Bernard II of Besalú
Encyclopedia
Bernard II was the Count of Besalú and Ripoll
in Catalonia
, the brother, co-ruler (from 1052), and successor of William II
, who was assassinated in 1066. The second son of William I of Besalú and his wife, Adelaide, Bernard married his first cousin Ermengarda, daughter of Ponç I of Empúries and Adelaide, sister of William I. He is sometimes called Bernat (Catalan
) or Bernardo (Spanish
).
He was a strong proponent of the Gregorian reforms, perhaps to dispel suspicions about his involvement in the murder of his brother. Described as "piadós i versatil" (pious and versatile), he was the opposite of his brother, "iracund i violent de caràcter" (of an irascible and violent character). He almost certainly took the cross and joined the First Crusade
.
on the obverse, with the initials S-R, and an effigy of Saint Prim or perhaps Jesus Christ on the reverse. In 1075 Bernard recovered the right to mint coinage, which had been granted to the church of the Blessed Virgin Mary by his father. The coins he minted, weighing between .5 and .6 grams, were divided by a cross on the obverse, with the words SANC-TA CR-VX (sancta crux means holy cross) on the horizontal and vertical bars respectively, and with the letters BR-NR-DS-CO (Bernardus comes, meaning count Bernard) in the spaces remaining. The reverse bore the word BISIL-DVNO (Bisilduno, of Besalú). Bernard did grant to the church a tenth of the money minted in Besalú in perpetuity, whether of gold or of silver.
in 1068, 1078, and 1097, and was forced to act against his simoniacal
relative, Wifred, Archbishop of Narbonne. Around 1068 Bernard, Wifred, and the bishops Berengar of Girona and William of Vic had to expel by force the simoniacal abbot of Ripoll, Miro. In 1070 he subjected the monasteries of Santa Maria de Ripoll
, Sant Pere de Besalú, and Sant Martí de Les to that of Saint-Victor de Marseille. It was probably at the instigation of his relative Hunald, abbot of Moissac
, that Bernard ceded Ripoll to the jurisdiction of the abbot of Saint-Victor, Bernard de Rodez, at a meeting of the two on 27 December 1070. On 2 February 1071 a Marseillaise abbot, Bernard, is already recorded acting in charge of Ripoll. Bernard had granted the monastery of Cuberes to the Cluniac foundation of Moissac by 1073. In 1078 he joined his three monasteries of Sant Pere de Camprodon, Sant Pau del Fenollet (Valloles), and Santa Maria d'Arles de Tec to Moissac.
In December 1077 in a synod was held in Besalú by the papal legate
Amatus, Bishop of Oloron. Bernard, acting upon the advice of the legate, deposed and replaced the simoniacal abbots of his realm. He then issued a charter wherein he listed the payments (census) due the Holy See from seven religious houses in his lands, he declared an irregularly or simoniacally eelcted abbot deposed by papal authority, and he promised that he and his successors would incur a personal census of 100 gold mancus
es annually in order that he might be considered a "special knight of Saint Peter" (pecularis miles sancti Petri). Despite the promises, there is no actual evidence of payment during the pontificate of Gregory VII
. It is sometimes said that Bernard—following the example of Sancho Ramírez, who had done the same with the Kingdom of Aragon
in 1068—surrendered his county to the Papacy and received it back as a fief. The abbot of Saint-Victor de Marseille and papal legate to the council, Ricard de Milhau, and the monks of Ripoll pressed Bernard to join the abbey of Sant Joan de les Abadesses
to Saint-Victor, perhaps by promising to restore Benedictine rule there. The cession was finalised on 4 January 1083. There is no contemporary record of this, however. Rather the legend dates from the 1115 house chronicle of Sant Joan. Bernard held his county directly from God.
By a charter
dated 26 September 1084, Bernard donated the church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Besalú
to the Abbey of Saint Rufus in Valence
. This charter refers to a son, but Bernard was succeeded on his death by Bernard III, whose precise relationship with the previous counts of Besalú has not been discovered.
Having taken the cross to join the First Crusade after the Council of Clermont
(1095), Bernard was nonetheless counselled by Pope Urban II
to instead remain in Spain and fight the Reconquista
. In a letter that must be dated between January 1096 and July 1099, Urban wrote to Bernard, his brother Wifred, Hugh II of Empúries
, Giselbert II of Roussillon
, and their followers, urging the recovery of the city of Tarragona
and its vacant archdiocese.
to Ripoll. In 1099 Dalmau Berenguer, viscount of Rocabertí, ceded the allodial castle of Hortal to Bernard, who bestowed it on him as a fief. Donald Kagay translates an example of the "transfer of castle by a lord to the son of a deceased vassal" taken from the survivnig charters of Bernard:
It is possible that the last independent count of Besalú, the Bernard who married Ximena, daughter of Raymond Berengar III, Count of Barcelona, with the acknowledgement that if he died without heirs his county would pass to Raymond, was Bernard II. The very existence of a third count Bernard, succeeding Bernard II, has been called into question.
