The town's importance was greater in the early Middle Ages, as capital of the county of Besalú, whose territory was roughly the same size as the current comarca of Garrotxa but sometime extended as far as Corbières, Aude, in France.
Besalú | County of Besalú | Wilfred II of Besalú | county of Besalú |
Pope Benedict VIII established diocese in Besalú for Bernard's benefit, but it was short-lived.
His county comprised Besalú, the Fenouillèdes, Capcir, the Baridà, the valley of Orillas, that of Lillet, the Berguedà, the Ripollés, the Vallespir, the upper plain of Roussillon from Illa de Tet to Sant Esteve del Monasterio, Conflent, the Donasà, and Peyrepertuse.
By the 9th century, the Catalan language had developed from Vulgar Latin on both sides of the eastern end of the Pyrenees mountains and valleys (counties of Rosselló, Empúries, Besalú, Cerdanya, Urgell, Pallars and Ribagorça), as well as the territories of the Roman province and later archdiocese of Tarraconensis to the south.
Sunifred was the Count of Barcelona as well as many other Catalan and Septimanian counties; including Ausona, Besalú, Girona, Narbonne, Agde, Béziers, Lodève, Melgueil, Cerdanya, Urgell, Conflent, and Nîmes; from 834 to 848 (Urgell and Cerdanya) and from 844 to 848 (others).