[87] The development of Templar organization during the Order's early years in north-eastern Spain cannot be examined closely, for officials were not at first given precise titles; but it appears that in the beginning the Order merely appointed a number of Templars as bailiffs to collect revenues and administer the acquisitions made in a particular district. Those who are first mentioned in the sources had authority over fairly large areas, whose extent seems to have been determined by political divisions. Between 1128 and 1136 Hugh of Rigaud had charge of Templar possessions both in Catalonia and in the districts to the north of the Pyrenees, where the counts of Barcelona had political interests; ⁽¹⁾ but neither he nor his immediate successor, Arnold of Bedocio, is mentioned in any Templar documents drawn up in Aragon or Navarre, both of which at the time of the Templars' arrival in Spain were ruled by the Aragonese house. ⁽²⁾ These first officials came in time to have under their command subordinate bailiffs, who were set in charge of smaller areas. Amongst such lesser officials was the Templar Raymond Gaucebert, who was frequently named in Templar documents concerning the districts of Barcelona and Vich between 1135 and 1142 and who was often given the title of 'bailiff'. ⁽³⁾

As the Temple further expanded, however, a more elaborate and permanent form of organization was evolved. The early large administrative areas developed into provinces of the Order, ruled over by provincial masters, and at a more local level the basic unit of organization became the convent, a word which thirteenth- and early fourteenth-century evidence shows to have been used by the Templars to describe a community whose head was directly subject to the provincial master and was summoned [88] to provincial chapters, and whose members usually included a chamberlain and chaplain. ⁽⁴⁾

The institution of the province, the master of which acted as the intermediary between the headquarters of the Order and individual convents, was unknown in religious orders before the twelfth century. The Hospitallers began to evolve this form of organization in the early part of that century, ⁽⁵⁾ and it was developed both by them and by the Templars as presumably the best means by which men and resources scattered through most of western Christendom could be mobilized for use in the East, besides providing an effective instrument for regulating other relationships between the centre and individual houses, as is clear from its later adoption by a number of other religious orders. ⁽⁶⁾ The alternative system of the filiation of convents, which was being developed by some orders of monks and canons in the twelfth century, might have produced regional groupings, but it would have involved too many stages in the transmission of supplies to the East, while distance and slowness of communications made direct links between the headquarters and individual convents impracticable.

The convent became the accepted basis of local Templar organization everywhere. Convents were established not only where the Templars were engaged in fighting the infidel: in Spain they were set up in areas away from the Moorish frontier, just as they were founded throughout western Europe. To what extent this policy was the result of a conscious decision is not known, but it had advantages over the alternative of concentrating the members of the Order in the districts where the struggle against the infidel was being waged and entrusting the administration of estates to Templar or lay bailiffs. Although it was wasteful of Templar manpower -- as was frequently pointed out towards the end of the thirteenth century ⁽⁷⁾ -- the presence of Templar communities throughout western Christendom no doubt helped to stimulate recruitment and bring patronage to the Order; ⁽⁸⁾ and the dangers were avoided which would have resulted either from allowing Templar administrators to live permanently in isolation from other members of the Order or from committing the administration of distant estates entirely to laymen, who would have had personal and family interests.

The earliest reference to the province of 'Provence and certain [89] parts of Spain', which evolved out of the early administrative unit straddling the Pyrenees, occurs in 1143, when Peter of Rovira was described as 'master of Provence and a certain part of Spain'. ⁽⁹⁾ The province as it existed in the years following that date was not, however, exactly the same in extent as the earlier division, for it also included the kingdoms of Aragon and Navarre. The linking of these districts with Catalonia and Provence was presumably occasioned by the political union of Aragon and Catalonia, just as later in the twelfth century the cession of certain parts of Navarre to Castile appears to have led to the transference of Templar rights in these districts to the Castilian province. ⁽¹⁰⁾

The Spanish part of the province expanded as the Christian frontiers advanced. It came to include the more southerly parts of Aragon and Catalonia in the later twelfth century and Mallorca and Valencia in the first half of the thirteenth. It was by then so large that it was decided to divide it into two provinces, by separating the Spanish possessions from those in Provence. Stephen of Belmonte -- last mentioned as provincial master in November 1239 ⁽¹¹⁾ -- was still known as 'master of Provence and certain parts of Spain'; but his successor in the Spanish part of the old province, Raymond of Serra, who was in office by May 1240, ⁽¹²⁾ was given the title 'master in Aragon and Catalonia'. His authority was in fact more extensive and covered Roussillon, Navarre, Mallorca, and Valencia as well, but the change in title does mark the breakup of the former province. After 1240 the lands of the Temple in the Corona de Aragón and Navarre formed one province; ⁽¹³⁾ those in Provence constituted another. After the completion of the conquest of Valencia the only change in the extent of the Aragonese province was the temporary inclusion of certain possessions in Murcia, after the latter had been acquired by James II; but when agreement about boundaries had been reached between Aragon and Castile these reverted to the Castilian Templars. ⁽¹⁴⁾

In the later part of the thirteenth century the Aragonese provincial master had over thirty convents subject to him in the Corona de Aragón, besides two in Navarre. ⁽¹⁵⁾ In Cataluña Vieja convents were founded at Palau, Aiguaviva, Castellón de Ampurias, and Puigreig, and further north, in Roussillon, one was established at Mas-Deu. To the west of the Llobregat, the castles of Barbará and Grañena, which had been among the Order's earliest acquisitions, became the sites of convents, as did the nearby [90] places of Juncosa and Selma. In the valley of the Segre there were Templar convents at Gardeny, Corbins, and Barbens, and on the Cinca -- a tributary of the Segre -- at Monzón. In Aragon along the Ebro valley convents were founded at Novillas, Boquiñeni, Ambel, Zaragoza, Pina, and La Zaida, and along tributaries of the Ebro at Ricla, Añesa, and apparently briefly at Luna as well, while another was set up at Huesca, to the east of Luna. In southern Aragon there were four convents in the thirteenth century -- at Alfambra, Cantavieja, Castellote, and Villel -- and five were established along the lower reaches of the Ebro -- at Miravet, Tortosa, Horta, Ascó, and Ribarroja. In the kingdom of Valencia further south, Chivert, Burriana, and the city of Valencia became sites of convents, and lastly one was established on the island of Mallorca.

