Leges Palatinae Iacobi III Regis Maioricarum

The ''Leges palatinae'' ("Palatine Laws") were the laws governing the functioning of the royal court of the Kingdom of Majorca, promulgated by James III at Palma on 9 May 1337. The ''Leges'' were probably conceived to lend weight to James's position as an independent king. The ''Leges'' are preserved in an illuminated manuscript with colourful images by an

Italian art Since ancient times, Greeks, Etruscans and Celts have inhabited the south, centre and north of the Italian peninsula respectively. The very numerous rock drawings in Valcamonica are as old as 8,000 BC, and there are rich remains of Etruscan art ...

ist of the court officers about their duties. The ''Leges'' were translated from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

and revised as the

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

''Ordenacions de cort'' by Peter IV of Aragon, after he conquered Majorca, in 1344. The original manuscript was brought with James III to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

when he fled Peter's invasion. He there gave it to King Philip VI. It was later given to

Philip the Bold Philip II the Bold (; ; 17 January 1342 – 27 April 1404) was Duke of Burgundy and ''jure uxoris'' Count of Flanders, Artois and Burgundy. He was the fourth and youngest son of King John II of France and Bonne of Luxembourg. Philip II w ...

and ended up in the Bibliothèque Royale in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. A facsimile edition by Joan Domenge i Mesquida, with an introduction in English describing the artistic value of the manuscript, was published by Indiana University Press in 1994. The ''Leges'' are divided into seven sections and are "the most elaborate set of ordinances to survive from this period".Malcolm Vale (2004), ''The Princely Court: Medieval Courts and Culture in North-West Europe, 1270–1380'', (Oxford: Oxford University Press, ), 202–3. Much of the text is spent explaining the roles of the four great officers of state: the majordomo (or ''maître d'hôtel''), great

chamberlain Chamberlain may refer to: Profession *Chamberlain (office), the officer in charge of managing the household of a sovereign or other noble figure People *Chamberlain (surname) **Houston Stewart Chamberlain (1855–1927), German-British philosop ...

(or ''camerlingue''), the chancellor, and the ''maestre racional'' (also ''maître des comptes'' or ''maître rational''). The lesser officers included the butler, marshal, and constable. The majordomo was in charge of maintaining court protocols and oversaw the king's table, much like the later '' grand maître d'hôtel'' in Valois

Duchy of Burgundy The Duchy of Burgundy (; la, Ducatus Burgundiae; french: Duché de Bourgogne, ) emerged in the 9th century as one of the successors of the ancient Kingdom of the Burgundians, which after its conquest in 532 had formed a constituent part of the ...

. The chancellor, the vice-chancellor, and the scribes of the chancery were accorded the right to issue documents pertinent to their offices without the prior permission of the king. The subsection ''De mimis et joculatoribus'' ("On actors and entertainers") prescribes two

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

ers, a drummer, and two other performers permanently at court.Malcolm Vale (2006), "Ritual, Ceremony and the 'Civilising Process': The Role of the Court, c.1270–1400," ''The Court as a Stage: England and the Low Countries in the Later Middle Ages'', Steven J. Gunn and A. Janse, edd. (Oxford: Boydell Press, ), 18. They played when the king arrived at dinner, when he left the table, and at the end of the meal; an early version of ''

Tafelmusik Tafelmusik (German: literally, "table-music") is a term used since the mid-16th century for music played at feasts and banquets. Table music could be either instrumental, vocal, or both. As might be expected, it was often of a somewhat lighter c ...

''.

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