The County of Besalú ( ca, Comtat de Besalú, ; la, Comitatus Bisuldunensis) was one of the landlocked

medieval In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

Catalan counties The Catalan counties ( ca, Comtats Catalans, ) were the administrative Christian divisions of the eastern Carolingian '' Hispanic Marches'' and the southernmost part of the March of Gothia in the Pyrenees created after their rapid conquest by the ...

near the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on ...

coastline. It was roughly coterminous with the modern '' comarca'' of Garrotxa and at various times extended as far north as

Corbières, Aude Corbières (； oc, Corbièras) is a commune in the Aude department in southern France. Population See also *Communes of the Aude department The following is a list of the 433 communes of the Aude department of France. The communes co ...

, now in France. Its capital was the village of

Besalú Besalú () is a town in the '' comarca'' of Garrotxa, in Girona, Catalonia, Spain. The town's importance was greater in the early Middle Ages, as capital of the county of Besalú, whose territory was roughly the same size as the current ''coma ...

. Throughout most of its history it was attached to one of the other more powerful counties, but it experienced a century of independence before it was finally and irrevocably annexed to the

County of Barcelona The County of Barcelona ( la, Comitatus Barcinonensis, ca, Comtat de Barcelona) was originally a frontier region under the rule of the Carolingian dynasty. In the 10th century, the Counts of Barcelona became progressively independent, heredi ...

9th century: origins and development

Besalú was reconquered from the

Moors The term Moor, derived from the ancient Mauri, is an exonym first used by Christian Europeans to designate the Muslim inhabitants of the Maghreb, the Iberian Peninsula, Sicily and Malta during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a distinc ...

by 785. It was originally a ''

pagus In ancient Rome, the Latin word (plural ) was an administrative term designating a rural subdivision of a tribal territory, which included individual farms, villages (), and strongholds () serving as refuges, as well as an early medieval geogra ...

'' of the County of Girona in the Marca Hispanica. The original ''pagus'' comprised the territories of Garrotxa and those neighbouring Montgrony and

Setcases Setcases (; literally meaning "Seven Houses", ''set'' "seven" and ''cases'' "houses") is a municipality and town in the Pyrenean ''comarca'' of Ripollès in Girona, Catalonia, Spain, near the French border. The Ter River is born in the mountains ...

in the '' comarca'' of Ripollès as far as

Agullana Agullana is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of Alt Empordà, Girona, Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationality'' by its St ...

and

Figueres Figueres (, ; , es, Figueras, ) is the capital of the ''comarca'' of Alt Empordà, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. The town is the birthplace of artist Salvador Dalí, and houses the Teatre-Museu Gala Salvador Dalí, a large mus ...

(in Alt Empordà) and Banyoles in Pla de l'Estany. In the ''Ordinatio Imperii'' of 817,

Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (german: Ludwig der Fromme; french: Louis le Pieux; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aqu ...

made it a part of Aquitaine and ruled it directly along with the other maritime counties of the Marca: Roussillon,

Girona Girona (officially and in Catalan , Spanish: ''Gerona'' ) is a city in northern Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 103,369 in 2020. Girona is the capit ...

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, and

Empúries Empúries ( ca, Empúries ) was an ancient city on the Mediterranean coast of Catalonia, Spain. Empúries is also known by its Spanish name, Ampurias ( es, Ampurias ). The city Ἐμπόριον ( el, Ἐμπόριον, Emporion, meaning "tr ...

. Besalú, along with Barcelona and Girona were placed under Count Bera, a Visigoth. Under Louis the Pious Gothia saw a reinvigorated monasticism spread first in

Pallars Pallars is a historical and natural region of Catalonia. Located in the Pre-Pyrenees and Pyrenees area, most of its territory is mountainous. The Noguera Pallaresa river is named after this region. Geography The physiography of the Pallars nat ...

and then eastward into Roussillon, Empúries, and Besalú. Under Louis and his successors, a system of '' aprisiones'' was established in Besalú, largely held by native Goths and immigrant Gascons. During the reign of

Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (french: Charles le Chauve; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as Charles II, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), king of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a se ...

