County of Cerdagne
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....
formed in the last decades of the 8th century by the Franks
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
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 Cerdanya consisted of the valley of the upper Segre. Today 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....
is a Catalan comarca.
Origins
The region had been conquered by the MoorsMoors
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...
in the early 8th century. In 731, the Moorish governor of Cerdanya allied himself with Odo the Great by marrying his daughter, at Odo's insistence, in order to secure his southern frontier from further Muslim expansion. Cerdanya was at this time predominantly Basque
Basque people
The Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...
, and Odo had a pro-Basque policy in the face of Charles Martel
Charles Martel
Charles Martel , also known as Charles the Hammer, was a Frankish military and political leader, who served as Mayor of the Palace under the Merovingian kings and ruled de facto during an interregnum at the end of his life, using the title Duke and Prince of the Franks. In 739 he was offered the...
and the Franks
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
.
Moorish rule was soon purely nominal; the Cerdanya was reconquered by Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
shortly after the surrender of Girona
Girona
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 785. The first Count of Cerdanya that we know of by name was Borrell I (798), who was subject to the Count of Toulouse. At this date, Cerdanya was united in government under one count with County of Besalú
County of Besalú
The County of Besalú was one of the landlocked medieval Catalan counties near the Mediterranean coastline. It was roughly coterminous with the modern comarca of Garrotxa and at various times extended as far north as Corbières, Aude, now in France. Its capital was the village of Besalú...
and Urgell; it was part of the Kingdom of Aquitaine after 817. Cerdanya and Urgell remained united until 897 and both were under the influence and often control of the Count of Aragon. In 842, the Emirate of Córdoba invaded Cerdanya in an attempt to regain the Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
, but they were repulsed by Count Sunifred
Sunifred I, Count of Barcelona
Sunifred was the count of many Catalan and Septimanian counties; including Ausona, Besalú, Girona, Narbonne, Agde, Béziers, Lodève, Melgueil, Cerdanya, Urgell, Conflent, and Nîmes; and Count of Barcelona from 844 to 848....
.
In the 9th century, Cerdanya was the centre of a region wherein the aprisio form of landholding was common. In 835, a charter of 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...
even forbid the church of the region to grant lands in beneficium, that is, as benefice
Benefice
A benefice is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The term is now almost obsolete.-Church of England:...
s or in feudal tenure.
After the death of Louis the Stammerer
Louis the Stammerer
Louis the Stammerer was the King of Aquitaine and later King of West Francia. He was the eldest son of Charles the Bald and Ermentrude of Orléans. He succeeded his younger brother in Aquitaine in 866 and his father in West Francia in 877, though he was never crowned Emperor...
(879), Aquitaine and West Francia in general experienced a period of instability during which the outlying regions, such as Catalonia, became de facto independent of central royal authority. During this period as well, the office of count became de facto hereditary.
Division and reunion
The 10th century saw repeated divisions and reunions of the familial lands of the Bellonids and Cerdanya was repeatedly attached to and detached from its neighbouring regions and counties. The counts of Cerdanya frequently used the title marchio, meaning margraveMargrave
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...
, during this period. This was an indication of their status as frontier lords and of the breakdown in royal authority, which permitted regional magnates to assume whatever titles they wished without incurring royal disfavour. As another result of its frontier location and the lack of royal control exercised over it, Cerdanya was dotted with numerous castles
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...
during this period, when the Muslim threat was still strong.
In 897, Wilfred the Hairy
Wilfred the Hairy
Wilfred or Wifred, called the Hairy, was Count of Urgell , Cerdanya , Barcelona , Girona , Besalú , and Ausona ....
died and divided his vast Catalan patrimony (technically just a plurality of public offices) between his four sons. Cerdanya, Conflent
County of Conflent
The County of Conflent or Confluent was one of the Catalan counties of the Marca Hispanica in the ninth century. Usually associated with the County of Cerdanya and the county of Razès, and was located to the west of Roussillon...
