ABSTRACT
Provence, whose rulers recognized the emperor as their suzerain, had been since 1113 in the hands of a cadet branch of the counts of Barcelona. Provence was emerging from its chrysalis as a bundle of comital rights unevenly spread and random in incidence across the county, into an expanding state controlled by one administration relying on one set of laws. The seneschal of Provence, an official instituted by Charles in 1246, took responsibility for the administration. He was assisted by a council whose members were appointed by the count-king; this juge-mage took charge of legal matters, a treasurer of financial; and beneath them, crucial to the operation of the whole, were the baillis in each locality. In the Roman Empire, Provence had enjoyed great prosperity. From the seventh to the early thirteenth century, circumstances had conspired to limit its potential as a crossroads between the Mediterranean and the north.
