Berenguer Ramon I, Count of Barcelona
Encyclopedia
Berengar Raymond I the Crooked, also called the Hunchback (in Catalan
, Berenguer Ramon I el Corbat; and in Spanish
, Berenguer Ramón I el Corvado or el Curvo) (1005 – 26 May 1035) was the count of Barcelona, Girona
, and Ausona from 1018 to his death.
He was the son of Raymond Borrell
, count
of Barcelona
, Girona, and Ausona and his wife Ermesinde of Carcassonne
. He accepted the suzerainty
of Sancho the Great of Navarre, and in 1021, he married the king's sister-in-law, Sancha Sánchez, daughter of Sancho I Garcés
, count of Castile. By her he had two sons: his successor, Raymond Berengar (1023), and a son Sancho. In 1027, he married secondly Guisla of Lluca, with whom he had two sons, Bernard b 1029 and William b. 1028. Two daughters have also been tentatively assigned to this couple, Clemencia who married Ermengol III
and a daughter, wrongly called Sibylla, who was mother of Hugh I
and Eudes I
, Dukes of Burgundy
, and of Henry, Count of Portugal
.
Berengar Raymond as a historical figure is enigmatic, shrouded in incomprehensible contradictions and ambiguities. First, he was a man of peace, and throughout his reign peace ruled. He pacified his neighbours as well, bringing to heel the count of Urgell, Ermengol II
. He reestablished amicable relations with Hugh I
, count of Empúries and maintained them with William I of Besalú and Wilfred II of Cerdagne. He was a son of the church who maintained relations with the papacy and pilgrimaged to Rome
in 1032. On many occasions he travelled to Zaragoza
and Navarre
to discuss with Sancho III the Great, king of Navarre their mutual stance against the counts of Toulouse
. His confidantes and councillors were the Abbot Oliva
, the judge
Ponç Bofill, Gombau de Besora, and the bishop
s Pedro of Girona
y Deudado of Barcelona
. In 1025, he decreed that the proprietors of entail
s (men holding land in fee tail
) were free from taxation.
On the other hand, the government of Berengar Raymond I marks the beginning of the decline of the comital power in Catalonia
. Upon the death of his father (1018), Berengar Raymond was a minor and his mother Ermesinde (Ermesenda) was regent
until 1023. But even when he attained his majority, his mother would not relinquish the powers of regency and reigned with him. According to some chroniclers, Berengar's character left some things to be desired. He is described as weak and indecisive. Moreover, his policy of peace with the Moors
was a bone of contention with the noblesse
, who saw war with Islam
as a way of obtaining glory, wealth, and possibly even salvation. This led some nobles to act outside the count's wishes. Ermesinde, contra her son, was energetic and decisive, intent on imposing the authority of Barcelona on the baronage. But, as a woman, her exercising control of the military was greatly impeded and organising a raid or other expedition to satisfy the itches of the aristocracy was next to nothing.
The obliteration of comital authority became very evident shortly before his death in 1035. Her partitioned his patrimony amongst his sons: Raymond Berengar received Girona
and Barcelona as far as Llobregat
; Sancho the frontierland from the Llobregat to the Moorish lands, which constituted the county of Penedès
with its capital in Olèrdola
; and William Ausona.
He died on May 26, 1035 and was buried in Santa Maria de Ripoll
. He was succeeded in Barcelona and Gerona by his son by his first wife, Raymond Berengar; in the new county by Sancho, son of his first wife also; and in Ausona by William, son of his second wife.
Catalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...
, Berenguer Ramon I el Corbat; and in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, Berenguer Ramón I el Corvado or el Curvo) (1005 – 26 May 1035) was the count of Barcelona, Girona
Girona
Girona is a city in the northeast of Catalonia, Spain at the confluence of the rivers Ter, Onyar, Galligants and Güell, with an official population of 96,236 in January 2009. It is the capital of the province of the same name and of the comarca of the Gironès...
, and Ausona from 1018 to his death.
He was the son of Raymond Borrell
Ramon Borrell, Count of Barcelona
Raymond Borrel , was count of Barcelona, Girona, and Ausona from 992. Son of Borrell II of Barcelona and Letgarda de Rouergue. He was associated with his father from 988....
