County of Barcelona - Autonomy and Unification

Autonomy and Unification

Nevertheless, the ties of the Catalan counties to the Frankish monarchy were weakened. Autonomy was strengthened when the county families began to affirm their inheritance rights. This move was accompanied by a unification process among counties to form larger political entities. Count Wilfred el Velloso, son of Sunifred and the last count appointed by the Frankish monarchy, oversaw this movement. He united a number of counties under his command and passed them on as an inheritance to his children. Wilfred later died at the hands of Muslims. Although he divided his counties among his children, the core formed by the counties of Barcelona, Gerona and Osona remained undivided (although some historians, such as Ramon Martí, question whether Gerona was kept initially under the domain of the children of Wilfred, and suggests that the County of Empúries dominated the county until the year of 908).