Ermengol or Armengol III (10321065), called el de Barbastro, 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. {{circa, 798–870 Counts appointed by the Carolingians *798–820 Borrell, count of Urgell and Cerdanya *820–824 Aznar ...

from 1038 to his death. He was the son of Ermengol II, Count of Urgell and his wife Velasquita "Constança", probably the daughter of

Bernard I, Count of Besalú Bernard (''Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It has West Germanic origin and is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern ...

Life

Allied with his contemporary and second cousin Ramon Berenguer I, Count of Barcelona, together they shared in the process of erosion of the comital authority to the noblesse. They also cooperated in the

Reconquista The ''Reconquista'' (Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese for ) or the fall of al-Andalus was a series of military and cultural campaigns that European Christian Reconquista#Northern Christian realms, kingdoms waged ag ...

and Ermengol received a third of the reconquered territory, occupying, in 1050,

Camarasa Camarasa () is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Noguera in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated at the confluence of the Segre and Noguera Pallaresa rivers. The Camarasa reservoir on the Noguera Pallaresa (113 hm³) and the Sant Lloren ...

and

Cubells Cubells () is a village in the province of Lleida and autonomous community of Catalonia Catalonia is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a ''nationalities and regions of Spain, nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy of Catalon ...

after taking them from Yusuf of Lleida. In 10391040, Ermengol and Raymond Berenguer signed a pact against Raymond of Cerdanya. Later in that decade, Raymond Berenguer paid 20,000 ''

solidi The ''solidus'' (Latin 'solid'; : ''solidi'') or ''nomisma'' () was a highly pure gold coin issued in the Later Roman Empire and Byzantine Empire. It was introduced in the early 4th century, replacing the aureus, and its weight of about 4 ...

'' for Ermengol's support and military aid. Ermengol took part in the Barbastro War of 1064 under the banner of his brother-in-law Sancho Ramírez of Aragon. When

Barbastro Barbastro (Latin: ''Barbastrum'' or ''Civitas Barbastrensis'', Aragonese: ''Balbastro'') is a city in the Somontano county, province of Huesca, Spain. The city (also known originally as Barbastra or Bergiduna) is at the junction of the rivers C ...

was captured, he was given lordship of the city. He died before 12 April 1065 defending the city from Moorish reprisals and was buried at the Monastery of San Pedro de Àger.

Marriages and issue

Ermengol married Adelaide before 1048, who died before 1055 and whose family is not known with certainty, though some scholars have considered her the daughter of Guillem I,

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: ...

. Ermengol and Adelaide were the parents of two children: *

Ermengol IV Ermengol or Armengol IV (1056–1092), called el de Gerb or Gerp, was the count of Urgell from 1066 to his death. He was the son of Ermengol III and Adelaide. Ermengol inherited Urgell when he was only ten years old and ruled under the tutelage o ...

, his heir *

Isabella Isabella may refer to: People and fictional characters * Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Isabella (surname), including a list of people Places United States * Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpo ...

(died ), in 10621063 married King

Sancho Ramírez Sancho Ramírez ( 1042 – 4 June 1094) was King of Aragon from 1063 until 1094 and King of Pamplona from 1076 under the name of Sancho V (). He was the eldest son of Ramiro I and Ermesinda of Bigorre. His father was the first king of Aragon ...

of Aragon, who probably repudiated her in 1068, and afterwards became the third wife of

William I, Count of Cerdanya William I Raymond (; ) (1068–1095) was the count of Cerdanya and Berga from the year of his birth till that of his death, giving up Berga a year earlier to his son William-Jordan. He was the son of Raymond I of Cerdanya, who died a short wh ...

. Before 7 May 1055, Ermengol took as his second wife Clemencia, hypothesized to have been the daughter of Berengar Raymond I and his second wife Guisla (based on the names of their younger sons), by whom he had three more sons: * Berenguer * Guillem * Ramon Clemencia died sometime after 17 October 1059, when she apparently confirmed a charter with her husband, and before 6 November 1062. Ermengol was remarried to a woman named Elvira, who died before 1063. In 1063, Ermengol married his fourth wife,

Sancha Sancha is a given name, the feminine version of the Spanish Sancho. Sanchia, Sancia, and Santina are variant feminine forms. People named Sancha include: * Sancha, Lady of Alenquer (1180–1279), feudal Lady of Alenquer *Sancha of Aragon (1478� ...

, the daughter of

Ramiro I of Aragon Ramiro I (bef. 10078 May 1063) was the first King of Aragon from 1035 until his death. His kingdomship was petit, and unfederated, which was sometimes referred to as a petty kingdom. Although his legacy was a minor kingdom, he would expand th ...

. Ermengol III died in battle near

Monzón Monzón () is a small city and municipality in the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. Its population was 17,176 as of 2014. It is located at the confluence of the Cinca and Sosa rivers, in the Cinca Media comarca of the province of Huesca. ...

and his body was first taken to Barbastro and then to the fortress 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 rive ...

where he was buried at the entrance of the Church of San Pedro at the Monastery of San Pedro de Àger.

Notes

References

Sources

*Aurell i Cardona, Martin. "Jalons pour une enquête sur les stratégies matrimoniales des comtes Catalans (IXe-XIe s.)" ''Symposium internacional'', 1991, vol 1, pp 281–364. * * * * * * *Ponsich, Pierre. "Le Conflent et ses comtes du IXe au XIIe siècle." ''Etudes Roussillonnaises'', 1, 1951, pp 241–344. * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ermengol 03, Count of Urgell 1032 births 1065 deaths Counts of Urgell 11th-century Catalan people 11th-century nobility