County of Besalú
Encyclopedia
Catalan counties
The Catalan counties were the administrative divisions of the eastern Carolingian Marca Hispanica created after its Frankish conquest. The various counties roughly defined what came to be known as the Principality of Catalonia....
near the Mediterranean coastline. It was roughly coterminous with the modern comarca
Comarques of Catalonia
This is a list of the comarques of Catalonia . A comarca is roughly equivalent to a US "county" or a UK "district". However, in the context of Catalonia, the term "county" can be a bit misleading, because in medieval Catalonia, the most important rulers were counts, notably the Counts of Barcelona...
of Garrotxa
Garrotxa
Garrotxa is a comarca in Catalonia, Spain. Its population in 2001 was 47,747, more than half of them in the capital city of Olot. It is roughly equivalent to the historical comarca of Besalú.-Geography:...
and at various times extended as far north as Corbières, Aude
Corbières, Aude
Corbières is a commune in the Aude department in southern France.-References:*...
, now in France. Its capital was the village of 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....
. Throughout most of its history it was attached to one of the other more powerful counties, but it experienced a century of independence before it was finally and irrevocably annexed to the County of Barcelona.
Ninth century: origins and development
Besalú was reconqueredReconquista
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...
from the Moors
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
by 785. It was originally a pagus
Pagus
In the later Western Roman Empire, following the reorganization of Diocletian, a pagus became the smallest administrative district of a province....
of the County of Girona in the Marca Hispanica
Marca Hispanica
The Marca Hispanica , also known as Spanish March or March of Barcelona was a buffer zone beyond the province of Septimania, created by Charlemagne in 795 as a defensive barrier between the Umayyad Moors of Al-Andalus and the Frankish Kingdom....
. The original pagus comprised the territories of Garrotxa and those neighbouring Montgrony and Setcases
Setcases
Setcases is a municipality and town in the Spanish Pyrenean comarca of Ripollès in Catalonia, Spain, near the French border. The source for the Ter River is in the mountains just above Setcases...
in the comarca
Comarca
A comarca is a traditional region or local administrative division found in parts of Spain, Portugal, Panama, Nicaragua, and Brazil. The term is derived from the term marca, meaning a "march, mark", plus the prefix co- meaning "together, jointly".The comarca is known in Aragonese as redolada and...
of Ripollès
Ripollès
Ripollès is a comarca in Catalonia, Spain. It is located in the Ribes and Camprodon river valleys. , its population is 25,744, about 40% of whom live in the capital, Ripoll....
as far as Agullana
Agullana
Agullana is a municipality in the comarca of Alt Empordà, Girona, Catalonia, Spain....
and Figueres
Figueres
Figueres is the capital of the comarca of Alt Empordà, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain.The town is the birthplace of artist Salvador Dalí, and houses the Teatre-Museu Gala Salvador Dalí, a large museum designed by Dalí himself which attracts many visitors...
(in Alt Empordà
Alt Empordà
Alt Empordà is a comarca in Catalonia, Spain, one of two into which Empordà was divided by the comarcal division of Catalonia in 1936.- Municipalities :Populations are as of 2001.*Agullana - pop. 668*Albanyà - pop. 99*L'Armentera - pop. 742...
) and Banyoles
Banyoles
Banyoles is a city of 17,309 inhabitants located in the province of Girona in northeastern Catalonia, Spain.The town is the capital of the Catalan comarca "Pla de l'Estany"...
in Pla de l'Estany
Pla de l'Estany
Pla de l'Estany is a comarca in Catalonia, Spain. Its name means "plain of the lake", the lake in question being the Lake of Banyoles. Banyoles is also the name of the capital of the comarca and home to over half of its people...
. It was created a county for Radulf on the condition that it pass to the heirs of Wilfred on his death.
