 In the 9th century, Cerdanya was the centre of a region wherein the "aprisio" form of landholding was common.In 835, a charter of Louis the Pious even forbid the church of the region to grant lands "in beneficium", that is, as benefices or in feudal tenure.After the death of Louis the Stammerer (879), Aquitaine and West Francia in general experienced a period of instability during which the outlying regions, such as Catalonia, became "de facto" independent of central royal authority.