Ramon Berenguer IV | |
|---|---|
| Prince of Aragon[1] | |
 Ramon Berenguer's effigy on his seal (1140) | |
| Count of Barcelona | |
| Reign | 19 August 1131 – 6 August 1162 |
| Predecessor | Ramon Berenguer III |
| Successor | Petronilla |
| Born | c. 1114 Barcelona,County of Barcelona |
| Died | 6 August 1162 (aged 48–49) Borgo San Dalmazzo,Piedmont,County of Savoy |
| Buried | Santa Maria de Ripoll |
| Noble family | Barcelona |
| Spouse | Petronilla of Aragon |
| Issue | |
| Father | Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona |
| Mother | Douce I, Countess of Provence |
| Signature |  |
Ramon Berenguer IV (Catalan pronunciation:[rəˈmombəɾəŋˈɡe]; c. 1114[2] – 6 August 1162,AnglicizedRaymond Berengar IV), sometimes calledthe Saint, was thecount of Barcelona and the prince of Aragon who brought about the union of theCounty of Barcelona with theKingdom of Aragon to form theCrown of Aragon.
Ramon Berenguer was born 1114, the son of CountRamon Berenguer III of Barcelona and CountessDouce I of Provence.[3] He inherited the county of Barcelona from his father Ramon Berenguer III on 19 August 1131.[4] On 11 August 1137, at the age of about 24, he was betrothed to the infantPetronilla of Aragon, aged one at the time.[5] Petronilla's father, KingRamiro II of Aragon, who sought Barcelona's aid against KingAlfonso VII of Leon, withdrew from public life on 13 November 1137, leaving his kingdom to Petronilla and Ramon Berenguer.[5]
In effect becoming ruler of Aragon, although Ramon Berenguer was never king himself in acknowledgment of his own status as aprince-consort,[1][6] instead commonly using the titles "Count of the Barcelonans and Prince of the Aragonians" (Comes Barcinonensis et Princeps Aragonensis), and occasionally those of "Marquis of Lleida and Tortosa" (after conquering these cities). However, he explicitly used the title of king at least on one occasion, in 1139.[7]
The treaty between Ramon Berenguer and his father-in-law, Ramiro II, stipulated that their descendants would rule jointly over both realms, and that even if Petronilla died before the marriage could be consummated, Ramon Berenguer's heirs would still inherit the Kingdom of Aragon.[8] Both realms would preserve their laws, institutions and autonomy, remaining legally distinct but federated in adynastic union under one ruling house. Historians consider this arrangement the political masterstroke of the Hispanic Middle Ages. Both realms gained greater strength and security and Aragon got its much needed outlet to the sea. On the other hand, formation of a new political entity in the north-east at the time when Portugal seceded fromLeón in the west gave more balance to the Christian kingdoms of the peninsula. Ramon Berenguer successfully pulled Aragon out of its pledged submission to Castile, aided no doubt by his sisterBerengaria, wife of Alfonso VII, who was well known in her time for her beauty and charm.
In the middle years of his rule, Ramon Berenguer turned his attention to campaigns against theMoors. In October 1147, as part of theSecond Crusade, he helped Castile to conquerAlmería. He then invaded the lands of theAlmoravidtaifa kingdoms ofValencia andMurcia. In December 1148, hecaptured Tortosa after a six-month siege with the help of Southern French, Anglo-Norman and Genoese crusaders.[9] The next year,Fraga,Lleida andMequinenza in the confluence of theSegre andEbro rivers fell to his army aftera seven-month siege.
Ramon Berenguer also campaigned inProvence, helping his brotherBerenguer Ramon and his infant nephewRamon Berenguer II against thecounts of Toulouse. During the minority of Ramon Berenguer II, the count of Barcelona also acted as theregent of Provence (between 1144 and 1157). In 1151, Ramon signed theTreaty of Tudilén withAlfonso VII of León and Castile. The treaty defined the zones of conquest in Andalusia as an attempt to prevent the two rulers from coming into conflict. Also in 1151, Ramon Berenguer founded and endowed the royal monastery ofPoblet. In 1154, he accepted the regency ofGaston V of Béarn in return for the Bearnese nobles rendering him homage atCanfranc, thus uniting that small principality with the growing Aragonese state.
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Ramon and Petronilla had:
Ramon Berenguer IV died on 6 August 1162 inBorgo San Dalmazzo,Piedmont, Italy. He was succeeded by Petronilla and then by his eldest surviving son, Ramon Berenguer, who also inherited the Kingdom of Aragon upon Petronilla's abdication in 1164. He changed his name to Alfonso as a nod to his Aragonese lineage, and becameAlfonso II of Aragon. Ramon Berenguer IV's younger son Pere (Peter) inherited the county ofCerdanya and lands north of thePyrenees, and changed his name to Ramon Berenguer.
TheChronicle of San Juan de la Peña said he was, "[a] man of particularly great nobility, prudence, and probity, of lively temperament, high counsel, great bravery, and steady intellect, who displayed great temperance in all his actions. He was handsome in appearance, with a large body and very well-proportioned limbs."
Shortly after the marriage, Ramiro retired to a monastery and Ramon Berenguer acknowledged his status in Aragón not as king but as prince-consort. Due to her youth, however, Petronila ruled more in name than in fact (she and Ramon were not formally married until 1150).
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| Preceded by | Count of Barcelona 1131–1162 | Succeeded by |
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