Case file · Folklore / legend
Count Arnau, the damned rider
In Catalan legend Count Arnau, a cruel lord who seduced the abbess of Sant Joan de les Abadesses, rides forever through the Ripollès with hounds of fire.
1800 CE · 42.23, 2.29 · status: legend
The account
The ballad was collected in the 19th century and inspired Joan Maragall's poem cycle. It loosely recalls Arnau Mir de Tost and other 10th–11th-century nobles; the date here marks the ballad's collection era.