Catalan counties
The Catalan counties were those surviving counties of the Hispanic March and the southernmost part of the March of Gothia that were later united to form the Principality of Catalonia.
In 778, Charlemagne led the first military Frankish expedition into Hispania to create a military buffer zone between the Frankish Empire and the Emirate of Córdoba, occasionally known as the "Hispanic March". The territory that he subdued would in later centuries become the kernel of Catalonia. In 781, Charlemagne made his 3-year-old son Louis the Pious king of Aquitaine, who was sent there with regents and a court in order to secure the southern border of his kingdom against the Arabs and Moors and to expand southwards into Muslim territory.
These counties were originally primitive feudal entities ruled by a small military elite. Counts were appointed directly by and owed allegiance to the Carolingian emperor. The appointment of heirs could not be taken for granted. However, with the rise of the importance of the Bellonids and strong figures among them such as, Sunifred and Wilfred the Hairy, and the weakening of Carolingian royal power, the appointment of heirs eventually become a formality. This trend resulted in the counts becoming independent of the Carolingian crown under Borrell II in 987, and began calling themselves dei gratia comes and dux catalanensis or even Hispaniae subjogator and propugnator et murus christiani populi.
The many counties were to be soon absorbed into the County of Barcelona. The Count of Barcelona Ramon Berenguer IV, married the heiress of the Kingdom of Aragon, Petronilla of Aragon, in 1150, uniting as equals the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona. Thus, their son, Alfonso II of Aragon, became the king of the Crown of Aragon.
Creation
The Frankish conquest of the area from Muslim control began in 759, shortly after the capture of Narbonne, with the establishment of the County of Rosselló, the first of what would later become the Catalan counties to be established. In 785, Rostany was made Count of Girona, the first one south of the Pyrenees. Besalú and Empúries were originally part of Girona. When Urgell and Cerdanya were conquered by Carolingian forces around 798, they were also made counties of the Hispanic March and Borrell was made count. He took a very active part in the subsequent conquest of Osona in 799 and the successful siege of Barcelona in 801. He was made count of Osona in 799, perhaps as a reward for his services. In 801, in the greatest military triumph of his long career, Louis the Pious, son of Charlamagne, took Barcelona from its Muslim rulers, making it the greatest city of the Hispanic March's littoral. The County of Barcelona was established and Bera was made its count. In 812, Count dilo of Girona died and the county also passed to Bera.In 804 and 805, Borrell participated in the expeditions to Tortosa, but not in the subsequent Siege of [Tortosa |campaigns of 808 and 809]. On Borrell's death in 820, Osona was given to Rampon and Urgell and Cerdanya went to Aznar Galíndez. Also in 820, Bera went into political disfavour and lost the countships of Barcelona and Girona, which also went to Rampon.
Around 813, Empúries became a separate county under Ermenguer, and in 817, it was united to the County of Roussillon. From 835 to 844, Sunyer I was count of Empúries and Peralada while Alaric I was count of Roussillon and Vallespir.
Besalú was made a separate county in 878 for Radulf on the condition that it pass to the heirs of Wilfred the Hairy on his death. It went to Miro I the Younger in 912.
Barcelona soon overshadowed the other counties in importance, especially during the reign of Wilfred the Hairy in the late 9th century. At that time, the power of the Carolingian Empire was waning and the neglected Hispanic March counties were practically independent of its royal authority. In the early 11th century, Berenguer Ramon I, Count of Barcelona, was able to submit to Sancho III of Navarre as his suzerain, even though he was still legally a vassal of Robert II of France. With the accession of Robert's father, Hugh Capet, the first non-Carolingian king, in 987, most of the counts refused to pay homage to the new dynasty. Over the next century, most of the counties were absorbed or became vassals of the County of Barcelona. In 1137, the Count of Barcelona Ramon Berenguer IV married the heiress of the Kingdom of Aragon Petronella, daughter of the Aragonese king Ramiro II, thus uniting the County of Barcelona and its vassals with the Kingdom of Aragon to create the Crown of Aragon. After 1173, the Catalan counties, including the vassals of Barcelona, fell under the legal definition of Catalonia, which was officially defined as a principality in 1343. Several of the later Aragonese kings re-created some of the counties as appanages for younger sons.
