The genealogy of the Perillos family Part 2: The unquestionable genealogy

 

The sons of Ramon I: Ramon II and François I

In the 14th century, Ramon de Perillos was described as the “lord of the poor wretched village of Perillos”. But at the end of that century, the lords are found in the highest ranks of the Aragonese nobility. How the family climbed the nobility scale so quickly remains an enigma, though their position as a family in control of border territories should not be underestimated.
The story begins with “Ramon I of Perillos”. Some sources state he “was deceased in 1352, born in 1300”. He had at least two sons: Ramon II and Francois. The first mention of Ramon II, who died in September 1384, is found about 1349. From 1351 to 1353, he was identified as the chief magistrate of Conflent. He is also the “royal head of the queue” and “carrier of the arm” of King Peter III of Catalonia-Aragon. For his competences, he was sent to England and Avignon, as diplomat working for the king, who had total confidence in him. Later, he was sent to Pisa (Italy), to gather funds to maintain the soldiers of Viscount Bernat de Cabrera (1354).

He married Isabelle de Ro(u)venac, but it was a marriage without children. His wife was nevertheless an important person: she was the heir to half of Joch, which she received from her father, Roger, and owner of the other half, which she bought, with Finestret and Sahorre, from André de Fenouillet, Viscount of Ille-sur-Têt (1357). The king had sold him the required jurisdiction over those territories (1356). Her sister-in-law, Esclarmonde de Rouvenac, heiress of Isabelle (deceased ca. 1378), yielded all her rights to her (1383).
Ramon thus found himself lord of the castle of Rodès (1359), in perpetuity (1370) and was a procurator at the time of the alliance between the count de Foix (1365) and the governor of Roussillon (1376). Ramon is without heir. Ca. 1378, he remarries with Constance of Manresa, who was older than Ramon, born ca. 1345. This marriage produces three girls: Eléonore, Constance and Béatrix, which means that at the death of Ramon II, the title returns to his brother François.

Constance of Perillos, born ca. 1380, married in 1401 with Bernard-Berenger de Peyrepertuse, Usher of Weapons to the king. Béatrix de Perillos, born ca. 1381, died after 1438 and married in 1398 with Hugues de Carmaing, born ca. 1360 and deceased ca. 1437 (at the age of perhaps 77 years), Seneschal of Toulouse. Eléonore de Perillos, born ca. 1385, died in 1456 (at the age of perhaps 71 years) and married in 1404 with Michel de Perillos. With her sister Constance, Eléonore was under the supervision of their mother and their cousins Raymond de Perillos and Ferrer de Marimon I de Manresa (1390).

Le château de Rodès

The king pays for the rent of the castle of Rodès and sells them in perpetuity the property of Llo. When their cousins wish to go to Sardinia with the king, the monarch names another cousin, Pons de Perillos, as their tutor. According to the will and the testament of their father, Eléonore was promised to Michel de Perillos who married her in 1404, becoming his widow in 1407. Later, she married Bérenger de Vilaragut, who died in 1449.

Her sister Constance married Bernat Bérenger de Perapertusa (1401), and their children were claimants to the possessions of Eléonore, who did not have children. King Alfonso decided that when Eléonore died, the queen would inherit her possessions. However, these were claimed by François de Perillos y Rocaberti, the fourth Viscount of Rueda, following a donation made to his grandfather Raymond de Perillos, and with the territories that were granted to him in 1452. The concession came into effect at the time of the death of Eléonore. Nevertheless, a few years later, the territory was acquired by the family of Peyrepertuse.

François I

The heir was his younger brother, François - or Francisco for the Spaniards -, who is regarded as the true “founder” of the family. He was born between 1300 and 1305, deceased before April 1370.
The life of Francois is notorious, as, from a mere “bailiff and chatelaine of Salses and Tautavel”, he is elevated to the rank of “ricos hombres” – the rich men – in 1358, in other words the highest nobility. On March 30, 1366, he receives the towns of Roda and Epila. He thus becomes “Viscount of Roda” and it is ca. 1360 that the family’s fortune begins to accumulate.
François is a captain, politician and diplomat, in the service of Pedro (Peter) IV el Ceremonioso (Balaguer, Cataluña, 1319 - Barcelona, 1387) in Majorca, Valencia, Castilla and England. He works as ambassador of the Aragonese king, where he was, as soon as 1354, known as majordomo of the royal household. He is in France for the marriage of Louis of Anjou with Lady Juana, the daughter of Pedro IV. After his title of “Viscount of Roda”, in 1366, he is named Admiral of France by Charles V of France. He has this function until July 3, 1368.

