Talesa of Aragon

Who is Talesa of Aragon?

Talesa, Talèse, Talèze, or Ataresa was an Aragonese noblewoman and relative of the royal Jiménez dynasty. She was the daughter of Sancho Ramírez, Count of Ribagorza, natural brother of King Sancho Ramírez of Aragon and Navarre. She married Gaston IV of Béarn and acted as regent of the viscounty of Béarn during his absences on Crusade and after his death for their son.

She was married towards 1085 in a move by Gaston's father Centule V of Béarn to expand his influence across the Pyrenees by allying himself with the ruling house of Aragon and Navarre. She brought as a dowry the viscounty of Montaner, a small country in the neighbourhood of Bigorre.

Between 1096 and 1101, while Gaston participated in the First Crusade, Talesa governed Béarn with the help of a baronial council. This scenario was repeated several times more during her husband's frequent military ventures in Aragon. Like many of her day, she found her way into historical records primarily through the foundation and endowment of religious establishments.

On the death of Gaston in 1131, Talesa took up the regency for her young son Centule VI. Centule died in the Battle of Fraga in 1134 and the viscounty passed to the son, Peter II, of Guiscarda, Talesa and Gaston's eldest daughter. Peter II being a mere boy, Talesa continued in the regency for him.