Andorrans in the notarial documentation of the Urgell Chapter Archive

Laura de Castellet has carried out an exhaustive work based on the rich notarial documentation that is preserved in the Urgell Chapter Archive, in search of data on Andorrans who formalized their affairs at the Urgell notary’s office. The work paints a vivid fresco on Andorran society between 1250 and 1350, especially on its economic side. One of the main conclusions reached by the study is the definition of the changes that the whole region underwent from the moment the kingdom of Mallorca was created (in 1276). The legislation and taxation that affected the continental territories of the Mallorcan Crown (Cerdanya, Rosselló and Montpellier) in the late 80s of the thirteenth century altered the balance between the markets of Carcassès, Ariège, La Seu d'Urgell and Puigcerdà. For years, Andorra became the preferred route between Languedoc and Catalonia, integrating new trade materials into the local product trade and an opportunistic economy added to the traditional mountain one.