It is not easy to trace the emergence of these convents. One difficulty arises from the lack of precision in the use of terms. The word most commonly employed to describe a Templar establishment was 'house' (domus, casa). In some cases a convent was being referred to, but the term was also applied to minor Templar establishments, which were dependent on a convent and not on the provincial master. The word in itself therefore does not give any indication of the nature of a Templar foundation. Similarly, the heads of convents were usually called 'commanders' or 'preceptors', but these were titles which were given to almost any Templars who were in positions of authority. Secondly, while only convents were directly subject to the provincial master, ⁽¹⁶⁾ the other characteristics of convents were not always peculiar to them alone. Chaplains and chamberlains are very occasionally encountered in places where convents were not established, and the heads of convents were not the only Templars who were present at provincial chapters. ⁽¹⁷⁾ And lastly, the early period of Templar expansion is, of course, less well documented than later periods. All that can be done therefore in tracing the development of convents is to indicate when the term 'convent' came to be used in different places, or when the sources suggest a development in organization in places where convents are known to have been founded.

Neither the term 'convent' nor the features characteristic of convents are mentioned in the sources referring to the period up to 1143, but by that date Templar communities were apparently [91] being established at Palau and Novillas and possibly at Grañena, as well as at Mas-Deu in Roussillon, which was only later incorporated into the Corona de Aragón. ⁽¹⁸⁾ In 1140 a sale of land was made to 'Peter master of Rovira of the same place of Palau', to Raymond Gaucebert, Raymond Arnold, and to a chaplain Pons. ⁽¹⁹⁾ The wording is confused: Peter of Rovira appears to be called master of Palau, although at that time he probably had authority on both sides of the Pyrenees. But the apparent reference to a master of Palau, together with the list of other Templars, including a chaplain, suggests that the origins of the convent of Palau should be traced back as far as 1140, even though the first clear indication of a Templar community there does not occur until 1151. ⁽²⁰⁾ The grant of Alberite in ?1139 was similarly made to Rigald 'master in Novillas', who seems by his title to have been not merely an official responsible for certain estates, but rather the head of a community; ⁽²¹⁾ in the confirmation of this grant in ?1141 Rigald was said to be acting 'with the will of our other brothers', and this wording again suggests the existence of a Templar community at Novillas;⁽²²⁾ and although the term 'convent' is not applied to Novillas until 1147, ⁽²³⁾ there is a reference to the brothers of Novillas in a document drawn up in 1143/5, ⁽²⁴⁾ while there was a chaplain there in 1146. ⁽²⁵⁾ The evidence concerning Grañena is more tenuous. It is merely that according to the historian of the see of Vich, who quotes a document which no longer survives, the bishop of Vich in 1136 gave permission for a certain chapel in the castle of Grañena to be served by a Templar chaplain. ⁽²⁶⁾ But no commander of Grañena is known before 1181; a Templar house there is not mentioned until 1190; and the first evidence indicating that a separate convent had been founded does not occur until the beginning of the thirteenth century. ⁽²⁷⁾

From 1143 onwards the process of establishing convents was inevitably influenced by the agreement made in that year between the Templars and the count of Barcelona. Most of the places granted by the Aragonese rulers to the Temple in return for its participation in the reconquista lay near the Moorish frontier when they came into the Order's possession, and as long as they remained in the frontier region they needed to be protected against Moorish attacks. The Templars therefore quickly began to establish communities in the most important of them in order [92] not only to administer them but also to defend them against the infidel.

Although at Monzón there is no reference to a Templar community until 1153, ten years after the castle had been granted to the Order, ⁽²⁸⁾ the house there was by then already sufficiently established to be looked upon as the centre of the Order in the Corona de Aragón: thus in 1153 it was said that the castle of Miravet had been granted to the 'brothers of Monzón'. ⁽²⁹⁾ That this statement reflects Monzón's place in Templar organization at that time and was not merely occasioned by the circumstances of Raymond Berenguer's donation of the castle in 1143 is made clear by the wording of another document recording the grant of Alcanadre to the Order in 1155, for in this it is stated that the Templars who received the gift were acting on the advice of the brothers of Novillas, who were to administer the new acquisition, and of those of Monzón, implying that Monzón was considered to be the headquarters of the Aragonese Templars. ⁽³⁰⁾

Of the other castles granted in 1143, Corbins may quickly after its recapture have become the site of a convent, for in the dating clause of one document the year 1148 is referred to as the year in which 'García Ortiz served God in Corbins with those brothers', ⁽³¹⁾ and in the following year a bequest was made to the caballeria of Corbins. ⁽³²⁾ But if there was then a convent there, it was apparently transferred to Gardeny after the conquest of Lérida, for in the second half of the twelfth century the commander of Gardeny conducted transactions involving property at Corbins, and at the end of the century some documents concerning rights at Corbins were being kept at Gardeny. ⁽³³⁾ The word 'convent' is first used of Gardeny in the surviving sources in the year 1169; ⁽³⁴⁾ but as early as 1151 Peter of Cartellá, who was later the head of the convent of Gardeny, was called 'master in those parts';⁽³⁵⁾ and in 1156 references occur to the master and brothers of the house of Gardeny and to a Templar chapel there. ⁽³⁶⁾

