Introduction

1In Medieval times, the district of Molar, Bellmunt and Falset (three villages in nowadays Tarragona province, Catalonia) was an important mining zone in southern Europe. Silver, copper and lead had been exploited there since Prehistory1. In fact, this mining area has been specially known throughout history because of its galena; for example, it was exported abroad during the Muslim period, which developed between 8th and 12th centuries in the Iberian Peninsula2. In mid- 14th century, the main metal production continued to be based on lead. In fact, “lead from Falset” was appreciated and commercialised internationally those days3. Nevertheless, a boom of silver exploitation took place here from 1342 on.

2That year, infante Peter of Aragon and Anjou, who was son of King James II of Aragon, became the count of Prades and lord of the barony of Entença4. He settled in the castle of Falset, which was the main city inside this dominion. Despite the importance and richness of lead ores in the district made up of Molar, Bellmunt and Falset territories, the new count of Prades focused on silver mining. This became his main goal, while he continued to collect the tax paid by lead miners5.

3Count Peter adopted some measures to promote and develop the exploitation of silver6 and, soon after, new silver ores were discovered within the boundaries of one of those villages: Falset. It should be noted that most of the minerals exploited to obtain silver in the 14th century in this area were silver minerals, such as native silver, acanthite, or chlorargyrite. On the other hand, galena ( “alcofoll” in old Catalan) was only smelted to obtain silver occasionally in this mining district because of its features7; galena from Molar-Bellmunt-Falset is very rich in lead but with very scarce silver in it8.

4In order to organize silver exploitation, count Peter promulgated some ordinances and created some specific positions to manage and control it9. The work was carried out by different people who had different posts but the main one was performed by the silver-bearing ores administrator. In the name of the count of Prades, this administrator had to handle all the production process; from ores extraction to metal melting.

5Count Peter’s administration of mines or “crosos” (in old Catalan) was so effective that it became very soon well-known. The king of Castile, John I, emphasized the management work made by the count of Prades in his dominion at the courts of Briviesca (Burgos) in 1387. The Castilian king noticed that county of Prades rents had increased considerably in a few decades. In particular, as the king underlined, they had been multiplied by three10.

6When Peter of Aragon took the county of Prades in his own hands, this dominion was poorer than his immediately previous state. He had been count of Empúries, a bigger and richer territory, but he exchanged it with his brother Ramon Berenguer in 1342. Why did he do it? Did he know the potential richness of subsoil? In any case, after the exchange, silver mining production in Falset increased exponentially. Count Peter’s efforts succeeded and, fortunately, almost all the steps followed to reach it were well registered by his notaries. Great quantities of documents of the period when he was count of Prades have been preserved until now. This has allowed us to study and know all the basic features of silver mining and metallurgy exploitation in mid-14th century.

7Organizational structure was maintained by count Peter’s successor, his son John of Prades (1358-1414), who continued to exploit minerals to obtain silver. However, at the end of the 14th century and the beginning of the 15th, production decreased considerably11. As a result, the number of dispatched documents was also reduced. In any case, the investigation that has led us to write this paper is based on count Peter’s time.

1. When infante Peter of Aragon became the count of Prades, silver mining became a priority in Falset

8Peter of Aragon became count of Prades Mountains and lord of the barony of Entença in 1342. He immediately focused on silver mining in his new dominion. It leads us to believe that he knew or intuited the potentiality of ores. In fact, count Peter was the main responsible for the beginning of the silver exploitation on a large scale in Falset12. There are no documentary testimonies of immediately previous silver mining in this area before he arrived. At least, there are no registration evidences of silver exploitation by count Peter’s predecessors.

