Paréage of Andorra (1278) on:
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The first Paréage of Andorra () was a feudal charter signed in
Lleida
Lleida (, ; ; '' see below'') is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital and largest town in Segrià county, the Ponent region and the province of Lleida. Geographically, it is located in the Catalan Central Depression. It ...
on 8 September 1278. It codified a lay and ecclesiastical agreement between the Count of Foix, Roger-Bernard III, and the Bishop of Urgell
The Diocese of Urgell (; ) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Catalonia (Spain) and the Principality of Andorra in the historical County of Urgell,Pere d'Urtx, establishing their joint sovereignty over the territory of 
A second paréage was signed on 6 November 1288, which supplemented and addressed a number of clauses in the first paréage. Together, these two paréages comprised the first basic law of Andorra, and were the nation's most important constitutional documents until the ratification of the Constitution in 1993.
Following a series of marriages, the titles of the Count of Foix, including his co-lordship over Andorra, passed to the French monarch when Henry IV of Béarn, Count of Foix and King of Navarre, became King of France. Henry IV was therefore the first French king to also be Co-Prince of Andorra, a title which would eventually pass to today's president. With the Constitution in 1993, the system of government was then modified to provide for a
Andorra
Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a Sovereignty, sovereign landlocked country on the Iberian Peninsula, in the eastern Pyrenees in Southwestern Europe, Andorra–France border, bordered by France to the north and Spain to A ...
. The paréage
In Medieval France a ''paréage'' or pariage was a feudal treaty recognising joint sovereignty over a territory by two rulers, who were on an equal footing, ''pari passu''; compare peer. On a familial scale, ''paréage'' could also refer to the ...
established the system of condominium
A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership regime in which a building (or group of buildings) is divided into multiple units that are either each separately owned, or owned in common with exclusive rights of occupation by individual own ...
in Andorra, placing it under suzerainty
A suzerain (, from Old French "above" + "supreme, chief") is a person, state (polity)">state or polity who has supremacy and dominant influence over the foreign policy">polity.html" ;"title="state (polity)">state or polity">state (polity)">st ...
of both lords. This system was later ratified in 1993 by the signing of the Constitution of Andorra. The charter underpins the modern legal status of Andorra.
A second paréage was signed on 6 November 1288, which supplemented and addressed a number of clauses in the first paréage. Together, these two paréages comprised the first basic law of Andorra, and were the nation's most important constitutional documents until the ratification of the Constitution in 1993.
Following a series of marriages, the titles of the Count of Foix, including his co-lordship over Andorra, passed to the French monarch when Henry IV of Béarn, Count of Foix and King of Navarre, became King of France. Henry IV was therefore the first French king to also be Co-Prince of Andorra, a title which would eventually pass to today's president. With the Constitution in 1993, the system of government was then modified to provide for a parliamentary democracy
A parliamentary system, or parliamentary democracy, is a form of government where the head of government (chief executive) derives their democratic legitimacy from their ability to command the support ("confidence") of a majority of the legisl ...
, in which the rulers remained as ceremonial
A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion.
The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin .
Religious and civil (secular) ceremoni ...
heads of state.
There is only one copy of each of the paréages in existence. The copy of the first paréage is kept at the Arxiu Històric Nacional in Andorra. Its original, which was kept at the Archives of the Château de Foix, in Ariège, is thought to have been destroyed during a fire in the 20th century. The second paréage is held at the Arxiu Diocesà i Capitular d'Urgell, in La Seu d'Urgell, Spain. The original was kept in the town of Tournai
Tournai ( , ; ; ; , sometimes Anglicisation (linguistics), anglicised in older sources as "Tournay") is a city and Municipalities in Belgium, municipality of Wallonia located in the Hainaut Province, Province of Hainaut, Belgium. It lies by ...
, and was destroyed with the rest of the archives when the town was bombed in 1940 during World War II.
The paréages remained in force unadjusted for seven centuries. In 1978, to mark the 7th centenary of the signing of the paréage, the French postal service issued a stamp showing the preamble of the Acte of 1278.
References
Government of AndorraAndorra
Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a Sovereignty, sovereign landlocked country on the Iberian Peninsula, in the eastern Pyrenees in Southwestern Europe, Andorra–France border, bordered by France to the north and Spain to A ...
Andorra
Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a Sovereignty, sovereign landlocked country on the Iberian Peninsula, in the eastern Pyrenees in Southwestern Europe, Andorra–France border, bordered by France to the north and Spain to A ...
1278 in Europe
Treaties of the County of Foix
13th century in Andorra
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