The slaves of the Catalan nuns
In recent years, the issue of 19th-century Catalan slavery, which had remained hidden, has begun to be discussed openly. Catalan industrialization cannot be explained without the blood money that flowed in from Cuba. But slavery has a centuries-long history throughout the world, including in Catalonia. Ancient Rome is its paradigm. With the fall of the empire, this form of total submission, which was also an economic system, did not disappear. Between the 5th and 10th centuries, there was a long transition between slavery and the feudal system: the shift from slaves to serfs (from direct slave exploitation to indirect, feudal, or manorial exploitation). Pure slaves continued to exist, often captured in wars, and now more prevalent in the urban world. In fact, the use of the term slave It resurfaced strongly in the 13th century, at the height of the Middle Ages, with the trafficking of captured men and women, primarily from the Black Sea and southern Europe.
We are now in the period we wanted to reach, the one the work tells us about. Slaves in the female monasteries of Barcelona in the Late Middle Ages (1326-1495)A fascinating monograph by historian Emi Turull Pibernat, published by the Fundació Noguera. It uncovers a history as hidden, if not more so, than that of modern and contemporary transatlantic slavery, and focuses on the doubly silenced female slaves. These women sewed, cleaned, and cooked for the nuns, both for the community as a whole and for the wealthier ones. They were not free, but documentary evidence suggests they were generally well treated, even when ill. In any case, for the nuns of the time, there was no contradiction between their beliefs and the fact of owning human beings.
The first Christians emerged within the slave-owning context of the Roman world. Hence, Paul of Tarsus (Saint Paul) had no difficulty accepting it. When Emperor Constantine made Christianity the state religion, the bishops themselves owned slaves. The Church did recommend that they be treated well, but did not question their existence. With one exception, Gregory of Nyssa (335-394), who considered it illegitimate and condemned it radically. He is considered the first abolitionist in history. Throughout the following centuries, the Catholic Church did not contribute to altering that established order and guaranteed the servile obedience and submission of slaves.
Emi Turull has set her sights on four convents. The Monastery of Saint Anthony and Saint Clare, founded in 1236, during the lifetime of Clare of Assisi, the founder of the Poor Clares, who, along with Francis of Assisi, promoted a form of religious devotion centered on radical poverty and fraternity. The Monastery of Saint Mary of Pedralbes, established by Queen Elisenda of Moncada a century later, in 1326—now celebrating its 700th anniversary—which, in fact, did not follow the strict rule of Saint Clare and allowed the possession of property and income. The Monastery of Saint Peter of Las Puelas, the oldest, consecrated in 945 and which reached its splendor in the 13th century. And the Monastery of Saint Mary of Valldonzella, founded in 1147 and incorporated into the Cistercian order in 1237, which welcomed aristocratic women who were not required to take a vow of poverty and often had little to no communal life beyond going to the refectory for meals.
Barcelona in the 13th and 14th centuries, capital of the Crown of Aragon at its height, was a major center for the slave trade. While in the 11th century slaves had been Muslim, now they came mainly from the Balkans and the eastern Mediterranean: Tatars, Armenians, etc. They were sold at public auction, "by charm," or, above all, in closed-door transactions before a notary. in camera domusMost slaves arrived by sea.
Even in the mid-15th century, when Barcelona's population had dwindled to between 30,000 and 35,000 inhabitants, it is estimated that the slave population numbered between 3,500 and 5,000. They were numerous and came from diverse backgrounds, which led to outbreaks of xenophobia and criminalization. It doesn't take a genius to draw a parallel with what happens today with the immigrant population. Escapes and the lack of control led to the creation in 1414 of the Slave Guard of the Generalitat of Catalonia, an institution that proved ineffective and was dissolved in 1432. Those who escaped, if captured, were tied up in front of the Lonja (exchange), had their ears pierced and mutilated, and then their ears were mutilated again, and then their ears were mutilated again, and then their ears were mutilated again.
In reality, almost everyone owned slaves; they were available to people of all social classes: artisans, tradesmen, merchants, officials, sailors, notaries, doctors, and of course, nobles and clergy, including priests and nuns. They were bought and sold. Women were often forced into prostitution, so ending up in a convent was a stroke of luck. With medieval misogyny based on the supposed imperfection of women, as argued by authors like Eiximenis or the Dominican friar Vicent Ferrer, female slaves were at the bottom of the social ladder. The proto-feminism of the Poor Clare abbess Isabel de Villena is an exception, and in any case, she never said anything about female slaves.
Some female slaves in monasteries fared well. Finally, one case among many explained in the book: Llorença, a slave of the merchant Nicolau Madrenchs, became the property of his 16-year-old daughter Isabel, a nun at Pedralbes, when he died in 1421. Isabel then granted her freedom. At 45, Llorença decided to remain in the convent, providing services, but in a comfortable position, as she received a salary each year. It is possible that Llorença had been Isabel's wet nurse and nanny, a fairly common practice.
