WAYS OF LIFE

PARISHES AND VILLAGES

It is known that in many jurisdictions the territory didn't belong to a single liege lord but to several lords. The creation of parishes and villages responded to different factors, such as the existence of water, movement facilities, the level of protection and other human necessities.

The average distance between one parish and the next one used to range from 30 to 50 kilometres but it was not uncommon to find them at smaller distances between 10 and 15 kilometres on the main roads. These villages were mostly located around the church, which became the centre. The peasants looked for the security that sacred area offered them.

The houses were small and they were built one next to the other forming streets. They were 5 metres wide at the most. They had a rectangular or almost squared ground- plant, with an orchard or a yard at the back or at the front. The humblest houses were small and narrow (20-25 squared meters). Both the stable and the cellar were located at the basement while the rooms were on the first floor.

The structure of the town had a radial form.

The villages were protected and defended by the tower of the church that welcomed the peasants on dangerous occasions. The materials used varied according to the sort of building: from rock to clay mixed with lime in order to get far more consistency.

CASTLES, ELEGANT HOUSES AND FARMHOUSES

Throughout the XIIth. and XIIIth. centuries farmhouses became a popular dwelling .

The cause of that lies on a population's increase, the necessity of more food products and the interests of the noblemen who were eager to raise their rents.

The most important buildings were first the castles, then the towers and next the minor constructions such as farmhouses and "masos", typical Catalan cottages similar to a farmhouse. Mills and forges were located by the rivers and constituted another liege lord's monopoly.

The castle had a triple functionality: it was not only a military and administrative centre but also the home for the nobility, although the very beginning of the XIIIth. century marked the starting point of a certain abandonment. From this moment on the noblemen preferred to have palaces and elegant houses built in towns; even old defensive towers were altered to make castle-palaces.

The external aspect of the castles was that of a solid construction. The most traditional type consisted of a squared ground-plant building that included a circular tower. One of the most common characteristics in such sort of constructions was the continuous alterations and reforms according to the usage and to an improvement in the standard of living of the owners. The rooms were placed between the ground floor and the first and second floors, around an inner yard. There were also other auxiliary constructive elements as the henhouse, the stable, the cellar and the pantry. They also had wells for the water.

The ground floor of the castle was used as the pantry, the kitchen and the rooms for the staff. On the first floor there were the dining room, the living rooms.... Some of these rooms had a window to avoid darkness. Rooms like the living -room, the dining room or the kitchen were normally large and had high ceilings. On the other hand, walls, towers and moats were military elements. There are from one to five domus inside the enclosure of the castle, always located in visible places. They would communicate each other with fire signs or smoke in the case of danger. They can be identified as strongholds that complete the defence of the territory of the castle.

We also find towers situated near the towns, built or reformed by noblemen or rich citizens. The tower was used as a place where to get some rest or on the occasion when the liege lords had to collect the censuses or when life in towns got complicated (pests...)

These towers were located in valleys and they were surrounded by trees ... There was usually an inner yard, a chapel, the kitchen, the barns, the rooms for the staff and the cellar. They were houses were agriculture played a key role; this fact would explain the existence of wine- presses, wine containers...

There was a basement and a first floor, with a chapel (separated from the house). There were more or less 20 rooms, most of them were used as barns and for other working tasks. Other rooms like the kitchen or the pantry... were only for the residents There was also a room where weapons were kept and even a prison room could be found.

The farmhouse is the result of the transformation of the old cottage throughout the XIIth. century. The kitchen-dining room and the bedroom. Were the most important rooms A part from that there were the stables (pigs, cows, horses...)

From the second half of the XIIth. century to the beginning of the XIIIth.century a new modality of construction was introduced in Catalonia : la "masía" or typical Catalan cottage. It was a squared-ground plant building with two floors, a roof and stone walls. The ground floor was for the livestock, which gave off heat to the inhabitants of the house who lived on the first and second floors. On the first floor we find the kitchen also used as a dining room; on the second, the bedrooms and the barn.

This construction was predominant in mountainous areas. Those on the coast had a rectangular ground plant, and a loft .An oven could also exist.