ABSTRACT
Historians of the Realms of Aragon should not find this so surprising considering the famous story of how, upon hearing him blaspheme, the Majorcan evangelist Ramon Llull disciplined his enslaved but purportedly esteemed teacher of Arabic. Llull's treatment of his tutor reveals the attitudes of thirteenth-century Catalans, who viewed Muslim slaves as chattel, members of the household distinctly subaltern to anyone else. The institutions of slavery in thirteenth-century Perpignan were local versions of the system that was a hallmark of the Realms of Aragon. Slavery was widely condoned, by the Church as much as the Crown, and the local primate, the bishop of Elne, himself owned eight slaves, as mentioned in his will of 18 February 1259. This chapter argues that the unfortunate position of enslaved women in comparison to servant women was one result. Christian hegemony was maintained at home in relations with Muslim and newly baptized slave women.