Catalan Counties and Viscounties
Appointed rulers
| Ruler | Born | Reign | County | Death | Family | Notes |
| Rostany | ? | 785–801/11 | Girona | ? | ? | |
| Borrell I | ? | 798–820 | Cerdanya Urgell Osona | 820 | ? | After his death his counties were annexed by the County of Aragon. |
| Odilon | ? | 801/11–817 | Girona | ? | ? | |
| Beggo | 755 Son of Gerard I of Paris and Rotrude | 806 – 28 October 816 | Pallars Ribagorça | 28 October 816 aged 60-61 | ||
| Bera | 770 | 790–820 | Razès Conflent | 844 aged 73-74? | ? | Nominated to three different counties in the Hispanic March. Conflent merged in Razès. |
| Bera | 770 | 801–820 | Barcelona | 844 aged 73-74? | ? | Nominated to three different counties in the Hispanic March. Conflent merged in Razès. |
| Bera | 770 | 817–820 | Girona Besalú | 844 aged 73-74? | ? | Nominated to three different counties in the Hispanic March. Conflent merged in Razès. |
| Ermenguer | ? | 813–817 | Empúries | ? | ? | |
| Gaucelm | 796 Second son of William of Gellone and Cunegonde | 817–832 | Roussillon Empúries | 834 aged 37-38 | ||
| Gaucelm | 796 Second son of William of Gellone and Cunegonde | 828–832 | Razès | 834 aged 37-38 | ||
| Rampon | 770 | 820–825 | Girona Besalú Barcelona Razès | 825 aged 54-55? | ? | Osona merged in Barcelona from 820. |
| Bernard of Septimania | 795 First son of William of Gellone and Cunegonde | 825–832 835–844 | Girona Besalú Barcelona Razès | 844 aged 48-49 | Married Dhuoda of Gascony, daughter of the Duke of Gascony. | |
| Bernard of Septimania | 795 First son of William of Gellone and Cunegonde | 835–844 | Pallars Ribagorça | 844 aged 48-49 | Married Dhuoda of Gascony, daughter of the Duke of Gascony. | |
| Berengar the Wise | 790 Son of Unruoch II of Friuli and Ingeltrude | 28 October 816 – 835 | Pallars Ribagorça | 835 aged 44-45 | Unrochids | |
| Berengar the Wise | 790 Son of Unruoch II of Friuli and Ingeltrude | 832–835 | Girona Besalú Barcelona Roussillon Empúries Razès | 835 aged 44-45 | Unrochids | |
| Sunifred I | ? First son of Bello of Carcassonne | 834–848 | Cerdanya | 848 | Bellonids | Married Ermesinde, and had offspring, which succeeded him; See Hereditary period below. |
| Sunifred I | ? First son of Bello of Carcassonne | 838–848 | Urgell | 848 | Bellonids | Married Ermesinde, and had offspring, which succeeded him; See Hereditary period below. |
| Sunifred I | ? First son of Bello of Carcassonne | 844–848 | Girona Besalú Barcelona | 848 | Bellonids | Married Ermesinde, and had offspring, which succeeded him; See Hereditary period below. |
| Sunyer I | ? Second son of Bello of Carcassonne | 835–848 | Roussillon | ? | Bellonids | Brother of Sunifred I. |
| Sunyer I | ? Second son of Bello of Carcassonne | 835–842 843–848 | Empúries | ? | Bellonids | Brother of Sunifred I. |
| Alaric | ? | 842–843 | Empúries | ? | ? | |
| Argila | ? Son of Bera | 844–846 | Razès | 846 | ? | Son of Count Bera I. |
| Bera II | ? | 846–849 | Razès | 849 | ? | Also Count of Carcassonne. |
| Miro Eutili | ? | 849–850 | Razès | 850 | ? | Also Count of Carcassonne. |
| Fredelo | ? Son of Fulcoald of Rouergue and Senegund | 844–852 | Pallars Ribagorça | 852 | ? | Also Count of Carcassonne. |
| Fredelo | ? Son of Fulcoald of Rouergue and Senegund | 850–852 | Razès | 852 | ? | Also Count of Carcassonne. |
| Wilfred | ? | 848–852 | Girona | ? | ? | |
| William of Septimania | 826 Son of Bernard of Septimania and Dhuoda of Gascony | 848–850 | Barcelona Roussillon Empúries | 850 aged 24-25 | Also Duke of Gascony. | |
| Aleran of Troyes | ? | 850–852 | Barcelona Roussillon Empúries | ? | House of Blois | Joint rulers. |
