**6. Conclusions**

James I represents a milestone in the figurative images of the King of Aragon, not so much because he promoted himself, although he undoubtedly did, but because his successors did. Driven by the need to organise and unify his vast dominions (which he had enlarged as a result of his conquests), but giving them a certain degree of autonomy, the king immersed himself in intense work that reaffirmed his legislative power in the eyes of his subjects. In this sense, the reorganisation of the coinage, in which he kept the obverse but altered the reverse according to the place of issue, and the legal reform, visible, in addition to other contemporary works, in the famous *In excelsis Dei thesauris*, a compilation whose precious narrative miniatures show the king as a principle of righteousness who delegates his judicial powers or administers justice to those who come before him. His obsession with being crowned by the pope, a ceremony he never undertook as he refused to renew his vassalage to the Holy See, was echoed in his contemporary iconography, although not as regards the crown; the one that can be seen on the horseman's head in his seals should only be understood as the result of a desire to keep abreast of the artistic trends of the time. A different case is that of the sword, an insignia that was reinforced as a natural symbol of the right of conquest, the basis of the king's sovereignty over certain territories as a consequence of the longed-for, although never achieved, coronation. This contradiction may also explain why he was the first to appear with the title "rex gratia Dei" on some of his coinage. On the other hand, the crest that can be seen so often on his head was never used by the king: it can only be seen in portrayals of him produced in the 14th century, from the reign of Peter IV the Ceremonious onwards.

**Funding:** This research was funded by *Edificis i Escenaris religiosos medievals a la Corona d'Aragó*, [2017 SGR 1724]. Generalitat de Catalunya-AGAUR.

**Conflicts of Interest:** The author declares no conflict of interest.

**Entry Link on the Encyclopedia Platform:** https://encyclopedia.pub/17186.
