The Universitat de València commemorates 750 years of the legacy of James I

The conference will tackle the historical formation of the kingdom of Valencia, the government, the society and the culture of the 13th century, as well as the later portrayal and use of the figure of James I. The Paraninfo of the UV will host the opening session and the academic sessions will take place at the Faculty of Geography of the UV, the Centre deI Carme. Contemporary Culture (CCCC) and the Cultural Centre La Beneficiencia.

The Universitat de València, the Generalitat Valenciana and the Council of Valencia are in charge of organising the event. The opening session will feature interventions from the principal of the Universitat de València, Juan Luis Gandía; the minister of Education, Culture, Universities and Employment of the Generalitat Valenciana, María del Carmen Ortí; and the president of the Council of Valencia, Vicente José Mompó, and the president of the congress, Antoni Furió, professor of Medieval History at the UV.

The conquest of Valencia by James I and the establishment of the new kingdom are main historical events of the city. For the 750th anniversary of his dead, the congress "wants to contribute rigorously and abundantly in order to enrich the knowledge about the past, understand the present and think about the future that we want to build", Furió remarks. Therefore, offers the opportunity to understand "how every decade has built its own image of the monarch and how it prevails to present days in debates about our identity", he adds.

The programme pays special attention "to the presence of the defeated, the women of that time and the open-mindedness about the kingdom", Furió mentions. In this context, he analyses "institutions, justice, Fueros, business, currency, writing, and art. That allows the placing of the monarch within his own world and the understanding of the people and the processes that made it possible", the president of the symposium remarked.

Moreover, "a core idea is the study on the life of James I: from the image he created for himself in the Llibre del fets to the commemorations and the later representations. That is what gives meaning to the title "From the past to the present"; studying the king of the 13th century as well as the various ways of remembering him over the centuries", Furió concludes.

The activity, which is free entrance until capacity is reached, is intended for the university community, the research staff, the students, and anyone interested in Medieval History and the historical evolution of the Valencian territory.