K ing A lf onso I I of A ragon-Catalonia
renewed the anti-Moslem of f ensive. The Crown' s new ob j ective, V alen-
cia, did not f all until 1238. I n spite of these delay ed successes, the
country north of Tortosa remained hostile to Christian penetration; re-
b ellions and b rigandage were common. Moorish reb els, as late as 1243,
shock ed the Cristians b y their b old amb ush of the warrior-B ishop of
V alencia, F errer de P allar^ s, on his way to a provincial council at B ar-
celona. A ttempts to ransom the B ishop f ailed and he was murdered
af ter three day s of captivity .R egardless of such turmoil in this f ron-
tier, P ö b let b enef ited f rom the reconq uest of northern V alencia. P ob let' s
acq uisitions seldom went b ey ond the R iver S egre, and the b ulk of her
estates were acq uired b ef ore J une, 1222, when K ing J aime I captured
Castellö n de la P lana. A lthough the monastery held scattered possessions
throughout the newly reconq uered territory , the maj ority of her south-
ern acq uisitions remained in the E b ro b asin.
W hen P ö b let was f ounded in 1150, the R econq uest had already pas-
sed L eY ida and Tortosa, and as a conseq uence, P ö b let was alway sb ehind
the main b attle zone. H owever, as in the case of the b adlands of Tor-
tosa, there were many areas adj acent to the H uerto de P ö b let which
def ied Christian occupation. L ocal sk irmishes wtih the Moors who had
retreated into the hill conutry were still common in 1150, and P ö b let
was situated very near to the stronghold of Ciurana, in Moorish hands
until A pril, 1153. A lthough the Conca de B arb erä was of f icially under
the Count' s control b y 1148, its governor, R amö n de Cervera, f aced
continued reb ellions on the part of the Moors (M). O utb reak s of violence
occurred near P rades until 1170, when K ing A lf onso I I , with the f inan-
(" )F inestres, I I , pp. 47-48.

(" )R ob ert I .B urns, The Crusader K ingdom of V alencia, R econstruction on a
Thirteenth-century F rontier (H arvard U niversity P ress: Camb ridge, Mass., 1967),
I , pp. 23-24.
(20) F inestres, I I , p. 45.

rial aid of P ö b let, q uelled a f inal reb ellion (21). These small, isolated
conf licts b ehind the war zone served only to mak e secure pock ets of
resistance to Christian occupation, and to instill into the new settlers
af ear of another Moslem incursion. The settlers could still rememb er
the serious threat which the A lmohades posed to Christian S pain until
af ter the death of A b du-1-mumen in 1163. The strength of the Moors was
not really b rok en until the b attle of L as N avas de Tolosa in 1212, and
the Christians never realized the opportunity of their victory .E ven af ter
1212 the Christians, plagued b y the same k ind of internecine warf are
which had weak ened the A lmohades, f ailed to tak e advantage of the
enemy ' s lack of unity . The R econq uest progressed southward slowly ,
city b y city (22). A f eeling of true security was possib le in Cataluna N ueva
only af ter the successes of J aime I , long af ter P ö b let f irst ex panded her
holdings. Many villages, lik eR oj als in 1151, V inaix a in 1153, and V ila-
vert in 1155, had j ust received their charters: they , lik eP ö b let, were
f rontier settlements (" ). The charter f or the donation of the grange at
D oldellops in 1154 indicates that the possession was « on the f rontier in
F rank land » (M). A century of b order warf are had lef t the highlands
around P ö b let undeveloped and unpopulated. A s an entrepreneurial
f oundation P ö b let was to aid the estab lishment of a viab le economy on
the f rontier, and this made land acq uisitions all important.
P ö b let q uick ly moved into areas where land had b een f reed b y the
R econq uest, acq uiring her f irst possessions in the territory north of Tor-
tosa, the most hostile f rontier. The f irst donations in this region, of two
huertos or parcels of partially developed land, were granted b y separate
patrons in March 1154, only one y ear af ter R amon B erenguer I V sub -
dued the Tortosan country side (25). I n that same month, the Count him-
self granted P ö b let an honor, a parcel of land of unspecif ied condition
or area, at Cherta, within the northern limits of Tortosa, and in 1155
the monastery acq uired the mas of B as f rom the Count (26). A lso in that
y ear the Count' s lieutenants b egan to turn over some of their spoils of
the R econq uest to the monastery . Guillen A imeric had b een given ex ten-
sive holdings near Tortosa j ust two y ears prior to his donation of an
orchard near P etrola in March 1155 (" ). A n undated charter, considered
(2I )F inestres, I I , p. 84.
(M) The disunity of the Moors is discussed b y F rancisco Codera, D ecadencia

y desparacidn de los A lmoravides en E spaiia (Zaragoza, 1899); the maj or conf licts
are treated b y A mb rosio H uici Miranda, Crö nicas latinas de la R econq uista (V a-
lencia, 1913), L as Grandes B atalles de la R econq uista durante las invasiones A f rica-
nas (Madrid, 1956), and his H istoria politico del itnperio A lmohade (Tetuan, 1956-57).
(23) A ntonio P alau y D ulcet, L a Conca de B arb ara (I mp. R omana: B arcelona,
1932), pp. 145-147; Morera y L laurado, x x i.
(24) « in F ranculino in suo f rontera » , Cart. 246, p. 149; F inestres, I I , p. 60.
(M) F inestres, I I , p. 61; F ontsere, P ö b let, p. 124.
(2* )F inestres, I I , p. 60; F ontsere, P ö b let, p. 123; Cart. 170, p. 101.
(" ) Cart. 210, p. 125.

