James I of Aragon
Encyclopedia
James I the Conqueror (Catalan
: Jaume el Conqueridor, Aragonese
: Chaime lo Conqueridor, Spanish
: Jaime el Conquistador, Occitan: Jacme lo Conquistaire; 2 February 1208 – 27 July 1276) was the King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276. His long reign saw the expansion of the Crown of Aragon
on all sides: into Valencia
to the south, Languedoc
to the north, and the Balearic Islands
to the east. By a treaty with Louis IX of France
, he wrested the county of Barcelona from nominal French suzerainty and integrated it into his crown. His part in the Reconquista
was similar in Mediterranean Spain to that of his contemporary Ferdinand III of Castile
in Andalusia
.
As a legislator and organiser, he occupies a high place among the Spanish kings. James compiled the Llibre del Consulat de Mar, which governed maritime trade and helped establish Catalan-Aragonese supremacy in the western Mediterranean. He was an important figure in the development of Catalan
, sponsoring Catalan literature
and writing a quasi-autobiographical chronicle of his reign: the Llibre dels fets
.
as the only son of Peter II
and Mary
, heiress of William VIII of Montpellier
and Eudokia Komnene
. As a child, James was a pawn in the power politics of Provence
, where his father was engaged in struggles helping the Cathar
heretics of Albi against the Albigensian Crusade
rs led by Simon IV de Montfort
, Earl of Leicester
, who were trying to exterminate them. Peter endeavoured to placate the northern crusaders by arranging a marriage between his son James and Simon's daughter. He entrusted the boy to be educated in Montfort's care in 1211, but was soon forced to take up arms against him, dying at the Battle of Muret
on 12 September 1213. Montfort would willingly have used James as a means of extending his own power had not the Aragonese and Catalans appealed to Pope Innocent III
, who insisted that Montfort surrender him. James was handed over, at Carcassonne
, in May or June 1214, to the papal legate
Peter of Benevento
.
James was then sent to Monzón
, where he was entrusted to the care of William of Montreuil
, the head of the Knights Templar
in Spain and Provence; the regency meanwhile fell to his great uncle Sancho, Count of Roussillon
, and his son, the king's cousin, Nuño
. The kingdom was given over to confusion until, in 1217, the Templars and some of the more loyal nobles brought the young king to Zaragoza
.
In 1221, he was married to Eleanor, daughter of Alfonso VIII of Castile
and Leonora of England
. The next six years of his reign were full of rebellions on the part of the nobles. By the Peace of Alais
of 31 March 1227, the nobles and the king came to terms.
had occupied the County of Urgell in opposition to Aurembiax, the heiress of Ermengol VIII
, who had died without sons in 1208. While Aurembiax's mother, Elvira, had made herself a protegée of James's father, on her death (1220), Guerao had occupied the county and displaced Aurembiax, claiming that a woman could not inherit.
James intervened on behalf of Aurembiax, whom he owed protection. He bought Guerau off and allowed Aurembiax to reclaim her territory, which she did at Lleida
, probably also becoming one of James' earliest mistresses. She surrendered Lleida to James and agreed to hold Urgell in fief from him. On her death in 1231, James exchanged the Balearic Islands for Urgell with her widower, Peter of Portugal
.
, who desired his help against his nephew and closest living male relative, Theobald IV of Champagne. James and Sancho negotiated a treaty whereby James would inherit Navarre on the old Sancho's death, but when this did occur, the Navarrese nobless instead elevated Theobald to the throne (1234), and James disputed it. Pope Gregory IX
was required to intervene. In the end, James accepted Theobald's succession.
James endeavoured to form a state straddling the Pyrenees
, to counterbalance the power of France north of the Loire. As with the much earlier Visigothic attempt, this policy was victim to physical, cultural, and political obstacles. As in the case of Navarre, he was too wise to launch into perilous adventures. By the Treaty of Corbeil
, signed in May 1258, he frankly withdrew from conflict with Louis IX of France
and was content with the recognition of his position, and the surrender of antiquated and illusory French claims to the overlordship of Catalonia.
through a scheme of mutual adoption, James turned to the south and the Mediterranean Sea
, where he conquered Majorca on 10 September in 1229 and the rest of the Balearic Islands; Minorca
1232; Ibiza
1235) and where Valencia capitulated 28 September 1238. Chroniclers say he used gunpowder in the siege of Museros castle.
During his remaining two decades after Corbeil, James warred with the Moors
in Murcia
, on behalf of his son-in-law Alfonso X of Castile
. On 26 March 1244, the two monarchs signed the Treaty of Almizra
to determine the zones of their expansion into Andalusia
so as to prevent squabbling between them. Specifically, it defined the borders of the newly-created Kingdom of Valencia
. James signed it on that date, but Alfonso did not affirm it until much later. According to the treaty, all lands south of a line from Biar
to Villajoyosa through Busot
were reserved for Castile.
and go on Crusade. James sent an ambassador to Abaqa in the person of Jayme Alaric de Perpignan
, who returned with a Mongol embassy in 1269. Pope Clement IV
tried to dissuade James from Crusading, regarding his moral character as sub-par, and Alfonso X did the same. Nonetheless, James, who was then campaigning in Murcia
, made peace with Mohammed I ibn Nasr, the Sultan of Granada
, and set about collecting funds for a Crusade. After organising the government for his absence and assembling a fleet at Barcelona in September 1269, he was ready to sail east. The troubadour Olivier lo Templier
composed a song praising the voyage and hoping for its success. A storm, however, drove him off course and he landed at Aigues-Mortes
. According to the continuator of William of Tyre
, he returned via Montpellier por l'amor de sa dame Berenguiere ("for the love his lady Berengaria") and abandoned any further effort at a Crusade.
