Raymond Berenger I the Old , Count of Barcelona

     Raymond Berenger I the Old , Count of Barcelona was born in 1023.^1,2 He was the son of Raymond Berenger I al Cueva ~ Comte de Barcelona and Sancha Sánchez. Ramon Berenguer campaigned against the Moors, extending his dominions as far west as Barbastro and imposing heavy tributes (parias) on other Moorish cities. Historians claim that those tributes helped create the first wave of prosperity in Catalan history. During his reign Catalan maritime power started to be felt in the western Mediterranean. Ramon Berenguer the Old was also the first count of Catalonia to acquire lands (the counties of Carcassonne and Razés) and influence north of the Pyrenees.² Raymond became, in 1035, the Count of Barcelona. He was also the Count of Gerona, Osona, Carcassonne and Rasez. Oddly enough, with the title change, he is called the first, same as his father.²

Raymond Berenger I the Old , Count of Barcelona married Isabel, daughter of Count Sancho of Gascony.²

Raymond Berenger I the Old , Count of Barcelona married Blanca of Narbonne, daughter of Wolf Ato Zuberoa and Ermengarda of Narbonne.²

Raymond Berenger I the Old , Count of Barcelona married Almodis de la Marche ~ Comtess de Limoges, daughter of Bernard I ~ Comte de la Haute Marche et Perigord and Amélie ~Comtess d'Aubnay, in 1053. She was abducted by Ramon Berenguer I, Count of Barcelona. He kidnapped her from Narbonne with the aid of a fleet sent north by his ally, the Muslim emir of Tortosa. They married immediately, despite the fact both of her previous husbands were still alive.^1,2 Pope Victor II excommunicated Almodis and Ramon in 1054 for their illegal marriage until 1056.² He promulgated the earliest versions of a written code of Catalan law, the Usages of Barcelona.² Raymond Berenger I the Old , Count of Barcelona died on 26 May 1076 at Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.^1,2 He was buried at Cathedral of Barcelona, Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.²