Topic summary
Generalitat of Catalonia
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Generalitat de Catalunya.
History
The Generalitat of Catalonia can trace its origins in the Catalan Courts, as during the reign of James I the Conqueror (1208–1276) they reunited and were convoked by the king, as representatives of the social statements of the time. Under the reign of Peter the Great (1276–1285), the Catalan Courts gained institutional status, after the king obliged himself to celebrate an annual "General Court". The Catalan Courts exercised as Council and had legislative functions through its three branches (braços): the ecclesiastical (clergy), the military (nobility) and the popular (villages and towns submitted to direct rule of the king). This union of the tree branches was named "Lo General de Cathalunya", where "General" means the political community of the Catalans as a whole.