Sancho I López or Lupus Sancho (also Lupo; eu, Antso Otsoa, French: ''Sanche Loup'',

Gascony Gascony (; french: Gascogne ; oc, Gasconha ; eu, Gaskoinia) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part o ...

: ''Sans Lop'') was a

Duke of Gascony The Duchy of Gascony or Duchy of Vasconia ( eu, Baskoniako dukerria; oc, ducat de Gasconha; french: duché de Gascogne, duché de Vasconie) was a duchy located in present-day southwestern France and northeastern Spain, an area encompassing the ...

between the years 801 and 812. His parentage is unknown, but

onomastics Onomastics (or, in older texts, onomatology) is the study of the etymology, history, and use of proper names. An '' orthonym'' is the proper name of the object in question, the object of onomastic study. Onomastics can be helpful in data mining, ...

and chronology indicate that he may have been a son of

Lupus II Lupus, technically known as systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue in many parts of the body. Symptoms vary among people and may be mild to severe. Commo ...

. This is especially likely if the early dukes of Gascony are to be regarded as related. Sancho first appears (as Lupus Sancho) in the historical record as '' dux'' "of the

Vascones The Vascones were a pre- Roman tribe who, on the arrival of the Romans in the 1st century, inhabited a territory that spanned between the upper course of the Ebro river and the southern basin of the western Pyrenees, a region that coincides w ...

." This means that he was almost certainly a Basque. He was a leader of the army 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 Aquit ...

which besieged and took

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

in 801. He was probably the leader of the Gascon contingent. Ermoldus Niger celebrates him in a poem as a ''nutritus'' of

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first E ...

, perhaps indicating that he was raised at the Frankish king's court. This has led to speculation that he was initially sent by Charlemagne to pacify the Gascons and be their duke: a royal Frankish appointee.Sedycias. He was the probable elder brother of Lupus Centule, Seguin I, and Garsand (García) and father of Aznar and Sancho II. It is possible that Sancha, the wife of

Emenon Emenon (or Emeno) was the Count of Poitou (828–839), Périgord (863–866), and Angoulême (863–866). It is unknown who nominated him count of Poitou, but it was probably Pepin I of Aquitaine, at whose side he had fought against the emperor ...

, was his daughter or granddaughter. Sancho died on an unknown date before 812 and was probably succeeded by his brother Seguin. He has been reputed as the father of

Dhuoda Dhuoda (''fl.'' AD 824–844) was a Frankish writer, as well as Duchess consort of Septimania and Countess consort of Barcelona. She was the author of the ''Liber Manualis'', a handbook written for her son.Cherewatuk, Karen. "''Speculum Matris'': ...

Notes

Sources

*Collins, Roger. ''The Basques''. Blackwell Publishing: London, 1990. *

Einhard Einhard (also Eginhard or Einhart; la, E(g)inhardus; 775 – 14 March 840) was a Frankish scholar and courtier. Einhard was a dedicated servant of Charlemagne and his son Louis the Pious; his main work is a biography of Charlemagne, the ''Vita ...

''Annales Regni Francorum''.
*Lewis, Archibald R.

'. University of Texas Press: Austin, 1965. * Astronomus.
Vita Hludovici imperatoris
', ed. G. Pertz, ch. 2, in Mon. Gen. Hist. Scriptores, II, 608. *'' Chronicle of Moissac''. * Ermoldus Nigellus. ''Carmina in honorem Hludovici'', ed. E. Dummier, I, in '' Mon. Ger. Hist. Scriptores'', I, 472-475. *Sedycias, João
''História da Língua Espanhola''.
*Monlezun, Jean Justin
''Histoire de la Gascogne''.
1864. 812 deaths Basque people Dukes of Gascony Year of birth unknown {{Europe-noble-stub