The County of Roussillon or Rosselló was one of the Catalan counties in the Marca Hispanica during the Middle Ages. The Catalan counties were the administrative divisions of the eastern Carolingian Marca Hispanica created after its Frankish conquest The Marca Hispanica (or Spanish March, also March of Barcelona) was a Buffer zone beyond the province of Septimania, created by Charlemagne The rulers of the county were the Counts of Roussillon, whose interests lay both north and south of the Pyrenees. This is a list of the counts of Roussillon, in Catalan Rosselló. The Pyrenees (Pirineos French: Pyrénées; Catalan: Pirineus; Occitan: Pirenèus; Aragonese: Perinés
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Visigothic county
There was a Visigothic county around the city of Ruscino in the 6th and 7th centuries with a jurisdiction corresponding to the Diocese of Elna. The Visigoths (Visigothi, Wisigothi, Vesi, Visi, Wesi, or Wisi were one of two main branches of the Goths, an East This primitive county comprising the historic comarques of Plana del Roselló, Conflent, and Vallespir was created by Liuva I in 571. This is a list of the comarques (singular "comarca") of Catalonia ( Spain) Conflent is a historical Catalan comarca of Northern Catalonia, now part of the French Département of Pyrénées-Orientales Vallespir is a historical Catalan comarca of Northern Catalonia, part of the French Département of Pyrénées-Orientales. Liuva I (Leova d 572 or 573 jointly with his brother Liuvigild, succeeded Athanagild in 568 on the throne of the Visigoths. The Visigothic legacy in Roussillon survived in its courts, where Visigothic law was applied exclusively as late as the eleventh century. The Visigothic Code ( Latin, Forum Iudicum or Liber Judiciorum; Spanish, Libro de los Juicios) comprises a set [1]
Roussillon was occupied by the Moors in 721. The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of Muslim (and earlier non-Muslim people of Berber and Arab descent It was probably conquered to the Frankish Empire by Pepin the Short and his Visigothic allies in 760, immediately following his conquest of Narbonne, though all that is certain is that it was in Frankish hands during the reign of Charlemagne. Francia or Frankia, later also called the Frankish Empire (imperium Francorum Frankish Kingdom (Latin regnum Francorum, "Kingdom of the Pepin or Pippin (714 &ndash 24 September 768) called the Short, and often known as Pepin the Younger or Pepin III, was Narbonne ( Narbona in Catalan and in Occitan, the Roman Narbo) is a commune in southwestern France in the Charlemagne (ˈʃɑrlɨmeɪn Carolus Magnus or Karolus Magnus meaning Charles the Great) (747 – 28 January 814 was King of the Franks from 768 to his [2] Roussillon had been nearly completely depopulated, was not widely cultivated, and land use was very inefficient, which has often been explained by Moorish razzias and Frankish reprisals over a span of forty years. [3]
Pepin reestablished the old Gothic county with its seat at Ruscino. The new count — a Goth — built a castle at their capital: the castrum or castellum Rossilio, by which Ruscino came to be known as Castell-Rosselló. Beginning in 780, Charlemagne started granting aprisiones of desert land in Roussillon and around Narbonne to incoming spani (or hispani, that is, Christian Spaniards of Gothic, Roman, and Basque origin). This article is about the medieval system "Manors" redirects here [4] These spani migrants, along with the native Gothic aristocracy, took part in the reconquest of the southern slopes of the Pyrenees and the Tarraconensian littoral which formed the new Marca Hispanica. The Reconquista (a Spanish and Portuguese word for "Reconquest" Arabic: الاسترداد, "Recapturing" was a period Hispania Tarraconensis was one of three Roman provinces in Hispania. [5]
Union with Empúries
