Sunifred I, Count of Barcelona
Encyclopedia
Sunifred was the count of many Catalan and Septimanian counties; including Ausona, Besalú
, Girona, Narbonne
, Agde
, Béziers
, Lodève
, Melgueil
, Cerdanya
, Urgell
, Conflent
, and Nîmes
; and Count of Barcelona from 844 to 848.
He may have been the son of Belló
, Count of Carcassonne, or more probably, his son-in-law . In 834, he was named count of Urgell
and Cerdanya, which were at the time in the control of Aznar Galíndez I (an ally of the Banu Qasi
), by Louis the Pious
, Holy Roman Emperor
. Sunifred conquered Cerdanya in 835 and Urgell three years later (838). By the death of Bernard of Septimania
, he received the march of Gothia
. He then augmented his domains when Conflent fell into his hands, as count of Cerdanya, on the death of Bera II.
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 appointment of him to the counties of Barcelona, Ausona, Besalú
, Girona
, Narbonne
, Agde
, Béziers
, Lodève
, and Nîmes
in 844.
Throughout his reign, he was aloof of William of Septimania, son of Bernard, who had risen in 844 against Charles the Bald.
He died in 848 and his counties were given away by the Frankish king.
Sunifred I married Ermesende, and had the following children:
County of Besalú
The County of Besalú was one of the landlocked medieval Catalan counties near the Mediterranean coastline. It was roughly coterminous with the modern comarca of Garrotxa and at various times extended as far north as Corbières, Aude, now in France. Its capital was the village of Besalú...
, Girona, Narbonne
Viscount of Narbonne
The Viscount of Narbonne was the secular ruler of Narbonne in the Middle Ages. Narbonne had been the capital of the Visigoth province of Septimania, until the eighth century, after which it became the Carolingian Viscounty of Narbonne. Narbonne was nominally subject to the Carolingian Counts of...
, Agde
Agde
Agde is a commune in the Hérault department in southern France. It is the Mediterranean port of the Canal du Midi.-Location:Agde is located on the river Hérault, 4 km from the Mediterranean Sea, and 750 km from Paris...
, Béziers
Béziers
Béziers is a town in Languedoc in southern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the Hérault department. Béziers hosts the famous Feria de Béziers, centred around bullfighting, every August. A million visitors are attracted to the five-day event...
, Lodève
Lodève
Lodève is a commune in the Hérault département in Languedoc-Roussillon in southern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.-Geography:...
, Melgueil
County of Melgueil
The County of Melgueil was a fief of first the Carolingian Emperor, then the King of France, and finally the Papacy during the Middle Ages. Counts probably sat at Melgueil from the time of the Visigoths. The counts of Melgueil were also counts of Maguelonne and Substantion from at least the time...
, Cerdanya
Cerdanya
Cerdanya is a natural comarca and historical region of the eastern Pyrenees divided between France and Spain. Historically it has been one of the counties of Catalonia....
, Urgell
Counts of Urgell
This is a list of the counts of Urgell.-ca. 798-870 Counts appointed by the Carolingians:*798-820 Borrell, count of Urgell and Cerdanya*820-824 Aznar I Galíndez, count of Aragon, was given Borrell's counties while he was exiled from Aragon...
, Conflent
Conflent
Conflent is a historical Catalan comarca of Northern Catalonia, now part of the French Département of Pyrénées-Orientales. In the Middle Ages it comprised the County of Conflent....
, and Nîmes
Nîmes
Nîmes is the capital of the Gard department in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in southern France. Nîmes has a rich history, dating back to the Roman Empire, and is a popular tourist destination.-History:...
; and Count of Barcelona from 844 to 848.
He may have been the son of Belló
Bello of Carcassonne
Bello was Count of Carcassonne from 790 until his death. He was the founder of the Bellonid Dynasty of Carcassonne and Razes which reached its apex in Wilfred the Hairy, progenitor of the House of Barcelona....
