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The Count of Barcelona was the major ruler in Catalonia from the 9th until the 17th century.
The County of Barcelona was created by Charlemagne after he had conquered lands north of the river Ebro. These lands, called the Spanish March, was partioned into various counties, of which the Count of Barcelona, usually holding other counties simultaneously, eventually obtained the primacy over the region.
As the county became hereditary in one family, the bond of the counts to their Frankish overlords loosened, especially after the Capetian dynasty supplanted the Carolingians.
In the 11th century the Counts formed a dynastic union with the Kingdom of Aragon, merging the two realms under a single ruler. In 1258, the king of France relinquished his feudal authority over the County in the Treaty of Corbeil.
Barcelona remained part of the Crown of Aragon when the latter around 1500 entered into a union with the Kingdom of Castile, thereby forming the Spanish Kingdom. The last vestiges of the County were removed after the War of the Spanish Succession in the 18th century.
Count of Barcelona remained one of the many hereditary titles of the Spanish monarchy.
In the 20th century, the title regained some prominence when Juan de Borbón, the exiled heir to the Spanish throne, adopted the title of a Count of Barcelona. In doing so, he claimed a historical royal title without claiming to be the current king of Spain, especially after his son Juan Carlos became the prospective successor of the then-ruler of Spain, Francisco Franco. After Juan Carlos had become King upon Franco's death in 1975, he , awarded his father, who had renounced his rights to the throne, the title of Count of Barcelona in 1978. Juan held that title until his his death in 1993, when it reverted back to the King who has held it ever since. Juan's widow used the title Countess of Barcelona until her death in 2000.
Contents |
List of Counts of Barcelona
Non-dynastic, 801-878
| Name | Portrait | Reign | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Berà | 801-820 | son of William of Toulouse, also Count of Girona, Besalú, Ausona (812/817-820), Razès and Conflent (790-820), deposed. | |
| Rampó | 820-826 | also Count of Girona, and Besalú | |
| Bernard I (Bernat I) |
826-832 | son of William of Toulouse, also margrave of Septimania (834-835) and Imperial Chamberlain (829-830), deposed. | |
| Berenguer | 832-835 | also count of Toulouse. | |
| Bernard (Bernat) |
836-844 | restored, executed on orders of Charles the Bald. | |
| Sunifred I | 844-848 | son of Belló of Carcassone, also Count of Ausona, Besalú, Girona, Narbonne, Agde, Béziers, Lodève, Melgueil, Cerdanya, Urgell, Conflent and Nîmes. | |
| William (Guillem) |
848-850 | son of Bernard I, also Count of Toulouse (844-850), rebelled and was killed. | |
| Aleran | 850-852 | jointly with Isembart, also Count of Ampurias and Roussillon and Margrave of Septimania. | |
| Isembart | 850-852 | son of Guerin of Provence, jointly with Aleran, also Count of Ampurias, and Roussillon and Margrave of Septimania. | |
| Odalric | 852-858 | son of Hunfrid, Margrave of Istria, also Count of Girona, Rosselló, Empúries and Margrave of Septimania. | |
| Humfrid | 858-864 | son of Hunfrid II, Duke of Rhaetia, also Count of Girona, Empúries, Roussillon and Narbonne, Margrave of Gothia. | |
| Bernhard II (Bernat II) | 865-878 | son of Bernard of Poitiers also Count of Girona and Margrave of Gothia and Septimania, rebelled. |
House of Sunifred, 878-1162
| Name | Portrait | Reign | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wilfred I (Guifré I) el Pelós (the Hairy) |
 |
878-897 | son of Sunifred I, managed to establish hereditary succession |
| Wilfred II Borrel (Guifré II Borrell) |
897-911 | son of Wilfred the Hairy | |
| Sunifred II | 911-947 | son of Wilfred II Borrel, retired to a monastery | |
| Borrell II | 947-992 | son of Sunifred II jointly with Miro I (947-966) and Ramon Borrell (988-992), also Count of Urgel (948-992). Unsuccesfully asked King Lothair of France for aid against the Saracens, refused to recognise Hugh Capet as King of France in 987. |
|
| Miro I | 947-966 | son of Sunifred II, jointly with Borrell II | |
| Ramon Borrell | 988-1018 | son of Borrell II, jointly with his father (988-992) | |
| Berenguer Ramon I el Corbat (the Crooked) |
1018-1035 | son of Ramon Borrell, under the regency of Ermesinde of Carcassonne (1018-1023), forced to recognise the suzerainty of Sancho the Great of Navarre. | |
| Ramon Berenguer I el Vell (the Old) |
1035-1076 | son of Berenguer Ramon I | |
| Ramon Berenguer II el Cap d'Estopes (the Towhead) |
1076-1082 | son of Ramon Berenguer I, jointly with his twin brother Berenguer Ramon II | |
| Berenguer Ramon II el Fratricida (the Fratricide) |
1076-1097 | son of Ramon Berenguer I, jointly with his twin brother Ramon Berenguer II (1076-1082) and his nephew Ramon Berenguer III (1082-1097) | |
| Ramon Berenguer III el Gran (the Great) |
 |
1082-1131 | son of Borrell II |
| Ramon Berenguer IV el Sant (the Saint) |
 |
1131-1162 | son of Ramon Berenguer III, married Petronila of Aragon in 1137 |
House of Aragon, 1162-1410
- See also: List of Aragonese monarchs
Ramon Berenguar IV married Petronila of Aragón, which established the dynastic union with Aragón. On his death, their son Alfonso II succeeded to both thrones, uniting Barcelona and Aragon within the Crown of Aragon. In Aragonese history, this dynasty is called the House of Barcelona.
