Bernat of Septimania

Bernard or Bernat of Septimania was Count of Barcelona from 826 to 832 and again from 835 to 844. He was the successor of the Frank Rampó and was a leading proponent of war against the Muslims, and for Frankish (or rather opposed to the interest of the local Gothic nobility)

After the designation, a magnate called Aissó, perhaps a Gothic liutenant of the ex count Berà, or perhaps an Arab (Aysun) son of Sulayman al-Arabi, that was residing confined in Aachen from an indeterminate date, escaped from captivity to the Hispanic March, to the region of Vic, where the garrisons of the castles of the zone, that they had to be favorable to Berà, were joined to him in a revolt against the new count. Alone the castle of Roda de Ter, in the county of Ausona was resisted and it was destroyed by the revolted. Many goth noble are joined to Aissó and, between them, Guillemó or Guillemundus, son of Berà, that was yet count of Rasez and Conflent. Even they were recruited some moslem supporters of the peace with the Francs. From the central zone that was occupying, Aissó submitted to punishment to the county of Cerdagne and to the region of the Vallés. The young count Bernat, not yet thirty years old, requested and received some help from the Emperor, as well as of some noble local Goths or "hispani " (826). Because of this Aissó had to sent an embassy led by his brother to request help from Abd al-Rahman II , the emir of Córdoba and the only available power in a position to successfully oppose the Franks. Abd al-Rahman sent the general Ubayd Allah, known also as Abu Marwan, who arrived in Zaragoza in May 827 and then invaded the territory of the county of Barcelona. He reached Barcelona in the summer, besieging it without success and ransacking its surroundings. Happened then to Girona that either they could occupy (October 10, 827). Louis I the Pious, meanwhile, learning of the Muslim raid, ordered his son Pippin I of Aquitania and counts Hugo of Tours and Matfred of Orleans to recruit an army and lead it against the Muslims — but recruitment was slow and when the army arrived, Abu Merwan had already returned to Muslim territory, together with Aissó and his followers (827). Probably Aissó was sheltered in Córdoba, where afterwards, suspected of conspiracy, he was murdered by order of the emir. Also Guillemó had to finish his days in Córdoba.

The victory increased the prestige of Bernat. Though the county of Ausona, dependent of Barcelona, remained depopulated by middle century, its ruin was attributed to Hugo of Tours and Matfred of Orleans by their lateness in arriving. Both counts were dispossessed of their counties in the Assambly of Aachen 828, and Orleans was granted to Eudes , father of Bernat (count of Orleans, Nevers and Autun from 828 to 834 in which year he died combatting to the forces of Lothar). Gaucelm received the feoffments from Conflent and Rasez . As the count Leibulf of Narbonne had expired in the spring of 828, his vast dominances were attributed to Bernat: Narbonne, Beziers, Agde, Melgueil, Nimes and probably Uzes. Because of this it was known as Bernat duke of Septimania (or simply Bernat of Septimania). In the Assembly of Ingelheim June 828 was considered to effect a reprisal raid to Cordoban territory, but though an army was gathered in Thionville did not arrive to enter the domains of Bernat upon disappearing the Musulman threat, whose leaders were seeming have resigned to a new assault.

In August 829 the Emperor sent to his son Lothar to Italy, with the title of king. To replace him at court, Louis summoned Bernat of Septimania, with the title of camerarius, having the custody of the child Charles (then Charles the Bald). Bernat delegated the government of his counties to his brother Gaucelm, who therefore also was called "marquis". After only a few months at court, Bernat had made many enemies and was rumoured to be conduction an illicit relationship with the Empress, Judith of Bavaria: this provoked a riot in the army gathered at Rennes to combat the Bretons in April 830 . Threatened seriously, since the three greater children of Louis the Pious were supporting the opposition to Bernat, he abandoned the court and returned to his domains of Septimania and Gothia. A brother of Bernat who remained at court, Eribert , was banished. For a time Lothar triumphed over father Louis I, but Louis recovered his power at the Assembly of Nijmegen in October 830 and, at the Assembly of Aachen in February 831, proceeded to a division of the Empire by which Gothia was assigned to Charles the Bald, though the division would not be effective until the dead of Louis the Pious. Bernat attempted to regain favour with Judith and Charles the Bald, but these, after the previous events, avoided renewing relations with the marquis. At the Assembly of Thionville, October 831 , Bernat could speak personally with the Emperor, but could not recover his previous position at court. As a result, Bernat switched sides.

