ARAGON, Count Ramon Berenger IV^[1]

1113 - 1162  (49 years)  Submit Photo / Document

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• Name	ARAGON, Ramon Berenger
  Prefix	Count
  Suffix	IV
  Birth	4 Apr 1113	Barcelona, Cataluña, España
  Gender	Male
  _TAG	Request Submitted for Permission
  _TAG	Temple
  Death	6 Aug 1162	Borgo San Dalmazzo, Cuneo, Piemonte, Italia
  Burial	8 Aug 1162	Santa María, Ripoll, Gerona, Cataluña, España
  Headstones	Submit Headstone Photo
  Person ID	I30625	Joseph Smith Sr and Lucy Mack Smith
  Last Modified	19 Aug 2021

  
  

  Father	BARCELONA, Count Raimund Berenger III ,   b. 11 Nov 1080, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain Barcelona, Catalonia, Spaind. 19 Jun 1131, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain (Age 50 years)
  Mother	MILHOUD, Countess Dulce Aldonza ,   b. Abt 1095, Gevaudan, Essonne, France Gevaudan, Essonne, Franced. 28 Nov 1137, Gévaudan, Essônne, Île-dé-France, France (Age 42 years)
  Marriage	3 Feb 1112
  Family ID	F16053	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family 1	BARCELONA, Queen Berenger Raimund V ,   b. 6 Jun 1106, Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain Barcelona, Barcelona, Spaind. 15 Jan 1149, Palencia, Castilla y León, Spain (Age 42 years)
  Family ID	F16057	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	24 Jan 2022

  
  

  Family 2	ARAGON, Queen Petronilla ,   b. 29 Jun 1136, Huesca, Aragón, Espagne Huesca, Aragón, Espagned. 13 Oct 1173, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain (Age 37 years)
  Marriage	1151	Huesca, Aragon, Spain
  Children	1 son and 2 daughters
  + 1. ARAGON, King Alfonsez II ,   b. 25 Mar 1157, Valle, Aragon, Spain Valle, Aragon, Spaind. 25 Apr 1196, Perpignan, Pyrennes, France (Age 39 years) + 2. ARAGON, Princess Dulce ,   b. 4 Apr 1152, Aragón, Espanha Aragón, Espanhad. 1 Sep 1198, Coimbra, Reino de Portugal (Age 46 years)   3. BARCELONA, Princess Aldonza Raimundez ,   b. 4 Apr 1152, Aragón, Espanha Aragón, Espanhad. 1 Sep 1198, Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal (Age 46 years)
  Family ID	F16012	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
  Last Modified	24 Jan 2022

  
  

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  Ramon Berenguer IV inherited the county of Barcelona from his father Ramon Berenguer III on 19 August 1131. On 11 August 1137, at the age of about 24, he was betrothed to the infant Petronilla of Aragon, aged one at the time. Petronilla's father, Ramiro II of Aragon, who sought Barcelona's aid against Alfonso VII of Castile, withdrew from public life on 13 November 1137, leaving his kingdom to Petronilla and Ramon Berenguer, the latter in effect becoming ruler of Aragon, although he was never king himself, instead commonly using the titles "Count of the Barcelonans and Prince of the Aragonians" (Comes Barcinonensis et Princeps Aragonensis), and occasionally those of "Marquis of Lleida and Tortosa" (after conquering these cities). He was the last Catalan ruler to use "Count" as his primary title; starting with his son Alfonso II of Aragon the counts of Barcelona styled themselves, in the first place, as kings of Aragon. The treaty between Ramon Berenguer and his father-in-law, Ramiro II, stipulated that their descendants would rule jointly over both realms, and that even if Petronilla died before the marriage could be consummated, Berenguer's heirs would still inherit the Kingdom of Aragon.