Ermengol or Armengol I (974–1010), called el de Córdoba, was the

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

from 992 to his death. He was the second son of

Borrell II of Barcelona Borrell II (died 993) was the count of Barcelona, Girona and Ausona from 945 and count of Urgell from 948. Borrell was first seen acting as count during the reign of his father Sunyer II in 945 at the consecration of the nunnery church of Sa ...

and his first wife, Letgarda. He was the second of the counts of Urgell and famous mainly for his participation in the

Reconquista The ''Reconquista'' (Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese for ) or the fall of al-Andalus was a series of military and cultural campaigns that European Christian Reconquista#Northern Christian realms, kingdoms waged ag ...

. A man of culture, Ermengol was open to influences from wider Europe and made two voyages to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, in 998 and 1001. He was a stimulus to his nobles in making pilgrimages to

Santiago de Compostela Santiago de Compostela, simply Santiago, or Compostela, in the province of Province of A Coruña, A Coruña, is the capital of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia, in northwestern Spain. The city ...

and Le Puy. He also reformed the judiciary of his county to make justice more available to all. Lewis, Archibald R.
The Development of Southern French and Catalan Society, 718–1050
'. University of Texas Press: Austin, 1965, p. 379. He also began to reassert his authority over the outlying castles of his realm, whose lords were acting independently of his power. Ermengol also maintained an intense war against the

Caliphate of Córdoba A caliphate ( ) is an institution or public office under the leadership of an Islamic steward with Khalifa, the title of caliph (; , ), a person considered a political–religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader of ...

. In 1003, Urgell was invaded by Abd al-Malik al-Muzaffar. Aided by the brothers Bernard I of Besalú and Wifred II of Cerdagne, and his own brother, Ramon Borrell of Barcelona, Ermengol defeated them at the Battle of Torà, followed by a narrower victory at the Battle of Albesa. Erdmann, Carl (1977), ''The Origin of the Idea of Crusade'' (Princeton: Princeton University Press), 99–100. He was captured by Abd al-Malik, the Córdoban ''

hajib Hajib or hadjib (, ) was a court official, equivalent to a chamberlain, in the early Muslim world, which evolved to fulfil various functions, often serving as chief ministers or enjoying dictatorial powers. The post appeared under the Umayyad Ca ...

'', during reprisals in the summer, but was freed by March 1004. In 1008, he led several successful expeditions against the

Moors The term Moor is an Endonym and exonym, exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslims, Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a s ...

.Erdmann, based on Adhemar de Chabannes. In 1010, he participated in the expedition of his brother Ramon Borrell of Barcelona against Córdoba itself. He died nearby at Castell de Bacar. His testament, dated around 1010, includes one of the first-attested mentions of the game of

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

in Western Europe.

Family

Before 10 July 1000, Ermengol married Tetberga, presumably a daughter of Artaud I, Count of Forez, by his wife Tetberga of Limoges. The younger Tetberga died between 7 April and 3 November 1005, when Ermengol's second wife Guisla (Gisela) is first mentioned. Guisla's family is not known, but she may have been the homonymous daughter of Gausfred I of Roussillon, named in her father's will in February 989. She survived him and was still alive on 18 November 1010. From this second union came two children: * Ermengol II, his successor *Ermesinda – married, before 1029, Raymond III of Pallars Jussà

Notes

Sources

*Lewis, Archibald R.
The Development of Southern French and Catalan Society, 718–1050
'. University of Texas Press: Austin, 1965. *Aurell i Cardona, Martin. "Jalons pour une enquête sur les stratégies matrimoniales des comtes catalans (IXe-XIe s.)" ''Symposium Internacional sobre els Origens de catalunya (Segles VIII-XI)'', 2 vol, Barcelona 1991–2; vol 1, pp. 282–364. *Stasser, Thierry
"Origine familiale de trois comtesses de Pallars."
''Anuario de Estudios Medievales'', 26/1, 1996, pp. 3–16. {{DEFAULTSORT:Ermengol 01, Count of Urgell 974 births 1010 deaths Counts of Urgell 10th-century Catalan people 11th-century Catalan people