The convents founded along the lower Ebro at Tortosa and Miravet seem similarly to have been established soon after the conquest of this district by Raymond Berenguer IV in the mid twelfth century, although there is no specific mention of a convent at Tortosa until 1174 and at Miravet until almost the end of the century. ⁽³⁷⁾ In 1156 there is a reference to Aymeric of Torreies as 'master of the brothers of the Temple in Tortosa'; ⁽³⁸⁾ and nine [93] years later there seems also to have been a Templar community at Miravet, for in 1165 William Berard was master or commander of Miravet and Tortosa, with Sancho of Vergea as his deputy in Tortosa. ⁽³⁹⁾ By then the centre of Templar authority along the lower Ebro had apparently been transferred to Miravet, and it is possible that this development had already taken place five years earlier, for in 1160, when Aymeric of Torreies was still master of Tortosa, Iñigo Sánchez was the official directly in charge of the Templar house there. ⁽⁴⁰⁾ Miravet is admittedly not included in Aymeric's titles, but as all the surviving documents in which he is named are concerned with lands in Tortosa, the omission is not necessarily significant. The apparent transference of the seat of Templar administration from Tortosa to Miravet, which could have been occasioned by the strategic importance of the castle and by the fact that the Templars enjoyed full lordship there and not in Tortosa, suggests that the Templar community at Tortosa may even have been established before Miravet was acquired in 1153, for otherwise Templar power along the lower Ebro would probably from the beginning have been centred at Miravet. But if in 1165 the master of Miravet and Tortosa based his authority at Miravet, this situation may not have been maintained, for no subordinate official at Tortosa is mentioned between 1165 and 1174, even though a considerable number of documents survives from this period. The master of Miravet and Tortosa may for a time have exercised direct control over both communities. From 1174 onwards, however, there was again an official at Tortosa, and references soon begin to occur to a commander of Miravet as well. ⁽⁴¹⁾ Nevertheless the post of master or commander of Miravet and Tortosa was retained, and the holder of the office was apparently still considered as the head of the two convents: most of the documents concerning Templar rights in Miravet and Tortosa continued to be issued in his name, and his deputies in the two convents were on occasion called merely 'subpreceptor'. ⁽⁴²⁾ And his authority was increased through the acquisition of Horta, Ascó, and Ribarroja from Alfonso II. This growth of power was reflected in a change of title: in 1192 he began to be referred to as 'commander of Miravet, Tortosa and La Ribera', and later this title was contracted to just 'commander of La Ribera'. ⁽⁴³⁾ The actual administration of the newly acquired lordships at Horta and Ascó was soon delegated to subordinate [94] Templar officials. A commander had been set up at Ascó as early as 1181, when the Order held it in pledge from the king,⁽⁴⁴⁾ and this post was made permanent after Alfonso's grant in the following year. At Horta, a commander was named in a document which must be dated before the end of July 1193; ⁽⁴⁵⁾ the post may, however, not have existed before 1192, for in the carta de población granted to settlers at Horta at the beginning of that year no commander is mentioned. ⁽⁴⁶⁾ These subordinate commanders at Ascó and Horta in time became heads of convents, although there is little evidence to suggest when this development occurred. The establishment of a convent at Ascó was no doubt delayed by the temporary loss of lordship by the Templars there in the reign of Peter II. But the convents at Horta and Ascó had probably been established by 1236, after which date the office of commander of La Ribera ceased to exist. ⁽⁴⁷⁾ The development of Templar administration at Ribarroja, the other place granted to the Order by Alfonso II in 1182, appears to have been much slower. In 1212 Templar rights there were farmed out for life; ⁽⁴⁸⁾ no commander of Ribarroja is known until the later part of the thirteenth century; and for a time it formed part of the commandery of Ascó. ⁽⁴⁹⁾ But in 1277 and 1307 the Templar community at Ribarroja was being assessed separately for payments to the provincial master: ⁽⁵⁰⁾ a convent had thus by then been established there.

Templar organization in the lands acquired from the Order of Mountjoy in southern Aragon was fluid for several years after 1196. At first Templars -- often commanders of convents further north -- were placed in charge of groups of castles and lordships. In 1196 William of Peralta was commander of Novillas, Alfambra, Villel, and Teruel, and five years later he was commander of Monzón, Castellote, Cantavieja, and Villarluengo. Yet the Temple had been given these lands in order that they should be properly defended and it was therefore under an obligation to establish Templar communities as quickly as possible. It seems to have been doing so by the turn of the century. The linking of important castles in this region under the authority of one Templar did not continue after 1201, except in the case of Alfambra and Villel, which were both subject to the same official until 1207; and already before 1201 subordinate commanders, set in charge of one castle, were being appointed at Cantavieja, Castellote, Alfambra, [95] and Villel. The disappearance at Cantavieja and Castellote of officials with authority in more than one place is probably an indication that convents were by then being established in these castles. A chamberlain and five other brothers at Castellote are mentioned in a document belonging to the year 1201, ⁽⁵¹⁾ and at least five brothers besides the commander were living there in 1205. ⁽⁵²⁾ On the other hand, there is no definite information about Templar organization at Cantavieja as early as 1201. ⁽⁵³⁾ A convent at Villel, however, is mentioned as early as 1198, ⁽⁵⁴⁾ and the continued link with Alfambra presumably means that a convent was not founded at the latter place, which was further from the frontier, until about 1207. But this cannot be proved, since there are few sources for the history of Alfambra. The commander of Alfambra was present at a provincial chapter in 1212, ⁽⁵⁵⁾ but no specific reference to a convent there occurs before about 1230. ⁽⁵⁶⁾

By October of the latter year, only a few months after the conquest of Mallorca, the Templars had set up a convent on that island, ⁽⁵⁷⁾ and before the end of the decade they had begun to found convents in the kingdom of Valencia. At the time of the treaty with the Moors of Chivert in 1234 there was already a Templar commander of Burriana, and he was apparently the head of a convent by 1239, when a chamberlain of the house of Burriana is mentioned. ⁽⁵⁸⁾ There is also a reference in the middle of that year to a convent at Valencia, only nine months after the city's capture. ⁽⁵⁹⁾ The creation of this convent may have been achieved by transferring most of the Templar community recently established at Burriana, since for the next two decades there appears to have been no convent at the latter place. During that period the commander of Burriana was subordinate to, and holding office from, the head of the convent of Valencia; the latter is in some documents called the commander of the 'house' -- in the singular -- of Valencia and Burriana; ⁽⁶⁰⁾ and no minor officials are mentioned at Burriana between 1239 and 1261. At least from the latter date, however, there appear to have been convents in both Valencia and Burriana. ⁽⁶¹⁾ It is not clear whether the Templars also established a convent at Chivert soon after its recapture. In 1234 it was made subject to the commander of La Ribera, who controlled Templar estates along the lower Ebro; no commander of Chivert is mentioned until 1243; and there is no clear evidence of a convent there until the last quarter of the [96] century. ⁽⁶²⁾ But as the office of commander of La Ribera ceased to exist after 1236, it is possible that a convent had by then been founded at Chivert.

The grants which the Aragonese rulers made to the Temple as a result of the 1143 agreement thus led to the foundation of sixteen convents -- nearly half of the total number founded by the Templars in the Corona de Aragón. The establishment of these convents provides a further illustration of the importance of the royal grants in the expansion of the Temple in the Aragonese realms; and as most of these convents were, to begin with, in the frontier region, their foundation further serves to emphasize the military importance of the Templars, who not only gave assistance in conquering territories from the Moors, but also played a significant role in ensuring that lands were not lost again to the infidel.

