Bernhard of Septimania

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Bernhard of Septimania (* 795 ; † February 14, 844 in Toulouse ), also called Bernhard I of Barcelona , was a regional prince and leading statesman of partly Visigoth descent at the court of Emperor Louis the Pious . In the decay of the late Carolingian Empire, Bernhard's career was typical as a representative of the high nobility, who ruthlessly pursued their own interests.

Origin and descendants

His father was Count Wilhelm of Aquitaine , his mother Witberga (also Witburgis or Guitburga) († before 795), Wilhelm's second wife. Bernhard was the godchild of Emperor Charlemagne .

His siblings were

From his father's first marriage to Kunigunde († before 795) he had half-siblings

In 824 he married in the Aachen Palatine Chapel Dhuoda , which came from an important Australian family. With her he had the offspring

See also: Wilhelmiden

title

In 832 Bernhard fell out of favor and lost all titles by 835.

  • 835 to 843 Count of Roussillon
  • 835 to 844 Count of Barcelona and Girona
  • 835 to 844 Duke of Septimania and Gothia, Count of Narbonne, Béziers, Agde, Melgueil, Nîmes and possibly of Uzès and Lodève
  • 835 to 844 Count of Toulouse
  • 837 to 844 Count of Carcassonne

Life

First reign (826-832)

After the initial success of his stepbrother Berà , the Count of Barcelona , in the reconquest of areas occupied by the Moors , there were military and political defeats from the year 810. His opponents, under the leadership of his stepbrothers Bernhard and Gauzhelm, used this to intrigue the Kaiser. In 820 Berá in Aachen was accused of infidelity and treason by the governor Gauzhelm and banished to Rouen by Emperor Ludwig the Pious , where he died in 844.

In 826, the Emperor Bernhard, who was considered prudent and cunning, succeeded the Frankish Count Rampó as Count of Barcelona and Girona. In the war against the Moors, Bernhard was the leader and Frank-friendly. In doing so, he was against the interests of the local Visigoth nobility .

Aysun uprising

Shortly thereafter, a ruler named Aysun appeared. His identity is not certain. Possibly he was the son of the Moorish governor of Barcelona Sulayman al-Arabi , who had managed to escape from custody in Aachen and obtain the Spanish mark . Aysun established himself in the Vic area . Berá-loyal crews of the surrounding castles, numerous Gothic nobles, among them also Berá's son Guillemó (or Guillemundus ), then Count of Rasès and Conflent, as well as Moorish advocates of peace with the Franconian Empire , joined an uprising against the new Count.

When the attacks on the heartland increased, Count Bernhard asked for help from the emperor and received it on a small scale, as well as from some local nobles. Aysun then turned to the only power that could withstand the Franks and sent his brother with a request for help to the Emir of Cordoba , Abd ar-Rahman II. Abd ar-Rahman's troops, under his general Ubayd Allah (also known as Abu Marwan ), occupied the entire area of ​​the county of Barcelona in 827, besieged the capital and sacked the surrounding area. But after they failed to take Barcelona , they besieged Girona without success .

Emperor Ludwig learned of the Moorish occupation and commissioned his son Pippin I , King of Aquitaine , as well as Count Hugo von Tours and Matfried von Orléans to raise troops. However, the recruitment was so hesitant that the Moorish troops were already in retreat when the army was finally formed. The rebels left the country with the Moorish troops. It is believed that both Aysun and Guillemó died in Córdoba .

Increase in power: Count of Septimania

The easy victory increased Bernhard's reputation. The fact that the Barcelona-dependent county of Osona remained depopulated for half a century has been blamed on Hugo of Tours and Matfred of Orleans for their belated interventions. Both counts were stripped of their counties in 828. Bernhard's brother Gauzhelm received the counties of Rasès and Conflent .

Since Count Leibulf von Narbonne died in the spring of 828, his extensive lands were also transferred to Bernhard: Narbonne , Béziers , Agde , Melguelh , Nîmes and possibly also Uzès . Since then, Bernhard was known as the Duke of Septimania (or simply Bernhard of Septimania ).

At the emperor's court

In August 829, Emperor Ludwig the Pious intended to send his son Lothar to Pavia as King of Italy . In order to replace him, at the instigation of the Empress Judith Bernhard he appointed chamberlain to the court and entrusted him with the education of his son Karl, later known as Karl the Bald . Bernhard entrusted the administration of his counties to his brother Gauzelm, who was therefore also called the Margrave .

After a short time at court, Bernhard had created many enemies, and these spread the rumor of a relationship between Bernhard and the Empress Judith, so that he had to purge himself of allegations of adultery by taking an oath. Since the three older sons of the emperor were in open opposition to him, Bernhard saw his safety seriously endangered. He left Ludwig's court and returned to his possessions in Septimania and Gothia . His brother Heribert von Vivarais , who remained at court, was blinded and banished to Italy.

Although Lothar was able to triumph over his father Ludwig the Pious in the disputes among the Carolingian heirs, he was able to consolidate his power again in October 830. In the imperial assembly of Nijmegen in February 831 he agreed to a division of the empire. Gothien was supposed to fall to Charles the Bald after Ludwig's death.