| Isembard of Vergy | ? | 850–852 | Barcelona Roussillon Empúries | ? | House of Vergy | Joint rulers. |
| Odalric | ? Son of Hunfrid, Margrave of Istria | 852–858 | Girona | 864 | ? | |
| Humfrid | ? | 858–864 | Roussillon Barcelona | 864 | Hunfridings | |
| Humfrid | ? | 858-862 | Empúries Girona | 864 | Hunfridings | |
| Otger | ? | 862–870 | Empúries Girona | ? | ? | |
| Bernard of Gothia | ? Son of Bernard II, Count of Poitiers and Belihildis | 864–878 | Roussillon Barcelona | After 879 | Also Count of Poitiers. |
Hereditary Rulers
Catalan Counties under Bellonid dynasty
Partitions of the Catalan counties under Bellonid/Barcelona domain
Table of rulers
Catalan Counties under House of Pallars/Bigorre
Partitions of the Catalan counties under Bigorre/Pallars dynasty domain
Table of rulers
Successor families in the County of Upper Pallars
In 1229, Countess Guillema of Upper Pallars sold her domains to her husband Roger I, with whom she had no children. The rights were transmitted to the children of Roger's other marriage, and as so with no close family connection with the Pallarese dynasty. However, if the Bigorre family and the Comminges family share an ancestor in the Ducal House of Gascony, they may have a distant relation.In 1327, after the death of countess Sybilla, her inheritance went to her children, from the Mataplana family, which was dispossessed of the county in 1491.
The House of Trastámara and successors
[House of Trastámara] (1412-1516) and the Catalan Civil War (1462-1472)
Martin died without legitimate descendants. By the Compromise of Caspe of 1412 the County of Barcelona and the rest of the dominions of the Crown of Aragon passed to a branch of the House of Trastamara.The Houses of Habsburg">Habsburg Spain">Houses of Habsburg and Bourbon 1516-1808
| Name | Portrait | Reign | Notes |
| Charles I | 14 March 1516 – 12 April 1555 12 April 1555 – 16 January 1556 | He was the son of Queen Joanna and Philip I of Castile. Till the death of her mother, in 1555, he was regent but the de facto ruler. From 155 to 1556, he was the sole ruler. As he was not the Count and had good relations with Catalan authorities, they awarded him the title of Prince of Catalonia. | |
| Philip I | 16 January 1556 – 13 September 1598 | He was the son of Charles I. | |
| Philip II | 13 September 1598 – 31 March 1621 | He was the son of Philip I. | |
| Philip III | 31 March 1621 – 1641 | He was the son of Philip II. He wanted to reduce the Catalan sovereignties, and the Catalan authorities confronted him during the Reapers' War. The title of Count of Barcelona was transferred by the Catalan Courts to the House of Bourbon in France. | |
| Louis I 27 September 1601 – 14 May 1643 | 1641–1643 | During the Reapers' War, the States-General of the Principality of Catalonia on 21 January 1641 declared the French king Louis XIII Count of Barcelona as Louis I. | |
| Louis II 5 September 1638 – 1 September 1715 | 1643–1652 and 1697 | He inherits the title of Count of Barcelona from his father during the Reapers' War. In 1652 he renounces the title in favor of Philip III in exchange for the Roussillon. | |
| Philip III | 1641 – 17 September 1665 | He was the son of Philip II. He was reinstated as Count of Barcelona. | |
| Charles II | 17 September 1665 – 1 November 1700 | He was the son of Philip III. In 1697 the Duke of Vendôme briefly re-conquers Catalan capital city of Barcelona, and Louis XIV was reinstated as Count of Barcelona for some months. On January 9, 1698, Catalonia is returned to Charles II after signing the Treaty of Rijswijk. | |
