Oliba Cabreta (c. 920 – 990) was the

count of Cerdanya The County of Cerdanya ( ca, Comtat de Cerdanya, ; la, Comitatus Ceritaniae; es, Condado de Cerdaña, french: Comté de Cerdagne) was one of the Catalan counties formed in the last decades of the 8th century by the Franks in the ''Marca Hispanica' ...

from 965 and

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: ...

from 984 until his abdication in 988.

Life

He was the fourth son of Miró II and Ava. He inherited Cerdanya from his eldest brother Sunifred II and Besalú from his elder brother Miró III. He was originally under the tutelage of his mother from his father's death in 927. During his tenure, he added

Berga Berga () is the capital of the ''comarca'' (county) of Berguedà, in the province of Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. It is bordered by the municipalities of Cercs, Olvan, Avià, Capolat and Castellar del Riu. History Berga derives its name from ...

and

Ripoll Ripoll () is the capital of the ''comarca'' of Ripollès, in the province of Girona, Catalonia, Spain. It is located on confluence of the Ter River and its tributary Freser, next to the Pyrenees near the French border. The population was 11,05 ...

to his domains. In 979,

Roger I of Carcassonne Roger I (died 1012) was the count of Carcassonne from and, as Roger II, count of Comminges (from 957) and Couserans (from 983). Life Roger was the son of Arnaud I of Comminges and Arsinde of Carcassonne. Associated with the government of Comming ...

ceded

Capcir Capcir (; ) is a historical Catalan comarca of Northern Catalonia, now part of the French department of Pyrénées-Orientales. The capital of the comarca was Formiguera, and it borders the historical comarques of Conflent and Alta Cerdanya. Ca ...

to him. In 984, he assumed the direction of all his father's counties when his last brother died without heirs. Oliba travelled twice to

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, first in 968 with the Abbot Garin of Cuixà and second in 988 on his journey to

Montecassino Monte Cassino (today usually spelled Montecassino) is a rocky hill about southeast of Rome, in the Latin Valley, Italy, west of Cassino and at an elevation of . Site of the Roman town of Casinum, it is widely known for its abbey, the first h ...

, the monastery to which he retired. He divided his lands betwixt his three eldest sons:

Bernard Bernard (''Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "brav ...

received Besalú and Ripoll, Wilfred received Cerdanya, and Oliba received Berga. His fourth son, Berengar, became

bishop of Elne The Roman Catholic Diocese of Perpignan–Elne (Latin: ''Dioecesis Elnensis''; French: ''Diocèse de Perpignan–Elne''; Catalan: ''Bisbat de Perpinyà–Elna'') is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France.

. He also had a legitimate daughter named Adelaide, who married John d'Oriol, lord of

Sales Sales are activities related to selling or the number of goods sold in a given targeted time period. The delivery of a service for a cost is also considered a sale. The seller, or the provider of the goods or services, completes a sale in r ...

. By his mistress, Ingeberga de Besora, he had a daughter named Ingeberga who became

abbess An abbess (Latin: ''abbatissa''), also known as a mother superior, is the female superior of a community of Catholic nuns in an abbey. Description In the Catholic Church (both the Latin Church and Eastern Catholic), Eastern Orthodox, Coptic ...

of Sant Joan de Ripoll. His wife Ermengard of Empúries, daughter of Count

Gausbert Gausbert (died 931) was the count of Empúries and Rosselló from 915 until he died. He was the son of Sunyer II of Empúries and brother of Bencion. With the murder of his father, the counties passed to him and Bencion, but Bencion died in 916 ...

, acted as

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

for his sons and he lived out his days in Italy until 990.

Issue

He had issue: *

Bernard I, Count of Besalú Bernard I ( 977 – 1020), called Taillefer (''Bernat Tallaferro''), was the Count of Besalú in Catalonia from 988 until his death. He was the eldest son of Oliba Cabreta and Ermengard of Empúries, and succeeded his father in Besalú while hi ...

(died 1020) *

Wifred II, Count of Cerdanya Wifred or Wilfred ( ca, Guifré, es, Vifredo or ) (''c''. 970 – 1050) was the Count of Cerdanya (988–1035; as Wifred II) and Count of Berga (1003–1035; as Wifred I). He was the eldest son of Oliba Cabreta and Ermengard of Empúries. Lif ...

c. 970-1050 *

Abbot Oliba Oliba (; 971–1046) was the count of Berga and Ripoll (988–1002), and later abbot of the monasteries of Santa Maria de Ripoll and Sant Miquel de Cuixà (1008–1046) and the bishop of Vic (1018–1046). He is considered one o ...

c. 971–1046 * Berengar, became bishop of Elne * Adelaida, married John d'Oriol, lord of Sales {{DEFAULTSORT:Cabreta, Oliba 920s births 990 deaths Counts of Cerdanya Counts of Besalú 10th-century Catalan people 10th-century Visigothic people Year of birth uncertain Spanish Benedictines