9Infante Peter established several measures that changed silver production. One of the first things that the new count did was giving some people from Barcelona licence to search for silver and other minerals in the barony of Entença13. However, it seems that the results of this search were not the expected ones. Then, in 1343, some technicians from Sardinia were called to work in count Peter’s mines. In particular, three mineral masters (quibusdam sardis magistris mineriarum) arrived in Falset to search silver minerals because count Peter had called them in14. They came from Iglesias, in Sardinia, which was one of the most important and productive silver mining areas in medieval Europe15. Therefore, the count trusted specialists from that Mediterranean isle to look for silver ores. It should be noted that Sardinia was under the rule of the Crown of Aragon in mid-14th century, which would explain the connection between these two mining districts.

10To manage all these actions, count Peter had put his scribe Jaume Fiveller in charge of the exploitation administration on 3rd March 134316. In other words, count chose a reliable person —who had arrived in Falset with him from the county of Empúries in 1342— to handle the situation. More than a year and a half later, on 28th November 1344, the count issued specific silver mining ordinances17. As this bylaw shows, new silver ores had probably been discovered in the mining area of Falset.

11Publishing the first ordinances was essential to arrange silver mining industry. Count Peter had not rushed to organise its exploitation. On the contrary, he acted step by step. He did not promulgate the statutes until he was sure silver could be produced from his mines in the county of Prades and the barony of Entença. Without a doubt, the success of the project was due to the count Peter’s perseverance. In a very few years, this lord had been able to organise silver mining management structure starting from nothing.

12However, there was an episode that broke the progression of silver production: The Black Death of 1348. It was a hard blow for silver mining exploitation in Falset. A lot of people died because of it, not only miners. In any case, mining industry was especially affected. Some letters that count Peter sent to captain of Iglesias prove the terrible consequences provoked by the bubonic plague. In one of them, dated on 5th October 1348, count Peter wrote:

Scire vos volumus quod, propter maximas mortalitates gentium que hiis partibus in presenti anno ex Dei dono devenerunt, maxima pars piconeriorum et aliorum qui in mineriis nostris argenti ville de Falçeto operabantur viam universe carnis sunt ingresi18.

13So, it is clear that most miners and other people who worked with silver-bearing ores in Falset had died. Precisely, these letters to that captain had been sent to ask for help and face the problem with extra workforce. Again, as in 1343, count Peter was interested in miners and technicians from Sardinia.

14One of the first measures taken by count Peter to solve problems caused by the Black Death was replacing his dead administrator, Jaume Fiveller, who was substituted by a coin assayer from Iglesias (Sardinia). In addition, to reactivate silver mining industry after the bubonic plague, count Peter called Sardinian miners and asked for captives in the isle to work in Falset through the mediation of captain of Iglesias in 1348 and 134919.

15Besides, infante Peter issued new ordinances at the end of 1348 and he also granted some privileges and exemptions to people who worked in silver mines. The main aim was to revitalize silver mining industry and ensure its exploitation despite the unfavourable circumstances. Even though ordinances do not mention the Black Death effects, it is evident that this promulgation is related to the plague. At least, it is related to the arrival of the new administrator in Falset, because he had to be the responsible for preparing or revising these new regulations. At the end, the different measures that were activated gave results and silver production recovered, as the accounting book for the period 1352-1360 shows20.

16Lead and cooper ores continued to be exploited during count Peter’s rule, but only silver exploitation was directly managed by him through the regulation of ordinances and the work of county officers. The infante administrated and controlled all scopes of silver exploitation. There was only one thing that he was not able to do: the count of Prades could not mint his own coins because James II of Aragon had established it in this way when the dominion was created in 132421.

17There was no coin factory in Falset. So, if there were no coins minted in the county of Prades and the barony of Entença, where did the produced silver go? In ordinances of 1344, there is an inserted between lines precept that can shed light on this issue. It was established that the corresponding part of miners would be paid at the same price that fine silver would cost in Barcelona, but melting expenses and transportation costs to the city would be deducted: ço que argent fi valrrà \en Barchinona, levades mesions de fondre e de portar l’argent a Barchinona e de tornar la moneda a Falset/22.

