The House of Montcada (in

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

; Moncada in

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

and

Italian Italian(s) may refer to: * Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries ** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom ** Italian language, a Romance language *** Regional Ita ...

) is an aristocratic and

noble A noble is a member of the nobility. Noble may also refer to: Places Antarctica * Noble Glacier, King George Island * Noble Nunatak, Marie Byrd Land * Noble Peak, Wiencke Island * Noble Rocks, Graham Land Australia * Noble Island, Great B ...

House with important ramifications in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

. Queen Elisenda 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 B ...

was a member of the family.

History

The House of Moncada was started by Guillem I de Muntanyola or de Vacarisses (b. ? - d. 1040). He was the son of Sunifred, the Vescomte de Girona (

Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

Girona Girona (officially and in Catalan language, Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter River, Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in ...

) who was granted the castle and lands of Montcada in

Montcada i Reixac Montcada i Reixac (In Spanish Moncada y Reixach ) (), often referred to as simply Montcada, is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Vallès Occidental in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated at the confluence of the Ripoll river and the Besós ...

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 ci ...

. Guillem I took the name Guillem I de Montcada in accordance with proper naming traditions upon being granted a landed title. Guillem I married Adelaida de Claramunt (b. 1000 - d. 1063). Their first child, Ramon I de Montcada, II Senyor del Castell de Montcada was appointed the office of Senescal of Barcelona and

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 north ...

. Their second son, Bernat I de Montcada became the Ardiaca (

Archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that o ...

) of Barcelona. The third son, Renard de Montcada went on to become the Senyor del Castell (Lord of the Castle) of

la Roca del Vallès La Roca del Vallès is a village in the Comarques of Catalonia, comarca of Vallès Oriental in the Provinces of Spain, province of Province of Barcelona, Barcelona and Catalonia. The municipality covers an area of and the population in 2014 was 10 ...

and became the first head of the House of Sarroca or La Roca. One of Ramón I's grandchildren, Guillem Ramon I de Montcada (b. ? - d. 1173), known as the ''Gran Senescal'' or the ''Dapifer'' became one of the infamous Nou Barons de la Fama who were the most influential nobles in the court of the

Count of Barcelona The Count of Barcelona ( ca, Comte de Barcelona, es, Conde de Barcelona, french: Comte de Barcelone, ) was the ruler of the County of Barcelona and also, by extension and according with the Usages of Barcelona, usages and Catalan constitutions, of ...

. He became the Senescal of

Ramon Berenguer III of Barcelona Ramon Berenguer III ''the Great'' was the count of Barcelona, Girona, and Ausona from 1086 (jointly with Berenguer Ramon II and solely from 1097), Besalú from 1111, Cerdanya from 1117, and count of Provence in the Holy Roman Empire, from 1112, ...

Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona Ramon Berenguer IV (; c. 1114 – 6 August 1162, Anglicized Raymond Berengar IV), sometimes called ''the Saint'', was the count of Barcelona who brought about the union of the County of Barcelona with the Kingdom of Aragon to form the Crown of Ara ...

, and of

Alfonso I of Aragón Alfonso I (''c''. 1073/10747 September 1134), called the Battler or the Warrior ( es, el Batallador), was King of Aragon and Navarre from 1104 until his death in 1134. He was the second son of King Sancho Ramírez and successor of his brother Pe ...

. During the governance of Ramon Berenguer IV, he negotiated the count's marriage with

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, ...

, the daughter of Ramiro I. This power move was the masterstroke in uniting 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, ...

and 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 ...

. Guillemo Ramon was also present during the military campaigns in

Tortosa Tortosa (; ) is the capital of the ''Catalonia/Comarques, comarca'' of Baix Ebre, in Catalonia, Spain. Tortosa is located at above sea level, by the Ebro river, protected on its northern side by the mountains of the Cardó Massif, of which Buin ...

, and

Fraga Fraga (; ) is the major town of the ''comarca'' of Bajo Cinca ( ca, Baix Cinca) in the province of Huesca, Aragon, Spain. It is located by the river Cinca. According to the 2014 census, Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE) the municipality ha ...

. He married his cousin, Beatriu de Montcada (another grandchild of Ramon I de Montcada and the couple had two children. The firstborn, Guillem de Montcada inherited the

Viscounty of Béarn The Viscounty, later Principality of Béarn ( oc, Bearn, label= Gascon or ) was a medieval lordship in the far south of France, part of the Duchy of Gascony from the late ninth century. In 1347, the viscount declared Béarn an independent princip ...

which passed in 1309 to the House of Foix-Castellbò. The second son, Ramon de Montcada el Vell became the fourth Senescal and began the line of the lords of Tortosa and later of Fraga. His own son, Ramon de Montcada el Jove died fighting at the Battle of Portopí along with

James I of Aragon James I the Conqueror ( es, Jaime el Conquistador, ca, Jaume el Conqueridor; 2 February 1208 – 27 July 1276) was King of Aragon and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276; King of Majorca from 1231 to 1276; and Valencia from 1238 to 1276 ...

in the

Conquest of Majorca The conquest of the island of Majorca on behalf of the Christian kingdoms was carried out by King James I of Aragon between 1229 and 1231. The pact to carry out the invasion, concluded between James I and the ecclesiastical and secular leaders ...

. His second son, Guillem Ramon married Constança of Aragon, daughter of

Peter II of Aragon Peter II the Catholic (; ) (July 1178 – 12 September 1213) was the King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona from 1196 to 1213. Background Peter was born in Huesca, the son of Alfonso II of Aragon and Sancha of Castile. In 1205 he acknowled ...

and began a line that would hold lordship over

Aitona Aitona is a and ''municipi'' (municipality) in the comarca of Segria, Segrià in Catalonia, Spain. Its population is 2,523 by 2016. Its main industry is the agriculture. References External links Government data pages
Municipalities i ...

. His cousin went on to further found a line of the family that moved to

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

where they collaborated with the

Sicilian Vespers The Sicilian Vespers ( it, Vespri siciliani; scn, Vespiri siciliani) was a successful rebellion on the island of Sicily that broke out at Easter 1282 against the rule of the French-born king Charles I of Anjou, who had ruled the Kingdom of S ...

. The House of Montcada would go on to extend their roots throughout the

Principality of Catalonia The Principality of Catalonia ( ca, Principat de Catalunya, la, Principatus Cathaloniæ, oc, Principat de Catalonha, es, Principado de Cataluña) was a Middle Ages, medieval and early modern state (polity), state in the northeastern Iberian P ...

, Spain and parts of Europe. They intermarried with the noble houses of Aragon, Cardona, Béarn, Ayerbe, Cervera, Luna, Anglesola, Cornell, Aitona, Albalat, Abarca, Queralt, Vilaragut, Urgell, Entença, Illa Jordà, Pinós, Lloria, Seròs, Vilamarxant, Ribelles, Lioro, Tolsà, Caltanissetta, Vallgornera, Ventimiglia, Fenollar, and Sarrià amongst others.

References

{{Reflist

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20110124223332/http://www.grupoenciclo.com/granenciclopedia/genealog/montcada.htm (In Spanish) * http://www.fundacionmedinaceli.org/casaducal/fichaindividuo.aspx?id=2709 (In Spanish) * https://web.archive.org/web/20130614112022/http://www.enciclopedia.cat/enciclop%C3%A8dies/gran-enciclop%C3%A8dia-catalana/EC-GEC-0043623.xml (In Catalán, very thorough) House of Moncada

History

See also

References

External links