Peter II of Aragon
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Peter II of Aragon (1174 - September 12 1213), surnamed the Catholic, was the king of Aragon (as Pedro II) and count of Barcelona (as Pere I) from 1196 to 1213.
He was the son of Alfonso II of Aragon and Sancha of Castile. In 1205 he acknowledged the feudal supremacy of the Papacy and was crowned in Rome by Pope Innocent III, swearing to defend the Catholic faith (hence his surname, "the Catholic"). He was the first king of Aragon to be crowned by the Pope.
On June 15, 1204 he married (as her third husband) Marie of Montpellier, daughter and heiress of William VIII of Montpellier. She gave him a son, James, but Peter soon discarded her. Marie was popularly venerated as a saint for her piety and marital suffering, but was never canonized; she died in Rome in 1213.
He led the Christian forces to defeat the Moors at the Battle of Las Navas de Tolosa in 1212.
Peter returned from Las Navas in autumn 1212 to find that Simon de Montfort had conquered Toulouse, exiling Count Raymond VI of Toulouse, who was Peter's brother-in-law and vassal. Peter crossed the Pyrenees and arrived at Muret in September 1213 to confront Montfort's army. He was accompanied by Raymond of Toulouse, who tried to persuade Peter to avoid battle and instead starve out Montfort's forces. This suggestion was rejected as cowardly and unknightly.
The Battle of Muret began on September 12, 1213. The Aragonese forces were disorganized and disintegrated under the assault of Montfort's squadrons. Peter himself was caught in the thick of fighting, and being clad in ordinary armor, was mistaken for a common knight. He was thrown to the ground and killed. The Aragonese forces broke in panic when their king was slain and the crusaders of Montfort won the day.
Upon Peter's death the kingdom passed to his only son by Marie of Montpellier, the future James the Conqueror.
Sources
- Sumption, Jonathan. The Albigensian Crusade, 2000
| Preceded by: Alfonso | King of Aragon | Succeeded by: James I |
| Count of Barcelona |