Ramon Berenguer I ( 1023 – 26 May 1076), called the Old (, ), 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 ...

in 1035–1076. He promulgated the earliest versions of a written code of Catalan law, the

Usages of Barcelona The Usages of Barcelona (, ; {{langx, la, Usatici Barchinonae) were the customs that form the basis for the Catalan Constitutions. They are the fundamental laws and basic rights of Catalonia, dating back to their codification in the twelfth c ...

. Born in about 1023, he succeeded his father, Berenguer Ramon I the Crooked in 1035. It was during his reign that the dominant position of Barcelona among the other Catalan counties became evident. Ramon Berenguer campaigned against the

Moors The term Moor is an Endonym and exonym, exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslims, Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a s ...

, extending his dominions as far west as

Barbastro Barbastro (Latin: ''Barbastrum'' or ''Civitas Barbastrensis'', Aragonese: ''Balbastro'') is a city in the Somontano county, province of Huesca, Spain. The city (also known originally as Barbastra or Bergiduna) is at the junction of the rivers C ...

and imposing heavy tributes (''

parias In medieval Spain, ''parias'' (from medieval Latin ''pariāre'', "to make equal n account, i.e. pay) were a form of tribute paid by the ''taifas'' of al-Andalus to the Christian kingdoms of the north. ''Parias'' dominated relations between the ...

'') on other Moorish cities. Historians claim that those tributes helped create the first wave of prosperity in Catalan history. During his reign Catalan maritime power started to be felt in the western Mediterranean. Ramon Berenguer the Old was also the first count of Catalonia to acquire lands (the counties of

Carcassonne Carcassonne is a French defensive wall, fortified city in the Departments of France, department of Aude, Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. It is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the department. ...

and Razés) and influence north of the Pyrenees. Another major achievement of his was beginning the codification of Catalan law in the written ''Usatges'' of Barcelona which was to become the first full compilation of

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was a combination of legal, economic, military, cultural, and political customs that flourished in Middle Ages, medieval Europe from the 9th to 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of struc ...

law in Western Europe. Legal codification was part of the count's efforts to forward and somehow control the process of feudalization which started during the reign of his weak father, Berenguer Ramon. Another major contributor was the

Church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

acting through the institution of the

Peace and Truce of God The Peace and Truce of God () was a movement in the Middle Ages led by the Catholic Church and was one of the most influential mass peace movements in history. The goal of both the ''Pax Dei'' and the ''Treuga Dei'' was to limit the violence o ...

. This established a general truce among warring factions and lords in a given region for a given time. The earliest extant date for introducing the

Truce of God The Peace and Truce of God () was a movement in the Middle Ages led by the Catholic Church and was one of the most influential mass peace movements in history. The goal of both the ''Pax Dei'' and the ''Treuga Dei'' was to limit the violence o ...

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

is 1027 in Catalonia, during the reign of his father, Berenguer Ramon. While still married to his second wife Blanca, he became involved with the wife of the Count of Toulouse,

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 ...

, countess of

Limoges Limoges ( , , ; , locally ) is a city and Communes of France, commune, and the prefecture of the Haute-Vienne Departments of France, department in west-central France. It was the administrative capital of the former Limousin region. Situated o ...

. Both quickly married and were consequently excommunicated by

Pope Victor II Pope Victor II (c. 1018 – 28 July 1057), born Gebhard von Dollnstein-Hirschberg, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 April 1055 until his death in 1057. Victor II was one of a series of German-born popes ...

. Ramon Berenguer I, together with his third wife Almodis, also founded the Romanesque cathedral of Barcelona, to replace the older basilica presumably destroyed by

Almanzor Abu ʿĀmir Muḥammad ibn ʿAbdullāh ibn Abi ʿĀmir al-Maʿafiri (), nicknamed al-Manṣūr (, "the Victorious"), which is often Latinized as Almanzor in Spanish, Almansor in Catalan language, Catalan and Almançor in Portuguese ( 938 – 8 A ...

. Their velvet and brass bound wooden coffins are still displayed in the Gothic cathedral which eventually replaced the cathedral that they founded. He was succeeded by his twin sons Ramon Berenguer II and Berenguer Ramon II.

Family and issue

* First wife, possibly Isabel, daughter of Count Sancho of Gascony ** Berenguer (died young) ** Arnau (died young) **

Peter Raymundi Peter Raymundi, or Pere-Ramon (c. 1050-?) was the heir of Ramon Berenguer I, Count of Barcelona and his first wife, Isabela Trencavel, daughter of Count Sancho of Gascony, known for the murder of his stepmother, Almodis de la Marche in October 1071. ...

(1050–1073?), murdered his father's third wife, Almodis, and was exiled * Second wife, Blanca of Narbonne, daughter of Llop Ato Zuberoa and Ermengarda of Narbonne * Third wife,

, countess of

Ramon Berenguer II, Count of Barcelona Ramon Berenguer II ''the Towhead'' or ''Cap de estopes'' (1053 or 1054 – December 5, 1082) was Count of Barcelona from 1076 until his death. He was the son of Ramon Berenguer I, Count of Barcelona, and Almodis de La Marche. The '' Chronicle o ...

''the Towhead'' (1053/54–1082) **

Berenguer Ramon II, Count of Barcelona Berenguer Ramon II "the Fratricide" (1053/54 – 1097/99) was count of Barcelona from 1076 to 1097. He was the son of Ramon Berenguer I and Almodis of La Marche, and initially ruled jointly with his twin brother Ramon Berenguer II. Life Bor ...

''the Fratricide'' (1053/54–1097) ** Agnes, married Guigues II of Albon ** Sancha, married William Raymond, count of

Cerdanya Cerdanya (; , ; , ) or often La Cerdanya is a natural region, natural comarca and historical region of the eastern Pyrenees divided between France and Spain. Historically it was one of the Catalan counties, counties of Catalonia. Cerdanya has a ...

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ramon Berenguer, Count of BarcelonaI 1020s births 1076 deaths Counts of Barcelona Medieval child monarchs Burials at Barcelona Cathedral Ramon 1 11th-century people from the County of Barcelona