Gaucelm

For the troubadours, seeGaucelm FaiditandRaimon Gaucelm de Bezers.

Gaucelm(died 834) was aFrankishcount and leading magnate inGothiaduring the reign ofLouis the Pious.He was initially theCount of Roussillonfrom about 800, but he receivedEmpúriesin 817 and was thenceforward the chief representative of imperial authority in that region.

He was the son ofWilliam of Gelloneand his first wife, Gunegunde (Cunegonde), a Frankish lady. It was from his father, sometime after 790, that he received the county of Roussillon to govern within his father's vast holdings inSeptimania,centered onToulouse.At that time, Roussillon includedVallespir.Gaucelm, thoroughly Frankish, supported ongoing war with theMoorsand was supported by his brother, Bernard of Septimania. Bera, the Visigothic Count of Razès and Conflent since 790, and Count of Barcelona since 801, supported the local Goth population who desired peace with the Moors to their south.

In January 820, at an assembly inAachen,Sanila,Gaucelm's Gothic lieutenant, probably on orders from Gaucelm, accused Bera of infidelity and perfidy. Bera was deposed, but Gaucelm did not receive hishonoresas he had wanted. However, he did later obtain two of them (Barcelona andBesalú) for his brother Bernard (February 826). The third,Girona,went either to Bernard or Gaucelm himself, but which is unclear. After taking part in the defeat of the son of Bera,Guillemundus,and his lieutenant,Aisso,in Barcelona and Girona (to 827), he received the counties ofRazèsandConflent(both previously ruled by Guillemundus). While Bernard was absent from Septimania (April to April, 829 – 830), Gaucelm also ruled hishonores:Uzès,Nîmes,Melguelh,Agde,Béziers,Narbonne,Besalú, and Barcelona.

In Autumn 831,Pepin I of Aquitainerevolted against his father, Emperor Louis the Pious. Bernard and Gaucelm supported Pepin. Subsequently invading royal forces quickly occupied Bernard's lands. In another assembly at Aachen in February 832, the whole region was assigned toCharles the Bald,while Gaucelm and Bernard were deposed later that same year. Gaucelm tried to resist and held out in Ampurias. Finally, in 833, after mediation withAnsegisus, Abbot of Fontanelle,he resigned and retired with Sanila to some familial properties inBurgundy.

Gaucelm and Sanila were killed in the battle ofChalon-sur-Saônethe next year, while fighting for Louis the Pious against his sonLothair.

Sources

• Lewis, Archibald R.The Development of Southern French and Catalan Society, 718–1050.University of Texas Press: Austin, 1965.