Berenguer Ramon II, Count of Barcelona
Berenguer Ramon II" the Fratricide"( 1053/54 – 1097/99) was Count of Barcelona from 1076 to 1097.
He was the son of Ramon Berenguer I, and initially ruled jointly with his twin brother Ramon Berenguer II.
Born in 1053 or 1054, Berenguer Ramon succeeded his father Ramon Berenguer I" the Old" in 1075 to co-rule with his twin brother Ramon Berenguer II.
The twins failed to agree and divided their possessions between them, against the will of their late father.
Ramon Berenguer
II was killed while hunting in the woods on 5 December 1082.
Berenguer Ramon II, who became the sole ruler of Catalonia for the next four years, was credited by popular opinion with having orchestrated this murder.
This suspicion and other divisions of loyalty led to a civil war.
Various parties asserted ways to resolve this' unjust and iniquitous murder', which led to a moderate compromise in 1086 in which Berenguer Ramon II would rule Catalonia with his brother's four- year- old son Ramon Berenguer III for eleven years until he came of age.
In the 1080s Berenguer Ramon's involvement in the internal strife in the Moorish taifa kingdoms brought him in conflict with El Cid.
In the ensuing war the Count of Barcelona was twice taken prisoner.
After Berenguer Ramon's resignation in 1097 his life became more obscure.
Still living under the accusations of his brother's assassination, the guilt of which may have been determined by trial by combat, which he lost, he went to Jerusalem, either on pilgrimage, as a penance, or as part of the First Crusade, and perished there between 1097 and 1099.
Berenguer Ramon II was succeeded by his nephew Ramon Berenguer III, son of Ramon Berenguer II.
Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona
Ramon Berenguer III" the Great" was the count of Barcelona, Girona, and Ausona from 1086( jointly with Berenguer Ramon II and solely from 1097), Besalú from 1111, Cerdanya from 1117, and count of Provence in the Holy Roman Empire, from 1112, all until his death in Barcelona in 1131.
As Ramon Berenguer I, he was Count of Provence from 1112 in right of his wife.
Berenguer Ramon I, Count of Barcelona
Berenguer Ramon
I [Berengar Raymond I] (1005 – 26 May 1035), called the Crooked or the Hunchback (in Latin "curvus"; in Catalan "el Corbat"; in Spanish "el Corvado" or "el Curvo"), was the count of Barcelona, Girona, and Ausona from 1018 to his death.
He was the son of Ramon Borrell, Count of Barcelona, Girona, and Ausona and his wife Ermesinde of Carcassonne.
He accepted the suzerainty of Sancho the Great of Navarre.
Berenguer Ramon as a historical figure is enigmatic, shrouded in incomprehensible contradictions and ambiguities.
First, he was a man of peace, and peace ruled throughout his reign.
He pacified his neighbours as well, bringing to heel the Count of Urgell, Ermengol II.
He reestablished amicable relations with Hugh I, Count of Empúries, and maintained them with William I of Besalú and Wilfred II of Cerdanya.
He was a son of the church who maintained relations with the papacy and went on a pilgrimage to Rome in 1032.
On many occasions he travelled to Zaragoza and Navarre to discuss with Sancho III the Great, King of Navarre their mutual stance against the Counts of Toulouse.
His confidantes and councillors were the Abbot Oliva, the judge Ponç Bofill, Gombau de Besora, and the Bishops Pedro of Girona and Deudado of Barcelona.
In 1025, he decreed that the proprietors of entails (men holding land in fee tail) were free from taxation.
On the other hand, the government of Berenguer Ramon I marks the beginning of the decline of the comital power.
At the death of his father in 1018, Berenguer Ramon was a minor and his mother Ermesinde served as regent until 1023.
But even when he attained his majority, his mother would not relinquish the powers of regency and reigned with him.
According to some chroniclers, Berenguer's character left some things to be desired.
He is described as weak and indecisive.
Moreover, his policy of peace with the Moors was a bone of contention with the noblesse, who saw war with the Muslims as a way of obtaining glory, wealth, and possibly even salvation.
This led some nobles to act independently of the count's wishes.
Ermesinde, "contra" her son, was energetic and decisive, intent on imposing the authority of Barcelona on the baronage.
