PERPIGNAN
. Founded in the 10th century, Perpignan (Pyrénées-Orientales) became the capital of
Majorca from 1276 to 1344; it was later incorporated into the principality of Catalonia, in
which it was second in importance only to Barcelona. It was here that King Philip III the
Bold died while at war with Peter III of Aragon. In the 13th and 14th centuries, Perpignan
was an important center of the textile industry. The Palace of the Kings of Majorca,
begun in 1276 in Catalan Gothic style on a rectangular plan, is eloquent testimony to the
wealth and prestige of Perpignan. It opens onto a large central courtyard with, on two
sides, arcades supporting elegant loggias. A third side has superimposed chapels of the
14th century with 15th-century murals. Further witness to the military importance of the
town is the Castillet, an imposing rose-brick fort with machicolations and battlements
erected in 1367 and enlarged in 1483. The citadel dates from the 16th century.
The cathedral of Saint-Jean was begun in 1324 in Catalan Gothic style but completed
only in 1509. It has a broad aisleless nave and a spacious apse with polygonal radiating
chapels. Within these are a series of 15th- and 16th-century altar frontals in Catalan style.
The earlier church of Saint-Jean-le-Vieux, begun in the 11th century, has a spacious nave
from the early 13th century. The Ro-manesque sculpture on the main portal, with its
elegant statue of Christ, is noteworthy.
William W.Kibler/William W.Clark
Ponsich, Pierre. “Saint-Jean-le-Vieux de Perpignan.” Études Roussillonnaises 3 (1953):105–36.
——.“Saint-Jean-le-Vieux de Perpignan” and “La cathédrale Saint-Jean de Perpignan.” Congrès
archéologique (Roussillon) 112 (1954):31–86.
Verrier, Jean, and Sylvain Stym-Popper. “Perpignan: le palais des rois de Majorque.” Congrès
archéologique (Roussillon) 112 (1954):9–30.
PERSONAL NAMES
. Among the aristocracy in medieval France, one’s personal name was an integral part of
one’s identity. The name attached the person firmly to a group of relatives. Between late
antiquity and the end of the 11th century, a person had only one name, that given at
baptism. In the late 11th century, when noble men and women began to adopt
cognomina, so that someone who might previously have been known simply as “Milo”
might now be known as “Milo of Noyers,” the personal name was still the person’s chief
identification. The cognomen was not a last name in the modern sense. If a loconym, as
most were, it changed if a noble changed his residence and was held by everyone living
in the same place, whether or not they were related. Throughout the 12th century,
someone might appear in some charters with a cognomen and in other charters without it.
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