1.
Poblet Monastery
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The Royal Abbey of Santa Maria de Poblet is a Cistercian monastery, founded in 1151, located at the feet of the Prades Mountains, in the comarca of Conca de Barberà, in Catalonia. It was founded by Cistercian monks from France on lands conquered from the Moors, the main architect was Arnau Bargués. This monastery was the first of three monasteries, known as the Cistercian triangle, that helped consolidate power in Catalonia in the 12th century. Poblet was the royal pantheon of the kings of the Crown of Aragon since James I of Aragon, some of the most important royal sepulchres have alabaster statues that lie over the tomb. The kings have lion sculptures at their feet, while the queens have dogs, peter IV of Aragon made it a condition, under solemn oath at the moment of crowning, that all the Aragonese kings be buried there. Only Ferdinand II of Aragon broke the oath, after his kingdom had been merged with the Kingdom of Castile, the tombs of the royals were restored by the Catalan sculptor Frederic Marés in 1948. The monastery, which had suffered damage during the First Carlist War, was closed down due to the Ecclesiastical Confiscations of Mendizábal in 1835 during Isabella II of Spains rule. The Desamortización or secularization of the place brought monastic life to an end, on 24 July of the same year the monastery was plundered by representatives of the Mendizábals government and unruly mobs. During the events all valuable paintings and furniture were removed and dispersed, also parts of the monastery were destroyed owing to fires. In the years followed the Poblet Monastery fell into disrepair and ruin. Finally the monastery was refounded in 1940 by Italian monks of the order and repair. Close to the entrance of the one building has been kept in a ruined state as a reminder. Remains of the deceased of the ancient Royal House of Aragon were put back in sepulchres, Poblet belongs to the Cistercian Congregation of the Crown of Aragon, along with Santa Maria de Solius and convents such as Santa Maria de Vallbona and Santa Maria de Valldonzella. The Abbot of Poblet is the ex officio chairman of the Congregation, today the monastic community of Poblet is composed of 29 professed monks,1 regular oblate,1 novice and 2 familiars. Poblet Monastery has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1991, the altar was sculpted by Damián Forment. In 2010, Spanish architect Mariano Bayón designed the Poblet Monastery Guesthouse, the current abbot is the 105th abbot
2.
Crown of Aragon
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Put in contemporary terms, it has sometimes been considered that the different lands of the Crown of Aragon functioned more as a confederation than as a single kingdom. In this sense, the larger Crown of Aragon must not be confused with one of its constituent parts, formally, the political center of the Crown of Aragon was Zaragoza, where kings were crowned at La Seo Cathedral. The de facto capital and leading cultural, administrative and economic centre of the Crown of Aragon was Barcelona followed by Valencia, finally, Palma was an additional important city and seaport. For brief periods the Crown of Aragon also controlled Montpellier, Provence, Corsica, the countries that are today known as Spain and Portugal spent the Middle Ages after 722 in an intermittent struggle called the Reconquista. This struggle pitted the northern Christian kingdoms against the Islamic taifa petty kingdoms of the South, in the Late Middle Ages, the expansion of the Aragonese Crown southwards met with the Castilian advance eastward in the region of Murcia. Afterward, the Aragonese Crown focused on the Mediterranean, acting as far as Greece and Barbary, whereas Portugal, mercenaries from the territories in the Crown, known as almogàvers participated in the creation of this Mediterranean empire, and later found employment in countries all across southern Europe. The Crown of Aragon has been considered by some as an empire which ruled in the Mediterranean for hundreds of years and it was indeed, at its height, one of the major powers in Europe. However, its different territories were connected through the person of the monarch. A modern historian, Juan de Contreras y Lopez de Ayala, Marqués de Lozoya described the Crown of Aragon as being more like a confederacy than a centralised kingdom, let alone an empire. Nor did official documents refer to it as an empire, instead. This union respected the institutions and parliaments of both territories. This was due to the loss of Catalan influence, the renunciation of the family rights of the counts of Barcelona in Occitania. Petronillas father King Ramiro, The Monk who was raised in the Saint Pons de Thomières Monastery and his brothers Peter I and Alfonso I El Batallador had bravely fought against Castile for hegemony in the Iberian peninsula. After the death of Alfonso I, the Aragonese nobility that campaigned close him feared being overwhelmed by the influence of Castile, and so, Ramiro was forced to leave his monastic life and proclaim himself King of Aragon. He married Agnes, sister of the Duke of Aquitaine and betrothed his daughter to Raymond Berengar IV of Barcelona. The wedding agreement provided Raymond Berengar IV the title of Princeps Aragonum and Dominator Aragonenesis and kept the title, Raymond Berengar IV, the first ruler of the united dynasty, called himself Count of Barcelona and Prince of Aragon. Alfonso II inherited two realms and with them, two different expansion processes, the House of Jiménez looked south in a battle against Castile for the control of the Mediterranean coast in the Iberian peninsula. The House of Barcelona looked north to its origins, Occitania, soon, Alfonso II of Aragon and Barcelona committed himself to conquer Valencia as the Aragonese nobility demanded
3.
