Ramon Berenguer II ''the Towhead'' or ''Cap de estopes'' (1053 or 1054 – December 5, 1082) was

Count of Barcelona The count of Barcelona (, , , ) was the ruler of the County of Barcelona and also, by extension and according with the Usages of Barcelona, Usages and Catalan constitutions, of the Principality of Catalonia as Prince#Prince as generic for ruler, p ...

from 1076 until his death. He was the son of Ramon Berenguer I, Count of Barcelona, and

Almodis de La Marche Almodis de la Marche ( 1020 – 16 October 1071) was a French noble famed for her marriages. She and her third husband, Ramon Berenguer I, Count of Barcelona, with whom she committed double bigamy in 1053, were excommunicated by the Pope. Life ...

. The '' Chronicle of San Juan de la Pena'' called him, "… exceeding brave and bold, kind, pleasant, pious, joyful, generous, and of an attractive appearance". Because of the extremely thick hair he had on top of his head, he was known as Cap d'Estop." He succeeded his father as co-ruler with his twin brother, Berenguer Ramon II in 1075. The twins failed to agree and divided their possessions between them, against the will of their late father. Ramon Berenguer the Towhead, so called because of the thickness and colour of his hair, was killed while hunting in the woods in 1082. His brother, who went on to become the sole ruler of

Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia of 2006, Statute of Autonomy. Most of its territory (except the Val d'Aran) is situate ...

, was credited by popular opinion of having orchestrated this murder. Berenguer Ramon II ''the Fratricide'' was later succeeded by Ramon Berenguer's son, Ramon Berenguer III.

Family and issue

Ramon Berenguer married Mahalta (or Maud) of

Apulia Apulia ( ), also known by its Italian language, Italian name Puglia (), is a Regions of Italy, region of Italy, located in the Southern Italy, southern peninsular section of the country, bordering the Adriatic Sea to the east, the Strait of Ot ...

, born ca. 1059, died 1111/1112, daughter of Duke

Robert Guiscard Robert Guiscard ( , ; – 17 July 1085), also referred to as Robert de Hauteville, was a Normans, Norman adventurer remembered for his Norman conquest of southern Italy, conquest of southern Italy and Sicily in the 11th century. Robert was born ...

and of

Sikelgaita Sikelgaita (also ''Sichelgaita'', ''Sigelgaita'', or ''Gaita'') (c. 1040 – 16 April 1090) was a Lombards, Lombard princess, the daughter of Prince Guaimar IV of Salerno and second wife of Duke Robert Guiscard of Apulia. Her heritage made her ...

de Salerno. Following his murder, she remarried to Aimery I of Narbonne, and was the mother of his son Aimery II. Ramon Berenguer and Mahalta's son, Ramon Berenguer III (before 1082–1131), was count of Barcelona and

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ramon Berenguer 02, Count of Barcelona Year of birth missing 1082 deaths Ramon Berenguer 02 Assassinated Spanish people 11th-century murdered monarchs

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of 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 ...

House of Barcelona 11th-century people from the County of Barcelona