• - Royal Chancellery, which is made up of two different parts:
- Records drawn up in the Royal Chancery referring to the ancient kingdom of Valencia, divided by series, from the creation of the Royal Archive in 1419 to the abolition of the Valencian charters in 1707. Includes 1680 books.[6]
- The 3,400 original Royal Letters, written on paper and with the autograph signature of the monarchs, from James II to Charles IV, as well as some queens and infants. They generally refer to economic matters and are normally payment orders addressed to the officials who were in charge of the Royal Treasury.[6].
• - Rational Master. This archive was created in 1419 together with that of the Royal Chancellery and that of the Royal Court, forming the Royal Archive. It includes documentation prior to its date of constitution, of the local justices since the middle of the century, of the accounts of the General Bailiwick and of the local bailiwicks since 1380 and 1371, of the mint of Valencia" since 1374. The rational master kept the accounting of the Royal Treasury. His control activity extended to all those individuals and officials who managed funds or administered assets of said Treasury.[3]
- Books. It includes 12,610 books from between 1355 and 1707, the result of the institution's accounting and auditing activity.[3]
- Scrolls. It includes 54,023 apocas (receipts) from between 1302 and 1707, which were separated from the account books and arranged chronologically.[3].
• - Royal Audience. It includes 589 books and 160,527 files on judicial matters, from between 1349 and 1835. It is divided into nine sub-funds.[9]
- Civil proceedings, includes files 55,148 from between 1349 and 1706.[9]
- Criminal proceedings. The 3,756 files that make it up are only a part of those that were originally processed. They range from the century to .[9]
- Madrid processes. It groups together the lawsuits that, after being processed before the Royal Court of Appeal, were appealed to the Supreme Council of Aragon, whose headquarters were in Madrid. It collects 4942 files from between 1452 and 1679.[9]
- Sentences. 73,395 sentences are collected in its 477 boxes, with documents from between 1492 and 1707.[9]
- Civil and criminal conclusions. 166 books from between 1571 and 1679.[9]
- Judicial records and peaces and truces. Consisting of 41 books from between 1513 and 1707. The series is very incomplete. The oldest books contain the peaces and truces signed by individuals before the Royal Court, while the most modern books record daily the proceedings of this court related to the cases heard before it.[9]
- Royal Agreement. 147 books from between 1707 and 1835. The material they include is not judicial, but administrative. The minutes of the sessions of the Royal Agreement are collected, orders and laws that came from the Court, consultations carried out, appointments of officials, provisions taken in matters of their concern, such as education, supplies, public health, guilds, agriculture, and festivals, among others.[9]
- Chamber Clerks. 23,286 files from between 1707 and 1920. They frequently include copies of previous documents whose originals have been lost.[9]
- Records of the Royal Post-Foral Court. 235 books from between 1708 and 1834.[9].
• - Government. Made up of 4,901 books from between 1346 and 1707. The documentation preserved at the beginning of the century corresponds to that originated by the curia of the Governor or his lieutenant general in Valencia, although through documentation such as correspondence, appeals or reviews of cases, the activity of the governor of Orihuela can be known (the remains of whose archive are kept in the Historic of Orihuela) and the lieutenants of Játiva and Castellón de la Plana. The series begins around 1380, with some scattered elements from 1346, and continues very homogeneously until 1705.[10].
