restoration of Cocentaina’s Court of Justice volumes
The Valencia Institute for Conservation, Restoration and Research, known as IVCR+i, completed the conservation of three medieval books that reveal how justice operated in Cocentaina during the 14th century. These volumes shed light on the town’s judicial traditions, the municipal bodies that administered law, and the executive branches of local government. The documents include civil, criminal, and administrative records that once described court sessions, witness testimonies, debt liens, and property transactions, offering a vivid window into the daily lives of residents in the Middle Ages.
The restored volumes include Court of Justice 1303-1304, Court of Justice 1305, and Court of Justice 1303-1306. They were publicly presented in the Cocentaina Municipal Archive by the director of IVCR+i and by the mayor of Cocentaina. The event highlighted the importance of these records for understanding local governance during that era.
The Cocentaina Municipal Archive stands as one of the region’s most significant repositories, notable for both its breadth and its antiquity. The archive houses documents spanning from 1269 to the present, illustrating centuries of municipal activity and community life. An agreement reached in 2017 between the Cocentaina City Council and IVCR+i directed that three copies of this collection would be prepared to recover various manuscript volumes stored in the Municipal Archive each year. This collaboration underscored a shared commitment to preserving the town’s documentary heritage.
restoration process
The restoration addressed three parchment-cased volumes, each bound with flexible parchment and some with sign of wear from reuse. The paper is noteworthy for its Andalusian character, produced by hand through a traditional technique that involved grinding flax rags into a paste and binding sheets with starch. The process often leaves behind traces of blue threads from the original fabrics. No watermarks were found on the sheets. Andalusian paper typically presents a satin or even glossy surface when in good condition; in these volumes, however, the surface appeared dull and cottony due to microbial decay and weakened fibers. The parchment volumes showed layers of grime, flaking, missing sections, dryness, and pronounced folds. The spine had become deformed and lost its sewing function, threatening the structural integrity of the bindings.
The restoration involved several steps: cleaning the parchment caps with antifungals, addressing gaps and losses with Japanese paper, and carefully tinting repairs with watercolor. The main body of each book underwent dry cleaning, followed by immersion in a hydroalcoholic solution on a suction table. Cottony areas were stabilized with a highly diluted wheat starch spray. After the pre-consolidated zones dried, the text became legible again thanks to reinforcements using reintegrated, rewettable, low-weight Japanese paper prepared with wheat starch. The repairs matched the surrounding parchment and the color of the manuscript, ensuring a coherent appearance. The volumes were re-stitched using the original joining method where possible, preserving their historical workmanship. Finally, protective boxes were created to shield the volumes from environmental harm and handling damage, prolonging their life for future study and public access.
The project not only restored fragile pages but also safeguarded the authentic character of the manuscripts. The collaboration between IVCR+i and the Cocentaina municipal institutions reflects a careful balance between technical conservation methods and respect for historical materiality. By stabilizing the physical structure and reviving the legibility of the text, conservators enable researchers, students, and local citizens to engage with the town’s legal past in meaningful ways. The restored Court of Justice records now serve as a tangible link to medieval governance and everyday civic life in Cocentaina, illuminating how justice, administration, and community were interwoven in a bustling Valencian town.