, count
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
of Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, Girona, and Ausona and his wife Ermesinde of Carcassonne
Ermesinde of Carcassonne
Ermesinde of Carcassonne was a noblewoman in southern France, the daughter of Roger I of Carcassonne. She married to Ramon Borrell, Count of Barcelona....
. He accepted the suzerainty
Suzerainty
Suzerainty occurs where a region or people is a tributary to a more powerful entity which controls its foreign affairs while allowing the tributary vassal state some limited domestic autonomy. The dominant entity in the suzerainty relationship, or the more powerful entity itself, is called a...
of Sancho the Great of Navarre, and in 1021, he married the king's sister-in-law, Sancha Sánchez, daughter of Sancho I Garcés
Sancho I of Castile
Sancho García , called of the Good Laws , was the count of Castile and Álava from 995 to his death.-Biography:...
, count of Castile. By her he had two sons: his successor, Raymond Berengar (1023), and a son Sancho. In 1027, he married secondly Guisla of Lluca, with whom he had two sons, Bernard b 1029 and William b. 1028. Two daughters have also been tentatively assigned to this couple, Clemencia who married Ermengol III
Ermengol III of Urgell
Ermengol III , called el de Barbastre, was the Count of Urgell from 1038 to his death. He was the son of Ermengol II and Constance, daughter of the Count of Besalú....
and a daughter, wrongly called Sibylla, who was mother of Hugh I
Hugh I, Duke of Burgundy
Hugh I was duke of Burgundy between 1076 and 1079. Hugh was son of Henry of Burgundy and grandson of duke Robert I. He inherited Burgundy from his grandfather, following the premature death of Henry, but abdicated shortly afterwards to his brother Eudes I. He briefly fought the Moors in the...
and Eudes I
Eudes I, Duke of Burgundy
Odo I , also known as Eudes, surnamed Borel and called the Red, was Duke of Burgundy between 1079 and 1103. Odo was the second son of Henry of Burgundy and grandson of Robert I. He became the duke following the abdication of his older brother, Hugh I, who retired to become a Benedictine monk...
, Dukes of Burgundy
Duke of Burgundy
Duke of Burgundy was a title borne by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, a small portion of traditional lands of Burgundians west of river Saône which in 843 was allotted to Charles the Bald's kingdom of West Franks...
, and of Henry, Count of Portugal
Henry, Count of Portugal
Henry of Burgundy, Count of Portugal was Count of Portugal from 1093 to his death. He was brother of Hugh I, Duke of Burgundy, and Odo I, Duke of Burgundy, all sons of Henry, the heir of Robert I, Duke of Burgundy. His name is Henri in modern French, Henricus in Latin, Enrique in modern Spanish...
.
Berengar Raymond as a historical figure is enigmatic, shrouded in incomprehensible contradictions and ambiguities. First, he was a man of peace, and throughout his reign peace ruled. He pacified his neighbours as well, bringing to heel the count of Urgell, Ermengol II
Ermengol II of Urgell
Ermengol II , called the Pilgrim, was the Count of Urgell from 1011 to his death. He was the son of Ermengol I. He was a child when he succeeded his father and was put under the regency of his uncle Raymond Borrel of Barcelona until 1018...
. He reestablished amicable relations with Hugh I
Hug I of Empúries
Hugh I , Count of Empúries from 991, was the son of Gausfred I and his first wife, Ava, daughter of Raymond II of Rouergue....
, count of Empúries and maintained them with William I of Besalú and Wilfred II of Cerdagne. He was a son of the church who maintained relations with the papacy and pilgrimaged to Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
in 1032. On many occasions he travelled to Zaragoza
Zaragoza
Zaragoza , also called Saragossa in English, is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain...
and Navarre
Navarre
Navarre , officially the Chartered Community of Navarre is an autonomous community in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Country, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and Aquitaine in France...
to discuss with Sancho III the Great, king of Navarre their mutual stance against the counts of Toulouse
Counts of Toulouse
The first Counts of Toulouse were the administrators of the city and its environs under the Merovingians. No succession of such royal appointees is known, though a few names survive to the present...
. His confidantes and councillors were the Abbot Oliva
Abbot Oliva
Oliva was the count of Berga and Ripoll and later bishop of Vic and abbot of Sant Miquel de Cuixà. He was the son of a noble Catalan house who abdicated his secular possessions to take up the Benedictine habit in the Monastery of Santa Maria de Ripoll...