[1] Both realms would preserve their laws, institutions and autonomy, remaining legally distinct but federated in a dynastic union under one ruling House. Historians consider this arrangement the political masterstroke of the Hispanic Middle Ages. Both realms gained greater strength and security and Aragon got its much needed outlet to the sea. On the other hand, formation of a new political entity in the north-east at the time when Portugal seceded from León in the west gave more balance to the Christian kingdoms of the peninsula. Ramon Berenguer successfully pulled Aragon out of its pledged submission to Castile, aided no doubt by his sister Berengaria, wife of Alfonso the Emperor, who was well known in her time for her beauty and charm. BIO: Marquis of Barcelona, 1131; Count of Barcelona; King of Aragon, 1150-62. ** from http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/ARAGON%20&%20CATALONIA.htm#Petronilladied1174B, as of 11/3/2014 Infanta doña PETRONILA de Aragón, daughter of RAMIRO II “el Monje” King of Aragon and Navarre & his wife Agnès d’Aquitaine ([Jul] 1136-Barcelona 17 Oct 1174, bur Barcelona, Church of the Holy Cross and Santa Eulalia). The Brevi Historia Comitum Provinciæ records the marriage of "Berengarius primogenitus filius…" of "Raymundus-Berengarii vulgo Cap-De stoupes…dictus, Comes Barcinonæ in Catalonia" & his wife and "Petronillæ filiæ Ranemiri primo monachi…Aragonum regis"[268]. She succeeded her father in 1157 as PETRONILA Queen of Aragon. She made a donation of the kingdom of Aragon to her son Alfonso I in 1164[269]. m (Barbastro 11 Aug 1137, consummated early 1151) RAMON BERENGUER IV Comte de Barcelona, son of RAMON BERENGUER III "el Grande" Comte de Barcelona & his third wife Dulce Ctss de Provence (1113-San Dalmacio near Turin 6 Aug 1162, bur Monastery of Santa María de Ripoll). "Raymondi comes Barchinonensis, Dulciæ comitissæ uxoris eius, Raimundi et Berengarii filiorum suorum…" subscribed the charter dated [4/12] Feb 1114 under which "Bernardus Wilelmi…comes Ceritaniensis" donated property to the abbey of la Grasse[270]. “Raymundus Berengarii…comes Barchinonæ” donated “monasterium…sancti Petri de Gallicant” in Girona to “monasterio Crassensi” by charter dated 20 Jan 1117, subscribed by “Raimundi comitis Barchinonensis, Raimundi Berengerii, Berengerii et Bernardi filiorum eius, Dulciæ comitissæ uxoris eius…”[271]. The testament of "Raimundus Berengarii…Barchinonensis comes et marchio" dated [8 Jul] 1130 names "Raimundo Berengarii filio meo…"[272]. He succeeded his father in 1131 as Comte de Barcelona, Cerdanya, Besalú, Girona i Ausona. Barcelona's territorial stability was threatened by Aragonese advances on Lérida and Tortosa, cut short by the death of Alfonso I King of Aragon in 1134. After his betrothal to the heiress of Aragon, he successfully negotiated settlements with the military orders of the Holy Land to whom Alfonso I had bequeathed his kingdom. The Orders of the Hospital and the Holy Sepulchre renounced their claims in Sep 1140. By a charter Nov 1143 (agreement confirmed by the Pope), the Templars accepted compensation (six Aragonese castles, a tenth of royal revenues plus 1000 sous a year from those from Zaragoza, a fifth of all lands conquered from the Moors, and exemption from land tolls). His father-in-law conceded the government of Aragon to him 13 Nov 1137[273]. He accepted the suzerainty of the Pope over Aragon and Barcelona. He allied himself with his brother-in-law Alfonso VII King of Castile, conducting a joint expedition against the Moors of Murcia in 1144 and conquering Almería in 1147. He conquered Tortosa in Dec 1148, and Lérida and Fraga 24 Oct 1149. He styled himself Marques de Tortosa y Lérida. In 1154, Pope Anastasius IV revived the supremacy of the archbishopric of Tarragona over the sees of Girona, Barcelona, Urgel, Osona, Lérida, Tortosa, Zaragoza, Huesca, Pamplona, Tarragona and Calahorra. Ramon Berenguer established the monastery of Poblet in 1150-53. He regained the tribute of Valencia, and by the treaty of Tudillén (1151) confirmed Castile’s recognition of a sphere of prospective influence over Valencia and Murcia. He was elected lord and tutor of the infant Gaston V Vicomte de Béarn in 1154. He died while travelling to meet Emperor Friedrich "Barbarossa" at Turin. The Annales Sancti Victoris Massilienses record the death in 1162 of "Raimundus comes Barchinonensis princeps Aragonensis et marchio Provincie seu Tortuose"[274]. The Gestis Comitum Barcinonensium records his death "apud Burgum S Dalmatii iuxta Januensem urbem in Italia…1162 VIII Id Aug" and his burial "in Rivipullensi Monasterio"[275]. An epitaph records the death "1162 VIII Id Aug" of "Marchio…Dominus Raymundus Berengarii Comes Barchinonensis Princeps et Rex Aragonensis et Dux Provinciæ…in Italia apud Vicum Sancti Dalmatii" and his burial in "Monasterium Rivipullense"[276]. Queen Petronila & conde Ramón Berenguer IV had five children: 1. Infante don PEDRO de Aragón (Barcelona 4 May 1152-young Huesca). 