Frederic, 12th count of Albarracin

Hugh
Count of Albarracin Baron of Loarre Count of Alto Aragón
Predecessor	Hugh
Successor	James
Born	1217 Albarracin, Kingdom of Aragon
Died	1 September 1280 (aged 63) Loarre, Kingdom of Aragon
Buried	Loarre
Noble family	Cerdanya Vieja
Spouse(s)	Berengaría, countess of Alto Aragón (d. 1260) Guisla d'Empúries
Issue Teresa James Udalard Isabel Guisla
Father	Hugh, 11th count of Albarracin
Mother	Anderquina de Bolea

Frederic de Cerdanya Vieja (1217 - 1 September 1280), twelfth Count of Albarracin, was an Aragonese nobleman, chancellor of Aragon, and noted Cathar heretic. He was forced to resign the county on charges of heresy in 1277.

Life

Born in 1217, Frederic was the eldest son of Hugh, 11th count of Albarracin, and his father's first child after two issueless marriages. Frederic succeeded his father to the county of Albarracin and barony of Loarre in 1232. Circa 1233 he married Berengaría de Cerdanya, countess of Alto Aragón, thus becoming count of Alto Aragón jure uxoris.

Frederic was described by a contemporary chronicler as an extremely handsome man, charitable and patient to his vassals. Later writers remarked that he grew praepinguis, very fat, in his later life. Frederic was a noted falconer in the manner of his great-grandfather, although he did not achieve fame for these pursuits.

Historians studying Frederic have been frustrated by the few documentary traces of his early years. At Christmas 1233 he was mentioned on a court roll as having attended King Berenguer-Ramon at Barcelona Palace. Frederic is known to have attended the coronation of King Arnau II on 1 September 1238. Frederic spent the summer of 1246 with his wife in Alto Aragón.

In 1244, Frederic attempted unsuccessfully to regain the barony of Cerdanya after the disgrace of its previous holder, the traitorous Hugh, duke of Valencia. His dynasty's claim was once again denied, and the king granted the barony to Bernard William, count of Empúries. Despite this disappointment, Frederic seems to have enjoyed a good relationship with Arnau II. He hosted the king at Albarracin Castle during a royal hunt in October 1249. Frederic journeyed to Toledo in March 1256, where he loyally swore the oath to Prince Philip.

King Arnau appointed Frederic as chancellor of Aragon on 28 August 1258. During the autumn of this year, Frederic was engaged on a diplomatic mission to the king of Castile. The king also tasked Frederic with justifying his claim on the county of Osma to the papacy. The count journeyed on another embassy to Castile in 1260. Meanwhile the death of Frederic's wife, Countess Berengaría, on 12 February 1260 deprived him of his jure uxoris title. In 1261, Frederic participated in the negotiations between Arnau II and Doumenge de Melgueil, duke of Beja. He journeyed to Rome for almost five months during 1266, to present documents to Pope Celestine III justifying the king's attack on the House of Trinacria.

Frederic resigned as chancellor circa 1268, for unknown reasons. He may have suffered from an illness around this time that prevented him from attending court. He was no longer serving as chancellor by 30 January 1269, when he had been replaced by Ponç, count of Cuenca. Frederic was appointed as chancellor for the second time on 21 July 1271, after the death of the count of Cuenca. His second tenure lasted less than a year; he was dismissed from office on 11 May 1272 in favor of Maurice, duke of Algarve. After his dismissal, Frederic seems to have retired to his estates.

Heresy

Frederic began to practice the Cathar heresy, a quasi-Gnostic faith that rejected the authority of the Roman Church, during his later years. Near-contemporary writers remarked that Frederic was possessed by a demon that caused him to speak in tongues. According to a fourteenth-century chronicler, Frederic's family was afraid to approach him for fear of being attacked by this demon. Frederic himself claimed that he heard the voice of Jesus Christ speaking to him. Another writer reported that the peasantry regarded the comet of June 1274 as a sign of displeasure with the count. These stories probably reflect the extremely negative attitudes towards Cathars prevalent in Spain in that era.

Frederic openly abjured the Catholic faith in February 1277 and, according to a near-contemporary, denounced the Pope as an "evil serpent". The count sent members of his retinue to expel Dalmau, bishop of Híjar, who threatened to excommunicate him, from his diocese. Arnau II issued orders for Frederic's arrest after hearing of these actions. Frederic peacefully submitted to a heresy trial at Zaragoza in March 1277, having concluded that an armed rebellion would be futile. On 30 March, he was forced to resign the county of Albarracin to his eldest son James.

As a mark of respect for Frederic's loyal service, Arnau II permitted him to retain the barony of Loarre after his heresy trial, against the protests of the Church. Frederic retired to Loarre Castle, where he died on 1 September 1280, and was later buried under the high altar of the chapel.