María Rosa Muñoz, Regina Pinilla Pérez de Tudela
The participation of the towns in the Cortes of Valencia (13th‐17th centuries) The subject under examination is the role of the cities and the royal towns in the Cortes of Valencia in the period of the kingdom's legal autonomy from the thirteenth to the seventeenth century (l'époque forale).
Their participation can be traced through the reports or acts of the individual sessions of the Cortes, verified by other essential documentation (charters, grants, grievances), and through the information given in royal (chancellory, chamber, etc.) and municipal sources (royal privileges, minute books, letters, claverías).
All that provides us with essential information for establishing the participation of each city and town during the foral period, the form of the summons, the methods of appointment and the representativeness of their syndics, the interests and benefits involved, the meetings, course, function and costs of the Cortes. Furthermore, there are indications of the debates which the city of Valencia conducted parallel with the Cortes, showing the important impact as well as the lesser effects of these discussions on the decisions and conclusions of the Cortes.