The Catalan counties ( ca, Comtats Catalans, ) were the administrative Christian divisions of the eastern
Carolingian ''
Hispanic Marches'' and the southernmost part of the
March of Gothia
The Hispanic March or Spanish March ( es, Marca Hispánica, ca, Marca Hispànica, Aragonese and oc, Marca Hispanica, eu, Hispaniako Marka, french: Marche d'Espagne), was a military buffer zone beyond the former province of Septimania, est ...
in the
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...
created after their rapid conquest by the
Franks
The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools ...
.
The various counties roughly defined what later came to be known as the
Principality of Catalonia.
In 778,
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first E ...
led the first military
Frankish expedition into
Hispania
Hispania ( la, Hispānia , ; nearly identically pronounced in Spanish, Portuguese, Catalan, and Italian) was the Roman name for the Iberian Peninsula and its provinces. Under the Roman Republic, Hispania was divided into two provinces: Hi ...
to create the ''
Hispanic Marches'', a buffer zone between the
Umayyad
The Umayyad Caliphate (661–750 CE; , ; ar, ٱلْخِلَافَة ٱلْأُمَوِيَّة, al-Khilāfah al-ʾUmawīyah) was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the ...
Moors
The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages.
Moors are not a distinc ...
and
Arabs
The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...
of
Al-Andalus
Al-Andalus translit. ; an, al-Andalus; ast, al-Ándalus; eu, al-Andalus; ber, ⴰⵏⴷⴰⵍⵓⵙ, label= Berber, translit=Andalus; ca, al-Àndalus; gl, al-Andalus; oc, Al Andalús; pt, al-Ândalus; es, al-Ándalus () was the M ...
and the
Frankish Kingdom of Aquitaine. The territory that he subdued was the kernel of Catalonia (not yet known like that since the first written mention of Catalonia and the Catalans as an ethnicity appears almost a century later in 1113 at the
Liber maiolichinus) which was already a no man's land since the defeat of the
Visigoths
The Visigoths (; la, Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, Wisi) were an early Germanic people who, along with the Ostrogoths, constituted the two major political entities of the Goths within the Roman Empire in late antiquity, or what is k ...
and the arrival of the Muslims in 714 who crossed the Pyrenees with an army to be defeated in 732 at the
Battle of Tours. In 781, Charlemagne made his 3-year-old son
Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious (german: Ludwig der Fromme; french: Louis le Pieux; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aqu ...
(778 – 840)
king of Aquitaine, who was sent there with regents and a court in order to secure the southern border of his kingdom against the Arabs and the moors and to expand southwards into Muslim territory.
These counties were originally
feudal entities ruled by a small military elite. Counts were appointed directly by and owed allegiance to the
Carolingian (Frankish) emperor. The appointment to heirs could not be taken for granted. However, with the rise of the importance of the
Bellonids The Bellonids ( ca, Bel·lònides, es, Bellónidas, links=no, french: Bellonides), sometimes called the Bellonid Dynasty, were the counts descended from the Goth Belló who ruled in Carcassonne, Urgell, Cerdanya, County of Conflent, Barcelona, an ...
and strong figures among them such as,
Sunifred (
fl.
''Floruit'' (; abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for "they flourished") denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indicatin ...
844–848) and
Wilfred the Hairy
{{Infobox noble, type
, name = Wilfred
, title = Count of Barcelona
, image = Wilfredo el Velloso 01.jpg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Statue in Madrid, L. S. Carmona, 1750–53
, alt ...
(c.870-897), and the weakening of Carolingian royal power, the appointment of heirs eventually become a formality. This trend resulted in the counts becoming ''
de facto
''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with '' de jure'' ("by l ...
'' independent of the Carolingian crown under
Borrell II in 987, starting since, to call themselves and to be known as ''dei gratia comes'' (counts by the grace of god) and ''dux catalanensis'' (Catalan dukes) or even ''Hispaniae subjogator'' (attorney of Hispania) and ''Propugnator et murus christiani populi'' (wall and defender of the Christian folk).