18Besides, on 13th October 1345, Jaume Fiveller sold fine silver to the mint of Barcelona. It was almost pure silver, since it had a fineness of 11 deniers and 21 grains and 11 deniers and 17 grains23. The sale made by Jaume Fiveller, which was of more than 87 marks of silver in total, was registered in the Llibre de compres d’argent i billó de la seca de Barcelona per a l’encunyació de diners i menuts of the regent Pere de Vilardebò24. Therefore, metal from Falset was sent to the city in order to get coins (fig. 1).

19Apart from coinage, silver from this territory had some other different uses and destinations. For example, one tenth part of the fine metal that belonged to count Peter was given to his confessor, who was a friar in Poblet monastery. The confessor had to make ornaments for infante Peter’s chapel in the monastery, give alms and earmark it for other pious causes25. Moreover, on 9th February 1348, infante Peter ordered Jaume Fiveller to make some luxurious silverware from his part of silver, after the partition process with miners. That silverware had to be made up of twelve bowls, twelve cups, fourteen platters and a big chopping board26. These are two examples that show silver produced from Falset mines had other diverse uses and destinations.

2. Three different ordinances were promulgated in a few years to regulate silver exploitation

20In a few years, count Peter of Prades (1342-1358) promoted and developed an important silver mining industry. In order to regulate it, he established some specific laws, which were called ordinacions in medieval Catalan. These rules were only destined to regulate silver mining and metallurgy in the county of Prades and the barony of Entença. Exploitation of other mining resources, such as lead or copper, had different regulations. In this sense, the first ordinances for silver were promulgated in 1344; as seen before, it was two years after Peter of Aragon became the count of Prades.

21In Molar-Bellmunt-Falset, there had been miners from immemorial time. There are archaeological remains that show that lead, silver and copper had been exploited since Prehistory in this area27. Nevertheless, the first known ordinances specifically made to regulate silver exploitation are those of 1344 created by count Peter of Prades. Immediately after the Black Death, those statutes were revised and new rules were promulgated in 1348. Almost four years later, in 1352, these ordinances were amended28. So, three different bylaws were promulgated in a few years.

22Ordinances were a set of laws and guidelines to manage and control silver exploitation. In particular, they established different regulations: general conditions that miners had to obey to have concessions, processes to extract mineral ores and conditions of storage, mining management organization and control structures, the way silver production had to be divided between the count and miners, miners’ responsibilities, their rights, personal guarantees, and some privileges for them.

23There was a close control over the mining of silver-bearing ores, which were exploited by non-salaried people who had to give infante Peter a part of the silver minerals or the metal which would be produced. In order to be able to exploit mineral resources, miners had to respect the partition system, which established that an assay had to be done so as to determine the quantity of silver which belonged to the count and which was the part for them. This test was basic in the process because this partition took place before melting the whole ore; according to the assay results. In addition, the part belonging to miners had to be compulsory sold to the count of Prades at a determined price. If the administrator could not pay for it, for any reason, miners had to melt and refine the silver in count’s furnace before selling it to anyone else. Therefore, county officers controlled all the process and the whole production of fine silver. In this sense, apart from giving a fraction of production to the count and selling him their part, miners had to work in mines regularly and not neglect them.

24According to regulations, anybody (without limitations) could exploit silver mines in the county of Prades and the barony of Entença if they observed regulations. Nevertheless, silver mines were often managed by investors who formed companies. Some partners of these companies were distinguished people, such as members of the court of infante Peter (Guillem Pineda), notaries (Jaume de Besanta), the assayer (Leonardo de Dino) or the same silver ores administrator (Bertran de Revell)29. So, partners of companies not always worked directly in mines. In that case, they had to employ someone else to extract ores.

