judged. In April 1164, in Lucca, Rainald orchestrated
the election of another antipope, Paschal III. In July
1164, Rainald brought the relics of the Three Kings
from Milan to Cologne, where they became the object
of a major cult. Late in 1165, Rainald presided over
the canonization of Charlemagne in Aachen, the most
dramatic step taken in the programmatic sacralization
of Barbarossa’s imperial rule.
Rainald’s uncompromising policy toward the papacy
meant that only open confl ict could decide the schism.
In July 1167, the imperial army won a major victory
at Tusculum. Rome was taken, and Alexander III fl ed
in disguise. Triumph was short-lived, however: an epi-
demic, probably malaria, decimated the German host,
killing Rainald and several other princes. Barbarossa
returned to Germany with what was left of his army. The
political approach of the rest of his reign was markedly
more fl exible than it had been during the era of Rainald
of Dassel.
See also Frederick I Barbarossa
Further Reading
Engels, Odilo. Die Staufer, 4th ed. Stuttgart: Kohlhammer,
1989.
Ficker, Julius. Reinald von Dassel: Reichskanzler und Erzbischof
von Köln 1156–1167. Cologne, 1850; rpt. Aalen: Scientia,
1966.
Grebe, Werner. “Studien zur geistigen Welt Rainalds von Das-
sel.” Annalen des Historischen Vereins für den Niederrhein
171 (1969): 5–44.
Munz, Peter. Frederick Barbarossa: A Study in Medieval Politics.
London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1969.
Jonathan Rotondo-McCord
RAMÓN BERENGUER IV, COUNT
OF BARCELONA (c. 1114–1162)
On the death of his father in 1131, the young Ramón
Berenguer IV became the count of Barcelona at the age
of seventeen. The fi rst major event of his reign was the
union of the Catalan principalities with the neighboring
Kingdom of Aragón. In 1134 Alfonso I the Batallador
died childless, and this raised the problem of who was to
succeed him. His will, leaving his goods to the military
orders, could not be applied; and this, together with
the marriage of Ramiro, the brother of Alfonso I, made
Alfonso VII of Castile give up all hope of succeeding to
the throne. In August 1137 Petronella, born of Ramiro’s
recent marriage, was immediately promised to Ramón
Berenguer, who became prince of Aragon; the marriage
took place in 1150. In 1140 the holy see and the mili-
tary orders gave up their rights over Aragón. It was by
diplomatic means that Ramón Berenguer IV ended his
disagreement with the king of Castile, whom he met in
1137 and 1140; at these meetings, he swore allegiance
to the city of Zaragoza, and prepared a joint expedition
against Navarre. Thanks to the diplomatic activities of
Oleguer, archbishop of Tarragona, and the seneschal
Guillem Ramón de Montcada, the count of Barcelona
symbolized the union of the counties inherited from his
father with the kingdom of Alfonso I. The Catalano-
Aragónese confederation depended on a reciprocal
respect for the institutions belonging to each territory.
Ramón Berenguer IV concentrated henceforward on
the struggle against Islam. With Alfonso VII he partici-
pated in the expeditions to Murcia (1144) and Almerí’a
(1147). He later directed campaigns intended to extend
his principalities. In 1148 he took Tortosa where the help
of Guillem Ramón de Montcada, of the Genoese fl eet,
and of contingents from Languedoc was decisive for the
success of this expedition, recognized by Pope Eugene
III as a true crusade. Franchises accorded to the city at-
tracted new inhabitants, while an arrangement with the
q ̄a d ̄ı and the fuqah ̄a ’ ensured the respect of the Muslim
population. On 24 October 1149, the cities of Fraga and
Lleida also fell before the troops of Ramón Berenguer
IV and Ermengol VII of Urgell. Between 1152 and 1153
Miravet was conquered, and the surviving pockets of
Islamic resistance destroyed. Ibn Mard ̄a nish, king of Va-
lencia, then swore allegiance to the count of Barcelona,
to whom he payed a large tribute. The Ebro River was
reached; Ramón Berenguer IV considerably extended
the territory of New Catalonia beyond Tarragona. The
same thing happened in Aragón, where he annexed
Huesca (1154) and Alcáñiz (1157).
His political activities were continued beyond the
Pyrenees; the families of Béziers-Carcassonne, of Nar-
bonne and of Montpellier paid homage to him. In 1154
he became the tutor of Gaston V of Béarn; he fought
successfully at Toulouse, to which he laid siege with
Henri Plantagenet II in 1156. But most of his activities
took place in Provence. In 1144, his brother Berenguer
Ramón, count of Provence was killed in his wars against
the count of Toulouse and the family of Baux, as well as
Genoa and Pisa. His son, Ramón Berenguer of Provence,
was still a minor and was powerless against so many
enemies. In February 1147 Ramón Berenguer IV came
to his aid; the leading nobles swore that they would
be faithful to him. He wiped out Ramon of Baux, and
brought him back in captivity to Catalonia. Three more
wars were necessary to put an end to the seditious revolt
of Ramon’s wife, Stephania of Baux, their children, and
their associates. During the summer of 1155 he took
their castle at Trinquetaille; at the beginning of 1162,
he laid siege to the fortress of Baux and conquered it.
He then ensured that Frederick Barbarossa recognized
Catalan dominion in Provence, ordering the marriage of
his niece Riquilda and his nephew Ramón Berenguer ofRAMÓN BERENGUER IV, COUNT OF BARCELONA