The County of Pallars Sobirà or (Pallás) Sobirá, meaning Upper Pallars, was a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

in the Hispanic Marches during the eleventh and twelfth centuries, long after the march had ceased to be effectively administered by the

Kings of France France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I, king of the Fra ...

. It was a division of the

County of Pallars The County of Pallars or Pallás (, ; ) 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 the Catalan counties, originally part of the Marca ...

, which had been '' de facto'', and possible ''

de jure In law and government, ''de jure'' (; ; ) describes practices that are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms, regardless of whether the practice exists in reality. The phrase is often used in contrast with '' de facto'' ('from fa ...

'', independent since the late ninth century. It roughly corresponded with the modern Catalan comarca of Pallars Sobirà.

Division and war in Pallars

In 1011, Sunyer of Pallars died and by his testament his county was divided between his sons, the eldest, Raymond III, receiving

Pallars Jussà Pallars Jussà () is a comarca (county) in Alt Pirineu, Catalonia, Spain. It was established as a ''comarca'' in 1936, out of the old county of Pallars. The name is an archaism meaning "Lower Pallars"; to the northeast and into the mountains i ...

and the younger, William II, receiving Pallars Sobirà. Pallars Sobirà comprised the original heartland of the county of Pallars: the upper valley of the Noguera Pallaresa. By the year 1000, the economic and social centre of Pallars was located in Pallars Jussà. It was wealthier than Pallars Sobirà and capable of expansion in the

Reconquista The ''Reconquista'' (Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese for ) or the fall of al-Andalus was a series of military and cultural campaigns that European Christian Reconquista#Northern Christian realms, kingdoms waged ag ...

against the Muslim territory to its south. During the eleventh century, the comital power in Pallars Jussà was violently reduced by the incessant attacks of Artau I of Pallars Sobirà in alliance with

Ermengol III of Urgell Ermengol or Armengol III (10321065), called el de Barbastro, was the Count of Urgell from 1038 to his death. He was the son of Ermengol II, Count of Urgell and his wife Velasquita "Constança", probably the daughter of Bernard I, Count of Besal ...

. Because Pallars Jussà was so much richer and populous than the poor and mountainous Pallars Sobirà, the nobles of the latter country designed to eliminate the authority of Raymond IV in the former country. Artau himself was barely a count, rather more like the war leader of a band of powerful feudatories whose objective was the pillage of the wealthier rural communities of the lower territories of Pallars Jussà and the repeal of their rights of

tax exemption Tax exemption is the reduction or removal of a liability to make a compulsory payment that would otherwise be imposed by a ruling power upon persons, property, income, or transactions. Tax-exempt status may provide complete relief from taxes, redu ...

and other immunities. The peasants of Pallars Sobirà were heavily burdened by arbitrary exactions, forced labour, and military service. The

barons Barons may refer to: *Baron (plural), a rank of nobility *Barons (surname), a Latvian surname *Barons, Alberta, Canada * ''Barons'' (TV series), a 2022 Australian drama series * ''The Barons'', a 2009 Belgian film Sports * Birmingham Barons, a Min ...

had the right to exact ''toltae'', ''forciae'', and ''usatici'', that is, "customary levies."Freedman, 109. In the ensuing war, Raymond IV lost most of his fortresses, including his capital, Segur, to Sobirà. However peace was established between the two countries and Raymond regained his position after Artau's death. Artau's son, Artau II (1081–1124), is recorded as never having fought with his relatives of Pallars Jussà.

High Middle Ages

Pallars Sobirà was isolated high in the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

and of no importance to affairs in Catalonia on a larger scale. Artau III and Artau IV are barely more than names and neither they nor their successors took part in the succession to the county of Pallars Jussà before it passed to the

County of Barcelona The County of Barcelona (, ) was a polity in northeastern Iberian Peninsula, originally located in the southern frontier region of the Carolingian Empire. In the 10th century, the Counts of Barcelona progressively achieved independence from F ...

in 1192. By 1199, Pallars Sobirà was inherited by a woman, Guillelma, who sold her county to her husband, Roger of Comminges, and retired to a

convent A convent is an enclosed community of monks, nuns, friars or religious sisters. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The term is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...

. In 1295, Ramon Roger I, the fourth Count from the Comminges dynasty, died with children and was succeeded by Sibil·la I, the eldest daughter of his deceased brother Arnau Roger. She married Baron Hug de Mataplana, with domains in Alt

Berguedà Berguedà () is an inland Comarques of Catalonia, comarca in the Comarques Centrals, central region of Catalonia, Spain. It lies partly in the Pyrenees and Pre-Pyrenees, and partly in the Catalan Central Depression. The capital is the city of Berg ...

and

Ripollès Ripollès (; ) is a Comarques of Catalonia, comarca (county) in the Comarques Gironines, Girona region, Catalonia, Spain. It is located in the Vall de Ribes, Ribes and Camprodon river valleys. In 2001, its population was 25,744, about 40% of whom ...

. With this marriage, the reign of the third dynasty of Pallars began: the Mataplana's. Between 1298 and 1332, the Counts of Pallars Sobirà of had to repel three attacks by the Viscounts of Couserans, who had the support of the Counts of Foix and the Kings of France.
The last Count of Pallars Sobirà was Hugh Roger III of Pallars Sobirà, who led the army of the Council of the

Principality of Catalonia The Principality of Catalonia (; ; ; ) was a Middle Ages, medieval and early modern state (polity), state in the northeastern Iberian Peninsula. During most of its history it was in dynastic union with the Kingdom of Aragon, constituting together ...

during the Catalan Civil War, and who lost his County to the Crown in 1487 after being defeated in the War and subsequent rebellions.

List of counts

House of Pallars

* William II (1011–1035) * Bernard II (1035–1049) * Artau I (1049–1081) * Artau II (1081–1124) * Artau III (1124–1167) * Artau IV (1167–1180/1182) * Bernard III (1180/1182–1199) * Guillemina (1199–1229)

House of Comminges (or Couserans)

* Roger I (1229–1240) *

Roger II Roger II or Roger the Great (, , Greek: Ρογέριος; 22 December 1095 – 26 February 1154) was King of Sicily and Africa, son of Roger I of Sicily and successor to his brother Simon. He began his rule as Count of Sicily in 1105, became ...

(1240–1256) * Arnau Roger I (1256–1288) * Raymond Roger I (1288–1295) * Sibil·la (1295–1330)

House of Mataplana

* Arnau Roger II (1330–1343) * Raymond Roger II (1343–1350) * Hugh Roger I (1350–1366) * Arnau Roger III (1366–1369) * Hugh Roger II (1369–1416) * Roger Bernard I (1416–1424) * Bernard Roger I (1424–1442) * Arnau Roger IV (1442–1451) * Hugh Roger III (1451–1487)

Sources

*Freedman, Paul
"Military Orders and Peasant Servitude in Catalonia: Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries."
''The Hispanic American Historical Review'', Vol. 65, No. 1. (Feb., 1985), pp 91–110.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:County Of Pallars Sobira Medieval Catalonia Pallars Sobirà Pallars Sobirà Pallars