Peter IV of Aragon
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Peter IV, called the Ceremonious, was from 1336 until his death the King of Aragon and also King of Sardinia and Corsica, King of Valencia, and Count of Barcelona. In 1344, he deposed James III of Majorca and made himself King of Majorca and his wars in Greece made him Duke of Athens and Neopatria in 1381. Peter was born at Balaguer, the eldest son and heir of Alfons IV, then Count of Urgell, Peter was designated to inherit all of his fathers title save that of Urgell, which went to his younger brother James. Upon succeeding his father he called a corts in Zaragoza for his coronation and he crowned himself, disappointing the Archbishop of Zaragoza and thus rejecting the surrender Peter II had made to the Papacy, in an otherwise traditional ceremony. According to his own reports, this act caused him some distress. He did, however, affirm the liberties and privileges of Aragon, after the festivities in Zaragoza, Peter began on his way to Valencia to receive coronation there. On route he stopped at Lleida to affirm the Usatges and Constitutions of Catalonia and this offended Barcelona, at which the ceremony had usually been performed, and the citizens of that city complained to the king, who claimed that Lleida was on his way to Valencia. While in Valencia he decided on the case of his stepmothers inheritance, depriving her of income and outlawing her Castilian protector, Peter Ponce of León, Peter was largely forced to capitulate by a new invasion from Morocco aimed at Castile and Valencia. In 1338 he married Maria, second daughter of Philip III, in May 1339 he allied with Alfonso XI of Castile against Morocco, but his contribution of a fleet had no effect at the pivotal Battle of the Saulty River. Early on in his reign, a thorn in Peters side had been James III of Majorca, his brother-in-law, James had twice postponed performing the ceremony of homage to Peter, his feudal overlord, and when he finally performed it in 1339 it was on his terms. The rising economic star of Majorca, whose merchants were establishing independent markets and gaining trading privileges in the western Mediterranean, threatened the supremacy of Barcelona. Peters outrage, however, was no outlet until 1341. Peter then opened a process against James, with the intent of dispossessing him of his kingdom. He alleged that the circulation of James coinage in the Counties of Roussillon and this was open to question, considering the ancient customs of Roussillon and Cerdagne, but Peter was prepared to move forward anyway. The interference of Pope Clement VI, however, granted James a hearing in Barcelona in front of papal delegates, Peter, for his part, spread rumours that James was seeking to capture him. James, fearing that Peter would stoop to invading Majorca and seizing it by force, in February 1343 Peter declared James a contumacious vassal and his kingdom and lands forfeit. The legal process being terminated, Peter went to war, on the advice that the islanders were burdened by taxes, in May a fleet which had been blockading Algeciras landed at Majorca and quickly defeated James army at the Battle of Santa Ponça. Peter received the submission of all the Balearics and confirmed the privileges of the islands as they had been under James I, though James sued for peace and Pope Clement attempted to mediate it, Peter returned to Barcelona prepared to invade Roussillon and Cerdagne
4.