The many counties (aside from the counties of
County of Pallars The County of Pallars or Pallás ( ca, Comtat de Pallars, ; la, Comitatus Pallariensis) was a ''de facto'' independent petty state, nominally within the Carolingian Empire and then West Francia during the ninth and tenth centuries, perhaps one of t ...
,
County of Urgell
The County of Urgell ( ca, Comtat d'Urgell, ; la, Comitatus Urgellensis) is one of the historical Catalan counties, bordering on the counties of Pallars and Cerdanya.
History
The county of Urgell was carved by the Franks out of a former secti ...
and
County of Empuries) were to be soon absorbed into the
County of Barcelona
The County of Barcelona ( la, Comitatus Barcinonensis, ca, Comtat de Barcelona) was originally a frontier region under the rule of the Carolingian dynasty. In the 10th century, the Counts of Barcelona became progressively independent, heredi ...
. A Count of Barcelona, prince
Ramon Berenguer IV, married princess
Petronilla of Aragon
Petronilla (29 June/11 August 1136 – 15 October 1173), whose name is also spelled Petronila or Petronella ( Aragonese: ''Peyronela'' or ''Payronella'', and ca, Peronella), was Queen of Aragon from the abdication of her father, Ramiro II, ...
of the
Kingdom of Aragon
The Kingdom of Aragon ( an, Reino d'Aragón, ca, Regne d'Aragó, la, Regnum Aragoniae, es, Reino de Aragón) was a medieval and early modern kingdom on the Iberian Peninsula, corresponding to the modern-day autonomous community of Aragon ...
in 1150, uniting as equals the
County of Barcelona
The County of Barcelona ( la, Comitatus Barcinonensis, ca, Comtat de Barcelona) was originally a frontier region under the rule of the Carolingian dynasty. In the 10th century, the Counts of Barcelona became progressively independent, heredi ...
and the
Kingdom of Aragon
The Kingdom of Aragon ( an, Reino d'Aragón, ca, Regne d'Aragó, la, Regnum Aragoniae, es, Reino de Aragón) was a medieval and early modern kingdom on the Iberian Peninsula, corresponding to the modern-day autonomous community of Aragon ...
. Thus, their son,
Alfonso II of Aragon, became the first king of the
Crown of Aragon
The Crown of Aragon ( , ) an, Corona d'Aragón ; ca, Corona d'Aragó, , , ; es, Corona de Aragón ; la, Corona Aragonum . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of ...
, ruling over both the Catalans and the Aragonese.
Creation
The
reconquista
The ' ( Spanish, Portuguese and Galician for "reconquest") is a historiographical construction describing the 781-year period in the history of the Iberian Peninsula between the Umayyad conquest of Hispania in 711 and the fall of the N ...
from the Moors by the Franks began in 785. In 785,
Rostany
Rostaing (Latin Rostagnus), commonly known as Rostany in Catalan, was the first Count of Girona (785-801), ruling over the earliest-established of the Catalan Counties which formed the ''Marca Hispanica''. A Frankish noble, he was elevated to Coun ...
(or
Rostaing) was made
Count of Girona, the first of the Catalan counties to be established.
Besalú
Besalú () is a town in the '' comarca'' of Garrotxa, in Girona, Catalonia, Spain.
The town's importance was greater in the early Middle Ages, as capital of the county of Besalú, whose territory was roughly the same size as the current ''coma ...
and
Empúries
Empúries ( ca, Empúries ) was an ancient city on the Mediterranean coast of Catalonia, Spain. Empúries is also known by its Spanish name, Ampurias ( es, Ampurias ). The city Ἐμπόριον ( el, Ἐμπόριον, Emporion, meaning "tr ...
were originally part of Girona. In 801, in the greatest military triumph of his long career, the young Louis
took Barcelona, the greatest city of the Catalan littoral. When
Urgell and
Cerdanya were subdued around 798, they were also made counties and
Borrell was made count. He took a very active part in the subsequent conquest of
Osona in 799 and the successful siege of Barcelona in 801. He was made count of Osona in 799, perhaps as a reward for his services. In 801, the greatest of the counties,
Barcelona
Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...