, Besalú was attached to the counties of Urgel and Cerdanya. In 871,

Wilfred the Hairy {{Infobox noble, type , name = Wilfred , title = Count of Barcelona , image = Wilfredo el Velloso 01.jpg , image_size = 150px , caption = Statue in Madrid, L. S. Carmona, 1750–53 , alt ...

and his kin began the encastellation of Besalú by constructing a forward castle at Castellaris. Wilfred later separated it and made his brother Radulf its count and it became one of the last ''de facto'' independent

10th century: attached to Cerdanya

Sometime between 913 and 920, Radulf died and Miro the Younger, Count of Cerdanya, took over Besalú, even though it should have gone to Sunyer II, Count of Barcelona and

. When Miro died in 927, his counties were ruled indivisibly by his widow Ava as regent for his two sons, Sunifred II and Wilfred II. When the two reached their majority, Sunifred governed Cerdanya and the younger Wilfred Besalú under the suzerainty of his older brother. The brothers, and their younger brothers Oliba Cabreta and Miro Bonfill, acted consonantly throughout their lives. In 943 Sunyer of Barcelona attacked Besalú and Ripoll and Sunifred came to Wilfred's aid. The brother also retained their ties to the French crown, though they often carried the title '' marchio'', probably without royal sanction but perhaps as an honour from Carolingian times. Oliba received royal lands and rights in Besalú from Rudolph in 929, indicating the presence and memory of the royal fisc in Besalú. Wilfred even going to the court of Louis IV in order to solicit a privilege of immunity to the monastery of Sant Pere de Camprodon which he and his brother had jointly founded as their legacy. Wilfred also received a portion of the property which the viscount Unifred had treacherously taken from Ermengol of Osona by a precept of Louis's. In the latter half of the tenth century, the power and authority of the counts of Besalú and Cerdanya increased. In 957, Besalú was rocked by the rebellion of a faction of the noblesse backing the sons of the deceased count Radulf. Wilfred was assassinated and Sunifred annexed the property of the rebels and took over the county. In 965, Sunifred passed all his counties on to Oliba, who gave Besalú as a subordinate countship to Miro, but when Miro became

Bishop of Girona The Roman Catholic Diocese of Girona ( la, Gerunden(sis)) is a diocese located in the city of Girona in the Ecclesiastical province of Tarragona in Catalonia, Spain.Montecassino and left Besalú — along with Vallespir,

Fenouillèdes Fenouillèdes (; oc, Fenolhedés/Fenolheda; ca, Fenolledès/Fenolleda) is a French comarca and a traditional Occitan-speaking area in the ''département'' of Pyrénées-Orientales. The capital of the comarca is Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet (''Sant ...

, and Peyrepertuse — to Bernard Tallaferro. He annexed Ripoll in 1002. He inaugurated an independent line of rulers in Besalú and thus diminished the power of his dynasty.

Pope Benedict VIII Pope Benedict VIII ( la, Benedictus VIII; c. 980 – 9 April 1024) was bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 18 May 1012 until his death. He was born Theophylact to the noble family of the counts of Tusculum. Unusually for a medieva ...

established diocese in Besalú for Bernard's benefit, but it was short-lived. The last quarter of the 10th century and first quarter of the 11th witnessed very little war in southern France and Catalonia, some of the only instances occurring between Oliba Cabreta and the Counts of Carcassonne. In this period as well, Carolingian courts and Gothic law were still in effect in Besalú, as late as 1031.Lewis, 373. Between 969 and 1020, the county of Besalú minted its own money, though this currency has not been preserved in the form of coins, its only evidence being documentary. Between 1020 and 1111, three different kinds of silver coin were minted in Besalú. The

engraving Engraving is the practice of incising a design onto a hard, usually flat surface by cutting grooves into it with a burin. The result may be a decorated object in itself, as when silver, gold, steel, or glass are engraved, or may provide an in ...

s of Besalú in the eleventh century have been considered some of the best exemplars of the Romanesque style. In 1066, William II died and Besalú was co-ruled by his brother, Bernard II and his son, Bernard III. In 1100, the moderate and stable Bernard II died and Bernard III began to reign on his own. He had little support from the local nobility and Raymond Berengar III of Barcelona took the opportunity to augment his influence in the region. At the turn of the 12th century, Besalú extended as across the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to ...

as far as Corbières.Cheyette, 77. It dominated and patronised the monasteries of

Sant Joan de les Abadesses Sant Joan de les Abadesses () is a town and municipality located in the south-east of the comarca of Ripollès, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. Geography and climate The town is located along the upper part of the River Ter, in t ...

Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa The abbey of Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa () is a Benedictine abbey located in the territory of the commune of Codalet, in the Pyrénées-Orientales ''département'', in southwestern France. It was founded initially in 840, and then refounded at its pre ...

, and

Lagrasse Lagrasse (; oc, La Grassa) is a commune in the Aude department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. In 2016, it had a population of 560. Lagrasse is part of the Les Plus Beaux Villages de France ("The most beautiful villages of France") ...

. It encompassed the castles of Tautavel, Vingrau, Queribus, Aguilar, and Peyrepertuse, which were refortified in the thirteenth century by Louis IX of France as forming his southern border with the

Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon ( , ) an, Corona d'Aragón ; ca, Corona d'Aragó, , , ; es, Corona de Aragón ; la, Corona Aragonum . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of ...

by the Treaty of Corbeil (1259). The rest of Besalú was a part of the

Principality of Catalonia The Principality of Catalonia ( ca, Principat de Catalunya, la, Principatus Cathaloniæ, oc, Principat de Catalonha, es, Principado de Cataluña) was a medieval and early modern state in the northeastern Iberian Peninsula. During most of it ...

within the Crown. In 1107, Bernard III married Jimena, Raymond Berengar's daughter. In the marriage pact, Raymond Berengar ceded Ausona and the Diocese of Vic with all their castles. In return, Barcelona became the heir of Bernard if he died without children. At the time Bernard was fifty years of age (older than his father-in-law) and Jimena a mere child of seven or eight. It was not unlikely that Bernard would die before the marriage could legally be consummated. The aging and ineffectual Count of Besalú showed no desire to govern and readily allowed his new father-in-law to fill the vacuum left by the death of Bernard II. In 1111, Bernard died and Barcelona inherited Besalú. This led to conflict with Bernard William of Cerdanya, who was the feudal suzerain of Besalú. The problem was solved by the cession of Vallespir, Fenolledès, Peyrepertuse, and Castellnou to Cerdanya for compensation.

Bishopric of Besalú

Some of the most important monasteries in Catalonia were located in Besalú:

, Santa María de Ripoll, Bañolas, Camprodón, and Sant Pau de Fenollet. There was not, however, a bishop in Besalú. Rather, the abbacies were dependent on the dioceses of Vic,

, and Elne. In 1017, Pope Benedict conceded to Bernard Tallaferro the right to establish a diocese of his own. Ignoring the proposals of Joan de les Abadesses and Sant Pau de Fenollet, Bernard founded it in Besalú itself. The first bishop was his own son Wilfred, abbot of Sant Joan de les Abadesses. On Bernard's death in 1020, the bishops of Girona and Vic reclaimed their ancient rights over the parishes of Besalú. Wilfred, lacking a political protector, retired to his monastery and the diocese of Besalú was abolished.

List of counts

* Radulf, 878–912 * Miro I the Younger, 912–927 * Ava, 927–941, as regent for... * Wilfred (II), 927–957 * Sunifred, 957–965 * Miro II Bonfill, 965–984 * Oliba Cabreta, 984–988 * Bernard I, 988–1020 * William I, 1020–1052 * William II, 1052–1066 * Bernard II, 1066–1100 * Bernard III, 1100–1111

Sources

*Lewis, Archibald Ross.
The Development of Southern French and Catalan Society, 718–1050
'. University of Texas Press: Austin, 1965. *Cheyette, Fredric L. ''Ermengard of Narbonne and the World of the Troubadours''. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2001. * Bolòs, Jordi and Víctor Hurtado. ''Atles del comtat de Besalú (785–988)''. Barcelona: Rafael Dalmau, 1998. .

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:County of Besalu Medieval Catalonia Catalan nobility Besalu