2. Infante don RAMÓN de Aragón (Villamayor del Valle, Huesca 1/25 Mar 1157-Perpignan 25 Apr 1195, bur Poblet, monastery of Nuestra Señora). He succeeded his father in 1162 as RAMÓN Conde de Barcelona, Girona, Osona, Besalú, Cerdagne/Cerdaña and Roussillon. He founded Teruel 1169-72. He succeeded his mother in 1174 as ALFONSO II “el Casto” King of Aragon. 3. Infante don PEDRO de Aragón ([1158]-murdered Montpellier 5 Apr 1181, bur Melgueil). He succeeded his cousin in 1166 as RAYMOND BERENGER III Comte de Provence. 4. Infanta doña DULCIA de Aragón ([1160]-Coimbra 1 Sep 1198, bur Church of the Cross Coimbra). m (1175) Infante dom SANCHO Martino de Portugal, son of AFONSO I King of Portugal & his wife Mathilde de Savoie (Coimbra 11 Nov 1154-Coimbra 26 Mar 1212, bur Church of the Cross Coimbra). He succeeded his father 1185 as SANCHO I “o Pobledor” King of Portugal. 5. Infante don SANCHO de Aragón ([1161]-1226). He succeeded in 1167 as Comte de Roussillon et de Cerdagne/Cerdaña. He succeeded his brother in 1181 as SANCHO Comte de Provence. m firstly ERMESINDA [Garsenda] de Rocaberti, daughter of JOFRE [I] Vizconde de Rocaberti & his wife Ermesinda de Vilademuls (-before [1185]). ** from The Medieval Crown of Aragon (T.N. Bisson) pp 31+ The betrothal of the heiress of Aragon to the count of Barcelona inaugurated a dynastic union that would last for centuries. It is customary to speak of this union as the 'Crown of Aragon', although the term itself dates from much later times when the original federation had expanded; and its rulers, who never ceased to style themselves 'count of Barcelona', as 'count-kings'. Under the early count-kings the union worked well. Neither land was neglected, both societies prospered and matured, while joint lordship promoted the expansive ambitions that fired a later age of conquest. The greatest of the early rulers was Ramon Berenguer IV (1131-62). Not the least of his achievements was simply to secure Aragon according to the terms of 1137. The bethrothal to Petronilla had been a diplomatic triumph: it ended the threat of Castilian (or Aragonese) domination of the Moorish borderlands from Lerida to the lower Ebro, and it opened the prospect of a Catalan-Aragonese conquest of Valencia. Yet it was not an easy triumph. Many years were to pass away before the infant Petronilla could marry Ramon Berenguer IV (1150). Meanwhile the dispossed military orders had to be compensated and the pressures of Alfonso VII resisted; nor could the papal attitude in such circumstances be ignored. Ramon deal resourcefully with all these problems... Towards Castile he was likewise cociliatory. To prevent Navarre from falling depdendent on Alfonso VII, Ramon conceded Alfonso's lordship of Zaragoza and married his sister to him. The count-prince seems to have collaborated with Alfonso in an expedition against the Moors of Murcia in 1144; and it was certainly in the service of Castile that he carried out the dazzling exploit that first won him fame: the conquest of Almeria in 1147. Having thus demonstsrated his fidelity to his suzerains and his capacity to lead and to reward, Ramon Berenguer IV had little trouble securing support fo rhis campaigns against Tortusa and Lerida... After a long siege Tortosa fell in December 1148... The count-prince exploited the momentum of this success to attack Lerida, which he captured, together with Fraga, on 24 October 1149... His victories over the Moors strengthened Ramon Berenguer IV abroad. He regained the tribute from Valencia that had been lost in the early twelfth century. By the treaty of Tudillen (1151) he obtained Alfonso VII's recognition of a sphere of prospective Catalan-Aragonese conquest comprising Valencia