25The aforementioned mechanism of partition between infante Peter and miners (or companies) was already published in the first bylaws, but percentages of partition were different in each one of the three ordinances that were issued. According to the ordinances of 1344, miners had to give the half of the best silver-bearing ores (menes gentils) to the count of Prades and only a twelfth part of the fine silver obtained from other ores. In 1348, the partition system was modified, and the count received a certain part of silver-bearing ores depending on the metal concentration of each one: a half, a third, a fourth or a fifth part of ores or the tenth of the metal obtained. The kinds of silver-bearing ores were divided into five different groups. From 1352 on, with the amendment to the second chapter of previous ordinances, miners had to give the fifth part of fine silver to the count every time. So, the partition system was simplified, and a single percentage was introduced.

26Ordinances not only regulated miners and companies’ obligations and rights but also county officers’ tasks. Taking into account all the information in bylaws, especially in the 1348 ones, management and control structure can be itemised. Roles were well defined, and the administrator was at the top of the organisation chart, because his responsibilities had been delegated directly by the count. In particular, he was responsible for giving mining concessions, taking care of silver ores in the castle of Falset and controlling fine silver production. In substitution of the administrator, when he was out or ill, a deputy assumed all his tasks. Just below, there were three county officers who developed specific jobs: the assayer of silver ores, the refiner who smelted those ores and a county notary responsible for writing down all the process30. Registration documents were also used to perform accounts to count Peter and it was a tool to control administrator management. All these people worked for the count and they were salaried employees.

27The main task of the notary or notaries in charge of silver exploitation was registering all the information of the mining and metallurgy processes in order to control production. Especially, they had to gather all data and note it down in accounting books, in which the basic information of exploitation was registered (fig. 2). In register entries, these are the items that the scribe had to write down: the name of miners or partners of the company, the amount of silver ore delivered by this company, the result of the test performed by the assayer, the partition percentage of silver ores according to ordinances, some calculations related to the test result, and the global amount of silver that would be obtained from the analysed ore31.

28Despite the fact that ordinances were valid in all the territory of the county of Prades and the barony of Entença, silver mining industry was located in Falset (fig. 3). Silver-bearing ores had to be carried from mines to the called House of ores (Casa de les menes), placed in the castle of that village, every day. Necessarily, silver mines could not be far from there and, actually, the most important ones were located in an area called Esparvers. The administrator’s office was also in the same place where there was the warehouse to store silver ores, in the mentioned House of ores of the castle of Falset. Minerals were kept there until the partition was done and registered in accounting books. Furnaces, where silver ores were smelted and the resulting metal refined, were located near Falset too. In particular, there were two furnaces: one was named la fusina (the foundry), which was situated close to the village, and the other one was called la roda (the wheel), which had been built in the riverbank of the river Siurana. However, the refiner could not melt slags (crassas mineriarum) in the last one (see Appendix). Although remains of these two facilities have not been discovered yet, they can be located approximately.

29All in all, the main silver mining area, the administration office and warehouse, and the furnaces were located inside Falset boundaries. In a few kilometers, there were the silver mines and all facilities related to silver exploitation; without forgetting that county chancery and archives were also in the castle of Falset. This fact confirms that Falset, which included the village of Bellmunt within its limits, was the centre of silver exploitation in the county of Prades and the barony of Entença32.

3. Technicians and experts from abroad managed silver exploitation after the Black Death

30The Black Death caused a setback in Falset in summer 134833. When the most critical moment had passed, Peter of Prades had to introduce some changes to relaunch silver mining and metallurgy in his dominion. As seen before, the count asked for help in Sardinia again because he needed people to work in silver mines34 and he also gave some exemptions and privileges to native companies/miners that exploited them35. In any case, the most remarkable changes were related to management because the silver-bearing ores administrator was replaced and new ordinances were published.