• - General Bailiwick and Intendancy. This section consists of 1964 books, 19,740 files and 1,408 parchments, dated between 1302 and 1872. After the conquest of the kingdom of Valencia by James I, the administration of the Royal Treasury was entrusted to the general bailiff of the kingdom of Valencia, an important official integrated into the financial administration of the crown. It was his responsibility to discern the right between the Treasury and individuals, and to administer the Royal Patrimony. He was also the exclusive judge of royal Moors and Jews, and knew about water and fishing businesses, crimes committed at sea, authorizations to assemble ships and practice foreign trade, the leasing of royal property and rights, the supervision and control of local dances named in royal places, and the defense of the Royal Heritage. When the charters were abolished in 1707, a new official was established - the mayor - who was in charge of the government of the Royal Treasury. The powers of the General Bailiwick and the Patrimonial Board fell upon him. The jurisdiction over mountains, herbs, uncultivated lands, rivers and waters, weights and measures, butcher shops, mines, establishment of lands, ovens and mills, etc. was the responsibility of the mayor. Jurisdiction in cases of amortization and in those of the Royal Acequia of Alcira was also recognized as exclusive to the mayors. They exercised their jurisdiction over the Albufera since its reincorporation to the Crown in 1761, and over the Alicante Reservoir since 1739. The Archive of the General Bailiwick is made up of books, files (grouped in series called Letters A, AA, AE, B, C, E, P and P-I) and parchments.[11]
- Books. There are 1964 pieces from the period 1306-1872.[11]
- Special Court of the Amortization and seal branch (Letter A). It includes 3,541 records from 1739 to 1842. Amortization was one of the royalties of the Crown in Valencia. The right of amortization was the payment demanded by the Crown when the assets of the royal estate passed into the possession of dead hands, that is, churches, monasteries or ecclesiastical persons.[11]
- Administration of the Albufera (Letter AA). It includes 2,548 files from 1747 to 1843. It collects the documents corresponding to the administration of the Albufera products.[11]
- Alicante Swamp (Letter AE). It includes 175 files from 1587 to 1839. It includes documentation relating to the Bailiwick of Alicante and more specifically to the Tibi reservoir, completed in 1594,[12] which was incorporated into the Royal Heritage by Philip V in 1739.[11]
- Local bailiwicks and Royal Palace (Letter B). It is made up of 532 files from 1708 to 1858. It includes documentation of very diverse content related to the administration of the Royal Patrimony: on the Royal Palace, accounts of the local bailiwicks, tax leases, cabreves "(catalogue book of documents in which the survey of the properties of a bailiwick appears),[13] establishments, in others.[11]
- Accounts (Letter C). This series fundamentally includes the accounts of the royal coffers for various concepts: works and festivities in the Royal Palace, payments and leases of different taxes, ovens, butcher shops, rents from chaplaincies, census pensions, etc. The series also contains economic documentation of the different local bailiwicks.[11]
- Special Court of the Royal Heritage. Establishments (Letter E). Includes 5,242 files from 1708 to 1836.[11]
- Special Court of the Royal Heritage. Processes of the General Intendancy (Letter P-I). It includes 4,922 files from 1700 to 1838. The documentation of the Special Court of the Royal Patrimony was organized into two series, Letter E (Establishments), and Letter P-I (Processes of the Municipality), which are complementary. The matters they deal with are essentially lawsuits over establishments of ovens, mills, uncultivated lands, waters and irrigation ditches.[11]
- Processes of the General Bailiwick (Letter P). It includes 1,377 files from 1401 to 1598. These are files substantiated before the court of the General Bailiwick of Valencia over the centuries and .[11]
- Scrolls. There are 1408 pieces from the period 1302-1656.[11].
• - Generality. It is made up of 5023 books from the period 1403-1718. They include organic documentation, such as orders approved in the Cortes for its operation, agreements on political, administrative and economic problems, appointments, letters on the election of deputies, reports on the state of the city and kingdom; and economic or accounting documentation, such as chapters or ordinances for the leasing of generalities, account books and judicial documentation on the scope of their jurisdiction.[14].