and Murcia. In 1154 the magnates and free men of Bearn elected him their lord and tutor to the minor Gaston V, and event that prepared the way for a Catalan succession there in the next generation. And he enjoyed almost equal success in Occitania. Retaining the fealty of Guilhem VII of Montpellier and the viscountess Ermendgarde of Narbonne, who had fought for him at Tortosa, Ramon Berenguer IV acquired that of Viscount Trencavel of Beziers-Carcassonne in 1150. Only in Provence did he have any trouble. Acting there as protector of his nephew Ramon Berenguer (1144-1166), whose father had been killed by pirates, the count-prince had to fight repeatedly against the count of Saint-Gilles and their allies and against the castellan lineage of Les Baux. In 1162 he successfully negotiated his nephew's title to Provence with Frederick Bararossa. These military and political achievements together with the collapse of the Castilian hegemony at the death of Alfonso VII in 1157 left Ramon Berenguer IV the most powerful ruler in Spain. That he took his eminence seriously is evident from his policy in his ancestral counties, where he strove to rebuild the public order that had been weakeend in the eleventh century... Remon Berenguer IV was the first Catalan ruler to conceive of a uniform fiscal adminisration for his aggregated counties... ...Ramon Berenguer IV died unexpectedly in Piedmont In August 1162... ** from The Ill Encl of Medieval Civ. (A. Grabois) p 604-- Raymond IV The last independent count of Barcelona (1134-62). By his marriage with Petronilla, the heiress of Aragon, he inherited the royal title, bringing about the union of Aragon and Barcelona. ** from Encyclopedia of World History (William Langer, 1962) p 235 Barcelona and Catalonia: The Spanish Mark was established as a result of the conquest of Catalonia by Charlemagne (785-811). The County of Barcelona (erected 817) under the Frankish crown became independent, perhaps as early as the 9th century. By the beginning of the 12th century the Counts of Barcelona had large holdings north of the Pyrenees (notably in Provence), to which they added for a brief period (1114-1115) Majorca and Iviza, and permanently Tarragona. 1137. The union of Catalonia and Aragon, begun by Raymond Berenguer IV of Catalonia, was epochal, for it created a powerful state with access to the sea. Catalonian territories included Cerdagne, a large part of Provence, etc., with the later addition of Roussilon (1172), Montpellier (1204, under French suzerainty), Foix, Nimes, Beziers (1162-1196). ** from Wikipedia listing for Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona, as of 11/3/2014 Ramon Berenguer IV (Catalan pronunciation: [rəˈmom bəɾəŋˈɡe]; c. 1113 – 6 August 1162, Anglicized Raymond Berengar IV), sometimes called the Holy, was the Count of Barcelona who brought about the union of his County of Barcelona with the Kingdom of Aragon to form the Crown of Aragon. Early reign Ramon Berenguer IV inherited the county of Barcelona from his father Ramon Berenguer III on 19 August 1131. On 11 August 1137, at the age of about 24, he was betrothed to the infant Petronilla of Aragon, aged one at the time. Petronilla's father, Ramiro II of Aragon, who sought Barcelona's aid against Alfonso VII of Castile, withdrew from public life on 13 November 1137, leaving his kingdom to Petronilla and Ramon Berenguer, the latter in effect becoming ruler of Aragon, although he was never king himself, instead commonly using the titles "Count of the Barcelonans and Prince of the Aragonians" (Comes Barcinonensis et Princeps Aragonensis), and occasionally those of "Marquis of Lleida and Tortosa" (after conquering these cities). He was the last Catalan ruler to use "Count" as his primary title; starting with his son Alfonso II of Aragon the counts of Barcelona styled themselves, in the first place, as kings of Aragon. The treaty between Ramon Berenguer and his father-in-law, Ramiro II, stipulated that their descendants would rule jointly over both realms, and that even if Petronilla died before the marriage could be consummated, Berenguer's heirs would still inherit the Kingdom of Aragon.