In the Ordinatio Imperii of 817, Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious , also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was the King of Aquitaine from 781. He was also King of the Franks and co-Emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813...
made it a part of Aquitaine
Aquitaine
Aquitaine , archaic Guyenne/Guienne , is one of the 27 regions of France, in the south-western part of metropolitan France, along the Atlantic Ocean and the Pyrenees mountain range on the border with Spain. It comprises the 5 departments of Dordogne, :Lot et Garonne, :Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Landes...
and ruled it directly along with the other maritime counties of the Marca: Roussillon
County of Roussillon
The County of Roussillon was one of the Catalan counties in the Marca Hispanica during the Middle Ages. The rulers of the county were the Counts of Roussillon, whose interests lay both north and south of the Pyrenees.-Visigothic county:...
, Girona, Barcelona, and Empúries
County of Empúries
The County of Empúries was a medieval county centred on the town of Empúries and enclosing the Catalan region of Peralada. It corresponds to the historic comarca of Empordà....
. Besalú, along with Barcelona and Girona were placed under Count Bera
Bera, Count of Barcelona
Bera was the first count of Barcelona from 801 until his deposition in 820.He was also the count of Girona and Besalú from 812 or 817 and count of Razès and Conflent from 790 until his deposition.-Origins:...
, a Visigoth
Visigoth
The Visigoths were one of two main branches of the Goths, the Ostrogoths being the other. These tribes were among the Germans who spread through the late Roman Empire during the Migration Period...
. Under Louis the Pious Gothia saw a reinvigorated monasticism spread first in Pallars
County of Pallars
The County of Pallars or Pallás was a de facto independent petty state, nominally within the Carolingian Empire and then West Francia during the ninth and tenth centuries, perhaps one of the Catalan counties, originally part of the Marca Hispanica in the ninth century...
and then eastward into Roussillon, Empúries, and Besalú. Under Louis and his successors, a system of aprisiones was established in Besalú, largely held by native Goths and immigrant Gascons.
During the reign of Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald , Holy Roman Emperor and King of West Francia , was the youngest son of the Emperor Louis the Pious by his second wife Judith.-Struggle against his brothers:He was born on 13 June 823 in Frankfurt, when his elder...
Besalú was attached to the counties of Urgel and Cerdanya
Cerdanya
Cerdanya is a natural comarca and historical region of the eastern Pyrenees divided between France and Spain. Historically it has been one of the counties of Catalonia....
. In 871, Wilfred the Hairy
Wilfred the Hairy
Wilfred or Wifred, called the Hairy, was Count of Urgell , Cerdanya , Barcelona , Girona , Besalú , and Ausona ....
and his kin began the encastellation
Encastellation
Encastellation is the process whereby the feudal kingdoms of Europe became dotted with castles, from which local lords could dominate the countryside of their fiefs and their neighbours', and from which kings could command even the far-off corners of their realms...
of Besalú by constructing a forward castle at Castellaris. Wilfred later separated it and made his brother Radulf
Radulf of Besalú
Radulf was a Count of Besalú. He was the younger son of Sunifred I, Count of Barcelona, and thus a brother of Wilfred the Hairy and Miró the Elder....
its count and it became one of the last de facto independent Catalan counties
Catalan counties
The Catalan counties were the administrative divisions of the eastern Carolingian Marca Hispanica created after its Frankish conquest. The various counties roughly defined what came to be known as the Principality of Catalonia....
.
Tenth century: attached to Cerdanya
Sometime between 913 and 920, Radulf died and Miro the Younger, Count of Cerdanya, took over Besalú, even though it should have gone to Sunyer IISunifred II, Count of Barcelona
Sunyer was count of Barcelona, Girona and Ausona from 911 to 947.-Origins:He was the son of Wilfred the Hairy and younger brother of the previous Count of Barcelona, Wilfred II Borrel. He worked jointly with his brother in the government of the Counties held by their father after his death in 897...
