Ermengol III, Count of Urgell

Ermengol (or Armengol) III (1032 – 1065), called el de Barbastro, was the count of Urgell from 1038 to his death.[1] He was the son of Ermengol II, Count of Urgell and his wife Velasquita "Constance", probably the daughter of Bernard I, Count of Besalú.[2]

Ermengol with his cousin, Ramon Berenguer I, Count of Barcelona

Life

Allied with his contemporary and second cousin Ramon Berenguer I, Count of Barcelona, together they shared in the process of erosion of the comital authority to the noblesse. They also cooperated in the Reconquista and he received a third part of the conquests, occupying, in 1050, Camarasa and Cubells after taking them from Yusuf of Lleida. In 1039 – 1040, Ermengol and Raymond Berengar signed a pact against Raymond of Cerdanya. Later in that decade, Raymond Berenger paid 20,000 solidi for Ermengol's support and military aid.[3]

He took part in the Barbastro War of 1064 under the banner of his brother-in-law Sancho Ramírez of Aragon.[4] When Barbastro was captured, he was given the lordship of the city.[4] He died before 12 April 1065 defending the city from Moorish reprisals and was buried at the Monastery of San Pedro de Ager.[5]

Marriages and issue

Ermengol married before 1048, Adelaide, who died before 1055 and whose family is not known, even if some scholars made her daughter of Guillem I, Count of Besalu.[2] They were the parents of:

Church of Sant Pere in Àger where Ermengol III was buried

Before 7 May 1055, Ermengol took as his second wife Clemencia, hypothesized to have been daughter of Berengar Raymond I and his second wife Guisla (based on the names of their younger sons), by whom he had:

  • Berenguer
  • Guillem
  • Ramon

Clemencia died after 17 October 1059, when she confirms a charter with her husband,[9] and before 6 November 1062. Ermengol was remarried to a lady named Elvira, who died before 1063.

In 1063, Ermengol married as his fourth wife Sancha,[1] daughter of Ramiro I of Aragon.[2][lower-alpha 2]

Ermengol III died in battle near Monzón and his body was first taken to Barbastro and then to the fortress of Àger where he was buried at the entrance of the Church of San Pedro at the Monastery of San Pedro de Àger.[10]

Notes
  1. In a charter dated 1066 – 1076, he appears as Ermengaudum, Urgellensem comitem, filium Adalaidis comitisse (Ermengol, count of Urgell, son of Countess Adelaide),[6] and, in another charter, dated 1069 – 1071, he identifies himself as Ego, Ermengaudus comes Urgelli, filius qui sum comitisse Adalaidis (I, Ermengol count of Urgell, son of Countess Adelaide). In this charter, he swears fealty to his brother-in-law William I, Count of Cerdanya and promises that if he died without issue, the county of Urgell would be inherited by his sister Isabella.[7]
  2. On 12 April 1065, Sancha and her step-son, Ermengol IV, made several donations to the Monastery of San Pedro de Àger, Sancha as the widow of Ermengol III and Ermengol IV as the son of the deceased count. Count Ermengol III died without executing a will and was buried in this monastery.[5]

References
  1. Ubieto Arteta 1987, p. 44.
  2. Fernández-Xesta y Vázquez 2001, p. 15.
  3. Lewis 1965, p. 380.
  4. Lapeña Paúl 2004, p. 160.
  5. Chesé Lapeña 2011, Doc. 69, pp. 299–302.
  6. Baiges, Feliu & Salrach 2010, Doc. 66, pp. 234–38.
  7. Baiges, Feliu & Salrach 2010, Doc. 51, pp. 211–12.
  8. Lapeña Paúl (2004), pp. 59–61.
  9. Chesé Lapeña 2011, Doc. 41, pp. 260–261.
  10. Durán Gudiol 1993, p. 77.

Sources
  • Aurell i Cardona, Martin. "Jalons pour une enquête sur les stratégies matrimoniales des comtes Catalans (IXe-XIe s.)" Symposium internacional, 1991, vol 1, pp 281–364.
  • Baiges, Ignasi J.; Feliu, Gaspar; Salrach, Josep M. (2010). Els pergamins de l'Arxiu Comtal de Barcelona, de Ramon Berenguer II a Ramon Berenguer IV (PDF) (in Catalan). Vol. I. (Coord.). Barcelona: Fundació Noguera. ISBN 978-84-9779-958-4.
  • Chesé Lapeña, Ramon (2011). Collecció diplomàtica de Sant Pere dÀger fins 1198 (PDF) (in Catalan). Vol. I. Barcelona: Fundació Noguera. ISBN 978-84-9975-117-7.
  • Durán Gudiol, Antonio (1993). Ramiro I de Aragón (in Spanish). Zaragoza: Ibercaja. ISBN 84-87007-90-2.
  • Fernández-Xesta y Vázquez, Ernesto (2001). Relaciones del condado de Urgel con Castilla y León (in Spanish). Madrid: E&P Libros Antiguos, S.L. ISBN 84-87860-37-0.
  • Lapeña Paúl, Ana Isabel (2004). Sancho Ramírez, rey de Aragón (¿1064?-1094) y rey de Navarra (1076-1094) (in Spanish). Gijón: Ediciones Trea. ISBN 84-9704-123-2.
  • Lewis, Archibald R. (1965). The Development of Southern French and Catalan Society, 718 – 1050. Austin: University of Texas Press. OCLC 657400975.
  • Ponsich, Pierre. "Le Conflent et ses comtes du IXe au XIIe siècle." Etudes Roussillonnaises, 1, 1951, pp 241–344.
  • Ubieto Arteta, Antonio. (1987). Creación y desarrollo de la Corona de Aragón (in Spanish). Zaragoza: Anubar. ISBN 84-7013-227-X.
Preceded by
Ermengol II		 Count of Urgell
1038–1065		 Succeeded by
Ermengol IV
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