Peter I, Count of Urgell
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Peter I ( pt, Pedro, ) (23 February 1187 - 2 June 1258) was the second son of
King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
Sancho I of Portugal Sancho I of Portugal (), nicknamed "the Populator" ( pt, "o Povoador"), King of Portugal (Coimbra, 11 November 115426 March 1211) was the second but only surviving legitimate son and fifth child of Afonso I of Portugal by his wife, Maud of Savoy. ...
and his wife Dulce, infanta of Aragon, and would eventually become
Count of Urgell This is a list of the counts of Urgell, a county of the Principality of Catalonia in the 10th through 13th centuries. c. 798–870 Counts appointed by the Carolingians *798–820 Borrell, count of Urgell and Cerdanya *820–824 Aznar Galínde ...
and Lord of the Balearic Islands.


Biography

Peter was born at
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. After the death of his father, Peter took the side of his sisters
Mafalda ''Mafalda'' () is an Argentine comic strip written and drawn by cartoonist Quino. The strip features a six-year-old girl named Mafalda, who reflects the Argentinian middle class and progressive youth, is concerned about humanity and world pea ...
, Sancha and
Theresa Teresa (also Theresa, Therese; french: Thérèse) is a feminine given name. It originates in the Iberian Peninsula in late antiquity. Its derivation is uncertain, it may be derived from Greek θερίζω (''therízō'') "to harvest or re ...
, in their quarrel with his elder brother, now King
Afonso II Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...
, over inheritance of the castles of
Seia Seia () is a municipality in Guarda District in Portugal. The population in 2021 was 21,755, in an area of . Its urban population is about 7,000. Seia was elevated to city status on July 3, 1986. The municipality is situated on the northwestern slo ...
, Alenquer and
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, Peter got the protection of his sister Theresa, then
Queen of León In the reign of Ordoño I of Asturias (850–866), the kingdom began to be known as that of León. In 910, an independent Kingdom of León was founded when the king of Asturias divided his territory amongst his three sons. Below follows a l ...
, from whose territory he launched several inconclusive attacks on the Portuguese border province of
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, but eventually had to concede defeat and perpetual exile from Portugal. Peter then left León to become a
mercenary A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any ...
in the service of Yusuf II, the
Almohad The Almohad Caliphate (; ar, خِلَافَةُ ٱلْمُوَحِّدِينَ or or from ar, ٱلْمُوَحِّدُونَ, translit=al-Muwaḥḥidūn, lit=those who profess the unity of God) was a North African Berber Muslim empire fou ...
Caliph, commanding a troop of Christian exiles and adventurers in Marrakesh. As such, he was in 1220 involved with the arrival in Morocco of Berard of Carbio and four other
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missionaries. Prior to setting out to the Muslim lands, the Franciscans had met with Peter's sister, who told them that she had "a little piece of Morocco in her heart" and asked them to give Peter her love. Once arrived, the Franciscans started preaching in Marrakesh and strongly denouncing Islam and
Muhammad Muhammad ( ar, مُحَمَّد;  570 – 8 June 632 CE) was an Arab religious, social, and political leader and the founder of Islam. According to Islamic doctrine, he was a prophet divinely inspired to preach and confirm the mo ...
. The Caliph declared them "mad" and charged Peter and his Christian soldiers with escorting them out of his kingdom. However, the Franciscans managed to avoid Peter and his men, and repeated their act, highly sacrilegious in Muslim terms, in the market-place of Marrakesh - leading to their being decapitated by the Caliph personally. Subsequently, Peter moved to Aragon, his mother's homeland, where he became involved in the schemes and campaigns of his relative,Queen Petronila of Aragon, Peter's grandmother, had been James's great-grandmother. the young and ambitious King
James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) *James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) *James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334–13 ...
. In June 1229,
Pope Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX ( la, Gregorius IX; born Ugolino di Conti; c. 1145 or before 1170 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decre ...
asked Peter to come to Italy with his knights to fight in the
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against the Emperor Frederick II. Peter did not go. That year Peter - continuing his family tradition of seeking a bride in
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- married Countess Aurembiaix of Urgell, who had long been exiled from
Urgell Modern-day Urgell (), also known as ''Baix Urgell'' (''baix'' meaning "lower", by contrast with Alt Urgell "Higher Urgell"), is a ''comarca'' (county) in Catalonia, Spain, forming only a borderland portion of the region historically known as Ur ...
by the usurper Guerau IV de Cabrera, and who had been James I's mistress. With Peter as her husband and co-ruler, James helped Aurembiaix regain Urgell under the Aragonese overlordship - after she and Peter agreed to hand over to the King the city of Lleida (see James's acquisition of Urgell). In 1230, Peter helped the
Bishop of Tarragona The Archdiocese of Tarragona (Latin, ''Tarraconensis'') is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory located in north-eastern Spain, in the province of Tarragona, part of the autonomous community of Catalonia. The archdiocese heads the ecclesias ...
to conquer the Balearic island of Ibiza from the Moors. Following Aurembiaix's death in 1231, Peter continued as
Count of Urgell This is a list of the counts of Urgell, a county of the Principality of Catalonia in the 10th through 13th centuries. c. 798–870 Counts appointed by the Carolingians *798–820 Borrell, count of Urgell and Cerdanya *820–824 Aznar Galínde ...
in a titular capacity, but this position was disputed by his overlord James I. In 1236 they came to an agreement by which Peter gave up Urgell, which was given over to the rule of the House of Cabrera and was eventually annexed to Aragon. In exchange, Peter got the newly conquered Balearic islands of Majorca, Ibiza and Formentera, as well as the castles of Pollença, and Alaró (also in the Baleares) and of Almudaina (in
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). Peter ruled these Balearic possessions until his death there in 1258. As he left no legitimate issue, they then reverted to the Aragonese Crown, later becoming the core of Kingdom of Majorca ruled by a minor branch of the Aragonese Royal Family. Peter left two illegitimate sons, Rodrigo and Fernando.


References


Sources

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Peter 01 Of Urgell 1187 births 1258 deaths People from Coimbra Counts of Urgell Mercenaries House of Burgundy-Portugal Portuguese infantes Crown of Aragon History of the Balearic Islands 13th-century Catalan people Sons of kings