La bofetada de santa Tecla al rey Pedro el Ceremonioso: el reflejo legendario de las luchas por el control jurisdiccional de Tarragona

Abstract

In the late fifteenth century, Gauberto Fabricio de Vagad wrote a legend on the apparition of Saint Thecla to King Peter IV of Aragon just before his death. Giving the King a slap in the face, the Saint demanded the restitution of the patrimony that the King had seized from the archbishop of Tarragona’s temporal jurisdiction over the city and its hinterland. The analysis of Vagad’s chronicle is enlightening because it reflects the climaxof the confrontations between civil and ecclesiastical powers for control of the territory. Furthermore, this research allows me to demonstrate the legend’s uninterrupted transmission from the late Middle Ages up until today.