The Originals `Privilegios Rodados´ From The Ducal Archive of Medinaceli: I. Alfonso VIII, King of Castile (1158-1214)

Abstract

This is the first partial study of a serie which we are elaborating about the magnificient documental collection of “Privilegios Rodados” which is watched over in the Ducal Archive of Medinaceli, a good number of them unpublished. From nearly a hundred of original rolls that constitute the collection, the first six privilegios were emited by the Royal Chancellery of the king of Castile, Alfonso VIII, between 1175 and 1212. This monarch was the first that entitled in Castile privilegios with signo rodado and hanging lead seal, undoubtedly the documental type more admired from the Middle Age for its solemnity, beauty, elegance, performance, hierarchy, brightness, reliability and durability. In these copies, it can be discerned that characteristics and the formalities of the ones that these medieval documents were surrounded in order to guarantee its authenticity. The study is preceded by an introduction dedicated to the origins of the privilegio rodado in the hispanic chancelleries.