Petronila of Aragon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Petronila of Aragon

Charter by which Petronila abdicated in favour of her son.

Petronila Ramírez (1135 – 17 October 1174), whose name is also spelled Petronilla or Petronella (Aragonese and Catalan: Peronella), was Queen of Aragon from 1137 until 1164. She was the daughter and successor of Ramiro II and Agnes of Aquitaine.

Petronila came to the throne through special circumstances. Her father, Ramiro, was bishop of Barbastro-Roda when his brother, Alfonso I, died heirless in 1134. As king, Ramiro received a papal dispensation to abdicate from his monastic vows in order to secure the succession to the throne. King Ramiro the Monk, as he is known, married Agnes, daughter of Duke Wiliam IX of Aquitaine and Gascony, and through her produced an heiress, Petronila. At two years old, Petronila was bethrothed to Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona. Immediately thereafter, Ramiro abdicated in favour of Petronilla and Ramon Berenguer and returned to monastic life.

Petronila married Ramon Berenguer in 1150. Upon his death, Petronila renounced the crown of Aragon in favour of her eldest son, Ramon, who, in compliment to the Aragonese, changed his name to Alfonso. Her son was the first ruler of both Aragon and Catalonia (where he is known as Alfons I) thereby establishing the dynastic union between the two countries that lasted until the Crown of Aragon was dissolved in 1707. Alfonso was crowned king in 1162, and on 18 July 1164, Petronila abdicated. She died in Barcelona in 1174 and was buried at Barcelona cathedral; her tomb was lost.

[edit] References

• Bisson, Thomas N. (2000). The Medieval Crown of Aragon: A Short History. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
• Chaytor, Henry John. (1933). A History of Aragon and Catalonia. London: Methuan Publishing.