In the spring of 1149, Count Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona laid siege to the Almoravid city of Lleida. The city was captured on 24 October 1149.[1] Count Ermengol VI of Urgell also took part in the conquest.[2] Nicholas Breakspear, abbot of Saint-Ruf and the future Pope Adrian IV, was present at the siege.[3][4]
| Siege of Lleida (1149) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of the Reconquista and Second Crusade | |||||||
| |||||||
| Belligerents | |||||||
|
County of Barcelona County of Urgell | Almoravid Emirate | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
|
Ramon Berenguer IV Ermengol VI of Urgell | Unknown | ||||||
| Strength | |||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||
| Unknown | Unknown | ||||||
Although strategically significant, the capture of Lleida drew less attention than the siege of Tortosa the previous year, which involved international contingents as part of the Second Crusade.[5] At least one later source does, however, treat the 1149 siege as a crusade, attributing the victory "to the faith and worship of our Lord Jesus Christ".[6] No detailed contemporary account of the siege survives.[7]
In January 1150, Ramon Berenguer IV and Ermengol granted a municipal charter to Lleida.[8] Ramon Berenguer took the title marquis of Lleida and, acting as sovereign, granted the city to Ermengol in fief.[9]
Notes
edit- ^ Jaspert 2001, p. 95.
- ^ Pascual Ramos 2000, p. 312.
- ^ Smith 2003, p. 36.
- ^ Constable 1953, p. 262.
- ^ Jaspert 2001, p. 96.
- ^ Jaspert 2001, p. 96 and n. 53, quoting Vones-Liebenstein 1996, p. 359: ad fidem et cultum Domini nostri Iesu Christi.
- ^ Constable 1953, p. 231.
- ^ Pascual Ramos 2000, p. 307.
- ^ Pascual Ramos 2000, p. 313.
Works cited
edit- Barton, Thomas W. (2019). Victory's Shadow: Conquest and Governance in Medieval Catalonia. Cornell University Press. ISBN 9781501736162.
- Constable, Giles (1953). "The Second Crusade as Seen by Contemporaries" (PDF). Traditio. 9: 213–279. JSTOR 27830277.
- Iranzo Abellán, Salvador; Martín-Iglesias, José Carlos (2015). "Los Annales Dertusenses anni 1210 (olim Chronicon Dertusense II) Díaz 1188): edición, traducción, análisis lingüístico y estudio histórico". Euphrosyne. 43: 265–293.
- Jaspert, Nikolas (2001). "Capta est Dertosa clavis Christianorum: Tortosa and the Crusades" (PDF). In Jonathan Phillips; Martin Hoch (eds.). The Second Crusade: Scope and Consequences. Manchester University Press. pp. 90–100.
- Pascual Ramos, Eduardo (2000). "Estudio comparativo de la carta de población de Tortosa (1149), carta de población de Lleida (1150) y la carta de franquicia de Mallorca (1230)". Espacio, Tiempo y Forma. 13: 305–323.
- Smith, D. J. (2003). "The Abbot-Crusader: Nicholas Breakspear in Catalonia". In Bolton, B.; Duggan, A. (eds.). Adrian IV, the English Pope, 1154–1159: Studies and Texts. Aldershot: Ashgate. pp. 29–39. ISBN 978-0-75460-708-3.
- Vones-Liebenstein, Ursula (1996). Saint Ruf und Spanien: Studien zur Verbreitung und zum Wirken der Regularkanoniker von Saint Ruf in Avignon auf der Iberischen Halbinsel (11. und 12. Jabrbundert). Brepols.
Further reading
edit- Font i Rius, José María (1949). La reconquista de Lérida y su proyección en el orden jurídico. Lleida.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Lladonosa i Pujol, Josep (1961). La conquesta de Lleida. Barcelona.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - Tortosa Duráan, J. (1953). "La conquista de la ciudad de Lérida por Ramon Berenguer IV, conde de Barcelona". Ilerda. 17: 27–46.