«De voluntate Universitatis». La formació i l'expressió de la voluntat del municipi (Tàrrega, 1214-1520)

Abstract

In this work, we analyze the origin of a district and we try to unveil the progressive process that allowed the latter to be given a unique way, different from that of its members. That is why we study the ways and systems of decision that allowed a juridical person -such as the district- to enjoy the operative capacity necessary to affront the requirements of a determined society. The aim of this research is the origin and the development of the district, first, and then of the council of Tàrrega from 1214 up to 1520. That is the reason why we are not interested at the moment in the historical origins of Tarrega, in its institutional organisation during the low Middle Ages, in making a catalogue of the different systems of election of the government charges nor in analyzing the staff of the Council through the years. We would like to demonstrate that the different ways and systems of decision and the staff of the Council -wether it is to elect government charges as if it is to approve orders- are not at all arbitrary but respond to a historico juridic logic and can only be understood starting from a theoretical basis. This should cake into account not only the socio-economic evolution of the Catalan and, in general, European society of the XI, XII and XIIIth centuries but should also bear in mind the consequences carried by the phenomenon of the common law in this field.