Llibre del Consolat de Mar
Book of the Consulate of the Sea
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| Author | Valencian Legislators |
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| Original title | Book of the Consulate of the Sea |
| Language | Catalan |
| Genre | Compendium of laws |
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Publication date
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1320-1330 |
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Published in English
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N/A |
| Media type | Paper and parchment |
The Book of the Consulate of the Sea or Book of the Consulate of Sea is a compendium of maritime law that governed trade in the Mediterranean for centuries. Of Catalan origin, it was translated into many languages and served as the basis for current international maritime law.
When setting the first Consulate of the Sea in Valencia, king Peter III of Aragon decided to apply the maritime customs of Barcelona, called costums de mar, which had not yet been codified, although there did already exist in Barcelona another compilation of maritime rules, called Ordinacions de Ribera, which established norms for policing harbours and coastal waters.
The merit of the Book of the Consulate of the Sea is that it is the first work to collect the scattered laws and customs of Roman, Greek, Byzantine, Rhodian, Italian, French and Catalan maritime rights.
Until the publication of the Ordonnance de la Marine in France in 1681, the Book of the Consulate of the Sea was the code of maritime law in force throughout the Mediterranean. In Spain it continued in use until the introduction of the Spanish Commercial Code. The Book of the Consulate of the Sea effectively replaced the Amalfi Tables, a set of rules written in the Amalfi to regulate maritime trade.
The expansion of the Crown of Aragon and its commercial and maritime supremacy meant that the Book of the Consulate of the Sea was respected throughout the Mediterranean and up into the Atlantic. Based originally on the maritime customs of Barcelona and supplemented by the Valencia Consulate of the Sea, the Book of the Consulate of the Sea laid the basis for all subsequent Mediterranean maritime customs.
Originally written in Catalan, the Book of the Consulate of the Sea was translated into Italian, French, English, Castilian and other languages, and for centuries was the basis of merchant marine legislation in many countries, even up to modern times.
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