Ponç V or Ponç Hug IVThe Central Convent of Hospitallers and Templars: History, Organization, and Personnel (1099/1120-1310)
Jochen Burgtorf, BRILL, 2008; accessed October 2018. ( or ''Ponce Hugo IV'', ) (c.1264 – 1313) was the

Count of Empúries Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

from 1277 until his deathDynasties of the World
John Morby, Oxford University Press, Sep 18, 2014; accessed October 2018. and

viscount of Bas The Viscounty of Besalú, or Bas (from the Latin ''Basso''), was the sub-comital authority in the county of Besalú during the Middle Ages. It was ruled by the House of Cervera (also called ''Cerveró(n)'' or ''Cervelló(n)'', from the Latin ''Ce ...

from 1285 to 1291. He was the son and successor of Hug V and Sibila de Palau. His mother, widowed, purchased the viscounty of Bas from

Peter III of Aragon Peter III of Aragon (In Aragonese, ''Pero''; in Catalan, ''Pere''; in Italian, ''Pietro''; November 1285) was King of Aragon, King of Valencia (as ), and Count of Barcelona (as ) from 1276 to his death. At the invitation of some rebels, he con ...

in 1280. In 1282 Ponç Hug participated in the

Aragonese Crusade The Aragonese Crusade (1284–1285), also known as the Crusade of Aragon or Crusade against Catalonia, was a military venture waged by the Kingdom of France against the Crown of Aragon. Fought as an extension of the War of the Sicilian Vespers ...

against the crusaders, on the side of Peter III. In 1285 the viscounty of Bas devolved to Ponç in reward for his services in 1282 and Peter also compensated him with the rights over Fernando and Castellfollit de Riubregós. Ponç served as admiral of the fleet to James I of Sicily and was in

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

in 1291, when he exchanged Bas with his brother Huguet, also in Sicily that year, on the condition that it would devolve to Ponç's descendants if Huguet had none. Ponç received Castellfollit, Montros, and Montagut in the exchange. He returned with James later that year after he inherited Aragon and

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 ...

, but Huguet stayed behind in Siciy.Riquer (1975), 1687–88. When James signed the

Treaty of Anagni The Treaty of Anagni was an accord between the Pope Boniface VIII, James II of Aragon, Philip IV of France, Charles II of Naples, and James II of Majorca. It was signed on 20 June 1295 at Anagni, in central Italy. The chief purpose was to confirm t ...

with the French and the

Papacy The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

, thus putting an end to the War of the Vespers, in 1295, the people of Sicily under James' younger brother Frederick III opposed him. When Frederick heard that James was preparing to go to war with him, he sent a messenger, Mountainer Pérez de Sosa, to

in an effort to stir up the barons and cities against James in 1298. Mountainer carried with him an Occitan poem, ''Ges per guerra no.m chal aver consir'', intended as a communication with his supporters in Catalonia. This communiqué seems to have had in mind Ponç Hug as a recipient, for the count penned a response (under the title ''con d'Emppuria''), ''A l'onrat rei Frederic terz vai dir'', in which he praised Frederick's tact and diplomacy, but told him bluntly that he would not abandon his sovereign. This poetic transaction is usually dated to January–March, Spring, or August 1296, but

Gerónimo Zurita Geronimo (1829–1909) was a Chiricahua Apache leader. Geronimo may also refer to: Places in the United States * Geronimo, Arizona * Geronimo, Oklahoma, a town * Geronimo, Texas, an unincorporated community and census-designated place * Gero ...

in the seventeenth century specifically dated the embassy of Mountainer to 1298. In the subsequent war, Ponç and his vassals fought with James' galleys at the

Battle of Cape Orlando The naval Battle of Cape Orlando took place on 4 July 1299 at St Marco di Val Demone, north-western Sicily, when an Aragonese and Angevin galley fleet commanded by Roger of Lauria defeated a Sicilian galley fleet commanded by Conrad d'Oria. K ...

, while Huguet his brother fought among the ships of Frederick. Many subsequent scholars have assumed that Ponç had gone over to the side of his brother, but this is unlikely. Ponç later turned against James and rose in revolt, driving his functionaries out of Empúries. But the king proved to powerful for his most powerful baron and Ponç was ruined and forced to submit in 1306. __NOTOC__

Family

Ponç married (1281) the Marquesa de Cabrera, uniting Cabrera to Empúries. Between 1282 and 1313, Fra Romeu Sabruguera translated much of the Bible from

Old French Old French (, , ; ) was the language spoken in most of the northern half of France approximately between the late 8th -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ...

into 11,000 verses in Old Catalan. He dedicated the work (the "Biblia rimada") to the Countess Marquesa, whose interest was primarily in battles, of which he bragged there would be many. He had excluded the prophetic books in favour of the Nevi'im">prophetic books in favour of the Books of Kings and the Maccabees">Books_of_Kings.html" ;"title="Nevi'im">prophetic books in favour of the Books of Kings">Nevi'im">prophetic books in favour of the Books of Kings and the Maccabees.Courcelles (2001), 67. The couple had three children: *Hug (assassinated 1309), named heir *Ponç VI of Empúries">Ponç VI (c.1290–1322), successor *Blancaflor (died 1313)

Notes

Sources

*Corominas, John. "The Old Catalan Rhymed Legends of the Seville Bible". ''Hispanic Review'' 27, 3 (1959): 361–83 *Courcelles, Dominique De
"Les bibles en Catalogne à la fin du Moyen Âge ou l'occultation de la lettre sacrée"
''Revue de l'histoire des religions'' 218, 1 (2001): 65–82. *Hillgarth, J. N. ''The Spanish Kingdoms, 1250–1516'', vol. 1. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1976. *Riquer, Martín de. ''Los trovadores: historia literaria y textos'', 3 vols. Barcelona: Planeta, 1975. * Simo Rodríguez, María Isabel
"Un conflicto entre Ponce Hugo VI, conde de Ampurias, y los Venecianos,"
''Historia, instituciones, documentos'' 4 (1977): 583–96.

Family

Notes

Sources

Further reading