Pedro IV

François married Constance de Fenouillet. At that time, it was perfectly normal not to give the total list of the children. The genealogy is often more interested in boys than girls, and more with the heirs than with those who would not receive a thing. In the official version, one reads this list of children:

1. Brunisen (Brunissende) Perellos, who married to Aymarich de Centelles
2. Ramon Perellos (III), who would succeed him
3. Francisco Perellos (II), who would succeed him
4. Ponce Perellos, who served the queen of Aragon, Yolande/Violante, and married to Marie de France, chamber lady of that queen.

Another version, which we call the “French version”, gives the following list of the children, stating “amongst others”:

1. Michel, archbishop of Embrun (- 1427)
2. Ramon (-1408)
3. Pons (- 1416)
4. Yolande

We should note that both versions agree on the fact that the second son, Ramon, is the heir, though the reasons that are given why the eldest son does not inherit seem to differ. We further note that it is at this time that the blazon of the family is recorded: gold, with three naturally shaped pears (Armorial de Gelre, folio 63r), though sometimes there are six pairs, drawn as 3, 2 and 1 – the latter will later become less used.

The Life of Michel and Pons

The “French version” notes the presence of Michel and Pons, who, obviously, existed. In 1370, Michel was bishop of Majorca. He was named archbishop of Embrun (1378) by the Avignon pope Clement XII, probably thanks to the influence of his father who, at that time, resided at the Royal Court of France in Paris. But it is noted that Michel was also close to Pedro de Luna, the future pope Benedict XIII. He accepted his title in the marvellous cave of Gaëta, in the kingdom of Naples. Michel became archbishop of Embrun at the time when his predecessor “Pierre de Sarracenas” received the red hat of cardinal from the hands of Pedro de Luna. However, “Pierre de Sarcenas” (or, in this case “Sarracenas”) was none other than Pierre Amiel, but “of Embrun”, and not to be confused with Pierre Amiel “of Brenac”.
He supported, in the papal debates, Pope Benedict XIII, who, at his request, sent him Vincent Ferrer (1401) to preach in the archdiocese. In this pastoral action, he was helped by his sexton vicar-General Jaume Albert, a former priest of Perpignan. In 1415, he paid homage to emperor Sigismond in Perpignan via his brother Raymond, the second Viscount of Rodès, who preached the sermon in his absence and in the name of the archbishop, of the chapter and the clergy of Embrun. He was the protector of the Order of Citeaux and died on May 1, 1427, in Embrun.

Pope Benedict XIII

As for Pons, he is quoted in 1378 in a family division for the stronghold of Montner. He inherited from Arnaud de Puigdorfila a part of Majorca. After 1391, he spent several years in France as administrator of John I of Aragon. He acquired, from the queen, in 1381 control of the fishing industry in Perpignan, which, undoubtedly, would improve the money belt of the family.
As already recorded, he was the tutor of the girls of his uncle Ramon de Perillos (1393), and the king gave him the jurisdiction north of Glorianes, Rigardà, etc. As chamberlain of Queen Violante, he was in charge of her interests in Daroca and Calatayud (1398). She sold him the territories of Llauró and Tresserra, as well as the jurisdiction of Nidoleres, Vilamulaca (1399), etc. He was an ambassador at the papal Court (1399) and that of Burgundy (1409). During the interregnum, he was sent to Ferdinand I of Castille for issues related to the succession of the throne, and at his request the Castilian troops withdrew from Catalonia (1411). Ferdinand sent him to the count of Urgell, and he was one of the procurators who arranged the oath of fidelity of the count to the new king (1412). He married Maria van Steenhoont, lady of company of Violante de Bar, arriving at the court in her company.
They had three children: Michel, Pons and Jeanne, who would have a relationship with Louis II of Châlon-Auxerre (1380-1423), count de Tonnerre (1398-1410) and Lord of Rochefort (1398-1424). Although he was married to Marie of Trémoille, his relationship with Jeanne would result in a son, Jean de Châlon, also known as “the bastard”, who would marry Jeanne L’Orfèvre.