[1] Both realms would preserve their laws, institutions and autonomy, remaining legally distinct but federated in a dynastic union under one ruling House. Historians consider this arrangement the political masterstroke of the Hispanic Middle Ages. Both realms gained greater strength and security and Aragon got its much needed outlet to the sea. On the other hand, formation of a new political entity in the north-east at the time when Portugal seceded from León in the west gave more balance to the Christian kingdoms of the peninsula. Ramon Berenguer successfully pulled Aragon out of its pledged submission to Castile, aided no doubt by his sister Berengaria, wife of Alfonso the Emperor, who was well known in her time for her beauty and charm. Crusades and wars In the middle years of his rule, Ramon Berenguer turned his attention to campaigns against the Moors. In October 1147, as part of the Second Crusade, he helped Castile to conquer Almería. He then invaded the lands of the Almoravid taifa kingdoms of Valencia and Murcia. In December 1148, he captured Tortosa after a five-month siege with the help of Southern French, Anglo-Norman and Genoese crusaders.[2] The next year, Fraga, Lleida and Mequinenza in the confluence of the Segre and Ebro rivers fell to his army. The reconquista of modern Catalonia was completed. Ramon Berenguer also campaigned in Provence, helping his brother Berenguer Ramon and his infant nephew Ramon Berenguer II against the Counts of Toulouse. During the minority of Ramon Berenguer II, the Count of Barcelona also acted as the regent of Provence (between 1144 and 1157). In 1151, Ramon signed the Treaty of Tudilén with Alfonso VII of León and Castile. The treaty defined the zones of conquest in Andalusia as an attempt to prevent the two rulers from coming into conflict. Also in 1151, Ramon Berenguer founded and endowed the royal monastery of Poblet. In 1154, he accepted the regency of Gaston V of Béarn in return for the Bearnese nobles rendering him homage at Canfranc, thus uniting that small principality with the growing Aragonese empire. Death Ramon Berenguer IV died on 6 August 1162 in Borgo San Dalmazzo, Piedmont, Italy, leaving the title of Count of Barcelona to his eldest surviving son, Ramon Berenguer, who inherited the title of King of Aragon after the abdication of his mother Petronilla of Aragon two years later in 1164. He changed his name to Alfonso as a nod to his Aragonese lineage, and became Alfonso II of Aragon. Ramon Berenguer IV's younger son Pere (Peter) inherited the county of Cerdanya and lands north of the Pyrenees, and changed his name to Ramon Berenguer. Appearance and character The Chronicle of San Juan de la Peña said he was, "[a] man of particularly great nobility, prudence, and probity, of lively temperament, high counsel, great bravery, and steady intellect, who displayed great temperance in all his actions. He was handsome in appearance, with a large body and very well-proportioned limbs." References See Serrano Daura, La donación de Ramiro II de Aragón a Ramón Berenguer IV de Barcelona, de 1137, y la institución del "casamiento en casa" ("The Donation of Ramiro II of Aragon to Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona in 1137, and the Institution of In-House Marriage"), published in Hidalguía, #270, Madrid, 1998, p. 710. Riley-Smith (1991) p.48. Bibliography Wikimedia Commons has media related to Ramon Berenguer IV. (Barcelona). Riley-Smith, Jonathan (1991). Atlas of the Crusades. New York: Facts on File. Villegas-Aristizabal, Lucas (2009), "Anglo-Norman involvement in the conquest of Tortosa and Settlement of Tortosa, 1148-1180", Crusades 8, pp. 63–129. BIO: Marquis of Barcelona, 1131; Count of Barcelona; King of Aragon, 1150-62. ** from http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/CATALAN%20NOBILITY.htm#RamonBerenguerIVdied1162A as of 2/8/2016 RAMON BERENGUER [IV] de Barcelona (1113-San Dalmacio near Turin 6 Aug 1162, bur Monastery of Santa