While from 1143 onwards convents were being set up in the newly conquered areas at places given to the Temple by the Aragonese rulers, others were being established in the more northerly parts of Aragon as the Order acquired more land mainly from private individuals; since the accumulation of property was gradual, however, the process of founding new convents was often slow. It is clear from the activities of the members of the house of Novillas that until about 1160 that convent had control of all Templar properties in Aragon and Navarre, except those on the borders of Aragon and Catalonia which were subject to the convent of Monzón. Raymond Bernard, head of Novillas before the middle of the twelfth century, was concerned with rights and properties in an area stretching from Ribaforada in Navarre to Zaragoza, and from Añesa to Calatayud; Peter Martínez, who was placed in charge of the convent in 1159, was frequently involved in transactions in Navarre as well as in Aragon; and even members of the convent who did not hold office were often engaged in business over a similarly wide area. The convent of Palau likewise probably controlled for a considerable number of years Templar rights in most of the districts of Catalonia which were in Christian hands by 1143; certainly Templar lands in the more northerly parts of Catalonia were subject to the commander of Palau at least until the later part of the twelfth century, for in 1182 that official received a grant of lands in and around Puigreig ⁽⁶³⁾ and he was also present when the [97] will of the troubadour William of Bergadán -- concerned mainly with rights in the same district -- was drawn up in 1187. ⁽⁶⁴⁾

In these more northerly parts of the Corona de Aragón the establishment of a new convent was usually preceded by the delegation of a brother or several brothers to administer the Order's estates in a particular place. This was being done in Aragon and Navarre by the masters of Novillas before the middle of the twelfth century. As early as 1149 a brother Dominic was said to be in charge of the Order's rights at Boquiñeni, ⁽⁶⁵⁾ and the Templar Raymond of Castellnou is mentioned consistently between 1146 and 1165 in documents concerning Templar lands in and around Huesca. Frequent references occur to a brother Ralph at Zaragoza between 1145 and 1157, and from the latter date Bernard of Salvi was in charge of Templar rights there. These officials were at first given no title -- Raymond of Castellnou was never called anything other than 'brother' or 'servant' -- but they soon came to be known as commanders. A brother Berenguer was commander of Boquiñeni in 1158,⁽⁶⁶⁾ and in 1162 Bernard of Salvi was called 'commander and obedientiary' of Zaragoza, ⁽⁶⁷⁾ while from the end of 1155 references are also made to a commander of Novillas itself, in addition to the master, who was still in charge of the convent and who undertook the general supervision of properties in Aragon and Navarre. The title of commander in these instances merely denoted a Templar bailiff, subject to the master of Novillas: in 1165 the head of Novillas could still be given the title 'master of the militia of the Temple in the district of Zaragoza'. ⁽⁶⁸⁾

The establishment of new convents in northern Aragon, which gradually reduced the extent of Novillas's authority, appears to have taken place mainly in the second half of the twelfth century. One stage in this development is marked by the disappearance of the office of master of Novillas, which is not mentioned after 1169. ⁽⁶⁹⁾ By then possibly three new convents had been set up in northern Aragon, for chamberlains besides commanders are mentioned at Huesca, Ambel, and Luna in 1160, 1162, and 1167 respectively. ⁽⁷⁰⁾ The establishment of these officials may, however, mark only a stage in the development of communities independent of Novillas and not the completion of this process, for in 1162 the master of Novillas was involved with the commander and chamberlain of Ambel in buying land in the latter place. ⁽⁷¹⁾ And [98] if at this time Luna achieved independence of Novillas it soon became subordinate to the head of the house of Huesca. From 1174 the commander of Fluesca became known as commendator mayor and participated in the administration of Templar property in Luna; and in the early thirteenth century the establishment at Luna was abandoned. The last reference to a commander there occurs in 1217. ⁽⁷²⁾ The proximity of Huesca and Luna and the limited extent of Templar rights in that region clearly meant that the maintenance of a convent in each place was not justified. While these developments were taking place in Alto Aragón convents were apparently also being founded along the Ebro valley. Although the Templar house at Zaragoza mentioned in 1170 may still have been subordinate to Novillas, there is a reference to a chamberlain there six years later. ⁽⁷³⁾ And similarly although the house at Boquifleni referred to in 1170 may not have been an independent convent, there was a chamberlain there in 1183. ⁽⁷⁴⁾ The convent which was founded at Aflesa, on the river Arba, appears to have been established rather later. No commander is known there until 1185, and there is no indication of a Templar community at Añesa until 1202. ⁽⁷⁵⁾

The creation of new convents on estates formerly subject to Novillas was paralleled in Aragon by a similar development which occurred slightly later and on a smaller scale on the lands subject to the convent of Zaragoza. In this area new convents were founded at Ricla, Pina, and La Zaida. In documents concerning Templar rights at Ricla drawn up between 1173 and 1176 a brother Nuño is mentioned, often together with Bernard of Salvi, the commander of Zaragoza. ⁽⁷⁶⁾ In 1184 Nuño was called commander of Ricla and was accompanied by at least three other Templars; ⁽⁷⁷⁾ and there is a reference to a Templar house there seven years later. ⁽⁷⁸⁾ The convent at Ricla may therefore have been established before the end of the twelfth century.

Bernard of Salvi also acted for the Temple in the 1170s in the earliest transactions in the district of Pina and La Zaida; ⁽⁷⁹⁾ but in 1182 García of Aragon -- already mentioned in a document drawn up in 1177 ⁽⁸⁰⁾ -- was called commander in a charter concerned with land in this area, though his title was given no territorial qualification. ⁽⁸¹⁾ He was probably, however, the predecessor of Michael of Luna, who was commander of La Zaida and Pina from 1185 until 1188. These two places were still subject to a single commander [99] in 1200, ⁽⁸²⁾ but the evidence is insufficient to show exactly how long this practice was maintained. There appear to have been convents at both Pina and La Zaida, however, by the 1230s, when there were commanders and subordinate officials at each of these places. ⁽⁸³⁾ Yet in 1244 both Pina and La Zaida were again subject to a single official, and since no commander of Pina is known between then and 1263 and since in 1255 the commander of La Zaida made a grant of land in Pina, ⁽⁸⁴⁾ it is possible that in this period there ceased to be a convent at Pina. But this could have been only a temporary development. In 1270 references were made to a chamberlain of the house of Pina, ⁽⁸⁵⁾ and in 1277 Pina and La Zaida were assessed separately for payments to the provincial master. ⁽⁸⁶⁾ And while the convent at Pina survived until the arrest of the Templars, it was the house at La Zaida that was abandoned after the Temple had alienated its rights of lordship there.

