Family of Ramiro I + and Ermesinda + of BIGORRE

Husband:	Ramiro I + (bef1007-1063)
Wife:	Ermesinda + of BIGORRE (1015-1049)
Children:	Sancha (1040-1073)
	Sancho + RAMIREZ (1042-1094)
	Theresa (c. 1044- )
	Garcia (c. 1046- )
Marriage	22 Aug 1036	Spain

Husband: Ramiro I +

Wife: Ermesinda + of BIGORRE

Child 1: Sancha

Name:	Sancha
Sex:	Female
Spouse:	Ermengol III + (1033-1066)
Birth	1040	Huesca, Huesca, Aragon, Spain
Death	1073 (age 32-33)	Huesca, Huesca, Aragon, Spain

Child 2: Sancho + RAMIREZ

Name:	Sancho + RAMIREZ
Sex:	Male
Spouse 1:	Isabella (c. 1057-1071)
Spouse 2:	Felicia + (1059-1123)
Birth	1042	Huesca, Aragon, Spain
Occupation		King of Aragon
Title		King of Aragon
Death	4 Jun 1094 (age 51-52)	Huesca, Aragon, Spain
	Cause: the siege of Heusca

Child 3: Theresa

Name:	Theresa
Sex:	Female
Birth	1044 (est)

Child 4: Garcia

Name:	Garcia
Sex:	Male
Birth	1046 (est)

Note on Husband: Ramiro I +

Ramiro I (bef. 1007 – 8 May 1063) was de facto the first King of Aragon from 1035 until his death. Apparently born before 1007, he was the illegitimate son of Sancho III of Navarre by his mistress Sancha de Aybar.[1] Ramiro was reputed to have been adopted by his father's wife Mayor after he was the only of his father's children to come to her aid when needed, although there is no surviving record of these events and the story is probably apocryphal.

 

During his father's reign, he appeared as witness of royal charters starting in 1011, and was given numerous properties in the county of Aragon, and by the division of Sancho's realm on the latter's death in 1035, the county of Aragon fell to Ramiro with the title of baiulus or steward. This was part of what would prove to be a larger division: Navarre and the Basque country went to eldest half-brother García, the county of Castile, already held by Ferdinand, reverted to its feudal fealty to the Kingdom of León, while the counties of Sobrarbe and Ribagorza fell to Gonzalo and Ramiro received lands in Aragon to hold under García.

 

Ramiro's exact status is vague. He was called king by his vassals, neighbors, the church and even his sons, yet he always referred to himself simply as Ranimiro Sancioni regis filio (Ramiro, son of King Sancho). Likewise, in his two wills, he refers to his lands as having been given him in stewardship: in the first by García, and in the second by God. He is called regulus (rather than rex used for García) and quasi pro rege (acting as if king) in charters from Navarre.[2] Due to his growing independence and the small size of his Pyrenean holdings, he is sometimes called a "petty king", Aragon a "pocket kingdom".

 

Ramiro sought to enlarge his lands at the expense of both the Moors and his brother, García, the King of Navarre. Shortly after the death of his father (the date variously placed from 1036 to 1043), he supported the emir of Tudela in an invasion of the Navarre. While he was defeated in the Battle of Tafalla, he still was able to gain territory, including Sanguesa, and established a state of semi-autonomy. In 1043, apparently with the approval of García, he annexed Sobrarbe and Ribagorza, previously held by his youngest legitimate half-brother, Gonzalo.[3] This union created a pseudo-independent Aragonese state, with its capital at Jaca, that would give rise to the Kingdom of Aragon.[4]

 

Before he was married, Ramiro had a mistress named Amuña with whom he had a natural son, Sancho Ramírez, in whom he confided the government of the county of Ribagorza.[5]

 

Ramiro wed his first wife, Gisberga, daughter of Bernard Roger of Bigorre, on 22 August 1036. She changed her name to Ermesinda on marrying him. Together the couple had five children: Sancho Ramírez, his successor; García, Bishop of Jaca; Sancha, married Armengol III of Urgel; Urraca, nun in Santa Cruz de la Serós; and Theresa, married William Bertrand of Provence.

 

Ramiro's second wife was Agnes (Inés), was perhaps a daughter of the Duke of Aquitaine. After annexation of Ribagorza and Sobrarbe, Ramiro began the advance from Aragon toward Huesca and Zaragossa. The first charter for the royal town of Jaca is attributed to him. It included well defined laws of protection even to non residents, and would set an example for urban rights until late in the Middle Ages.

 

Ramiro died at the Battle of Graus in 1063 while trying to take the city.

Note on Wife: Ermesinda + of BIGORRE

Ermesinda of Bigorre, born Gerberga (1015-1 December 1049) was a daughter of Bernard-Roger, Count of Bigorre and his wife Garsenda, Heiress of Bigorre. She was a member of the House of Foix, the sister of Bernard II, Count of Bigorre, Roger I, Count of Foix, and perhaps of Stephanie who married García Sánchez III of Navarre.

 

Gerberga married on the 22 August 1036 to King Ramiro I of Aragon. After her wedding Gerberga changed her name to Ermesinda. The couple were married for thirteen years, in which time her husband elevated himself from a vassal holding scattered lands around Jaca into a de facto ruler of pocket-kingdom spanning the former counties of Aragon, Sobrarbe and Ribagorza, and is thereby credited with being the first King of Aragon. They had the following children:

 

1.Sancho Ramírez (c. 1042 – 4 June 1094), succeeded his father

2.García, Bishop of Jaca (d. 17 July 1086)

3.Teresa (b.1037), married William Bertrand of Provence, no issue

4.Sancha (d.1097), married firstly to Pons, Count of Toulouse, no issue and secondly to Ermengol III of Urgell, may have had issue

5.Urraca (d.1077), a nun

All of Ermesinda's children lived to adulthood. She died on the 1 December 1049 and she was buried at the Monastery of San Juan de la Peña.[1] Her husband remarried four years later to Agnes.