But, as a woman, her capability to exercise control of the military was greatly impeded and organizing a raid or expedition to satisfy the wants of the aristocracy was virtually impossible.
The weakening of comital authority became evident shortly before his death in 1035, when Ermesinde successfully partitioned his patrimony among his sons.
Berenguer Ramon died on 26 May 1035 and was buried in Santa Maria de Ripoll.
Ramon Berenguer II, Count of Barcelona
Ramon Berenguer II" the Towhead" or" Cap de estopes"( 1053 or 1054 – December 5, 1082) was Count of Barcelona from 1076 until his death.
He was the son of Ramon Berenguer I, Count of Barcelona and Almodis de La Marche.
The" Chronicle of San Juan de la Pena" called him,"... exceeding brave and bold, kind, pleasant, pious, joyful, generous, and of an attractive appearance".
Because of the extremely thick hair he had on top of his head, he was known as Cap d'Estop."
He succeeded his father, Ramon Berenguer I, Count of Barcelona, as co-ruler with his twin brother, Berenguer Ramon, in 1075.
The twins failed to agree and divided their possessions between them, against the will of their late father.
Ramon Berenguer the Towhead, so called because of the thickness and colour of his hair, was killed while hunting in the woods in 1082.
His brother, who went on to become the sole ruler of Catalonia, was credited by popular opinion of having orchestrated this murder.
Berenguer Ramon II" the Fratricide" was later succeeded by Ramon Berenguer's son, Ramon Berenguer III.
Ramon Berenguer I, Count of Barcelona
Ramon Berenguer I( 1023–1076), called the Old, was Count of Barcelona in 1035 – 1076.
He promulgated the earliest versions of a written code of Catalan law, the Usages of Barcelona.
Born in 1024, he succeeded his father, Berenguer Ramon I the Crooked in 1035.
It was during his reign that the dominant position of Barcelona among the other Catalan counties became evident.
Ramon Berenguer campaigned against the Moors, extending his dominions as far west as Barbastro and imposing heavy tributes(" parias") on other Moorish cities.
Historians claim that those tributes helped create the first wave of prosperity in Catalan history.
During his reign Catalan maritime power started to be felt in the western Mediterranean.
Ramon Berenguer the Old was also the first count of Catalonia to acquire lands( the counties of Carcassonne and Razés) and influence north of the Pyrenees.
Another major achievement of his was beginning the codification of Catalan law in the written" Usatges" of Barcelona which was to become the first full compilation of feudal law in Western Europe.
Legal codification was part of the count's efforts to forward and somehow control the process of feudalization which started during the reign of his weak father, Berenguer Ramon.
Another major contributor was the Church acting through the institution of the Peace and Truce of God.
This established a general truce among warring factions and lords in a given region for a given time.
The earliest extant date for introducing the Truce of God in Western Europe is 1027 in Catalonia, during the reign of his father, Berenguer Ramon.
While still married to his second wife Blanca, he became involved with the wife of the Count of Toulouse, Almodis de La Marche, countess of Limoges.
Both quickly married and were consequently excommunicated by Pope Victor II.
Ramon Berenguer
I, together with his third wife Almodis, also founded the Romanesque cathedral of Barcelona, to replace the older basilica presumably destroyed by Almanzor.
Their velvet and brass bound wooden coffins are still displayed in the Gothic cathedral which eventually replaced the cathedral that they founded.
He was succeeded by his twin sons Ramon Berenguer II and Berenguer Ramon II.
Alfonso II of Aragon
Alfonso II( 1–25 March 1157 – 25 April 1196), called the Chaste or the Troubadour, was the King of Aragon and, as Alfons I, the Count of Barcelona from 1164 until his death.
The eldest son of Count Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona and Queen Petronilla of Aragon, he was the first King of Aragon who was also Count of Barcelona.
He was also Count of Provence, which he conquered from Douce II, from 1166 until 1173, when he ceded it to his brother, Ramon Berenguer III.
His reign has been characterised by nationalistic and nostalgic Catalan historians, as" l'engrandiment occitànic" or" the Pyrenean unity": a great scheme to unite various lands on both sides of the Pyrenees under the rule of the House of Barcelona.
Ermesinde of Carcassonne
Ermesinde of Carcassonne (ca.
975/8 – March 1, 1058) was Countess consort of Barcelona, Girona and Osona.