María de Ripoll). "Raymondi comes Barchinonensis, Dulciæ comitissæ uxoris eius, Raimundi et Berengarii filiorum suorum…" subscribed the charter dated [4/12] Feb 1114 under which "Bernardus Wilelmi…comes Ceritaniensis" donated property to the abbey of la Grasse[416]. “Raymundus Berengarii…comes Barchinonæ” donated “monasterium…sancti Petri de Gallicant” in Girona to “monasterio Crassensi” by charter dated 20 Jan 1117, subscribed by “Raimundi comitis Barchinonensis, Raimundi Berengerii, Berengerii et Bernardi filiorum eius, Dulciæ comitissæ uxoris eius…”[417]. The testament of "Raimundus Berengarii…Barchinonensis comes et marchio" dated [8 Jul] 1130 names "Raimundo Berengarii filio meo…"[418]. He succeeded his father in 1131 as Comte de Barcelona, Cerdanya, Besalú, Girona i Osona. Barcelona's territorial stability was threatened by Aragonese advances on Lérida and Tortosa, cut short by the death of Alfonso I King of Aragon in 1134. His marriage eventually united the county of Barcelona and the kingdom of Aragon under a single ruler, although the two territories retained their separate political identities. m (Barbastro 11 Aug 1137, consummated early 1151) Infanta doña PETRONILA de Aragón, daughter of RAMIRO II "el Monje" King of Aragon & his wife Agnès d’Aquitaine ([Jul] 1136-Barcelona 17 Oct 1174, bur Barcelona, Church of the Holy Cross and Santa Eulalia). The Brevi Historia Comitum Provinciæ records the marriage of "Berengarius primogenitus filius…" of "Raymundus-Berengarii vulgo Cap-De stoupes…dictus, Comes Barcinonæ in Catalonia" & his wife and "Petronillæ filiæ Ranemiri primo monachi…Aragonum regis"[419]. ** from The Medieval Crown of Aragon (T.N. Bisson) pp 31+ The betrothal of the heiress of Aragon to the count of Barcelona inaugurated a dynastic union that would last for centuries. It is customary to speak of this union as the 'Crown of Aragon', although the term itself dates from much later times when the original federation had expanded; and its rulers, who never ceased to style themselves 'count of Barcelona', as 'count-kings'. Under the early count-kings the union worked well. Neither land was neglected, both societies prospered and matured, while joint lordship promoted the expansive ambitions that fired a later age of conquest. The greatest of the early rulers was Ramon Berenguer IV (1131-62). Not the least of his achievements was simply to secure Aragon according to the terms of 1137. The bethrothal to Petronilla had been a diplomatic triumph: it ended the threat of Castilian (or Aragonese) domination of the Moorish borderlands from Lerida to the lower Ebro, and it opened the prospect of a Catalan-Aragonese conquest of Valencia. Yet it was not an easy triumph. Many years were to pass away before the infant Petronilla could marry Ramon Berenguer IV (1150). Meanwhile the dispossed military orders had to be compensated and the pressures of Alfonso VII resisted; nor could the papal attitude in such circumstances be ignored. Ramon deal resourcefully with all these problems... Towards Castile he was likewise cociliatory. To prevent Navarre from falling depdendent on Alfonso VII, Ramon conceded Alfonso's lordship of Zaragoza and married his sister to him. The count-prince seems to have collaborated with Alfonso in an expedition against the Moors of Murcia in 1144; and it was certainly in the service of Castile that he carried out the dazzling exploit that first won him fame: the conquest of Almeria in 1147. Having thus demonstsrated his fidelity to his suzerains and his capacity to lead and to reward, Ramon Berenguer IV had little trouble securing support fo rhis campaigns against Tortusa and Lerida... After a long siege Tortosa fell in December 1148... The count-prince exploited the momentum of this success to attack Lerida, which he captured, together with Fraga, on 24 October 1149... His victories over the Moors strengthened Ramon Berenguer IV abroad. He regained the tribute from Valencia that had been lost in the early twelfth century. By the treaty of Tudillen (1151) he obtained Alfonso VII's