[Polybius]

"We who are as good as you swear to you who are no better than we to accept you as our king and sovereign lord, provided you observe our liberties, but if not, not."

Assuming that this line is not apocryphal, would you have this quote in the original Spanish? It is definitely not easily translatable.

The English translation I used was from John Bergamini, "The Spanish Bourbons", page 17.

There are various old Spanish translations of the Aragonese coronation oath including:

"Nos, que cada uno valemos tanto como vos, y que juntos podemos más que vos, os ofrecemos obediencia si mantenéis nuestros fueros y libertades; y si no, no." (We, who each is worth as much as thee, and who together are more powerful than thee, offer our obedience to thee if thou shalt maintain our traditional rights and liberties: and if no, not.)

"Nos, que no somos menos que vos y que todos juntos valemos más que vos, os juramos fidelidad como Rey siempre que vos, respeteís nuestros fueros y tradiciones. Y si no, no". (We, who are no less than thee and who together are worth more than thee, swear loyalty to thee as King so long as thou shalt respect our rights and traditions. And if not, not.)

Notice how I said "old Spanish translations".

The versions above are in old Castillian (old Spanish). The actual oath would have been either in old Aragonese or old Catalan which I don't speak :-)

[Publius6961]

Thank you Polybius. It is as I suspected, the original translation has a subtle but profound omission: We, who collectively are greater than you [worth more, or are more powerful] offer fealty or obedience, provided that..." etc.

Makes much more sense, and is more in line with the spirit of the Magna Carta.