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Glossary
Aljama a self-governing Jewish or mudèjar community within a town/
city. Aljama was also a tax for Jews in Spain.
Archon administrator/supervisor—from the Greek magistrates in
Athens.
Baldacchino canopy.
Barbagia an interior, mountainous region of Sardinia which medieval
geographers/cartographers believed to be inhabited by non-
Christians who spoke a language incomprehensible to other
Sardinians.
Basileus Ruler of the Eastern Roman Empire.
Beneficium subject of a feudal concession, generally domain lands but also
public service.
Bidatzone cultivation of two alternating open fields.
Casalini row houses.
Castrametation the planning and construction of a military camp.
Civita a central urban space including a cathedral, burial areas, and de-
fense systems (typically in smaller cities with an ancient nucleus
and a close relationship with a bishopric).
Cocciopesto or the product of reused Roman building materials, such as tiles,
Opus signinum which are crushed and mixed with mortar into a resilient ce-
ment used for any type of construction.
Concilio Gatherings of local bishops in a province or region to discuss
local issues of a dogmatic, moral, and above all disciplinary na-
ture, or ecclesiastical jurisdiction. These councils were generally
either convened by the regional metropolitan, usually an arch-
bishop whose authority extended over one or more suffragan
sees, or presided over by papal legates.
Condaghe or carta these codices were mostly used to record the assets of an eccle-
de logu siastical entity and usually kept in monasteries and churches,
although only five of them still survive, mostly written in
Sardinian language and rarely with a reliable chronology. These
cartularies or registers represented not only local law and cus-
toms for the registry of sales, but also exchanges, processes (or
kertu) related to farmers’ possession of land or servants, and
agreements on the distribution of the children of slaves, women,
and other juridical disputes.