Raimund Berengar I (Barcelona)

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Raimund Berengar and his wife pay 2000 gold ounces for the transfer of rights in Carcassonne
Ramon Berenguer I.
Raimund Berengar fighting with Moors (copy of the "Usatges de Barcelona", 1st third of the 14th century)

Raimund Berengar I , called el Vell (the old man) (* around 1023, † 1076 ) was Count of Barcelona and Girona from 1035 , Count of Osona from 1054 and Count of Carcassonne and Rasès from 1067 .

Life

Sarcophagus of Ramon Berenguer and his wife Almodis de la Marche in the Cathedral of Barcelona

origin

Raimund Berengar I was the son of Berengar Raimund I and grandson of Ermessenda von Carcassonne .

After the death of Berengar Raymond I on May 26, 1035, his county was divided between his three sons: Guillem became Count of Osona , Raimund Berengar Count of Girona and Barcelona , while Sancho the area in the south, between Llobregat and the Moorish dominion, the Penedès , was awarded. Since all three sons were minors at the time of their father's death, their grandmother, Ermessenda von Carcassonne, took over the reign, just like her son.

The nobility of the country used this situation to strengthen their own position and to weaken the count's power. The following stood out in particular: in the Penedès Mir Geribert, in Barcelona the Viscount Udalard II and Bishop Guislabert, who jointly controlled two of the four towers of the city wall of Barcelona and the port fortress of Montjuïc . In the meantime, Mir Geribert came into possession of the strategically important castles of Subirats and La Vit and secured the allegiance of numerous barons who did not agree with the Count's policy. The regent Ermessenda allied against this opposition with the bishop of Girona , the abbot Oliba , as well as some loyal nobles like Amat Elderich von Orís and Gombau von Besora.

Of legal age

When he came of age in 1041, Raimund Berengar I himself took over the government and now had to deal with the claims of the nobility.

Meanwhile, the relationship between Raimund Berengar and his grandmother worsened.

Marriages

Raimund Berengar first married Isabel von Narbonne, with whom he had three children: Berengar, Arnau and Pere Ramon, only the latter reaching adulthood. This was followed by a second marriage to Blanche of Narbonne, from which he separated in 1052 to marry Almodis de la Marche , who had previously been the wife of Pons , Count of Toulouse . Ermessenda disapproved of this marriage and, through her contacts with the Church, succeeded in getting Pope Viktor II excommunicated the couple in 1056.

Political successes

Meanwhile, Raimund Berengar I came into the possession of the Penedès in 1049 and prevailed against Mir Geribert, but the excommunication then shook his count's authority. The tide then turned in his favor again after his grandmother's most important allies, Abbot Oliba and the Bishop of Girona, died one after the other and Ermessenda finally withdrew from politics and died in 1058.

In the same year he also achieved the decisive victory over Mir Geribert, who had to flee into exile in Tortosa .

In addition, Raimund Berengar I succeeded Guillem as Count of Osona in 1054 , so that now the entire county, as in the time of Berengar Raimund I, was reunited in one hand.

Reconquista

Raimund Berengar was now powerful enough to think about resuming the Reconquista against the Moors in the south. As early as 1046 he was able to force the city of Lleida to pay tributes (so-called paries ) , and in 1052 also by the city of Tortosa . In 1058 the first attack took place against the Muslim King Muktadir of Saragossa , a rival of the Emir of Lleida, who had called on the Count of Barcelona for help. The campaigns of Raimund Berengar I reached in the west as far as Barbastro . The Catalans not only succeeded in conquering Baixa Ribagorça , Pilçà, Puig-roig, Estopinyà and Canyelles, but in 1062 Muktadir was also forced to pay tributes, which led to a significant economic boom in the county. The border of the county was extended to the gates of the city of Tarragona .

In the internal power struggle with the nobility, the count met the barons through a mediating stance. In the 1060s he concluded agreements with the most important families, to which he confirmed their rights and who in return assured him of their allegiance.

Legal constitution

By codifying Catalan law in the Usatges de la Cort de Barcelona (Customs of the Court in Barcelona), Raimund Berengar provided one of the first written summaries of feudal law in Europe.

The declaration of the Peace of God in 1027, with the help of which noble feuds were contained and which became a model for similar peace regulations throughout Europe, was also conducive to the development of the country.

The court (curia) in Barcelona served to enforce the count's power, in which the seneschal (to which the county's troops were subordinate), the janitor (jutge de palau) and the vicar of Barcelona held the most important offices. Amat Elderich von Orís, a confidante of the Ermessenda, served as Seneschal, who was followed in 1068 by Guillem Ramon von Montcada. Hausmeier was Guillem March, who campaigned for the written establishment of Catalan law. The Vicar of Barcelona, ​​in turn, was responsible for enforcing the count's authority at the local level, particularly through the administration of the sovereign castles.

Financial health

The county's financial situation was greatly improved by the income from the victories over the Moors. Raimund Berengar I was not only able to use the proceeds to expand his count's domain, but also to win over the barons through appropriate donations and to promote the expansion of the county’s infrastructure.

South France

The connections to southern France, which were strongly promoted by Raimund Berengar's marriages, were of particular importance. In addition, Berengar Raimund managed to acquire the county of Carcassonne and Rasès in 1067, which he transferred to his son Raimund Berengar II .

Raimund Berengar I's wife Almodis also bore him a second son, Berengar Raimund II , but she herself was murdered in 1071 by Pere Ramon, a son from Raimund Berengar's first marriage.

Succession

After Raimund Berengar I's death, his sons, the twin brothers Raimund Berengar II and Berengar Raimund II, succeeded him as Count of Barcelona initially together.

Descendants

with Isabel von Narbonne:

  • Berengar (died as a child)
  • Arnau (died as a child)
  • Peter Raimund, disinherited and banished in 1071 after the murder of his stepmother Almodis de la Marche

with Blanche of Narbonne (separation 1053):

  • ????

with Almodis de la Marche:

literature

Web links

Commons : Ramon Berenguer I of Barcelona  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ↑ Charles Julian Bishko, "Fernando I and the Origins of the Leonese-Castilian Alliance with Cluny," Studies in Medieval Spanish Frontier History (Variorum reprints) 40, 1969
  2. ^ Alberto Montaner Frutos, El señal del rey de Aragón: Historia y significado , Zaragoza, Institución "Fernando el Católico", 1995, p. 132, fig. 20. ISBN 84-7820-283-8 .
predecessor Office successor
Berengar Raimund Count of Barcelona
1035-1076 		Raimund Berengar II. With
Berengar Raimund II.
personal data
SURNAME Raimund Berengar I.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Count of Barcelona and Osona as well as Carcassonne and Rasès
DATE OF BIRTH around 1023
DATE OF DEATH 1076