Economy and society in Andorra in the Middle Ages. Some elements of reflection

Abstract

Using a very small number of available sources, medieval Andorra is analysed by considering the pressure exerted by nobility (from outside the valleys), the role of the Church, and the emergence of the local community (and its main houses) as a force able to manage the uses of its land. Noble income was concentrated in tithes, but was nonetheless low. The fundamental role of farming activity during the High Middle Ages gave rise to a greater emphasis on stockbreeding with the organized exploitation of pastures, the establishment of transhumance routes and the development of wide-ranging commercial contracts, which by the fourteenth century formed an essential part of the Andorran economy.