- Ermengol I of Urgell
Ermengol I or Armengol I (974 – 1010), called "el de Córdoba", was the
Count of Urgell from 992 to his death. He was the second son ofBorrell II of Barcelona and his first wife, Letgarda, granddaughter ofRaymond Pons of Toulouse . He was the first of the counts of Urgel and famous mainly for his participation in theReconquista .A man of culture, Ermengol was open to influences from wider Europe and he made two voyages to
Rome , in 998 and 1001. He was a stimulus to his nobles in making pilgrimages toSantiago de Compostela orLe Puy . He also reformed the judiciary of his county to make justice more available to all. [Lewis, 379.] He also began to reassert his authority over the outlying castles of his realm, whose lords were acting independent of his power. [Ibid.]He also maintained an intense war against the
Caliphate of Córdoba . In 1004, he was imprisoned inAlbesa after fighting againstLleida . In 1008, he led several successful expeditions against theMoors . [Ibid, based onAdhemar de Chabannes .] In 1010, he participated in the expedition of his brotherRaymond Borrel of Barcelona against Córdoba itself. He died nearby atCastell de Bacar , thirty seven years of age .Family
Before
10 July 1000 , Ermengol married Tetberga, presumably a daughter ofArtaud I, Count of Forez , by his wife Tetberga of Limoges. Tetberga died between7 April and3 November 1005 , when Ermengol's second wife is first mentioned. As his second wife, Ermengol married Guisla (Gisela), whose family is not known, but who could be the homonymous daughter of Gausfred I of Roussillon, named in her father's will in February 989. She survived him and was still alive on18 November 1010 . From this second union came two children:*Ermengol II, his successor
*Ermesinda, married before 1029Raymond III, Count of Pallars-Jussà Notes
ources
*Lewis, Archibald R. " [http://libro.uca.edu/lewis/index.htm The Development of Southern French and Catalan Society, 718–1050] ". University of Texas Press: Austin, 1965.
*Aurell i Cardona, Martin. "Jalons pour une enquête sur les stratégies matrimoniales des comtes catalans (IXe-XIe s.)" "Symposium Internacional sobre els Origens de catalunya (Segles VIII-XI)", 2 vol, Barcelona 1991–2; vol 1, pp 282–364.
*Stasser, Thierry. "Origine familiale de trois comtesses de Pallars." "Anuario de Estudios Medievales", 26/1, 1996, pp 3–16.
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