Ermengarde (

Occitan Occitan may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania territory in parts of France, Italy, Monaco and Spain. * Something of, from, or related to the Occitania administrative region of France. * Occitan language Occitan (; o ...

: Ermengarda, Ainermada, or Ainemarda) (b. 1127 or 1129 – d. Perpignan, 14 October 1197), was a viscountess of Narbonne from 1134 to 1192. She was the daughter of

Aimery II of Narbonne Aimery II (also called Aimeric II) (died 17 July 1134) was the Viscount of Narbonne from around 1106 until his death. He was the eldest son of Aimery I of Narbonne and Mahalt (also Mahault or Mafalda), daughter of Robert Guiscard and Sichelgaita a ...

and his first wife, also named Ermengarde.

Youth

Aimery II was killed at the

Battle of Fraga The Battle of Fraga was a battle of the Spanish Reconquista that took place on 17 July 1134 at Fraga, Aragon, Spain. The battle was fought between the forces of the Kingdom of Aragon, commanded by Alfonso the Battler and a variety of Almora ...

on July 17, 1134, fighting against the

Almoravids The Almoravid dynasty ( ar, المرابطون, translit=Al-Murābiṭūn, lit=those from the ribats) was an imperial Berber Muslim dynasty centered in the territory of present-day Morocco. It established an empire in the 11th century that ...

along with

Alfonso I of Aragon Alfonso I (''c''. 1073/10747 September 1134), called the Battler or the Warrior ( es, el Batallador), was King of Aragon and Navarre from 1104 until his death in 1134. He was the second son of King Sancho Ramírez and successor of his brother Pet ...

. Aimery left only two underaged daughters as his heirs, Ermengarde and her half-sister Ermessinde (daughter of Aimery's second wife, also named Ermessinde). Aimery had at least one son, also called Aimery, attested in numerous

charter A charter is the grant of authority or rights, stating that the granter formally recognizes the prerogative of the recipient to exercise the rights specified. It is implicit that the granter retains superiority (or sovereignty), and that the rec ...

s, but he predeceased him (ca. 1130). Thus, the approximately five-year-old Ermengarde inherited the viscounty of

Narbonne Narbonne (, also , ; oc, Narbona ; la, Narbo ; Late Latin:) is a commune in France, commune in Southern France in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region. It lies from Paris in the Aude Departments of Franc ...

, which occupied a strategic place in the politics of

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...

: it was desired by the

counts of Toulouse The count of Toulouse ( oc, comte de Tolosa, french: comte de Toulouse) was the ruler of Toulouse during the 8th to 13th centuries. Originating as vassals of the Frankish kings, the hereditary counts ruled the city of Toulouse and its surroundin ...

, the

counts of Barcelona The Count of Barcelona ( ca, Comte de Barcelona, es, Conde de Barcelona, french: Comte de Barcelone, ) was the ruler of the County of Barcelona and also, by extension and according with the Usages of Barcelona, usages and Catalan constitutions, of ...

, the

Trencavel The Trencavel was an important noble family in Languedoc between the 10th and 13th centuries. The name "Trencavel" began as a nickname and later became the family's surname. The name may derive from the Occitan words for "Nutcracker" (''trenca ...

viscounts of

Carcassonne Carcassonne (, also , , ; ; la, Carcaso) is a French fortified city in the department of Aude, in the region of Occitanie. It is the prefecture of the department. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Carcassonne is located in the plain of the ...

, and the

lords of Montpellier The following is a list of lords of Montpellier: * William I of Montpellier 26 November 986–1019 * William II of Montpellier 1019–1025 * William III of Montpellier 1025–1058 * William IV of Montpellier 1058–1068 * William V of Montpell ...

In 1142,

Alfonso Jordan Alfonso Jordan, also spelled Alfons Jordan or Alphonse Jourdain (1103–1148), was the Count of Tripoli (1105–09), Count of Rouergue (1109–48) and Count of Toulouse, Margrave of Provence and Duke of Narbonne (1112–48). Life Alfonso was the ...

, count of Toulouse, whose wife Faydid of Uzes had either recently died or been repudiated, married the now-adolescent Ermengarde. In reaction to this prospect, which overturned the balance of power in the region by adding Narbonne to the direct control of Toulouse, a coalition of Occitan lords led by Roger II of Béziers, viscount of

Béziers Béziers (; oc, Besièrs) is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hérault Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Every August Béziers hos ...

Albi Albi (; oc, Albi ) is a commune in southern France. It is the prefecture of the Tarn department, on the river Tarn, 85 km northeast of Toulouse. Its inhabitants are called ''Albigensians'' (french: Albigeois, Albigeoise(s), oc, albig� ...

and

Razès Razès (; oc, Rasés; ca, Rasès) is a historical area in southwestern France, in today's Aude ''département''. Several communes An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of ...

formed an alliance against Toulouse. Alfonso was defeated by the coalition and taken prisoner, and was forced to make peace with Narbonne and restore Ermengarde and her new husband to the viscounty before being released. Following the dissolution of her marriage to Alfonso, Ermengarde was married to a vassal of Roger II, Bernard IV of Anduze.

Political activity

In 1177 she joined

Gui Guerrejat Gui Guerrejat ("the warrior") was the fifth son of William VI of Montpellier. When still a boy, in 1146, he inherited the castles of Paulhan and le Pouget from his father. After the death of his brother William VII, around 1172, Gui served joi ...

