Finally Meeting Grandpa Ramon ( . . . maybe!)

Ramon Berenguer I. (courtesy of Wikipedia)

Inside the cathedral of Barcelona are two velvet and brass-bound wooden coffins. There is nothing unusual about this as there are many who are interred within the confines of these holy buildings. These tombs are of interest to me, however, because they contain the remains of my ancestors, Ramon Berenguer I and his wife, Almodis.
 
Upon preparing a trip to Barcelona, I thought it would be fun to investigate whether any of my royal bloodline ran through this part of Spain. To my pleasant surprise I found a father, son and grandson, all of whom held the title of Count of Barcelona.
 
I was very intrigued to learn of Grandpa Ramon. Of course, over the generations the strain has thinned and there is scarcely a drop of blood we share in common. But, just the thought that we are directly connected adds an extra element of intrigue.
 

The tombs of Ramon Berenguer I and his wife, Almodis, in the Cathedral of Saint Eulalia in Barcelona, Spain.

Ramon Berenguer I became Count of Barcelona and Girona in the year 1035 at the young age of twelve upon the death of his father. During these early years he fell under the tutelage of his grandmother, Ermesenda. As he grew older he acquired other lands and became the first Catalonian count to gain territories on the north side of the Pyrenees (Carcassonne and Razés). Ramon lived in an era when the Moors occupied most of Spain. He led many campaigns to keep them at bay and even push them back. He imposed heavy tributes on Moorish cities which helped create the first wave of prosperity in Catalan history.
 
Ramon was married three times. While still married to his second wife, he became involved with Almodis de La Marche, the wife of the Count of Toulouse. The two were married and subsequently excommunicated by the Pope.
 

Ramon Berenguer I with emblem of the cross. (courtesy of Wikipedia)

In the year 1046, Ramon and his wife began construction of a Romanesque cathedral on the site of a former Visigoth church that had been destroyed by the Moors in 985. The cathedral was completed in 1058. Two centuries later a newer and bigger cathedral was built. Subsequent additions were added in the following centuries and today the Cathedral of Saint Eulalia is an icon of Barcelona.
 
The cathedral is located in the heart of the Gothic Quarter. As a tribute to the royal couple, the coffins of the two founders hang on the wall. A plaque reads: “Sepulchers of the Counts of Barcelona, Ramon Berenguer I and his wife Almodis, founders of the second Romanesque Cathedral (1058).”
 

Cathedral of Saint Eulalia in Barcelona.

Just 65 miles northeast of Barcelona, nestled in the verdant hill-town of Girona, stands another majestic cathedral. This one overlooks the Onyar River. Inside this sacred building is interred another relative of mine, Ramon Berenguer II.
 
Like his father, he was also the count of Barcelona and Girona. He was co-ruler with his twin brother, Berenguer Ramon II (that's not going to confuse anyone!!!). Amid tension, jealousy and quarrels, the two siblings decided to divide their possessions against the will of their late father.
 

Sepulcher of Ramon Berenguer II in the Cathedral of Girona.

Tomb and sculpture of Ermesenda, grandmother to Ramon Berenguer I in the Cathedral of Girona.

Ramon Berenguer II was called “Cap de estopes,” or “Towhead.” This was due to the thickness and color of his hair. All the rulers seemed to have bynames back then. Ramon Berenguer I was given the title “the Old,” and his father was called “the Crooked.”
 
The death of Ramon Berenguer II comes with legend in Girona. On December 6, 1082, at the age of 27 or 28, the count was hunting in the area of Montnegre, where he disappeared. The next day they found his body, murdered by an unknown person. As the legend goes, the corpse was found by a farmer who heard the cry of the count's falcon. The bird was perched on the branch of a tree. When the body was placed in a wooden coffin and carried to Girona, the loyal falcon followed the procession the entire way. Upon arriving at the door of the cathedral, the falcon fell dead on his master's coffin. To commemorate this act, artisans created a replica of the falcon in wood. Centuries later it was replaced by a stone sculpture which is still located on an arch in the cathedral.
 

