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Ordinances of the Valls d'Àneu

Esterri d'Àneu, Pallars Sobirà, Lleida

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Ordinances of the Valls d'Àneu

Historical milestone · Esterri d'Àneu, Pallars Sobirà, Lleida

Image of Esterri d'Àneu, not of the place itself.

The Còdex d'Ordinacions de les Valls d'Àneu brings together the legal provisions drawn up between 1337 and 1424 in the Vall d'Àneu, in the Catalan Pyrenees, and is the first European legal text devoted to the persecution of witchcraft. The 1424 ordinances, promulgated by count Arnau Roger IV of Pallars Sobirà and drawn up at the castle of València d'Àneu, comprise fifteen chapters that define the crimes of witchcraft —such as worshipping the Boc de Biterna or making poisons— and their penalties, almost always burning at the stake. They thus anticipate later texts such as the bull Summis desiderantes affectibus (1484) or the Malleus Maleficarum (1487). Despite the damage caused by a fire in the 15th century, the codex was preserved and is today a key piece for understanding medieval legislation on witchcraft.

1424

Photo: Josep Renalias (CC BY-SA 3.0)

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