, Count of Carcassonne, or more probably, his son-in-law . In 834, he was named count of Urgell
Urgell
The County of Urgell is one of the historical Catalan counties, bordering on the counties of Pallars and Cerdanya.The county was carved by the Franks out of a former section of the Mark of Toulouse when the Alt Urgell area became part of the Carolingian Empire between 785 and 790.The original...
and Cerdanya, which were at the time in the control of Aznar Galíndez I (an ally of the Banu Qasi
Banu Qasi
The Banu Qasi, Banu Kasi, Beni Casi or Banu Musa were a Basque Muladi dynasty that ruled the upper Ebro valley in the 9th century, before being displaced in the first quarter of the 10th century.-Dynastic beginnings:...
), by Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious
Louis the Pious , also called the Fair, and the Debonaire, was the King of Aquitaine from 781. He was also King of the Franks and co-Emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813...
, Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
. Sunifred conquered Cerdanya in 835 and Urgell three years later (838). By the death of Bernard of Septimania
Bernat of Septimania
Bernard of Septimania , son of William of Gellone, was the Frankish Duke of Septimania and Count of Barcelona from 826 to 832 and again from 835 to his execution. He was also count of Carcassonne from 837. He was appointed to succeed his fellow Frank Rampon...
, he received the march of Gothia
Gothia
Gothia is a name given to various places where the Goths lived during their migrations:* Götaland, the traditional original homeland of the Goths.* Dacia was referred to as Gothia during the fourth century, when it was settled by Goths....
. He then augmented his domains when Conflent fell into his hands, as count of Cerdanya, on the death of Bera II.
In 841, the Moors
Moors
The description Moors has referred to several historic and modern populations of the Maghreb region who are predominately of Berber and Arab descent. They came to conquer and rule the Iberian Peninsula for nearly 800 years. At that time they were Muslim, although earlier the people had followed...
invaded Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
and marched against Narbonne through the region of Cerdanya. Sunifred stopped them cold in battle, an event which certainly influenced Charles the Bald's appointment of him to the counties of Barcelona, Ausona, Besalú
Besalú
Besalú is a town in the comarca of Garrotxa, in Catalonia, Spain.The town's importance was greater in the early Middle Ages, as capital of the county of Besalú, whose territory was roughly the same size as the current comarca of Garrotxa but sometime extended as far as Corbières, Aude, in France....
, Girona
Girona
Girona is a city in the northeast of Catalonia, Spain at the confluence of the rivers Ter, Onyar, Galligants and Güell, with an official population of 96,236 in January 2009. It is the capital of the province of the same name and of the comarca of the Gironès...
, Narbonne
Narbonne
Narbonne is a commune in southern France in the Languedoc-Roussillon region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. Once a prosperous port, it is now located about from the shores of the Mediterranean Sea...
, Agde
Agde
Agde is a commune in the Hérault department in southern France. It is the Mediterranean port of the Canal du Midi.-Location:Agde is located on the river Hérault, 4 km from the Mediterranean Sea, and 750 km from Paris...
, Béziers
Béziers
Béziers is a town in Languedoc in southern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the Hérault department. Béziers hosts the famous Feria de Béziers, centred around bullfighting, every August. A million visitors are attracted to the five-day event...
, Lodève
Lodève
Lodève is a commune in the Hérault département in Languedoc-Roussillon in southern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department.-Geography:...
, and Nîmes
Nîmes
Nîmes is the capital of the Gard department in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in southern France. Nîmes has a rich history, dating back to the Roman Empire, and is a popular tourist destination.-History:...
in 844.
Throughout his reign, he was aloof of William of Septimania, son of Bernard, who had risen in 844 against Charles the Bald.
He died in 848 and his counties were given away by the Frankish king.
Sunifred I married Ermesende, and had the following children:
- Wilfred the HairyWilfred the HairyWilfred or Wifred, called the Hairy, was Count of Urgell , Cerdanya , Barcelona , Girona , Besalú , and Ausona ....
(died 11 August 897) - Radulf of BesalúRadulf of BesalúRadulf was a Count of Besalú. He was the younger son of Sunifred I, Count of Barcelona, and thus a brother of Wilfred the Hairy and Miró the Elder....
(died 920) - Miro the ElderMiro the ElderMiro, called the Old or the Elder was the count of Conflent from 870 and Rosselló from 878 until his death...
(died 896)