Münzer On The Road: Perpignan to Figueres

Münzer's Account:
1494:"The 19th of September, leaving Perpignan, after traveling three leagues along the foothills of the Pyrenees Mountains, we arrived at a castle that has the name of Le Boulou, and through the mountain defile that is called El Port, or the mountain pass, penetrating by a very rough, nearly impassable and abrupt path, and passing on the right La Guardia, a handsome fortress on a very high peak, having passed all these mountains, we penetrated into Catalonia, by the castles of La Junquera and of Figueres."

A word from the Art Historians: Perpignan:

As art historians we value many objects and sites that Münzer and his contemporaries would have taken for granted. Altarpieces in churches, for example, would have been part of the furniture unless they were brand new or of precious materials, or if they had some sort of special religious reference. There is, for example, a carved 15th century retable of the Virgin in the church of St. John the Baptist that I, as a 15th century specialist find interesting. If Münzer even visited this church, he never writes about it, much less its ornamentation. And even if he were there, retables were generally covered by curtains unless mass was being said at the high altar or chapel.

Also, Perpignan was a major stopping place for the eastern branch of pilgrims' route to Santiago de Compostela. By the 15th century, this pilgrimage route was far less vital than it had been in centuries past--Rome was more important now. Münzer never mentions Perpignan or any of the other pilgrimage towns that he would later visit in western Spain as such, and his only citation of Santiago in connection with the pilgrimage at all was a disparaging one when he describes the city's permanent citizens: "the people are so dirty—they have many pigs that they sell at a very cheaply—and so lazy that they only concern themselves minimally with the cultivation of the land, and live in general from their earnings from the pilgrims."

You could say that the narrow streets of the old part of Perpignan still wind in their convoluted way as they did in Münzer's day, though the street names and many of the old buildings have been modernized. Distinctive to the region are construction methods and the wooden shutters.

Pictures: (1) Porch of St. Jacques; the saint of Santiago de Compostela. The present church on this site was begun in the 14th century. (2) Detail of facade of the Casa Sanxo, a cloth-merchant's mansion begun in the early 16th century. It's type of stone work is typical of earlier medieval Perpignan architecture; (3) Retable of the Virgin, Dominican Chapel, late 15th century.

What Münzer Would Never Have Seen

What Münzer Could Never Have Seen

Modern Perpignan is, of course far bigger than its original walled entity, and its surrounding walls long demolished. Münzer stayed outside the walls at a noble's estate. This is probably now engulfed by the Perpignan expanded urban area.

Today, since Perpignan is part of France and, by extension the European Union, produce comes from all members of the union and beyond, and the cloth manufacturing trade has long been outsourced to less expensive places. On the other hand, local wine is still produced, though the sweet, heavy muscats have largely given way to local dry wines of the Roussillon region, such as the red grenache blend we enjoyed this evening at an al fresco restaurant.

One other note: street signs and tourist markers are bilingual: French and Catalan, in tribute to Perpignan's Catalan past, but very few people here speak Catalan! French rules, and so, rightly does France.

Pictures: (1) Red wine in an outdoor restaurant; (2-3) a contemporary wine-bar and its "produce;" (4) European Community produce in a supermarket.

What Münzer could have seen

What Münzer Could Have Seen:

Münzer probably would not have entered the Palace of The Kings of Mallorca, built in the 14th century. Its access would have been limited to the military and the nobility, and, in 1494, this were still precarious, though Ferdinand and Isabella had stayed in the palace the previous year.

He could, however, have seen the city gate (though he stayed outside of the city), a vestige of the walls that encompassed the city in the 15th century, as well as such artisan's shops as this modern carpenter's atelier (with an old sign)

The old part of Perpignan has undergone so many modifications, including the extensive revision of street names (sometimes several times over the centuries), so that it is difficult to reconstruct the ambiance of the late 15th century.

Pictures (top to bottom): (1) A modern carpenter's shop in the old part of the city, with a medieval-model shop sign; (2) The "Castellet," originally a gate in the city walls, now a natural history museum; (3) Exterior of the Palace of the Kings of Mallorca.

What Münzer probably saw in Perpignan

What Münzer Probably Saw in Perpignan
Though Münzer would later climb the highest tower in key locations to "contemplate the view" as a true cartographer, he apparently did not do this in Perpignan, where his visit was rather brief. Perpignan had only recently returned to Hispanic rule under the combined realms of Fernando and Isabel in 1493--Juan II of Aragon had previously ceded it to the Kingdom of France several decades before in exchange for aid in his civil war against the Catalans (and Münzer erroneously reports the change in regime to 1492). He does not mention, nor would he have been able to enter, the big Fortress of the Kings of Mallorca built under Jaume II, which was now a defensive bastion against French attack, though its fortified profile dominates the medieval city.

What he did remark on was the relative flatness of Perpignan, which made it fertile, and the fact that it was surrounded on three sides by mountains. He also discussed the
richness of local produce, and the cloth industry.

He also talked about the church of Santa Maria, still under construction. Here we reached a bit of an impasse: there were two churches dedicated to the Virgin, a smaller chapel Nostra Senyora dels Angels, formerly part of a Franciscan convent (and now a museum), and Santa Maria la Real, the parish church for the fortress. Most of the late medieval construction in Perpignan dates from its heyday in the 14th century, and we were unable, on an admittedly short visit, to determine when the vaulting on its 14th century churches, Saint John the Baptist, Saint James, the chapel of Nostra Senyora dels Angels, and Santa Maria la Real were completed. Santa Maria del Real has been given a 19th century facelift (including the nave vaults that Münzer mentions), though its basic plan is Catalan Gothic, and it is this church that we have elected to show here with all its modernization.

In spite of the fact that the garden and grape vines that we show here were from just a bit further south, crop layouts and the products haven't changed much, so we show them here.

The pictures, top to bottom: Grapevines (1) Santa Maria la Real, plan (actually a modern fire-exit map) (2 and 3) Grapevines and a garden near Perpignan; (4)Santa Maria la Real Interior; (5) Street market with peaches and apricots; (5) A view of Perpignan with surrounding mountains from a tower of the Palace of the Kings of Mallorca.

Perpignan According to Münzer

1494:" The 17th of September, after traveling nine leagues [a league equals 2-3 miles], from Narbonne we arrived at Perpignan, a famous town. At the foot of the Pyrenees Mountains, there exists a very pretty plain, seven leagues long and seven wide. The Pyrenees Mountains surround it at the north, south, and west; to the east is the sea. This plain is called the county of Roussillon. It has around a hundred cities, castles, and fortresses, and its principal city is Perpignan. The land is famous for all sorts of produce, principally the delicious Muscat wine. This city resembles, in my opinion, Ulm, with its merchants and its fine woolen cloth. The most outstanding church is the one dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, recently built, but not totally finished. I never saw such high arches."

"In September, which was when we were there, one could find in plenty pomegranates, oranges, grapes, figs, almonds, loquats, peaches and other innumerable fruits. Truly, a meticulous observer would believe it to be a paradise."

"This county, thirty years ago, belonged to the jurisdiction of the King of France, who received it as a pledge from the King of Aragon. But in the year of the conquest of Granada, the King of Spain reclaimed it, it was returned with good will by the King of France, and presently it is under the Spanish scepter."

Prologue: July 6

We are two on the Perpignan-Girona section of the journey. Myself, (Judith Sobré) and Julio Benitez, my former student and now art historical colleague.

We are in Girona, and will head up to Perpinyá (Perpignon) shortly. Stay tuned!