Ramiro II the Monk, King of Aragon

Ramiro II 'the Monk' (c.1086-1157), King of Aragon, was a Benedictine of forty years' standing; bishop-elect, indeed; hauled from the cloister in 1134 when his warrior brother died childless before Moorish Fraga. He did precisely what the kingdom needed and nothing more: married, fathered the heiress Petronilla, betrothed her in her cradle to the Count of Barcelona; creating the Crown of Aragon; and went back to his monastery, keeping the royal title while others governed. The grim legend of the Bell of Huesca clings to his name. Our descent runs through Petronilla.