, and Berga went to Miro. The Fenouillèdes and Capcir
Capcir
Capcir is a historical Catalan comarca of Northern Catalonia, now part of the French Département of Pyrénées-Orientales. The capital of the comarca was Formiguera, and it borders the historical comarques of Conflent and Alta Cerdanya...
were also annexed to Cerdanya at this time. From 913 to 920, Miro also held Besalú, but on his death in 927, his territories were divided between his four sons. The eldest, Sunifred, received Cerdanya and a certain primacy over his brothers. In the last half of the 10th century, the counties of Miro were reunited (984) under one ruler: 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...
.
His county comprised Besalú, the Fenouillèdes, Capcir, the Baridà, the valley of Orillas, that of Lillet
Lillet
Lillet is a brand of French aperitif wine. It is a blend of 85% Bordeaux wines and 15% macerated liqueurs, mostly citrus liqueurs from the peels of sweet oranges from Spain and Morocco and the peels of bitter green oranges from Haiti...
, the Berguedà
Berguedà
Berguedà is a comarca in the interior of Catalonia, Spain, lying partly in the Pyrenees and partly in Catalonia's Depressió Central.-Geography:...
, the Ripollés
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....
, the Vallespir
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...
, the upper plain of Roussillon
Roussillon
Roussillon is one of the historical counties of the former Principality of Catalonia, corresponding roughly to the present-day southern French département of Pyrénées-Orientales...
from Illa de Tet to Sant Esteve del Monasterio, Conflent
Conflent
Conflent is a historical Catalan comarca of Northern Catalonia, now part of the French Département of Pyrénées-Orientales. In the Middle Ages it comprised the County of Conflent....
, the Donasà, 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...
. Oliba's counties and the counties of Borrell II, Count of Barcelona
Borrell II, Count of Barcelona
Borrell II was Count of Barcelona, Girona, and Ausona from 945 and Count of Urgell from 948.Borrell is first seen acting as count during the reign of his father Marquis Sunyer in 945 at the consecration of the nunnery church of Sant Pere de les Puelles in Barcelona, and succeeded Sunyer along with...
, formed the two main divisions of Catalonia during the latter half of the 10th century. Oliba brought Cerdanya to its zenith. He expanded his lordship to the north into the County of Carcassonne and to the west into the Counties of 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:...
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....
. He extended his authority over the churches of Sant-Joan de les Abadesses 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:...
and usurped the de facto supremacy in Catalonia from Borrell II of Barcelona. In 988, Oliba Cabreta retired to the monastery of Montecassino and divided his lands between his three sons, the second-born, Wilfred
Wilfred II of Cerdanya
Wifred was the Count of Cerdanya and Count of Berga . He was the eldest son of Oliba Cabreta and Ermengard of Ampurias....
, receiving Cerdanya and Conflent. In 1002, Berga was annexed to Cerdanya.
It is clear, however, from evidence dating from between 987 and 1031, that the 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...
court system and Visigothic law were still in effect in Cerdanya. The count presided over judicial tribunals with the assistance of the judices (judges) and boni homines (good men) of the county.
Feudalisation and decline
During the 11th century, Cerdanya became increasingly feudalised and drawn into the orb of Toulouse and FoixCounty of Foix
The County of Foix was an independent medieval fief in southern France, and later a province of France, whose territory corresponded roughly the eastern part of the modern département of Ariège ....
