WEBVTT 00:00:00.010 --> 00:00:05.129 Hello. In the Crown of Aragon 639 years ago, 00:00:05.710 --> 00:00:12.289 it was March 5th, 1387. My name is Jonathan Seyfried. 00:00:12.689 --> 00:00:16.149 I'm a PhD candidate in history at the University 00:00:16.149 --> 00:00:19.949 of New Mexico. And this is the Historian's Notebook, 00:00:20.429 --> 00:00:25.239 a podcast about how history gets made. Season 00:00:25.239 --> 00:00:29.000 one is titled Molt Cara Companyona. We're looking 00:00:29.000 --> 00:00:31.960 at a document from each day of the first year 00:00:31.960 --> 00:00:37.600 of the reign of King Joan I of Aragon and Queen 00:00:37.600 --> 00:00:41.799 Violant de Bar. Let's begin today's document. 00:01:05.359 --> 00:01:09.040 Today's document takes us back to the mystery 00:01:09.040 --> 00:01:14.040 of Joan's health. It's not a document by Joan. 00:01:14.280 --> 00:01:18.379 It's a document, a letter written by Violant. 00:01:19.319 --> 00:01:23.379 So the recipient of this letter is addressed 00:01:23.379 --> 00:01:28.019 in the first line as Molt Car Oncle. Violante's 00:01:28.019 --> 00:01:32.819 uncles are powerful people because, well, one 00:01:32.819 --> 00:01:37.640 of her uncles was King of France, Charles V. 00:01:38.140 --> 00:01:41.620 Charles V, he is no longer alive. It's currently 00:01:41.620 --> 00:01:49.599 Charles VI that is the, well, the King in name, 00:01:50.060 --> 00:01:55.250 but Charles VI was very young when his father 00:01:55.250 --> 00:02:00.609 died, and so two of Violant's uncles have been 00:02:00.609 --> 00:02:05.310 ruling France as regents. One is the duke de 00:02:05.310 --> 00:02:11.250 Berry, and then another is the addressee of this 00:02:11.250 --> 00:02:15.909 letter, the duke of Burgundy, also known as Philip 00:02:15.909 --> 00:02:21.349 the Bold. So these two uncles of Violant's are 00:02:21.349 --> 00:02:25.270 in many ways co -ruling France at this time, 00:02:25.270 --> 00:02:28.810 and really they've got about one more year of 00:02:28.810 --> 00:02:32.629 doing this, and then Charles VI becomes old enough 00:02:32.629 --> 00:02:37.849 to actually wrest control from his uncles. It 00:02:37.849 --> 00:02:42.270 was not a smooth handover of power as Charles 00:02:42.270 --> 00:02:46.710 VI became old enough to assert his own authority. 00:02:46.759 --> 00:02:50.740 But that's in the future, that's in 1388, and 00:02:50.740 --> 00:02:54.460 right now we're still very firmly in a state 00:02:54.460 --> 00:02:59.060 of affairs where the duke de Berri and the duke 00:02:59.060 --> 00:03:04.379 of Burgundy are really the rulers of France. 00:03:04.520 --> 00:03:08.259 And that's who Violant is writing to in this 00:03:08.259 --> 00:03:12.330 letter. There's a lot of very nice just sort 00:03:12.330 --> 00:03:15.250 of courtesies in this letter saying oh I'm asking 00:03:15.250 --> 00:03:17.229 you about your health and hope everything is 00:03:17.229 --> 00:03:21.389 going great with you but then we get into some 00:03:21.389 --> 00:03:24.689 interesting territory and remember the date of 00:03:24.689 --> 00:03:32.189 this letter is March 5th all right so when we 00:03:32.189 --> 00:03:39.229 get into let's see line five we have this line 00:03:39.229 --> 00:03:51.479 about and it reads and then we've got some damage 00:03:51.479 --> 00:04:07.719 to the document something like hold on wait That's 00:04:07.719 --> 00:04:22.480 what it's supposed to be And then we've got some 00:04:22.480 --> 00:04:32.480 interesting abbreviations I think So what this 00:04:32.480 --> 00:04:42.160 is saying is that is convalescing, and he's almost 00:04:42.160 --> 00:04:47.000 done with it. He's almost done with convalescing 00:04:47.000 --> 00:04:52.540 from his illness, de sa malaltia. And then there's 00:04:52.540 --> 00:04:57.680 the hope, espera, se espera, that in a short 00:04:57.680 --> 00:05:06.329 time, I think that might... Gosh, that word is 00:05:06.329 --> 00:05:08.810 a very tricky one. It looks like it's something 00:05:08.810 --> 00:05:16.110 like C -E -R with a macron above it for abbreviation. 