Giudici Reynaldo - La sopa de los pobres (Venecia).jpg
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The Judicates (, or in Sardinian, in Latin, or in Italian), in English also referred to as Sardinian Kingdoms, Sardinian Judgedoms or Judicatures, were independent states that took power in Sardinia in the Middle Ages, between the ninth and fifteenth centuries. They were sovereign states with ''
summa potestas ''Summa potestas'' is a Latin phrase meaning "highest authority" or "totality of power". It refers to the final authority of power in government. For example, the power of the sovereign''US Legal Dictionary'' in an autocracy Autocracy is a ...
'', each with a ruler called judge ( in Sardinian), with the powers of a king.


Historical causes of the advent of the kingdoms

After a relatively brief Vandal occupation (456–534), Sardinia was a province of the Byzantine Empire from 535 until the eighth century. After 705, with the rapid
Arab expansion The spread of Islam spans about 1,400 years. Muslim conquests following Muhammad's death led to the creation of the caliphates, occupying a vast geographical area; conversion to Islam was boosted by Arab Muslim forces conquering vast territories ...
, Saracen pirates from North Africa began to raid the island and encountered no effective opposition by the Byzantine army. In 815, Sardinian ambassadors requested military assistance from the
Carolingian Emperor The Carolingian Empire (800–888) was a large Frankish-dominated empire in western and central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the Lom ...
Louis the Pious. In 807, 810–812, and 821–822 the Arabs of Spain and North Africa tried to invade the island but the Sardinians resisted several attacks. This defence was so effective that in a letter in 851
Pope Leo IV Pope Leo IV (790 – 17 July 855) was the bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 10 April 847 to his death. He is remembered for repairing Roman churches that had been damaged during the Arab raid against Rome, and for building the Leon ...
asked the ('judge of the province') of Sardinia, based in
Caralis Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitant ...
, for aid in the defense of Rome. With the fall of the Exarchate of Africa, based in Carthage, at the end of the seventh century, and especially with the emergence of the Arab presence in Sicily (827), Sardinia remained disconnected from the core lands of the Byzantine Empire and had, out of necessity, become economically and militarily independent.


The birth of the four kingdoms

The almost total absence of historical sources does not allow certainty surrounding the date of the passage from Byzantine central authority to self-government in Sardinia. It is believed that at some point the or
Archon ''Archon'' ( gr, ἄρχων, árchōn, plural: ἄρχοντες, ''árchontes'') is a Greek word that means "ruler", frequently used as the title of a specific public office. It is the masculine present participle of the verb stem αρχ-, mean ...
of Sardinia, residing in
Caralis Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitant ...
, had complete control of the island. He appointed, in the most strategic area for the defense of the coast, the ( lieutenant), belonging to his family, the
Lacon-Gunale The Lacon-Gunale were an indigenous family of medieval Sardinia originally established in all the four thrones of the Judgedoms, the four Sardinian medieval kingdoms. Origin Probably the Lacon and Gunale descended respectively from the last ''dux' ...
, who became substantially autonomous from Caralis over time; this was probably the action that precipitated the birth of the kingdoms, or ''judgedoms''. The first incontrovertible source that cites the existence of four kingdoms is the
epistle An epistle (; el, ἐπιστολή, ''epistolē,'' "letter") is a writing directed or sent to a person or group of people, usually an elegant and formal didactic letter. The epistle genre of letter-writing was common in ancient Egypt as par ...
sent by
Pope Gregory VII Pope Gregory VII ( la, Gregorius VII; 1015 – 25 May 1085), born Hildebrand of Sovana ( it, Ildebrando di Soana), was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 April 1073 to his death in 1085. He is venerated as a saint ...
from Capua on October 14, 1073 to the Sardinian judges Orzocco of Cagliari, Orzocco d'Arborea, Marianus of Torres and Constantine of Gallura; however their autonomy was already clear in a later letter of Pope John VIII (872) in which he referred to them as ("princes of Sardinia"). The known medieval giudicati were: *
Kingdom of Cagliari The Judicate of Cagliari ( sc, Judicadu de Càralis / Càlaris, it, Giudicato di Cagliari) was one of the four Sardinian ''judicates'' of the Middle Ages, kingdoms of Byzantine origins. The Judicate of Cagliari covered the entire south and centra ...
with capital in Santa Igia *
Kingdom of Arborea The Judicate of Arborea ( sc, Judicadu de Arbaree, it, Giudicato di Arborea, ) or the Kingdom of Arborea (, , ) was one of the four independent judicates into which the island of Sardinia was divided in the Middle Ages. It occupied the central ...
with capital in Oristano, * Kingdom of Gallura with capital in Civita, *
Kingdom of Torres The Judicate of Logudoro or Torres ( sc, Judicadu de Logudoro or ''Torres'', ''Rennu de Logudoro'' or ''Logu de Torres'') was a state in northwest Sardinia from the tenth through the thirteenth century. Its original capital was Porto Torres. The r ...
with capital in
Porto Torres Porto Torres ( sdc, Posthudorra, sc, Portu Turre) is a comune and a city of the Province of Sassari in north-west of Sardinia, Italy. Founded during the 1st century BC as ''Colonia Iulia Turris Libisonis'', it was the first Roman colony of the ...
, Ardara and then
Sassari Sassari (, ; sdc, Sàssari ; sc, Tàtari, ) is an Italian city and the second-largest of Sardinia in terms of population with 127,525 inhabitants, and a Functional Urban Area of about 260,000 inhabitants. One of the oldest cities on the island, ...
. Each of the four States had fortified borders to protect their political and commercial interests, as well their own laws, administration and emblems.