A gradual development of convents also occurred in the areas of Catalonia already in Christian hands before 1143, although little is known about the process of foundation. A commander of Barbará is mentioned in 1173 and there is a reference to the convent there a year later. ⁽⁸⁷⁾ There was a commander of Selma in 1190, but the existence of a convent there is indicated only by much later sources. ⁽⁸⁸⁾ Again, very few documents survive about the convent which was established at Juncosa, not far from Selma. According to Miret y Sans the house of Juncosa had originally been established at Gunyolas, where there was a commander in 1160. ⁽⁸⁹⁾ When or why it was transferred to Juncosa is not known, but the transference must have occurred in the later part of the twelfth century, since the first known commander of Juncosa was a brother Dominic in 1199/1200; ⁽⁹⁰⁾ but a convent there is not mentioned until 1243. ⁽⁹¹⁾

The history of the foundation of convents in the more northerly parts of Catalonia is equally obscure. Very little can be discovered about the convent founded at Aiguaviva, south-west of Gerona. According to Miret y Sans it was in existence by 1192, but the only document now surviving in the Hospitaller archive is a transcript of three agreements dating from the year 1209, by which time a chapel had been built at the convent there. ⁽⁹²⁾ Equally little is known of the convent which was established at Castellón de Ampurias, to the east of Figueras; its archives have completely [100] disappeared. Again according to Miret y Sans a commandery had been set up there by 1168, when land in Castellón was sold to brother Berenguer of Mulnels, who was described as 'preceptor of that province'. ⁽⁹³⁾ But this vague title suggests that there was in fact no convent at Castellón at that time and that Berenguer of Mulnels was merely a Templar bailiff, who administered the Order's possessions in that area. There is no reference to a Templar establishment at Castellón de Ampurias until 1217, when James I in an exchange granted his rights over a man in Besalú to the commander of the house at Castellón, ⁽⁹⁴⁾ and the only clear indication that a convent was established there is the inclusion of Castellón among the places owing dues to the provincial master at the beginning of the fourteenth century. ⁽⁹⁵⁾

According to Monsalvatge y Fossas a further Templar convent was established in north-eastern Catalonia at San Lorenzo de las Arenas; he states that Pons Hugh II, count of Ampurias, was buried in the Templar chapel he had endowed there and that the Templars of the convent there later supported Hugh IV in a quarrel with the bishop of Gerona. ⁽⁹⁶⁾ But a document drawn up in 1226, at the end of this dispute, makes it clear that the house in question at San Lorenzo belonged to the Hospitallers, not to the Templars. ⁽⁹⁷⁾

The only other convent established in northern Catalonia was at Puigreig. A Templar with the title of commander of Solsona was mentioned in 1169, ⁽⁹⁸⁾ but from 1181 the official in charge of Templar estates along the upper Llobregat was usually called commander of Cerdaña or of Cerdaña and Bergadán. ⁽⁹⁹⁾ The reference in these titles to a wide area and not to a single place indicates that at the end of the twelfth and in the early thirteenth century the commander was merely a bailiff in charge of the Order's possessions and that no convent had been established. When Puigreig was finally acquired it became the centre of administration in that area: the title of commander of Puigreig is found in 1239, although it did not at once completely supersede the older descriptions of the office. And in time a convent was created there. Yet it is not clear when the break from Palau occurred. There is a reference to a Templar house at Puigreig in 1248, ⁽¹⁰⁰⁾ but for most of the thirteenth century the documents show the commander acting with only one or two other Templars, and no minor conventual officials are mentioned until 1285.⁽¹⁰¹⁾

[101] Acquisitions from private individuals did not lead to a similar process of foundation in the more recently conquered areas. By the time that the most southerly districts were recovered from the Moors the Order was no longer increasing its property to any great extent through purchases or gifts from private individuals, and in the places conquered in the middle and later parts of the twelfth century the acquisitions which the Order made after the initial grants from the Crown did not usually compare in importance with these royal grants. The Templar convents in the more southerly parts of the Corona de Aragón were therefore almost exclusively those established in places granted by the Crown. Even when a convent was apparently founded late, as at Ribarroja, it was established in a place gained from the king. The only one that can be looked upon as an exception is that at Barbens, which was established on lands first subject to Gardeny and which was not founded as the result of royal patronage. The Order plainly had no establishment there in 1164, for in that year an individual promised that if a Templar house were built on any land at Barbens from which he received tithes he would surrender his right to them. ⁽¹⁰²⁾ But there is a reference to a Templar house at Barbens three years later, ⁽¹⁰³⁾ and a commander of Barbens is mentioned in a document drawn up in 1168. The authority of the head of Gardeny was not, however, then withdrawn from Barbens. He continued to conduct business there until at least the early part of the thirteenth century, and lack of evidence makes it impossible to say when Barbens became an independent convent; the first hint is provided by the presence of the commander of Barbens at what appears to have been a provincial chapter in 1244. ⁽¹⁰⁴⁾

Although, as in the case of Barbens, there is no evidence of some convents until almost the end of the Temple's history in the Corona de Aragón, it can be shown that most Templar convents had been set up by the middle of the thirteenth century, in the period when Templar property was expanding most rapidly; and there is no instance in which it can be definitely stated that a convent was established after the middle of the thirteenth century. The only changes that are known to have occurred after 1250 were in the siting of convents. Palau, to the north of Barcelona, was not a very convenient site for a convent, since the commander had frequent business with royal officials in Barcelona and with Barcelona merchants who transported Templar supplies [102] to the East. ⁽¹⁰⁵⁾ These factors probably explain the transfer of the convent to Barcelona, which -- as changes in title indicate -- occurred in 1282. Romeo of Burguet was appointed as commander of Palau in 1280 or 1281, but from May 1282 his title was changed to 'commander of Barcelona', although he continued to administer all the possessions of the former commandery of Palau. ⁽¹⁰⁶⁾ The convent at Ricla had similarly by 1289 been transferred to Calatayud, ⁽¹⁰⁷⁾ although the reason for the change is not known, and after Peñíscola had been obtained from the king in exchange for Tortosa it became the site of the convent previously situated at Chivert. ⁽¹⁰⁸⁾