• - Justices of Valencia. Included in this section are 6,401 books and 338 files, dated between 1279 and 1848. James I created the position of Justice "Justice (foral charge of Valencia)") in 1238, the date of the conquest of the city. Initially, it handled all civil and criminal cases in the city. In 1321 the institution was reformed, creating a civil justice system and a criminal justice system. The Justice archive suffered damage over time, such as in 1586 when part of the criminal archives were lost in a fire, or during the century due to poor conservation. The current funds are divided into four subsections:[15]
- Justice of Valencia. It brings together the documentation of the period between 1279 and 1321 in 42 books.[15]
- Civil Justice. 4,360 books and 338 files make up this subsection, which brings together materials from 1321 to 1707. It is, therefore, the largest subsection, and is divided into three main series. The so-called Manaments i empares is in fact a public registry established in Valencia where various documents were recorded on a voluntary basis and which, protected by the prestige enjoyed by the civil justice system, acquired the same legal value of authenticity as the original documents. The so-called Royal Justice brings together mostly extrajudicial documents, also registered voluntarily. Finally, the Real Executory Orders are public issued by the superior courts of Justice, in which a final non-appealable sentence is recorded.[15]
- Criminal Justice. It includes the period from 1352 to 1695, collected in 104 books. It was damaged by the fire of 1586. In addition, almost the entire century is missing and there are large gaps in the documentation.[15]
- Justice of Three Hundred Salaries. In 1307 James II created a subjustice for cases of up to thirty salaries, an amount that rose to fifty in 1321 and three hundred in the time of Peter IV. The subsection covers the period 1319-1629 and is made up of 1169 books.[15].
• - Clergy. This section consists of 4,270 books, 2,536 boxes and 3,061 parchments, dated between 1245 and 1851. At the beginning of the second third of the century, the Confiscation took place, which cut short the life of most religious institutions. Their documentation was taken to the Valencia Treasury Delegation to proceed with the sale of the assets of the exclaustrated religious. Once this sale was completed, the documentation was deposited, in 1904, in the then called General Archive of Valencia, to be used for historical purposes. As the interest of the Treasury lay in selling the properties, most of the documentation in this section is of an economic nature (property titles, censuses) or legal (lawsuits). The books related to the daily life of the religious or to aspects such as the artists who built, decorated or equipped churches and monastic buildings have not been preserved.[16] Two large sections are distinguished:
- Convents: Includes documentation from the monasteries and abbeys of Cistercians, Hieronymites, Carthusians, Dominicans, Franciscans, Augustinians, Jesuits, Carmelites, Mercedarians, Trinitarians, among others. This group also includes the Military Orders and the Inquisition.[16]
- Parishes: Includes documentation of parishes in the capital (San Pedro, San Andrés, San Bartolomé, San Esteban "Iglesia de San Esteban (Valencia)"), San Lorenzo, San Martín, San Nicolás, [[Church of the Holy Christ of the Savior (Valencia)[edit code · edit].
Church of the Holy Christ of|El Salvador]], San Valero, Santa Cruz, Santo Tomás, Santos Juanes "Church of the Holy Juanes (Valencia)"), Santa Catalina "Church of Santa Catalina (Valencia)")) as well as other towns (Adzaneta, Agullent, Alberique, Alboraya, Alcira, Alcublas, Alfarrasí, Almácera, Alpuente, Anna, Ayelo de Malferit, Bellreguart, Benaguacil, Beniganim, Benimuslem, Benisanó, Benisuera, Bicorp, Canals "Canals (Valencia)"), Carcagente, Carlet, Chelva, Chiva "Chiva (Spain)"), Gandía, Godelleta, Liria, Losa del Villar"), Losa del Obispo, Moncada, Montaverner, Oliva "Oliva (Valencia)"), Ollería, Onteniente, Pedralba "Pedralba (Valencia)"), Pobla de Vallbona, Puzol, Sagunto, Segorbe, Sempere, Tuéjar, Villamarchante, Villanueva de Castellón, Vinalesa, Játiva).[16].
• - Notary records. Composed of 15,786 books covering the period between 1285 and 1897, it is the most consulted section and covers a broader period. The writings contained in these records cover very varied types. There is a very abundant group of deeds of sale, both for land and houses, as well as census records, which in turn are subdivided into carregaments, quitaments, amortizations, licenses and others. Another important section is that of last wills and their consequences: wills, codicils, inventories and divisions of assets. In addition, other groups, less numerous, are preserved, such as nuptial letters, works contracts, syndicates, apocas, sureties, company constitutions or labor contracts. The protocols refer for the most part to the city of Valencia, since the notaries who drafted them were from this city, although there are also records from the notarial districts of Sagunto, Ayora "Ayora (Spain)"), Sueca and Carlet.[17].