James' bastard sons Pedro Fernández and Fernán Sánchez, who had been given command of part of the fleet, did continue on their way to Acre, where they arrived in December. They found that Baibars
, the Mameluke
sultan of Egypt
, had broken his truce with the Kingdom of Jerusalem
and was making a demonstration of his military power in front of Acre. During the demonstration, Egyptian troops hidden in the bushes ambushed a returning Frankish force which had been in Galilee
. James' sons, initially eager for a fight, changed their minds after this spectacle and returned home via Sicily
, where Fernán Sánchez was knighted by Charles of Anjou.
, which was constructed in a style transitional between Romanesque
and Gothic
with little influence from Moorish styles
.
James was a patron of the University of Montpellier
, which owed much of its development to his impetus. He also founded a studium
at Valencia in 1245 and received privileges for it from Pope Innocent IV
, but it did not develop as splendidly. In 1263, James presided over a debate in Barcelona
between the Jewish rabbi
Nahmanides
and Pablo Christiani
, a prominent converso
.
James was the first great sponsor and patron of vernacular Catalan literature. Indeed, he may himself be called "the first of the Catalan prose writers." James wrote or dictated at various stages a chronicle of his own life, Llibre dels fets
in Catalan, which is the first self-chronicle of a Christian king. As well as a fine example of autobiography the "Book of Deeds" expresses concepts of the power and purpose of monarchy; examples of loyalty and treachery in the feudal
order; and medieval military tactics. More controversially, some historians have looked at these writings as a source of Catalan
identity, separate from that of Occitania
and Rome
.
James also wrote the Libre de la Saviesa or "Book of Wisdom." The book contains proverbs from various authors going back as far as King Solomon and as close to his own time, such as Albertus Magnus
. It even contains maxims from the medieval Arab philosophers and from the Apophthegmata Philosophorum of Honein ben Ishak, which was probably translated at Barcelona during his reign. A Hebrew
translator by the name of Jehuda was employed at James's court during this period.
Though James was himself a prose writer and sponsored mostly prose works, he had an appreciation of verse. In consequence of the Albigensian Crusade
, many troubadour
s were forced to flee southern France and many found refuge in Aragon. Notwithstanding his early patronage of poetry, by the influence of his confessor Ramon de Penyafort, James brought the Inquisition
into his realm in 1233 to prevent any vernacular translation of the Bible
.
, the old king recorded his grim satisfaction.
In his will, James divided his states between his sons by Yolanda of Hungary
: the aforementioned Peter received the Hispanic possessions on the mainland and James
, the Kingdom of Majorca
(including the Balearic Islands and the counties of Roussillon
and Cerdanya
) and the Lordship of Montpellier. The division inevitably produced fratricidal conflicts. In 1276, the king fell very ill at Alzira
and resigned his crown, intending to retire to the monastery of Poblet
, but he died at Valencia on 27 July.
His mummified body was later exhumed in 1856, when the monastery was under repair. A photograph of the king was taken. The photograph of the head of the mummy clearly shows the wound in the left eyebrow that the King himself explained in a passage from his Llibre dels fets
.
and Eleanor of England
. Though he later had the marriage annulled, his one son by her was declared legitimate:
In 1235, James remarried to Yolanda
, daughter of Andrew II of Hungary
by his second wife Yolande de Courtenay. She bore him numerous children:
James married thirdly Teresa Gil de Vidaure, but only by a private document, and left her when she developed leprosy.
The children in the third marriage were recognised in his last Will as being in the line of Succession to the Throne, should the senior lines fail.
James also had several lovers, both during and after his marriages, and a few bore him illegitimate sons.
By Blanca d'Antillón:
By Berenguela Fernández:
By Elvira Sarroca:
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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...
: Jaume el Conqueridor, Aragonese
Aragonese language
Aragonese is a Romance language now spoken in a number of local varieties by between 10,000 and 30,000 people over the valleys of the Aragón River, Sobrarbe and Ribagorza in Aragon, Spain...
: Chaime lo Conqueridor, 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...
: Jaime el Conquistador, Occitan: Jacme lo Conquistaire; 2 February 1208 – 27 July 1276) was the King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276. His long reign saw the expansion of the Crown of Aragon
Crown of Aragon
The Crown of Aragon Corona d'Aragón Corona d'Aragó Corona Aragonum controlling a large portion of the present-day eastern Spain and southeastern France, as well as some of the major islands and mainland possessions stretching across the Mediterranean as far as Greece...
on all sides: into Valencia
Kingdom of Valencia
The Kingdom of Valencia , located in the eastern shore of the Iberian Peninsula, was one of the component realms of the Crown of Aragon. When the Crown of Aragon merged by dynastic union with the Crown of Castile to form the Kingdom of Spain, the Kingdom of Valencia became a component realm of the...
to the south, Languedoc
Languedoc
Languedoc is a former province of France, now continued in the modern-day régions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées in the south of France, and whose capital city was Toulouse, now in Midi-Pyrénées. It had an area of approximately 42,700 km² .-Geographical Extent:The traditional...
to the north, and the Balearic Islands
Balearic Islands
The Balearic Islands are an archipelago of Spain in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.The four largest islands are: Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera. The archipelago forms an autonomous community and a province of Spain with Palma as the capital...
to the east. By a treaty with Louis IX of France
Louis IX of France
Louis IX , commonly Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death. He was also styled Louis II, Count of Artois from 1226 to 1237. Born at Poissy, near Paris, he was an eighth-generation descendant of Hugh Capet, and thus a member of the House of Capet, and the son of Louis VIII and...