The history of the Frankish county in the eighth and ninth centuries is not well known. In the Carolingian age, it may have formed the westernmost extent of non-Basque settlement in the Pyrenees. The Carolingian dynasty (known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolings, or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family with its origins in the The Basques (Euskaldunak are a people who inhabit a region spanning over parts of north-central Spain and southwestern France. [6] It was affected by the second wave of monasticism which swept Catalonia in the first half of the ninth century and saw the foundation and imperial recognition of new monasteries, as at Saint-Genesius des Fonts, Saint-Clement de Regulla, and Saint-André de Sureda in 819 and 823 respectively. [7] In 859–860, a fleet of Vikings under Hasting and Bjorn plundered the abbeys of Roussillon before wintering in the Camargue. A Viking is one of the Norse ( Scandinavian Explorers Warriors Merchants, and pirates who raided and colonized wide areas Bjorn (English Björn (Swedish and Icelandic Bjørn (Norwegian and Danish Beorn (Old English or rarely Bjôrn, Biorn, or The Camargue ( Occitan: Camarga in classical norm or Camargo in Mistralian norm is located south of Arles, France, between the [8]
The first count known by name, Gaucelm, received the County of Ampurias in 817 and those counties remained united until 989. Gaucelm (died 834 was a Frankish count and leading magnate in Gothia during the reign of Louis the Pious. The County of Empúries or Ampurias was a medieval county centred on the town of Empúries and enclosing the Catalan region of Peralada. They probably had separate viscounts, however; the office of viscount appeared in Roussillon early when a Richelm is mentioned as filling it in 859. A viscount ( VAI-count is a member of the European Nobility whose comital title ranks usually as in the British peerage, above a [9] The original viscounts acted as missi dominici of the Margraves of Septimania. A missus dominicus (plural missi dominici) Latin for "Envoy of the Lord ' also known as Sendgraf in German, Zendgraaf in The title Prince of Gothia ( princeps Gothiæ) or Prince of the Goths ( princeps Gothorum) was a title of nobility sometimes assumed [10] Throughout this period, Roussillon gradually gained de facto independence from its nominal suzerain, the King of France. Suzerainty (ˈsjuːzərənti RP or /ˈsjuːzəreɪnti/ RP) (/ˈsuːzərənti/ GA) is a situation in which a Region or people is a List of Queens and Empresses of France Wikipedia_talkFeatured_lists#Proposed_change_to_all_featured_lists for an explanation of this and other inclusion tags below As late as 878, Louis the Stammerer could enforce his will in the selection of Roussillon's count, but by the end of the 9th century the royal writ rarely ran as far south as the Pyrenees. Louis the Stammerer ( November 1, 846 — April 10, 879; Louis le Bègue) was the eldest son of Charles the Bald and The counties of Roussillon and Empúries became relatively stable, hereditary possessions of the Bellonid family; Gausfred I even took the title dux (duke) in 975. The Bellonid Dynasty (in Catalan Bel·lònides and in Spanish Bellónidas) was a Catalan dynasty the descendants of the Goth Gausfred I (died 991 was the Count of Empúries and Rosselló from 931 until his death A duke is a member of the Nobility, historically of highest rank below the Sovereign, and historically controlled a Duchy or a Dukedom [11]
Late in the 10th century, Alt Rosselló, Conflent, and inland Vallespir passed to the Counts of Cerdanya and Roussillon was reduced to the coastal regions of Roussillon and Vallespir. Conflent is a historical Catalan comarca of Northern Catalonia, now part of the French Département of Pyrénées-Orientales Vallespir is a historical Catalan comarca of Northern Catalonia, part of the French Département of Pyrénées-Orientales. The County of Cerdanya ( Cerdagne in French and Cerdaña in Spanish) was one of the Catalan counties formed in the last decades of Throughout the century, Ampurias was the centre of comital power and the counts had their seat there. It was only when Viking and Moorish pirates forced him to move from the coast to the more easily defensible inland that Gausfred I made his capital at Castellón de Ampurias. A Viking is one of the Norse ( Scandinavian Explorers Warriors Merchants, and pirates who raided and colonized wide areas Gausfred I (died 991 was the Count of Empúries and Rosselló from 931 until his death Castelló d'Empúries is a town and municipality in the Alt Empordà. After his death, the counties were separated, with Roussillon going to his younger son, Giselbert I. Giselbert I (Guislabert (d 1013 or 1014 Count of Roussillon (991-1013 was the son of Gausfred I.
