Saint Ermengol

{{Short description|Spanish bishop (died 1035)}}

{{Infobox saint

|name = Saint Ermengol

|birth_date = Unknown

|death_date = 1035

|feast_day = November 3

|venerated_in = Roman Catholicism
Eastern Orthodox Church

|image = Sant Ermengol a la catedral d'Urgell.JPG

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|birth_place = Ayguatébia, Conflent (?)

|death_place = El Pont de Bar

|titles = Bishop of Urgell

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Saint Ermengol (also Armengol or Armengod) or Hermengaudius was the bishop of Urgell from 1010 until his death in 1035.

Possibly born in the village of Ayguatébia, he was the son of Bernat I, viscount of Conflent, and his wife Guisla de Lluçià, and also nephew and successor to bishop Sal·la, as well as member of the ruling dynasty of the county of Conflent.The Bishop Builds a Bridge: Sanctity and Power in the Medieval Pyrenees, Jeffrey A. Bowman, The Catholic Historical Review, Vol. 88, No. 1 (Jan., 2002), 1-3.Catalunya Romànica, vol. VII, "La Cerdanya, El Conflent", Enciclopedia Catalana, Barcelona, 1995, p. 265.

By 1002 Ermengol reached the post of archdeacon, and the following year, the bishop of Urgell, Sal·la, had the arrangements made for Ermengol to succeed him. Ermengol began his episcopate by reforming the cathedral canons along the lines of the life of Saint Augustine, as well as granting them lands in the shires of Vallespir, Cerdanya, and Alt Urgell. In 1012 he travelled to Rome for an audience with pope Benedict VIII,Or perhaps in 1011 for an audience with Sergius IV. who confirmed the possessions of his bishopric as well as its jurisdiction, including the one over the county of Ribagorza. In 1017, Ermengol was involved in the establishment of the bishopric of Roda de Isábena,The Bishop Builds a Bridge: Sanctity and Power in the Medieval Pyrenees, Jeffrey A. Bowman, The Catholic Historical Review, 7-8. consecrated a certain Borrell as bishop, and received recognition from the latter of his superiority in the ecclesiastical hierarchy. Ermengol is also credited with having led the Christian military expedition that wrested the Guissona plain from the Islamic Taifa of Zaragoza around 1020.Historia y cultura militar durante la expansión feudal en el valle del Ebro, siglos XI y XII. Presupuestos metodológicos para una didáctica de la guerra en la Edad Media, Prensas de la Universidad de Zaragoza, Zaragoza, 2021, p. 170. https://zaguan.unizar.es/record/106284/files/TESIS-2021-203.pdf

He conflicted often with the nobility of the county of Urgell and collaborated in the undertaking of many public works. He also built the cathedral of Urgell, which was consecrated in 1040 by his successor, bishop Eribau. Because of all these works, Ermengol is celebrated each year at the Saint Ermengol Fair, in Seu d'Urgell town. He died in 1035 while assisting in the building of a bridge near El Pont de Bar village. The following year after his death, the veneration of Ermengol began, and a few years later he was canonised. His holiday is celebrated in November 3.

File:Testament sacramental del bisbe Sant Ermengol.jpg.]]