• - Mortgage accounting. The "mortgage accounts" were created in 1768 to reflect the charges and encumbrances, such as censuses or mortgages, that there may be on the assets, so that in the event of the transfer of any asset it would be clear whether it was free or subject to charges. The Archive only preserves that of the district of Sueca, corresponding to that town, Sollana, Cullera, Tabernes de Valldigna, Almusafes and Albalat de la Ribera. The dates included In its 163 books they go from 1769 to 1836.[18].
• - Trade brokers. In 1988, the record books of commercial operations that were kept in the Official College of Commercial Brokers of Valencia were incorporated into the Archive. This section is made up of 2416 books.[19].
• - Delegated Central Administration. It collects documentation from between 1839 and 1992 corresponding to the territorial delegations of different ministries. Its total volume is 17,560 books and 37,011 files, most of which (15,660 and 21,908), respectively, correspond to the Treasury Delegation, which includes the delegations of Industry "Ministry of Industry (Spain)") and Labor "Ministry of Labor (Spain)"). The rest is made up of documentation - generally fragmentary and incomplete - from delegations such as Agriculture, Education and Science, Commerce") and Information and Tourism; as well as from other organizations such as the Women's Section, Movement Press or Unions.[20].
• - Territorial Court of Valencia. The Territorial Court of Valencia was the highest body of justice in the region between 1834, when it replaced the Royal Court, and 1985, when the Organic Law of the Judiciary replaced it with the Superior Court of Justice of the Valencian Community. The documentation preserved in the Archive belongs to the period between 1850 and 1917, and survived the Civil War. It is collected in 251 books and 552 files that mainly contain documents of an administrative nature, such as appointments, records of minutes, inventories or electoral censuses.[21].
• - Courts of Valencia. This fund collects 4,182 files from the nine first instance and investigative courts based in the city of Valencia. They cover the period between 1937 and 1960, primarily dealing with civil matters.[22].
• - Labor Magistrates. This section includes 6,531 files from between 1927 and 1979. The Judiciaries were established in 1938; The presence of previous documentation is due to the fact that funds from the Mixed Juries of the Second Republic and other previous ones are also included here.[23].
• - Various. It includes diverse documentation from 1236 to 1974, collected in 962 books, 903 boxes, 2219 files and 145 parchments. This section is made up of small funds, collections and loose documents that appear between the sections of the Archive but have no organic relationship with them. Along with this material there are family and private archives, as well as donations, deposits and documentary funds from various sources: union institutions, seminaries, the Turia River Irrigation Canal), among others.[24]
- Turia River Irrigation Canal. It includes the documentation deposited in 1995 in the Archive and spanning from 1824, when the Canal was founded, until 1950. It is collected in 62 books and 105 boxes.[24]
- House of Alaquás. The fifteen boxes and the 414 files that make up this subsection contain documentation on the activities - especially the economic ones - of the lords of Alacuás. The documentation extends from 1367 to 1878.[24]
- Archive of the Calatayud-Enríquez de Navarra family. In 1980, this family donated its archive to the State, prepared by several generations of the same, and which included documents from between 1331 and 1974. It is preserved in 124 boxes and 99 parchments.[24]
- Collection Letters to the Viceroys. 329 folders that collect the correspondence sent and received by certain viceroys during the centuries and .[24]
- Municipal funds of the town of Alpuente. In 1937 the remains of the municipal archive of the town of Alpuente were contributed to the Archive. The documents date from between 1236 and 1895, and are collected in a box, six books, 39 files and 39 parchments. They are a partial sample of what must have initially constituted the Alpontine archive.[24]
- Backgrounds In Pere Maria Orts i Bosch. This Valencian researcher donated various very disparate documentation between 1985 and 1997. It is dated between 1412 and 1950, and preserved in twenty-one books, fourteen boxes and seven scrolls.[24]
