Eleanor of Arborea 0 Comments

Eleanor of Arborea

When it comes to her, the edging between reality and mythology is not always clear.  Both history and legend tell of an exceptional woman: Eleanor, Iudex of Arborea. Around the middle of 1300, Sardinia was divided into four independent kingdoms, called Judges:  Torres, Gallura, Cagliari and Arborea, each governed by a King called Judge.

Eleanor's father, Marianus IV of Bas-Serra, Judge of Arborea, had the dream of gathering the four Sardinian Courts (Judicadu) under the house of Arborea, and Eleanor and his brother committed themselves to this project, even by taking up arms.

Around 1390, Eleanor left the war on her husband and devoted herself to the “Carta”, a legal code, hoping to bring peace to the kingdom. It redefined and unified the previous two codes prepared by her father and brother, the “Code de Logu” and the “Rural Code”, and promulgated the new “Carta de Logu” (People's Paper) which, with its 198 chapters, is considered to be "the most important legislative monument of medieval Sardinia".

Farsighted precursor, it anticipates the rule of law with a civil and criminal code. All men are equal to the law and it introduces respect for the will of women and the protection of the family.

Very interesting is the guideline of fires that, as it happens today, were a disaster of the territory, regulating times and ways to burn stubbles and limiting damage by creating fire bans.

It was fundamental for Sardinian viticulture and agriculture. One of the objectives of the “Carta de Logu”  was  to develop, promote and encourage the vine cultivation and wine production.

Power control was an important choice of life to Eleanor.

When the Iudex Eleanor succeeded in completing her father's irredentist dream by bringing together almost all of the island under her scepter, the achieved goal collapsed due to the plague that took away her dreams and her life.

The Sardinian people will always remember her as a Heroine, a Warrior Queen and a Wise Legislator.

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written by Daniela Toti

 

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