Ramon III

The heir to François I was Ramon III, who inherited the title of Viscount de Roda. He was born about 1325, died in 1408, although certain sources, less “certain”, place it “before 1419”. In his life, he was advisor and chamberlain of John I of Aragon, but is better known for his voyage to St Patrick’s Purgatory. On his return, he became page of the French king Charles, because of the alliance of his father François with this king.

St Patrick's Purgatory

Before, in 1387, following orders from Juan (John) I, he brought Pedro de Luna from Rome to Avignon by boat. It was in 1391 that the king of Aragon created the “Viscount of Perillos”, joining together the grounds of Perillos, Millas, Céret, Montner, Réglella and others, with the result that Ramon became the “Viscount of Roda and of Perellos”: he is thus the first Viscount of Perillos and the second of Rueda (Rodès-Roda).
He was also the Lord of Millas, Néfiach, Saint Marsal, Saint Martin of Ribera, Céret and Argelès, as well as diplomat and author. Henri de Transtamare gave him the town of Igualada. He formed part of the league of nobles against the Viscounts of Cardona and Castellbò and was sent as ambassador to England, to negotiate the alliance with the duke of Lancaster. Returning via Santiago in Galicia, he was taken prisoner in the kingdom of Granada, but his ransom was paid by Peter III of Catalonia-Aragon (1374). He also served as captain of the offices of the king de Cyprus (1377-78) and, as administrator, chamberlain and adviser of Prince John, bought Voló, Thuir and Montesquieu for his young Master in 1381.

Alfonso V of Aragon

John of Aragon sent him to the papal courts of Avignon and France, but also to the dukes of Bar, to arrange the dowry of the future Queen Violante (1382-87). He was named lord of Céret, and the king gave him the jurisdiction to find his debtors in Millars, Saint-Marcel, Perillos, etc. (1387). He bought the castle of Estagel of Bernard de Senesterra in 1390. He was made brigadier of Roussillon, for life (1389), and captain of three armed offices by Pope Benedict XIII (1390). The same year, he was one of the tutors of his cousin Eléonore de Perillos. He acquired the castle of Rodès and the village of Llo (1393), and, in 1396, was sent to finalise a treaty between the count of Armagnac and the king of France, in the hope to avoid an invasion.
He participated in the arrangement of the marriage of Jean de Lusignan, son of the King of Cyprus, with Isabel, sister of John I of Aragon and marries with Elvira, the second daughter of the Viscount of Rocaberti; they had two sons, even though some versions speak – erroneously - about only one child, Ramon. In truth, there are two: Ramon, his successor, and Louis.

Ramon IV

Ramon IV was the third Viscount of Rueda, and the second of Perillos. He died about 1442 and was also known under the name of Raymond de Canet. A funeral monument “was set up in his honour, out of white marble, in the church Saint François of Perpignan”. This monument showed Ramon de Perellos “in the costume of war, covered with his armour and with the symbolic dog at his feet”, as is noted by abbé Capeille. Unfortunately, this monument disappeared at the time of the Revolution. He advised the Infant Alfonso V, king of Aragon and Naples. In 1415, he accompanied him to Sicily. As lord of Algerri, he had an enmity with Jean de Luna (1417). He married Clara de Sagarriga in 1419 and was governor for life of the counties of Roussillon and Cerdagne, from 1421 onwards, after the resignation of his father-in-law, Raymond de Cagarriga, of this office.

The Church of St Francis in Perpignan

Like the other lords, Ramon was normally found elsewhere than Perillos - a place which they have apparently left already since several decades. He participated in the first campaign against Naples, where he helped and released John II, by forcing the withdrawal of the Angevin fleet. The king granted him Castelnou and he was made Lieutenant-General of Calabria. Sforza captured him and he was released at the time of an exchange of prisoners. The king then yields all the rights to him of the Vicomté of Ille-sur-Têt and of Canet, after the death of Pierre de Fenouillet in 1423, but this donation was withdrawn later. He had also the right to repurchase the Vicomté of Àger (1421). In 1427, he bought the grounds of Claira, Saint-Laurent de la Salanque, of Eus, etc... as well as the grounds of Thuir pertaining to the king (1429). However, the inhabitants of Thuir protest, forcing him to give up his rights. He was made General Captain of the navy (1428) and serves the Infant Peter in Naples and on the African coast. Then, he accompanied King Alfonso, while taking part in the negotiations for the truce with Castille and Navarre (1430). In compensation for the viscouncy of Ager in Catalonia (1431), he received incomes from Voló, Corsavy and Montbolo. The Spanish genealogy informs us that he also received for his services the barony of “Sesa y Taravel” in the Kingdom of Valencia; the French genealogy names them Ceta and Taravell.