- Union files: carpenters, rope makers), shoemakers and others. It includes 643 books, 91 boxes and 1,488 files, with documentation from the 13th to 20th centuries. Union documentation has been contributed to the Archive in various ways and at various times. Thus in 1897 the archive of the Shoemakers' Guild was received. During the Civil War, documents and parts of archives were deposited that were at risk of being destroyed, as happened with the Gremio de Sogueros. In 1988 the archive of the Carpenters' Guild was received, which is exceptionally complete. On the other hand, also in 1988, documentary collections from various guilds were purchased from the heirs of Nicolau Primitiu Gómez Serrano.[24]
- Seminar of Nobles of Valencia. It consists of documentation from the 16th to the 19th centuries, collected in fifty books and 79 boxes. The Seminary of Nobles of San Ignacio in the city of Valencia was founded in 1670 by the Company of Jesus and after the expulsion of the Jesuits, the Royal Seminary of Nobles Educandos was created (1773-1847). Later it became first a Royal College and then a Secondary Education Institute.[24]
- Varies. It includes heterogeneous documentation of very diverse origin, as its name indicates. Municipal, ecclesiastical, noble and private documentation appears in this subsection, such as merchants' accounting books. It includes documents between 1333 and 1938, collected in 180 books and 126 boxes. This documentation has no organic relationship with any of the other sections of the Archive.[24]
- Miscellaneous Justice. Nineteen boxes and 278 files, dated between 1444 and 1823. It brings together an unconnected series of processes before various special courts (Mayor's Office, General Captaincy, special commissioners, Consulate of the Sea, Inquisition) that were in the Royal Court.[24].
• - Scrolls. This section includes more than 2300 pieces. It was formed factitially based on the material in which the documents are collected, parchment. For this reason, it is not a body of documents coherent with each other, being distributed in nine subsections.[25]
- 165 royal parchments, from between 1238 and 1544, from the Royal Chancellery and which are endorsed by the royal seal or the autograph signature of the sovereign. These are not all the scrolls of these characteristics that are in the Archive, as there are another three hundred royal scrolls distributed in other sections.[25]
- 47 papal parchments, between 1386 and 1795, from the papal chancelleries of both Rome and Avignon. Although they are usually known as bulls, they actually include privileges, letters patent and briefs. Some pontifical parchments are archived in other sections.[25]
- Three Arabic parchments, from between 1223 and 1577. Although there are many other documents in Arabic in the Archive, only these are written on parchment.[25]
- Parchments of Segorbe. Set made up of 457 pieces that cover the period from 1232 to 1907. They refer to the history of Segorbe, its region and its diocese. They include royal, pontifical and ecclesiastical, municipal and private parchments. They were added to the Archive after being saved from being transformed into paper pulp during the Civil War.[25]
- Scrolls of Malferit. There are 52 or 53 scrolls from between 1387 and 1502 that refer to the Mercader family, which was later linked to the Malferit family.[25]
- Mislata Scrolls. These are eighteen scrolls from between 1344 and 1546, referring to the Mislata manor. Among other facts, they refer to the changes of lordship between the Codinats and the Ximénez de Urrea.[25]
- Scrolls from the Ceramics Museum. There are 35 pieces from between 1394 and 1627, of varied origin.[25]
- 278 scrolls that were part of the library of Nicolau Primitiu Gómez Serrano. They belong to the material donated by the owner to the Valencian people.[25]
- Nearly three hundred parchments that Vicente Genovés, professor of History, had inherited from his family. They are of a very diverse type and are mainly notarial in nature.[25].
• - Maps and plans. The collection, which at the beginning of the century was close to six hundred pieces, is mainly composed of maps and plans extracted from the documents of the other sections in order to preserve them in the best conditions. These documents are, due to their origin, heterogeneous in style, theme and purpose. On the other hand, a small number of pieces come from donations or have been expressly acquired.[26].
• - Sigilographic collection. It brings together "Seal (stamp)" stamps from documents dated between 1309 and 1829. The collection was collected since the sixties of the century, based on stamps detached from documents. Due to its extension in time and its origin, the techniques and materials used are very varied. Thus it includes medieval seals in beeswax, virgin or pigmented; as well as sealing wax seals from the 16th century onwards. Wafer stamps are found from modern times. Lead is often used in outstanding seals detached from royal and pontifical documents. The collection also includes reproductions acquired for educational purposes.[27].