The Origin of Notaries Public in Asturias

Host: University of Oviedo. Laboratorio de Documentación Histórica (DocuLab)

Description:

With the present project we want to explain the essential role of notaries public in the development of a society that is continuously changing at a very fast pace. We believe that the function of these notaries was fundamental, as they were “used as tools” by the principal authorities in Asturias: the king, the Church and a very small but powerful group of nobles. But not only that, notaries public acted like a particular agent in a process of social and institutional transformation, that shook the region of Asturias in the mid-thirteenth century and lasted at least until the mid-fourteenth century. In this process, the whole notarial “officium” and the production of documents were renewed.

The study of the documents produced by these notaries (in the chronology suggested above) will allow us to observe the different phases of the origin of the new notarial institution, the tension between the different authorities acting in Asturias and the transformation in the production of documents from ancient times until this particular period.

Contact:

Elena Albarrán Fernández albarranelena@uniovi.es

Miguel Calleja Puerta mcalleja@uniovi.es