, he wrested the county of Barcelona from nominal French suzerainty and integrated it into his crown. His part in the Reconquista
Reconquista
The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...
was similar in Mediterranean Spain to that of his contemporary Ferdinand III of Castile
Ferdinand III of Castile
Saint Ferdinand III, T.O.S.F., was the King of Castile from 1217 and León from 1230. He was the son of Alfonso IX of León and Berenguela of Castile. Through his second marriage he was also Count of Aumale. He finished the work done by his maternal grandfather Alfonso VIII and consolidated the...
in Andalusia
Andalusia
Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
.
As a legislator and organiser, he occupies a high place among the Spanish kings. James compiled the Llibre del Consulat de Mar, which governed maritime trade and helped establish Catalan-Aragonese supremacy in the western Mediterranean. He was an important figure in the development of Catalan
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...
, sponsoring Catalan literature
Catalan literature
Catalan literature is the name conventionally used to refer to literature written in the Catalan language. The Catalan literary tradition is extensive, starting in the Middle Ages....
and writing a quasi-autobiographical chronicle of his reign: the Llibre dels fets
Llibre dels fets
The Llibre dels fets is a collection of autobiographical chronicles of the reign of James the Conqueror, King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona. It is written in Catalan in the first person and describes the life of James. Though written at his dictation and with his editing, the work was not...
.
Early life and reign until majority
James was born at MontpellierMontpellier
-Neighbourhoods:Since 2001, Montpellier has been divided into seven official neighbourhoods, themselves divided into sub-neighbourhoods. Each of them possesses a neighbourhood council....
as the only son of Peter II
Peter II of Aragon
Peter II the Catholic was the King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona from 1196 to 1213.He was the son of Alfonso II of Aragon and Sancha of Castile...
and Mary
Marie of Montpellier
Marie of Montpellier , was by birth heiress and later Sovereign Lady of Montpellier and by her three marriages Viscountess of Marseille, Countess of Comminges and Queen of Aragon....
, heiress of William VIII of Montpellier
William VIII of Montpellier
William VIII of Montpellier was Lord of Montpellier, the son of William VII.He married Eudoxie or Eudokia Komnene, grand-niece of the Byzantine emperor Manuel I Komnenos. A condition of the marriage was that the firstborn child, boy or girl, would succeed to the lordship of Montpellier on...
and Eudokia Komnene
Eudokia Komnene
Eudokia Komnene was a niece of Byzantine Emperor Manuel I Komnenos, and wife of William VIII of Montpellier....
. As a child, James was a pawn in the power politics of Provence
Provence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
, where his father was engaged in struggles helping the Cathar
Cathar
Catharism was a name given to a Christian religious sect with dualistic and gnostic elements that appeared in the Languedoc region of France and other parts of Europe in the 11th century and flourished in the 12th and 13th centuries...
heretics of Albi against the Albigensian Crusade
Albigensian Crusade
The Albigensian Crusade or Cathar Crusade was a 20-year military campaign initiated by the Catholic Church to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc...
rs led by Simon IV de Montfort
Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester
Simon IV de Montfort, Seigneur de Montfort-l'Amaury, 5th Earl of Leicester , also known as Simon de Montfort the elder, was a French nobleman who took part in the Fourth Crusade and was a prominent leader of the Albigensian Crusade...
, Earl of Leicester
Earl of Leicester
The title Earl of Leicester was created in the 12th century in the Peerage of England , and is currently a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, created in 1837.-Early creations:...
, who were trying to exterminate them. Peter endeavoured to placate the northern crusaders by arranging a marriage between his son James and Simon's daughter. He entrusted the boy to be educated in Montfort's care in 1211, but was soon forced to take up arms against him, dying at the Battle of Muret
Battle of Muret
At the Battle of Muret on 12 September 1213 the Crusading army of Simon IV de Montfort defeated the Aragonese and Catalan forces of Peter II of Aragon, at Muret near Toulouse.-Background:...
on 12 September 1213. Montfort would willingly have used James as a means of extending his own power had not the Aragonese and Catalans appealed to Pope Innocent III
Pope Innocent III
Pope Innocent III was Pope from 8 January 1198 until his death. His birth name was Lotario dei Conti di Segni, sometimes anglicised to Lothar of Segni....
, who insisted that Montfort surrender him. James was handed over, at Carcassonne
Carcassonne
Carcassonne is a fortified French town in the Aude department, of which it is the prefecture, in the former province of Languedoc.It is divided into the fortified Cité de Carcassonne and the more expansive lower city, the ville basse. Carcassone was founded by the Visigoths in the fifth century,...
, in May or June 1214, to the papal legate
Papal legate
A papal legate – from the Latin, authentic Roman title Legatus – is a personal representative of the pope to foreign nations, or to some part of the Catholic Church. He is empowered on matters of Catholic Faith and for the settlement of ecclesiastical matters....
Peter of Benevento
Peter of Benevento
Peter of Benevento was an Italian canon lawyer, papal legate and Cardinal.He was closely associated with Pope Innocent III, and produced in 1209/10 a collection of his decretals, the Compilatio tertia, as an active editor and competing with that of Bernard of Pavia..He was sent in 1214 by ...
