Notariado y Hacienda Pública en el reino de Navarra: el devengo de los sellos del rey (1294-1414) [Notaries and Public Treasury in the Kingdom of Navarra: the tax for royal sealing of documents (1294-1414)]

Abstract

In the kingdom of Navarre from the midthirteenth century on, there is evidence that private use of writing increases greatly and that loan and sales agreements are more and more often signed before a notary. One can say that notaries, particularly in the Mediterranean area, where Roman Law prevails, were endowed with some legal training and, therefore, had legal authority to attest documents. They are known as «signnotaries», to differentiate them from those from northern areas of Western Europe, where the «seal-notaries» are predominant, whose jurisdiction was freely granted. From the point of view of the tax system, in Navarra both procedures converge. Perhaps that is why, for decades, notary tributes have been identified with the rights of the royal...