THE END OF THE HOUSE OF BARCELONAof space in his autobiography; but he needed to present
himself as both a conquering hero in the best Aragonese-
Catalan tradition and the stickler for correct legal form that
he undoubtedly was.
As tension grew in the years around 1340, accusations and
counter-accusations flew back and forth between Barcelona
and Majorca. The king of Majorca was said to have tried to
kidnap the king of Aragon during a visit to Barcelona; his
galley was moored next to a seaside palace, and a closed
wooden bridge was constructed from the ship to the palace.
James would spirit Peter away without anyone noticing.^8
Moreover, James ignored the longstanding agreement that
the king of Majorca should not mint his own coins in
Roussillon, where Catalan money circulated. And James was
known to be making polite noises to the king of England,
with a view to a marriage alliance; the English possessions
in Gascony lay no great distance from the Majorcan ones in
the southern Pyrenees, and such an alliance could threaten
Aragonese interests in the region.^9 Finally, James sent ex-
peditions to the Canary Islands in 1342, to claim them for
Majorca and to create bases there for a two-pronged assault
on Muslim Mrica.^10 In short, he appeared too determined
on his independence from Aragon.
Peter issued a summons to James, who was to present him-
self in due form to be judged for his delinquent acts at the
Catalan Corts, where he clearly intended to divest him of his
lands and rights. But by failing to appear, James became a
contumacious vassal, and in 1343 Peter IV riposted by attack-
ing Majorca. As in 1285, there was no sudden upsurge of
enthusiasm for the Majorcan monarchy. The mainland ter-
ritories too were overwhelmed in 1344, though there Peter
encountered more resistance. Only Montpellier and nearby
lands were left in the hands of James III; and, desperate to
raise money with which to pay an army, James sold Mont-
pellier to the king of France in 1349. He attacked Majorca
with his followers, but was almost immediately killed in battle,
- Chronicle of Peter the Ceremonious, Book 3, caps. 16-17 (Hillgarth edn,
vol. 1, pp. 246-7). - Abulafia, Mediterranean Emporium, p. 201.
- F. Fernandez-Armesto, Before Columbus. Exploration and colonisation from
the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, 1229-1492 (London, 1987), pp. 156-
9.