Treaty of Corbeil (1258)

The end of the Carolingian and Occitan dreams

In the mid-13th century, the core territories of Europe were being reconfigured during the High Middle Ages, and a new Mediterranean vision was being designed that would close this medieval epoch in the coastal countries. This was the case of the Spanish March and Occitania, regions located on both sides of the Pyrenees and which, for political and diplomatic convenience, were claimed by the rulers of the opposite side.

The Spanish March was the preliminary defence of the Carolingian Empire against the Islamic push between the 8th and 10th centuries. As in the Song of Roland. The disaffection of the Barcelona count Borrell II towards the new French Capetian dynasty effectively put an end to it in 987.

The Occitania dreamt of by Peter the Catholic and his predecessors was the Albigensian region of the counts of Toulouse and Provence. That of the troubadours and the "language of Oc". The disaster of the Battle of Muret (1213) put an end to this trans-Pyrenees dream.

The agreement between France and the Crown of Aragon

The Treaty of Corbeil marked the end of this era. In the panorama of medieval international relations and the tension between the kings of Aragon and France, this document, validated with the seal of Saint Louis, played a crucial role. James I held it in high esteem: it allowed him to write to his son-in-law that he was not subject to any empire.

The text led to the French renouncing the counties of Barcelona, Urgel, Besalú, Rosellón, Ampurias, Cerdaña, Conflent, Girona and Osona. With the counterpart of the Aragonese renunciation of the territory of most of the French Languedoc: Fenolleda, Peyrepertuse, Toulouse, Quercy, Narbonne, Albi, Carcassonne and Provence, among others.

It was signed on May 11 at Corbeil, near Paris, by King Louis IX of France and the ambassadors of James I of Aragon. And on July 16, by the Aragonese king himself. The pact also signalled the marriage of Infanta Isabella of Aragon to Prince Philip of France (later Philip III).

The ACA document

The confirmation of the French king, authenticated by the seals of the veguer and the elected bishop of Barcelona, is preserved in the Archive of the Crown of Aragon, in a notarial transfer dated 17 February 1300.

An original is preserved in the National Archives of France.