00:05:16.470 --> 00:05:19.230 But maybe it's actually something more like tempore. 00:05:19.310 --> 00:05:23.829 I'm not sure. But in a short something, he's 00:05:23.829 --> 00:05:31.689 expected to be perfect. All right. What illness 00:05:31.689 --> 00:05:35.540 is this referring to? Is it the illness that 00:05:35.540 --> 00:05:41.540 struck Joan in January? Because, I mean, now 00:05:41.540 --> 00:05:46.759 we're, like, over a month after that initial 00:05:46.759 --> 00:05:53.420 onset, and is he still convalescing? That seems 00:05:53.420 --> 00:05:58.959 odd, but maybe illnesses just lingered longer? 00:05:59.310 --> 00:06:02.009 during this time, and we do have that document 00:06:02.009 --> 00:06:05.970 from the middle of February, in which Joan is 00:06:05.970 --> 00:06:11.430 not able to sign his own name. So maybe this 00:06:11.430 --> 00:06:16.610 is a very long recovery. But then we had another 00:06:16.610 --> 00:06:20.310 another letter from Violant saying that Joan 00:06:20.310 --> 00:06:25.689 is no longer in peril. And that was on February 00:06:25.689 --> 00:06:33.389 18th, which is Yeah, still a ways away from this 00:06:33.389 --> 00:06:37.810 still convalescing message. So it is just so 00:06:37.810 --> 00:06:43.750 interesting to see when mention of Joan's illness 00:06:43.750 --> 00:06:48.750 happens and how it's phrased and how it's always 00:06:48.750 --> 00:06:51.889 this like positive spin, like, oh, he's out of 00:06:51.889 --> 00:06:54.649 peril. Oh, he's convalescing. He's going to be 00:06:54.649 --> 00:06:59.779 perfect really soon. What is the actual state 00:06:59.779 --> 00:07:05.399 of affairs for Joan's health? It is like just 00:07:05.399 --> 00:07:08.740 a constant effort, I think, that Violant is 00:07:08.740 --> 00:07:16.060 making to maintain a view of Joan's body as 00:07:16.060 --> 00:07:19.899 strong, right? And I'm alluding to, of course, 00:07:20.920 --> 00:07:24.459 that King's, that idea of King's two bodies that 00:07:24.459 --> 00:07:28.959 was so powerful in the Middle Ages, and has been 00:07:28.959 --> 00:07:32.660 explained by that foundational work by Ernst 00:07:32.660 --> 00:07:37.800 Kantorowicz, which I'll again refer to in the 00:07:37.800 --> 00:07:43.339 bibliography on this episode's webpage. But yeah, 00:07:43.779 --> 00:07:48.339 so I mean, it's really hard to figure out whether 00:07:48.339 --> 00:07:51.459 there's new illnesses or whether this is just 00:07:51.459 --> 00:07:56.800 one long, lingering troublesome illness where 00:07:56.800 --> 00:07:59.699 Violant is just trying to put a positive spin 00:07:59.699 --> 00:08:02.920 on it and of course it's not just like the desire 00:08:02.920 --> 00:08:07.879 to maintain power but it's also I think legitimately 00:08:07.879 --> 00:08:11.459 her hope that okay this week is the week that 00:08:11.459 --> 00:08:16.600 Joan is going to no longer have that lingering 00:08:16.600 --> 00:08:19.279 illness that it really is going to look better 00:08:19.279 --> 00:08:25.800 after after this week so Yeah, it's definitely 00:08:25.800 --> 00:08:32.580 a both -and situation. I think it's clear from 00:08:32.580 --> 00:08:37.200 this letter that word has spread far and wide 00:08:37.200 --> 00:08:42.460 that Joan has some kind of sickliness about 00:08:42.460 --> 00:08:46.480 him. And so we also see in this letter, I think, 00:08:46.960 --> 00:08:51.299 a level of damage control. But then we're starting 00:08:51.299 --> 00:08:55.580 to approach April where