Governments

The administrative organization of the ''judgedoms'' differed significantly from the feudal forms existing in the rest of medieval Europe as their institutions were closer to those of the territories of the Byzantine Empire, although with local peculiarities that some scholars consider of
Nuragic The nuraghe (, ; plural: Logudorese Sardinian , Campidanese Sardinian , Italian ), or also nurhag in English, is the main type of ancient megalithic edifice found in Sardinia, developed during the Nuragic Age between 1900 and 730 B.C. To ...
derivation. In the international context of the Middle Ages, the ''judgedoms'' were characterized by semi-democratic institutions such as the which in turn elected their own representatives to the parliamentary assizes called .


The Corona de Logu and the central council

The central government and the entire Judiciary were ruled substantially by the judge. The king did not have possession of the land nor was he the repository of sovereignty since this was formally held by the , a council of elders (representatives of the administrative districts - ) and high priests. They appointed the ruler and attributed the supreme power to him, while maintaining the power to ratify acts and agreements related to the entire kingdom. During (coronation ceremony) in the capital, a representative of each , members of the high clergy, the castle lords, two representatives of the capital elected by delegates from , came together. Then the was crowned with a mixed-elected hereditary system following the direct male line and, only in the alternative, the female line. The judge ruled on the basis of a covenant with the people (the ). The sovereign could be dethroned and even, in cases of serious acts of tyranny and oppression, executed legitimately by the same people, without this prejudging the inheritance of the title within the same ruling dynasty.


Judges

The judge was not an absolute ruler in the sense of later absolutism—at least in form: he could not declare war or sign a peace treaty without the consent of the . However, that was composed primarily of the nobility's relatives and, therefore, linked by common interests. The succession to the throne was dynastic but in some case there was the possibility of election by the .


The judicial chancellery

In the government of the territory, the Judge was assisted by the Chancellery. The sovereign authority was in fact formalized with the drafting of official acts called paper, written by the statal chancellor, usually a bishop or at least a senior member of the clergy, assisted by other officials called .


Local administration


Curadorias

The territory of various kingdoms was divided into , administrative districts of varying sizes formed by urban and rural villages, dependent on a capital which housed the . These administrators, aided especially by (judges) and a council the , represented the judicial authority locally and tended to the public property of the Crown. The appointed for each village was part of the a (the modern equivalent of a mayor) with administrative and judicial powers, and direct responsibility for the successful actions of land management.


Law


Judicial army

The Sardinian ''judicial'' armies were composed of troops made up of soldiers and free citizens, subject to periodic rotation. In an emergency forced conscription was used. The elite corps was made up of so-called , chosen riders who served under the command of the , the commander in charge of the security of the sovereign. The main armaments were the sword, chain mail, the shield, the helmet, and the , a weapon similar to the ancient , the Roman javelin. The militias of the ground and the infantry () used a shorter version of this same weapon. Besides the use of spears and shields, another common weapon was the , a sword with a bone handle and curved blade, between 50 and 70 cm long which was still in use, in a more contained dimension, until the end of nineteenth century. In Sardinia a type of longbow was made, and over time the use of the crossbow spread. In case of conflict judges often used mercenary troops, such as the dreaded Genoese crossbowmen.


