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3.1. The Route
of the Frontier
The frontier between
the feudal and Islamic worlds in our lands evolved over a period of more than three-hundred
years, from an initially broad but scarcely populated space with diffuse political
connections towards a network of castles that, eventually, faced each other along
a narrow strip of territory. The difference between the two systems consists in the
fact that, while the feudal barons sought to control the whole of their territory
from the castles, the Muslims concentrated their efforts on the zones with the highest
agricultural and livestock productivity.
The architectonic
models employed in the fortification of one and the other side of the frontier differ
as much as the defensive approaches that ruled over each of the societies confronting
each other across it. While on the Andalusian side a community and statal conception
predominated, on the feudal side we witness the privatisation of space, its fragmentation,
and consequently, the disproportionate multiplication of frequently small and medium
sized fortifications.
If the frontier is a space for war, it is also a space for exchange and mutual influence.
In areas near the limits with Islam monasteries would appear where Arab treatises
on science and philosophy were translated into Latin, which from here would spread
to the whole of Europe. At the same time, in some of the treasures of the churches
and monasteries of the zone, luxurious objects of Islamic origin are preserved, a
reflection of the positive value given to artistic and prestigious objects, beyond
political or cultural divisions.
The arrival of the Arabs in this territory, around the year 714, but especially the
conquest and sacking of Barcelona in 985 by al-Mansûr, and the conquest of
the Andalusian city of Balaguer, between 1095 and 1101, by the count of Urgell, Ermengol
V, mark the chronological beginning and end of this itinerary and represent, respectively,
the moment of maximum splendour of Andalusian power and the beginning of the end
of the Muslim domination of our lands.
| The monuments
to visit are the following: |
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1. Barcelona
a. MNAC :
- capitals from Madinat
al-Zahra
- paintings from the
Aguilar palace (conquest of Majorca)
- beams from the palace
of the Marquis of Llió
- beam from the palace
in Carrer dels Lledó
b. Textile and Clothing Museum (palace
of the Marquis of Llió):
- Suit of Sant Valer
- moulding from the
palace (rooms 9 and 14 of the museum)
c. Picasso Museum (Aguilar or Caldes Palace):
- moulding in room
4 of the museum
 
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2. Terrassa
a. Documentation Centre and Textile
Museum
b. Monumental
site of the churches of Sant Pere and castle of Vallparadís
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3. Vic
a. Episcopal Museum
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4. Ripoll
a. Monastery of Santa Maria de Ripoll
b. Lambert
Mata Library
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5. Castellfollit
de Riubregós
a. Castle
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6. Ponts
a. Castle
b. Collegiate church of Sant Pere
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7. Isona
a. Castle - Palace of Llordà
Complementary option: Castle of Mur (La Guardia de Tremp)
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8. Àger
a. Andalusian Castle
b. Palace and collegiate church of Sant Pere
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9. Os
de Balaguer
a. Monastery of Bellpuig de les Avellanes
b. Castle
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10. Balaguer
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