. The counts of Toulouse desired to control the pass of Pimorent
Porté-Puymorens
Porté-Puymorens is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France.-References:*...
in Cerdanya, and those of Foix desired some control of the frontier with Moorish Lérida. The counts of Cerdanya, for their part, were interested in furthering their control of the church in the Midi and Catalonia; they had already controlled the important monasteries of Sant Miquel de Cuixà and Ripoll
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...
since the early 10th century. In 1016, they purchased the right to the archbishopric of Narbonne for 100,000 solidi for their relative Guifred and, not long after, that to the bishopric of Urgell as well. The famous Abbot Oliva
Abbot Oliva
Oliva was the count of Berga and Ripoll and later bishop of Vic and abbot of Sant Miquel de Cuixà. He was the son of a noble Catalan house who abdicated his secular possessions to take up the Benedictine habit in the Monastery of Santa Maria de Ripoll...
was a member of the ruling dynasty of Cerdanya. When Count Raymond Wilfred plundered the Sant Miquel de Cuixà and entered into a feud with the Bishop of Elne, it gave the nobles opportunity to grant their services to whoever offered them the most advantage at the moment.
In this period of political confusion, the viscount Bernard Sunifred rebelled. His lands were clustered in the north of Cerdanya, in the Segre valley and Conflent with their centre at Merencs. He put his lands under the nominal suzerainty of the count of Toulouse and tried to draw them away from Cerdanya. Bernard was forced to make peace with Raymond in 1047 and his allodial lands were handed over, though he was compensated with more fiefdoms from the count. Bernard rebelled a second time and was forced to make peace again in 1061. The important pass of Pimorent, which, now that Cerdanya was no longer a marcher territory, lay at the centre of its existence, remained in the hands of the Count Raymond and neither of Bernard's allies of Toulouse or Foix.
The viscounts of Cerdanya and the others regions, like Conflent and Fenouillèdes, were the main antagonists of the comital power in Cerdanya throughout the 11th century. Briefly, William Raymond
William I of Cerdanya
William I Raymond was the count of Cerdanya and Berga from the year of his birth till that of his death, giving up Berga a year earlier to his son William-Jordan....
had to fight a war (successfully) with 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...
over the possession of the monastery of Cuixà, which Cerdanya had controlled throughout the 10th century, but in the main, the viscounts were the greatest military detriment to the counts of Cerdanya. Between 1088 and 1092, William founded Vilafranca de Conflent. William's successor, William Jordan
William-Jordan
William II Jordan was the Count of Berga beginning in 1094, the Count of Cerdanya beginning in 1095, and Regent of the County of Tripoli beginning in 1105....
, 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...
, and in his absence, the counts' authority was weakened still further. In 1118, Cerdanya was sold to Barcelona and only occasionally bestowed thereafter as appanage
Appanage
An apanage or appanage or is the grant of an estate, titles, offices, or other things of value to the younger male children of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture...
for younger sons.
The failure of the county of Cerdanya to establish lasting supremacy over Catalonia lies in the penchant of its counts to divide their patrimony between all of their sons — and the rights of inheritance of brothers — and the gathering strength of the nobility following the decline of Cerdanya's military importance. In 1058, when Count Raymond accepted the pay of Raymond Berengar I of Barcelona to be his ally in the fight against the Moors, the fate of Cerdanya to be in the control of Barcelona was sealed.
List of counts
- 798-820 Borrell
- 820-824 Aznar GalíndezAznar I GalíndezAznar Galíndez I was the Count of Aragon and Conflent from 809 and Cerdanya and Urgell from 820. Aznar has been confused with Aznar Sánchez, Duke of Gascony, and some authorities have even considered the two like-named contemporaries to be one and the same person.Aznar succeeded Aureolus as count...
- 824-834 Galindo AznárezGalindo I AznárezGalindo Aznárez I was Count of Aragón from 844 to 867, succeeding Galindo Garcés. He was the son of Aznar Galíndez I, who had been Count of Aragón from 809 to 820 and Count of Urgell, Cerdanya, and Conflent...
- 834-848 Sunifred ISunifred I, Count of BarcelonaSunifred was the count of many Catalan and Septimanian counties; including Ausona, Besalú, Girona, Narbonne, Agde, Béziers, Lodève, Melgueil, Cerdanya, Urgell, Conflent, and Nîmes; and Count of Barcelona from 844 to 848....