| Philip IV | 1700 – 1705 | Philip was a great-grandson of Philip III, and Charles was a cousin of the same king. Charles II's testament in favor of the former destabilized Western Europe because it meant too much power for the Kingdom of France. The rest of the European powers tried to impose another pretender to the Crown of Spain: the Archduke Charles of Austria. The Catalans were caught in the middle of this major conflict: the Spanish Succession War. They initially supported Philip but afterward shifted their allegiance towards Archduke Charles, who was committed to maintaining the composite monarchy system and thus respect the Catalan Constitutions. In 1714, Philip owned the Spanish possessions of the Habsburgs. | |
| Charles III | 1705 – 1714 | Philip was a great-grandson of Philip III, and Charles was a cousin of the same king. Charles II's testament in favor of the former destabilized Western Europe because it meant too much power for the Kingdom of France. The rest of the European powers tried to impose another pretender to the Crown of Spain: the Archduke Charles of Austria. The Catalans were caught in the middle of this major conflict: the Spanish Succession War. They initially supported Philip but afterward shifted their allegiance towards Archduke Charles, who was committed to maintaining the composite monarchy system and thus respect the Catalan Constitutions. In 1714, Philip owned the Spanish possessions of the Habsburgs. |
House of Bourbon (Spanish branch) 1714-1808
In 1714, Catalonia, which had backed the Habsburg pretender to the Spanish crown Archduke Charles of Austria, was defeated in the War of the Spanish Succession by the Bourbon forces supporting Philip of Anjou's claim to the Spanish crown. Through the Nueva Planta decrees, the new Bourbon king of Spain Philip V abolished the Catalan Constitutions and merged the Crown of Aragon and the Crown of Castile to form the Kingdom of Spain. The Principality of Catalonia became another province and thus the title of the Count of Barcelona was emptied of real political power.Since then, the numbering of the Counts of Barcelona, which had followed that of the Crown of Aragon, followed that of the former Crown of Castille. That is the reason why Philip of Anjou was called by the Catalan authorities 'Felip IV' in 1702 but called himself 'Felipe V' when he seized the title of the Count of Barcelona in 1714, after defeating the Habsburg pretender and his Catalan backers.
House of Bonaparte 1808-1813
In 1808 Charles IV and his son Ferdinand resign from their Crown of Spain titles and transfer them to Emperor Napoleon, who kept for himself the title of Count of Barcelona. By 1812, once he had full military control over the Principality of Catalonia, he separated it from the Crown of Spain and annexed it to the French Empire.| Name | Portrait | Reign | Notes |
| Napoleon I, Emperor | 1808–1813 | Napoleon annexed Catalonia to the French Empire as 4 new departments. In 1813, after much fighting, it was returned to Spain. |
House of Bourbon (Reannexation to Spain) 1813-1931; 1975-present day
After the Napoleonic Wars, Barcelona returned to Spanish domain. During the 2nd Spanish Republic and Francoist Dictatorship the Bourbons remained in exile and retained their dynastic titles, including 'Count of Barcelona'.Although on 26 July 1947, Spain was declared a kingdom, no monarch was designated until 1969, when Franco established Juan Carlos of Bourbon as his official heir-apparent. With the death of Franco on 20 November 1975, Juan Carlos became the King of Spain.
| Name | Portrait | Reign | Notes |
| John III | 1977–1993 | claimed the title from 1941; officially granted by his son Juan Carlos I as a courtesy in exchange for renouncing his claim to the Spanish throne |