Valpuesta Cartulary

Valpuesta Cartulary

The famous Valpuesta Cartulary possesses extraordinary significance for the history of Spain: as a testimony of the origin of the Spanish language. The countless historical documents, partially in copies, partially in originals, from the 9th to the 13th centuries contain texts in Visigothic, Carolingian, and later written forms. The earliest among these, according to the Real Academia Espanola, contains a sensation, namely the first written words in Spanish. Aside from this linguistic significance, the records of the Valpuesta Cartulary with charters, deeds of foundation, privileges, endowments and the like are of extraordinary significance not only for Valpuesta, but for all of Spain.

The Great Cultural Heritage of Spain

The so-called Valpuesta Cartulary comprises 181 pages of historical documents. It consists of two parts, differentiated by the script they primarily employ: the so-called Gótico and Galicano. They contain both writings from the 12th century, which are in turn copies of documents that sometimes go back to the 9th century. The cartulary originated from northern Spain, in Valpuesta in the historically significant region of Burgos, Castilla y Leon. Closely associated with the cartulary is the monastery of Santa Maria de Valpuesta, which enjoyed great influence in religious, political, and social issues as the biggest monastery in the area.

An Unmediated Glimpse in Medieval History

Cartulary were particularly prevalent in monasteries since the Early Middle Ages and later were also common among private persons. They contained transcripts of documents, to ensure against the loss or damage of the original. Since the great monasteries had to manage a variety of endowments, requirements, possessions, etc., they were the origin of this particular art of the documentation of important records. However, the Valpuesta Cartulary represents something special. It is not a cartulary in the classical sense, in which the transcripts of originals would be collected. The Valpuesta Cartulary contains all kinds of writings, notebooks, individual sheets, and even original documents.

The Origin of the Spanish Language

Both parts of the cartulary are recorded in Latin and Spanish. On the one hand, the long period of time over which the documents stretch is extremely exciting paleographically. On the other hand, it also allows the development of the language to be directly understood. Thus, an early form of the Spanish language was discovered in the older, Visigothic writings, which the Real Academia Espanola interprets as the origin of the Spanish language. For this reason, the Valpuesta Cartulary not only contains important documents with historical monograms and signatures by some high-ranking personalities, but also a historical sensation with significance for all of Spain!