Ascó
TarragonaCatalunya · Cataluña
Pre-Roman toponym of Iberian origin, attested from the 12th century as Asch in Christian cartularies and linked by Joan Coromines to the Ibero-Aquitanian base *ask- of orographic value ('rock, crag'), preserved in modern Basque aitz (variant haitz). The hamlet sits on a limestone crag dominating the Ebro meander.
Ask- is a pre-Roman toponymic base of Ibero-Aquitanian filiation, attested in a geographical strip extending from the western Pyrenees to the lower Ebro, with cognates in Basque toponyms (Aitzbide, Aizkorri, Aspe) and Catalan-Aragonese (Ascó, Asque, Aso). The hamlet of Ascó is documented from 1149 in the charter granted by Ramon Berenguer IV after the Catalan-Aragonese conquest of the Lower Ebro. The Templar 12th-century castle atop the crag, one of the first Templar commanderies of the Lower Ebro, preserves the walled enclosure and the keep.
Evolution of the name
- *ask- pre-Roman Ibero-Aquitanian before the 3rd century BC
- Asch / Ascó medieval Catalan from the 12th century
Glossary
- Attested
- A form or word documented in writing in historical sources; opposed to "reconstructed" (forms proposed by comparative inference but not actually documented).
- Carta puebla
- A medieval legal document by which a lord or king founded a new settlement, granting privileges and exemptions in exchange for occupying and defending the territory.
- Pre-Roman
- Prior to the Romanisation of the Iberian peninsula (3rd century BC); applied to toponyms, linguistic roots and populations.
- Templar commandery of the Lower Ebro
- Set of properties and fortifications ceded to the Order of the Temple in the Lower Ebro basin after the Christian conquest of Tortosa in 1148. It comprised the commanderies of Tortosa, Ascó, Miravet, Horta de Sant Joan and Vilalba dels Arcs, with a total surface of about one thousand four hundred hectares and twenty fortresses. After the dissolution of the Order in 1312, the properties passed to the Order of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem.
Sources
- Coromines, J. — Onomasticon Cataloniae
If you have a correction or an observation about this information,
please write to us through the form at the foot of the site.
We will grow more precise thanks to your contribution.
Camino del Ebro