, Count of Barcelona and Girona
Count of Girona
The Counts of Girona were:*Rostany *Odilon *Bera *Rampo *Bernard I , first reign*Berengar *Bernard I , second reign*Sunifred I *Wilfred I *Odalric...
. When Miro died in 927, his counties were ruled indivisibly by his widow Ava as regent for his two sons, Sunifred II and Wilfred II. When the two reached their majority, Sunifred governed Cerdanya and the younger Wilfred Besalú under the suzerainty of his older brother.
The brothers, and their younger brothers Oliba Cabreta
Oliba Cabreta
Oliba Cabreta was the count of Cerdanya from 965 and count of Besalú from 984 until his abdication in 988. He was the fourth son of Miró II and Ava. He inherited Cerdanya from his eldest brother Sunifred II and Besalú from his elder brother Miró III...
and Miro Bonfill, acted consonantly throughout their lives. In 943 Sunyer of Barcelona attacked Besalú and Ripoll and Sunifred came to Wilfred's aid. The brother also retained their ties to the French crown, though they often carried the title marchio
Margrave
A margrave or margravine was a medieval hereditary nobleman with military responsibilities in a border province of a kingdom. Border provinces usually had more exposure to military incursions from the outside, compared to interior provinces, and thus a margrave usually had larger and more active...
, probably without royal sanction but perhaps as a hangover from Carolingian
Carolingian
The Carolingian dynasty was a Frankish noble family with origins in the Arnulfing and Pippinid clans of the 7th century AD. The name "Carolingian", Medieval Latin karolingi, an altered form of an unattested Old High German *karling, kerling The Carolingian dynasty (known variously as the...
times. Oliba received royal lands and rights in Besalú from Rudolph
Rudolph of France
Rudolph was the Duke of Burgundy between 921 and 923 and King of Western Francia from thereafter to his death. Rudolph inherited the duchy of Burgundy from his father, Richard the Justiciar...
in 929, indicating the presence and memory of the royal fisc in Besalú. Wilfred even going to the court of Louis IV
Louis IV of France
Louis IV , called d'Outremer or Transmarinus , reigned as King of Western Francia from 936 to 954...
in order to solicit a privilege of immunity to the monastery of Sant Pere de Camprodon which he and his brother had jointly founded as their legacy. Wilfred also received a portion of the property which the viscount Unifred had treacherously taken from Ermengol of Osona by a precept of Louis's.
In the latter half of the tenth century, the power and authority of the counts of Besalú and Cerdanya increased. In 957, Besalú was rocked by the rebellion of a faction of the noblesse backing the sons of the deceased count Radulf. Wilfred was assassinated and Sunifred annexed the property of the rebels and took over the county. In 965, Sunifred passed all his counties on to Oliba, who gave Besalú as a subordinate countship to Miro, but when Miro became Bishop of Girona in 971, Besalú was reattached to Cerdanya.
Eleventh century: independent county
Vallespir
Vallespir is a historical Catalan comarca of Northern Catalonia, part of the French Département of Pyrénées-Orientales. The capital of the comarca is Ceret, and it borders Conflent, Rosselló, Alt Empordà, Garrotxa and Ripollès...
, Fenouillèdes, and Peyrepertuse
Peyrepertuse
Peyrepertuse is a ruined fortress and one of the so-called Cathar castles located high in the French Pyrénées in the commune of Duilhac-sous-Peyrepertuse, in the Aude département, and has been associated with the Counts of Narbonne and Barcelona...
— to Bernard Tallaferro. He annexed Ripoll in 1002. He inaugurated an independent line of rulers in Besalú and thus diminished the power of his dynasty. Pope Benedict VIII
Pope Benedict VIII
Pope Benedict VIII , born Theophylactus, Pope from 1012 to 1024, of the noble family of the counts of Tusculum , descended from Theophylact, Count of Tusculum like his predecessor Pope Benedict VI .Benedict VIII was opposed by an antipope, Gregory...
established diocese in Besalú for Bernard's benefit, but it was short-lived.