.
James was then sent to Monzón
Monzón
Monzón is a small town in the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It has a population of 17,050. It is located in the northeast and adjoins the rivers Cinca and Sosa.-Historical overview:...
, where he was entrusted to the care of William of Montreuil
William of Montreuil
William of Montreuil was an Italo-Norman freebooter of the mid-eleventh century. He was described by Amatus of Monte Cassino as an exceptional knight, small in stature, who was very robust, strong, valiant and by Orderic Vitalis as le Bon Normand, "the Good Norman."He was a son of the Guillaume...
, the head of the Knights Templar
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...
in Spain and Provence; the regency meanwhile fell to his great uncle Sancho, Count of Roussillon
Sancho, Count of Provence
Sancho was the count of Cerdanya from 1168, Provence from 1181 to 1185, and Roussillon from 1185. He was the youngest son of Count Raymond Berengar IV of Barcelona and Queen regnant Petronilla of Aragón....
, and his son, the king's cousin, Nuño
Nuño Sánchez
Nuño Sánchez was a Catalan nobleman and statesman.Nuño was the son of Sancho, Count of Provence, Roussillon, and Cerdagne, and Sancha Núñez of the House of Lara. His father was dispossessed of Provence in 1185 but maintained Roussillon and Cerdagne until his death in 1223, handing control of them...
. The kingdom was given over to confusion until, in 1217, the Templars and some of the more loyal nobles brought the young king 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...
.
In 1221, he was married to Eleanor, daughter of Alfonso VIII of Castile
Alfonso VIII of Castile
Alfonso VIII , called the Noble or el de las Navas, was the King of Castile from 1158 to his death and King of Toledo. He is most remembered for his part in the Reconquista and the downfall of the Almohad Caliphate...
and Leonora of England
Leonora of England
Eleanor of England was Queen of Castile and Toledo as wife of Alfonso VIII of Castile. She was a daughter of Henry II of England and his wife, Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine.-Early life:...
. The next six years of his reign were full of rebellions on the part of the nobles. By the Peace of Alais
Peace of Alais
The Peace of Alais, also known as the Edict of Alès or the Edict of Grace, was a treaty negotiated by Cardinal Richelieu with Huguenot leaders and signed by King Louis XIII of France on 27 September 1629...
of 31 March 1227, the nobles and the king came to terms.
Acquisition of Urgell
In 1228, James faced the sternest opposition from a vassal yet. Guerau IV de CabreraGuerau IV de Cabrera
Guerau IV de Cabrera was a claimant to the County of Urgel during the time that James I of Aragon was King of Aragon.In 1208 with the death of Armengol VIII Guerau claimed that Armengol's daughter, Aurembiax, could not inherit the land and so he should be made the ruler of the County. Aurembiax's...
had occupied the County of Urgell in opposition to Aurembiax, the heiress of Ermengol VIII
Ermengol VIII of Urgell
Ermengol VIII , known as el de Sant Hilari, was the Count of Urgell from 1184 to his death. He was a son of Ermengol VII and Dulce, daughter of Roger III of Foix....
, who had died without sons in 1208. While Aurembiax's mother, Elvira, had made herself a protegée of James's father, on her death (1220), Guerao had occupied the county and displaced Aurembiax, claiming that a woman could not inherit.
James intervened on behalf of Aurembiax, whom he owed protection. He bought Guerau off and allowed Aurembiax to reclaim her territory, which she did at Lleida
Lleida
Lleida is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital city of the province of Lleida, as well as the largest city in the province and it had 137,387 inhabitants , including the contiguous municipalities of Raimat and Sucs. The metro area has about 250,000 inhabitants...
, probably also becoming one of James' earliest mistresses. She surrendered Lleida to James and agreed to hold Urgell in fief from him. On her death in 1231, James exchanged the Balearic Islands for Urgell with her widower, Peter of Portugal
Infante Pedro, Count of Urgell
Peter I was the second son of King Sancho I of Portugal and his wife Dulce, infanta of Aragon, and would eventually becomeCount of Urgell and Lord of the Balearic Islands.-Biography:Peter was born at Coimbra....
.
Relations with France and Navarre
From 1230 to 1232, James negotiated with Sancho VII of NavarreSancho VII of Navarre
Sancho VII Sánchez , called the Strong or the Prudent, was the King of Navarre from 1194 to his death...
, who desired his help against his nephew and closest living male relative, Theobald IV of Champagne. James and Sancho negotiated a treaty whereby James would inherit Navarre on the old Sancho's death, but when this did occur, the Navarrese nobless instead elevated Theobald to the throne (1234), and James disputed it. Pope Gregory IX
Pope Gregory IX
Pope Gregory IX, born Ugolino di Conti, was pope from March 19, 1227 to August 22, 1241.The successor of Pope Honorius III , he fully inherited the traditions of Pope Gregory VII and of his uncle Pope Innocent III , and zealously continued their policy of Papal supremacy.-Early life:Ugolino was...
was required to intervene. In the end, James accepted Theobald's succession.
James endeavoured to form a state straddling the Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
, to counterbalance the power of France north of the Loire. As with the much earlier Visigothic attempt, this policy was victim to physical, cultural, and political obstacles. As in the case of Navarre, he was too wise to launch into perilous adventures. By the Treaty of Corbeil
Treaty of Corbeil (1258)
The Treaty of Corbeil was an agreement signed on 11 May 1258, in Corbeil between Louis IX of France and James I of Aragon....
