- Peter II of Béarn
Peter II (died 1153) was the
Viscount of Béarn from 1134 to his death. He was also the viscount ofGabardan ,Brulhois , andGabarret (as Peter III).Son of
Peter II of Gabarret andGuiscarda of Béarn , he received the vicecomital title after the death of his maternal uncle Centule VI. While he was a minor, his regency was exercised by his maternal grandmotherTalesa of Aragon (until 1136 at least). His mother continued the regency until 1047.Married to a Catalan princess, he participated in the "
crusade " of 1148 organised byRaymond Berengar IV of Barcelona . In this he followed the illustrious tradition of his family in aiding theAragonese monarchs against theMoors in Spain. The 1148 campaign was a success, culminating in the conquest ofTortosa ,Lleida , andFraga . That final conquest has symbolic significance for the Bearnese, as Centule VI had died at Fraga's walls. For this, Peter requested and obtained the exchange of his title "Lord ofHuesca " for "Lord of Fraga."Peter also promoted the
Way of Saint James and, contrary to his grandfather Gaston IV, established hospitals along the route through the pass ofRoncesvalles and not that ofSomport . By his time, however, Roncesvalles had already surpassed Santa Cristina at Somport as the preferred pass of the pilgrims. His final public act was the foundation of a new pilgrim hospital inOrdios in the year of his death, which shortly followed. He left two young children, Gaston and Mary.
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