to predate the accession of A b b ot Grimb aldo in 1155, listed P ob let' s
holdings near Cherta as including eleven olive groves, three viney ards,
and two unspecif ied possessions, lands which had b een partially deve-
loped and ab andoned b y the Moors (28). Moreover, in that same y ear P ö -
b let b egan to lease her new holdings and to arrange f or their improve-
ment (29). P ö b let had made over twenty acq uisitions within the b oun-
daries of Tortosa within two y ears of its sub j ugation, mak ing clear the
inf luence of the southward movement of the f rontier on her monastic
domain.
The initial f rontier character of P ö b let was not, however, to endure.
B ecause the southern marches of the R econq uest shif ted so rapidly with
the advances of R amon B erenguer I V and, af ter 1172, his son, A lf onso I I ,
the monastery ' s acq uisitions b egan to come f rom donors who had held
the land f or a decade or more. Conseq uently , much of the land P ö b let
acq uired in the 1170' s had b een partially developed b y the Moors and
improved b y the new Christian landlords. More important, P ö b let tried
to avoid scattering her monastic domain over all of V alencia b y conso-
lidating her holdings north of the E b ro. W hen A ragon reached an accord
with Castile in 1170, and A lf onso I I , two y ears later, reopened the cru-
sade, the b attle zone moved f urther away f rom P ob let' s holdings, the
threat of the A lmohades seemed less potent, and most of the b order
lands were sub dued. A lthough marauders remained a prob lem, the hin-
terlands near P ö b let were no longer plagued b y localized warf are. The
military f ront moved on, and the monastery , stationary as it was, chose
to acq uire and develop lands in the f rontier nearer to the ab b ey .A f ter
1232 P ö b let f ounded a daughter house at B enif azä on the V alencian f ron-
tier and the new acq uisitions of the Cistercians in this area did not
constitute part of P ob let' s domain (x ).
I n short, the ef f ect of the f rontier on P ö b let had b een twof old: 1)
the late reconq uest of L erida and Tortosa had made land availab le to
the north and southwest of the monastery when P ö b let was ab le to
compete f or and acq uire possessions, and 2) b ecause the reconq uered
lands, especially those of the most southern f rontier, were already de-
veloped and were y ielding harvets, they were used as spoils and pay -
ments to the k nights who had supported the k ing, and were in turn
given to the monastery as these k nights f ormed a new landowning class.

I ncome f rom these donations allowed P ö b let to invest and develop lands
in the less productive f rontier close to the ab b ey . The result was that
f or nearly a century P ö b let was ab le to ex pand at will, and that a large
(28) F ontserd, P ö b let, p. 123; F inestres dates the accession of A b b ot Grimb aldo
in 1154; Cart. 215, pp. 127-128.
(» ) Cart. 202, p. 121.
C30) F inestres, « A pendice ä la D isertacion X I :R eal Monasterio de S anta Mar f a
de B enif azä , I I , pp. 250-288.

percentage of her acq uisitions were productive, having undergone twenty
to thirty y ears of development b ef ore they came under the monastery ' s
administration. A third, less direct inf luence of the f rontier on P ob let' s
activities was that her position, strategically very important, coupled
with her growing power as a land owner, gave the monastery a privi-
leged status. F rontier land holders were of ten ex cused f rom certain
tax es, dues, and services in return f or other, usually military , services (31)-
S ecular lords might actively engage in comb at in the def ense of the do-
minion' sb order lands, while a monastery might lend f inancial aid and
diplomatic counsel. P ö b let served her k ings in b oth way s, and in return
was accorded a privileged legal status which was ob vious to any one who
opposed P ob let' s ex pansion. O f f if ty -three disputes, mostly over the
control of land, b etween 1166 and 1275, thirty -f ive cases were resolved
in the monastery ' sf avor. P ö b let reached compromise agreements to
settle f if teen disputes, and the monastery acq uiesced to unf avorab le de-
cisions in only three cases (32). P ob let' s enhanced prestige originated in
the early y ears when P ö b let served the primary f unction of af rontier
monastery , and later it helped her in consolidating her domain b y
def eating rival claimants in law suits.
The widest stretches of unproductive land which the monastery
acq uired were those near the S ierra de Monstant, immediately south-
west of P ö b let, the last areas ab andoned b y the Moorish reb els. Con-
seq uently , land reclamation was an important part of P ob let' s program.
P ob let' s ab b ots, « with their more consistent hab it of thought and wider
range of vision » than secular lords, actively sought lands which could
b e put to f uture rather than immediate use (33). S ome of the granges, the
main centers of Cistercian agricultural ex ploitation, such as Cdrvoles,
(31) H enry J . Chay ton, A H istory of A ragon and Catalonia (Methuen: L ondon,
1933), p. 29.
(32) I n all three cases in which negative decisions are recorded, there was a
utilitarian reason f or preserving the charters. The dispute in 1200 resulted in the
awarding of the q uarries of P ontonal and Canemars to A vinon del P anadas, a village
which was b eq ueathed to P ö b let in 1209 b y Guillen de Zagranada. S ee F inestres, I I ,
p. 200; Cart. 274, p. 166: 358, p. 220: 264, pp. 159-160. The dispute of 1235 over the
church at V erdü lik ewise was important in latter dealings, in 1236, with S antes
Creus. S ee F inestres, I I , p. 244; F ontserö , P ö b let, p. 142. The third case, settled in
1238 in f avor of the convent of V allb ona, had to b e preserved b ecause the convent
owed P ö b let 400 morab atines in relation to the case. S ee F inestres, I I , pp. 314-315.
Conseq uently one might suspect that P ö b let had troub le with more than these three
suits. H owever, such conj ectures do not ref ute the conclusion that P ö b let was most
successf ul in dealing with her rivals.
(33) Marc B loch, F rench R ural H istory , tr. J .S ondheimer (U niversity of Cali-
f ornia P ress: B erk eley , 1966), pp. 14-15. N ote that Catalan society and f eudalism
f ollowed F rench norms, as pointed out b y B loch, F eudal S ociety , tr. L .A . Many on
(U niversity of Chicago P ress: Chicago, 1966), I , p. 186. F or general b ack ground see
A rchib ald R .L ewis, The D evelopments of S outhern F rance and Catalan S ociety ,
718-1050 (U niversity of Tex as P ress: A usti, 1965).

