- Gaucelm
Gaucelm (died 834) was a Frankish count and leading magnate in Gothia during the reign of
Louis the Pious . He was initially theCount of Roussillon from about 800, but he received Empúries in 817 and was thenceforward the chief representative of imperial authority in that region.He was the son of
William of Gellone and his second wife, a Frankish lady. It was from his father, sometime after 790, that he received the county of Roussillon to govern within his father's vast holdings inSeptimania (centred aroundToulouse ). At that time, Roussillon includedVallespir . Gaucelm's elder half-brother,Bera, Count of Barcelona , governed the lands which would becomeCatalonia from about the same time. While Gaucelm, thoroughly Frankish, supported ongoing war with theMoors , Bera, son of a Gothic woman, supported the local Goth population and their desired peace with the Moors to their south. In this, Gaucelm was supported by his brother Bernard.In February 820, at an assembly in
Aachen ,Sanila , Gaucelm's Gothic lieutenant, probably on orders from Gaucelm, accused Bera of infidelity and perfidy. Bera was deposed, but Gauclem did not receive his "honores " as he had wanted. However, he did later obtain two them (Barcelona andBesalú ) for his brother Bernard (February 826). The third,Girona , went either to Bernard or Gaucelm himself, but which is unclear. After taking part in the defeat of the son of Bera,Guillemundus , and his lieutenant,Aisso , in Barcelona and Girona (to 827), he received the counties ofRasez andConflent (both previously ruled by Guillemundus). While Bernard was absent from Septimania (April to April, 829 – 830), Gaucelm also ruled his "honores":Uzès ,Nîmes ,Melguelh ,Agde ,Béziers ,Narbonne , Besalú, and Barcelona.In Autumn 831,
Pepin I of Aquitaine revolted against his father the emperor and Bernard and Gaucelm lent him their support. Subsequently invading royal forces quickly occupied Bernard's lands. In another assembly at Aachen in February 832, the whole region was assigned toCharles the Bald , while Gaucelm and Bernard were deposed later that same year. Gaucelm tried to resist and held out in Ampurias. Finally, in 833, after mediation withAngenis, Abbot of Fontanelle , he resigned and retired with Sanila to some familial properties inBurgundy .Gaucelm and Sanila were killed in the battle of
Chalon-sur-Saone the next year, while fighting for Louis the Pious against his son Lothair. Gerberga, sister of Gaucelm and a nun, was also executed after the battle.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.
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