The last quarter of the tenth century and first quarter of the eleventh witnessed very little war in southern France and Catalonia, some of the only instances occurring between Oliba Cabreta and the Counts of Carcassonne
Counts of Carcassonne
The County of Carcassonne was medieval fiefdom controlling the city of Carcassonne and its environs. It was often united with the County of Razès....
. In this period as well, Carolingian courts and Gothic law were still in effect in Besalú, as late as 1031. Between 969 and 1020, the county of Besalú minted its own money, though this currency has not been preserved in the form of coins, its only evidence being documentary. Between 1020 and 1111, three different kinds of silver coin were minted in Besalú. The engraving
Engraving
Engraving is the practice of incising a design on to a hard, usually flat surface, by cutting grooves into it. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an intaglio printing plate, of copper or another metal, for printing...
s of Besalú in the eleventh century have been considered some of the best exemplars of the Romanesque style
Romanesque art
Romanesque art refers to the art of Western Europe from approximately 1000 AD to the rise of the Gothic style in the 13th century, or later, depending on region. The preceding period is increasingly known as the Pre-Romanesque...
.
In 1066, 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...
died and Besalú was co-ruled by his brother, Bernard II
Bernard II of Besalú
Bernard II was the Count of Besalú and Ripoll in Catalonia, the brother, co-ruler , 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,...
and his son, Bernard III. In 1100, the moderate and stable Bernard II died and Bernard III began to reign on his own. He had little support from the local nobility and Raymond Berengar III of Barcelona took the opportunity to augment his influence in the region.
At the turn of the twelfth century, Besalú extended as across the Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
as far as Corbières. It dominated and patronised the monasteries of Sant Joan de les Abadesses, Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa
Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa
Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa is a Benedictine abbey located in the territory of the commune of Codalet, in the Pyrénées-Orientales département, in southwestern France...
, and Lagrasse
Lagrasse
Lagrasse is a commune in the Aude department in southern France.Lagrasse is part of the Les Plus Beaux Villages de France association .-Geography:...
. It encompassed the castles of Tautavel
Tautavel
Tautavel is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.Home of CERP - The European Centre for Prehistoric Research.Nearby is the 'Caune de l'Arago' a cave in which some of the oldest human remains in Europe have been found....
, Vingrau
Vingrau
Vingrau is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.-References:*...
, Queribus
Queribus
The Château de Quéribus is a ruined castle in the commune of Cucugnan in the Aude département of France...
, Aguilar
Aguilar
-People:*Antonio Aguilar Barraza , Mexican singer*António Maria de Aguilar , Portuguese rugby player*Baron Diego Pereira d'Aguilar , Spanish Marrano*Christina Aguilar , Thai pop singer...
, and Peyrepertuse, which were refortified in the thirteenth century by Louis IX of France
Louis IX of France
Louis IX , commonly Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death. He was also styled Louis II, Count of Artois from 1226 to 1237. Born at Poissy, near Paris, he was an eighth-generation descendant of Hugh Capet, and thus a member of the House of Capet, and the son of Louis VIII and...
as forming his southern border with the Crown of Aragon
Crown of Aragon
The Crown of Aragon Corona d'Aragón Corona d'Aragó Corona Aragonum controlling a large portion of the present-day eastern Spain and southeastern France, as well as some of the major islands and mainland possessions stretching across the Mediterranean as far as Greece...
by the Treaty of Corbeil
Treaty of Corbeil
The Treaty of Corbeil may refer to :* The Treaty of Corbeil between France and Aragon* The Treaty of Corbeil between France and Scotland...
(1259). The rest of Besalú was a part of the Principality of Catalonia
Principality of Catalonia
The Principality of Catalonia , is a historic territory in the northeastern Iberian Peninsula, mostly in Spain and with an adjoining portion in southern France....
within the Crown.