The way in which Templar convents were founded in order to administer, and sometimes to defend, the possessions of the Temple in a particular district meant that with a few exceptions -- such as the subjection of Torres de Segre to the convent at Miravet ⁽¹⁰⁹⁾ -- the estates belonging to a convent were concentrated in one area, and the possessions of different houses did not overlap geographically. It did not mean, however, that any attempt was made to ensure that all convents had possessions of approximately the same value. It is clear from Hospitaller valuations which survive from the early fourteenth century, and from references to the leasing of Templar estates by the Crown after the arrest of the Templars, that the incomes of different convents varied considerably. While the revenues of Monzón were assessed by the Hospitallers at 2,500l. and those of Miravet at 2,000l., Boquiñeni, on the other hand, was valued at only 50l. and Añesa at even less. ⁽¹¹⁰⁾ At times the income of the smaller convents was scarcely sufficient to maintain a community. In 1277 it was said that the convent of Boquiñeni had fallen into 'the greatest poverty', and it was necessary to use revenues drawn from other convents to pay off Boquiñeni's debts and to undertake essential expenditure there. ⁽¹¹¹⁾ Although some convents with small incomes were situated in the more southerly regions of the Corona de Aragón -- Alfambra was valued at 100l. by the Hospitallers and Villel at 150l. ⁽¹¹²⁾ -- most of the poorer convents lay in the more northerly parts of Aragon and Catalonia. The convents of Selma, Castellón de Ampurias, Aiguaviva, and Novillas, as well as Boquiñeni and Añesa, were among the least wealthy Templar communities. The reason for the creation of a number of small convents in these areas is perhaps to be found in the fact that in the north Templar [103] possessions were more scattered than in the more southerly districts, where they tended to be concentrated in lordships granted by the Crown. It was probably more convenient to establish a number of convents than to try to administer these scattered possessions from just a few houses, which would have had lands at a considerable distance. There were therefore by the later part of the thirteenth century few places in the Corona de Aragón that were very remote from a Templar convent. It was only in parts of the extreme north and in the extreme south, in the southerly region of Valencia, that there was an absence of Templar foundations.

1. He is mentioned frequently between these dates in the documents published by Albon, Cartulaire; see also Cartulaires des Templiers de Douzens, ed. P. Gérard and E. Magnou (Collection de documents inédits sur l'histoire de France, série in-8^o, vol. iii, Paris, 1965).

2. Arnold of Bedocio is last mentioned in 1139: Albon, Cartulaire, pp. 139-40, doc. 199. It is stated in the introduction to Cartulaire de Ia commanderie de Richerenches de I'Ordre du Temple (1136-1214), ed. Marquis de Ripert-Monclar (Avignon, 1907), pp. cliv, clviii, that from 1136 to 1138 Arnold of Bedocio was in charge of the Templar establishment at Richerenches, north of Orange; but his authority was not limited to this area: see Albon, Cartulaire, p. 88, doc. 127; pp. 92-3, docs. 132, 133, etc. Leonard, Introduction, pp. 23, 40, states that Arnold at this time both held office at Richerenches and had authority over a wider area.

3. Albon, Cartulaire, p. 74, doc. 102; pp. 75-6, doc. 105; pp. 76-7, doc. 107; pp. 77-8, doc. 108, etc.

4. On the organization of convents, see cap. VII.

5. The earliest known Hospitaller province was in existence by about 1120: Riley-Smith, Knights of St. John, p. 353.

6. Cf. G. Le Bras, Institutions ecclésiastiques de la chrétienté médiévale (Histoire de l'Église depuis les origines jusqu'à nosjours, vol. xii, Paris, 1964), pp. 490-1.

7. In 1291, for example, in a letter to the pope, the French clergy argued that the Order should keep only a few Templars in the West and should concentrate its manpower in the East: Bartholomew Cotton, Historia Anglicana, ed. H.R. Luard (London, 1859), p. 213.

8. In some cases it can be shown that the most rapid growth of Templar property occurred in a district during the years following the establishment of a convent there.

9. Albon, Cartulaire, pp. 204-5, doc. 314; CDI, iv. 93-9, doc. 43. The word 'Provence' was not used in a precise sense; see J.A. Durbec, 'Les Templiers en Provence. Formation des commanderies et repartition géographique de leurs biens', Provence historique, ix (1959), 3.

10. See below, p. 107, note 75.

11. AHN, Montesa, P. 18.

12. AHN, cód. 689, pp. 96-7, doc. 103.

13. The Aragonese province of the Dominican Order created at the beginning of the fourteenth century covered the same territories: F. Diago, Historia de Ia provincia de Aragón de Ia Orden de Predicadores (Barcelona, 1599), fols. 2-3.

14. ACA, CRD Templarios, nos. 169, 278. The commander of Caravaca in Murcia is mentioned in a number of Catalan documents at the beginning of the fourteenth century: e.g. AGP, parch. Gardeny, nos. 231-6, 383-5, 2249, 2250.

15. Those in Navarre were at Ribaforada and Aberín. The most complete list of communities directly subject to the Aragonese provincial master is found in ACA, CRD Templarios, no. 81; see below, p. 415.

16. In 1250 reference was made to the 'convent' of the Holy Redeemer at Teruel, although this establishment was subject to Villel: AHN, cod. 466, pp. 361-2, doc. 438; but this is an isolated exception.

17. See below, p. 318.

18. There is a reference to a Templar house built at Mas-Deu as early as 1138: Albon, Cartulaire, p. 119, doc. 171.

19. Ibid., pp. 140-1, doc. 202.

20. ACA, parch. Raymond Berenguer IV, no. 132.

21. Albon, Cartulaire, p. 122, doc. 177; Lacarra, 'Documentos', no. 342 (v. 564-5).

22. Albon, Cartulaire, pp. 242-3, doc. 384; Lacarra, 'Documentos', no. 350 (v. 571-2).

23. Albon, Cartulaire, p. 279, doc. 447.

24. Ibid., p. 235, doc. 367.

25. Ibid., p. 248, doc. 395.

26. J.L. de Moncada, Episcopologio de Vich, i (Vich, 1891), 437-8. The document in question (Episcopal Archive of Vich, armario del derecho de diversas iglesias, no. 13) was destroyed during the Spanish Civil War. I am grateful to the Revd. M.S. Gros i Pujol for providing me with this information.

27. ACA, parch. Alfonso II, no. 578; parch. Peter II, no. 169.

28. AHN, cod. 499, p. 19, doc. 33. In 1146 the provincial master was said to be holding Monzón, but this refers merely to rights of lordship: Albon, Cartulaire, p. 246, doc. 390.

29. AHN, cód. 499, p. 19, doc. 33.

30. Lacarra, 'Documentos', no. 377 (v. 593-4).

31. Albon, Cartulaire, p. 308, doc. 499.

32. Miret y Sans, Les Cases, p. 66.

33. One section of the Cartulary of Gardeny in the AGP, beginning on fol. 54, consists of documents concerning Corbins. There was, however, a convent again at Corbins in the thirteenth century.

