Ava of Cerdanya (died 961) was countess consort of

Cerdanya Cerdanya () or often La Cerdanya ( la, Ceretani or ''Ceritania''; french: Cerdagne; es, Cerdaña), is a natural comarca and historical region of the eastern Pyrenees divided between France and Spain. Historically it was one of the counties ...

and

Besalú Besalú () is a town in the '' comarca'' of Garrotxa, in Girona, Catalonia, Spain. The town's importance was greater in the early Middle Ages, as capital of the county of Besalú, whose territory was roughly the same size as the current ''coma ...

. She ruled as regent during the minority of her sons from 927 until 941.

Life

The origin of Ada is unconfirmed. She has been suggested to be the daughter of a local aristocrat named Fidel, or Bernard Unifred, or Acfred of Carcassonne, a member of the Ribagorça family. Around the year 900, she married Miró II of Cerdanya and Besalú, with whom she had four sons, who all became counts, and a daughter: * Sunifred II of Cerdanya (915-968),

count of Cerdanya The County of Cerdanya ( ca, Comtat de Cerdanya, ; la, Comitatus Ceritaniae; es, Condado de Cerdaña, french: Comté de Cerdagne) was one of the Catalan counties formed in the last decades of the 8th century by the Franks in the ''Marca Hispanica' ...

and

count of Besalú Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

* Wilfred II of Besalú (?-957),

Miró III of Cerdanya Miró III of Cerdanya and II of Besalú, ''Bonfill'' (920 in Girona – 984), was count of Cerdanya and Besalú (968–984). The third son of Miro II and Ava, he was the successor of his brother, Sunifred II of Cerdanya. Biography He was first ...

(920-984),

and

, and

bishop of Girona The Roman Catholic Diocese of Girona ( la, Gerunden(sis)) is a diocese located in the city of Girona in the Ecclesiastical province of Tarragona in Catalonia, Spain.Oliba Cabreta Oliba Cabreta (c. 920 – 990) was the count of Cerdanya from 965 and count of Besalú from 984 until his abdication in 988. Life He was the fourth son of Miró II and Ava. He inherited Cerdanya from his eldest brother Sunifred II and Besal ...

(920-990),

, and count of

Ripoll Ripoll () is the capital of the ''comarca'' of Ripollès, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. It is located on confluence of the Ter River and its tributary Freser, next to the Pyrenees near the French border. The population was 11,05 ...

* Fredeburga of Cerdanya, abbess of the

Monastery of Sant Joan de les Abadesses The Monastery of Sant Joan de les Abadesses is a monastery in the comarca of Ripollès, Catalonia, northern Spain. Until the year 945 it was the only female monastery in the area. History The monastery was founded in 885 by count Wilfred the Hai ...

Upon the death of her spouse in 927, she ruled the county as a regent for their children, who were still minors. During her regency, she was forced to handle repeated rebellions of the local aristocracy, who attempted to take control of the counties and take advantage of the presumed weakness of a minor regency government.
Diccionari Biogràfic de Dones: Ava, de Cerdanya
� In 941, she gave her children their own fiefs, and it is assumed that this marked the end of her own mandate as regent. After this point, her presence in official state documents gradually diminished. She never ceased to be involved in the business transactions of the fortune of her late spouse: in accordance with her marriage contract, she had the right to a part of the state fortune for the rest of her life as long as she stayed a widow. Her actions left their mark in many donations made to various ecclesiastical institutions:

Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa The abbey of Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa () is a Benedictine abbey located in the territory of the commune of Codalet, in the Pyrénées-Orientales ''département'', in southwestern France. It was founded initially in 840, and then refounded at its pres ...

(941, 953, 962),

Elne Elne (; ca, Elna ) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France. It lies in the former province of Roussillon, of which it was the first capital, being later replaced by Perpignan. Its inhabitants are still called ...

(962), and

Camprodon Camprodon (; from ''Camp Rodó'' "Round Field", ultimately from Latin ''Campus Rotundus'') is a small town in the comarca of Ripollès in Girona, Catalonia, Spain, located in the Pyrenees, near the French border. History The settlement of Campr ...

(944).

References

*
Diccionari Biogràfic de Dones: Ava, de Cerdanya
� * Abadal i de Vinyals, Ramon d' (1955). Els comtats de Pallars i Ribagorça. Barcelona: Institut d'Estudis Catalans. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ava of Cerdanya Year of birth missing 10th-century women rulers Regents of Spain Spanish countesses 10th-century Catalan people 10th-century Spanish women 961 deaths