, signed in May 1258, he frankly withdrew from conflict with Louis IX of France
Louis IX of France
Louis IX , commonly Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death. He was also styled Louis II, Count of Artois from 1226 to 1237. Born at Poissy, near Paris, he was an eighth-generation descendant of Hugh Capet, and thus a member of the House of Capet, and the son of Louis VIII and...
and was content with the recognition of his position, and the surrender of antiquated and illusory French claims to the overlordship of Catalonia.
Reconquest
After his false start at uniting Aragon with the Kingdom of NavarreKingdom of Navarre
The Kingdom of Navarre , originally the Kingdom of Pamplona, was a European kingdom which occupied lands on either side of the Pyrenees alongside the Atlantic Ocean....
through a scheme of mutual adoption, James turned to the south and the Mediterranean Sea
Mediterranean Sea
The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean surrounded by the Mediterranean region and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Anatolia and Europe, on the south by North Africa, and on the east by the Levant...
, where he conquered Majorca on 10 September in 1229 and the rest of the Balearic Islands; Minorca
Minorca
Min Orca or Menorca is one of the Balearic Islands located in the Mediterranean Sea belonging to Spain. It takes its name from being smaller than the nearby island of Majorca....
1232; Ibiza
Ibiza
Ibiza or Eivissa is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea 79 km off the coast of the city of Valencia in Spain. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, an autonomous community of Spain. With Formentera, it is one of the two Pine Islands or Pityuses. Its largest cities are Ibiza...
1235) and where Valencia capitulated 28 September 1238. Chroniclers say he used gunpowder in the siege of Museros castle.
During his remaining two decades after Corbeil, James warred 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...
in Murcia
Murcia
-History:It is widely believed that Murcia's name is derived from the Latin words of Myrtea or Murtea, meaning land of Myrtle , although it may also be a derivation of the word Murtia, which would mean Murtius Village...
, on behalf of his son-in-law Alfonso X of Castile
Alfonso X of Castile
Alfonso X was a Castilian monarch who ruled as the King of Castile, León and Galicia from 1252 until his death...
. On 26 March 1244, the two monarchs signed the Treaty of Almizra
Treaty of Almizra
The Treaty of Almizra was the third of a series of three treaties between the Crowns of Aragon and Castile meant to determine the limits of their expansion into Andalusia so as to prevent squabbling between the Christian princes. Specifically, it defined the borders of the Kingdom of Valencia...
to determine the zones of their expansion into Andalusia
Andalusia
Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
so as to prevent squabbling between them. Specifically, it defined the borders of the newly-created Kingdom of Valencia
Kingdom of Valencia
The Kingdom of Valencia , located in the eastern shore of the Iberian Peninsula, was one of the component realms of the Crown of Aragon. When the Crown of Aragon merged by dynastic union with the Crown of Castile to form the Kingdom of Spain, the Kingdom of Valencia became a component realm of the...
. James signed it on that date, but Alfonso did not affirm it until much later. According to the treaty, all lands south of a line from Biar
Biar
Biar is a town in the comarca of Alt Vinalopó, province of Alicante, Spain. Biar lies at the foot of the Serra de Mariola and is located 39km from the city of Alicante.The economy in Biar is based on manufacture, particularly dolls, and pottery....
to Villajoyosa through Busot
Busot
Busot is a municipality in the comarca of Alacantí in the Valencian Community, Spain.The moros i cristians festivals are held from the Friday to the Monday on the weekend after Easter weekend every year....
were reserved for Castile.
Crusade of 1269
The "khan of Tartary" (actually the Ilkhan) Abaqa corresponded with James in early 1267, inviting him to join forces with the MongolsMongols
Mongols ) are a Central-East Asian ethnic group that lives mainly in the countries of Mongolia, China, and Russia. In China, ethnic Mongols can be found mainly in the central north region of China such as Inner Mongolia...
and go on Crusade. James sent an ambassador to Abaqa in the person of Jayme Alaric de Perpignan
Jayme Alaric de Perpignan
Jayme Alaric de Perpignan was an ambassador sent by Pope Clement IV and James I of Aragon to the Mongol ruler Abaqa Khan in 1267.The Byzantine Emperor Michael VIII Palaiologos had sent his illegitimate daughter Maria Palaiologina to be the bride of Hulagu Khan, Abaqa's predecessor. Hulagu died...
, who returned with a Mongol embassy in 1269. Pope Clement IV
Pope Clement IV
Pope Clement IV , born Gui Faucoi called in later life le Gros , was elected Pope February 5, 1265, in a conclave held at Perugia that took four months, while cardinals argued over whether to call in Charles of Anjou, the youngest brother of Louis IX of France...
tried to dissuade James from Crusading, regarding his moral character as sub-par, and Alfonso X did the same. Nonetheless, James, who was then campaigning in Murcia
Murcia
-History:It is widely believed that Murcia's name is derived from the Latin words of Myrtea or Murtea, meaning land of Myrtle , although it may also be a derivation of the word Murtia, which would mean Murtius Village...
, made peace with Mohammed I ibn Nasr, the Sultan of Granada
Nasrid dynasty
The Nasrid dynasty was the last Moorish and Muslim dynasty in Spain. The Nasrid dynasty rose to power after the defeat of the Almohad Caliphate in 1212 at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa...