34. AGP, parch. Gardeny, no. 537.

35. AGP, parch. Corbins, no. 122.

36. AGP, Cartulary of Gardeny, fol. 24, doc. 35; fols. 33^v-34, docs. 63, 65; fol. 41^v, doc. 88; parch. Gardeny, no. i. Albon, Cartulaire, p. 63, doc. 82, assigns to the year 1134 a will which includes the clause 'I leave my body to the militia of Gardeny'; but the French king by whose regnal year the document is dated must be Louis VII, not Louis VI. The will belongs to the year 1163.

A convent may also for a time have been established at the castle of Remolins, which had been given to the Order in 1143. In 1162 it appears still to have been under the authority of Gardeny since a record of a dispute in that year about rights there was made by the chaplain of Gardeny; and this document was later copied into the Cartulary of Gardeny (fol. 24^v, doc. 37). The commander of Remolins mentioned in 1181 was probably therefore a subordinate of the tander of Gardeny. But in 1271 reference was made to land held of the commander and brothers of the house of Remolins, and six years later the commander and brothers there were involved in a dispute concerning land: AGP, parch. Gardeny, no. 1960; parch. Espluga de Francolí, no. 183. Yet if was a convent at Remolins at this time, it was not maintained. At the beginning of the fourteenth century Remolins, together with Torres de Segre, was under the control of the commander of Miravet, who established a subordinate commander at Torres: AGP, parch. Torres de Segre, nos. 51, 58, 62.

37. AGP, Cartulary of Tortosa, fol. 26, doc. 77; S.A. García Larragueta, 'Fueros y cartas pueblas navarro-aragonesas otorgadas por Templarios y Hospitalarios', AHDE, xxiv (1954), 592-3; Font Rius, Cartas de población, i. 285-6, doc. 208.

38. AGP, Cartulary of Tortosa, fol. 30^v, doc. 93. In the same year land was given in an exchange to Aymeric and the brothers 'who are with you in Tortosa': ibid., fol. 67^v, doc. 217. Miret y Sans, Les Cases, p. 82, quotes a document from the Cartulary of Tortosa (fol. 50^v, doc. 153) which records that William Berard, master and commander of Miravet and Tortosa, bought a vineyard in 1153 from Geralda, widow of Peter of Toulouse. But Peter of Toulouse was still alive in 1170 (ibid., fol. 34^v, doc. 110), and William Berard held office from 1165 to 1174. Possibly the date of the document should be 1173.

39. Sancho of Vergea was called procurator of the house of Tortosa: ibid., fol. 60, doc. 185.

40. Iñigo Sánchez was called gubernator, procurator, and ministrator: AGP, Cartulary of Tortosa, fol. 33^v, doc. 104; fol. 61-61^v, docs. 191-3.

41. The first official who was clearly commander only of Miravet was R. Bernard in 1190. Dalmau of Godeto was given the title of commander of Miravet between 1178 and 1181: ibid., fol. 37^v, doc. 218; fols. 67^v-68, doc. 218; but he was probably commander of Miravet and Tortosa for he intervened in matters concerning Tortosa and no other commander of Miravet and Tortosa is known during this period.

42. Ibid., fol. 94^v, doc. 295.

43. Dalmau of Godeto is called commander of La Ribera in a document bearing the date 1187: AHN, San Juan, leg. 529, doc. 1; but the titles of the other Templars mentioned show that the date is inaccurate, as does the reference in the document to another charter which was not drawn up until 1190: ACA, parch. Alfonso II, no. 561. In 1187 Bertrand of Conques was commander of Miravet and Tortosa.

44. AGP, parch. Comuns, no. 114.

45. AGP, Cartulary of Tortosa, fols. 41^v-42, doc. 132. The document is undated, but it was issued by bishop Pons of Tortosa, who died in July 1193.

46. AHN, San Juan, leg. 351, doc 1.

47. The last reference to it is in ACA, parch. James I, no. 422.

48. RAH, 12-6-1/M-83, doc. 14.

49. It was assessed with Ascó for the purposes of royal taxation: ACA, reg. 68, fol. 25^v.

50. ACA, parch. Peter III. no. 26; CRD Templarios, no. 81; see below, p. 415.

51. AHN, cód. 689, p. 83, doc. 86.

52. Ibid., pp. 61-2, doc. 60. The commander and three brothers are named; 'others', in the plural, are not.

53. There is no reference to a convent there before 1244: ibid., p. 79, doc. 80.

54. AHN, cód. 466, p. 205, doc. 177.

55. RAH, 12-6-1/M-83, doc. 14.

56. M. Albareda y Herrera, El fuero de Alfambra (Madrid, 1925), pp. 39-41.

57. AGP, parch. Comuns, no. 197. Bertrand of Arlet was then head of the convent. He is also mentioned -- without a title -- in a slightly earlier document belonging to the same month: J. Miralles Sbert, Catálogo del Archivo Capitular de Mallorca, ii (Palma, 1942), 341, no. 7723.

58. AHN, Montesa, P. 18.

59. AHN, Montesa, P. 14.

60. AHN, Montesa, P. 73, 85.

61. For the convent at Burriana, see AHN, Montesa, P. 249, 251, etc.

62. ACA, parch. Peter III, no. 26.

63. AGP, parch. Cervera, no. 232; ACA, parch. Alfonso II, no. 333.

64. ACA, parch. Alfonso II, no. 451; published by M. de Riquer, 'El testamento del trovador Guilhem de Berguedán', Mélanges de linguistique et de littérature romanes à la mémoire d'Istvan Frank (Annales Universitatis Saraviensis, vol. vi, 1957), pp. 581-3. Riquer, ibid., p. 576, explains the presence of the commander of Palau by the fact that the troubadour held a few rights in villages near Palau; but these were of only minor importance. It seems more likely that he was present because the castle of Puigreig was to come under his authority.

65. Albon, Cartulaire, p. 333, doc. 543.

66. AHN, cód. 470, p. 10, doc. 11.

67. AHN, cód. 469, pp. 354-5, doc. 300.

68. AHN, cód. 468, p. 460, doc. 439.

69. In a document drawn up in 1172 William of Bais, who had been master, was placed at the head of a list of Templars at Novillas, but was assigned no title: AHN, cód. 691, fol. 121^v.

70. AHN, cód. 499, p. 17, doc. 26; p. 54, doc. 130; A. Bonilla y San Martín, 'El derecho aragonés en el siglo XII', II Congreso de historia de la Corona de Aragón, i (Huesca, 1920), 236-7, doc. 3.

71. Ibid. The first occasion when there is a specific reference to a convent at any of these places is at Huesca in 1176: AHN, cód. 499, pp. 7-8, doc. 11.

