Ramon Berenguer I the Old | |
|---|---|
 Ramon Berenguer I and his wife,Almodis de la Marche, counting out 2000 ounces of gold coins as payment toWilliam Raymond and Adelaide, count and countess ofCerdagne, in return for their rights overCarcassonne in 1067.[1] | |
| Count of Barcelona | |
| Reign | 1035–1076 |
| Predecessor | Berenguer Ramon I |
| Successor | Ramon Berenguer II andBerenguer Ramon II |
| Born | c. 1023 |
| Died | 26 May 1076 |
| Buried | Barcelona Cathedral |
| Noble family | Barcelona |
| Spouses | Elisabeth of Narbonne Blanca of Narbonne Almodis de la Marche |
| Issue | Peter Raymundi Ramon Berenguer II, Count of Barcelona Berenguer Ramon II, Count of Barcelona Agnes Sancha |
| Father | Berenguer Ramon I the Crooked |
| Mother | Sancha Sanchez |
| Signature |  |
Ramon Berenguer I (c. 1023 – 26 May 1076), calledthe Old (Catalan:el Vell,French:le Vieux), wasCount of Barcelona in 1035–1076. He promulgated the earliest versions of a written code of Catalan law, theUsages of Barcelona.
Born in about 1023, he succeeded his father,Berenguer Ramon I the Crooked in 1035.[2] It was during his reign that the dominant position of Barcelona among the otherCatalan counties became evident.
Ramon Berenguer campaigned against theMoors, extending his dominions as far west asBarbastro and imposing heavy tributes (parias) on other Moorish cities.[2] Historians claim that those tributes helped create the first wave of prosperity in Catalan history. During his reign Catalan maritime power started to be felt in the western Mediterranean. Ramon Berenguer the Old was also the first count of Catalonia to acquire lands (the counties ofCarcassonne andRazés) and influence north of the Pyrenees.[2]
Another major achievement of his was beginning thecodification of Catalan law in the writtenUsatges of Barcelona which was to become the first full compilation offeudal law in Western Europe. Legal codification was part of the count's efforts to forward and somehow control the process of feudalization which started during the reign of his weak father, Berenguer Ramon. Another major contributor was theChurch acting through the institution of thePeace and Truce of God. This established a general truce among warring factions and lords in a given region for a given time. The earliest extant date for introducing theTruce of God inWestern Europe is 1027 in Catalonia, during the reign of his father, Berenguer Ramon.
While still married to his second wife Blanca, he became involved with the wife of the Count of Toulouse,Almodis de La Marche, countess ofLimoges.[3] Both quickly married and were consequently excommunicated byPope Victor II.[3][4]
Ramon Berenguer I, together with his third wife Almodis, also founded the Romanesque cathedral of Barcelona, to replace the older basilica presumably destroyed byAlmanzor. Their velvet and brass bound wooden coffins are still displayed in the Gothic cathedral which eventually replaced the cathedral that they founded.
He was succeeded by his twin sonsRamon Berenguer II andBerenguer Ramon II.
| Preceded by | Count of Barcelona 1035–1076 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Count of Osona 1054–1076 | |
| Preceded by | Count of Carcassonne 1069–1076 |
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