Ripoll
Ripoll is the capital of the comarca of Ripollès, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. It is located on confluence of the Ter River and its tributary Freser, next to the Pyrenees near the French border...
in Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
, the brother, co-ruler (from 1052), and successor of William II
William II of Besalú
William II , called Trunus or el Tro, was the Count of Besalú from 1052.He was the son and successor of William I and Adelaide. He married Stephanie, daughter of Geoffrey I of Provence. He had a son Bernard II and a daughter, Stephanie, who married Roger II of Foix.His reign was characterised by...
, who was assassinated in 1066. The second son of William I of Besalú and his wife, Adelaide, Bernard married his first cousin Ermengarda, daughter of Ponç I of Empúries and Adelaide, sister of William I. He is sometimes called Bernat (Catalan
Catalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
) or Bernardo (Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
).
He was a strong proponent of the Gregorian reforms, perhaps to dispel suspicions about his involvement in the murder of his brother. Described as "piadós i versatil" (pious and versatile), he was the opposite of his brother, "iracund i violent de caràcter" (of an irascible and violent character). He almost certainly took the cross and joined the First Crusade
First Crusade
The First Crusade was a military expedition by Western Christianity to regain the Holy Lands taken in the Muslim conquest of the Levant, ultimately resulting in the recapture of Jerusalem...
.
Coinage
During his co-reign with his brother, denarii and oboli were minted by the church bearing an effigy of Saint RaphaelRaphael (archangel)
Raphael is an archangel of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, who in the Judeo-Christian tradition performs all manners of healing....
on the obverse, with the initials S-R, and an effigy of Saint Prim or perhaps Jesus Christ on the reverse. In 1075 Bernard recovered the right to mint coinage, which had been granted to the church of the Blessed Virgin Mary by his father. The coins he minted, weighing between .5 and .6 grams, were divided by a cross on the obverse, with the words SANC-TA CR-VX (sancta crux means holy cross) on the horizontal and vertical bars respectively, and with the letters BR-NR-DS-CO (Bernardus comes, meaning count Bernard) in the spaces remaining. The reverse bore the word BISIL-DVNO (Bisilduno, of Besalú). Bernard did grant to the church a tenth of the money minted in Besalú in perpetuity, whether of gold or of silver.
Ecclesiastical politics
He presided over synods held at GironaGirona
Girona is a city in the northeast of Catalonia, Spain at the confluence of the rivers Ter, Onyar, Galligants and Güell, with an official population of 96,236 in January 2009. It is the capital of the province of the same name and of the comarca of the Gironès...
in 1068, 1078, and 1097, and was forced to act against his simoniacal
Simony
Simony is the act of paying for sacraments and consequently for holy offices or for positions in the hierarchy of a church, named after Simon Magus , who appears in the Acts of the Apostles 8:9-24...
relative, Wifred, Archbishop of Narbonne. Around 1068 Bernard, Wifred, and the bishops Berengar of Girona and William of Vic had to expel by force the simoniacal abbot of Ripoll, Miro. In 1070 he subjected the monasteries of Santa Maria de Ripoll
Santa Maria de Ripoll
The Monastery of Santa Maria de Ripoll is a Benedictine monastery, built in the Romanesque style, located in the town of Ripoll in Catalonia, Spain...
, Sant Pere de Besalú, and Sant Martí de Les to that of Saint-Victor de Marseille. It was probably at the instigation of his relative Hunald, abbot of Moissac
Moissac
Moissac is a commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne department in the Midi-Pyrénées region in southern France. It is famous world-wide mostly for the artistic heritage handed down by the ancient Saint-Pierre Abbey.-History:...
, that Bernard ceded Ripoll to the jurisdiction of the abbot of Saint-Victor, Bernard de Rodez, at a meeting of the two on 27 December 1070. On 2 February 1071 a Marseillaise abbot, Bernard, is already recorded acting in charge of Ripoll. Bernard had granted the monastery of Cuberes to the Cluniac foundation of Moissac by 1073. In 1078 he joined his three monasteries of Sant Pere de Camprodon, Sant Pau del Fenollet (Valloles), and Santa Maria d'Arles de Tec to Moissac.
In December 1077 in a synod was held in Besalú by the papal legate
Papal legate
A papal legate – from the Latin, authentic Roman title Legatus – is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic Church. He is empowered on matters of Catholic Faith and for the settlement of ecclesiastical matters....
Amatus, Bishop of Oloron. Bernard, acting upon the advice of the legate, deposed and replaced the simoniacal abbots of his realm. He then issued a charter wherein he listed the payments (census) due the Holy See from seven religious houses in his lands, he declared an irregularly or simoniacally eelcted abbot deposed by papal authority, and he promised that he and his successors would incur a personal census of 100 gold mancus
Mancus
Mancus was a term used in early medieval Europe to denote either a gold coin, a weight of gold of 4.25g , or a unit of account of thirty silver pence. This made it worth about a months wages for a skilled worker, such as a craftsman or a soldier...
es annually in order that he might be considered a "special knight of Saint Peter" (pecularis miles sancti Petri). Despite the promises, there is no actual evidence of payment during the pontificate of Gregory VII
Pope Gregory VII
Pope St. Gregory VII , born Hildebrand of Sovana , was Pope from April 22, 1073, until his death. One of the great reforming popes, he is perhaps best known for the part he played in the Investiture Controversy, his dispute with Henry IV, Holy Roman Emperor affirming the primacy of the papal...