Bernhard then tried a reconciliation with Judith and Charles the Bald, but in view of the earlier events they were not ready to renew relations with the Count. Even in a personal conversation with the emperor, he was unable to regain his previous position at court. Bernhard decided to switch sides.

First rebellion and dismissal of Bernhard

In November 831, Pippin I of Aquitaine rebelled against his father, the emperor. Berengar von Toulouse , his adviser, had advised against him, but Bernhard encouraged Pippin in his decision to rebel. At the beginning of 832, Ludwig the Pious began a campaign against his rebellious son. Berengar, who remained loyal to the emperor, invaded the holdings of Bernhard.

Finally, continuous victories of the imperial troops in October 832 forced Pippin and Bernhard to appear before the emperor. Pippin was deposed and banished to Trier. His empire was given to Charles the Bald. Bernhard was accused of infidelity and lost all his possessions in Septimania and Gothien to Berengar. This now combined the old title of Count of Toulouse with that of Septimania / Narbonne.

It is possible that his brother Gauzhelm also lost his counties. However, he managed to hold the county of Ampurias for a while. Finally in 833 he renounced the mediation of the abbot Angenis von Fontanelle in this area and retired together with his captain Sanila to his family estates in Burgundy . Gauzhelm and Sanila were executed in 834 after Lothar attacked Chalon-sur-Saône , which they had defended . The sister of Bernhard and Gauzhelm, the nun Gerberga, was also murdered.

Second reign (835-844)

Return of the counties

In this battle, in which Lothar was defeated, Bernhard and Gauzhelm fought again on the side of Pippin I. Referring to the high blood toll, Bernhard demanded the return of his lands. Berengar rightfully owned it, and he too had paid a heavy toll. The emperor therefore hesitated at first, but in June 835 called Bernhard and Berengar to a meeting in Crémieux near Lyon to inform them of his decision. However, on the way there, Berengar died unexpectedly.

When there were no more obstacles, the emperor returned Septimania, Gothien and Toulouse to Bernhard. Of the whole area that Berengar had ruled, only Ampurias and Roussillon were missing, which had already been transferred to the Counts Sunyer I of Ampurias and to Alaric, as well as Pallars and Ribagorça , which two years earlier by the usurper Aznar I Galíndez , Count from Urgell and Cerdanya, separated from the county of Toulouse . After his expulsion, they were given to Sunifred I , the brother of Count Oliba I of Carcassonne .

Bernhard once again ruled his regained estates despotic and disregarded the wishes of the originally Gothic population, who had previously supported Berà and later Berengar. In September 838, dozens of complaints against Bernhard were brought to the Quierzy Imperial Assembly . From 841 he was mainly on the road because of the various wars in the Empire. The counties were administered by proxy.

In the Battle of Fontenoy on June 25, 841, Charles the Bald and Louis the German defeated their brother Lothar , who however still managed to withdraw with his army to the south. Bernhard had stayed in the vicinity of the battlefield and waited for the result. He then sent his son William of Septimania to Charlemagne to show him his respect and to convey his father's promise that he would urge Pepin II of Aquitaine to resign - a promise he never intended to fulfill. Pippin II succeeded his father Pippin I, who died in 838.

Second rebellion and death

During a campaign in Aquitaine in July 842, Charles the Bald decided to punish Bernhard and transfer the county of Toulouse to Count Acfred. Bernhard refused to accept the decision and openly rebelled by allying himself with Pippin II and driving Acfred from Toulouse in 843.

Various external circumstances, such as the invasion of the Normans and the revolt of the Bretons, forced the cessation of the civil wars within Franconia. For this purpose, the empire was divided up in August 843 - as the Empress Judith aimed for. According to the Treaty of Verdun , Charles the Bald kept Gothia and Septimania except for the county of Uzès , where Bernhard owned family estates. Uzès went to Lothar. In addition, the county of Autun , which claimed Bernhard's son Wilhelm, was given to Count Warin of Burgundy , a rival of Bernhard who had led the campaign in Aquitaine in 842 and then fought in September.

In 844 Charles the Bald returned to Aquitaine with the intention of forcing Pippin II to resign and to conquer Toulouse. Apparently by accident, Bernard of Septimania was captured by the imperial troops - possibly during the attack on Toulouse. Bernhard was brought before Karl the Bald in May 844, who then had him beheaded. (It was also alleged that Karl killed Bernhard in revenge for his adultery with Karl's mother Judith. It is possible that Karl was not Ludwig's biological son, but Bernhard's son. This claim was made primarily by Karl's rival brothers.)

One month later, on June 14, 844, Bernhard's son Wilhelm and Pippin II inflicted a heavy defeat on Charles the Bald in Anguemois . Accordingly, the supporters of Bernhard of Septimania were not yet finally defeated.

literature

predecessor Office successor
Rampó Count of Osona
826 		Aysun
Rampó Count of Barcelona and Girona
first reign
826–832 		Berengar of Toulouse
Berengar of Toulouse Count of Barcelona and Girona
second reign
835–844 		Sunifred
Berengar of Toulouse Count of Toulouse
835-844 		Fredelo
personal data
SURNAME Bernhard of Septimania
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Bernhard I of Barcelona
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Statesman at the court of Emperor Ludwig the Pious
DATE OF BIRTH 795
DATE OF DEATH February 14, 844
Place of death Toulouse