Martin of Aragon
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Martin the Humane, also called the Elder and the Ecclesiastic, was King of Aragon, Valencia, Sardinia and Corsica and Count of Barcelona from 1396 and King of Sicily from 1409. He failed to secure the accession of his grandson, Frederic, Count of Luna. Martin was born in 1356, in either Girona or Perpignan and he was the second son of King Peter IV of Aragon and Eleanor of Sicily, princess of the Sicilian branch of the House of Aragon. As a cadet prince of the Aragonese royal family, Martin was given the Duchy of Montblanch. In 1380 his father appointed him lord and regent of the island of Sicily, then also as Trinacria, since its queen Maria of Sicily. As a son of Eleanor of Sicily, Martin was himself an heir to the island, in 1396, Martin succeeded his elder brother John I, who had died sonless, on the throne of Aragon. However, Sicilian nobles were causing unrest and so Martin was kept in Sicily, meanwhile, Martins wife, María López de Luna, claimed the throne on his behalf of and acted as his representative until he arrived in 1397. Still, the delay opened the way for more problems and quarrels to surface in Aragon and his right to the throne was contested, first by Count Matthew of Foix on behalf of his wife Joanna, elder daughter of John I. However, Martin succeeded in quashing an invasion by troops of the count, after the death of the childless Joanna, John Is younger daughter Yolande of Aragon, who had married the Angevin King Louis II of Naples, continued the claim, as did her sons. Martin launched crusades against the Moors in North Africa in 1398 and 1399, Aragon had been trying to subjugate Sardinia since the reign of James II, and gradually the Aragonese had conquered most of the island. King Martin sent his son Martin the Younger, by king of Sicily through his marriage to Queen Maria. The son won the Battle of Sanluri in 1409, drove away the Genoese allies of the Sardinians and this soon caused Arboreas total loss of independence. Soon after the battle, however, Martin the Younger died suddenly, Martin of Aragon then succeeded his son as King of Sicily, taking the title of Martin II. Overall, the Kingdom of Aragon enjoyed external peace during Martins reign and he worked to quell internal strife caused by nobles, factions and he supported the Avignon line of Popes and Pope Benedict XIII, who was Aragonese, held the seat throughout Martins reign. Martins military intervention rescued the imprisoned Benedict in 1403 from the clutches of his rivals, Martin had four legitimate children by Queen Maria, Martin the Younger, James, John, and Margaret. Martin still married secondly on 17 September 1409 to his cousin Margaret of Prades, daughter of Peter of Aragon, Baron of Entenza, Martin died, in the monastery of Valldonzella, extramuros of Barcelona the 31st May 1410. While the reason unclear, it is supposed that either plague, uremic coma or the possibility of having been poisoned. The story of the kings associated with laughter has no historical evidence in any form whatsoever
5.
