Bernat Guillem I. d'Entença

Bernat Guillem I. d'Entença (also Bernard Wilhelm von Montpellier ; † 1237 ) was a Catalan nobleman of Occitan origin in the 13th century.

Life

Bernat Guillem was one of the sons from the second marriage of William VIII of Montpellier , whose legitimacy was Pope Innocent III. not recognized (see Decretals Per Venerabilem ). Apparently he was intended for a spiritual career, at least he is mentioned in his father's will from 1202 as a monk in Girona and Lodève . At an unknown point in time, Bernat Guillem gave up monastic life and entered the service of his nephew, King James I of Aragón . From this he got a fief in Catalonia . Jacob also arranged for him to marry Jussiana d'Entença, mistress of Alcolea , whose cognomen he adopted and thus naturalized himself into the Catalan nobility.

The sarcophagus of Bernat Guillem d'Entença in the Abbey of El Puig.

Bernat Guillem was involved in his nephew's campaigns against the Moors . After an offensive in the Moorish Taifa kingdom of Valencia in 1237, the strategically important hill near Cebolla (El Puig de Santa María) was placed under him with a garrison for guarding, while the king temporarily withdrew to Catalonia. The Moorish ruler of Valencia, Zayyan, recognized this as an opportunity to recapture the hill and advanced against it with his main force. Before King Jacob could have marched back to El Puig, Bernat Guillem, despite his numerical inferiority, had to face the Moors in open battle on August 15 at the Battle of El Puig de Santa María , in which he achieved a complete victory. This victory contributed significantly to the conquest of Valencia the following year. Bernat Guillem died in the late year 1237 of the wounds he had sustained in the battle of El Puig and was buried in the newly founded Mercedarian Abbey of El Puig.

From his marriage there were two sons:

Guillem d'Entença (* 1227/28, †?).
Bernat Guillem II. D'Entença († after 1296), Lord of Alcolea.

Individual evidence

^ ^A ^b The Book of Deeds of James I of Aragon. A Translation of the medieval catalan Llibre dels Fets , ed. by Damian J. Smith and Helena Buffery (2010), §4, p. 19.
↑ Spicilegium sive collectio veterum aliquot Scriptorum qui in Galliae bibliothecis delituerant , Vol. 3, ed. by Luc d'Achery (1723), p. 561.
↑ The Book of Deeds of James I of Aragon. A Translation of the medieval catalan Llibre dels Fets , ed. by Damian J. Smith and Helena Buffery (2010), §206, p. 187.
↑ The Book of Deeds of James I of Aragon. A Translation of the medieval catalan Llibre dels Fets , ed. by Damian J. Smith and Helena Buffery (2010), §217-218, pp. 193-194.
↑ The Book of Deeds of James I of Aragon. A Translation of the medieval catalan Llibre dels Fets , ed. by Damian J. Smith and Helena Buffery (2010), §231, p. 202.
↑ Guillem d'Entença was knighted by James I in the spring of 1238 as a "ten or eleven year old" in El Puig de Santa María. The Book of Deeds of James I of Aragon. A Translation of the medieval catalan Llibre dels Fets , ed. by Damian J. Smith and Helena Buffery (2010), §235, p. 205.

Web links

Commons : Sepulcre de Bernat Guillem d'Entença - Collection of images, videos and audio files

personal data
SURNAME	Bernat Guillem I. d'Entença
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Catalan general
DATE OF BIRTH	12th Century
PLACE OF BIRTH	Montpellier
DATE OF DEATH	1237
Place of death	El Puig de Santa María

[Entença1-1] A ^b The Book of Deeds of James I of Aragon. A Translation of the medieval catalan Llibre dels Fets , ed. by Damian J. Smith and Helena Buffery (2010), §4, p. 19.

[2] Spicilegium sive collectio veterum aliquot Scriptorum qui in Galliae bibliothecis delituerant , Vol. 3, ed. by Luc d'Achery (1723), p. 561.

[3] The Book of Deeds of James I of Aragon. A Translation of the medieval catalan Llibre dels Fets , ed. by Damian J. Smith and Helena Buffery (2010), §206, p. 187.

[4] The Book of Deeds of James I of Aragon. A Translation of the medieval catalan Llibre dels Fets , ed. by Damian J. Smith and Helena Buffery (2010), §217-218, pp. 193-194.

[5] The Book of Deeds of James I of Aragon. A Translation of the medieval catalan Llibre dels Fets , ed. by Damian J. Smith and Helena Buffery (2010), §231, p. 202.

[6] Guillem d'Entença was knighted by James I in the spring of 1238 as a "ten or eleven year old" in El Puig de Santa María. The Book of Deeds of James I of Aragon. A Translation of the medieval catalan Llibre dels Fets , ed. by Damian J. Smith and Helena Buffery (2010), §235, p. 205.