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Ramon Berenguer IV, count of Barcelona

Ramon Berenguer IV
Count of Barcelona
Jazpert de Peralada renders tribute to Count Raymond Berenguer III for the town of Peralada..jpg
Ramon Berenguer IV in the Liber feudorum maior
Count of Barcelona
Reign 19 August 1131 – 6 August 1162
Predecessor Ramon Berenguer III
Successor Alfonso I
Spouse(s) Petronilla of Aragon
Issue
Noble family Barcelona
Father Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona
Mother Douce I, Countess of Provence
Born c. 1114
Rodez
Died 6 August 1162 (aged 48–49)
Borgo San Dalmazzo, Piedmont, Italy
Buried Santa Maria de Ripoll
Signature Signum-ramon-berenguer-IV-barcelona-creu.jpg
Religion Roman Catholic

Ramon Berenguer IV (Catalan pronunciation: [rəˈmom bəɾəŋˈɡe]; c. 1114 – 6 August 1162, Anglicized Raymond Berengar IV), sometimes called the Saint, was the Count of Barcelona who brought about the union of his County of Barcelona with the Kingdom of Aragon to form the Crown of Aragon.

Ramon Berenguer IV inherited the county of Barcelona from his father Ramon Berenguer III on 19 August 1131. On 11 August 1137, at the age of about 24, he was betrothed to the infant Petronilla of Aragon, aged one at the time. Petronilla's father, Ramiro II of Aragon, who sought Barcelona's aid against Alfonso VII of Castile, withdrew from public life on 13 November 1137, leaving his kingdom to Petronilla and Ramon Berenguer, the latter in effect becoming ruler of Aragon, although he was never king himself, instead commonly using the titles "Count of the Barcelonans and Prince of the Aragonians" (Comes Barcinonensis et Princeps Aragonensis), and occasionally those of "Marquis of Lleida and Tortosa" (after conquering these cities). He was the last Catalan ruler to use "Count" as his primary title; starting with his son Alfonso II of Aragon the counts of Barcelona styled themselves, in the first place, as kings of Aragon.

The treaty between Ramon Berenguer and his father-in-law, Ramiro II, stipulated that their descendants would rule jointly over both realms, and that even if Petronilla died before the marriage could be consummated, Berenguer's heirs would still inherit the Kingdom of Aragon. Both realms would preserve their laws, institutions and autonomy, remaining legally distinct but federated in a dynastic union under one ruling House. Historians consider this arrangement the political masterstroke of the Hispanic Middle Ages. Both realms gained greater strength and security and Aragon got its much needed outlet to the sea. On the other hand, formation of a new political entity in the north-east at the time when Portugal seceded from León in the west gave more balance to the Christian kingdoms of the peninsula. Ramon Berenguer successfully pulled Aragon out of its pledged submission to Castile, aided no doubt by his sister Berengaria, wife of Alfonso the Emperor, who was well known in her time for her beauty and charm.


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