Aurembiaix (or Aurembiax) (1196–1231) was the

Countess of Urgell This is a list of the counts of Urgell, a county of the Principality of Catalonia in the 10th through 13th centuries. c. 798–870 Counts appointed by the Carolingians *798–820 Borrell, count of Urgell and Cerdanya *820–824 Aznar Galíndez I ...

from 1208, the last of her dynasty. She was the only child of Ermengol VIII and Elvira of Subirats. In 1206, Ermengol asked

Peter II of Aragon Peter II the Catholic (; ) (July 1178 – 12 September 1213) was the King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona from 1196 to 1213. Background Peter was born in Huesca, the son of Alfonso II of Aragon and Sancha of Castile. In 1205 he acknowled ...

to defend the right of his daughter to inherit and his widow to have the regency, but after Peter's death (1213),

Guerau IV of Cabrera Guerau IV de Cabrera (1196–1229) was a claimant to the County of Urgel during the time that James I of Aragon was King of Aragon. His uncle, Ponç III of Cabrera, married the daughter of Ermengol VII named Marquesa in 1194. Also, Marquesa’s fa ...

, a first cousin of Aurembiaix's who claimed the inheritance, invaded the county and took control. Aurembiaix married

Álvaro Pérez de Castro Álvaro Pérez de Castro "the Castilian" (died at Orgaz in 1240) was a Castilian nobleman. Biography He was the son of Pedro Fernández de Castro and Jimena Gomez, daughter of Gómez González de Manzanedo. He served as Mayordomo mayor and li ...

in 1212, but in 1228 she had the marriage annulled and returned to Urgell to claim her right to succeed. She received the support of

James I of Aragon James I the Conqueror ( es, Jaime el Conquistador, ca, Jaume el Conqueridor; 2 February 1208 – 27 July 1276) was King of Aragon and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1276; King of Majorca from 1231 to 1276; and Valencia from 1238 to 1276 ...

and became his concubine at

Agramunt Agramunt is a municipality (''municipi'') in the ''comarca'' of the Urgell in Catalonia. It is situated in the north of the ''comarca'', near the border with the Noguera. The town centre is protected as a historic-artistic monument, especially t ...

. Threatened with invasion and a possible marital alliance with Aragon, the nobles of Urgell accepted Aurembiaix as their ruler. In 1229, Aurembiaix in turn married

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a sur ...

, exiled brother of

Afonso II of Portugal Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...

, and rendered

Lleida Lleida (, ; Spanish: Lérida ) is a city in the west of Catalonia, Spain. It is the capital city of the province of Lleida. Geographically, it is located in the Catalan Central Depression. It is also the capital city of the Segrià comarca, as ...

to James and accepting Urgell back from him as a fief. Aurembiaix died without descendants at

Balaguer Balaguer () is the capital of the ''comarca'' of Noguera, in the province of Lleida, Catalonia, Spain. It is located by the river Segre, a tributary to the Ebre. The municipality includes an exclave to the east. Balaguer also has a sister city i ...

only about a year later. Urgell went to Peter.

References

*Chaytor, H. J.
A History of Aragon and Catalonia
'. London: Methuen, 1933. 1196 births 1231 deaths Countesses of Urgell 13th-century women rulers 12th-century Catalan people 13th-century Catalan people {{europe-noble-stub

See also

References