were three decades in the mak ing b ef ore they were prof itab le. A mo-
nastery b ecause of its corporate nature could, more than a secular lord,
af f ord long-term investments needed f or land reclamation. The result
was that some lands, such as those near Montagudell within the H uerto
de P ö b let itself , were lef t undeveloped f or half a century b ef ore the mo-
nastery b egan their reclamation (M). P ossib le land acq uisitions were
never overlook ed merely b ecause the land could not b e work ed imme-
diately .
The vast maj ority of the lands acq uired b y P ö b let had undergone
some development. Three-f ourths of P ob let' s land acq uisitions had b e-
longed to someone other than the k ing or to one of his Moorish vassals.
L and recovered f rom the Moors b ecame the property of the Crown. The
b ulk of this land was parceled out as estates to those who b est served
the R econq uest. P ö b let had her share of these roy al donations. F or
ex ample, the monastery ob tained her seigneurial rights to V imb odi in
1172 b ecause P ö b let had rendered f inancial aid to A lf onso I I during his
campaigns against the Moorish insurrections in the S ierra de P rades (3S ).
A lthough some of the roy al donations were valuab le, land grants were
less common than privileges, and J aime I pref erred to patronize his
b eloved monastery with cash gif ts. Most of P ob let' s land donations were
given b y nob les who had received roy al grants immediately af ter the
Christians had made sizeab le territorial gains.
P ö b let could acq uire land in two way s: it could b e given to the
monastery or it could b e purchased. The monastery f irst received most
of her land through donations. The Cistercians had a special arrange-
ment b y which lay men could b ecome q uasi-memb ers of the community
without tak ing vows. These lay men, and sometimes women, were called
donados b ecause the usually « donated » some possession to P ö b let and
in turn were allowed to partak e of the « b enef its » of the monastery .
I f they desiderd, the donados were ab le to tak e vows and b ecome choir
monk s at some f uture, unspecif ied date. U sually the donado, when his
wif e died and his f amily was grown, would enter the O rder. The donado
arrangement thus appears to b e an early case of retirement planning.
I n some cases P ö b let promised to care f or the donado' s wif e and f a-
mily if the donado died f irst (36). The donados were welcome to stay at
the monastery in a special dormitory and they may also have had access
to the monastery ' s shops or some privileges such as discounts in using
the monastery ' s mills. N o charter in P ö b let' cartulary enumerates all of
these « b enef its » .
A second source of donations was f rom novitiates. P ob let' s choir

monk s came predominantly f rom the nob ility , and every nob le who
(34) P alau y D ulcet, p. 136; F inestres, I I , pp. 185-186; Cart. 98, pp. 54-55.
(35) F inestres, I I , pp. 85-86.
(« ) Cart. 138, p. 80.

entered the O rder vowed to ob serve strict poverty . The novices made out
their wills during their novitiate, and when a candidate entered the
community as a f ull-f ledged memb er his will went into ef f ect. This was
especially convenient f or P ö b let if relatives of a monk chose to contest
his will. P ö b let of ten received a generous donation, especially if the
monk did not have to provide f or a f amily .
A third incentive f or donations was also religious, b ut some donors
dif f ered slightly f rom the donados and novices in their motivation. Many
nob les sought b urial in « hallowed ground » within the monastery ' s
precinct. The ab b ey had a special cemetery f or them, not f ar f rom that
of the monk s. The greater nob ility , such as the Counts of U rgel, had
their own chapels and f amily cry pts (37). The monastery thrived f rom
her reputation as the roy al pantheon of A ragon-Catalonia, j ust as S an
J uan de la P ef ia had b ef ore her. Count R amon B erenguer I V was to have
b een b uried there in 1162; A lf onso I I , in 1196, and J aime I , in 1276,
were b uried at P ö b let (38).
Most of the donors did not stipulate special reasons f or their dona-
tions, other than the f ormulaic « f or the good of my sould » . O nly one
donation specif ied that in return f or several f ief s the monk s should of f er
daily Mass f or the donor' s intention (39). W hen the gif t was made imme-
diately b ef ore the b enef actor lef t on a pilgrimage or a crusade, his in-
tention was ob vious to every one. A s late as 1234 it was f ashionab le to
donate something to a religious house b ef ore leaving to f ight on the
V alencian f rontier. The k night sought the monk ' s pray ers, usually
through the traditional Cistercian intercession of the V irgin, f or success
and a triumphant return C40).
P ob let' s donations came f rom all rank s of society f rom small land-
lords, rectors of parishes, small tenant f armers, to the great nob les, the
archb ishops, and the k ings. H er largest patronage, however, came f rom
the greater nob ility . N early f orty per cent of P ob let' s donations came
f rom the roy al house and the estab lished f amilies of northeastern S pain.
A b out six per cent specif iy that the donation was made to secure b urial
at P ö b let. S ix teen per cent wehe donations made b y monk s and conversi:
in one instance, the monk who made a donation to P ö b let took his pro-
(J 7) A f ter Count A rmengol V I I I ' s death on J anuary 28, 1209, he was b uried in
the Chapel of the H oly E vangelists, thereaf ter k nown as the Chapel of the Counts
of U rgel. F inestres, I I , p. 188, p. 195; F ontsere\ P ö b let, p. 76, p. 135.
(M) P edro I I intended to b eb uried ad P ö b let, b ut af ter his sudden demise at
Muret he was laid to rest nex t to his mother at S igena. F inestres, I I , p. 132, p. 199;
Cart. 144, pp. 84-85.

