Ciutat i poder en el feudalisme declinant a la Catalunya baixmedieval (Diferenciació social i distribució social de l'espai urbà a Cervera, 1340-1382)

Abstract

The purpose of the article is to study the character and the role played by a city during the Middle Ages and, more precisely, during the first general crisis, which means during the second half of the XIV'h century. We will do chis through a micro-historical study of an average town in the inner part of Catalonia -the name of the village is Cervera-, and basing ourselves on the analysis os a fiscal source (Manifest) Beside the application of Hilton's theoretical accounts and Nell’s work hypothesis, the arrive is mainly based on the study of the socio-economic and professional structure and, more precisely, that of the urban patricians. The aim is to prove how the village has been the social and economic prolongation of the neighbouring feudality and how, at least at a functional level, it has played the role of centre of management and comerce for the rural surroundings. At a socio-economic and professional level, and during the whole period examined, we can appreciate a trend to changes. The urban elite, mainly composed by tradesmen evolves towards a more heterogeneous composition, dominated by a mixture of juridic and craft liberal professions. Referring to urban copies, we observe the formation, based on social prestige, of a city centre where all the rich families went to leave and that became a residencial zone for the urban elite.