In 1107, Bernard III married Jimena, Raymond Berengar's daughter. In the marriage pact, Raymond Berengar ceded Ausona and the Diocese of Vic with all their castles. In return, Barcelona became the heir of Bernard if he died without children. At the time Bernard was fifty years of age (older than his father-in-law) and Jimena a mere child of seven or eight. It was not unlikely that Bernard would die before the marriage could legally be consummated. The aging and ineffectual Count of Besalú showed no desire to govern and readily allowed his new father-in-law to fill the vacuum left by the death of Bernard II.
In 1111, Bernard died and Barcelona inherited Besalú. This led to conflict with Bernard William of Cerdanya, who was the feudal suzerain of Besalú. The problem was solved by the cession of Vallespir, Fenolledès, Peyrepertuse, and Castellnou to Cerdanya for compensation.
Bishopric of Besalú
Some of the most important monasteries in Catalonia were located in Besalú: Sant Joan de les AbadessesMonastery of Sant Joan de les Abadesses
The Monastery of Sant Joan de les Abadesses is a monastery in the comarca of Ripollès, Catalonia, northern Spain. Until the year 945 it was the only female monastery in the area.-History:...
, Santa María 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...
, Bañolas, Camprodón
Camprodon
Camprodon is a small city in the comarca of Ripollès in Catalonia, Spain, located in the Pyrenees, near the French border.-History:The settlement of Camprodon was in 1118, when Ramon Berenguer III allowed the building of a market near the monastery of Sant Pere de Camprodon, which is located the...
, and Sant Pau de Fenollet. There was not, however, a bishop in Besalú. Rather, the abbacies were dependent on the dioceses of Vic, Girona, and Elne. In 1017, Pope Benedict conceded to Bernard Tallaferro the right to establish a diocese of his own. Ignoring the proposals of Joan de les Abadesses and Sant Pau de Fenollet, Bernard founded it in Besalú itself. The first bishop was his own son Wilfred, abbot of Sant Joan de les Abadesses.
On Bernard's death in 1020, the bishops of Girona and Vic reclaimed their ancient rights over the parishes of Besalú. Wilfred, lacking a political protector, retired to his monastery and the diocese of Besalú was abolished.
List of counts
- RadulfRadulf of BesalúRadulf was a Count of Besalú. He was the younger son of Sunifred I, Count of Barcelona, and thus a brother of Wilfred the Hairy and Miró the Elder....
, 878–912 - Miro I the Younger, 912–927
- Ava, 927–941, as regent for...
- Wilfred (II), 927–957
- Sunifred, 957–965
- Miro II Bonfill, 965–984
- Oliba CabretaOliba CabretaOliba Cabreta was the count of Cerdanya from 965 and count of Besalú from 984 until his abdication in 988. He was the fourth son of Miró II and Ava. He inherited Cerdanya from his eldest brother Sunifred II and Besalú from his elder brother Miró III...
, 984–988 - Bernard IBernard I of BesalúBernard I , called Taillefer , was the Count of Besalú in Catalonia from 988 until his death...
, 988–1020 - William I, 1020–1052
- William IIWilliam II of BesalúWilliam 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...
, 1052–1066 - Bernard IIBernard II of BesalúBernard II was the Count of Besalú and Ripoll in Catalonia, the brother, co-ruler , 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,...
, 1066–1100 - Bernard III, 1100–1111
Sources
- Lewis, Archibald Ross. The Development of Southern French and Catalan Society, 718–1050. University of Texas Press: Austin, 1965.
- Cheyette, Fredric L. Ermengard of Narbonne and the World of the Troubadours. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2001.
- Bolòs, JordiJordi BolòsJordi Bolòs is Professor of Medieval History at the University of Lleida. Rural Catalan history, urban history and the landscape history has focussed his research in the study of the medieval society...
and Víctor Hurtado. Atles del comtat de Besalú (785–988). Barcelona: Rafael Dalmau, 1998. ISBN 84-232-0520-7.