, and set about collecting funds for a Crusade. After organising the government for his absence and assembling a fleet at Barcelona in September 1269, he was ready to sail east. The troubadour Olivier lo Templier
Olivier lo Templier
Olivier lo Templier was a Knight Templar and troubadour probably from Catalonia. He appears as lo templier En'Olivier in one chansonnier, in which is preserved his only work, Estat aurai lonc temps en pessamen . He may be identical with Ramon Oliver who appears as commander of the Templar house of...
composed a song praising the voyage and hoping for its success. A storm, however, drove him off course and he landed at Aigues-Mortes
Aigues-Mortes
Aigues-Mortes is a commune in the Gard department in southern France.The medieval city walls surrounding the city are well preserved.-History:...
. According to the continuator of William of Tyre
William of Tyre
William of Tyre was a medieval prelate and chronicler. As archbishop of Tyre, he is sometimes known as William II to distinguish him from a predecessor, William of Malines...
, he returned via Montpellier por l'amor de sa dame Berenguiere ("for the love his lady Berengaria") and abandoned any further effort at a Crusade.
James' bastard sons Pedro Fernández and Fernán Sánchez, who had been given command of part of the fleet, did continue on their way to Acre, where they arrived in December. They found that Baibars
Baibars
Baibars or Baybars , nicknamed Abu l-Futuh , was a Mamluk Sultan of Egypt. He was one of the commanders of the forces which inflicted a devastating defeat on the Seventh Crusade of King Louis IX of France and he led the vanguard of the Egyptian army at the Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260, which marked...
, the Mameluke
Mameluke
Mameluke was an American Thoroughbred race horse. Bred and raced by Cornelius Vanderbilt Whitney, he was out of the mare, Schwester, and was sired by the 1936 Epsom Derby winner, Mahmoud who became the Leading sire in North America in 1946 and the Leading broodmare sire in North America in...
sultan of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, had broken his truce with the Kingdom of Jerusalem
Kingdom of Jerusalem
The Kingdom of Jerusalem was a Catholic kingdom established in the Levant in 1099 after the First Crusade. The kingdom lasted nearly two hundred years, from 1099 until 1291 when the last remaining possession, Acre, was destroyed by the Mamluks, but its history is divided into two distinct periods....
and was making a demonstration of his military power in front of Acre. During the demonstration, Egyptian troops hidden in the bushes ambushed a returning Frankish force which had been in Galilee
Galilee
Galilee , is a large region in northern Israel which overlaps with much of the administrative North District of the country. Traditionally divided into Upper Galilee , Lower Galilee , and Western Galilee , extending from Dan to the north, at the base of Mount Hermon, along Mount Lebanon to the...
. James' sons, initially eager for a fight, changed their minds after this spectacle and returned home via Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...
, where Fernán Sánchez was knighted by Charles of Anjou.
Patronage of art, learning, and literature
James built and consecrated the Cathedral of LleidaLa Seu Vella
The Cathedral of St. Mary of La Seu Vella is the former cathedral church of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lleida, in Lleida, Catalonia, Spain, located on top of Lleida hill....
, which was constructed in a style transitional between Romanesque
Romanesque architecture
Romanesque architecture is an architectural style of Medieval Europe characterised by semi-circular arches. There is no consensus for the beginning date of the Romanesque architecture, with proposals ranging from the 6th to the 10th century. It developed in the 12th century into the Gothic style,...
and Gothic
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....
with little influence from Moorish styles
Islamic architecture
Islamic architecture encompasses a wide range of both secular and religious styles from the foundation of Islam to the present day, influencing the design and construction of buildings and structures in Islamic culture....
.
James was a patron of the University of Montpellier
University of Montpellier
The University of Montpellier was a French university in Montpellier in the Languedoc-Roussillon région of the south of France. Its present-day successor universities are the University of Montpellier 1, Montpellier 2 University and Paul Valéry University, Montpellier III.-History:The university...
, which owed much of its development to his impetus. He also founded a studium
Studium Generale
Studium generale is the old customary name for a Medieval university.- Definition :There is no clear official definition of what constituted a Studium generale...
at Valencia in 1245 and received privileges for it from Pope Innocent IV
Pope Innocent IV
Pope Innocent IV , born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was pope from June 25, 1243 until his death in 1254.-Early life:...
, but it did not develop as splendidly. In 1263, James presided over a debate in 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...
between the Jewish rabbi
Rabbi
In Judaism, a rabbi is a teacher of Torah. This title derives from the Hebrew word רבי , meaning "My Master" , which is the way a student would address a master of Torah...
Nahmanides
Nahmanides
Nahmanides, also known as Rabbi Moses ben Naḥman Girondi, Bonastruc ça Porta and by his acronym Ramban, , was a leading medieval Jewish scholar, Catalan rabbi, philosopher, physician, kabbalist, and biblical commentator.-Name:"Nahmanides" is a Greek-influenced formation meaning "son of Naḥman"...
and Pablo Christiani
Pablo Christiani
Pablo Christiani , a figure of the thirteenth century, was born to a pious Jewish family, with the name Saul. He became a Christian convert and Dominican friar....
, a prominent converso
Converso
A converso and its feminine form conversa was a Jew or Muslim—or a descendant of Jews or Muslims—who converted to Catholicism in Spain or Portugal, particularly during the 14th and 15th centuries. Mass conversions once took place under significant government pressure...
.
