The
("Deeds of the counts of Barcelona")
is a
Latin
Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...
chronicle
A chronicle (, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events ...
composed in three stages by some monks of
Santa Maria de Ripoll
The Monastery of Santa Maria de Ripoll is a Benedictine monastery, built in the Romanesque style, located in the town of Ripoll in Catalonia, Spain. Although much of the present church is 19th century rebuilding, the sculptured portico is a renown ...
and recounting the reigns of 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 ...
from
Wifred I (878–97) to
James II (1291–1327), as late as 1299. It is an adulatory history of the
dynasty
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a monarchy, monarchical system, but sometimes also appearing in republics. A dynasty may also be referred to as a "house", "family" or "clan", among others.
H ...
known as the
House of Barcelona
The House of Barcelona was a medieval dynasty that ruled the County of Barcelona continuously from 878 and the Crown of Aragon from 1137 (as kings from 1162) until 1410. They descend from the Bellonids, the descendants of Wilfred the Hairy. Th ...
. In presenting the rulers of the
county of Barcelona
The County of Barcelona (, ) was a polity in northeastern Iberian Peninsula, originally located in the southern frontier region of the Carolingian Empire. In the 10th century, the Counts of Barcelona progressively achieved independence from F ...
as the descendants of
Charlemagne
Charlemagne ( ; 2 April 748 – 28 January 814) was List of Frankish kings, King of the Franks from 768, List of kings of the Lombards, King of the Lombards from 774, and Holy Roman Emperor, Emperor of what is now known as the Carolingian ...
, the monks sought to justify their independent policy with respect to the
King of France
France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions.
Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I, king of the Fra ...
, their nominal sovereign. The ''Gesta'' is the chronological backbone.
The first composition was made between 1162 and 1184 and ended with the reign of
Raymond Berengar IV (1131–62). In the late thirteenth century it was continued through the reign of
James I James I may refer to:
People
*James I of Aragon (1208–1276)
* James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327)
* James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu
* James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347)
*James I of Cyprus (1334†...
(1213–76). An abridged version in the
Catalan language
Catalan () is a Western Romance languages, Western Romance language and is the official language of Andorra, and the official language of three autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous communities in eastern Spain: Catalonia, the Balearic I ...
was produced sometime between 1268 and 1283. The final Latin version was edited in 1303–14 and included the reigns of
Peter the Great
Peter I (, ;
– ), better known as Peter the Great, was the Sovereign, Tsar and Grand Prince of all Russia, Tsar of all Russia from 1682 and the first Emperor of Russia, Emperor of all Russia from 1721 until his death in 1725. He reigned j ...
(1276–87),
Alfonso the Generous (1287–91), and James II. Except for the first composition, all surviving versions are later copies, today preserved in the
Archive of the Crown of Aragon, in the
National Library of Catalonia
The Library of Catalonia (, ) is the Catalan national library, located in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The primary mission of the Library of Catalonia is to collect, preserve, and spread Catalan bibliographic production and that related to the ...
and in the
National Library of France
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, ce ...
. A copy of one of the latter was taken to France by
Pierre de Marca
Pierre de Marca (24 January 1594 – 29 June 1662) was a French bishop and historian, born at Gan in Béarn of a family distinguished in the magistracy.
His family was known among judicial circles in the 16th century, and maintained the ...
and published in 1688 by
Étienne Baluze
Étienne Baluze (24 November 1630 – 28 July 1718), known also as Stephanus Baluzius, was a French scholar and historiographer.
Biography
Born in Tulle, he was educated at his native town, at the Jesuit college, where he studied the Arts. He ...
.
Editions
*
*
References
*Nathaniel L. Taylor
"Inheritance of Power in the House of Guifred the Hairy: Contemporary Perspectives on the Formation of a Dynasty."''The Experience of Power in Medieval Europe, 950–1350: Essays in Honor of Thomas N. Bisson''.
Robert F. Berkhofer III, Alan Cooper, and Adam J. Kosto, edd. Ashgate, 2005, pp. 129–51.
External links
comitum Barcinonensium'' (Chapter I and part of II)(facsimiles)
*
{{Authority control
12th-century books in Latin
13th-century books in Latin
14th-century books in Latin