recognition of a sphere of prospective Catalan-Aragonese conquest comprising Valencia and Murcia. In 1154 the magnates and free men of Bearn elected him their lord and tutor to the minor Gaston V, and event that prepared the way for a Catalan succession there in the next generation. And he enjoyed almost equal success in Occitania. Retaining the fealty of Guilhem VII of Montpellier and the viscountess Ermendgarde of Narbonne, who had fought for him at Tortosa, Ramon Berenguer IV acquired that of Viscount Trencavel of Beziers-Carcassonne in 1150. Only in Provence did he have any trouble. Acting there as protector of his nephew Ramon Berenguer (1144-1166), whose father had been killed by pirates, the count-prince had to fight repeatedly against the count of Saint-Gilles and their allies and against the castellan lineage of Les Baux. In 1162 he successfully negotiated his nephew's title to Provence with Frederick Bararossa. These military and political achievements together with the collapse of the Castilian hegemony at the death of Alfonso VII in 1157 left Ramon Berenguer IV the most powerful ruler in Spain. That he took his eminence seriously is evident from his policy in his ancestral counties, where he strove to rebuild the public order that had been weakeend in the eleventh century... Remon Berenguer IV was the first Catalan ruler to conceive of a uniform fiscal adminisration for his aggregated counties... ...Ramon Berenguer IV died unexpectedly in Piedmont In August 1162... ** from The Ill Encl of Medieval Civ. (A. Grabois) p 604-- Raymond IV The last independent count of Barcelona (1134-62). By his marriage with Petronilla, the heiress of Aragon, he inherited the royal title, bringing about the union of Aragon and Barcelona. ** from Encyclopedia of World History (William Langer, 1962) p 235 Barcelona and Catalonia: The Spanish Mark was established as a result of the conquest of Catalonia by Charlemagne (785-811). The County of Barcelona (erected 817) under the Frankish crown became independent, perhaps as early as the 9th century. By the beginning of the 12th century the Counts of Barcelona had large holdings north of the Pyrenees (notably in Provence), to which they added for a brief period (1114-1115) Majorca and Iviza, and permanently Tarragona. 1137. The union of Catalonia and Aragon, begun by Raymond Berenguer IV of Catalonia, was epochal, for it created a powerful state with access to the sea. Catalonian territories included Cerdagne, a large part of Provence, etc., with the later addition of Roussilon (1172), Montpellier (1204, under French suzerainty), Foix, Nimes, Beziers (1162-1196). ** from Wikipedia listing for Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona as of 2/8/2016 Ramon Berenguer IV (Catalan pronunciation: [rəˈmom bəɾəŋˈɡe]; c. 1113 – 6 August 1162, Anglicized Raymond Berengar IV), sometimes called the Saint, was the Count of Barcelona who brought about the union of his County of Barcelona with the Kingdom of Aragon to form the Crown of Aragon. Early reign Ramon Berenguer IV inherited the county of Barcelona from his father Ramon Berenguer III on 19 August 1131. On 11 August 1137, at the age of about 24, he was betrothed to the infant Petronilla of Aragon, aged one at the time. Petronilla's father, Ramiro II of Aragon, who sought Barcelona's aid against Alfonso VII of Castile, withdrew from public life on 13 November 1137, leaving his kingdom to Petronilla and Ramon Berenguer, the latter in effect becoming ruler of Aragon, although he was never king himself, instead commonly using the titles "Count of the Barcelonans and Prince of the Aragonians" (Comes Barcinonensis et Princeps Aragonensis), and occasionally those of "Marquis of Lleida and Tortosa" (after conquering these cities). He was the last Catalan ruler to use "Count" as his primary title; starting with his son Alfonso II of Aragon the counts of Barcelona styled themselves, in the first place, as kings of Aragon. The treaty between Ramon Berenguer and his father-in-law, Ramiro II, stipulated that their descendants would rule jointly over both realms, and that even if Petronilla died before the marriage could be consummated, Berenguer's heirs would still inherit the Kingdom of Aragon.