{"id":65497,"date":"2016-04-06T10:47:48","date_gmt":"2016-04-06T08:47:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/?p=65497"},"modified":"2017-05-15T13:36:03","modified_gmt":"2017-05-15T11:36:03","slug":"wilfred-the-hairy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wilfred-the-hairy\/","title":{"rendered":"History and Legends of Barcelona:\u00a0Wilfred the Hairy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s1\">Catalonia has a number of folk <strong>tales and legends<\/strong> that are passed down from one generation to another, finding a home in the heart of every <strong>Catalonian<\/strong>. The stories can be heard in every celebration and even seen on buildings. <\/span><span class=\"s1\">Today you will learn about one story in particular: the story of <strong>Wilfred the Hairy<\/strong>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_17 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-grey\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class=\"ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1\"><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wilfred-the-hairy\/#History\" title=\"History\">History<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wilfred-the-hairy\/#Legends\" title=\"Legends\u00a0\">Legends\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wilfred-the-hairy\/#What_he_represents\" title=\"What he represents\u00a0\">What he represents\u00a0<\/a><\/li><li class=\"ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2\"><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wilfred-the-hairy\/#Other_significant_myths_and_legends_of_Catalonia\" title=\"Other significant myths and legends of Catalonia\">Other significant myths and legends of Catalonia<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"History\"><\/span><span class=\"s1\">History<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_65499\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-65499\" class=\"wp-image-65499 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Wilfred-the-Hairy-SHBarcelona3-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"Photo credit: kristobalite via Visualhunt.com \/ CC BY-NC-ND\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-65499\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by kristobalite via Visualhunt<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s1\">Let&#8217;s begin with learning about the man behind the armor. <strong>Wilfred the Hairy<\/strong> (<em>Guifr\u00e9 el Pil\u00f3s<\/em>) was born in 878 in Roussillon, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/jean-nouvel-barcelona\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">France<\/a>. He is considered to be a member of a family tree of elite historians. He is believed to be the son of Wilfred of Arriaount. His father was murdered by <\/span><span class=\"s2\">Salom\u00f3n<\/span><span class=\"s1\">. After his father&#8217;s death, <strong>Wilfred<\/strong> took it upon himself to avenge his father.\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"s1\">He accomplished the goal and many more victories followed. <\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s1\">Eventually, he accepted a position as Count of Barcelona in 878. A title that was given to him by Charles the Bald and his son Louis the Stammerer. As Count, he united many Catalonian counties including Urgel, Credenza, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/trip-girona\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Gerona<\/a>,<\/span><span class=\"s3\"> Ausona <strong>Barcelona<\/strong><\/span><span class=\"s1\">, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/besalu\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Besal\u00fa<\/a>. He also built several churches such as <strong>Santa Maria de Ripoll<\/strong>, where he is buried today, and <strong>Sant Joan de Les Abadesses<\/strong>, which was built for his daughter. The city prospered and many years of peace followed.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s1\">In 897, the Saracens, led <\/span><span class=\"s4\">by Lubb ibn M<\/span><span class=\"s1\">uhammad, invaded Barcelona. <strong>Wilfred the Hairy<\/strong> died in battle on the 11th of August 897.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Related article:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/placa-ramon-berenguer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Pla\u00e7a Ramon Berenguer<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Legends\"><\/span><span class=\"s1\">Legends\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_65500\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Wilfred-the-Hairy-SHBarcelona-3.jpg\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-65500\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-65500\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-65500\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/03\/Wilfred-the-Hairy-SHBarcelona-3-300x227.jpg\" alt=\"Photo credit: SantiMB.Photos via Visualhunt \/ CC BY-NC-ND\" width=\"300\" height=\"227\" \/><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-65500\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by SantiMB.Photos via Visualhunt<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s1\">Several legends of <strong>Count Wilfred the Hairy<\/strong>\u2019s bravery formed. This first one was that after <strong>Count Wilfred<\/strong> defeated the Normans, the king rewarded the war hero with a gold shield. The king decorated the shield by wetting his fingers in <strong>Wilfred\u2019s<\/strong> blood and tracing four vertical lines on the gold shield. It is said that this represents the <strong>Catalan flag<\/strong>, which is yellow and has four vertical red lines.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s1\">Another story is similar to the legend of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/palau-sant-jordi\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Saint Jordi<\/a>. It is said that <strong>Wilfred the Hairy<\/strong> confronted a giant\u00a0fire-breathing\u00a0bloodthirsty beast that had been terrorizing a nearby town. He fought it with a tree trunk, shield and sword in hand. <strong>Wilfred<\/strong> ultimately slayed the <strong>dragon<\/strong> and carried the beast back to Barcelona to prove he had defeated it.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_he_represents\"><\/span><span class=\"s1\">What he represents\u00a0<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"s1\"><strong>Wilfred the Hairy\u2019s legend<\/strong>\u00a0represents the bravery of a <strong>true hero<\/strong> when facing the beasts like the Normans, or the Moors. He represents the affinity of the <strong>Catalonian culture<\/strong>. The building of tradition and a time of peace. He symbolizes a true hero in <strong>Catalonian history<\/strong>.