Culture


Religion

Christianity spread throughout most of the island in the early centuries, excluding much of the Barbagia region. At the end of the sixth century Pope Gregory I reached an agreement with
Hospito Hospito (''Hospiton'' in Latin, ''Ospitone'' in Sardinian) was a Sardinian chief of Barbagia (''dux Barbaricinorum'') who converted to Christianity in the late sixth century. Gregory the Great, in a letter dated to 594, commended Hospito for his C ...
, chief of the , that guaranteed the conversion of his people from
paganism Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christianity, early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions ot ...
to Christianity. Since Sardinia was in the political sphere of the Byzantine Empire, it developed an array of Greek and
Eastern Christianity Eastern Christianity comprises Christian traditions and church families that originally developed during classical and late antiquity in Eastern Europe, Southeastern Europe, Asia Minor, the Caucasus, Northeast Africa, the Fertile Crescent and ...
traits as a result of evangelisation by
Basilian monks Basilian monks are Roman Catholic monks who follow the rule of Basil the Great, bishop of Caesarea (330–379). The term 'Basilian' is typically used only in the Catholic Church to distinguish Greek Catholic monks from other forms of monastic li ...
. The Sardinian Church was an autocephalous institution for five centuries, independent from both the Byzantine and the Roman Curia. In the eleventh century, after the schism of 1054, the , according to
Pope Alexander II Pope Alexander II (1010/1015 – 21 April 1073), born Anselm of Baggio, was the head of the Roman Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 1061 to his death in 1073. Born in Milan, Anselm was deeply involved in the Pataria refor ...
, began a policy for the development of Western monasticism on the island, with the aim of a wider dissemination of culture but also of new techniques for cultivating the land. The immigration of monastics to the island was fueled by donated funds, and local churches were built by the ''judicial'' aristocracy. However, there were still strong ties with the Eastern liturgy. In 1092 a papal bull expressly abolished the autonomy and autocephaly of the Church of Sardinia, which was placed under the primacy of the Archbishop of Pisa. The first act of donation was made in 1064 by Barisone I of Torres who gave the Benedictine monks of Monte Cassino a large area of its territory with churches (including the Byzantine church of
Nostra Segnora de Mesumundu Nostra Segnora de Mesumundu ("Our Lady of Mesumundu") is a religious building in the territory of Siligo, Sardinia, Italy. History Located in the archaeological complex with the same name, it was built in the 6th century, during the Byzantine ...
), not far from the then capital of Ardara. For several centuries afterwards representatives of many religious orders including the monks of the
Abbey of Montecassino An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...
, the
Camaldolese The Camaldolese Hermits of Mount Corona ( la, Congregatio Eremitarum Camaldulensium Montis Coronae), commonly called Camaldolese is a monastic order of Pontifical Right for men founded by Saint Romuald. Their name is derived from the Holy Hermita ...
, the Vallombrosians, the
Vittorini Vittorini is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Domenico Vittorini (1892–1958), Italian writer and academic * Elio Vittorini (1908–1966), Italian writer and novelist *Fabio Vittorini Fabio Vittorini (born 19 December 1971) ...
of Marseille, the
Cistercians The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint ...
of Bernard of Clairvaux arrived and settled in Sardinia. As a result of this, Romanesque architecture flourished in the island.


Language

Byzantine Greek Medieval Greek (also known as Middle Greek, Byzantine Greek, or Romaic) is the stage of the Greek language between the end of classical antiquity in the 5th–6th centuries and the end of the Middle Ages, conventionally dated to the Ottoman co ...
was used as an administrative language during the Byzantine period, but fell into disuse. Latin, which had long been the language of the native population, developed into the
Sardinian language Sardinian or Sard ( , or ) is a Romance languages, Romance language spoken by the Sardinians on the Western Mediterranean island of Sardinia. Many Romance linguists consider it the language that is closest to Latin among all its genealogica ...
and became the official language. It was also used in legal and administrative documents such as the , municipal statutes, and the laws of the kingdoms such as the .