In November 831, Pippin of Aquitaine revolted against his father. His counselor Berenguer, count of Toulouse from 814 and counselor of Pippin from 816, advised him against revolt but Bernat of Septimania urged him into it. In early 832 Louis the Pious began the campaign against his rebellious son. Berenguer, loyal to the Emperor, penetrated into the domains of Bernat and was given some of them, with safety of Roussillon (with Vallespir), probably also Rasez and Conflent. February 2, 832 Berenguer already is in Elna. Finally in autumn of the same year, successive victories of the imperial forces compelled Pippin and Bernat to appear before the Emperor (October). Pippin was dispossessed of his kingdom and sent as prisoner to Trier, being conceded his territories to Charles (the Bald). Bernat was accused of infidelity and dismissed of all his possessions in Septimania and Gothia that they were delivered to Berenguer of Toulouse. Probably Gaucelm was also dispossessed of his counties, but by a time preserved the county of Empúries no respecting his dismissal. Finally in the year 833, by the mediation of the abbot Angenís of Fontanelle, he resigned and departed toward properties of the family in Burgundy, together with his staunch liutenant Sanila. Gaucelm and Sanila were executed by have defended Chalon-sur-Saône against the assault of Lothar in 834 (even it was murdered a nun, sister of Gaucelm and of Bernat of Septimania, called Gerberga). In this last war, where Lothar was defeated, Bernat and Gaucelm fought to the side of Pippin of Aquitaine, one of those which finally left victorious. Bernat of Septimania, alleging the high price of blood paid in the struggle, claimed the return of his old domains. Berenguer was possesing them legally and his party also left winning of the struggle, though weakened. The Emperor doubting as acting. In June 835 he summoned to Bernat and Berenguer to an Assembly in Cremieux , near Lyon, where would be taken a decision, but on the way Berenguer died unexpectedly. Already without obstacle, the Emperor returned the counties of Septimania, Gothia and Toulouse to Bernat. Only Empúries and Roussillon, which had been already passed to the counts Sunyer and Alaric, and Urgell and Cerdagne which had been separated of Toulouse by usurpation of Aznar I Galíndez and that to be expelled had been attributed to Sunifred brother of the count Oliba of Carcasonne, were lacking to Bernat to complete the great territorial batch that there was managing Berenguer.

Bernat returned to act without taking into account especially the desires of the population of Gothic origin that before had supported to Berà and then to Berenguer. Ten of complaint were presented against him in the Assembly of Quierzy-sur-Oise in September 838 . From 841 was often absent participating in the struggles of the Empire, and the counties were administered by their respective vicecounts. At the battle of Fontenay-en-Puisaye (June 25, 841) Charles the Bald and Louis the German defeated their brother Lothar who however retreated to the South with his army. Bernat stayed in the surroundings of the battlefield, waiting its result, and upon finishing, sending to his son Guillem to offer homage to Charles the Bald, and to promise him that his father would obtain the submission of Pippin II of Aquitania (something that it did not had intention of accomplishing). During the campaign of Charless the Bald in Aquitania of the year 842, decided to punish Bernat, dispossessed to him of the county of Toulouse that delivered to the count Acfred (July 842 ), but Bernat refused to accept the decision and was revolted openly allied to Pipin II, expelling to Acfred from Toulouse (843). The count (ducem) Guerín of Provence , that on 842 directed the campaign in Aquitania, happened to combat in Septimania. Various external facts (the Norman invasion, the Breton revolt) compelled to cease the civil struggles, and in August 843 was signed the Treaty of Verdun that was distributing the Empire, remaining Septimania and Gothia in the batch of Charles the Bald, unless the county of Uzes, where Bernat was possessing patrimonial goods, that was assigned to Lothar. Furthermore the county of Autun, claimed by Guillem, son of Bernat, it was trusted to Guerín, rival of Bernat. In 844 Charles the Bald returned to Aquitania with the objective of submitting to Pippin II and to conquer Toulouse. Seem that in a luck blow, Bernat of Septimania was captured by the imperial forces perhaps during the assault on Toulouse. A French historian, Pierre Andoque , maintains that Bernat was captured advanced the year 843 by the duke Guerín in Uzes, and that 844 was carried before Carlos when this travel to Aquitania. It will be as were in May 844 Bernat was presented to Charles after his recent or no longer so recent apprehension, who ordered its execution. Nevertheless Pipin II and Guillem, son of Bernat, violated a severe rout to Charles in Angoumois June 14, 844, and thus the followers of Bernat were not totally eliminated.