Procès inquisitorial contra el castellà d'Amposta Fra Pedro Roiç de Moros a la cúria pontificia del papa Benet XIII (I414-1418)

Abstract

The Arxiu de la Corona d'Aragó in Barcelona houses the original commital proceedings instituted by a court of cardinals set up by pope Benedict XIII in the year 1414 and teh trial itself of the lord of Amposta, Fra Pedro Roiç de Moros, knight of the Order of St. John of Jerusalem, who had been charged with indictable offences—concubinage, robbery, housing apostates, oath breaking and counterfeiting money, mismanagement of the Castlery's assets, excesses against his vassals, wasteful use of assets, dereliction and property abandonment— of which he was found guilty, and thereafter sentenced to losing the dignity of his lordship. Roiç de Moros appealed to the Council of Constance as well as to pope Martin V. It would be to no avail. Roiç de Moros paid a very high price for choosing to support count Jaume d'Urgell and deciding to oppose Ferran dAntequera and the policies of pope Benedict XIII. The follow up and analysis of the court´s records are very interesting for their human variety and interesting informations about fortresses, houses, barns, treaures and services there were in different locations of the Castlery of Amposta, such as Batea, Gandesa, Miravet, Ulldecona, Ascó and other towns and villages along the Ribera d´Ebre. The whole criminal prosecution bears a very peculiar historic interest mainly because the protagonists, the court procedures, and their causes are the link between the Interregnum in the Aragonese Crown and the fìnal days of the Western Schism.