Black Death Drove Medieval Settlement in Northern Andorra

Historians Climent Miró and Pau González have examined medieval records from Canillo parish to reveal how the Black Death in 1348 spurred settlement in its northern reaches beyond Caselles.

Their analysis, presented during the third edition of Canillo's History Days focused on daily life between the 10th and 15th centuries, reinterprets the Second Concord of 8 January 1176. Signed by Bishop Arnau de Preixeens and 383 Andorran household heads—preserved in the Armari de les Set Claus at the National Archive—the pact outlined mutual rights. Locals pledged a tithe on harvests, six hams and 100 deniers every two years, and loyalty, securing access to forests and pastures in return.

Among the signatories, 61 hailed from Canillo, suggesting around 350 residents then, assuming five people per household. This figure held steady for centuries: early 20th-century counts hovered between 300 and 400, rising above 1,500 only by 1990 and nearing 6,000 today.

Notably, toponyms in the 1176 document and other archives list no Canillo residents from areas north of Caselles, such as Vilar, Tarter, Soldeu, or Incles—except one, Iohan Adalbert of Vilar. This gap shifts post-plague. By 1357, a Soldeu resident sold a house bordering properties of Vitais Cirera, Petri Peyrona, and Vitali Rubei. 14th- and 15th-century records increasingly mention such northern sites.

Miró and González argue the pandemic, which halved Europe's population and likely contributed to abandoning sites like Roureda de la Margineda, triggered permanent colonization. Seasonal herding huts evolved into year-round homes amid livestock expansion, predating formal sheep companies by two centuries. In 1367, Johan Arnau and Domingo Marcho owned 2,100 sheep.

Inventories underscore this shift. In 1442, Joan Solm of l'Aldosa held four pigs, six piglets, a three-year-old mule, 112 sheep, 28 lambs, four goats, a billy goat, and six beehives. Joan Ponç Arnau of Prats owned eight cows, six calves, and two mules; in 1429, Calbon of Saldeu and son-in-law Perich Pellicer shared ten cows and six calves—clearly breeding stock.

Joan Ruscla of Incles, who died in 1454, left an arer (drying rack), baskets, wine and oil casks, cheese molds, paddles, and a kneading trough alongside 368 sheep, two cows, two goats, and a pack mare—items pointing to diets rich in pork products, cheese, fruit, fish, and grains.

Testaments offer further insight. On 22 November 1431, Joana—daughter of Joan Veciat and Ramona Cella, wife of Pere Ros (alias Cella)—as heiress, named executors, requested burial at Sant Serni cemetery, bequeathed small sums to churches in Sant Serni, Meritxell, Sant Miquel de Prats, Sant Martí de Sella, and Sant Joan de Caselles, and ordered a general alms distribution of bread, fruit, a cow, pig, ram, and sheep, reflecting both poverty and community solidarity.

The researchers are preparing a full monograph on Andorra's Black Death impact.