(» ) The will of Guillen de Granada, J une 21, 1198; Cart. 264, pp. 159-161.
(* > )B erenguer de A guilö n gave P ö b let the « Mas des V ives » near V alvert b ef ore
setting out to V alencia in 1234. H e stipulated that the income f rom the mas was
to b e used to f urther the construction of the hospital. F ontserö , P ö b let, p. 13.

f ession of f aith at S antes Creus(41). Two-thirds of the charters which
donate possessions to P ö b let do not tell why the donation was made.
The main reason f or donations, the q uest f or salvation, was, f or me-
dieval men, self -evident.
P urchase of land b ecame more common af ter the turn of the thir-
teenth century , and even then, most charters which record pay ments
f or a « donation » did not openly admit that the transaction was a
sale (« ).
F ormerly , sales of landed property had b een somewhat rare; their very
legality seemed doub tf ul, in pub lic opinion, unless there was the ex cuse of
' great poverty ' . Thus when a purchaser was a church (or ab b ey ), the sale was
apt to b e disguised under the name of a pious donation. A ctually the vendor
ex pected f rom his pretence, which was only half deception, a doub le gain. I n
this world he would receive the purchase-price (though lower perhaps than it
would have b een in the ab sence of any other remuneration): in the nex t, the
salvation of his soul, ob tained through the pray ers of the servants of God.
A b out half to the purchases P ö b let made were disguised in this way .
A n illustrative case is a transaction which took place on J une 27, 1176.
R amö n de Moncada, who held a lion' s share of the spoils f rom the Tor-
tosan and V alencian f rontiers, sold several houses in R emolins and his
share in a granary at Tortosa f or a mere six ty morab atines, plus a b id
f or an eternal award (43). The monastery b ought not only land, b ut also
titles to land, especially when those claims contested P ob let' s complete
ownership. To avoid putting her own tenures in j eopardy , the monas-
tery would « pay of f » rival claimants. W hereas the monastery
had little ef f ective control over which donations were of f ered to her,
P ö b let was meticulous in her b uy ing. Most investments were made to
consolidate holdings, to ob tain water sources near already held lands,
to gain enough pasturage, or to « corner » water rights. I nf ewer cases,
purchases were made almost solely b ecause the real estate itself was
income producing. W hereas most of her negotiations were f or small
honors, usually worth f rom f orty to one hundred and twenty sueldos,
some of them were f or large sums, f rom 600 to 3000 sueldos. The larger
transactions were f or pre-ex isting administrative units, senorios and do-
minicaturas, usually castles and their lands, and sometimes f or the seig-
neurial rights to villages. I n 1259 P ö b let paid 3100 sueldos to Guillen de

J orb af or a castle and its lands at Montb lanq uet, and in 1264 the monas-
tery paid the ab b ey of Montserrat 25, 000 sueldos f or the rights to S e-
nant C4). These large transactions were, however, ex ceptions to the rule.
The trend f rom rely ing on donations as the maj or source of acq ui-
(« )L lib re B lanch, Cart. 255, pp. 157-159.
(« )B loch, F eudal S ociety , I , pp. 132-133.
(« ) Cart. 179, pp. 107-108.
(44) F inestres, I I , p. 50.

sitions to an increased use of purchasing in order to consolidate hei
holdings is most signif icant. This tendency f irst hints that the f rontier
was closing in Catalonia in the thirteenth century (b y 1200 in the areas
most prox imate to P ö b let), and that the b est land had already b een
claimed or settled. S econdly , it demonstrates that the second and third
generations were not as f ree with their f amily estates as their f athers had
b een immediately af ter they were enriched b y the spoils of the R econ-
q uest. W hereas b ef ore 1200 the leading patrons of P ö b let were well-
k nown names lik e Geraldo de J orb a, P edro and B erenguer de P uigvert,
R amon and Guillen de Cervera, A rchb ishop Guillen de Torroj a, Guillen
de A nglesola, V iscount P once de Cab rera, Count A rmengol V I I I of U r-
gel, P edro de A vellanes, P edro, Guillen, and R amö n de S egura, R amon
de Moncada, and others, new names appear in P ob let' s donations once
the monastery was f irmly estab lished. The f irst donors were those men
who had prof ited af ter tak ing an active part in the R econq uest. S ome
had b een lieutenants of R amö nB erenguer I V , others had perf ormed
most of their service under A lf onso I I . The same f amily names reappear
in the donations made b etween 1200 and 1250, b ut toward the 1230' s
there is a notab le increase in new b enef actors with names not so tradi-
tionally estab lished, who were enj oy ing the b enef its of the renewed
campaigns against Mallorca and V alencia. W omen donors also b ecame
more numerous. W hereas b ef ore the thirteenth century the Countess of
Tarragona was the main patroness of P ö b let, in later y ears women such
as H ermesinda de Zaguardia and D ona E lvira, the Countess of S ub irats,
b ecame generous donors. They had b een enriched b y the estates lef t to
them b y their deceased husb ands, k nights who had served in the south-
ern wars. A f ter 1244, there was a notab le decline in b oth the numb er
and size of donations. The donors' names, ex cept f or the f amilies of
A nglesola and Cab rera, are new. Their f athers and grand-f athers had not
b een patrons of P ö b let.
A third very important f acet of P ob let' s increased acq uisitions b y
purchases illustrates a change in P ob let' s character as an economic
institution. B ef ore the thirteenth century the monastery was a religious
house which relied on her reputation f or sanctity to secure outside pat-
ronage. I n the 1200' sP ö b let b ecame self -suf f icient, politically capab le of
competing with the strongest rivals, and f inancially ab le to acq uire what-
ever the monastery wanted. H er acq uisition policy b ecame more aggres-
sive, and the monastery , as a purchasing agent, maneuvered with asto-
nishing zeal. This is apparent in two of her policies: 1) her acq uisition
of adeq uate pasturage near the ab b ey , and 2) her attempt to secure a