. It is sometimes said that Bernard—following the example of Sancho Ramírez, who had done the same with the Kingdom of Aragon
Kingdom of Aragon
The Kingdom of Aragon was a medieval and early modern kingdom in the Iberian Peninsula, corresponding to the modern-day autonomous community of Aragon, in Spain...
in 1068—surrendered his county to the Papacy and received it back as a fief. The abbot of Saint-Victor de Marseille and papal legate to the council, Ricard de Milhau, and the monks of Ripoll pressed Bernard to join the abbey of Sant Joan de les Abadesses
Sant Joan de les Abadesses
Sant Joan de les Abadesses is a town and municipality located in the south-east of the comarca of Ripollès, in Catalonia.-Geography and climate:...
to Saint-Victor, perhaps by promising to restore Benedictine rule there. The cession was finalised on 4 January 1083. There is no contemporary record of this, however. Rather the legend dates from the 1115 house chronicle of Sant Joan. Bernard held his county directly from God.
By a charter
Charter
A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified...
dated 26 September 1084, Bernard donated the church of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Besalú
Besalú
Besalú is a town in the comarca of Garrotxa, in Catalonia, Spain.The town's importance was greater in the early Middle Ages, as capital of the county of Besalú, whose territory was roughly the same size as the current comarca of Garrotxa but sometime extended as far as Corbières, Aude, in France....
to the Abbey of Saint Rufus in Valence
Valence, Drôme
Valence is a commune in southeastern France, the capital of the Drôme department, situated on the left bank of the Rhône, south of Lyon on the railway to Marseilles.Its inhabitants are called Valentinois...
. This charter refers to a son, but Bernard was succeeded on his death by Bernard III, whose precise relationship with the previous counts of Besalú has not been discovered.
Having taken the cross to join the First Crusade after the Council of Clermont
Council of Clermont
The Council of Clermont was a mixed synod of ecclesiastics and laymen of the Catholic Church, which was held from November 18 to November 28, 1095 at Clermont, France...
(1095), Bernard was nonetheless counselled by Pope Urban II
Pope Urban II
Pope Urban II , born Otho de Lagery , was Pope from 12 March 1088 until his death on July 29 1099...
to instead remain in Spain and fight the Reconquista
Reconquista
The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...
. In a letter that must be dated between January 1096 and July 1099, Urban wrote to Bernard, his brother Wifred, Hugh II of Empúries
Hugh II of Empúries
Hugh II was the Count of Empúries from 1078 until his death. He was the eldest son of Ponç I and Adelaida de Besalú, and succeeded his father in Empúries while his brother, Berenguer, was given the Viscounty of Peralada....
, Giselbert II of Roussillon
Giselbert II of Roussillon
Giselbert II was the count of Roussillon from the death of his father, Gausfred II, in 1074 until his own death. His mother was Adelaide.In 1040, he participated in his father's sack of Ampurias...
, and their followers, urging the recovery of the city of Tarragona
Tarragona
Tarragona is a city located in the south of Catalonia on the north-east of Spain, by the Mediterranean. It is the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and the capital of the Catalan comarca Tarragonès. In the medieval and modern times it was the capital of the Vegueria of Tarragona...
and its vacant archdiocese.
Secular politics
In 1097 Bernard ceded the lordship of OlotOlot
Olot is the capital of the comarca of the Garrotxa, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain.- Etymology :The etymology of Olot is not clear and there are several hypotheses...
to Ripoll. In 1099 Dalmau Berenguer, viscount of Rocabertí, ceded the allodial castle of Hortal to Bernard, who bestowed it on him as a fief. Donald Kagay translates an example of the "transfer of castle by a lord to the son of a deceased vassal" taken from the survivnig charters of Bernard:
This is a pact in commemoration of an agreement which Count Bernat of Besalú made with Bernat Terron. The aforesaid Count gives to aforesiad Bernat the castle of Fenollet and commends to him all of his father's fief after his father’s death. And because of this, he is his vassal who shall be faithful to him for all time and post the sureties for him which he must just as his other liege vassals do and must do for him. And Bernat after the death of his father must grant freely, faithfully, and without diminution to lord God and San Paulo de Vallsol all the village of Mauri with all of its appurtenances so that he shall be a vassal for all these things to lord God and Saint Paul and the aforesaid Count and his son who will be the Count of Besalú and his inhabitants of San Paulo without any deceit to him or theirs.
It is possible that the last independent count of Besalú, the Bernard who married Ximena, daughter of Raymond Berengar III, Count of Barcelona, with the acknowledgement that if he died without heirs his county would pass to Raymond, was Bernard II. The very existence of a third count Bernard, succeeding Bernard II, has been called into question.
External links
- Nobility of Catalonia: Chapter 3. Besalú, Section A. Comtes de Besalú (988–1111) at the Foundation for Medieval Genealogy's Medieval Lands Project. Charles Crowley, proj. ed.