Catalan legal mind and the legal Catalan mind : a brief overview of legal and political principles

This paper constitutes a short introduction to Catalan political and legal thought. I
have tried to summarize the essentials of a particular way to understand institutions,
legal systems and political behavior which are historical in nature. Several researchers,
historians, jurists, and political scientists are addressing the traditional subject of
Catalan pactism with a renewed interest. This paper is conceived as a reflection on
this trend. I distinguish between Catalan legal mind and the Legal Catalan Mind
which started up at the beginning of the 16th c., was consolidated during the 17th,
and eventually produced what is known as political pactism in the 19th c. and 20th c.