The Four Great Chronicles were written towards the end of the XIII century and during the XIV century: The Chronicle of Jaume I or The Book of Facts; The Chronicle of Bernat Desclot or The Book of King Pere and his Ancestors; The Chronicle of Ramon Muntaner and The Chronicle of Pere the Cerimonious. These four works are considered the most important historical collection of Medieval Europe.
The Chronicle of Ramon Muntaner was written between 1325 and 1328, at the author's home in l'Horta, Valencia. The work covers the period from 1208 until 1328 and relates the kingdoms of the monarchs that the chronicler knew personally: Jaume I, Pere the Great, Alfons the Frank, Jaume II & Alfons the Benign, as well as contemporary kings of Mallorca and Sicilly.
Written in the first person with a strong sense of patriotic and monarchic exaltation, Muntaner's Chronicle stands out through its plain narrative style which is never overly rhetorical. Muntaner glorifies those exceptional episodes that he considers worthy of note. Thanks to his role as soldier, the author had been present at some of the events of which he reports, which was unusual amongst other chroniclers.
Muntaner continually addresses the public, but also aspires to be heard by the kings and princes of Aragon. To achieve this interaction the author develops an agile and direct narrative, using questions and answers alongside his characteristic “Què us diré?” ("What can i tell you?"). Loaded with historical data, The Chronicle of Ramon Muntaner, despite its personal interpretation, has become an essential element in the analysis of the period of history under the Crown of Aragon.