The division, however, was made under certain stipulations of the deceased count. First, both counts had a right to attend the synods and tribunals held in either county. Second, rights of justice were shared between the two counts. Third, the count of Roussillon had the right to make his residence in Ampurias, the ancient capital. And finally, that either count could possess lands in either county. In 1014, Hugh I of Ampurias invaded the Roussillon, but in 1019 a pact was signed making the two counties permanently separate entities. Hugh I ( Hugo or Hug) (c965 &ndash 1040 Count of Empúries from 991 was the son of Gausfred I and his first wife Ava daughter of Raymond
Treuga Dei
Roussillon was the site of the first promulgation of the Truce of God (treuga Dei). The Peace and Truce of God was a Medieval European movement of the Catholic Church that applied spiritual sanctions in order to limit the violence of Private war In 1027, a council of Elna was held in the meadow of Toulouges, because the throng of attendees was so great: clergymen, aristocrats, and poor men and women. Elne ( French: Elne, ɛln Catalan Elna) is a town and commune of southern France, in the former province of Toulouges is a village of about 6000 inhabitants in the Pyrénées-Orientales Département of France. The council first decreed a series of canons in keeping with the Peace of God (pax Dei) movement inaugurated in Charroux in 989 and which had spread across Aquitaine, Gascony, the Languedoc, and Catalonia like wildfire. The Peace and Truce of God was a Medieval European movement of the Catholic Church that applied spiritual sanctions in order to limit the violence of Private war Charroux may refer to places in France Charroux Allier, a commune in the department of Allier Charroux Vienne Aquitaine (Aquitània Akitania archaic Guyenne / Guienne (Occitan Guiana) is one of the 26 Regions of France, in the south-western part of Gascony (Gascogne gaskɔɲ Gascon Occitan: Gasconha, pronounced) is an area of southwest France that constituted a province of France Languedoc ( in French Lengadòc in Occitan) is a former Province of France, now continued in the modern-day ''régions'' of Languedoc-Roussillon The Elna council, however, went a step further than previous local councils. It also declared a truce effective from Saturday evening until Monday morning each week: "No one dwelling in the aforesaid county and diocese [of Roussillon] should assail any enemy of his from the ninth hour on Saturday to the first hour on Monday, so that everyone may render the honour owed to the Lord's day. "[12] The truce spread rapidly through Languedoc and was soon extended so that it was generally understood that fighting was prohibited between Wednesday evening and dawn Monday.
Independent Roussillon
Giselbert moved the capital of Roussillon from Castellrosellón to a village named Perpignan, which was destined to be the first city of Roussillon, in preference to the episcopal seat of Elna. Perpignan ( French: Perpignan, pɛʀpiɲɑ̃ Catalan Perpinyà,) is a commune and the Préfecture (administrative Giselbert II made a pact with Ampurias concerning military and ecclesiastical possessions. Giselbert II (Guislaberto Guislabert) (d1102 was the Count of Roussillon from the death of his father Gausfred II, in 1074 until his own death During this period, Roussillon fell more under the influence of the Count of Toulouse to its north than the Count of Barcelona to its south, contrary to the path of most of the Catalan counties. The first comites ( counts) of Toulouse were the administrators of the city and its environs under the Merovingians No succession of such royal The Count of Barcelona was the major ruler in Catalonia from the 9th until the 17th century It also suffered under a series of coastal raids by the navy of the taifa kingdom of Denia. A taifa (from طائفة ṭā'ifa, plural طوائف ṭawā'if) in the history of Iberia was an independent Muslim -ruled principality Dénia (in Catalan; Spanish: Denia) is the judicial seat of the ''comarca'' of Marina Alta, in the province of Alicante [13]
In the mid-12th century, under Gausfred III, Roussillon experienced an epoch of turbulence with increased attacks from both Ampurias and Moorish pirates. Gausfred III (d1164 was the Count of Roussillon from 1113 until his death Gausfred's eldest son also rebelled. In order to quell his son's revolt, he made him Lord of Perpignan and heir apparent.
On the death of Gerard II without heirs in 1172, Roussillon passed, as per prior agreement of the nobles with the count, to Alfonso II of Aragon. Gerard II ( Girard in French and Catalan Gerardo in Spanish was the last de facto independent Count of Roussillon from 1164 to his death in Alfonso II (Aragon or Alfons I (Provence and Barcelona ( Huesca, 1157 &ndash Perpignan, 1196 called the Chaste or the Troubadour It was thought that the Crown of Aragon could protect Roussillon from the pretensions of Ampurias, which still possessed certain communal rights in Roussillon. The Crown of Aragon was a permanent union of multiple titles and states in the hands of the King of Aragon. In 1173, Alfonso called an assembly at Perpignan, where he declared a peace for all Roussillon and the diocese of Elna.
Aragonese Roussillon
Sources
- Bisson, Thomas N. "Une paix peu connue pour le Roussillon (A. D. 1173). " Droit Privé et Institutions Régionales. Études Historiques Offertes à Jean Yver (Paris, 1976), pp. 69–76. Reprinted in Medieval France and her Pyrenean Neighbours: Studies in Early Institutional History (London: Hambledon, 1989), pp. 179–86.
- Lewis, Archibald Ross. The Development of Southern French and Catalan Society, 718–1050. University of Texas Press: Austin, 1965.
- Jordan, William Chester. William Chester Jordan (born 1948 is an American Medievalist, currently the Dayton-Stockton Professor of History and Director of the Program in Medieval Studies at Europe in the High Middle Ages. London: Viking, 2003.
Notes
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