Epistolæ

Ermengard of Narbonne, viscountess of Narbonne

viscountess of Narbonne

Ermengard was the daughter of Aymeri II, viscount of Narbaronne, whom she succeeded in 1134. But she did not actually rule until 1143. Narbonne was seized by Alphonse Jordan, Count of Toulouse, in 1139 and he forced her to marry him in 1142, but that led to fighting in the region, and both Narbonne and Ermengarde were "liberated."(!1) She was married to Bernard d¹Anduze, a viscount of Nîmes, in 1145, but he was not active in Narbonne, which she ruled in her own right from 1143 to at least 1192, when her nephew, her sister's son and Ermengarde's heir, forced her into exile. She had no children. Ermengard was known for her legal and diplomatic skills, and was called on to arbitrate disputes between lords and princes. Cheyette has discovered 64 archival documents that bear her name in French and Spanish archives (Ermengard of Narbonne, 5). She was involved in a number of alliances against the count of Toulouse and led her own troops at the siege of Tortosa, 1148, the siege of Les Baux, 1162-63, in the alliance against Raymond V in 1157, and the alliance with Alfonse of Aragon to support Henry II against his rebelling sons in 1182.(!2)
Ermengard was apparently a patron of poets. Narbonne is mentioned positively by a number of poets during her rule: Raimon de Miraval alludes to her generosity.(!3) Bernard de Ventadorn praises her actions: ³Carry my poem to my lord/lady of Narbonne, for all her deeds are whole/true² (Nichols, 23.57-59: Lo vers mi porta, Corona/ lai a midons a Narbona,/ que tuih sei faih son enter²). Cf. Azalais de Porcairagues (a woman): ³carry my song to Narbonne, to her whom joy and youth guide² (Bruckner, 11.50-52: ³ves Narbona portas lai/ ma chanson a la fenida/ lei cui iois e iovenz guida,² cf. Rieger 27).(!4) Guiraut de Bornelh raises a question about love and hope and then says ³ask my lord/lady of Narbonne about it² (Kolsen 26.98-99: ³er¹o demandatz/ midons de narbona²).(!5) This tantalizing remark may lend weight to the notion that she participated in or judged love debates, as Andreas Capellanus implies. He names her as an arbiter of love matters (De amore, book 2, ch7, sections 8, 9, 10, 11, 15) and has her give judgments, one in philosophical language, two favoring the woman¹s choice, two against love in marriage, and one defending a man¹s right to enjoy love despite deformities derived from battle, appropriate perhaps to a ruler who had been involved in warfare.

(!1) See Fredric Cheyette, "Women, Poets, and Politics in Occitania," Aristocratic Women in Medieval France, ed. Theodore Evergates (Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania, 1999). For a detailed study of Ermengard, her city, and the culture of her world, see Cheyette, Ermengard of Narbonne and the World of the Troubadours (Ithaca: Cornell University, 2001). (!2) See Cheyette, Ermengard of Narbonne, and Dom. C. Devic and Dom. J. Vaissete, Histoire Générale de Languedoc (Toulouse: Privat, 1872) v.3, books 17 and 18. (!3) Linda Paterson, who says Ermengard ³was thought to have been an enthusiastic patron,² cites Raimon de Miraval¹s remark that a sirventes will be worth a shield and ensign of the Narbonne court, as an indication of her reputed generosity to poets, The World of the Troubadours (Cambridge: Cambridge University, 1993), 98. (!4) Songs of the Women Trouadours ed. & transl. Matilda T. Bruckner, Laurie Shepard, Sarah White (New York: Garland, 1995); Trobairitz, ed. & transl. Angelica Rieger (Tübingen: Max Niemeyer, 1991). (!5) Sämtliche Lieder des Trobadors Giraut de Bornelh, ed. Adolf Kolsen (Halle: Max Niemeyer, 1910).

1197?