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Saint Ermengol (also ''Armengol'' or ''Armengod'') or Hermengaudius (died 1035) was the 
bishop of Urgell
The Diocese of Urgell is a diocese in Catalonia (Spain) and Andorra in the historical County of Urgell,
from 1010.
Possibly born in the village of Ayguatébia, he was the son of Bernat I, viscount of Conflent, and of his wife Guisla de Lluçià, and also the nephew and successor of Bishop Sal·la and a member of the family of the counts 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.
By 1002 Ermengol was an archdeacon and the following year the Bishop of Urgell, Sal·la, had made arrangements for Emermengol to succeed him. He began his episcopate by reforming the cathedral canons, along the lines of the life of Saint Augustine of Hippo
Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Af ...
, and granting them land in Vallespir
Vallespir (; ) is a historical Catalan comarca in Northern Catalonia, part of the French department of Pyrénées-Orientales.
The capital of the comarca is Ceret, and it borders Conflent, Rosselló, Alt Empordà, Garrotxa and Ripollès. It l ...
, Cerdanya
Cerdanya () or often La Cerdanya ( la, Ceretani or ''Ceritania''; french: Cerdagne; es, Cerdaña), is a natural comarca and historical region of the eastern Pyrenees divided between France and Spain. Historically it was one of the counties ...
, and Alt Urgell
Alt Urgell () is a ''comarca'' (county) in Catalonia, Spain, a modern representation of part of the historic County of Urgell (''ca'' 789 - 1413), seat of the Counts of Urgell and the historic region of Urgellet
Urgellet () is a historical te ...
. In 1012, he travelled to Rome
, established_title = Founded
, established_date = 753 BC
, founder = King Romulus (legendary)
, image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg
, map_caption ...
for an audience with Pope Benedict VIII
Pope Benedict VIII ( la, Benedictus VIII; c. 980 – 9 April 1024) was bishop of Rome and ruler of the Papal States from 18 May 1012 until his death. He was born Theophylact to the noble family of the counts of Tusculum. Unusually for a medieva ...
,Or possible 1011 for an audience with Sergius IV
Pope Sergius IV (died 12 May 1012) was the bishop of Rome and nominal ruler of the Papal States from 31 July 1009 to his death. His temporal power was eclipsed by the patrician John Crescentius. Sergius IV may have called for the expulsion of Mu ...
. who confirmed the possessions of his bishopric and its jurisdiction, including over Ribagorza. In 1017, Ermengol was involved in the establishment of the bishopric of Roda
Roda may refer to:
Places
*Stadtroda (called Roda until 1925), a town in Thuringia, Germany
*Roda, Greece, a village in Corfu, Greece
* Roda, Punjab, a town and Union Council of Punjab, Pakistan
*Roda, Portugal, a village in Viseu district, Portu ...
,''The Bishop Builds a Bridge: Sanctity and Power in the Medieval Pyrenees'', Jeffrey A. Bowman, The Catholic Historical Review, 7-8. consecrated Borrell as bishop and received recognition by that bishop of his superiority in the local hierarchy. He is credited with the recaptured and rechristianization of the city of Guissona
Guissona is a town and municipality located in the north of the ''comarca'' (county) of Segarra, in the province of Lleida, Catalonia, Spain. With 6,862 inhabitants (2015 census) Guissona (5,170 inhabitants in 2010) is the principal municipality ...
in 1024.
He was often at odds with the nobility of Urgell
Modern-day Urgell (), also known as ''Baix Urgell'' (''baix'' meaning "lower", by contrast with Alt Urgell "Higher Urgell"), is a ''comarca'' (county) in Catalonia, Spain, forming only a borderland portion of the region historically known as Ur ...
and he assisted in the construction of many public works. He built the cathedral of Urgell, which was consecrated in 1040 by his successor, Eribau. For these public acts, he is celebrated annually in the Fair of Saint Ermengol. He died in 1035 while assisting in the construction of a bridge near El Pont de Bar
El Pont de Bar is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Alt Urgell in Catalonia
Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its ...
. The year following his death he was venerated and a few years later was canonised. His feast day is 3 November.
References
11th-century Catalan bishops 1035 deaths 11th-century Christian saints Year of birth unknown {{Spain-RC-bishop-stub de:Armengol