County of Besalú

Origins

Besalú emerged as a county in the later 9th century, carved out of the lands of Girona and linked to the family of Wilfred the Hairy. For much of the 10th century it was held together with Cerdanya by Wilfred's descendants, before acquiring its own line of counts.

Rule and society

Its best-known count, Bernat I Tallaferro, from 988 to 1020, was a brother of Abbot Oliba and briefly obtained a bishopric for Besalú from the pope in 1017. The town grew around its castle, monasteries such as Sant Pere de Besalú, a fortified bridge over the Fluvià and a Jewish community whose ritual bath survives. The economy was rural, with markets on the routes to Roussillon.

Decline and legacy

Count Bernat III married a daughter of Ramon Berenguer III of Barcelona and died without heirs in 1111, so the county passed to Barcelona. It became part of Catalonia and the Crown of Aragon.