Pisan-Genoese and Aragonese interference and end of the four kingdoms

Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...
and Genoa began to infiltrate the Judicial politics and economy in the eleventh century intervening to support the , against the
Taifa of Dénia The taifa of Dénia () was an Islamic kingdom in medieval Spain, ruling over part of the Valencian coast and Ibiza. With Dénia as its capital, the taifa included the Balearic Islands and parts of the Spanish mainland. It was founded in 10 ...
, an Iberian Muslim kingdom, which was trying to conquer the island. From the second half of the thirteenth century the autonomous existence of the kingdoms of Logudoro, Gallura and Calari ended due to the diplomatic maneuvers of Genoa and Pisa on the territory, on trade, on the episcopal curiae, and the ''judicial'' chancelleries. The Kingdom of Logudoro ended effectively in 1259 with the direct management of his territories by the Doria and the
Malaspina Malaspina can refer to: ;People *The Italian noble Malaspina family. Members of this family include: **Albert Malaspina (1160/65 – 1206/12), Italian marquess. ** Conrad Malaspina (The Old) ( – after 1254), Italian nobleman. ** Spinetta Malaspin ...
Genoese families. Cagliari was conquered by a Pisan-Sardinian alliance in 1258 and his territory was divided between the winners. Gallura went to the
Visconti family Visconti is a surname which may refer to: Italian noble families * Visconti of Milan, ruled Milan from 1277 to 1447 ** Visconti di Modrone, collateral branch of the Visconti of Milan * Visconti of Pisa and Sardinia, ruled Gallura in Sardinia from ...
and then to
Pisa Pisa ( , or ) is a city and ''comune'' in Tuscany, central Italy, straddling the Arno just before it empties into the Ligurian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa. Although Pisa is known worldwide for its leaning tower, the cit ...
in 1288. Arborea lasted longer and, between 1323 and 1326, participated in an alliance with the Crown of Aragon at the conquest of the Pisan possessions in Sardinia (the former kingdoms of Gallura and Calari). However, threatened by the Aragonese claims of
suzerainty Suzerainty () is the rights and obligations of a person, state or other polity who controls the foreign policy and relations of a tributary state, while allowing the tributary state to have internal autonomy. While the subordinate party is cal ...
and consolidation of the rest of the island, in 1353 the Kingdom of Arborea, under
Marianus IV of Arborea Marianus IV (in Sardinian: Marianu IV de Arbarèe, in Catalan: Marià IV d'Arborea, 1319–1376), called the Great, was the Judge (king) of Arborea, kingdom in the island of Sardinia, from 1347 to his death. He was, as his nickname indicate ...
, broke the alliance with the Aragonese and together with the Doria declared war against the Iberians. In 1368 an Arborean offensive succeeded in nearly driving the Aragonese from the island, reducing the Kingdom of Sardinia to just the port cities of
Cagliari Cagliari (, also , , ; sc, Casteddu ; lat, Caralis) is an Italian municipality and the capital of the island of Sardinia, an autonomous region of Italy. Cagliari's Sardinian name ''Casteddu'' means ''castle''. It has about 155,000 inhabitant ...
and Alghero and incorporating everything else into their own kingdom. A peace treaty returned the Aragonese their previous possessions in 1388, but tensions continued. In 1391 the Arborean army, led by
Brancaleone Doria Brancaleone Doria was the husband of Eleanor of Arborea. He was a scion of an influential family (the Doria) of the Republic of Genoa, the son of the elder Brancaleone and a woman named Giacomina. On 16 March 1357, he became a vassal of Peter IV o ...
, again conquered most of the island, subjecting it to Arborean rule. This state of affairs lasted until 1409, when the army of the Kingdom of Arborea suffered a heavy defeat at the hands of the Aragonese army in the Battle of Sanluri. The Kingdom of Arborea ceased to exist in 1420, after the sale of its territories to the Aragonese by the last judge,
William II of Narbonne William II was Viscount of Narbonne (1397-1424) and the nominal Judge of Arborea (1407-1420). He was the grandson of Beatrice, youngest daughter of Marianus IV of Arborea and Timbra de Rocabertí, and Aimery VI of Narbonne (married 1363). When ...
, for 100,000 gold
florins The Florentine florin was a gold coin struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains (3.499 grams, 0.113 troy ounce) of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a purcha ...
.


See also

*
Castles of Sardinia Between extant and gone, there are 82 castles in Sardinia, all built during the Middle Ages. Some date back to the Byzantine period, but most of them were built during the Judicate period and della Gherardesca, Malaspina and Doria rule, espec ...


Notes


Bibliography


English

*Dyson, Stephen L., and Rowland, Robert J. ''Archaeology and History in Sardinia from the Stone Age to the Middle Ages: Shepherds, Sailors, and Conquerors''. Philadelphia: University of Pennsyolvania Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, 2007. *Galoppini, Laura. "Overview of Sardinia History (500–1500)", pp. 85–114. In Michalle Hobart (ed.), ''A Companion to Sardinian History, 500–1500''. Leiden: Brill, 2017. *Puglia, Andrea. "Interactions Between Lay and Ecclesiastical Offices in Sardinia", pp. 319–30. In Frances Andrews and maria Agata Pincelli (eds.), ''Churchmen and Urban Government in Late Medieval Italy, ''c''.1200–''c''.1450: Cases and Contexts''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013. *Rowland, Robert J. ''The Periphery in the Center: Sardinia in the Ancient and Medieval Worlds''. Oxford: Archaeopress, 2001. *Tangheroni, Marco. "Sardinia and Corsica from the Mid-Twelfth to the Early Fourteenth Century", pp. 447–57. In
David Abulafia David Abulafia (born 12 December 1949) is an English historian with a particular interest in Italy, Spain and the rest of the Mediterranean during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. He spent most of his career at the University of Cambridge, ris ...
(ed.), ''The New Cambridge Medieval History, Volume 5: ''c''.1198–''c''.1300''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999. *Tangheroni, Marco. "Sardinia and Italy", pp. 237–50. In David Abulafia (ed.), ''Italy in the Central Middle Ages, 1000–1300''. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004. *Zedda, Corrado. "A Revision of Sardinian History between the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries", pp. 115–140. In Michalle Hobart (ed.), ''A Companion to Sardinian History, 500–1500''. Leiden: Brill, 2017.


