Nuño I Sánchez, de Roussillon et de Cerdagne

According to new research from (Treton & Vinas, 2017) @ Open Edition Journals

Nunó Sanç was born around 1190-1195, from the union of Count Sanç 5 , third son of Count of Barcelona Ramon Berenguer IV and Petronilla d'Aragon, on the one hand, and Sancha Núñez de Lara, daughter of Count Nuño Pérez de Lara and Teresa Fernandez de Trava, on the other hand. It is possible that he spent part of his childhood alongside his mother, in the kingdoms of Castile and León, homeland of the Lara, or in Galicia, homeland of the Trava. It was however in the south of Catalonia, in Fulleda, alongside his mother, that he appeared for the first time, on November 11, 1204, giving the Cistercian monastery of Sobrado de los Monjes, the fifth in the city of Sarantes , in the land of Trasancos in Galicia 6. It is perhaps not fortuitous to notice that this donation comes on the very day of the coronation, in Rome, of King of Aragon Peter II, first cousin of Nunó.

Nunó Sanç entered public life in 1209, alongside his father. During the month of December of this year, the king of Aragon Pierre II gives them the ports of Monaco, Agay and Port de Bouc in Provence, then hires them the county of Provence, which they will administer until 1216 7 . In October 1210, father and son respectively received the counties of Agrigento and Ragusa from the king of Sicily, Frederick II, but the circumstances and the stakes of this donation escape us, and we do not know if it was really followed by 8 . Much more decisive for the rest of his career is the donation in life of the counties of Roussillon and Cerdagne-Conflent, made to him on February 22, 1212, by his first cousin Pierre II 9. The year 1212 also seems to have been particularly prosperous for the young lord of the counties of Roussillon and Cerdagne, since according to the famous Aragonese historian Jeronimo Zurita, he would have been armed as a knight on July 16, the day of the famous battle of Las Navas. by Tolosa 10 .

After the tragic death of Pierre II in Muret, Count Sanç took the head of the Catalan-Aragonese confederation and continued the fight against Simon de Montfort. It is in this bellicose context that Nunó Sanç marries in 1215 Petronille, heiress of the county of Bigorre; but this marriage was annulled the following year, under pressure from the leader of the crusade against the Albigenses, who married Petronille to his son Gui, in November 1216 11 . In reaction, Nunó and his ally, Ramon de Montcada, occupied the castle of Lourdes, which attracted the wrath of Pope Honorius III: in November 1218, he ordered his legate to excommunicate these two enemies of the Church, s 'they do not bow to his authority 12. But the timely death of Simon de Montfort, which occurred seven months later, put an end to this war and spared the Catalan lords the worst of religious sanctions. In December 1221, a few months after the marriage of King Jacques I st with Eleanor of Castile, Nunó became engaged in Girona, with the beautiful Castilian Elo Alvarez, probably parent company and lady of the queen. On this occasion, he donated several lordships to him, inherited from his mother in Castile and León 13. But we are actually intrigued by the nature of this relationship. Indeed, if we note that Nunó took care of her “affectionate Elo” for three years, covering some of his expenses in Zaragoza, it does not appear that they were married. In March 1225 the king Jacques I st , in the presence of Nunó, grants the woman the right to lease the revenues of the city of Aljafarin employing against him the same formula of affection 14 . Some have concluded that Elo then became the official mistress of Jacques I er , but this remains pure speculation. Anyway, the lady then disappears permanently from the entourage of the Lord of the County of Roussillon.

But war and love affairs do not prevent Nunó from administering his land. Several important domestic policy measures are to its credit. We can cite the proclamation of Peace and Truce in its counties on October 2, 1217, the franchises granted to the communities of Vinça in 1218, to Bellver and Llivia in Cerdagne in 1225 and 1229, Corneilla de Conflent in 1230, Claira in 1233 and Villefranche-de -Conflent in 1236, as well as various donations granted to the monasteries of Saint-Martin du Canigou, Saint-Michel de Cuxà and Saint-André de Sorède and to the church of Saint-Jean de Perpignan 15. He also strives to recover the seigneuries alienated by Peter II, such as Saint-Laurent-de-la-Salanque and especially Collioure, whose economic and strategic importance cannot escape this young lord whose main ambitions are undoubtedly already Mediterranean.

Under pressure from Rome, Count Sanç was forced to abandon the regency in July 1218 16 . The crown of Aragon then went through a serious political crisis. Taking advantage of the minority of King Jacques I st , the great Catalan and Aragonese barons seeking to oppose in countless fratricidal wars that cause disorders of all kinds. In July 1220, Nunó Sanç allied with the Count of Empúries to wage war against a rebellious knight, Gausbert de Palol, who held Ultrera castle in undivided ownership for the two magnates. The same year, he succeeded in subduing the powerful Lord Faidit Raimond de Niort, author of raids and cattle thefts in Capcir and Conflent 17. In 1221 Nunó Sanç and its main ally, the Viscount of Bearn, Guillem de Montcada, prosecutors are appointed young Jacques I st and support the Government of the Kingdom 18 . During the summer of 1222, they both assist the king of Aragon, in conflict with Guerau de Cabrera claiming to the succession of the county of Urgell 19 . But the power puts the friendships to the test, and soon after, under a futile pretext, a serious conflict breaks out between the two potentates: this puts the life of Nunó in danger, who is saved by the intervention of the monarch 20. But one of the most tragic episodes is undoubtedly the devastating incursion led at the beginning of 1223 by the viscount of Béarn in the south of the county of Roussillon, during which he seizes the castle of Avalon held by Ramon. de Castellrosselló, not far from the episcopal city of Elne, then marches on Perpignan and defeats the militia of this city which came out to meet it under the orders of the Occitan Faidit Chabert de Barbaira, who is captured 21 . The king leads the reprisals in Catalonia, seizes during the summer many fortifications belonging to the insurgents, but fails in front of the impregnable citadel of Montcada. After various twists and turns and some reversals of alliances, Nunó and Guillem de Montcada concluded peace in May 1226 22 .