Skeleton of Ramon Berenguer II. (courtesy of Llegendes de Girona)

Funerary pillow of Ramon Berenguer II on display in Girona Cathedral.

As for the murderer, it was widely speculated that it was his own twin brother, who subsequently took control of the territory. For this reason, he was known as Berenguer Ramon II the Fratricide.
 
To this day, the stone sepulcher sits atop an archway in the nave of the Cathedral for all to see. A detailed carving of the count lies atop the sepulcher. For anyone who wonders if the royal bones still exist inside these ancient coffins, I attest to you they do. I watched a video where they removed a side-panel of the coffin and inside found the skeletal remains (see picture above).
 

Ramon Berenguer II with his trusty falcon. (drawing by Joaquim Pla i Dalmau)

For the third member of the Royal Family in my ancestry, we must return to Barcelona. On the edge of the Gothic Quarter, sandwiched between the old Roman walls and Via Laietana, is the bronze statue of a nobleman riding his horse. The life-sized monument was sculpted by Frederic Marès in 1950, and is a replica of an earlier statue created by Josep Llimona in 1888 for the Barcelona Universal Exposition. The statue is none other than Ramon Berenguer III the Great.
 

Statue of Ramon Berenguer III in Barcelona.

Like his father and grandfather, Ramon Berenguer III was Count of Barcelona. After the death of his father, he co-ruled with his uncle, Berenguer Ramon II until his uncle was forced into exile in 1097.
 
I suppose he was called “the Great” because of the territory he was able to claim for Catalunya. During his life he obtained land as far north as Provence in France from a strategic marriage and military campaigns. In response to threats of Muslim expansion he pushed them back in both Mallorca and Tarragona, the latter of which he captured and rebuilt.
 
During the latter years of his life he abdicated the throne to his son and became a Knights Templar, protecting pilgrims as they traveled to Jerusalem. He is not buried in Barcelona or Girona, but in a monastery in Ripoll, some 67 miles north of Barcelona. I wasn't able to see his grave on this trip, but my wife and I were in Ripoll twenty years ago and had no idea an ancestor was buried there.
 

Ramon Berenguer III posting the banner of Barcelona at the Castle of Fos. (courtesy of Wikipedia)

My Royal Lineage
 
Ramon Berenguer I the Old, Count of Barcelona, begat Ramon Berenguer II the Towhead, who begat Ramon Berenguer III the Great, who begat Alfonso II of Aragon, who begat Peter II the Catholic, King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona. He begat James I the Conqueror, who begat Isabella of Aragon, Queen of France, who begat Philip IV the Fair, King of France, who begat Isabella, who begat Edward III, King of England in 1312.
 
King Edward III begat John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, who begat Henry Beaufort, Bishop of Winchester, who fathered an illegitimate daughter, Jane Beaufort. Jane begat Sir Henry Stradling, who begat Sir Thomas Stradling, who begat Jane Stradling, who begat John Griffith, who begat Eleanor Griffith, who begat Richard Bowen, the first immigrant from this line to come to America. He died in Rehoboth, Massachusetts in 1675.
 
Richard begat Ruth Bowen, who begat Thomas Kendrick, who begat Mehitable Kendrick, who begat Sebelia Jerusha Tucker, who begat Captain John Woodbury, who begat Jeremiah Woodbury, who, with all his family, joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in 1841.
 
Jeremiah begat Orin Nelson Woodbury, who begat Mary Margaret Woodbury, who begat Hyrum Nelson Leany, who begat Mary Erva Leany, who begat Toni Shumway, who begat John Lacy. ♠
 

[Postscript: There is a somber twist to this work. When I came to the end of my research, I learned of a controversy concerning the authenticity of our royal link. Some have argued that the connection between Eleanor Griffith (Bowen) and Richard Bowen is a fabrication created in the late 1800's and have listed the parents of Richard Bowen as “unknown.” If this were true it would throw out the entire notion that we are related to royalty through this line. 

My position on the issue is that it is nearly impossible to pass judgment on a “fraud” that happened 136 years ago, especially when it concerns the veracity of another event which occurred over 345 years ago! The truth is, we may never know for sure until we pass to the other side of the veil.]