Perpignan
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Perpignan is a city, a commune, and the capital of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. Perpignan was the capital of the province and County of Roussillon. In 2013 Perpignan had 118,238 inhabitants in the city proper, the metropolitan area had a total population of 305,837 in 2010. Perpignan is located in the center of the Roussillon plain,13 km west of the Mediterranean coast and it is the southern most of the cities of metropolitan France. Perpignan is crossed by the largest river in Roussillon, the Têt, and by one of its tributaries, floods often occur, as in 1892 when the rising of the Têt in Perpignan destroyed 39 houses, leaving more than 60 families homeless. Perpignan experiences a Mediterranean climate similar to much of the Mediterranean coastline of France, roads The motorway A9 connects Perpignan with Barcelona and Montpellier. Trains Perpignan is served by the Gare de Perpignan railway station, which offers connections to Paris, Barcelona, Toulouse, salvador Dalí proclaimed it to be the Center of the Universe after experiencing a vision of cosmogonic ecstasy there in 1963. Airport The nearest airport is Perpignan–Rivesaltes Airport, attested forms The name of Perpignan appears in 927 as Perpinianum, followed in 959 by Villa Perpiniano, Pirpinianum in the 11th century, Perpiniani in 1176. Perpenyà, which appears in the 13th century, is the most common form until the 15th century, though settlement in the area goes back to Roman times, the medieval town of Perpignan seems to have been founded around the beginning of the 10th century. Soon Perpignan became the capital of the counts of Roussillon, historically, it was part of the region known as Septimania. In 1172 Count Girard II bequeathed his lands to the Counts of Barcelona, Perpignan acquired the institutions of a partly self-governing commune in 1197. French feudal rights over Roussillon were given up by Louis IX in the Treaty of Corbeil, when James I the Conqueror, king of Aragon and count of Barcelona, founded the Kingdom of Majorca in 1276, Perpignan became the capital of the mainland territories of the new state. The succeeding decades are considered the age in the history of the city. It prospered as a centre of manufacture, leather work, goldsmiths work. King Philippe III of France died there in 1285, as he was returning from his crusade against the Aragonese Crown. In 1344 Peter IV of Aragon annexed the Kingdom of Majorca, a few years later it lost approximately half of its population to the Black Death. Perpignan is one of the houses of Lancaster Girls Grammar School, the festival has a broad mainstream focus with pop-related music as well as traditional acoustic guitar music and alternative music. The festival has attracted international guests like Caetano Veloso, Rumberos Catalans, Pedro Soler, Bernardo Sandoval, Peter Finger, in 2008, Perpignan became Capital of Catalan Culture
6.
Martha of Armagnac
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Martha of Armagnac was the youngest child of John I of Armagnac and his second wife Beatrice of Clermont. She was the first wife of John I of Aragon but never became Queen consort of Aragon because she was outlived by her father-in-law Peter IV of Aragon, Martha was the youngest of three children. Her elder brother was John II of Armagnac, who succeeded their father and her sister was Joanna of Armagnac who married John, Duke of Berry and was mother of Marie, Duchess of Auvergne, amongst others. Her maternal grandparents were Jean de Clermont and his wife Jeanne de Dargies, Jean was son of Robert, Count of Clermont and his wife Beatrice, Dame de Bourbon. Robert was son of Louis IX of France and Margaret of Provence, Marthas paternal grandparents were Bernard VI of Armagnac and his wife Cecile de Rodez. Martha was not named in domini Johannis comitis Armaniaci which listed the names of her family, Martha was a proposed wife for Peter II of Alençon in 1370 but he instead married Marie, Viscountess of Beaumont-au-Maine. During these years, Peter IV of Aragon had sought an alliance with Philip VI of France to prevent a new war with Castile. In 1370 he negotiated a marriage for his heir, John, Duke of Girona with Jeanne of France, daughter of Philip VI but the project failed when the princess died on her journey to Barcelona in 1371. Moreover, Henry II of Castile became a necessary to Charles V of France. The count of Armagnac wished to strengthen its position in Occitan and in France and get a good ally against its rival, the Counts of Foix. Negotiations began in summer 1372 and of the contract was signed on March 27,1373 for the marriage of Martha to John. The dowry amounted to the figure of 150,000 pounds. Martha was received with great solemnity at the border according to sources of Martin, on 24 June 1373 in Barcelona, John and Martha married. Afterwards she became the first to be titled Duchess of Girona, Martha even got along well with her father-in-law who dealt with her with great affection, and in general all members of the royal family. Her mother-in-law Eleanor of Sicily treated Martha as her own daughter, on Eleanors death King Peter remarried to Sibila of Fortia, a marriage that caused great scandal. However, Martha and Sibila maintained a relationship, but John had a bad attitude to his stepmother. John and Martha had five children, Infante James of Aragon Infanta Joanna, together they claimed the throne of Aragon after her fathers death. Matthew of Foix invaded Aragonese territories, but was back by the new King Martin
7.
