House of Moncada
The house Montcada ( Montcada de casal Catalan, Spanish casa de Moncada, Italian famiglia di Moncada, French maison de Moncade ) is a Catalan noble family origin, which has been present since the 11th century to the present day, especially in Italy by descendants. The eponymous ancestral castle of Montcada was the present town of Montcada i Reixac.
History
The first Headquartered at Castle Montcada family is detectable in the 11th century. She stood near the Count House of Barcelona, but died in the first half of the 12th century from the male line. Through the marriage of the last heiress Beatriu with Guillem Ramon II " Dapífer " († 1173 ) Montcada passed into the possession of, after which he henceforth named and thus his descendants gave himself a name. Guillem Ramon II had inherited from his father of the same name the title of the Count's seneschal, the more the character of a Ehrentitulierung held, which reported its owner in an exposed position in the prestige and the favor of the Count of Barcelona. In fact, already was Guillem Ramon II, also called " El Gran Senecal ", an important historical figure of his time, which contributed significantly to the manager of the Catalan county of Barcelona with the Kingdom of Aragon. He founded the position of the house Montcada as one of the first families of Catalonia.
Among the sons of the great seneschal, the family Montcada was divided into two main lines, one of which by succession came the elderly in the possession of the Gascon viscounty Béarn. She died from the beginning of the 14th century. The second line was built by the accumulation of a large number of estates which significantly by the marriage of Ramon Guillem III. de Montcada with a king's daughter came into the family, one of the largest baronies of Catalonia around the main Aitona ( Comarca de Segrià ). The branch of Aitona lasted until the mid 18th century, continued in a direct line. From it several other family branches split off, some of which summarized in the kingdoms of the two Sicily's foot. This are descendants of the family to this day present in Italy ( Principe di Paternò, Principe di Monforte ).
With Elisenda de Montcada (* 1290, † 1364 ), the fourth wife of King James II, who presented the Montcadas also a queen of Aragon.