James was the first great sponsor and patron of vernacular Catalan literature. Indeed, he may himself be called "the first of the Catalan prose writers." James wrote or dictated at various stages a chronicle of his own life, Llibre dels fets
Llibre dels fets
The Llibre dels fets is a collection of autobiographical chronicles of the reign of James the Conqueror, King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona. It is written in Catalan in the first person and describes the life of James. Though written at his dictation and with his editing, the work was not...
in Catalan, which is the first self-chronicle of a Christian king. As well as a fine example of autobiography the "Book of Deeds" expresses concepts of the power and purpose of monarchy; examples of loyalty and treachery in the feudal
Feudalism
Feudalism was a set of legal and military customs in medieval Europe that flourished between the 9th and 15th centuries, which, broadly defined, was a system for ordering society around relationships derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.Although derived from the...
order; and medieval military tactics. More controversially, some historians have looked at these writings as a source of Catalan
Catalan people
The Catalans or Catalonians are the people from, or with origins in, Catalonia that form a historical nationality in Spain. The inhabitants of the adjacent portion of southern France are sometimes included in this definition...
identity, separate from that of Occitania
Occitania
Occitania , also sometimes lo País d'Òc, "the Oc Country"), is the region in southern Europe where Occitan was historically the main language spoken, and where it is sometimes still used, for the most part as a second language...
and Rome
Roman Empire
The Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
.
James also wrote the Libre de la Saviesa or "Book of Wisdom." The book contains proverbs from various authors going back as far as King Solomon and as close to his own time, such as Albertus Magnus
Albertus Magnus
Albertus Magnus, O.P. , also known as Albert the Great and Albert of Cologne, is a Catholic saint. He was a German Dominican friar and a bishop, who achieved fame for his comprehensive knowledge of and advocacy for the peaceful coexistence of science and religion. Those such as James A. Weisheipl...
. It even contains maxims from the medieval Arab philosophers and from the Apophthegmata Philosophorum of Honein ben Ishak, which was probably translated at Barcelona during his reign. A Hebrew
Hebrew language
Hebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
translator by the name of Jehuda was employed at James's court during this period.
Though James was himself a prose writer and sponsored mostly prose works, he had an appreciation of verse. In consequence of the Albigensian Crusade
Albigensian Crusade
The Albigensian Crusade or Cathar Crusade was a 20-year military campaign initiated by the Catholic Church to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc...
, many troubadour
Troubadour
A troubadour was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages . Since the word "troubadour" is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a trobairitz....
s were forced to flee southern France and many found refuge in Aragon. Notwithstanding his early patronage of poetry, by the influence of his confessor Ramon de Penyafort, James brought the Inquisition
Inquisition
The Inquisition, Inquisitio Haereticae Pravitatis , was the "fight against heretics" by several institutions within the justice-system of the Roman Catholic Church. It started in the 12th century, with the introduction of torture in the persecution of heresy...
into his realm in 1233 to prevent any vernacular translation of the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
.
Succession
The favour James showed his illegitimate offspring led to protest from the nobles, and to conflicts between his sons legitimate and illegitimate. When one of the latter, Fernán Sánchez, who had behaved with gross ingratitude and treason to his father, was slain by the legitimate son PeterPeter III of Aragon
Peter the Great was the King of Aragon of Valencia , and Count of Barcelona from 1276 to his death. He conquered Sicily and became its king in 1282. He was one of the greatest of medieval Aragonese monarchs.-Youth and succession:Peter was the eldest son of James I of Aragon and his second wife...
, the old king recorded his grim satisfaction.
In his will, James divided his states between his sons by Yolanda of Hungary
Violant of Hungary
Violant of Hungary was Queen consort of James I of Aragon. She is also called Jolánta in Hungarian, Iolanda or Violant d'Hongria in Catalan and Yolanda or Violante de Hungría in Spanish.-Family:...
: the aforementioned Peter received the Hispanic possessions on the mainland and James
James II of Majorca
James II was King of Majorca and Lord of Montpellier from 1276 until his death. He was the second son of James I of Aragon and his wife Violant, daughter of Andrew II of Hungary...
, the Kingdom of Majorca
Kingdom of Majorca
The Kingdom of Majorca was founded by James I of Aragon, also known as James The Conqueror. After the death of his first-born son Alfonso, a will was written in 1262 which created the kingdom in order to cede it to his son James...
(including the Balearic Islands and the counties of Roussillon
Roussillon
Roussillon is one of the historical counties of the former Principality of Catalonia, corresponding roughly to the present-day southern French département of Pyrénées-Orientales...
and Cerdanya
Cerdanya
Cerdanya is a natural comarca and historical region of the eastern Pyrenees divided between France and Spain. Historically it has been one of the counties of Catalonia....
) and the Lordship of Montpellier. The division inevitably produced fratricidal conflicts. In 1276, the king fell very ill at Alzira
Alzira, Valencia
Alzira is a town and municipality of 45,000 inhabitants in Valencia, eastern Spain. It is the capital of the comarca of Ribera Alta in the province of Valencia.-Geographic situation:...
and resigned his crown, intending to retire to the monastery of Poblet
Poblet Monastery
The Royal Abbey of Santa Maria de Poblet is a Cistercian monastery, founded in 1151, located at the feet of the Prades Mountains, in the comarca of Conca de Barberà, in Catalonia . It was founded by Cistercian monks from France on lands conquered from the Moors...
, but he died at Valencia on 27 July.
His mummified body was later exhumed in 1856, when the monastery was under repair. A photograph of the king was taken. The photograph of the head of the mummy clearly shows the wound in the left eyebrow that the King himself explained in a passage from his Llibre dels fets
Llibre dels fets
The Llibre dels fets is a collection of autobiographical chronicles of the reign of James the Conqueror, King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona. It is written in Catalan in the first person and describes the life of James. Though written at his dictation and with his editing, the work was not...
