Province: Urgel

Owners Title: Conde

% of Worldwide          0.4%                    Starting Population     120                     

Population                                                                                      

% of Worldwide          0.4%                    Starting Income         2,508                   

Income                                                                                          

% of Worldwide GDP      0.1%                    Starting GDP            7,397                   

% of Worldwide          0.7%                    Starting Surplus        228
                     

Surplus                                                                                         

Language: H1

Kingdom: Catalonia

Starting Owner: de Urgel (108)

Starting Overlord :de Urgel (108)

Regional Location: South of Bourdeaux

Comments: Urgel is a large county on the southern slope of the Pyrennes. A small place in Roman times, it became more important under Visigothic rule, St. Justo becoming the first Bishop in 524. One of several Christian bastions which held out against the Islamic invasion of the 7th century, Urgel, initially under a line of Prince-Bishops of Seo de Urgel, came under Aragonese and Catalan influence after the collapse of the Carolingian Empire.

The area was created a county in 1040, but disputes between the counts and the Prince-Bishops plagued it for over two centuries, until resolved by the King of Aragon in favor of the former. Despite this, the Prince-Bishop has considerable influence, and is largely autonomous of his ecclesiastical overlord, the Archbishop of Tarragona. There is some commerce, due to the proximity of the Pyrennean pass through Andorra, and the county is moderate fertile. Note that the county, albeit possessed of Don Jaime of Urgel , could readily be claimed by His Grace Don Pedro IV Berenguer (197), the King of Aragon and Catalonia.