milling monopoly near E spluga de F rancolf (45). I n several cases P ö b let
(« ) Cart. 220, p. 137; 224, pp. 133-134: 228, p. 137: 230, p. 138: 248, p. 150: 226,
p. 135: 39, p. 18: 225, pp. 136-137; F inestres, I I , p. 83, p. 193, p. 213; F ontsere, P ö b let,
p. 127.
purchased her land b y redeeming mortgages, or b y moving against
deb tors. F or ex ample, P edro de B ageries had f allen into deb t and the
monastery ex tended to him a moderate loan of six ty morab atines. H e
was ab le to pay b ack only half of the sum, b ut was allowed to cancel
the entire deb tb y « donating » some viney ards of his to P ö b let (* * ). I n
other cases, when the deb tors owed as much as eight hundred sueldos,
the « donations » were larger. A t the same time P ö b let was protected b y
roy al decree against creditors who tried to f orce the monastery to pay
deb ts which her memb ers had incurred b ef ore entering the O rder. O n
March 3, 1166, P edro de Q ueralt b ecame a novice at P ö b let and he sign-
ed the customary will which all Cistercians wrote b ef ore leaving the se-
cular world. H e b eq ueathed a mill in E spluga de F rancoli and some
viney ards to the monastery , b ut the mill was not entirely his to give (47).
P edro had contracted a deb t of two hundred sueldos and his creditors
were eager f or its pay ment. W hen P ö b let claimed ownership of the mill,
P edro' s creditors sought pay ment f rom the monastery .A lthough the
ab b ot ref used, they persisted in their demands. K ing A lf onso I I inter-
vened, restated his policy that P ö b let was under his protection, and
warned that none of his vassals should dare ex act any thing f rom the
monastery (48). P ö b let retained the mill and P edro de Q ueralt' s creditors
sought pay ment f rom his heirs. A pparently they were not very success-
f ul b ecause in March 1256, K ing J aime I had to issue a similar mandate
when P edro de Q ueralt I I b ecame a monk at P ö b let. There are several
ex amples which show that the monastery was very lenient with b oth
plaintif f s and deb tors, b ut her ab b ots were shrewed b usinessmen protec-
ted b y roy al patronage, and P ö b let could b e a cold, calculating rival
when competing in land acq usition. This image, of course, adversely
af f ected her relations with the neighb oring landlords and may have b een
a contrib uting f actor to the decrease in donations af ter the mid-century .
A lthough P ö b let continued to acq uire land, a sharp decline in the
(46) Cart. 245, p. 148. The various currencies are listed in J oaq uin B otet i S iso,
L es monedes catalanes, I -I I I (I nstitut d' E studis Catalans: B arcelona, 1908), and
A loiss H eiss, D escription general de las monedas hispano-cristianas (Zaragoza, 1865-
1869, repr. 1963), supplemented b y O . Gil F arr^ s, H istoria de la moneda espanola
(Madrid, 1959), The most common coin was the sueldo de B arcelona, a silver coin
in use since circa 1050, valued against the gold standard, the onzas de B arcelona.
The second most common currency was the morab atine, a gold coin roughly par-
allel to the A lmoravide dinare. I ts use was complicated b ecause there were seven
dif f erent k inds of morab atines in circulation. The most common morab atine, in
1157, was worth six sueldos. The mazmudina was a gold coin of various value. B alari
y J ovany , I I , p. 700, p. 702.
(« )F inestres, I I , p. 82; Cart. 234, pp. 140-143.
(« « )F inestres, I I , p. 82; I I I , p. 44; Cart. 39, p. 18.

The F rontier of the S panish R ecooq uest 71
numb er of donations occurred af ter 1244 (" ). The greatest donor af ter
then was J aime I : his b arons made only sporadic donations to P ö b let.
N ew gif ts consisted of rents, tithes, portions of harvests, and cash more
than of land. A lthough there were f ew purchases made b y the monastery
b etween 1245 and 1259, within f ive y ears thereaf ter P ö b let b ought pro-
perty worth a total of 1470 gold morab atines, f if ty mazmudmas of gold.
and 33, 850 sueldos, a great amount of money in the thirteenth century .
P urchases af ter 1260 outnumb ered donations two to one. B ef ore 1185
donations had outnumb ered purchases f our to one. The change is
strik ing.
A n overall statistical b reak down of P ö b let' s landed acq uisitions b et-
ween 1150 and 1276 reveals that donations were b y f ar the main source
of landed wealth f or the monastery .P urchases were a supplementary
method of acq uiring land and consolidation. O f course, the character of
individual ab b ots may have b een decisive in any aggressive acq uisition
b y the monastery .B ut usually , according to the precepts of the B ene-
dictine R ule, a house' s consuetudines, its custumal, allowed the entire
community a voice in land acq uisition, especially in cases involving a
considerab le ex penditure.
The monastery ' sf irst purchase occurred in 1166(" ). N o more were
made until 1171, b ut six teen transactions had b een concluded b y 1186.
These contracts were the work of A b b ots H ugö n (1168-1181) and E steb an
I I I D roc (1181-1185). There was sy stematic b uy ing until the end of the
century , most of which involved inex pensive peripheral lands f or pastu-
rage. The f irst large b usiness venture came in 1190 with the purchase of
the castle and lands of Monsuar f or 15, 000 morab atines, the greatest
sum ever spent b y P ö b let in a single transactions (" )- N o b uy ing occur-
red b etween 1199 and 1204, b ut in the f ollowing y ears A b b ots P edro I I I
de Concab ella (1198-1204) and P edro I V de Curtacans (1204-1215) made
increased ef f orts to complete P ob let' s control over several mills b y
mak ing eight purchases.
The monastery b ecame very conservative af ter 1204 until the end
of P edro I V ' s supervision. Torn over the issue of the A lb igensian Cru-
sade and the amb ivalent position of K ing P edro I I , the community had
split into pro-Catalan and pro-F rench f actions. O nce the F rench q uestion
was resolved in 1213, the monastery , having achieved a greater solida-

