County of Barcelona | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 801–1162 | |||||||||||
 The county of Barcelona (red) in the context of peninsular expansion of theCrown of Aragon. | |||||||||||
| Status | County of theFrankish Empire(801–10th century) Independent county(10th century–1162) | ||||||||||
| Capital | Barcelona | ||||||||||
| Common languages | Occitano-Romance(Old Occitan andOld Catalan),Latin | ||||||||||
| Religion | Chalcedonian Christianity (Roman Catholic afterGreat Schism c. 1054) | ||||||||||
| Government | Feudal monarchy | ||||||||||
| Count | |||||||||||
• 801–820 | Berà | ||||||||||
• 1131–1162 | Ramon Berenguer IV | ||||||||||
| Legislature | Comital Court | ||||||||||
| Historical era | Middle Ages | ||||||||||
• Established | 801 | ||||||||||
• Disestablished | 1162 | ||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Today part of | |||||||||||
TheCounty of Barcelona (Latin:Comitatus Barcinonensis,Catalan:Comtat de Barcelona) was a polity in northeastern Iberian Peninsula, originally located in the southern frontier region of theCarolingian Empire. In the 10th century, theCounts of Barcelona progressively achieved independence from Frankish rule, becominghereditary rulers in constant warfare with the IslamicCaliphate of Córdoba and itssuccessor states. The counts, through marriage, alliances and treaties, acquired or vassalized the otherCatalan counties and extended their influence overOccitania. In 1164, the County of Barcelona entered apersonal union with theKingdom of Aragon. Thenceforward, the history of the county is subsumed within that of theCrown of Aragon, but thecity of Barcelona remained preeminent within it.
Within the Crown, the County of Barcelona and the other Catalan counties progressively merged into a polity known as thePrincipality of Catalonia, which assumed the institutional and territorial continuity of the County of Barcelona.
Its origins date back to the early 8th century, whenMuslims took control of the northern territories of theVisigothic Kingdom in Hispania and modern-day northeastern Spain and southern France. After turning back deep Muslim incursions, theFrankish Empire under the Carolingian monarchs, created the hystoriographycallyMarches of Gothia and Hispania progressively. This was achieved by taking over the territories ofSeptimania that the Moors invaded in the 8th century and from these, those territories surrounding thePyrenees and specially the northeast of theIberian Peninsula. These eastern Iberian territories were repopulated with people from theMarch of Gothia.
This resulted in the formation of an effective buffer zone between the Muslim Iberian peninsula and theDuchy of Aquitaine andProvence.[1]
The area was dominated by the Franks after the conquest ofGirona (785) and especially when, in 801, the city ofBarcelona wasconquered by KingLouis the Pious of Aquitaine, and was incorporated into theFrankish kingdom. The county of Barcelona was established there, reporting to the Frankish king. The first count of Barcelona wasBera (801–820).[2]
Initially, authority for the county rested on the local aristocracy. However, the policies Bera adopted in an effort to maintain peace with Muslim ruledAl-Andalus,[3] resulted in him being accused of treason before the king. After losing a duel, according to the Visigothic legislation, Bera was deposed and exiled, and the government of the county went to Frankish nobles,[4] such asRampon orBernard of Septimania. However, the Visigothic nobility regained the king's confidence with the appointment ofSunifred I of Urgell-Cerdanya as count of Barcelona in 844.
