The Historian's Notebook

In the Crown of Aragon, 639 years ago, Joan recommended Bernard Maloll for an appointment at a monastery. But Jonathan devotes much of this episode to an explanation of the organization of the Archives of the Crown of Aragon and some tips for understanding what you see on a typical page in the registers.

Read more about this document on the episode page on Jonathan' s website, https://jonathanseyfried.net/historians-notebook-s1-episodes/e2-dec26

Today's Document:

• Subject: Joan recommends Bernardo Maloll for an ecclesiastical post
• Date: December 26, 1387
• Day of the Week: Wednesday
• Archival Reference Number: ACA CR R1675 f19v
• Link to PARES
• Place: Girona
• Sender: Joan, Duke of Girona
• Recipient: Juan Fernández de Heredia, Master of Rhodes, head of the Hospitallers

Music Credits

The music in this episode is from The Troubadour Dance Instrumental by Melody Ayers-Griffiths

In the Crown of Aragon, 639 years ago, it was New Year's Day. In Episode 1, I lay out some general expectations for how the podcast will go. Each 15-minute daily episode features a document from that day in 1387, the first year of Joan and Violant’s reign as King and Queen of the Crown of Aragon. Sometimes an episode will focus on that document’s content and other times the document will simply jumpstart a conversation about some background knowledge.

Read more about this document on the episode page on Jonathan' s website, https://jonathanseyfried.net/historians-notebook-s1-episodes/e1-dec25

Today's Document:

• Subject: Aragonese students in trouble with authorities in Montpellier
• Date: December 25, 1387
• Day of the Week: Tuesday
• Archival Reference Number: ACA CR R1822 f117v
• Link to PARES
• Place: Girona
• Sender: Violant, Duchess of Girona
• Recipient: Prohomens of Montpellier

In the late-fourteenth-century the Crown of Aragon, the new year began on the same day as Christmas, December 25th.

On this day, Violant de Bar, not yet queen, wrote to the political leaders of the city of Montpellier about some troublesome students of Aragonese origin.

There are over 60,000 documents connected to Joan and Violant in the Archive of the Crown of Aragon. This season of The Historian’s Notebook will take you on a journey into that abundant source of historical information. Thematically, the podcast will also explore how medievalists today write about gender in the Middle Ages.

Music Credits

The music in this episode is from The Troubadour Dance Instrumental by Melody Ayers-Griffiths

This trailer introduces Season 1 of The Historian's Notebook. In this Season, Jonathan will take listeners deep into the research process, with short daily episodes. Each episode, Jonathan will work with a document from that day in 1387, the first year of the reign of King Joan I of Aragon and Violant de Bar. They reigned from 1387-1396 and their first tumultuous year included near-death illness, court scandals, and troubadour parties. In addition to learning more about these two fascinating medieval monarchs, listeners will gain insight into the surprising abundance of the digitized Archive of the Crown of Aragon.

For more information about the podcast, visit Jonathan's website, jonathanseyfried.net/historians-notebook

The theme music for Season 1 of The Historian's Notebook comes from these tracks:

The Troubadour's Dance Instrumental by Melody Ayres-Griffiths

King Oedipus Part E by Peter Barbaix (The Fealdo Project)

This trailer will give you a general idea of how The Historian's Notebook will encounter history as a subject. Instead of telling finished stories of the past or presenting completed historical arguments, The Historian's Notebook brings you into the process of making history.

For more information about the podcast, visit Jonathan's website, jonathanseyfried.net/historians-notebook

The theme music for the series trailer is Lounge - Midnight Drift, by AiCanvas.