Land, Ceramics and Seigniorial Rents in the Late Middle Ages: the Manor of Manises in the Kingdom of Valencia, c. 1400-1575

Abstract

During the last two centuries of the Late Middle Ages lords experienced a substantial fall in rents, which was exacerbated in the case of Valencia due to the small size of local manors. The will to keep their levels of incomes brought lords to demand higher burdens from their vassals, especially Muslims, while some nobles, in addition, invested in the productive structures of their estates. Such was the case in the manor of Manises, where since the early fourteenth century an important ceramic manufacturing had developed, which attracted the interest of buyers from all over Europe. This production took place in a medium-sized manorial village, inhabited by a mixed population of Muslims and Christians, which maintained its engagement with agricultural labour. The aim of this article is to analyse the rents of the manor of Manises through two unpublished and exceptional manorial sources, namely, two registries datable from the early fifteenth century and the early sixteenth century respectively, although the latter continued to be used until the end of the century. These allow the exploration of the structure of seigniorial revenues, showing the incidence that agrarian rents and those coming from ceramic production represented over the total. The tendency followed by the manorial rents in the long run is addressed and compared to those of other contemporary locations of the Kingdom of Valencia. Finally, the involvement of vassals in agriculture and ceramic manufacturing is also explored.