Ermesinda of Bigorre (Aragonese: ''Ermisenda de Bigorra''), born Gerberga or Gisberga (1015 – 1 December 1049), was a Queen of Aragon, a daughter of

Bernard-Roger, Count of Bigorre Bernard Roger ( – ) was the count of Couserans, in which capacity he was lord of parts of Comminges and Foix. Life Bernard Roger was the son of count Roger I of Carcassonne and Adelaide de Melgueil. His elder brother, Raymond I of Carcasso ...

and his wife Garsenda, Heiress of Bigorre. She was a member of the

House of Foix Foix (; oc, Fois ; ca, Foix ) is a commune, the former capital of the County of Foix. It is the capital of the department of Ariège as it is the seat of the Préfecture of that department. Foix is located in the Occitanie region of southwe ...

, the sister of Bernard II, Count of Bigorre, Roger I, Count of Foix, and perhaps of

Stephanie Stephanie is a female name that comes from the Greek name Στέφανος (Stephanos) meaning "crown". The male form is Stephen. Forms of Stephanie in other languages include the German "Stefanie", the Italian, Czech, Polish, and Russian "St ...

who married

García Sánchez III of Navarre García or Garcia may refer to: People * García (surname) * Kings of Pamplona/Navarre ** García Íñiguez of Pamplona, king of Pamplona 851/2–882 ** García Sánchez I of Pamplona, king of Pamplona 931–970 ** García Sánchez II of Pampl ...

. Gerberga married on 22 August 1036 to King

Ramiro I of Aragon Ramiro I (bef. 10078 May 1063) was the first King of Aragon from 1035 until his death, although he is sometimes described as a petty king. He would expand the nascent Kingdom of Aragon through his acquisition of territories, such as Sobrarbe and ...

. After her wedding Gerberga changed her name to Ermesinda. The couple were married for thirteen years, in which time her husband elevated himself from a vassal holding scattered lands around Jaca into a ''de facto'' ruler of pocket-kingdom spanning the former counties of Aragon, Sobrarbe and Ribagorza, and is thereby credited with being the first King of Aragon. They had the following children: #

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 ( eu, Antso V.a Ramirez). He was the eldest son of Ramiro I and Ermesinda of Bigorre. His father was the f ...

(c. 1042 – 4 June 1094), succeeded his father # García, Bishop of Jaca (d. 17 July 1086) #Teresa (b. 1037), married

William Bertrand of Provence William Bertrand (died 28 July 1094Also sometimes cited as 29 April 1090.), known as William V or Bertrand I or II, was the count and margrave of Provence from 1051 to his death. He succeeded his father Fulk Bertrand on his death in that year, but ...

, no issue #

Sancha is a district of Setagaya, Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area ...

(d. 1097), possibly married firstly to

Pons, Count of Toulouse Pons (II) William (1019 – 1060) was the Count of Toulouse from 1037. He was the eldest son and successor of William III Taillefer and Emma of Provence. He thus inherited the title '' marchio Provincæ''. He is known to have owned many allod ...

, and secondly to

Ermengol III, Count of Urgell Ermengol (or Armengol) III (10321065), called ''el de Barbastro'', was the count of Urgell from 1038 to his death. He was the son of Ermengol II, Count of Urgell and his wife Velasquita "Constance", probably the daughter of Bernard I, Count of Bes ...

#Urraca (d. 1077), a nun All of Ermesinda's children lived to adulthood. She died on 1 December 1049 and she was buried at the Monastery of San Juan de la Peña.''TOULOUSE NOBILITY'', ''Medieval Lands''
/ref> Her husband remarried four years later to Agnes.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ermesinda Of Bigorre 1015 births 1049 deaths House of Foix Aragonese queen consorts House of Aragon 11th-century people from the Kingdom of Aragon 11th-century Spanish women 11th-century French people 11th-century French women