(the lover of

Azalais de Porcairagues Azalais de Porcairagues (also ''Azalaïs'') or Alasais de Porcaragues was a trobairitz (woman troubadour), composing in Occitan in the late 12th century. The sole source for her life is her ''vida'', which tells us that she came from the country ...

Bernard Ato V Bernard Ato V (died 1163) was the Viscount of Nîmes of the Trencavel family from 1129 to his death. He was then succeeded by his son and successor Bernard Ato VI. In 1138, Bernard Ato swore an oath of fidelity to Alfonso Jordan, Count of Toulous ...

of Nîmes and Agde, and Gui's nephews

William VIII of Montpellier William VIII (in Occitan: Guilhem; died 1202) was Lord of Montpellier, the son of William VII and Matilda of Burgundy (1135?-1173?). William VIII married Eudokia Komnene, grand-niece of the Byzantine emperor Manuel I Komnenos. They had one dau ...

and Gui Burgundion, in an alliance in opposition to

Raymond VI of Toulouse Raymond VI ( oc, Ramon; October 27, 1156 – August 2, 1222) was Count of Toulouse and Marquis of Provence from 1194 to 1222. He was also Count of Melgueil (as Raymond IV) from 1173 to 1190. Early life Raymond was born at Saint-Gilles, Gard, ...

, whose power suddenly increased when he became ruler of

Melgueil Mauguio (; , primarily ''Melguelh'') is a commune in the Hérault department in southern France. History The city of Mauguio, seventh city of the Herault department and chief town of the district, is located 11 km east of Montpellier. T ...

as widower of Ermessende of Pelet.

Cultural activity

Around 1190, a French cleric named André le Chapelain wrote a "Treatise on Courtly Love" (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

''De Arte honeste amandi''). In the second part of the Treatise, "How to maintain love", the author spoke of twenty-one "judgements of love" which had been pronounced by the greatest ladies of the kingdom of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. Among them, three judgements were attributed to

Eleanor of Aquitaine Eleanor ( – 1 April 1204; french: Aliénor d'Aquitaine, ) was Queen of France from 1137 to 1152 as the wife of King Louis VII, Queen of England from 1154 to 1189 as the wife of King Henry II, and Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right from ...

, seven to her daughter

Marie Marie may refer to: People Name * Marie (given name) * Marie (Japanese given name) * Marie (murder victim), girl who was killed in Florida after being pushed in front of a moving vehicle in 1973 * Marie (died 1759), an enslaved Cree person in Tro ...

, and five to Ermengarde. Although these "judgements" were probably fictional, they attest to the fame acquired by Ermengarde, even in the

langue d'oïl Langue is a municipality in the Valle Department, Honduras. The town is located near the border of El Salvador and is a regional Hammock making center. Most of the town is made up of sharecroppers and day laborers. There are usually Mormon mis ...

in the north. She corresponded with many

troubadour A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a ''trobairit ...

s, including

Peire Rogier Peire Rogier (born c. 1145) was a twelfth-century Auvergnat troubadour ( fl. 1160 – 1180) and cathedral canon from Clermont. He left his cathedral to become a travelling minstrel before settling down for a time in Narbonne at the court of th ...

Giraut de Bornelh Giraut de Bornelh (; c. 1138 – 1215), whose first name is also spelled Guiraut and whose toponym is de Borneil or de Borneyll, was a troubadour connected to the castle of the viscount of Limoges. He is credited with the formalisation, if not the ...

, Peire d'Alvergne, Pons d'Ortafa, and Salh d'Escola, as well as the

trobairitz The ''trobairitz'' () were Occitan female troubadours of the 12th and 13th centuries, active from around 1170 to approximately 1260. ''Trobairitz'' is both singular and plural. The word ''trobairitz'' is first attested in the 13th-century roma ...

. In addition it is believed that she welcomed to her court Rognvald II of

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

, a

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

prince that became a saint, and poet, who composed

skald A skald, or skáld (Old Norse: , later ; , meaning "poet"), is one of the often named poets who composed skaldic poetry, one of the two kinds of Old Norse poetry, the other being Eddic poetry, which is anonymous. Skaldic poems were traditionally ...

ic poetry for her.Jacqueline Caille, « Une idylle entre la vicomtesse Ermengarde de Narbonne et le prince Rognvald Kali des Orcades au milieu du XIIe siècle ? », dans G. Romestan (dir.), ''Art et histoire dans le Midi languedocien et rhodanien Xe-XIXe siècle''. ''Hommage à Robert Saint-Jean. Mémoires de la Société archéologique de Montpellier'', 21, 1993, p. 229-233

Later years

Without issue after two unhappy marriages, Ermengarde designated as heir Pedro Manrique de Lara -the second but eldest surviving son of her half-sister Ermessinde (who had died in 1177) by her husband, Count

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 ...

(who was killed in battle in Garcianarro on 9 July 1164). In 1192 Ermengarde abdicated the viscounty in favor of Peter and retired to

Perpignan Perpignan (, , ; ca, Perpinyà ; es, Perpiñán ; it, Perpignano ) is the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the ...

, where she died five years later.

Notes

Sources

* * Jacqueline Caille, ''Medieval Narbonne: A City at the Heart of the Troubadour World'', Ashgate, Variorum Collected Studies Series, 2005.

External links

André le Chapelain and the Treatise on Courtly Love
(French)

(November 12, 1166) (in Latin)

(April 30, 1196) (in Latin) {{DEFAULTSORT:Ermengarde Of Narbonne 1120s births 1190s deaths Occitan nobility French patrons of literature Viscounts of Narbonne 12th-century French people 12th-century women rulers 12th-century French women