[1] Both realms would preserve their laws, institutions and autonomy, remaining legally distinct but federated in a dynastic union under one ruling House. Historians consider this arrangement the political masterstroke of the Hispanic Middle Ages. Both realms gained greater strength and security and Aragon got its much needed outlet to the sea. On the other hand, formation of a new political entity in the north-east at the time when Portugal seceded from León in the west gave more balance to the Christian kingdoms of the peninsula. Ramon Berenguer successfully pulled Aragon out of its pledged submission to Castile, aided no doubt by his sister Berengaria, wife of Alfonso the Emperor, who was well known in her time for her beauty and charm. Crusades and wars In the middle years of his rule, Ramon Berenguer turned his attention to campaigns against the Moors. In October 1147, as part of the Second Crusade, he helped Castile to conquer Almería. He then invaded the lands of the Almoravid taifa kingdoms of Valencia and Murcia. In December 1148, he captured Tortosa after a five-month siege with the help of Southern French, Anglo-Norman and Genoese crusaders.[2] (When Moors later tried to recapture Tortosa, the women put up such a spirited defense that Berenger created for them the Order of the Hatchet.) The next year, Fraga, Lleida and Mequinenza in the confluence of the Segre and Ebro rivers fell to his army. The reconquista of modern Catalonia was completed. Ramon Berenguer also campaigned in Provence, helping his brother Berenguer Ramon and his infant nephew Ramon Berenguer II against the Counts of Toulouse. During the minority of Ramon Berenguer II, the Count of Barcelona also acted as the regent of Provence (between 1144 and 1157). In 1151, Ramon signed the Treaty of Tudilén with Alfonso VII of León and Castile. The treaty defined the zones of conquest in Andalusia as an attempt to prevent the two rulers from coming into conflict. Also in 1151, Ramon Berenguer founded and endowed the royal monastery of Poblet. In 1154, he accepted the regency of Gaston V of Béarn in return for the Bearnese nobles rendering him homage at Canfranc, thus uniting that small principality with the growing Aragonese empire. Death Ramon Berenguer IV died on 6 August 1162 in Borgo San Dalmazzo, Piedmont, Italy, leaving the title of Count of Barcelona to his eldest surviving son, Ramon Berenguer, who inherited the title of King of Aragon after the abdication of his mother Petronilla of Aragon two years later in 1164. He changed his name to Alfonso as a nod to his Aragonese lineage, and became Alfonso II of Aragon. Ramon Berenguer IV's younger son Pere (Peter) inherited the county of Cerdanya and lands north of the Pyrenees, and changed his name to Ramon Berenguer. Appearance and character The Chronicle of San Juan de la Peña said he was, "[a] man of particularly great nobility, prudence, and probity, of lively temperament, high counsel, great bravery, and steady intellect, who displayed great temperance in all his actions. He was handsome in appearance, with a large body and very well-proportioned limbs." References ^ See Serrano Daura, La donación de Ramiro II de Aragón a Ramón Berenguer IV de Barcelona, de 1137, y la institución del "casamiento en casa" ("The Donation of Ramiro II of Aragon to Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona in 1137, and the Institution of In-House Marriage"), published in Hidalguía, #270, Madrid, 1998, p. 710. ^ Riley-Smith (1991) p.48. Bibliography Riley-Smith, Jonathan (1991). Atlas of the Crusades. New York: Facts on File. Villegas-Aristizabal, Lucas (2009), "Anglo-Norman involvement in the conquest of Tortosa and Settlement of Tortosa, 1148-1180", Crusades 8, pp. 63–129.

  
  

• Sources

  [S72] The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Ancestral File (TM), (June 1998 (c), data as of 5 JAN 1998).