Este artículo razona cómo las esculturas yacentes ad similitudinem de las tumbas episcopales de los siglos XIII y XIV, además de excitar el recuerdo del difunto, visualizaban la condición perceptible que ofrecerían los prelados tras ser elegidos en el Juicio, alcanzar el Cielo y gozar de la visión beatífica. La polémica especulación de que el alma pudiera ver a Dios antes de la reintegración con su cuerpo no fue ajena a la sede de Tarragona en 1330-1350. Las sepulturas monumentales de los arzobispos Juan de Aragón y Arnau Sescomes, implicados en esa deliberación teológica, remiten al pasado tanto como al futuro, multidireccional y simultáneamente.

Tras la reflexión acerca del papel y la función de la Historia del Arte en la sociedad, el grupo interdisciplinar “Ars Memoriae” ha decidido focalizar sus esfuerzos en la educación postobligatoria. Convencidos de que una mejora en la relación de diálogo entre los profesores de la Universidad y Secundaria repercute positivamente en la enseñanza-aprendizaje de nuestra disciplina, el proyecto que aquí se presenta pretende estimular a los alumnos a disfrutar del Arte desde una perspectiva actualizada, crítica y rigurosa en la que se ponen en valor las últimas aportaciones de los especialistas. Sólo desde la cooperación entre las dos etapas formativas se pueden entender mejor las necesidades y los problemas de los profesores y los alumnos. Nuestro proyecto abre una vía innovadora en la creación de materiales y recursos digitales de Historia del Arte, tarea que repercute en la mejora de los métodos docentes y en la mejora del aprendizaje de los estudiantes. Palabras clave: Historia del Arte, enseñanza-aprendizaje, estrategias, tecnología, multidisciplinariedad, actualización, calidad, selectividad.

The aim of this study is to analyze the coronation ceremonies carried out in the Crown of Aragon throughout the Middle Ages. Although the pope granted most Western monarchies the right to hold these ceremonies in their own kingdoms in 1204, our study will address the mechanisms used to appoint kings both before and after the consolidation of these ceremonies, mechanisms which reflected the power struggles between the parties involved, that is, the prince and the Church. We will examine the elements that remained constant throughout this period but we will also pay particular attention to the alterations that were made and how these had important consequences that went beyond politics and entered religious terrain. Among the changes were the kings’ efforts to participate in priestly orders, the promotion and consolidation of new liturgy with content intended to legitimize the kings, and the use of new iconographies with sacred references. As will be seen, these are only a small example of the mechanisms used by the sovereigns of the Crown of Aragon to re-emphasize their links with God, which had been weakened by the transformations to the anointing and coronation ceremonials and the resulting tensions with Rome, particularly during the times of Peter IV (1336–1387).

Peter IV king of Aragón (1336–1387). He was the seventh king of the Crown of Aragon, and father of Juan I (1387–1396) and Martín I (1396–1410), the last members of the dynasty to take the throne. When Martín died, the Trastámara branch occupied the throne of the kingdom. Peter IV was dazzling in his ability to use art as a tool of authority and sovereignty. With the aim of exalting the dynasty, he patronised various enterprises, among the most important of which was the abbey of Santa Maria de Poblet, which he intended to be a burial place for himself and his successors, a wish that was fulfilled, without exception, down to Juan II, the predecessor of the Catholic Monarchs. A perfectionist and zealot, he endowed important religious events with profound political significance, and promoted works of great symbolism such as the genealogy of the new saló del tinell, or the ordinacions de la casa i cort, to which he added an appendix establishing how the kings of Aragon were to be crowned.

Ferdinand II king of Aragon (1479–1516). He was the fourth king of the Trastámara dynasty, which had first come to power after the Compromise of Caspe, reached after Martin I died with no living descendants in 1410. Although in terms of artistic patronage Ferdinand II was not as active as his wife Elisabeth I, he was still aware that the wise use of artistic commissions in reinforcing ideas and concepts favourable to the institution of the monarchy. He is a highly important figure in the history of Spain because, along with Elisabeth, he was one of the Catholic Monarchs and thus represents a new conception of power based on their joint governance, a fact that is reflected in the iconography found in his artistic commissions across all genres. All of the images are evidence of how King Ferdinand, at the end of the Middle Ages, wanted to be recognised by his subjects, who also used his image for legitimising and propagandistic purposes. Nobody else in the history of the Hispanic kingdoms had their image represented so many times and on such diverse occasions as did the Catholic Monarchs.

James I, King of Aragon (1213–1276). He was the third king of the Crown of Aragon, which had come into existence through the union between Queen Petronila of Aragon (1157–1164) and the Count of Barcelona Ramon Berenguer IV (1137–1162). James I represents a milestone in the iconography of the Kings of Aragon, although this is due more to his successors’ promotion of him rather than to his own efforts. In order to organise and unify his dominions after the conquests of Mallorca and Valencia, he immersed himself in legal work that consolidated his legislative power whilst still allowing his territories to retain a certain degree of autonomy. He carried out an essential monetary reorganisation in which his coinage retained its obverse but altered its reverse according to the place of issue. He never succeeded in being crowned, although he featured the crown prominently in his stamps and seals and, on some coins, he added the term rex gratia Dei. In addition, he revived the sword as a royal insignia, having proclaimed the right of conquest as the basis of his sovereignty.