
This genealogy of Aragonese kings from a
sixteenth century Spanish manuscript gives Ramiro I a prominent place.
'Ramiro I' (died
8 May 1063) was the first
King of Aragon. He was the natural son of
Sancho III of Navarre by his mistress
Sancha de Aybar. Ramiro was reputed to have been adopted by his father's wife
Mayor after he was the only of his father's children to come to her aid when needed. By the division of Sancho's realm on his death in
1035, Ramiro received the county of Aragon with the title of ''
baiulus''. He was, on account of the small size of his
Pyrenean kingdom, with its capital at
Jaca, called a "petty king."
Ramiro sought to enlarge his kingdom at the expense of both
Moor and brother. His reign was uneventful until
1043, when he invaded the
Kingdom of Navarre of his eldest half-brother
García V. He was defeated in the
Battle of Tafalla. In
1045, he annexed
Sobrarbe and
Ribagorza, the kingdom of his youngest legitimate half-brother,
Gonzalo. This annexation either followed Gonzalo's death or his abdication. Though he exercised the royal prerogative in Aragon, Sobrarbe, and Ribagorza, he never employed the royal title in his official documents, always only calling himself "Ramiro, son of the King Sancho."
Before he was married, Ramiro had a mistress named Amuña with whom he had a natural son,
Sancho Ramírez, in whom he confided the government of the county of Ribagorza.
Another son,from a Lady described as resident or member of the House of Barcelona,
Velasgutto de Ayala is understood being wed to the House of the Lords of Biscay and set in the Marches of Alava,to bond those territories closer to the Crown of Pamplona,during the Tenure of the kingdom by the House of Aragon.
But eventually Pamplona will be given up,as well as Biscay and Alava in a revert of Loyalties to the cousin House of Castile.What will characterize and define the semi-independent relations of the Basque country to the kingdoms of Castile or Navarre,for the next centuries until present times.
Ramiro wed his first wife, Gisberga, daughter of
Bernard Roger of Bigorre, on
22 August 1036. She changed her name to Ermesinda on marrying him. Together the couple had five children:
★
Sancho Ramírez, his successor
★
García, Bishop of Jaca
★ Sancha, married
Armengol III of Urgel
★ Urraca, nun in
Santa Cruz de la Serós
★ Theresa
Ramiro's second wife was Agnes (Inés), a daughter of the
Duke of Aquitaine.
Ramiro set the advance from Aragon toward Huesca and Zaragossa,after anexation of Ribagorza and Sobrarbe.To him is due the first Chart for the Royal town of Jaca,that will set the example of an ideal Community(included well defined laws of protection even to non residents)for later urban rights until late in the Middle Ages.
Ramiro died at the
Battle of Graus in 1063 while trying to take the city.
Sources
★ Chaytor, H. J. ''
A History of Aragon and Catalonia''. London: Methuen, 1933.
★ Lourie, Elena. "
The Will of Alfonso I, 'El Batallador,' King of Aragon and Navarre: A Reassessment." ''
Speculum'', Vol. 50, No. 4. (Oct., 1975), pp 635–651.