The Fuero de Jaca (Charter of Jaca, 1076 AD) has as its 24th clause:
And if any man seize as pledge the Saracen man or woman of his neighbour, let him put him in my palace; and the lord of the male and female Saracen shall give him bread and water, because he is a human being and should not starve like a beast.
What is meant by 'seize as pledge'? Does it mean the taking of hostages? As in, if a deal is made between a noble of Aragon and a Taifa that requires that the Taifa provide hostages, the hostages in question are to be kept in the palace of the King of Aragon and food is to be provided for the hostages by the Taifa in question?
Thank you.
I just checked the original Latin text to know what verb was used in that phrase:
"Si aliquis homo pignorauerit sarracenum uel sarracenam uicini sui mittat eum in palacio meo, et dominus sarraceni uel sarracene det ei panem et aquam quia est homo et non debet ieiunare sicuti bestia"
The usage of the verb "pignorare" clears any doubts arising from the English translation. "Pignorare" means to give or to take something as a guarantee of payment. So, the concept is clear: if a man takes a saracen man or woman from another person as a collateral or guarantee, he should send that saracen man or woman to the royal palace, and the master of that saracen man should at least feed him.
Odd as it may sound, this all makes sense in context. The master of the saracen man would be thus forced to pay for some of the expenses derived of having the man in custody, hence avoiding the outsourcing of costs towards the creditor. Slavery existed, and slaves, being properties, could be used as guarantees of payment.