, was established under
Bera. In 812, Count Odilo of Girona (which included Besalú and Empúries) died and the county also passed to Bera.
In 804 and 805, Borrell participated in the expeditions to
Tortosa, but not in the subsequent
campaigns of 808 and 809. On Borrell's death in 820, Osona was given to
Rampon and Urgell and Cerdanya went to
Aznar Galíndez. Also in 820, Bera went into political disfavour and lost the countships of Barcelona and Girona, which also went to Rampon.
Around 813, Empúries became a separate county under
Ermenguer, and in 817, it was united to the
County of Roussillon. From 835 to 844,
Sunyer I was count of Empúries and
Peralada while
Alaric I was count of Roussillon and
Vallespir.
Besalú was made a separate county in 878 for
Radulf on the condition that it pass to the heirs of
Wilfred the Hairy
{{Infobox noble, type
, name = Wilfred
, title = Count of Barcelona
, image = Wilfredo el Velloso 01.jpg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Statue in Madrid, L. S. Carmona, 1750–53
, alt ...
on his death. It went to
Miro I the Younger in 912.
Barcelona soon overshadowed the other counties in importance, especially during the reign of
Wilfred the Hairy
{{Infobox noble, type
, name = Wilfred
, title = Count of Barcelona
, image = Wilfredo el Velloso 01.jpg
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Statue in Madrid, L. S. Carmona, 1750–53
, alt ...
in the late 9th century. At that time, the power of the Carolingians was waning and the neglected Hispanic march was practically independent of royal authority. In the early 11th century,
Berenguer Ramon I, Count of Barcelona
Berenguer Ramon I ''Berengar Raymond I(1005 – 26 May 1035), called the Crooked or the Hunchback (in Latin ''curvus''; in Catalan ''el Corbat''; in Spanish ''el Corvado'' or ''el Curvo''), was the count of Barcelona, Girona, and Ausona from 101 ...
, was able to submit to
Sancho III of Navarre as his suzerain, even though he was still legally a vassal of
Robert II of France
Robert II (c. 972 – 20 July 1031), called the Pious (french: link=no, le Pieux) or the Wise (french: link=no, le Sage), was King of the Franks from 996 to 1031, the second from the Capetian dynasty.
Crowned Junior King in 987, he assisted his ...
. With the accession of Robert's father,
Hugh Capet, the first non-Carolingian king, in 987, most of the Catalan counts refused to pay homage to the new dynasty. Over the next century, most of the Catalan counties came into the hands of the counts of Barcelona. In time, one of the Counts of Barcelona,
Ramon Berenguer IV, married the heiress of
Aragon
Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to s ...
,
Petronella, uniting the counties under the count's power to that kingdom, creating the
Crown of Aragon
The Crown of Aragon ( , ) an, Corona d'Aragón ; ca, Corona d'Aragó, , , ; es, Corona de Aragón ; la, Corona Aragonum . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of ...
. Several of the later kings re-created some Catalan counties as appanages for younger sons.
Catalan Counties and Viscounties
Appointed Rulers
Hereditary Rulers
Catalan Counties under
Bellonid dynasty The Bellonids ( ca, Bel·lònides, es, Bellónidas, links=no, french: Bellonides), sometimes called the Bellonid Dynasty, were the counts descended from the Goth Belló who ruled in Carcassonne, Urgell, Cerdanya, County of Conflent, Barcelona, a ...
Partitions of the Catalan counties under Bellonid/Barcelona domain
Table of rulers
Catalan Counties under House of Pallars
(Note: According to some authors, the county of Pallars (and by extension Ribagorça) aren't exactly part of the Catalan group of counties[Whether Pallars is referred to as a part of ]Catalonia
Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy.
Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the no ...
or not depends on the author. Lewis, ''passim'', treats it as independent of Catalonia proper. )
Partitions of the Catalan counties under Pallars domain
Table of rulers
The House of Trastámara and successors
House of Trastámara (1412-1516) and the Catalan Civil War (1462-1472)
Martin died without legitimate descendants (''
interregnum'' 31 May 1410 – 24 June 1412). By the
Compromise of Caspe
The 1412 Compromise of Caspe (''Compromís de Casp'' in Catalan) was an act and resolution of parliamentary representatives of the constituent realms of the Crown of Aragon (the Kingdom of Aragon, Kingdom of Valencia, and Principality of Cata ...
of 1412 the County of Barcelona and the rest of the dominions of the
Crown of Aragon
The Crown of Aragon ( , ) an, Corona d'Aragón ; ca, Corona d'Aragó, , , ; es, Corona de Aragón ; la, Corona Aragonum . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of ...
passed to a branch of the
House of Trastamara.
The Houses of Habsburg and Bourbon 1516-1808
House of Bourbon (Spanish branch) 1714-1808
In 1714, Catalan lost their war (within the
Spanish war of Succession conflict) against the remaining sole pretender to the Crown of Spain:
Philip of Anjou
Philip V ( es, Felipe; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was King of Spain from 1 November 1700 to 14 January 1724, and again from 6 September 1724 to his death in 1746. His total reign of 45 years is the longest in the history of the Spanish mona ...
. Through the
Nueva Planta decrees
The Nueva Planta decrees ( es, link=no, Decretos de Nueva Planta, ca, Decrets de Nova Planta, en, link=no, "Decrees of the New Plant") were a number of decrees signed between 1707 and 1716 by Philip V, the first Bourbon King of Spain, durin ...
, the new king
Philip V abolished the
Catalan Constitutions and dissolved the
Crown of Aragon
The Crown of Aragon ( , ) an, Corona d'Aragón ; ca, Corona d'Aragó, , , ; es, Corona de Aragón ; la, Corona Aragonum . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of ...
. The
Principality of Catalonia became another province of the
Crown of Castille, and thus the title of Count of Barcelona was emptied of real political significance and power.
Since then, the numbering of the Counts of Barcelona follows that of the
Crown of Castille. That is the reason why
Philip of Anjou
Philip V ( es, Felipe; 19 December 1683 – 9 July 1746) was King of Spain from 1 November 1700 to 14 January 1724, and again from 6 September 1724 to his death in 1746. His total reign of 45 years is the longest in the history of the Spanish mona ...
was called by the Catalan Authorities 'Felip IV' in 1702 but called himself 'Felipe V' when he sized the title of Count of Barcelona in 1714, after winning the war against the Catalans.
House of Bonaparte 1808-1813
In 1808
Charles IV and his son
Ferdinand resign from their
Crown of Spain titles and transfer them to
Emperor Napoleon
Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...
, who kept for himself the title of Count of Barcelona. By 1812, once he had full military control over the
Principality of Catalonia, he separated it from the Crown of Spain and annexed it to the
French Empire.
House of Bourbon
The House of Bourbon (, also ; ) is a European dynasty of French origin, a branch of the Capetian dynasty, the royal House of France. Bourbon kings first ruled France and Navarre in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Spani ...
(Reannexation to Spain) 1813-1931; 1975-present day
After the
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fre ...
, Barcelona returned to Spanish domain. During the
2nd Spanish Republic and
Francoist Dictatorship
Francoist Spain ( es, España franquista), or the Francoist dictatorship (), was the period of Spanish history between 1939 and 1975, when Francisco Franco ruled Spain after the Spanish Civil War with the title . After his death in 1975, Spa ...
the Bourbons remained in exile and retained their dinastic titles, including 'Count of Barcelona'.
Although on 26 July 1947, Spain was declared a kingdom, no monarch was designated until 1969, when Franco established Juan Carlos of Bourbon as his official heir-apparent. With the death of Franco on 20 November 1975,
Juan Carlos became the King of Spain.
Timeline
References
Sources
*
External links
Històries de Catalunya: L'origen dels comtats catalans.(Catalan).
"A Brief History of the Catalan Counties" Generalitat de Catalunya / Catalan Government.
{{Spanish Kingdoms , state=expanded
Medieval Catalonia