Chapter 3. Politician
Even in the time of Jaume I, Occitan troubadours like Guilhem de Montanhagol and Bonifaci de Castelhana were criticising him, calling him “weak”, while Ibn al-Abbar, the Muslim poet from the kingdom of Valencia, referred to him as “the tyrant Yaqmu al-Barsaluni". In the modern era, historians like Ferran Soldevila do not regard him as a great politician. Stefano Cingolani considers the question of Jaume I's political stature by looking at his relations with Castile and France, his withdrawal from Occitania, why he let slip the opportunity to declare himself king of Catalonia, and the much-debated division of his kingdoms between his sons.