rity , resumed purchasing. P ö b let f ortunately had three very capab le
ab b ots in succession: A rnaldo I I de F ilella (1215-1221), R amon de
O stralich (1221-1224), R amon I I de Cervera (1224-1229). They added
(* * )P ob let' s cartulary does not contain any documents dating later than 120« ,
and the chronicle is not complete. H owever, the chronicler does mak e a conspicuous
ef f ort to list all the donations, more so than the transactions.
(» )F inestres, I I , p. 82.
(5I )F inestres, I I , p. 128: the purchase was made b y A b b ot P edro de Massanet
(1190-1196).
greatly to the monastic domain b y mak ing eleven purchases in f our-
teen y ears. The another pause in P ob let' sb uy ing activities ocurred,
possib ly in ex pectation of the outcome of J aime I ' s launching of new
f orces against Mallorca and V alencia. F rom 1236 to 1245, encouraged
b y the k ing' s military victories, P ö b let made another f ourteen pur-
chases, most of which were contracted b y A b b ot R amon I V D onato
(1238-1241). The greatest series of transactions was initiated b y
A b b ot A rnaldo I V de P rex ens (1254-1268), whose long rule allowed
him to consolidate P ob let' s holdings, increase her revenues, and
arrange f or new acq uisition. A b b ot A rnaldo spent more during his ab b acy
than was spent in any of the f our series of purchases discussed so f ar.
I n all P ö b let had made more than ninety -one purchases, totalling more
than 44, 000 sueldos, 24, 000 morab atines, and 3, 600 gold mazmudinas.
O f these transactions, twenty -seven, or nearly one-third, were made to
guarantee the tenure of previous acq uisitions. They included renewals
of conf irmations, concessions of rights, and pay ments f or f avorab le
settlements in disputes. They were not transacted to acq uire more land,
b ut were designed to allow the monastery to k eep the peacef ul posses-
sion of lands which P ö b let already claimed.
The nature of the donations to P ö b let is as revealing as the mon-
astery ' s purchases. I n all 211 donations were made b etween 1150 and
1276. O f these, 121 or nearly six ty per cent were made within f if ty y ears
af ter P ob let' sf oundation. The other f orty per cent were spread out over
a period of seventy -six y ears. O nly six teen donations date b etween 1250
and 1276, a notab le decline considering that f rom 1225 to 1250 over
thirty -seven donations had b een granted. The f ollowing graph illustrates
the f luctuation in the numb er of b oth donations and purchases b y de-
cades; it also indicates the estimated growth in the area of P ob let' s
domain, not counting areas under the monastery ' s administration such
as seniorios and dominicaturas which are impossib le to assess (H ).
N ote that while the R econq uest moved southward, toward Tortosa,
(52) This estimate is b ased on the numb er of granges, honors, and masos owned
b y P ö b let, b ut not the domincaturas or senorios, b ecause it is impossib le to assess
these units in terms of area. The monastery ' s masos averaged more than f ive
hundred accres and were convertib le into granges. The estimate of f ive hundred
acres per grange was arrived at f irst b y H enri P irenne, E conomic and S ocial H istory
of Medieval E urope (L ondon, 1947), pp. 68-70, and is acceptab le to L ouis J .L ek ai,
The W hite Monk s (O k auchee, W isconsin, 1953), pp. 222-223. E ach honor was con-
servatively estimated at ten acres, although j udging f rom the varied monetary
values assigned to many of them, they dif f ered in size considerab ly . W henever the
ex act numb er of certain possessions was not given b y a charter and the plural
was used, the entry into the estimate was a minimal two. A ll mapwork f or the
b oundaries and area calculations were done f rom plate 25, Mapa O f icial de Carre-
teras (Madrid, 1968). The real area of P ob let' s monastic domain may have b een
considerab ly larger than estimated, b ut the f igures on the graph depict the general
trend.
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TH E R E CO N Q U E S TO F CA TA L U N A N U E V A , 1000-1170 A .D .
MA R CA H I S P A N I CA
o 3o
iiV \ N
13^ -/1170
" 800
000
1100
I mportant sites and maj or conq uests
1) S eo de U rgel, 792 A .D .
2) Gerona, 785 A .D .
3) V ieh, 792 A .D .
4) L enda, 1148 A .D .
5) F raga, 1149 A .D .
6) P ö b let, 1150 A .D .
7) Montb lanch, 1155 A .D .
8) S antes Creus, 1153 A .D .
9) V illaf rance de P anadei» , 1150 A .D .
10) B arcelona, 801 A .D .
11) Tarragona, 1118 A .D .
12) Tortosa, 1149 A D .
13) Castellö n de la P lana, 1222 A .D .
14) V alencia, 1238 A .D .
A ) Gay ä R iver
B )F rancoli R iver
C) Monstant R iver
D )S egre R iver
E )E b ro R iver.
A pprox imate b attle zones and dates f or the f rontier movement.
B oundaries of the counties

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0221 J lj eaB J iB ureo^ j /sauE X T3^ \ u& < ' k ~ \
pj rj i-aid ' I H O H f l dO N I V I d N aH H I f lO S 3H I (I N V V O I H H l dO H D N I A O tf d
S R I N I S O N I CnO H S .I H lO O d dO N O I I V ailO S N O D Q N V N O I I I S inO D V H H 1