Violant of Bar
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Violant of Bar was queen consort of Aragon by marriage to John I of Aragon. She served as Regent or Queen-Lieutenant of Aragon during in the place of her spouse from 1388 until 1395 and she was the daughter of Robert I, Duke of Bar and Marie of Valois. Violante was the eighth of eleven children and she was married in 1380 at the age of 15 to John, Duke of Girona, the heir apparent to the throne of Aragon, thus becoming Duchess of Girona and Countess of Cervera. Her husband became King of Aragon in 1387 and he was often ill, and Violante wielded considerable administrative power on his behalf, she was appointed regent the following year, in 1388, and governed Aragon as such for seven years. She transformed the Aragonese court into a center of French culture and she especially cultivated the talents of Provençal troubadours. After Johns death in 1395, she dedicated herself to the education of her surviving child. Yolande and her sons claimed the Kingdom of Aragon after Johns death, violant died in Barcelona on 13 August 1431 at the age of sixty-six. James, Duke of Girona and Count of Cervera Yolande, married on 2 December 1400 at Louis II of Naples and she played a role in the history of France. Ferdinand, Duke of Girona and Count of Cervera Joanna Antonia Peter, Duke of Girona and Count of Cervera
8.
Yolande of Aragon
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She was a daughter of John I of Aragon and his wife Yolande of Bar. Yolande played a role in the struggles between France and England, influencing events such as the financing of Joan of Arcs army in 1429 that helped tip the balance in favour of the French. She was also known as Yolanda de Aragón and Violant dAragó, tradition holds that she commissioned the famous Rohan Hours. Yolande was born in Zaragoza, Aragon, on 11 August 1384, the eldest daughter of King John I of Aragon by his wife, Yolande of Bar. She had three brothers and two sisters, as well as five older half-siblings from her fathers first marriage to Martha of Armagnac, Yolande later played an important role in the politics of England, France, and Aragon during the first half of the 15th century. In 1389, Louis II was crowned King of Naples and his mother Marie of Blois opened negotiations for a marriage between her son and Yolande to prevent Aragon from obstructing his rule there. When Yolande was eleven, she signed a document to disavow any promises made by ambassadors about her marrying Louis II, in 1395, Richard II of England also opened negotiations for Yolandes hand. To prevent this marriage, Charles VI of France offered his own daughter Isabella to King Richard, after the death of Yolandes father, Marie of Blois convinced Yolandes uncle Martin I of Aragon to have Yolande wed Louis II. Yolande signed a protest, but was forced to retract it later, the couple married in Arles on December 2,1400. Despite Yolandes earlier objections and the illnesses of her husband. As the surviving daughter of King John I of Aragon, she claimed the throne of Aragon after the deaths of her elder sister Joanna, Countess of Foix, and her uncle, King Martin I. However, unclear though they were, the laws of succession for Aragon, the Anjou candidate for the throne of Aragon was Yolandes eldest son Louis III of Anjou, Duke of Calabria, whose claim was forfeited in the Pact of Caspe. Yolande and her sons regarded themselves as the heirs with the stronger claim, as a result of this additional inheritance, Yolande was called the Queen of Four Kingdoms - the four apparently Sicily, Jerusalem, Cyprus and Aragon. Another interpretation specifies Naples separate from Sicily, plus Jerusalem and Aragon, the number could be raised to seven if the two component kingdoms of the Crown of Aragon and Sardinia were included. However, the reality was that Yolande and her family controlled territories in the kingdoms only at short intervals. Their true realm was the Anjou fiefdoms across France, they held uncontestably the provinces of Provence and Anjou, Yolandes son René I of Anjou became ruler of Lorraine through his marriage to Isabella, Duchess of Lorraine. In the emerging second phase of the Hundred Years War, Yolande chose to support the French against the English, in the same year, Yolande met with Queen Isabeau of France to finalize a marriage contract between her daughter Marie and Isabeaus third surviving son Charles. After his two brothers died, she supported the claim of the Dauphin Charles who, relying upon Yolandes resources and help
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "John I of Aragon". Encyclopædia Britannica. 15 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 440.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the .svg)
