Ermengol (or Armengol) VIII (1158 – 1208), known as ''el de Sant Hilari'', was the

Count of Urgell This is a list of the counts of Urgell, a county of the Principality of Catalonia in the 10th through 13th centuries. c. 798–870 Counts appointed by the Carolingians *798–820 Borrell, count of Urgell and Cerdanya *820–824 Aznar Galínde ...

from 1184 to his death. He was a son of Ermengol VII and Dulce, daughter of

Roger III of Foix Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ...

. In 1178, he married Elvira of Subirats, with whom he had an only daughter, Aurembiaix.The origins of Elvira have been subject to recent scholarly reevaluation. She was once identified as daughter of

Manrique Pérez de Lara Manrique Pérez de Lara (died 1164) was a magnate of the Kingdom of Castile and its regent from 1158 until his death. He was a leading figure of the House of Lara and one of the most important counsellors and generals of three successive Castilian ...

, but Canal Sánchez-Pagín showed that Ermengol's wife was Elvira Pérez, daughter of

Pedro Alfonso ''Pulcher ut Absalon, virtute potens quasi Sanson, instructisque bonis, documenta tenet Salomonis''. " edrois handsome as Absalom, as strong as Samson, and he possesses the wisdom of Solomon." —'' Poema de Almería'', ...

of Asturias. However, Sánchez de Mora has presented evidence that Aurembiaix was close kin to the Lara family and suggests that a documented countess Elvira Nuñez de Lara, daughter of

Nuño Pérez de Lara Nuño Pérez de Lara (died 3 August 1177) was a Castilian nobleman, politician and military leader. He began his career at the court of the Emperor Alfonso VII, during whose reign he took part in the ''repoblación'' of the Extremadura and the d ...

, was in fact a second wife of Ermengol, to whom he married after the death of Elvira Pérez, and that Aurembiaix was her daughter. Sánchez de Mora, pp. 300-305. During his reign, the decline of his house was initiated at the hands of the viscounts of

Àger Àger is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Noguera in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated in the north-west of the ''comarca'', and the territory of the municipality stretches between the Noguera Ribagorçana and Noguera Pallaresa rivers. The ...

. In 1206, a period of disorder commenced owing to the ambitions of

Guerau IV of Cabrera Guerau IV de Cabrera (1196–1229) was a claimant to the County of Urgel during the time that James I of Aragon was King of Aragon. His uncle, Ponç III of Cabrera, married the daughter of Ermengol VII named Marquesa in 1194. Also, Marquesa’s fa ...

, who disputed the right of Aurembiaix to succeed. Ermengol extracted a promise from Peter II of Aragon to defend the rights of his widow and daughter.

Notes

Sources

*Chaytor, H. J.
A History of Aragon and Catalonia
'. London: Methuen, 1933. *Sánchez de Mora, Antonio. ''La Nobleza Castella en la Plena Edad Media: El Linaje de Lara (ss. XI-XIII)'' Doctoral Thesis, Universidad de Sevilla, 2003. 1158 births 1208 deaths Counts of Urgell {{Europe-noble-stub