Ermengol (or Armengol) I (974–1010), called ''el de Córdoba'', was the Count of Urgell from 992 to his death. He was the second son of

Borrell II of Barcelona Borrell II (died 993) was List of counts of Barcelona, Count of Barcelona, Count of Girona, Girona and Ausona from 945 and Count of Urgell from 948. Borrell was first seen acting as Count during the reign of his father Sunyer, Count of Barcelona ...

and his first wife, Letgarda. He was the second of the counts of Urgell and famous mainly for his participation in the Reconquista. 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 to Santiago de Compostela or Le Puy. He also reformed the judiciary of his county to make justice more available to all. Lewis, Archibald R.
The Development of Southern French and Catalan Society, 718–1050
'. University of Texas Press: Austin, 1965, p. 379. He also began to reassert his authority over the outlying castles of his realm, whose lords were acting independent of his power. He also maintained an intense war against the Caliphate of Córdoba. In 1003, Urgell was invaded by

Abd al-Malik al-Muzaffar ʿAbd al-Malik, originally called Sayf al-Dawla, later al-Muẓaffar. His full Arabic name comprises a '' kunya'' (Abū Marwān), '' ism'' (ʿAbd al-Malik), ''nasab'' (Ibn Abī ʿĀmir), ''nisba'' (al-Maʿāfirī) and '' laḳab'' (al-Muẓaffar). ...

. Aided by the brothers Bernard I of Besalú and Wifred II of Cerdagne, and his own brother, Ramon Borrell of Barcelona, Ermengol defeated them at the

Battle of Torà The Battle of Torà was a defensive battle of the Reconquista, fought between an alliance of Catalan counts and an army of the Caliphate of Córdoba in 1003 at Torà, Lleida. The main source for the battle is Andrew of Fleury, who probably receive ...

, followed by the tighter

Battle of Albesa According to Catalan historian Ramon d'Abadal i de Vinyals, the battle was the:. . . product of a Catalan offensive in which the bishop Berengar of Elna met his death. . . in the middle of a preventative war targetting the latent threat of ‘Abd al ...

. Erdmann, Carl (1977), ''The Origin of the Idea of Crusade'' (Princeton: Princeton University Press), 99–100. He was captured by Abd al-Malik, the Córdoban '' hajib'', during reprisals in the summer, but was free by March 1004. In 1008, he led several successful expeditions against the Moors.Erdmann, based on

Adhemar de Chabannes Adhemar is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: Given name * Adhemar of Salerno (died 861), prince * Adhemar of Capua (died after 1000), prince * Adhémar de Chabannes (988-1034), French monk and historian * Adhema ...

. In 1010, he participated in the expedition of his brother Ramon Borrell of Barcelona against Córdoba itself. He died nearby at Castell de Bacar. His testament, dated around 1010, includes one of the first-attested mention of chess in Western Europe.

Family

Before 10 July 1000, Ermengol married Tetberga, presumably a daughter of

Artaud I, Count of Forez Antoine Marie Joseph Paul Artaud, better known as Antonin Artaud (; 4 September 1896 – 4 March 1948), was a French writer, poet, dramatist, visual artist, essayist, actor and theatre director. He is widely recognized as a major figure of the E ...

, by his wife Tetberga of Limoges. Tetberga died between 7 April and 3 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 Gausfred I (died 991) was the count of Empúries and Rosselló from 931 until his death. He was the son and successor of Gausbert. He spent his whole life consolidating his authority in his counties, but he divided the realm amongst his sons. By ...

, named in her father's will in February 989. She survived him and was still alive on 18 November 1010. From this second union came two children: * Ermengol II, his successor *Ermesinda – married, before 1029, Raymond III of Pallars Jussà

Notes

Sources

*Lewis, Archibald R.
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. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ermengol 01, Count of Urgell 974 births 1010 deaths Counts of Urgell 10th-century Catalan people 10th-century Visigothic people 11th-century Catalan people 11th-century Visigothic people