Encarcelamiento y violencias en un dominio feudal a la luz de los registros de la Baronía de Llagostera (s. XIV)"

The article analyzes the role played by prisons in a baronial state by the mid- fourteenth century. As a means to explore it, the study case of the so-called Barony of Llagostera, in northeastern Catalonia, is presented. The study derives from the collection of judiciary evidences produced by the lordship, abundantly preserved for this period. Given the general lack of knowledge about the possibilities offered by this type of source, the main documentary typologies that appear useful in analyzing imprisonment and reclusion are discussed. Subsequently, the institution –the prison itself– is described, assessing how the lesee of the service, in small seignorial estates, offered their own home as a place for confinement. With a sample of 162 documented incarcerations and a collection of violent incidents, it goes on to analyzing the reasons why the jurisdictional court chose to send someone to prison. To this regard, several main reasons are presented: offenses against the jurisdiction of the lord, robberies and trespass, aggressions and homicides, and debts. Through analysis of the casuistry and also of legal ordinances, it is recognized that the functions of the prison were essentially preventive: it was used to retain the inmate only temporarily. It was also a tool to negotiate with the victim, the complainant or the jurisdictional court itself as to reach an agreement. Finally, the release from prison is addressed. This mostly took place through a specific proceeding known as manlleuta, by which a family member or friend of the prisoner, acting as a guardian, released him from prison, committing himself to his good behavior and, mostly, to his return to court whenever it was required in order to attend subsequent phases of the lawsuit. Keywords: Gaol, prison, violence, jurisdiction, jurisdictional courts, feudalism.