31Jaume Fiveller, who had been the administrator of the silver-bearing ores since 3rd March 1343, died probably because of the bubonic plague in summer or in the beginning of autumn 134836. Therefore, count Peter had to respond quickly to this problem and name a new responsible for silver exploitation. He acted very quickly and employed the assayer of the silver alfonsini that were minted in Iglesias (Sardinia), Joan de la Seda, who occupied the post since 1st October 1348. With this recruitment, count Peter signed an experienced technician. The silversmith Joan de la Seda (Johannetus de la Seta, argenterius) had been working on the assays and weight of coins at the coin factory of Iglesias for some years37. At least, in 1337, he already worked as an assayer of silver alfonsini38. One more time, infante Peter found the solution in the isle of Sardinia.

32Apart from Joan de la Seda, two other experts from abroad were occupying the most important posts in management structure for the following months after the Black Death: Leonardo de Dino was the assayer and Bertran de Revell became the refiner. They coincided together in silver mining administration after the bubonic plague but their arrival in Falset was not at the same time. In fact, the assayer had arrived in Falset some time before.

33Leonardo de Dino was one of the three silver ores masters from Sardinia who had travelled to Falset in 1343 to search for silver minerals. He stayed in the village for some years, but he went back to Sardinia. Finally, this magister mineriarum argenti returned to Falset in February 1348. When Leonardo de Dino came back to Falset, count Peter chose him as the silver assayer in place of the man who had been doing it up to then. Specifically, the Sardinian occupied this post since 1st April 1348, so it was some months before the Black Death devastated Catalonia. Therefore, it is evident that this choice was not related to the plague consequences. In any case, Leonardo de Dino survived the Black Death and infante Peter named him as the assayer for life on 8th November 134839. So, even though he had been designated for the post before the plague, count Peter gave him the job in perpetuity after the affliction.

34At the end of 1348, two of the main positions in silver mining management were in the hands of experts from Iglesias40. Although this was one of the most important mining areas in Europe, silver production had begun to decrease in the 1330’s and 1340’s41. It should explain, only in part, why they accepted count Peter’s offer42.

35Leonardo de Dino developed his career in Falset because he practised his charge until January 1358, when he died43. For his part, Joan de la Seda was in Falset for some time and he returned to Iglesias allegedly at the end of 135044. One year before, another technician from abroad, whose name was Bertran de Revell, had become the smelter and the refiner of silver from Falset mines since mid-1349. In fact, he completed the triad of foreign experts which worked together for the count of Prades for a period of more than a year (1349-1350).

36Bertran de Revell was a magistrum mineriarum argenti45 who had arrived in Falset by the hand of infante Peter too. He was officially designated for the post of silver, lead and other metals refiner in the county of Prades and the barony of Entença on 1st July 1349 (see Appendix). The origin of this new county officer is not mentioned in documents from Falset. Nevertheless, he certainly must be the same person who had been prospecting and searching for mines in Maurienne (county of Savoy) in 1342, where a man called Bertrand de Revel, from Grésivaudan (France), is documented46. In particular, this later person is cited this way in different texts: magistri Bertrandi de Rivello de Grisivondano, Bertrandi de Revello, magistri Bertrandi and Bartrandi de Revello, magistri mineriarum47. So, references to him are similar in both places48. What is more, on 25th February 1343, Bertrand de Revel was working in massif de l’Oisans, controlling the mines of gold and silver in Dauphiny49.

37Therefore, considering that they were the same person, the new refiner in Falset had extensive experience in mining industry because he had been working in some silver mines located in the Alps some years before he started working for count of Prades in 1349. It would also explain why master Bertran de Revell knew conditions of partition and lord’s rights applied to copper minerals in Savoy and Germany (Sevoya e an Alamanya), as a document dated in 1357 confirms50.

38Bertran de Revell was the refiner and, later, he became the silver-bearing ores administrator. Officially, this post was given to him on 29th April 135251. However, in the preserved copy of the bylaw promulgated on 9th March 1352, Bertran de Revell is mentioned in this way: mestre Bertran de Revell, aministrador nostre de les dites menes52. So, he occupied the post almost two months before count Peter assigned it to him. In any case, it was either in March or in April 1352, this magister mineriarum from Grésivaudan became the administrator because Joan de la Seda had come back to Sardinia some time before.