The crusade against the Albigensians had transformed the Viscount of Fenouillèdes into a rear base for the Faidit knights , whose activities could only disturb the order that Nunó was striving to maintain in the seigneuries under his domination. It is probably in order to put an end to this situation that Nunó, whose orthodoxy does not seem to have to be called into question, decides in April 1226 to respond favorably to the request for assistance addressed to him by the King of France, about to lead a new crusade against the heretics of Languedoc 23 . His diplomacy was rewarded, since the following October, Louis VIII, victorious, inferred to him the Viscount of Fenouillèdes 24. The previous month, the Lord of Cerdanya had made peace with Roger Bernat II, the Count of Foix and Viscount of Castellbó, by subduing him the Castle of Sant Martí near Bellver 25 .

The external threats being temporarily removed, Nunó devotes himself to reinforcing his authority within his territories by using the feudal government tool par excellence: homage. We thus see him establishing his authority over the seigneury of Torreilles, by constituting there a clientele of faithful among the peasants and by imposing, by the resumption of fief, his suzerainty on one of the co-lords of this opulent village of the Salanque 26 . It also extends its influence on the ecclesiastical lordships. In August 1228, he thus granted his protection and safeguard to all the inhabitants of the castra of Terrats and Fourques, respectively possessions of the Templar house of Masdéu and of the abbey of Arles.

At the 1229 autumn Nunó, head of a large contingent of Knights of Roussillon, Occitan, Aragonese, and even Castilian, takes an active part in the conquest of the island of Mallorca with Jacques I st . After the capture of the city of Mallorca on Christmas Day 1229, the victors divide the island among themselves, in proportion to their respective contributions. Nunó, very widely rewarded, then proceeds to the subdivision of his portion, including property in the city of Mallorca and in the countryside, in Bunyola, Esporles, Felanitx, Porreres, Valldemossa 27 . This activity occupied him until 1234: the Mallorcan archives preserve more than three hundred acts, inferences and tenure concessions, carried out by him during this period 28. He also founded the hospital of Sant Andreu in the city of Mallorca, and the Cistercian monastery of Real 29 . In April 1235, he joined forces with Guillem de Montgrí, sacrist of Girona, and the Infante Pierre de Portugal to conquer Ibiza, a great producer of salt, and Formentera; sharing gives it a quarter of these islands 30 . The Balearics then became an important center of slave traffic, and an ideal base for the racing war (in particular against the Pisans) to which Nunó Sanç devoted himself on several occasions, as we learn from his will.

In 1234, he married Teresa, daughter of Lope Díaz de Haro, Lord of Biscay, which shows that he had close ties with his relatives on the maternal side. This marriage, with the need to provide for what to endow possible heirs, is undoubtedly the cause of the dispute which then opposes him to the count-king about his inheritance. The arbitration is entrusted to Guillem de Cervera and Lope Díaz in May 1235 31 . Nunó, by virtue of the will of his grandfather, the count of Barcelona Ramon Berenguer IV, and of a concession made by his uncle Alfonso II to his parents, claims the rights of sovereignty over Cerdanya and Conflent, Carcassès, the Berguedà, the honor of Trencavel and Narbonne 32. He also claims a sum of money owed to him for the counties of Provence and Millau. Unfortunately, the content of the arbitration is not known. Be that as it may, this was undoubtedly satisfactory for both parties, since Nunó continued to administer his counties and in October 1236 attended the assembly of Monzón where the conquest of the kingdom of Valencia was decided upon, to which he participates at the end of summer 1238 33 . In the meantime, he settled the dispute between him and the Count of Foix, Roger Bernat, about the justices of the county of Cerdagne and the lordship of the castles of Usson and Querigut en Donezan 34 .

The end of his administration in the counties seems to have been particularly complicated: documents show private wars and violence in Roussillon. After a revolt of the inhabitants of Arles-sur-Tech against the abbot of this place and the murder of one of his men in 1235, buys Nunó to Father Villa des Bains and Puig adjoining 35 . After the failure of the uprising of the Faidit lords led by Trencavel in front of Carcassonne in July 1240, he was forced to sell his rights to the castle of Peyrepertuse and the Perapertusès to the king of France 36. His life, however, ends with a major domestic policy success since in April 1241, Viscount Castelnou concedes sovereignty viguerie Vallespir and made tribute to his main castles 37 .

Nunó Sanç made his will on December 17, 1241 and died before January 20, 1242. He left a daughter, Sancha Nuñez, to whom he bequeathed in his will all that he had in the kingdoms of Castile and Leon. A later source tells us, however, that he had another daughter, named Maria Nuñez 38 . Born posthumously or illegitimately, the latter is not mentioned in her will.

Subsequent to the death of Nunó and in accordance with the provisions of the concession in February 1212, Jacques I er covers the lordship of the counties of Roussillon and Cerdagne, and it also inherits the possessions that his relative had acquired in the Balearic Islands.

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The will of Nunó Sanç, Lord of Roussillon and Cerdagne (December 17, 1241) [https://journals.openedition.org/e-spania/27026#tocfrom1n1]