Gaucelm (died 834) was a

Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks, a Germanic tribe and their culture ** Frankish language or its modern descendants, Franconian languages * Francia, a post-Roman state in France and Germany * East Francia, the successor state to Francia in Germany ...

count and leading magnate in Gothia during the reign of

Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (german: Ludwig der Fromme; french: Louis le Pieux; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aqui ...

. He was initially the

Count of Roussillon This is a list of the counts of Roussillon ( ca, Comtes de Rosselló, , ) who ruled over the eponymous County of Roussillon. Carolingian counts These counts were nominated by the Carolingian kings of France, of whom they were vassals. *Gaucelm (81 ...

from about 800, but he received

Empúries Empúries ( ca, Empúries ) was an ancient city on the Mediterranean coast of Catalonia, Spain. Empúries is also known by its Spanish name, Ampurias ( es, Ampurias ). The city Ἐμπόριον ( el, Ἐμπόριον, Emporion, meaning "tradi ...

in 817 and was thenceforward the chief representative of imperial authority in that region. He was the son of

William of Gellone William of Gellone ( 755 – 28 May 812 or 814), the medieval William of Orange, was the second Duke of Toulouse from 790 until 811. In 804, he founded the abbey of Gellone. He was canonized a saint in 1066 by Pope Alexander II.

and his first wife, Gunegunde (Cunegonde), a Frankish lady. It was from his father, sometime after 790, that he received the county of Roussillon to govern within his father's vast holdings in

Septimania Septimania (french: Septimanie ; oc, Septimània ) is a historical region in modern-day Southern France. It referred to the western part of the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis that passed to the control of the Visigoths in 462, when Septima ...

, centered on

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

. At that time, Roussillon included Vallespir. Gaucelm, thoroughly Frankish, supported ongoing war with the Moors and was supported by his brother, Bernard of Septimania. Bera, the Visigothic Count of Razès and Conflent since 790, and Count of Barcelona since 801, supported the local Goth population who desired peace with the Moors to their south. In January 820, at an assembly in Aachen, Sanila (lieutenant), Sanila, Gaucelm's Gothic lieutenant, probably on orders from Gaucelm, accused Bera of infidelity and perfidy. Bera was deposed, but Gaucelm did not receive his ''honores'' as he had wanted. However, he did later obtain two of them (Barcelona and Besalú) for his brother Bernard (February 826). The third, Girona, went either to Bernard or Gaucelm himself, but which is unclear. After taking part in the defeat of the son of Bera, Guillemundus, and his lieutenant, Aisso, in Barcelona and Girona (to 827), he received the counties of Razès and Conflent (both previously ruled by Guillemundus). While Bernard was absent from Septimania (April to April, 829 – 830), Gaucelm also ruled his ''honores'': Uzès, Nîmes, Melguelh, Agde, Béziers, Narbonne, Besalú, and Barcelona. In Autumn 831, Pepin I of Aquitaine revolted against his father, Emperor Louis the Pious. Bernard and Gaucelm supported Pepin. Subsequently invading royal forces quickly occupied Bernard's lands. In another assembly at Aachen in February 832, the whole region was assigned to Charles the Bald, while Gaucelm and Bernard were deposed later that same year. Gaucelm tried to resist and held out in Ampurias. Finally, in 833, after mediation with Ansegisus, Ansegisus, Abbot of Fontanelle, he resigned and retired with Sanila to some familial properties in Burgundy (region), Burgundy. Gaucelm and Sanila were killed in the battle of Chalon-sur-Saône the next year, while fighting for Louis the Pious against his son Lothair I, Lothair.

Sources

*Lewis, Archibald R.
The Development of Southern French and Catalan Society, 718–1050
'. University of Texas Press: Austin, 1965. , - , - {{end 834 deaths Nobility of the Carolingian Empire Counts of Roussillon Counts of Empúries 8th-century births 9th-century rulers in Europe