.
E nós que·ns en tornàvem ab los hòmens, volvem-nos contra la vila a esguardar los sarraïns que havia la companya gran defora, I. balester tirà'ns e de part lo capel de sol, e·l batut donà'ns en lo cap ab lo cayrel, prop del front. E Déus que ho volch, no trespassà lo test, e exi'ns be a la maytat de la testa la punta de la sageta. E nós, ab ira que n'hagem donam tal de la mà en la sageta que trencam-la e exia'ns la sanch per la cara a enjús, e ab lo mantel de sendat que nós aduýem torcàvem-nos la sanch, e veníem rient per tal que la ost no se n'esmayàs.
Marriages and children
James first married, in 1221, Eleanor, daughter of Alfonso VIII of CastileAlfonso VIII of Castile
Alfonso VIII , called the Noble or el de las Navas, was the King of Castile from 1158 to his death and King of Toledo. He is most remembered for his part in the Reconquista and the downfall of the Almohad Caliphate...
and Eleanor of England
Leonora of England
Eleanor of England was Queen of Castile and Toledo as wife of Alfonso VIII of Castile. She was a daughter of Henry II of England and his wife, Duchess Eleanor of Aquitaine.-Early life:...
. Though he later had the marriage annulled, his one son by her was declared legitimate:
- Alfonso (1229–1260), married Constance of Montcada, Countess of Bigorre
In 1235, James remarried to Yolanda
Violant of Hungary
Violant of Hungary was Queen consort of James I of Aragon. She is also called Jolánta in Hungarian, Iolanda or Violant d'Hongria in Catalan and Yolanda or Violante de Hungría in Spanish.-Family:...
, daughter of Andrew II of Hungary
Andrew II of Hungary
Andrew II the Jerosolimitan was King of Hungary and Croatia . He was the younger son of King Béla III of Hungary, who invested him with the government of the Principality of Halych...
by his second wife Yolande de Courtenay. She bore him numerous children:
- YolandaViolant of AragonViolant or Violante of Aragon, also known as Yolanda of Aragon , was Queen consort of Castile and León from 1252 to 1284 as the wife of King Alfonso X.- Life :...
, also known as Violant, (1236–1301), married Alfonso X of CastileAlfonso X of CastileAlfonso X was a Castilian monarch who ruled as the King of Castile, León and Galicia from 1252 until his death... - Constance (1239–1269), married Juan Manuel, Lord of VillenaJuan Manuel, Lord of VillenaJuan Manuel was the son of Ferdinand III of Castile and his wife Elisabeth of Hohenstaufen....
, son of Ferdinand III - PeterPeter III of AragonPeter the Great was the King of Aragon of Valencia , and Count of Barcelona from 1276 to his death. He conquered Sicily and became its king in 1282. He was one of the greatest of medieval Aragonese monarchs.-Youth and succession:Peter was the eldest son of James I of Aragon and his second wife...
(1240–1285), successor in Aragon, Catalonia, and Valencia - JamesJames II of MajorcaJames II was King of Majorca and Lord of Montpellier from 1276 until his death. He was the second son of James I of Aragon and his wife Violant, daughter of Andrew II of Hungary...
(1243–1311), successor in Balearics and Languedoc - Ferdinand (1245–1250)
- Sancha (1246–1251)
- IsabellaIsabella of AragonIsabella of Aragon , infanta of Aragon, was, by marriage, Queen consort of France in the Middle Ages from 1270 to 1271.-Life:...
(1247–1271), married Philip III of FrancePhilip III of FrancePhilip III , called the Bold , was the King of France, succeeding his father, Louis IX, and reigning from 1270 to 1285. He was a member of the House of Capet.-Biography:... - Mary (1248–1267), nun
- Sancho, Archbishop of Toledo (1250–1279)
- Eleanor (born 1251, died young)
James married thirdly Teresa Gil de Vidaure, but only by a private document, and left her when she developed leprosy.
- James (c.1255–1285), lord of Xèrica
- Peter (1259–1318), lord of AyerbeAyerbeAyerbe is a town in the Hoya de Huesca comarca, in the autonomous community of Aragon in Spain.-Geography:Ayerbe is located 28 km from Huesca on highway A 132 in the direction of Pamplona, on the Gállego river...
The children in the third marriage were recognised in his last Will as being in the line of Succession to the Throne, should the senior lines fail.
James also had several lovers, both during and after his marriages, and a few bore him illegitimate sons.
By Blanca d'Antillón:
- Ferran Sanchis (or Fernando Sánchez; 1240–1275), baron of Castro
By Berenguela Fernández:
- Pedro Fernández, baron of HíjarHíjarHíjar is a municipality located in the province of Teruel, Aragon, Spain. , the municipality has a population of 1,900 inhabitants.The town is noted for the well-preserved, 15th century Synagogue, and for the Gothic-Mudejar church of Santa María la Mayor....
By Elvira Sarroca:
- Jaume Sarroca (born 1248), Archbishop of Huesca
Ancestry
External links
- libro.uca.edu
- 1911 encyclopedia.org: James I of Aragon
- Medieval Sourcebook: e-text of James's grant of trade privileges to Barcelona, 1232, freeing the city from tolls and imposts with his realms
- James I at Find-A-Grave
- The Barcelona Maritime Code of 1258
- The life and times of James the first
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