we have that real bold 00:08:55.580 --> 00:09:01.379 letter that Josep Roca has identified initially 00:09:01.379 --> 00:09:04.960 and other historians have gravitated toward that 00:09:04.960 --> 00:09:08.960 admits that Joan was given last rites, that talks 00:09:08.960 --> 00:09:12.120 about how there's a suspicion that someone used 00:09:12.120 --> 00:09:16.470 sorcery in order to strike him with this grave 00:09:16.470 --> 00:09:19.750 illness. That is all outlined in a letter in 00:09:19.750 --> 00:09:22.830 April, and so what we're really looking out for 00:09:22.830 --> 00:09:28.259 is some indication of whether this is just one 00:09:28.259 --> 00:09:31.519 long convalescence, and we're just seeing another 00:09:31.519 --> 00:09:34.460 mention of it here, or whether there's been some 00:09:34.460 --> 00:09:38.100 real ups and downs, like whether we can say that 00:09:38.100 --> 00:09:42.639 Joanne fully bounced back at the end of January, 00:09:42.639 --> 00:09:47.259 and then got hit again with some other illness, 00:09:47.620 --> 00:09:52.659 maybe around this time in March, or maybe later 00:09:52.659 --> 00:09:55.419 on in April, that's what we're really looking 00:09:55.419 --> 00:10:00.639 for here. But what we can also see is Violant 00:10:00.639 --> 00:10:04.980 maintaining the front of strength and talking 00:10:04.980 --> 00:10:11.220 about her seynor nostre molt car, your most dear 00:10:11.220 --> 00:10:17.799 lord, and referring to Joan with tenderness 00:10:17.799 --> 00:10:22.360 for sure. But is it more than just the expected 00:10:22.360 --> 00:10:25.000 formula of tenderness. We're looking out for 00:10:25.000 --> 00:10:28.220 that, too. One other mystery in this letter, 00:10:28.220 --> 00:10:31.320 and it really is unfortunate that the worms had 00:10:31.320 --> 00:10:35.759 their way with this page, because there's a word 00:10:35.759 --> 00:10:39.779 that's been blocked out by some of the damage, 00:10:40.179 --> 00:10:46.679 and it's in line seven. Right in the middle, 00:10:47.259 --> 00:10:52.139 there's a signora. mentioned. Signora Nostra 00:10:52.139 --> 00:10:54.779 and then this is where the damage is. It looks 00:10:54.779 --> 00:10:58.000 like the letter M and then the damage and then 00:10:58.000 --> 00:11:06.379 RA. Signora Nostra blank mult reverent. So someone 00:11:06.379 --> 00:11:09.759 else is making their appearance in this letter, 00:11:10.279 --> 00:11:16.220 and it's someone who is definitely worthy of 00:11:16.220 --> 00:11:21.379 a high level of honor, and it's a woman, a signora. 00:11:21.720 --> 00:11:24.360 So it's, you know, not too frequently that we 00:11:24.360 --> 00:11:26.980 see women mentioned in these letters, and so 00:11:26.980 --> 00:11:32.600 I am super curious to know who is being referred 00:11:32.600 --> 00:11:40.320 to here. The chatbots are leaning towards this 00:11:40.320 --> 00:11:46.960 being a reference to Violant's own mother, and 00:11:46.960 --> 00:11:52.620 I'm not quite sure because of the reverent. I 00:11:52.620 --> 00:11:55.919 would expect it to be Violant's mother if it 00:11:55.919 --> 00:12:03.059 was Molt Cara, right? Signora Nostra something 00:12:03.059 --> 00:12:07.860 Molt Cara. So I'm not quite sure who is being 00:12:07.860 --> 00:12:12.490 referred to here. I'll just keep mulling. on 00:12:12.490 --> 00:12:18.450 that, and hopefully be able to figure that out 00:12:18.450 --> 00:12:23.470 at some future point. All right, let's see. What 00:12:23.470 --> 00:12:28.610 else can we say about about this? I think what 00:12:28.610 --> 00:12:32.309 we've got is just a lot of pleasantries, the 00:12:32.309 --> 00:12:38.389 usual pleasantries. There's just a lot of general 00:12:38.389 --> 00:12:42.129 statements of I hope you're doing very well, 00:12:42.370 --> 00:12:47.529 and may, you know, the Lord keep you strong, 00:12:47.750 --> 00:12:51.389 blah, blah, blah. Yeah, I'm trying to think if 00:12:51.389 --> 00:12:53.649 there's anything I can pull out of here that 00:12:53.649 --> 00:12:58.570 is beyond just a whole lot of well wishes, general 00:12:58.570 --> 00:13:01.110 well wishes, but I think that's that's pretty 00:13:01.110 --> 00:13:06.009 much what we have. And all of the matters that 00:13:06.460 --> 00:13:11.279 that might have inspired Violante the day before 00:13:11.279 --> 00:13:15.860 and on the folio prior to this one to call Ramon 00:13:15.860 --> 00:13:20.440 de Perellos's back from Avignon. We're not quite 00:13:20.440 --> 00:13:24.159 seeing any mention of this. This letter written 00:13:24.159 --> 00:13:30.120 to the Duke de Burgundy on the next day seems 00:13:30.120 --> 00:13:33.559 like just a kind of run -of -the -mill check 00:13:33.559 --> 00:13:38.200 -in. Oh, I did want to mention what appears below. 00:13:39.240 --> 00:13:42.559 This is an interesting moment. Maybe it's an 00:13:42.559 --> 00:13:45.240 indication that the Chancery scribes are still 00:13:45.240 --> 00:13:48.639 getting used to the new routines in this new 00:13:48.639 --> 00:13:52.799 reign, because what we see below this letter 00:13:52.799 --> 00:14:00.799 is a new letter addressed to Rey muy caro e muy 00:14:00.799 --> 00:14:05.580 amado hermano. that's usually how Violant addresses 00:14:05.580 --> 00:14:10.320 the king of Castile. And then we have Nos la 00:14:10.320 --> 00:14:14.620 reyna d'aragon, and then sending, you know, 00:14:14.820 --> 00:14:18.519 wishes for much health. And then in the middle 00:14:18.519 --> 00:14:21.320 of the second line, it just kind of drops off. 00:14:21.700 --> 00:14:28.399 And the little note on the left is indicating 00:14:28.399 --> 00:14:34.419 that this letter actually in another register 00:14:34.419 --> 00:14:38.240 and so the scribe started to write down the next 00:14:38.240 --> 00:14:41.980 letter and then realize oops wait this goes someplace 00:14:41.980 --> 00:14:46.460 else and exactly where it goes that is really 00:14:46.460 --> 00:14:51.220 hard to read because it looks like we've got 00:14:51.220 --> 00:14:54.460 scrito in the second line of that little note 00:14:54.460 --> 00:14:58.320 on the left and it and and then what has been 00:14:58.320 --> 00:15:04.240 written about the letter's destination has been 00:15:04.240 --> 00:15:08.519 marred by the damage from the worms or the insects. 00:15:08.960 --> 00:15:12.779 So it's hard to figure out exactly where this 00:15:12.779 --> 00:15:16.019 letter was actually written, but it is funny 00:15:16.019 --> 00:15:18.700 to note that they just kind of left it there. 00:15:18.740 --> 00:15:21.299 They didn't really bother to like do any strike 00:15:21.299 --> 00:15:23.620 throughs. They're just like, oopsie, and just 00:15:23.620 --> 00:15:28.190 kind of moved on to the next thing. Alright, 00:15:28.429 --> 00:15:32.309 thanks for listening to this episode of the Historian's 00:15:32.309 --> 00:15:37.090 Notebook, Season 1, Molt Cara Companyona. If you 00:15:37.090 --> 00:15:39.389 are leaving with more questions than you arrived 00:15:39.389 --> 00:15:43.809 with, I've done my job. Remember, the motto of 00:15:43.809 --> 00:15:47.250 the Historian's Notebook is, dissatisfaction 00:15:47.250 --> 00:15:50.710 guaranteed. Visit the website to see an image 00:15:50.710 --> 00:15:54.049 of today's document and additional show notes, 00:15:54.549 --> 00:15:57.450 and listen again tomorrow to hear about the next 00:15:57.450 --> 00:16:01.049 day in the first year of the reign of King Joan 00:16:01.049 --> 00:16:05.909 I of Aragon and Queen Violant de Bar. In the 00:16:05.909 --> 00:16:07.549 meantime, take care.