Sunifred (died 848) was the

Count of Barcelona The Count of Barcelona ( ca, Comte de Barcelona, es, Conde de Barcelona, french: Comte de Barcelone, ) was the ruler of the County of Barcelona and also, by extension and according with the Usages of Barcelona, usages and Catalan constitutions, of ...

as well as many other Catalan and

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 ...

n counties, including Ausona, Besalú, Girona, Narbonne, Agde,

Béziers Béziers (; oc, Besièrs) is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hérault Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region of Southern France. Every August Béziers hos ...

, Lodève, Melgueil,

Cerdanya Cerdanya () or often La Cerdanya ( la, Ceretani or ''Ceritania''; french: Cerdagne; es, Cerdaña), is a natural comarca and historical region of the eastern Pyrenees divided between France and Spain. Historically it was one of the counties ...

, Urgell, Conflent and

Nîmes Nîmes ( , ; oc, Nimes ; Latin: ''Nemausus'') is the prefecture of the Gard department in the Occitanie region of Southern France. Located between the Mediterranean Sea and Cévennes, the commune of Nîmes has an estimated population of 148,5 ...

, from 834 to 848 (Urgell and Cerdanya) and from 844 to 848 (others). He may have been the son of Belló, Count of Carcassonne, or, more probably, his son-in-law.See A. Lewis, ''The Development of Southern French and Catalan Society, 718-1050'' (1965)
Ch. 6, note 9
/ref> In 834, he was named count of Urgell and Cerdanya by Louis the Pious,

Holy Roman Emperor The Holy Roman Emperor, originally and officially the Emperor of the Romans ( la, Imperator Romanorum, german: Kaiser der Römer) during the Middle Ages, and also known as the Roman-German Emperor since the early modern period ( la, Imperat ...

; at the time these counties were in the control of Aznar Galíndez I, an ally of the

Banu Qasi The Banu Qasi, Banu Kasi, Beni Casi ( ar, بني قسي or بنو قسي, meaning "sons" or "heirs of Cassius"), Banu Musa, or al-Qasawi were a Muladí (local convert) dynasty that in the 9th century ruled the Upper March, a frontier ter ...

). Sunifred conquered Cerdanya in 835 and Urgell three years later (838). In the dynastic struggles that accompanied the three years between Louis the Pious' death (840) and the Treaty of Verdun (843), Bernard of Septimania, the count of Barcelona (and many other marches and counties, including

, Girona, Narbonne,

, Agde, Melgueil,

and Toulouse) aligned with Pepin II of Aquitaine, while Sunifred, his brother Sunyer I, Count of Empúries, and their sons (sometimes referred to as the Bellonid dynasty or Bellonids) placed their allegiance with Charles the Bald. In 841, the Moors invaded Barcelona and marched against Narbonne through the region of Cerdanya. Sunifred stopped them cold in battle, an event which certainly influenced Charles the Bald's respect for him. For in 844, Charles reclaimed Toulouse from Pepin II, captured Bernard of Septimania, and had him executed. In exchange for his

fealty An oath of fealty, from the Latin ''fidelitas'' (faithfulness), is a pledge of allegiance of one person to another. Definition In medieval Europe, the swearing of fealty took the form of an oath made by a vassal, or subordinate, to his lord. "Fea ...

, Charles gave Sunifred the dead count's honours of Barcelona, Girona and the march of Gothia. Sunifred also augmented his domains when Conflent fell into his hands, as reigning count of Cerdanya, on the death of Bera II. Throughout his reign, he was aloof of William of Septimania, son of Bernard, who had risen in 844 against Charles the Bald. In 848, William was named count of Toulouse and Empúries by Pepin II. He quickly moved to eliminate Sunifred and Sunyer. Both brothers died in 848 and some of their counties were assumed by William. Sunifred supposedly died of natural causes, but the cause of Sunyer's death is unknown. Sunifred I married Ermesende, and had the following children: * Wilfred the Hairy (died 11 August 897) *

Radulf of Besalú Radulf or Radulph may refer to: *Radulf, King of Thuringia, 7th-century noble, Duke and then King *Radulf II, Duke of Thuringia, 9th century *Radulf of Narbonne, 8th-century Count *Radulf of Besalú (died 920), Count * Radulf (d. 1220), Radulf II, ...

(died 920) * Miro the Elder (died 896)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sunifred, Count of Barcelona 848 deaths Counts of Barcelona Counts of Cerdanya Counts of Urgell Counts of Besalú 9th-century people from the County of Barcelona 9th-century Visigothic people Year of birth unknown