donations to P ö b let remained ab out the same, b ut when A lf onso I I , with
renewed vigor, b egan to push the southern f rontier toward V alencia in
1172 and to consolidate the f rontier b ehind the crusaders, donations to
P ö b let rose sharply .I t was during this surge of military conq uest that
P ö b let was the indirect b enef iciary of many spoils of war. The leader-
ship of P edro I I took A ragonese-Catalan f orces f urther south to victory
at L as N avas in 1212, and north to disaster at Muret in 1213. B oth do-
nations and purchase declined while he reigned. The R econq uest made
little territorial gain and the political situation was very tense af ter
K ing P edro I I ' s reign when northern A ragon and Catalonia awaited pos-
sib le invasion b y the f orces of S imon de Monf ort. The y oung K ing, J aime
I , had an all-pervasive guard in the vigilant P apacy of I nnocent I I I , b ut the
crisis continued unab ated throughout most of J aime I ' s minority . The
political climate tended to discourage donations and to mak e purchases
f inancially risk y .A f ter J aime I thew of f the y ok e of his regents and renew-
ed the drive toward V alencia, the prospects of political stab ility impro-
ved. A f ter the f all of Castellö n de la P lana in 1222 the R econq uest b eca-
me more successf ul than ever, and the spoils of war again enriched Cata-
lonia and the monk s of P ö b let. D onations b ecame f ewer af ter the f all of
V alencia in 1238 and the completion of the conq uest of Mallorca, and the
rate of growth of the monastic domain slack ened. I n general, purchases,
stimulated b y the availab ility of capital, perhaps f rom the new dona-
tions, f ollowed the same trend as the donations. O nly twice, in the 1190' s
and in the 1260' s, did the monastery increase her b uy ing when her dona-
tions waned.
The result of the donations to and purchases b y P ö b let was the
F ormation of a large monastic domain which the monastery tried
to weld into a tightly -k nit f inancial empire. A ll medieval monasteries
developed domains in an attempt to b ecome self -suf f icient. N ot every
monastery developed its domain in the same way nor did every mona-
stery b ecome and stay f inancially solvent b y tapping the same resources
f or her income. N ot all achieved their goal. They were f ounded as
permanent institutions, b ut not all survived. P reservation depended
upon economic stab ility , which in turn depended upon an operational
program f or converting potentials into realities, that is, f or transf orm-
ing monastic lands into an income producing unit. H ow a monastery

was to accomplish this was not prescrib ed b y any R ule. S t. B enedict
was more concerned with how to persevere and to lead an austere lif e,
to perf ect humility , and to trust in the L ord, and although S t. S tephen
H arding' s Carta charitatis elab orated the theme of Christian charity and
love, the f amous Cistercian treatise did little more than reiterate S t. B e-
nedict' sf ew b asic economic directives. The real dictates f or achieving
self -suf f iciency were prescrib ed b y the environment in which the com-
munity had to live. I nP ob let' s case, that environment was initially a
hostile f rontier.
P ö b let never really enj oy ed the ideal solitude which was so accla-
imed b y the primitive ob servance, an ideal given wholehearted endor-
sement b y the Cistercians. True, the monastery was f ounded in a wild-
erness, b ut P ö b let was not long isolated f rom the many and varied
conf licts which surrounded her. H er wilderness, only partially tamed,
of f ered an inimical resistance to f urther development, and P ö b let had
the added b urden of adj ustment within a rapidly changing and complex
social and economic environment. P ob let' s security was not guarantee! .
despite roy al protection, and not even her f ood supply was assured. The
monastery f aced the immediate prob lem of turning the simple directives
of her R ule into a sound economic program of land acq uisition and de-
velopment. I f the monastery could b uild a productive domain. P ö b let
could achieve self -suf f iciency and survive. This " if " was intimately b ound
up with the many possib ilities f or ex pansion created b y the R econq uest.
The development of a large monastic domain was the k ey to P ob let' s
success. F rom her f oundation until the death of K ing J aime I in 1276,
P ö b let f rew into her adultood. H er domain was one of the largest on the
continent, and the ab b ey was the wealthiest of all in S pain. W ithin the cen-
tury of her growth stage, the monastery of P ö b let had estab lished claims
to and controlled eleven dominicaturas and twelve and a half seiiorios;
held the seigneurial rights to twenty -nine villages, operated thee irriga-
tion sy stems, twenty -seven granges and over thirty mills; administered
more than a half -dozen churches and f ive smaller religious houses; and
owned thirty -eight castles, eight towers, over six ty -f ive masos, more than
125 honors, eight puertos or mountain valley s, eighteen dif f erent stret-
ches of pasture lands, seventeen solars or b uilding sites, nine f ields, six
alodes, f if teen huertos or intensely cultivated plots, over six ty orchards
and olive groves, three q uarries, a dense f orest, more than one hundred
houses, and over 120 unspecif ied k inds of property which included gra-
naries, corrals, wine cellars, f orges, wool and grain shops, and craf t
shops which produced wood, metal, glass, and pottery products. P ö b let
directly administered over 20, 000 acres of land and had indirect con-
trol through ownership rights and leases, over another 35, 000 acres.
Thus a conservative estimate of the size of P ob let' s domain b y 1276 is
a minimum 55, 000 acres.
P ö b let controlled her holdings through a highly centralized and ef -

f icient administration sy stem in order to ex ploit their resources, develop
them, and convert them into a private, productive domain. The b ulk of
these possessions came to P ö b let in over 221 donations and ninety -two
cash transactions. I n total, P ö b let had acq uired more than nine hundred
separate possessions in 260 dif f erent sites. They f ormed the nucleus of a
domain which was later divided into f ive b aronies and lasted well into
the nineteenth century .
The earliest record which illustrates in detail the wealth produced
b y this domain is an accounting, b oth of the monastery ' s treasury and