- 848-869 Solomon
- 869-897 Wilfred I the Hairy
- 897-927 Miró II
- 927-968 Sunifred II
- 968-984 Miró III
- 968-988 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...
- 988-1035 Wilfred IIWilfred II of CerdanyaWifred was the Count of Cerdanya and Count of Berga . He was the eldest son of Oliba Cabreta and Ermengard of Ampurias....
- 1035-1068 Raymond
- 1068-1095 William IWilliam I of CerdanyaWilliam I Raymond was the count of Cerdanya and Berga from the year of his birth till that of his death, giving up Berga a year earlier to his son William-Jordan....
- 1095-1109 William II
- 1109-1118 BernardBernard of CerdanyaBernard William was the Count of Berga and Count of Cerdanya .A son of William I of Cerdanya and Sancha of Barcelona, he inherited Berga from his father in 1094. On the death of his brother William-Jordan in 1109, he inherited Cerdanya...
- 1118-1131 Raymond Berengar IRamon Berenguer III, Count of BarcelonaRamon Berenguer III the Great was the count of Barcelona, Girona, and Ausona from 1082 , Besalú from 1111, Cerdanya from 1117, and Provence, in the Holy Roman Empire, from 1112, all until his death in Barcelona in 1131...
- 1131-1162 Raymond Berengar IIRamon Berenguer IV, Count of BarcelonaRamon Berenguer IV , sometimes called the Holy, was the Count of Barcelona who effected the union between the Kingdom of Aragon and the Principality of Catalonia into the Crown of Aragon....
- 1162-1168 Peter
- 1168-1223 Sancho ISancho, Count of ProvenceSancho was the count of Cerdanya from 1168, Provence from 1181 to 1185, and Roussillon from 1185. He was the youngest son of Count Raymond Berengar IV of Barcelona and Queen regnant Petronilla of Aragón....
- 1223-1242 NuñoNuño SánchezNuño Sánchez was a Catalan nobleman and statesman.Nuño was the son of Sancho, Count of Provence, Roussillon, and Cerdagne, and Sancha Núñez of the House of Lara. His father was dispossessed of Provence in 1185 but maintained Roussillon and Cerdagne until his death in 1223, handing control of them...
- 1242-1276 James IJames I of AragonJames I the Conqueror was the King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276...
- 1276-1311 James IIJames II of MajorcaJames II was King of Majorca and Lord of Montpellier from 1276 until his death. He was the second son of James I of Aragon and his wife Violant, daughter of Andrew II of Hungary...
- 1311-1324 Sancho IISancho I of MajorcaSancho , called the Pacific or the Peaceful , was King of Majorca, Count of Roussillon and Cerdanya, and Lord of Montpellier from 1311 to his death. He was the second son of James II and Escalaramunda de Foix, daughter of Roger IV, count of Foix...
- 1324-1349 James IIIJames III of MajorcaJames III , called the Rash or the Unfortunate, son of Ferdinand of Majorca and Isabelle de Sabran, heiress of Principality of Achaea, was the King of Majorca from 1324 to 1344. He was the last independent king of Majorca of the House of Barcelona.James was born at Catania...
- 1349-1375 James IV
- 1375-1403 IsabelIsabel of MajorcaIsabella of Majorca was the last titular Queen of Majorca and Countess of Roussillon and Cerdanya from 1375 to her death.-Family:...
Passes finally and permanently to 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...
.
Sources
- Lewis, Archibald Ross. The Development of Southern French and Catalan Society, 718–1050. University of Texas Press: Austin, 1965.
- Llista de comtes de Cerdanya at Catalan WikipediaCatalan WikipediaThe Catalan Wikipedia is the Catalan language edition of Wikipedia. Founded on 16 March 2001 and reaching 200,000 articles by September 2009, it contains about articles, with active users as of . It was created just a few minutes after the first non-English Wikipedia, the German version...