240 Ortu
( just about) pacified, the sovereign could not curb the pressure to transform
the feudal concession into an essentially patrimonial beneficium that could not
be revoked by the Crown and was freely transferable to heirs, female ones in-
cluded. Of this type were the allodia more Cathaluniae, which conferred quite
ample jurisdictional powers on feudal lords and exempted them from military
service.27
When parliament was called in 1421, Alfonso V “the Magnanimous” autho-
rized the barons and all the knights to settle in cities, each of them in the place
that appeared to him “pur plasent e segura.” Yielding to their request to transfer
the kingdoms of Aragon, Valencia, and Barcelona, the Magnanimous granted
them the time necessary to become acquainted with and practice the “style”
of the court. In the meantime, the number of fiefs first fell and subsequently
stabilized, according to a hierarchy of territorial prominence and jurisdictional
magnitude that Spanish rule preserved nearly intact. In 1452, a limited number
of feudatories—six out of 32—generated an overall annual income that was
triple that of the other 26 (38,500 vs. 12,510 Alfonsine lire). The largest fief, the
marquisate of Oristano, alone had an annual revenue of 14,000 lire.28
2.2 The Sardinian Parliament
The institution of feudalism was not the only great novelty introduced in
Sardinia by the monarchy of Aragon. No less significant within the overall sys-
tem was the convocation of the first Sardinian parliament in 1355, which was
comprised of representatives from the privileged classes, the clergy, the aris-
tocracy, and citizens.
In 1354, Peter IV “the Ceremonious” arrived in Sardinia to crush the revolt of
Alghero and confront the giudice Mariano and the Doria, who had descended
on the city with arms. He not only obtained the surrender of Alghero, but he
also came to terms with the giudice and Matteo Doria, whom he regarded as
dishonorable. On 24 February 1355, Peter wrote to Bishop Hugo of Valencia
about the incident, regretting that he had given further support to those “privi-
legis e libertats desordinadas,” which he had come to repress.29 Safe inside the
Castle of Cagliari and having regathered his confidence, the Ceremonious felt
27 On allodia, see Bruno Anatra, “Economia sarda e commercio mediterraneo nel basso me-
dioevo e nell’età moderna,” in Guidetti, Storia dei Sardi e della Sardegna, vol. 3, pp. 190–198.
28 Alberto Boscolo, ed., I Parlamenti di Alfonso il Magnanimo (Cagliari, 1991), pp. 101–102,
198–202.
29 Giuseppe Meloni, ed., Il Parlamento di Pietro IV d’Aragona (1355) (Cagliari, 1993),
pp. 323–324.