The County of Osona, also Ausona (, ; ), was one of the Catalan counties of the ''

Marca Hispanica The Spanish March or Hispanic March was a march or military buffer zone established c. 795 by Charlemagne in the eastern Pyrenees and nearby areas, to protect the new territories of the Christian Carolingian Empire—the Duchy of Gascony, the D ...

'' in the Early and

High Middle Ages The High Middle Ages, or High Medieval Period, was the periodization, period of European history between and ; it was preceded by the Early Middle Ages and followed by the Late Middle Ages, which ended according to historiographical convention ...

. It was based around the capital city of Vic (''Vicus'') and the corresponding

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

, whose territory was roughly the current ''

comarca A ''comarca'' (, , , ) is a traditional region or local administrative division found in Portugal, Spain, and some of their former colonies, like Brazil, Nicaragua, and Panama. The term is derived from the term ''marca'', meaning a "march, mark ...

'' of

Osona Osona () is a comarques of Catalonia, comarca situated in the Central Catalonia, central region of Catalonia, Spain. Its capital is Vic, Spain, Vic. Its population in 2001 was 129,543. Osona covers roughly the same area as the historic Catalan co ...

. The ancient diocese of Osona was sacked by the Arabs in the mid eighth century (c. 750–755). Its reconquest by Christian powers began in 798; in that year Louis of Aquitaine ordered Borrell, a Goth, to enter the abandoned region and repair the castles of Vic, Cardona, and Casserès. Vic was in Frankish hands by 799. After the successful siege of

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of 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 ...

in 801, Borrell, already Count of Cerdanya and

Urgell Urgell (), also known as ''Baix Urgell'' (''baix'' meaning "lower", by contrast with Alt Urgell "Upper Urgell"), is a ''comarca'' (county) in Ponent, Catalonia (Spain), forming only a borderland portion of the region historically known as Urgel ...

, received Osona as a countship from his liege lord, King Louis. On Borrell's death, Osona was granted to Rampon, Count of Barcelona. After the rebellion of 826, during which Guillemó and Aissó succeeded in taking it with help from the

Emirate of Córdoba An emirate is a territory ruled by an emir, a title used by monarchs or high officeholders in the Muslim world. From a historical point of view, an emirate is a political-religious unit smaller than a caliphate. It can be considered equivalen ...

, Osona remained depopulated and outside of Frankish control until 879. It was considered to be part of the County of Barcelona throughout that period. In 879, Wilfred the Hairy began the repopulation of the county with free ''minores'', who cultivated the lands given them as ''

aprisio Manorialism, also known as seigneurialism, the manor system or manorial system, was the method of land ownership (or "tenure") in parts of Europe, notably France and later England, during the Middle Ages. Its defining features included a large, ...

nes''; they turned Osona into a central and important part of Catalonia. There was a viscounty of Osona from 900. The viscounts controlled the region on behalf of the counts, who were usually resident in Barcelona. The viscountship later changed its name to viscounty of Cabrera. Wilfred, who established the viscounty, also built new castles along the frontier of Osona, at Torelló (881), Montgrony (887), and Tarabaldi (892). All these fortresses were controlled either directly by the count or by a castellan who also controlled the ''appendici'' or surrounding territory on certain specific terms. The castle, in fact, and its ''mandamenta'' (commandment) were the central organising feature of Osona after its repopulation. Wilfred also reorganised the church in Osona — after the bishopric, Wilfred's foundation of the convent of Sant Joan de les Abadesses, originally under his daughter Emma, was the most important ecclesiastical institution in the countyLewis, 251. — and introduced

serfdom Serfdom was the status of many peasants under feudalism, specifically relating to manorialism and similar systems. It was a condition of debt bondage and indentured servitude with similarities to and differences from slavery. It developed du ...

on a limited scale. Throughout the tenth century, Osona remained tied to Barcelona, except for the brief rule of Ermengol from 939 to 943. In 990, the small ''

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 geograp ...

'' of

Berga Berga () is the capital of the ''Catalonia/Comarques, comarca'' (county) of Berguedà, in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is bordered by the municipalities of Cercs, Olvan, Avià, Capolat and Castellar del Riu. History Berga de ...

was detached from it and granted to Cerdanya. In 1035, Osona was detached from Barcelona for another brief period when Berenguer Ramon I left it to his widow, Guisla de Lluça, on his death. She ruled it with her son

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

until she remarried and he renounced it. After that, it was reattached to Barcelona, but was augmented by the addition of the

County of Manresa The County of Manresa (, ) is the western extremity of the County of Osona, divided into the Moianès and Bages. Through the Reconquista, Manresa was extended as far as Anoia, Segarra, and Urgell. The castle at Manresa dates from the last quarter ...

, which was subsumed within Osona and ceased to be a distinct polity in the region.. Ramon Berenguer III ceded the county to his son-in-law Bernard III of Besalú, as

dowry A dowry is a payment such as land, property, money, livestock, or a commercial asset that is paid by the bride's (woman's) family to the groom (man) or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price ...

of his daughter

Jimena Jimena or is the Spanish female version of the given name Jimeno. The French rendering of the name is Chimène. It has come to be viewed as a form of the name Simone, though their origins are distinct. A variant is Ximena. People with the nam ...

in 1107. When both Jimena and Bernard died without heirs, Osona returned to Barcelona. This was to be the end for Osona as a nominally distinct county; the use of the terms "county" and "count" of Osona disappeared subsequently. From that point, its history was linked to the

Principality of Catalonia The Principality of Catalonia (; ; ; ) was a Middle Ages, medieval and early modern state (polity), state in the northeastern Iberian Peninsula. During most of its history it was in dynastic union with the Kingdom of Aragon, constituting together ...

. The title was revived for the Cabrera family in 1356 and it passed to the

House of Montcada The House of Montcada (in Catalan language, Catalan; Moncada in Spanish language, Spanish and Italian language, Italian) is an aristocratic and Nobility, noble Catalan people, Catalan House with important ramifications in Sicily. Queen Elisenda ...

in 1574 and the

Medinaceli Medinaceli () is a municipality and town in the province of Soria, in Castile and León, Spain. Built on a hilltop at about 1210 metres above sea level, the town oversees the Jalón valley. The municipality includes other villages like Torralba ...

in 1722, but none of these families ever controlled the feudal region.

List of counts

* Borrell 798–820 * Rampon 820–825 *

Bernard Bernard ('' Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It has West Germanic origin and is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''be ...

825–826 * Aisso 826–827 * Guillemó 826–827 *to the

Counts 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 ...

827–939 * Ermengol 939–943 *to the

943–1035 * Guisla de Lluça 1035–1054 *

1035–1054 *to the

1054–1107 * Ximena 1107–1149 *

1107–1111 * Bernard III of Cabrera 1356–1364 *to the

permanently

Sources

*Lewis, Archibald Ross.
The Development of Southern French and Catalan Society, 718–1050
'. University of Texas Press: Austin, 1965. * Bolòs, Jordi and Víctor Hurtado. ''Atles del comtat d'Osona (798–993)''. Barcelona: Rafael Dalmau, 2001. .

Notes

{{reflist Medieval Catalonia