King Ramiro II 'The Monk' of Aragon and Queen Agnes

[Marengo]

Ramiro II 'The Monk', King of Aragon (Pamplona, 1075 - Huesca, 16 August 1157); married in Jaca on 13 November 1135 Duchess Agnes of Aquitaine (1110 - Fontevraud, 1159)

Reign Aragon: 1134 - 1137

Reign Navarre: 1134 - 1134

Dynasty: Jiménez

Predecessor: King Alfonso I of Aragon

Successor Aragon: Queen Petronila I of Aragon

Successor Navarre: King Garcia VI Ramirez of Navarre

Daughter: Queen Petronila I of Aragon

Parents Ramiro: King Sancho I of Aragon and Navarre and Felicia de Roucy, Countess of Montdidier

Parents Agnes: Duke Guillaume IX of Aquitaine and Countess Philipa of Toulouse

Siblings Ramiro: Prince Fernando and King Alfonso I of Aragon and Navarre

Half Brother Ramiro: King Pedro I of Aragon and Navarre

Siblings Agnes: Guillaume X de Poitiers, Duke of Aquitaine; Henri, prior of Cluny and Raymond de Poitiers, Prince of Antioch

 

[Marengo]

Ramiro II of Aragon 'the Monk' (c. 1075-August 16, 1157, at Huesca/Uesca), son of Sancho Ramírez, King of Aragón and Navarre and Felicie of Roucy, was king of Aragon from 1134 until 1137.
He spent most of his early life as monk in a French monastery and later as abbot of St. Peter at Huesca. In 1134, when his brother Alfonso the Battler died heirless, Ramiro was bishop of Barbastro-Roda. He temporarily gave up his monastic vows in order to secure the succession to the crown. Although Ramiro had to put up with the loss of Navarre, which had formed part of his late brother's dominions but in 1134 became independent under García Ramírez he fought off two other claimants to the throne, one Pedro de Atarés, an illegitimate connection of the royal line, and the other, Alfonso VII, king of Castile.
The reign of Ramiro the Monk, as he is known, was a turmoil and although he never renounced to his legitimate Royal Rights (until his death in Huesca, 16-VIII-1157) he relied his Royal Authority quite soon to his son in law Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona. Ramiro was not a war king and he was aware of it. At the beginning of this reign he had a lot of problems with his nobles who though he was going to be a docile man and they discovered he was a piece of ice. However, in that short time he managed to put down the rebellion of his nobles. In order to produce an heir, he married Agnes, daughter of Duke William IX of Aquitaine. Once wed, his wife bore a daughter, Petronila, who was betrothed to Ramon Berenguer IV at age two.
This way Ramiro was sure to have a great commanding general for his (the Aragonesse) armies. The conditions for this marriage were arranged and signed in the city of Barbastro the August 11 of 1137. Ramon Berenger IV had to accepted Ramiro as his "King, Lord and Father", he had to renounce his family name in favour of the House of Aragon and the Count of Barcelona united to the Kingdom. The "Corona de Aragon" was initially formed. The name Confederacion Catalanoaragonesa was not recorded until XIX siecle. This denomination comes from the renaixença, and was stablished in books as the "monografía de Antonio de Bofarull y Broca" and "La confederación catalano-aragonesa" (Barcelona, Luis Tasso, 1872)).

Read the entire wikipedia article here.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

King Ramiro II by Spanish painter Antonio Maria Esquivel
http://www.gettyimages.com/license/535823453

 

[Blog Real]

Biography of King Ramiro II of Aragon.
Ramiro II de Aragón | Real Academia de la Historia

Inés de Poitiers. Poitou (France), c. 1105 - Fontevrault Abbey, Anjou (France) ?, 1159. Queen of Aragon, wife of Ramiro II.
Inés de Poitiers (II) | Real Academia de la Historia

 

[CyrilVladisla]

Would King Ramiro II's son-in-law Ramon Berenguer IV have the title of King of Aragon?

 

[Toledo]

King Ramiro II and thirteen enemy heads he used as bells


This YouTube documentary video out Nov 12 2025 and discusses the painting The Bell of Huesca (1880) by José Casado del Alisal and how king Ramiro went full DIY on the art of bell ringing. Somehow as I watch the description of this royal massacre I have the song Ring My Bell suddenly in my head. Go figure!

In case it needs to be seen in the YouTube channel here's the link:

About the painting
Details (courtesy of Google)

Title: The Bell of Huesca
Creator: José Casado del Alisal
Date: 1880
Physical Dimensions: 256,5 x 194,5 x 6 cm
Type: Painting
Rights: Gobierno de Aragón
External Link: CERES MCU
Medium: Oil on canvas
Photograph: Fernando Alvira Lizano
Cultural Context: Contemporary history / History Painting

The English Wiki entries Bell of Huesca - Wikipedia have less information here than the one below, which is the Spanish language version.

I suggest use the link below, and if it loads in Spanish right click and have your browser translate it to English. It has more details than the Wiki entry default English page

Campana de Huesca - Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre

es.wikipedia.org

 

[Blog Real]

Agnes of Aquitaine (1105– c. 1159) was Queen of Aragon during her brief marriage to King Ramiro II, a former monk. The couple separated after the birth of their only child, Queen Petronilla, and retired to monasteries. Agnes chose the Abbey of Fontevraud, from where she continued to take part in the affairs of her sons from her first marriage to Viscount Aimery V of Thouars.
More information:

Agnes of Aquitaine, wife of Ramiro II of Aragon - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[An Ard Ri]

Agnes/Ines from a manuscript c1530-1534