She served as regent in these counties during the minority of her son from 1018 until 1023.
Ermesinde of Carcassonne was the daughter of Roger I of Carcassonne.
She married Ramon Borrell, Count of Barcelona.
While he lived she was politically active and presided over assemblies and tribunals.
After his death in 1018 she became regent for her son Berenguer Ramon I until 1023.
After this, she continued to wield power.
Her patronage and close relationship with the Catholic Church helped her build an influential entourage of church officials who helped her retain power throughout her life.
In contrast to her son, she favored war with the Muslim powers to the South, partly because of the discontent of the nobles at his policy of peace.
When he died in 1035, she became regent for her grandson until he was declared to be of age in 1044.
Ermessende of Pelet
Ermessende of Pelet was the last heiress of the County of Melgueil, in southern France, and the last countess before it was joined with the County of Toulouse.
Ermessende was the daughter of Bernard V Pelet, who had married Beatrice, daughter of Bernard IV of Melgueil and widow of Berenguer Ramon, Count of Provence.
As her consort Bernard V ruled the county from 1146 to 1170.
Ermessende first married Pierre Bermond, lord of Anduze, and they ruled Melgueil from 1170 to 1172 when he died.
In 1173 she married Raymond VI of Toulouse.
Ermessende died in 1176; her will, made shortly before, was heard before the cardinal deacon Raymond des Arènes, Aldebert, bishop of Nîmes, Bernard Ato V, viscount of Nîmes and Agde, and Gui Guerrejat, guardian of William VIII of Montpellier.
After 1176 Raymond VI continued to rule Melgueil until 1190.
He did not die until 1222.
Henry, son of Robert I of Burgundy
Henry of Burgundy (c. 1035 – January 27, 1070/1074), called the Gallant ("le Damoiseau"), was the eldest surviving son and heir of Robert I, Duke of Burgundy, second son of Robert II of France, and his wife, Helie of Semur, granddaughter of Henry I, Duke of Burgundy.
Little is known about his life.
He died shortly before his father and was never duke himself.
The name of Henry's wife is not known, though both Sibylla and Clémence have been suggested.
The first of these derives from an undated obituary from Besançon, Sainte-Etienne, naming "Sibilla, mater ducus Burgundie" (Sibylla, mother of the Duke of Burgundy), it being reasoned that since she is not called duchess, she must have been married to the sole father of a duke who was not a duke himself, Henry.
However, it has been argued by Jean Richard that this is a reference to Sibylla of Burgundy, Duchess of Burgundy, mother of the then-ruling duke, Hugh II.
Richard proposed based on the name's repeated use among the descendants of her son Odo I, Duke of Burgundy that she may have been named Clémence, although Odo's wife had a sister, Clementia of Burgundy, who could have been the inspiration for its use among their descendants.
Based on the use of the byname "Borel" by Odo I, genealogist Szabolcs de Vajay proposed that his mother was the daughter of Berenguer Ramon I, Count of Barcelona and his third wife, Guisle of Lluca, and hence granddaughter of Ramon Borrell, Count of Barcelona, although there is no documentary evidence that this was the case.
Henry's wife died on or after July 6, 1074.
Ramon Berenguer II, Count of Provence
Ramon Berenguer II( Raymond Berengar)( c. 1135 – 1166) was the count of Provence from 1144 to his death.
His uncle, Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona, was the regent until 1157.
In 1144, Ramon's father, Count Berenguer Ramon, died in an offensive against Genoa and he inherited the county.
He was immediately opposed by the family of Baux and it took the military action of his uncle, the count of Barcelona, in 1147 to secure his throne.
The war with the Baux continued until the count of Barcelona's death in 1162.
In August 1161, he had travelled to Turin with his uncle obtain the confirmation of his countship in Provence from the Emperor Frederick I, for Provence was legally a fief of the Holy Roman Empire.
There he met Richeza of Poland, the daughter of the exiled Polish high duke, Ladislaus II.
He married her on 17 November and on the return journey, his uncle died.
He resumed the war with Genoa, but died trying to take Nice in the spring of 1166.
His daughter, Douce II, succeeded him, while widow Richeza was betrothed to Raymond V of Toulouse.

Question: Who is the maternal grandfather of Berenguer Ramon I, Count Of Barcelona?