78
L awrence J . McCrank
liq uid assets, dating f orty y ears af ter J aime I ' s death. I n 1316 P once de
Copons, the ab b ot of B enif azá , was elected P ob let' s new ab b ot. A n inven-
tory of P ob let' sf inancial status was presented to him (H ). The commu-
nity then numb ered ninety -two choir monk s and thirty -f ive conversi.
The monastery ' s warehouses stored f orty measures of wheat, f ive hun-
dred measures of " corn" , and another twelve thousand septenarios of
wheat. The latter f igure alone represents a reserve worth more than
10, 000 sueldos. There was more than enough wine and oil on hand to last
until the nex t harvest. P ob let' s livestock included 53 mules and asses, 40
horses, 111 rams, 2215 sheep, 1500 goats, and 172 pigs. I ncluded in the
livestock tab ulation were 63 slaves. P ob let' s account b ook s showed that
the monastery owed 36, 414 sueldos to various creditors, b ut her accounts
receivab le f ar outweighed this deb t. O ld and new credit ex tended b y the
monastery totaled 20, 826 sueldos and eight denarii: of this outstanding
revenue, 8, 806 sueldos and the eight denarii were f or unpaid rents f or
the past y ear. The treasury guarded 87, 667 sueldos and nine denarii alto-
gether, a cash hoard which contained nine k inds of currency , each of
which were accounted f or in terms of the current ex change value in suel-
dos b arceloneses. I n all, P ob let' s cash assets amounted to 147, 341 sueldos.
A ssets minus deb ts lef t 131, 753 sueldos. The realization of the af f luence
of P ob let and her monastic b onanza is less elusive when one rememb ers
that several houses or an average size honor could b e purchased f or f orty
sueldos and that the largest estates seldom sold f or more than six hun-
dred sueldos. The average landlord could b e put into dire f inancial straits
b y a loss of one thousand sueldos. Moreover, in comparison, P ob let had
b ought castles, their lands, and seigneurial rights to their villages f or less
than three thousand sueldos. I ndeed, when one comprehends the means
of P ob let, in real estate, capital, and liq uid assets, it is understandab le
why some scholars have called the f ourteenth-century P ob let' s" E ra of
S plendor"
(» )F ontseré , P ob let, pp. 156-158.
(и )F ontseré , P ob let, p. 156; Manuael de Montoliu, L lib re de P ob let (B arcelona,
1955), p. 27; F r. J usto P é rez de U rb el, L as Grandes A b adias B enedictinas, su vida,
su arte, y su historia (A ncla: Madrid, 1928), p. 216.


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TH E F R O N TI E R O F TH E S P A N I S H R E CO N O U E S TA N D TH E

The Cistercian O rden play ed a crucial role in the development of

E urope' s medieval f rontiers. W hile the contrib utions of these W hite

Monk s are well k nown, especially in the clearing of f orest in F rance

and S ax on Germany and f or their sheep raising in W ales and E ngland,

historians sough to delineate the growth patterns of the Cistercian mo-

dations was the R oy al Monastery of S anta Maria de P ö b let, located in

H ouse of B arcelona. F ounded in 1150, P ö b let reached its apogee of

power and wealth in the f ourteenth century .

The growth of P ö b let' s domain may b e ex plained largely in terms

b attle zones on the f rontier. The monastery was f ounded nex t to a

virtual « no-man' s land » , and was surrounded b y lands which had

b elonged to the Moors only af ew y ears b ef ore. The ex treme limits of

the f rontier in 1150 were neither tangib le nor stationary as on a b order,

b ut were merely the most remote areas of Christian penetration (2).

Michigan U niversity .I t is a preliminary study b ased on the chronicle ref erences

of P ob let' sF r. J aime F inestres y de Monsalvo and the Tarragona manuscript of the

A rchivo H istorico N acional in Madrid.

(' ) Maur Cocheril, « L ' implantation des A b b ay es Cisterciens dans la P eninsule

I b eriq ue » , A nuario de estudios medievales, I (1964), pp. 217-287.

to b e on a b order is to b e contiguous or prox imate to something else. L ate L atin

P ö b let prospered b y ex ploiting its position as a f rontier monastery :

b y rendering diplomatic service, and b y redeeming captives (3). Most

important, the monastery contrib uted greatly to the development and

settlement of the f rontier. P ö b let reclaimed land through irrigation;

ex perimented in cattle b reeding; attracted a lab or supply through the

Cistercian institution of the conversi, the lay b ethren; opened up new

f ields around scattered granges which were work ed b y lay b rothers

under the direction of the ab b ey ' s cellarer; encouraged settlement

through lend-lease contracts whereb y lay men rented monastic lands

products; f urthered viniculture; and estab lished such b asic industries

These were methods of ex ploiting, thereb y developing, land. The success

of the f rontier b y military conq uests is a primary aspect of P ob let' s

celona and U rgel made slow b ut consistent progress in driving their

b oundaries f urther south b y waging a series of b order wars. B y 1023

F or a b rief description of Catalonia as a military f rontier, see A .R .L ewis,

« Cataluf ia como f rontera militar (870-1050)» , A nuario de estudios medievales, V

(1968), pp. 15-29.

(4) I argue this more ex tensively in Chapter I , « The F oundation of P ö b let » ,

and Chapter I V , « P ob let' sR evenues f rom the E x ploitation of her Monastic D o-

main » , in my « The D evelopment of a Monastic D omain on the S panish F rontier» b y

the Cistercians of P ö b let, 1150-1276 (unpub lished M. A . thesis, U niversity of K ansas,

B erenguer I of B arcelona made incursions as f ar as Conesa, O lles, R o-

B erenguer I I and his b rother B erenguer R amon I I , took control of L ar-

b lanch. The whole Conca de B arb erä was describ ed b y contemporaires

Christian f orces down the coastline halted, b ut progress continued in

the highlands where Moorish settlement was sparse. A s a result of

ex tending southward f rom Tä rrega.

The f rontier continually edged f urther southwest, b ut settlers did not

unsettled and undeveloped, b ut not unwanted. This undeveloped f ron-

counties of B arcelona, U rgel, A mpurias, Cerdagne, and R ousillon, and to

ter ex tended f rom Tarragona to Monstant, south through the S ierra de

x x ix . The ex pansion of the S panish March is treated b y P etrus de Marca, Marca

la Cataluny aI ndependent (E diciö de J aume S ob req u^ s i Callico: B arcelona, 1970);

and F erran S oldevila, H istö ria de Cataluny a (B arcelona, 1964).

(7) Martorell, p. x x vi.

(» )L lib re B lanch, doc. 22, p. x x viii.

was ab le to enlist A ragonese and Catalan as well as F rench f orces f or his

S eek ing a cataly st to speed colonization and development in the

time-tested remedy in the Cistercian O rder. D uring his campaigns

against the Moorish stronghold of Ciurana in 1148, R amon B erenguer,

his victory to divine intervention and this ex perience inspired him to

invite the Cistercians of F ontf roide in southern F rance to estab lish a