Nevertheless, the ties of the Catalan counties to the Frankish monarchy had weakened. Autonomy was strengthened when the county families began to affirm their inheritance rights. This move was accompanied by a unification process among counties to form larger political entities. CountWilfred the Hairy, son of Sunifred and the last count appointed by the Frankish king, oversaw this movement. He united a number of counties under his command and passed them on as an inheritance to his children. Wilfred later died at the hands of Muslims.[5] Although he divided his counties among his children, the core formed by the counties of Barcelona, Girona and Osona remained undivided (although some historians, such as Ramon Martí, question whether Girona was kept initially under the domain of the children ofWilfred, and suggests that theCounty of Empúries dominated the county until the year of 908).[6]
During the 10th century, the counts of Barcelona strengthened their political authority and further distanced themselves from Frankish influence. In 985 Barcelona, then ruled byBorrell II, was attacked and burned by Muslims, led byAlmanzor. The count took refuge in theMontserrat mountains, awaiting help from the Frankish king, which never arrived, resulting in resentment.[7] In 988, the reign of theCarolingian dynasty ended and was replaced by theCapetian dynasty. Borrell II was required to swear allegiance to the new Frankish king, but there is no evidence that the count acceded to the call, as the Frankish king had to go north to resolve a conflict. This has been interpreted as the starting point of effective independence of the county. The relinquishment of any possible French claim of feudal overlordship was obtained byJames I in theTreaty of Corbeil (1258).[7]
Subsequently, the County of Barcelona grew in importance and expanded its territory with successive counts. It took over other Hispanic counties and expanded slowly towards the south as a result of battles againstal-Andalus and the repopulation of areas such asTarragona and the surrounding countryside.[8]
Borrell II's reign was followed by that of his great-grandsonRamon Berenguer I.[5] His grandmother was the forcefulErmesinde of Carcassonne. During the regency of Ermessinde (1018-1044) the disintegration of central power due toFeudal revolution was evident. Ramon Berenguer I reinforced the county's power by subjecting the rebelliousPenedès nobles led byMir Geribert, partnering with the counts ofUrgell andPallars, acquiring the counties ofCarcassonne and Rasez, chargingpariahs from theZaragoza and Lleida kingdoms, and renewing the legislative framework of the County to allow for the introduction of theUsages of Barcelona.[7] These were a set of feudal rules and customs that would increase in subsequent years, and they will be the basis of theCatalan constitutions from the 13th century onwards. In his will he decided not to divide the territories again, but he transferred unified rule to his twin sons,Ramon Berenguer II andBerenguer Ramon II.[9][10]
After a crisis provoked by the murder ofRamon Berenguer II and accusations of fratricide against his brother, who died in theFirst Crusade, his son and heir,Ramon Berenguer III, was able to consolidate and expand the boundaries of the county.[5] He conquered part of theCounty of Empúries and, leading a wide coalition, also attempted to conquerMallorca, but had to abandon it because of the advance of theAlmoravids troops on the peninsula.[5] He also received, by inheritance, theBesalú andCerdanya counties, gradually forming a territory very similar to what was once Old Catalonia. He also moved towards Lleida and repopulated border areas such as the city ofTarragona, effectively restoring it as theepiscopal see. He also extended his trans-Pyrenean reign by incorporatingProvence county through his marriage to Countess Dolça in 1112.[10]
However another marriage, that ofRamon Berenguer IV of Barcelona andPetronilla of Aragon in 1137, resulted in a union of dynasties –the counts of Barcelona and the royal house of Aragon.Ramon Berenguer IV was, until his death, Count of Barcelona and Prince of Aragon. Their son,Alfonso II, was the first king of Aragon who, in turn was the Count of Barcelona as Alfons I, titles all the kings of the Crown of Aragon inherited from then on.[8] Each territory that formed the union would maintain their respective traditions, laws, customs, currency and, in time, would develop separate state government institutions. From that point, along the next two centuries, the territory and institutional structure (such as theCourts) of the County of Barcelona became the basis of a new polity within the Crown of Aragon derived from the geographical context (Catalonia) and the traditional expression of the power of the counts (principality) which, from the Peace and Truce of 1173, was extended from Salses to Lleida and Tortosa. The resulting polity was definitively denominatedPrincipality of Catalonia from the 14th century onwards. However, the title of count of Barcelona remained as the ruler of the Principality.
During the 13th and 14th centuries, the Principality would still be ruled by the kings of Aragon as counts of Barcelona, but the death ofMartí l'humà without descendants in 1410 ended theHouse of Barcelona and, as a result of theCaspe Compromise (1412), principality's ownership passed to theTrastámara dynasty, native of Castile, in the person ofFerdinand I. Later, when his grandsonFerdinand II of Aragon marriedIsabella of Castile and was crowned king, the dynastic union between the crowns ofCastile and Aragon would involve the progressive inclusion of the Principality as one of the different Iberian territories ruled by theHabsburgs.[8]
Despite the uniting of the county to the Spanish monarchy, the Barcelona County law itself remained in force in Catalonia until most of it was abolished in 1716 with theNueva Planta Decrees after theSpanish War of Succession. Since then the Principality of Catalonia stopped being a separate political entity and the policy arena of the current Catalonia would only be defined as such by theStatutes of Autonomy of 1932, 1979 and 2006.[2] Moreover, the title of Count of Barcelona is now merged with the Spanish crown.Juan Carlos I granted it to his fatherJuan de Borbón, reverting, on his death, to the titles of the Spanish Crown as a royal title.
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