, the judge
Judge
A judge is a person who presides over court proceedings, either alone or as part of a panel of judges. The powers, functions, method of appointment, discipline, and training of judges vary widely across different jurisdictions. The judge is supposed to conduct the trial impartially and in an open...
Ponç Bofill, Gombau de Besora, and the bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
s Pedro of Girona
Girona
Girona is a city in the northeast of Catalonia, Spain at the confluence of the rivers Ter, Onyar, Galligants and Güell, with an official population of 96,236 in January 2009. It is the capital of the province of the same name and of the comarca of the Gironès...
y Deudado of Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
. In 1025, he decreed that the proprietors of entail
Entail
Entail may refer to:* Fee tail, a term of art in common law describing a limited form of succession....
s (men holding land in fee tail
Fee tail
At common law, fee tail or entail is an estate of inheritance in real property which cannot be sold, devised by will, or otherwise alienated by the owner, but which passes by operation of law to the owner's heirs upon his death...
) were free from taxation.
On the other hand, the government of Berengar Raymond I marks the beginning of the decline of the comital power in Catalonia
Catalonia
Catalonia is an autonomous community in northeastern Spain, with the official status of a "nationality" of Spain. Catalonia comprises four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Lleida, and Tarragona. Its capital and largest city is Barcelona. Catalonia covers an area of 32,114 km² and has an...
. Upon the death of his father (1018), Berengar Raymond was a minor and his mother Ermesinde (Ermesenda) was regent
Regent
A regent, from the Latin regens "one who reigns", is a person selected to act as head of state because the ruler is a minor, not present, or debilitated. Currently there are only two ruling Regencies in the world, sovereign Liechtenstein and the Malaysian constitutive state of Terengganu...
until 1023. But even when he attained his majority, his mother would not relinquish the powers of regency and reigned with him. According to some chroniclers, Berengar's character left some things to be desired. He is described as weak and indecisive. Moreover, his policy of peace with the Moors
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
was a bone of contention with the noblesse
Noblesse
In Scotland, the name used for the titled and untitled nobility. The term, derived from the French, remains in use in grants of arms from the Court of the Lord Lyon, the Scottish king of arms...
, who saw war with Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
as a way of obtaining glory, wealth, and possibly even salvation. This led some nobles to act outside the count's wishes. Ermesinde, contra her son, was energetic and decisive, intent on imposing the authority of Barcelona on the baronage. But, as a woman, her exercising control of the military was greatly impeded and organising a raid or other expedition to satisfy the itches of the aristocracy was next to nothing.
The obliteration of comital authority became very evident shortly before his death in 1035. Her partitioned his patrimony amongst his sons: Raymond Berengar received Girona
Girona
Girona is a city in the northeast of Catalonia, Spain at the confluence of the rivers Ter, Onyar, Galligants and Güell, with an official population of 96,236 in January 2009. It is the capital of the province of the same name and of the comarca of the Gironès...
and Barcelona as far as Llobregat
Llobregat
The Llobregat is the second longest river in Catalonia, Spain. It originates in Castellar de n'Hug at an altitude of 1,259 meters in the Serra del Cadí, and ends in the Mediterranean Sea, in the municipality of El Prat de Llobregat, near Barcelona...
; Sancho the frontierland from the Llobregat to the Moorish lands, which constituted the county of Penedès
Penedès
Penedès is a natural and historical region of the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain. It is located in the south of the Principality of Catalonia between the pre-coastal mountain range and the Mediterranean sea...
with its capital in Olèrdola
Olèrdola
Olèrdola is a municipality in the comarca of the Alt Penedès in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated on the northern side of the Garraf massif, and the highest point of the municipality is the Puig de l'Àliga at 468 m....
; and William Ausona.
He died on May 26, 1035 and was buried in Santa Maria de Ripoll
Ripoll
Ripoll is the capital of the comarca of Ripollès, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. It is located on confluence of the Ter River and its tributary Freser, next to the Pyrenees near the French border...
. He was succeeded in Barcelona and Gerona by his son by his first wife, Raymond Berengar; in the new county by Sancho, son of his first wife also; and in Ausona by William, son of his second wife.