<\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Related article:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/jewish\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jewish History in Barcelona<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<h2 class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Other_significant_myths_and_legends_of_Catalonia\"><\/span>Other significant myths and legends of Catalonia<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Sant Jordi<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_87244\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-87244\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-87244\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/F\u00e8lix-Gonz\u00e1lez-via-VisualHunt-300x231.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"231\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-87244\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo by F\u00e8lix Gonz\u00e1lez via VisualHunt<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">One of the most significant\u00a0<strong>legends<\/strong> that exist until this day in Catalonia is that of\u00a0<strong>Sant Jordi<\/strong>. We have mentioned this name above but you may have heard of this name before since there is an annual celebration that takes place on the 23rd of April in which people exchange roses and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/language-bookstores\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">books<\/a>. The story behind this holiday honoring the patron saint of Catalonia is a very fantastical one. It talks of a kingdom that was constantly facing attacks by a ferocious <strong>dragon.<\/strong> To appease the beast, the king began by sacrificing two lambs a day. When the lamb population started growing thinner, the kingdom decided to replace one of the two lambs with a child from the village. Eventually, the daughter of the king was chosen for the sacrifice. Luckily, there was a brave knight by the name of <strong>Jordi<\/strong> who had fallen in love with the princess. He faced the <strong>dragon<\/strong> with all of his might and managed to defeat him. The story says that from the dragon&#8217;s blood emerged <strong>a single red rose<\/strong>, which the knight offered the princess as a symbol of his love, which is why roses are given to women on <strong>Saint Jordi&#8217;s day<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>The city&#8217;s name<\/strong><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_87243\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><img aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-87243\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-87243\" src=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/boats-sunset-sailboat-sail-boats-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-87243\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo via Visualhunt<\/p><\/div>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">There are many different <strong>stories and legends<\/strong> about how Barcelona got its name. Some say the city is actually of Greek origin, having been founded by Hercules himself. The tale says that Hercules was traveling in a ship which was part of a larger fleet, which somehow got separated. Later, eight of the ships were able to reunite while the ninth one remained missing. The fleet set out to find the missing ship and found it moored at the foot of the Montju\u00efc hill. It is said that the\u00a0crew members fell in love with the area and decided to name it Barca (boat) an Nona (ninth), which resulted in\u00a0Barcanona.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: justify;\">Another different <strong>legend<\/strong> actually attributes the name to the\u00a0Carthaginians, to Hannibal Barca, Hannibal\u2019s father. When Hannibal arrived in the city, he fell in love with it and gave it, his surname Barca.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\">Which of these stories are true? We will never know because the\u00a0<strong>legends<\/strong>\u00a0lack foundation. There are no archaeological grounds or historical evidence to back them up, so we can just pick our favorite and tell it to the ones we know.<\/p>\n<p class=\"p1\" style=\"text-align: center;\"><em>Looking for an apartment in the city? Let\u00a0<strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">ShBarcelona<\/a><\/strong> find the perfect one.<\/em><\/p>\n<div style=\"display: none;\"\n    class=\"kk-star-ratings kksr-valign-bottom kksr-align-left \"\n    data-id=\"65497\"\n    data-slug=\"\">\n    <div class=\"kksr-stars\">\n    <div class=\"kksr-stars-inactive\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"1\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"2\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"3\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"4\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\" data-star=\"5\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n    <div class=\"kksr-stars-active\" style=\"width: 150px;\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n            <div class=\"kksr-star\">\n            <div class=\"kksr-icon\" style=\"width: 25px; height: 25px;\"><\/div>\n        <\/div>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n    <div class=\"kksr-legend\">\n            <strong class=\"kksr-score\">5<\/strong>\n        <span class=\"kksr-muted\">\/<\/span>\n        <strong>5<\/strong>\n        <span class=\"kksr-muted\">(<\/span>\n        <strong class=\"kksr-count\">1<\/strong>\n        <span class=\"kksr-muted\">\n            vote        <\/span>\n        <span class=\"kksr-muted\">)<\/span>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Catalonia has a number of folk tales and legends that are passed down from one generation to another, finding a home in the heart of every Catalonian. The stories can be heard in every celebration and even seen on buildings. Today you will learn about one story in particular: the story of Wilfred the Hairy.\u00a0 [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":65,"featured_media":65498,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[4348],"tags":[3807,3806,3654,3808,3804,3805,3803],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65497"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/65"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65497"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65497\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":87246,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65497\/revisions\/87246"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65498"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65497"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65497"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shbarcelona.com\/blog\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65497"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}