39To sum up, three experts who came from far away the county of Prades arrived to Falset to work in managing, administrating and controlling silver mining and metallurgy. They held three very important posts in the structure created by count Peter and it shows that he looked for mining and metallurgy specialists, regardless of the place they came from. The elections of that assayer, administrator and refiner were not related to each other. However, it is obvious that they coincided in Falset after the Black Death and it was not by chance. The bubonic plague of 1348 caused havoc and count Peter had to react to the chaotic situation. Leonardo de Dino was already in Falset, but he was named assayer forever after the plague. The election of the two other people was clearly related to the context: Joan de la Seda arrived just after the Black Death and Bertran de Revell arrived some months later.

40It was not the first time count Peter had employed people from abroad but it was the first time that main posts in the organizational structure were occupied almost exclusively by foreigners. Only the notary or scribe continued to be a person close to count Peter, not a specialist in silver exploitation.

Conclusions

41Falset became an important silver mining area in mid-14th century. This village, located within a prominent mining zone, became internationally known not only because of lead but also because of silver production. Lead from Falset is mentioned in several medieval documents as a commercial product around the Mediterranean Sea. However, when count Peter arrived, he directly controlled and managed silver mining and metallurgy. For this reason, it is obvious that King John I of Castile referred to silver production when he said that count Peter’s administration had made increasing rents, from 10000 to 30000 golden florins, possible. In other words, lead from Falset was basic in trade but silver was the metal that made the county of Prades rich. Despite the fact that silver mines in Falset reached their higher point of exploitation in mid-14th century, the count of Prades could not mint coins. Therefore, this could be the reason of why mines of Falset have not had the importance they would have had to.

42Count Peter established a tight control of silver production and a centralised management structure. Specific and structured organs of administration were created by him. He also asked for help in Iglesias (Sardinia), which was one of the most important mining areas in Europe those days, in order to promote and develop silver mining exploitation in Falset. As a result, some Sardinian miners and technicians were working here for years. After the Black Death in 1348, the agonic situation made count Peter call in not only Sardinian people for working in mines, but also the assayer of the silver alfonsini that were minted in Iglesias for administering the exploitation. He wanted to relaunch silver production. A few months later, another specialist from the Alps arrived in Falset to be the new refiner. These two people, together with the assayer Leonardo de Dino, occupied the main posts in management structure created by count Peter to administrate silver exploitation. Count Peter invested money and efforts to bring experts from abroad with him to work in silver mines of Falset. He decided to attract knowledge and expertise to develop and strengthen silver mining industry in his dominion after the Black Death.

43Count Peter had issued specific silver mining statutes in 1344, in order to manage and take advantage of silver mining and metal exploitation, but he modified and amended them in 1348 and 1352. So, count Peter of Prades promulgated three different regulations in a few years. In each one of these rule modifications there was a different administrator: Jaume Fiveller occupied the post in 1344; Joan de la Seda, in 1348; and Bertran de Revell is already mentioned in the text of the ordinances of 1352 as the administrator. Therefore, the influence of the person who held the post had to be important in deciding some of the changes adopted when each new bylaw was promulgated. Count Peter firstly relied on one of his scribes to occupy the post but, after this administrator’s death, he trusted experienced technicians that brought their knowledge and know-how to Falset.

44All in all, count Peter was the driving force behind the silver mining boost. Therefore, count Peter might have exchanged his previous dominion (county of Empúries) with his brother in 1342 because he was sure he would be able to exploit silver in the county of Prades53. On the other hand, his brother Ramon Berenguer had not been conscious of its subsoil potential. Silver exploitation acquired importance because of count Peter’s work and it attracted attention of contemporary powerful lords. As seen before, in 1387, King James of Castile referred to infante Peter’s administration to emphasise the importance of a good management in mining industry to success.