Crown of Aragon

The Crown of Aragon was a large group of lands ruled by one king. It started when the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona, later called the Principality of Catalonia, joined together under the same ruler. Over time, this group grew and became very powerful, especially in the 1300s and 1400s.

At its strongest, the Crown of Aragon controlled many places. These included parts of modern-day Spain, France, and many islands in the Mediterranean Sea. Some of these islands were the Balearic Islands, Sicily, Sardinia, and parts of Italy.

Each land in the Crown of Aragon had its own laws and its own way of doing things. The king was the only part that connected all these different places. Even though they shared the same king, each area kept its own special traditions and ways of governing themselves.

In 1479, the Crown of Aragon joined with another big group of lands called the Crown of Castile. This union happened when two rulers known as the Catholic Monarchs got married. Together, these two groups formed what we now call Spain. The Crown of Aragon kept existing as part of Spain until the early 1700s. A series of rules called the Nueva Planta decrees changed things forever.

Context

The Crown of Aragon was a group of lands ruled by one king. The main city where kings were crowned was Zaragoza, but the busiest and most important city was Barcelona. Other key cities included Valencia and Palma in Mallorca.

Over time, the Crown of Aragon grew to include many places such as the Kingdom of Aragon, the Principality of Catalonia, the Kingdom of Valencia, the Kingdom of Sicily, Malta, the Kingdom of Naples, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. At its height, it also controlled areas in Provence, Corsica, and even parts of Latin Greece. Although these lands had their own laws and governments, they were all united under one ruler.

History

The Crown of Aragon began in 1137 when the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona joined together through marriage. This created a bigger group of lands with one king, but each place kept its own laws and customs.

Later, the Crown of Aragon grew to include many places. It added lands in what is now Spain, parts of southern France, and islands like Sicily and Sardinia in the Mediterranean Sea. Each new place had its own rules and leaders, but they all owed loyalty to the same king. This made the Crown of Aragon a strong group of many different lands working together.

Pennon

Main article: Coat of arms of the Crown of Aragon

The Pennon is a special flag from old times. It came from the coats of arms used by the Counts of Barcelona and Kings of Aragon. Only the kings of the Crown of Aragon used this Pennon to show their power. One ruler, James III of Majorca, who worked for the Crown of Aragon, had a coat of arms with four bars. You can see this in old books called the Leges palatinae.

Institutions

The Crown of Aragon was made up of different states. Each state had its own laws and governments. States like Aragon, Catalonia, and Valencia each had their own law-making group called Cortes or Corts.

In the 15th century, each part of the Crown got its own court of justice, called a Royal Audience. Later, the king sent a special leader called a viceroy to each state, like Mallorca and Sardinia.

Capital

The main religious building of the Crown of Aragon was the Cathedral of the Savior of Zaragoza. Important meetings of the Crown’s leaders often happened in places like Monzón, Fraga, Zaragoza, Calatayud, and Tarazona. The main offices were in Barcelona and later in Naples.

The Crown’s official records were kept in Barcelona starting in 1318. For a time, the real center of the Crown was Valencia, and later it moved to Naples. Leaders worked in many places until Philip II of Spain came to power. Some historians think Zaragoza was the main political home because kings were crowned there in the Cathedral of the Savior of Zaragoza.

Culture

During the time of the Crown of Aragon, Catalan culture and language grew strongly, especially through trade. The culture was influenced by many places, such as Andalusian and Arab styles in buildings.

People also used a special mixed language called the Mediterranean Lingua Franca for trading and talking with others across the sea. This language mixed words from many different languages and was used by traders from Genoese and Venetian trading colonies.

Composition

The Crown of Aragon was made up of many lands and islands. These places are now parts of Spain, France, Italy, Greece, Malta, and Andorra. Each area had its own laws and customs, but they all had the same king. Over time, these lands joined the Crown in different orders. You can see when each place was added by looking at the dates.

Coat of arms of the kings of the Crown of Aragon

The Crown of Aragon had different coats of arms used by its kings over time. From Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona to Alfonso II of Aragon, one design was used. Then, a new coat of arms appeared from Alfonso II of Aragon to Peter II of Aragon. Later, another version was used from Peter II of Aragon to Peter IV of Aragon. Finally, from Peter IV of Aragon to Ferdinand II of Aragon, the last design was used.