Ava of Cerdanya

The old village of Besalù, seen from the road. Taken at Besalù, Catalonia, Spain, September 2009

Ava of Cerdanya (d. 961), was countess consort of Cerdanya and Besalú. She ruled as regent during the minority of her sons from 927 until 941.

Life

The origin of Ada is unconfirmed. She has been suggested to be the daughter of a local aristocrat named Fidel, or Bernard Unifred, a member of the Ribagorça family. Around the year 900, she married Miró II of Cerdanya and Besalú, with whom she had four sons, who all became counts, and a daughter:[1]

Upon the death of her spouse in 927, she ruled the county as a regent for their children, who were still minors. During her regency, she was forced to handle repeated rebellions of the local aristocracy, who attempted to take control of the counties and take advantage of the presumed weakness of a minor regency government.[2] In 941, she gave her children their own fiefs, and it is assumed that this marked the end of her own mandate as regent. After this point, her presence in official state documents gradually diminished. She never ceased to be involved in the business transactions of the fortune of her late spouse: in accordance with her marriage contract, she had the right to a part of the state fortune for the rest of her life as long as she stayd a widow.

Her actions left their mark in many donations made to various ecclesiastical institutions: Saint-Michel-de-Cuxa (941, 953, 962), Ripoll, Elne (962), and Camprodon (944).

References

  1. ↑ "Ava of Cerdanya" Diccionari Biogràfic de Dones
  2. ↑ «Diccionari Biogràfic de Dones: Ava, de Cerdanya»
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