Italian

* Ortu G.G., ''La Sardegna dei Giudici'', Nuoro, 2005 * Birocchi I. e Mattone A. (a cura di), ''La Carta de logu d'Arborea nella storia del diritto medievale e moderno'', Roma-Bari, 2004. * AA.VV., ''Storia dei sardi e della Sardegna'', II-III Voll., Milano, 1987-89. * A. Solmi - ''Studi storici sulle istituzioni della Sardegna nel Medioevo'' - Cagliari - 1965 * F. C. Casula - ''La storia di Sardegna'' - Sassari 1994 * P. Tola - ''Codice diplomatico della Sardegna'' - Cagliari - 1986 * E. Besta - ''La Sardegna medioevale'' - Palermo - 1954 * Raffaello Delogu, ''L'architettura del Medioevo in Sardegna'', Roma, 1953, ristampa anastatica, Sassari, 1992. * F. Loddo Canepa - ''Ricerche e osservazioni sul feudalesimo sardo'' - Roma 1932 * G. Stefani - ''Dizionario generale geografico-statistico degli stati sardi'' - Sassari - Carlo Delfino Editore * Alberto Boscolo, ''La Sardegna bizantina e alto giudicale'', Cagliari, 1978. * Alberto Boscolo, ''La Sardegna dei Giudicati'', Cagliari, Edizioni della Torre, 1979. * A. Solmi - ''Studi storici sulle istituzioni della Sardegna nel Medioevo'' - Cagliari - 1917. * R. Carta Raspi - ''La costituzione politico sociale della Sardegna'' - Cagliari - 1937. * R. Carta Raspi, ''Storia della Sardegna'', Mursia, 1971. * R. Carta Raspi, ''Mariano IV D'Arborea'', S'Alvure, 2001. * R. Carta Raspi, ''Ugone III d'Arborea e le due ambasciate di Luigi D'Anjou'', S'Alvure, 1936. * M. Caravale - ''Lo Stato giudicale, questioni ancora aperte, atti del convegno internazionale «Società e Cultura nel Giudicato d'Arborea e nella Carta de Logu»'' - Oristano - 1995. * F. C. Casula - ''Dizionario storico sardo'' - Sassari - 2003. * R. Di Tucci - ''Il diritto pubblico nella Sardegna del Medioevo, in Archivio storico sardo XV'' - Cagliari - 1924. * G. Paulis - ''Studi sul sardo medioevale'' - Nuoro - Ilisso - 1997. * Giuseppe Meloni e Andrea Dessì Fulgheri, ''Mondo rurale e Sardegna del XII secolo'', Napoli,
Liguori Editore Liguori may refer to: Places * Liguori, Missouri, unincorporated community in Jefferson County, Missouri, United States *Saint-Liguori, Quebec, parish municipality located on the Rouge River in the Regional County Municipality of Montcalm in Que ...
, 1994 * C. Zedda - R. Pinna ''La nascita dei giudicati. Proposta per lo scioglimento di un enigma storiografico'' in ''Archivio storico giuridico sardo di Sassari'', seconda serie, volume 12 (2007), pp. 27–118. * C. Zedda - R. Pinna - ''La Carta del giudice cagliaritano Orzocco Torchitorio, prova dell'attuazione del progetto gregoriano di riorganizzazione della giurisdizione ecclesiastica della Sardegna, Collana dell'Archivio Storico e Giuridico Sardo di Sassari'', nº 10, Sassari 2009. * C. Zedda – R. Pinna, Fra Santa Igia e il Castro Novo Montis de Castro. ''La questione giuridica urbanistica a Cagliari all'inizio del XIII secolo'', in ''Archivio Storico e Giuridico Sardo di Sassari'', vol. 15 (2010-2011), pp. 125–187. {{Sardinia Italian states 10th-century establishments in Europe 15th-century disestablishments in Italy Medieval Italy