- Roussillon
[
Canigó (Canigou ) (2785m), a Catalan landmark]Roussillon (French: "Roussillon", pronounced|ʀusiˈjɔ̃; Catalan: "Rosselló", pronounced IPA| [rusəˈʎo] ;Spanish: "Rosellón", pronounced IPA| [rosəˈʎon] ) is one of the historical counties of the former
Principality of Catalonia , corresponding roughly to the present-day southern French "département" ofPyrénées-Orientales (Eastern Pyrenees). It may also refer to "French Catalonia " or "Northern Catalonia ", the latter term used particularly by the Catalan-speaking community.Also a
French province before theRevolution , Roussillon derived its name from Ruscino (Rosceliona, Castel Rossello), a small fortified place near modern-dayPerpignan where Gaulish chieftains met to considerHannibal 's request for a conference. The region formed part of the Roman province ofGallia Narbonensis from121 BC to AD462 , when it was ceded with the rest ofSeptimania to the VisigothTheodoric II . His successor, Amalaric, on his defeat by Clovis in531 retired toHispania , leaving a governor inSeptimania .In
719 theSaracens crossed thePyrenees and maintained political hegemony ofSeptimania until their defeat by Pippin in756 . On the invasion ofHispania byCharlemagne in 778 he found theMarca Hispanica wasted by war, and the inhabitants settled in the mountains. He granted some lands in the plains to Visigothic refugees from Moorish Hispania, and founded several monasteries. In792 the Saracens again invaded France, but were repulsed by Louis, King ofAquitaine , whose hegemony extended over Catalonia as far asBarcelona .The different portions of his kingdom in time grew into allodial fiefs, and in
893 Sunyer II became the first hereditaryCount of Roussillon. But his rule only extended over the eastern part of what became the later province. The western part, theCerdanya (French, Cerdagne), was ruled in900 by Miró as first count, and one of his grandsons, Bernat, became the first hereditary count of the middle portion, orBesalú . The Counts of Roussillon were allied to their cousins the Counts of Empúries in a centuries-long conflict with the surrounding great nobles. CountGirard I participated in theFirst Crusade in the following ofRaymond IV of Toulouse , and was one of the first to set foot inJerusalem when it was stormed by the Crusaders in1099 . At the beginning of the12th century the prestige of the Counts of Barcelona began to rise to such a height that the Counts of Roussillon had no choice but to swear fealty to them.In
1111 Ramon Berenguer III , Count of Barcelona, inherited the fief of Besalú, to which was added in1117 Cerdanya . The possession of Roussillon by its last count, Girard II, was challenged by his illegitimate brothers. To ensure his brothers would not inherit his territories, in his will Girard II left all his lands toAlfonso II (Alfons II) of Aragon , who took possession in1172 . Under the Aragonese monarchs economic and demographic growth of the region continued, andCollioure (Catalan: Cotlliure), the port ofPerpignan , became an important locus ofMediterranean trade.As France and the Spanish crowns grew in power, the region of Roussillon, forming the border between them, was frequently a site of their military conflicts. By the
Treaty of Corbeil (1258) Louis IX of France formally surrendered sovereignty over Roussillon and his claim to the title Count of Barcelona to theCrown of Aragon , recognizing a centuries-old reality.James I of Aragon had wrested theBalearic Isles from theMoors and joined these islands with Roussillon to create the King of Majorca, with its capital atPerpignan . In 1276, James I granted this kingdom to his son, who became James II. The subsequent disputes of this monarch with his brother Peter III were exploited byPhilip III of France in his quarrel with Peter III for the crown of theTwo Sicilies . Philip III espoused James II's cause and led an army into Aragon but, retreating, died atPerpignan in1285 . Lacking the resources to continue the struggle, James then became reconciled to his brother Peter, and in1311 the former was succeeded by his son Sanç I, or Sancho I, who founded the cathedral of Perpignan shortly before his death in1324 . His successor,James III of Majorca , refused to do homage toPhilip VI of France for the seigneury ofMontpellier , and applied toPeter IV of Aragon for aid. Peter not only refused, but declared war and seizedMajorca and Roussillon in1344 .The province was now re-united to the
Crown of Aragon , and enjoyed peace until1462 . In this year the disputes betweenJohn II of Aragon and his son over the Crown of Navarre spurredLouis XI of France to support John against his subjects, who had risen in revolt. The province having been pledged as collateral to Louis for 300,000 crowns, it was occupied by French troops until1493 , when Charles VIII evacuated the region as part of a settlement with theCatholic Monarchs of Castile and Aragon, Isabel I and Ferdinand II.During the war between France and Spain (
1496 -1498 ) the people suffered equally from the Spanish garrisons and the French invaders. But dislike of the Castilians was soon effaced in the pride of sharing in the glory of the Emperor Charles I of Spain, and in1542 , whenPerpignan was besieged by the dauphin, the inhabitants supported their monarch, earning that city the royal sobriquet, "Most Faithful City."When the Catalans rose against the Spanish Crown in
1641 , Louis XIII (of France) entered the conflict on the side of the former. After a protracted war, theTreaty of the Pyrenees (1659 ) secured Roussillon and part of theCerdanya (Cerdagne) to the French crown, which they joined to create the French province of Roussillon. The next fifty years saw a concerted effort by Louis XIV both to ensure the political allegiance of his new subjects, and to alter their cultural identity. He was successful in the former, but failed in the latter. Outside the capital ofPerpignan , Roussillon remained distinctly Catalan in outlook and culture until the latenineteenth century , whenindustrialization began to replace Catalan identity with French.During the
French Revolution , theOld Regime province of Roussillon was abolished and a new department, the Department of Pyrénées-Orientales, was created instead. This department corresponds roughly to the old Roussillon, with the addition of thecomarca ofFenouillèdes .Pyrénées-Orientales is the name by which this region is officially known inFrance . The old name of Roussillon did contribute to the French "région" ofLanguedoc-Roussillon .ee also
*
Counts of Roussillon
*History of Catalonia
*History of France
*History of Spain
*Northern Catalonia External links
* [http://www.grec.net/cgibin/dificil.pgm?PGMORI=E&NDCHEC=0056936 County of Rosselló] "from Catalan Encyclopaedia".
* [http://histoireduroussillon.free.fr History of Roussillon site]References
*1911
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