Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona
Ramon Berenguer IV | |
|---|---|
| Count of Barcelona | |
| File:Raymond Berengar IV of Barcelona in the Liber feudorum maior.jpg | |
| Reign | 19 August 1131 – 6 August 1162 |
| Predecessor | Ramon Berenguer III |
| Successor | Alfonso I |
| Born | c. 1113 |
| Died | 6 August 1162 Piedmont, Italy |
| Spouse(s) | Petronilla of Aragon |
| Issue | Dulce, Queen of Portugal Alfonso II of Aragon Peter, Count of Cerdanya Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Provence Sancho, Count of Provence Ramon, Archbishop of Narbonne |
| Father | Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona |
| Mother | Douce I, Countess of Provence |
Ramon Berenguer IV (Catalan pronunciation: [rəˈmom bəɾəŋˈɡe]; c. 1113 – 6 August 1162, Anglicized Raymond Berengar IV), sometimes called the Holy, was the Count of Barcelona who effected the union between the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona into the Crown of Aragon.
Early reign
He inherited the county of Barcelona from his father Ramon Berenguer III on August 19, 1131. On 11 August 1137, he was married to the infant Petronilla of Aragon, aged one at the time. Her father, Ramiro II of Aragon the Monk, who sought Barcelona's aid against Alfonso VII of Castile, abdicated on November 13 that same year, leaving his kingdom to Petronilla and Ramon Berenguer. The latter essentially became ruler of Aragon, although he was never king himself, but instead he commonly used 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). He was the last Catalan ruler to use the title of Count as his first; starting with his son Alfonso II of Aragon the counts of Barcelona styled themselves, in the first place, as kings of Aragon.
The treaty between Ramon Berenguer and his father-in-law stipulated that their descendants would rule jointly over both realms. Even should Petronila die before the marriage could be consummated, Berenguer would still inherit the title of King of Aragon.[1] Both realms would preserve their laws, institutions and autonomy, remaining legally distinct but federated in a dynastic 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 a time when Portugal seceded from León 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 the beauty and charm of his sister Berengaria, wife of Alfonso the Emperor, for which she was well known in her time.
Crusades and wars
In the middle years of his rule, his attention turned to his campaigns against the Moors. In October 1147, as part of the Second Crusade, he helped Castile to conquer Almería. He then invaded the lands of the Almoravid taifa kingdom of Valencia and Murcia. In December 1148, he captured Tortosa after a five-month siege with the help of Southern French, Anglo-Normans and Genoese crusaders.[2] The next year, Fraga, Lleida and Mequinenza in the confluence of the Segre and Ebro rivers fell to his army. The reconquista of modern Catalonia was completed.
Ramon Berenguer also campaigned in Provence, helping his brother Berenguer Ramon and his infant nephew Ramon Berenguer II against Counts of Toulouse. During the minority of Ramon Berenger II the Count of Barcelona also acted as the regent of Provence (between 1144 and 1157). In 1151, Ramon signed the Treaty of Tudilén with Alfonso VII of León and Castile. The treaty defined the zones of conquest in Andalusia in order to prevent the two rulers from coming into conflict. Also in 1151, Ramon Berenguer founded and endowed the royal monastery of Poblet. In 1154, he accepted the regency of Gaston V of Béarn in return for the Bearnese nobles rendering him homage at Canfranc, thus uniting that small principality with the growing Aragonese empire.
Death
He died in 1162 in Borgo San Dalmazzo, Piedmont, Italy, leaving the title of Count of Barcelona to his eldest son Ramon Berenguer, who next year inherited the title of King of Aragon from the abdication of his mother Petronilla of Aragon (Ramiro II was already dead). His name was changed to Alfonso as a nod to his Aragonese lineage, and he thus became Alfonso II of Aragon. Ramon Berenguer's younger son Pere (Peter) inherited the county of Cerdanya and lands north of the Pyrenees.
Appearance and Character
The Chronicle 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-porportioned limbs."
Ancestry
Notes
- ^ See Serrano Daura, La donación de Ramiro II de Aragón a Ramón Berenguer IV de Barcelona, de 1137, y la institución del "casamiento en casa" ("The Donation of Ramiro II of Aragon to Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona in 1137, and the Institution of In-House Marriage"), published in Hidalguía, #270, Madrid, 1998, p. 710.
- ^ Riley-Smith (1991) p.48.
References
- Riley-Smith, Jonathan (1991). Atlas of the Crusades. New York: Facts on File.
- Villegas-Aristizabal, Lucas (2009), "Anglo-Norman involvement in the conquest of Tortosa and Settlement of Tortosa, 1148-1180", Crusades 8, pp. 63–129.