Founder of the House of Barcelona

Wilfred or Wifred, called the Hairy, was Count of Urgell (from 870), Cerdanya (from 870), Barcelona (from 878), Girona (from 878, as Wilfred II), Besalú (from 878) and Ausona (from 886). On his death in 897, his son, Wilfred Borrell, inherited these counties, known by the historiography as the Catalan counties.

He was responsible for the repopulation of the long-depopulated no-man's land around Vic (the county of Ausona, a frontier between Christians and Muslims), the re-establishment of the bishopric of Vic and the foundation of the Monastery of Santa Maria de Ripoll, where he is buried.

Historical significance

Wilfred was the Count of Barcelona (878-897) who created the tradition of hereditary passage of titles. His son, Wilfred Borrell, inherited the county without any interruption and held it from 897 to 911.

A number of primitive feudal entities developed in the Marca Hisp&aacuet;nica during the 9th century. They were generally agrarian, self-sufficient, and ruled by a small military elite. This pattern in Catalonia was similar to that found in similar border lands or marches elsewhere in Europe.

Traditionally the Count of Barcelona was appointed directly by the Carolingian (Frankish) emperor, for example the appointment of Bera in 801. The appointment of heirs could not be taken for granted. However, with the rise of strong counts such as Sunifred (fl. 844-848) and Wilfred, and the weakening of Carolingian royal power, the appointment of heirs eventually become a formality. This trend resulted in the counts becoming de facto independent of the Carolingian crown under Borrell II in 985.

Wilfred remained obscure until drawn into the historians' net by Sir Richard Southern, in The Making of the Middle Ages, 1953.

Origins

The Legend of Guifré el Pilós originally placed his birth near Prades, in the County of Conflent, one of the Catalan counties of the Spanish March; however, historians concluded that he was born in Girona, Catalonia, in northeastern Spain.

According to legend, he was the son of Wilfred of Arriaount (or Wilfred of Arri), a county near Prades. His father was murdered by Salomón and Wilfred became his avenger, killing the assassin. After the research done by French monks Dom De Vic and Dom Vaissete, authors of Histoire Générale de Languedoc, he is identified as the son of Sunifred I of Barcelona, count of many counties under Louis the Pious and Charles the Bald. Wilfred's mother may have been named Ermesende. Sunifred may have been the son of Belló, Count of Carcassonne during the reign of Charlemagne, or more probably, his son-in-law. Thus, as a descendant of Sunifred and his brother, Sunyer I, count of Empúries and Roussillon (834-848), Wilfred is considered to be a member of a Bellonid dynasty by Ramon d'Abadal and other historians.

Investiture

The Bellonid lineage lost its power when Sunifred and Sunyer died in 848, but was revived slightly by the appointment of Dela and Sunyer II, sons of Sunyer I, to the countship of Empúries in 862. Later, at an assembly at Attigny in June 870, Charles the Bald made their cousins, Wilfred the Hairy and his brother Miró (known as the Old), counts of Urgell and Cerdanya, and Conflent, respectively. For in that year, the poorly-chronicled Solomon, count of Urgell, Cerdanya, and Conflent, had died.

After becoming Count of Urgell and Cerdanya in 870, Wilfred received the counties of Barcelona, Girona, and Besalú in 878 from the Carolingian king of France, Louis the Stammerer. His reign coincided with the crumbling of Carolingian authority and unity. Wilfred was thus the last count of the Hispanic March appointed by the French king and the first to pass his vast holdings as an inheritance to his sons (albeit sanctioned by the monarch).

Wilfred came into possession of Barcelona through his service to Charles the Bald against the rebel Bernard of Gothia, Count of Barcelona, Roussillon, and numerous other Septimanian counties. Wilfred, Miró, their brother Sunifred (who became the Abbot of Arles), and Lindoí, the Viscount of Narbonne, marched against Bernard on behalf of King Charles and his son, Louis the Stammerer. In March and April 878, they defeated the nobles loyal to Bernard, including Sigebuto, Bishop of Narbonne, and expelled all partisan priests from the church.

At the Council of Troyes in August 878, presided over by Pope John VIII and King Louis II the Stammerer, Wilfred was formally invested as Count of Urgell and Cerdanya, Miró as Count of Conflent, Sunyer as Count of Emp&eucute;ries, and Oliba II as Count of Carcassonne. On 11 September 878, Bernard was dispossessed of all his titles. Bernard's former possessions were given to Wilfred (Barcelona with Ausona, Girona, and Besalú) and Miró (Roussillon). The counties of Narbonne, Béziers, and Agde were separated from that of Barcelona. Sunifred was made Abbot of Arles, Riculf Bishop of Elna, and the Bishops of Urgell, Girona, and Barcelona were confirmed in their sees. Wilfred immediately ceded Besalú to his brother Radulph (878-920).

Death

By 884, the Muslims had become increasingly uneasy by the expansion of the Christian counties to the north. Wilfred had established defensive positions or castles in Ausona at Cardona, Bergueda, and Vall de Lord; some were even south of the River Llobregat in the Vall de Cervelló. Essentially the frontiers of Wilfred's counties had now extended too far to remain irrelevant.

The Muslim ruler Isma'il ibn Musa ibn Qasawi fortified Lleida in response. Provoked by this, Wilfred attacked Ismail at Lleida. The attack however was a disaster. The historian Ibn al Athir describes the massacre of the attackers by the city's defenders. Buoyed by this success, Ismail's successor Lubb ibn Muhammad al-Qasawi attacked Barcelona in 897. Wilfred died in battle on 11 August 897. He was buried in the monastery at Ripoll.

Succession

The weakening of Frankish royal authority in the Hispanic March is principally the result of the establishment of hereditary succession of the counties rather than by choice of the monarch. In 895, Miró the Old died and his county of Roussillon passed, without interference from King Odo, to Sunyer II of Empúries. In fact, Wilfred himself was never confirmed by any monarch as Count of Ausona. The importance of this development in the Middle Ages cannot be overstated. As hereditary succession became the custom, it became accepted as law and the kings lost control over the counts. The counts had become sovereigns in their own dominions.

The lack, however, of a legal basis for inheritance led to various experiments in hereditary succession. When Wilfred died in 897, his counties were divided amongst his sons. Wilfred Borrell and Sunyer (oldest and youngest) ruled over Barcelona, Girona, and Ausona; Miró over Cerdanya and Conflent; and Sunifred over Urgell.

Family

Wilfred married Guinidilda. Charters from the period give her father as one Sunifred, who was probably a noble. The Gesta Comitum Barcinonensium records her father as Baldwin I, Margrave of Flanders, but this source is considered unreliable in detailing the family relations of the early counts of Barcelona.