One finds him in Tunis, the head of the armed offices in 1432, and in 1433, he is sent by the king to the emperor. He then retires to Sicily, leaving the lieutenancy of Roussillon to his brother Louis. He was member of the royal Council of Gaeta (1436), then became viceroy of Sicily, and acquired Castellammare di Stabia in 1441.

During a certain time, he was in litigation with his mother-in-law, Violante de Luna, who claimed the grounds of Céret by right of dowry (1430-33). He also had a legal conflict with Constance of Perillos, the widow of Peyrepertuse, the lawsuit of which finished in Millars in 1432. Ramon died between 1441 and 1444 (some sources indicate 1442), without heirs, in Córcega.

The succession

With the death of Ramon IV without heirs, the family had to find an heir. A “popular” version, if not populist, states that the goods were divided into three equal shares, for the benefit of each of the second son of each of his three married sisters. Such a manoeuvre does not correspond to the truth. Unfortunately, the genealogists omitted to consult historical files, which inform us how the “official” version continues with the line of “François II de Fenouillet”.

“François I de Fenouillet” is the junior son of Louis de Perillos and the uncle of Ramon, who died without male descent. The title “of Fenouillet” was taken (without a doubt because of the marriage of Constance of Fenouillet with Ramon de Perillos) and in fact, “François I de Fenouillet” is “de Perillos”. Louis was a lieutenant of his brother Ramon. His second wife was Simonette of Poitiers, who had acquired the grounds of Glorianes and Rigardà of Jeanne de Perillos, the Countess of Tonnerre.

Thus, the nephew of Ramon, François II de Fenouillet, becomes the new count de Perillos. In the biography of Ramon IV, one finds letters of Alfonso V, dated February 23, 1428, that confirm the repurchase by Ramon IV of the grounds and right of the land – the “feu” – from Pierre de Fenouillet, deceased in 1423 and who had left his grounds to his niece, queen Marguerite, widow of Martin d’ Aragon. As Ramon IV did not have heirs, the grounds and titles thus passed to François II de Fenouillet.

After the death of Ramon, the Fenouillet/Perillos let “slip” the village. François de Fenouillet had enormous debts, which are undoubtedly at the origin of the sale of Perillos. When the transaction took place, May 6, 1441, one can suspect that shortly before Ramon IV must have died (abbé Capeille says of his death: “about 1442”), but the sale in 1441 can also be in connection with the acquisition of Castellammare di Stabia by Raymond IV. That day, François de Fenouillet gives the castle, the tower and the village of Perillos to his cousin, Jaspert de Tregura. Forty years afterwards, Perillos will again be sold. On November 6, 1482, Jaspert de Tregura (inhabitant of Ille-sur-Têt and apparently the son of Jaspert who bought Perillos) sells Perillos to Guillaume de Gleu (Gléon). The price is 70 “pounds”.
At that time, the grounds of Perillos pass in the family of Durban-Gléon, who take the title of “Viscounts of Perillos” for the French nobility. It is Doctor Paul Courent who wrote, after his retirement from Rennes-les-Bains, the genealogy of the Durban-Gléon family. He names, in the “16th grade” of this family, Guillaume III, “Senior Knight of Gléon, Treilles, Durban and Jonquières, Lt. of the Seneschal of Carcassonne”. One notes that he is sent as embassy in 1451 by Marie of Anjou, queen of France, towards the queen of Aragon, for the restitution of these grounds. It is him who will receive the grounds of Perillos. He makes his will on January 7, 1490. It is known that his widow still lived on February 7, 1503.

He married Yolande de Ribes, daughter of François de Ribes, and have Edouard de Gléon as child. He was rider, lord of Gléon, and husband of Francoise de Rocaberti, daughter of Rocaberti, lord of the castle of St Maurice. Neither his father, nor his son Edouard uses the title of “Viscount of Perillos”. One will have to wait until the 21st “grade” with Olivier VIII, who will use the titles of Lord of Durban-Gléon, Viscount of Périlllos; this one had in his property the domain of la Belle Auriole and the justice of Opoul. In Spain, the title of Perillos continue to exist in the family La Nuca/La Nuza, but the grounds of their forefathers no longer belong to this branch of the family.

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