Certain national characteristics became clear during the course of the twelfth century. The name Catalonia for the country appeared at the same time as the use of Catalan as a written language. The insignia of the counts of Barcelona, four crimson stripes on a gold field, came into use at the end of the eleventh century.

Feudal society, which was markedly agricultural, was invigorated by the growth in trade: new towns, markets and fairs and the opening of great sea-going routes. Barcelona became the most densely-populated city and the political, economic and social centre of Catalonia: its capital city.