This coming Saturday, 2 February, will be the 800th anniversary of the birth of the king of Catalonia-Aragon, James I, known as ‘The Conqueror’. Count of Barcelona, King of Aragon, Valencia and Majorca, and Lord of Montpellier, James I is one of the most important historical figures in the Catalan Countries, a political, cultural and linguistic reality that took shape during his reign (1213-1276).