72. AHN, cód. 468, p. 150, doc. 134.

73. AHN, San Juan, leg. 38, doc. 19; cód. 468, p. 154, doc. 137.

74. AHN, San Juan, leg. 38, doc. 19; cód. 470, p. 10, doc. 12. In 1184 the house of Boquiñeni was taken under royal protection: cód. 467, p. 129, doc. 146.

75. RAH, 12-6-1/M-83, doc. 52. The convents of Aberín and Ribaforada in Navarre were similarly established on lands formerly subject to Novillas. But the convent of Novillas seems to have lost rights in Navarre not only in this way but also as a result of the cession of the more southerly parts of Navarre to Castile in 1179 -- see the maps published by A. Ubieto Arteta as an appendix to his article 'Las fronteras de Navarra', Principe de Viana, xiv (1953) -- for this apparently led to the transference of Templar rights in these districts, including Aleanadre, to the Castilian province. At the time of the arrest of the Templars Alcanadre was certainly in that province, and as in the thirteenth century the house at Alcanadre is never mentioned in the records of the Aragonese province, the transfer seems to have followed the political changes of 1179. By that date apparently no convents had been established in these southerly parts of Navarre. Although there is a reference to a Templar house at Alcanadre in 1175 (AHN, San Juan, leg. 718, doc. 6), the two Templars who held office as commander of Alcanadre in that year can both be traced at other times at Novillas and were probably merely bailiffs appointed by the head of Novillas.

The only other indication of Templar organization in these areas before 1179 occurs in a document in a cartulary of the monastery of Fitero, recording an agreement between the abbot and the Templar provincial master in 1173: M. Arigita, Colección de documentos inéditos para la historia de Navarra (Pamplona, 1909), p. 109. This charter makes reference to the 'brothers of the Temple of Solomon of Carbonera', but gives no indication of the character of the Templar establishment there.

76. Bonilla y San Martín, loc. cit., pp. 244-5, doc. 8; AHN, cód. 468, p. 516, doc. 502; San Juan, leg. 285, docs. 2, 3.

77. Bonilla y San Martín, loc. cit., pp. 255-6, doc. 19.

78. Ibid., p. 266, doc. 30.

79. AHN, San Juan, leg. 529, doc. 8; cód. 467, p. 472, docs. 566, 567.

80. AHN, San Juan, leg. 529, doc. 8.

81. AHN, cód. 467, p. 473, doc. 569.

82. Ibid., p. 432, doc. 405.

83. Ibid., p. 368, doc. 459; cód. 468, p. 521, doc. 530.

84. AHN, cód. 467, pp. 369-70, doc. 462.

85. Ibid., p. 378, docs. 474, 475.

86. ACA, parch. Peter III, no. 26.

87. ACA, parch. Alfonso II, no. 170 (the name of the commander mentioned in this document, which is dated 6 Kalends of March in the year of the Incarnation 1174, suggests that it was drawn up in 1174 and not 1175).

88. ACA, CRD Templarios, no. 81; see below, p. 415.

89. Miret y Sans, Les Cases, p. 174; cf. Font Rius, Cartas de población, i. 168-9, doc. 115.

90. The document in which he is mentioned is dated March 1199, and could thus belong to either 1199 or 1200: Cartulari de Poblet (Barcelona, 1938), p. 166, doc. 274.

91. AGP, parch. Vilafranca, no. 601. A. Alegret, 'Los Templarios en Tarragona', Boletín arqueológico, xvii (1905), 496-516, argues that the Templars built the church of St. Mary in Tarragona and had an establishment next to it. This argument is based on tradition and on the architectural style of the church. That there was no architectural style peculiar to the Templars has been shown by E. Lainbert, L'Architecture des Templiers (Paris, 1955); and that the Templars had no establishment in Tarragona is apparent from the fact that they retained a right of hospitality in some houses there: ACA, parch. James I, no. 2273.

92. Miret y Sans, Les Cases, p. 172; AGP, parch. Aiguaviva, no. 3.

93. Miret y Sans, Les Cases, pp. 173-4. The document recording this sale has been published by F. Monsalvatge y Fossas, Los condes de Ampurias vindicados (Noticias históricas, vol. xxv, Olot, 1917), pp. 337-8.

94. Huici, Colección diplomática, i. 10-11, doc. 3.

95. ACA, CRD Templarios, no. 81; see below, p. 415.

96. Monsalvatge y Fossas, op. cit., pp. 102, 107.

97. ES, xliv. 265-6, Appendix 4. On the Hospitaller house at San Lorenzo de las Arenas, see Miret y Sans, Les Cases, p. 197.

98. AGP, Cartulary of Tortosa, fol. 38^v, doc. 122.

99. For the titles used, see Appendix II.

100. ACA, parch. James I, no. 1137.

101. ACA, parch. Peter III, nos. 460, 465.

102. AGP, Cartulary of Gardeny, fol. 63-63^v, doc. 154.

103. Ibid., fol. 66^v, doc. 162.

104. RAH, 12-6-1/M-83, doc. 110.

105. e.g. ACA, parch. Peter III, no. 292.

106. The change occurred between 2 April and 26 May: ACA, parch. Peter III, nos. 294, 301. Later in the same year Romeo of Burguet, as commander of Barcelona, granted out land at Sta. Perpetua: parch. Peter III, 1105. 324-30.

107. J. Miret y Sans, 'Inventaris des les cases del Temple de la Corona d'Aragó en 1289', BRABLB, vi (1911), 65.

108. At the end of the thirteenth and beginning of the fourteenth century the commander of Chivert was merely a subordinate of the head of the house at Peñíscola: ACA, parch. James I, no. 2180; CRD James II, nos. 1737, 1747.

109. In the later thirteenth century Miravet appears to have been the chief house in the province (see below, p. 316), and presumably therefore incurred additional expenses, and this could explain why Torres de Segre was made subject to it.

110. Miret y Sans, Les Cases, pp. 399-400. In 1309 Templar revenues from Ascó and Ribarroja were farmed out for 10,000s.J. per annum, while those of Peñíscola were farmed for 13,000s. in one year and 10,000s. in another: ACA, reg. 291, fol. 187; Finke, Papsttum, ii. 228-9, doc. 124.

111. ACA, parch. Peter III, no. 26. Some of these revenues may have been used to buy property at Boquiñeni, for a series of small purchases of land was made there between 1260 and 1280; and these acquisitions may represent an attempt to put the convent on a sounder economic footing.

112. These houses had, however, recently been deprived of the patronage of certain churches: Miret y Sans, Les Cases, pp. 399-400.