| Name | Portrait | Reign | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alfonso II el Cast (the Chaste) el Trobador (the Troubadour) |
 |
1162-1196 | son of Ramon Berenguer IV and Petronilla of Aragon |
| Peter I (Pere I) el Catòlic (the Catholic) |
 |
1196–1213 | son of Alfonso II |
| James I (Jaume I) el Conqueridor (the Conqueror) |
 |
1213-1276 | son of Peter I, signed Treaty of Corbeil in 1258, in which King Louis IX of France relinquished his feudal authority over Barcelona. |
| Peter II (Pere II) el Gran (the Great) |
 |
1276-1285 | son of James I |
| Alfonso III el Franc (the Generous) |
 |
1285-1291 | son of Peter II |
| James II (Jaume II) el Just (the Just) |
 |
1291–1327 | son of Peter II |
| Alfonso III el Benigne (the Good) |
 |
1327-1336 | son of James II |
| Peter III (Pere III) el Cerimoniós (the Ceremonious) el del Punyalet (of the Dagger) |
 |
1336–1387 | son of Alfonso III |
| John I (Joan I) el Caçador (the Hunter) el Descurat (the Careless) l'Amador de la Gentilesa (the Lover of Elegance) |
 |
1387-1396 | son of Peter III. |
| Martin I (Martí I) l'Humà (the Humanist) l'Eclesiàstic (the Ecclesiatic) |
 |
1396–1410 | son of Peter III, died without issue. |
House of Trastámara, 1412-1516
- See also: List of Aragonese monarchs
When Martin, the last descendant of Wilfred the Hairy to rule, died without legitimate heirs, the magnates of the different realms of the Crown negotiated for two years until the Compromise of Casp gave the throne to Ferdinand of Antequera, a scion of the Castilian House of Trastámara.
| Name | Portrait | Reign | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ferdinand I (Ferran I) el d'Antequera (of Antequera) |
 |
1412-1416 | son of John I of Castile and Eleanor of Aragon |
| Alfonso IV el Magnànim (the Magnanimous) |
 |
1416-1458 | son of Ferdinand I |
| John II (Joan II) |
 |
1458-1479 | son of Ferdinand I |
| John's title to Aragon and Barcelona (but not to Valencia) was opposed by | |||
| Henry IV of Castile |  |
1462-1463 | son of John II of Castile and Maria of Aragon |
| Peter V of Coimbra | 1463-1466 | son of Pedro, Duke of Coimbra(House of Aviz) and Isabel of Aragon. | |
| René d'Anjou (Renaut) |
 |
1466-1472 | son of Louis II of Naples and Yolande of Aragon, titular King of Naples, House of Valois-Anjou |
| Ferdinand II (Ferran II) el Catòlic (the Catholic) |
 |
1479-1516 | son of John II, married Isabella of Castile in 1469 |
House of Habsburg, 1516-1700
- See also: List of Spanish monarchs
Ferdinand II married Isabella I of Castile and thus united Spain. He was succeed by his grandson Charles, with whom the Habsburg Dynasty acceded to the Spanish kingdoms:
| Name | Portrait | Reign | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Charles I (Carles I) |
 |
1516-1556 | grandson of Ferdinand II |
| Philip I (Felip I) |
 |
1556-1598 | son of Charles I |
| Philip II (Felip II) |
 |
1598-1621 | son of Philip I |
| Philip III (Felip III) |
 |
1621-1665 | son of Philip II |
| During the Reapers' War, the County of Barcelona was claimed by French Kings from the House of Bourbon: | |||
| Louis XIII of France |  |
1641-1643 | |
| Louis XIV of France |  |
1643-1652 | |
| Charles II (Carles II) |
 |
1665-1700 | son of Philip III, died without issue. |
War of the Spanish Succession, 1700-1714
During the War of the Spanish Succession, Spain (and with it, the County of Barcelona) was claimed by:
| Name | Portrait | Reign | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Philip IV (Felip IV) |
 |
1700-1714 | son of Louis, Dauphin of France; recognised in Barcelona 1700-1705. |
| Charles III (Carles III) |
 |
1705–1714 | son of Leopold I, Holy Roman Emperor; recognised in Barcelona 1705-1714. |
In the Nueva Planta decrees between 1707 and 1716, Philip declared that all Spanish kingdoms and territories should merge into a single, centralized Kingdom of Spain. In Barcelona this was promulgated in 1716. The County of Barcelona became one of the many hereditary titles of the Spanish monarchy.
See also
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