Bernard of Septimania

The Early Reign of Louis the Pious and the 816 Papal Coronation

Following his accession in 814, Louis the Pious surrounds himself with trusted advisors, continuing some of his father’s ministers while introducing new figures to his court. Among his chief counselors are:

• Bernard, Margrave of Septimania, a powerful noble in southern Gaul.
• Ebbo, Archbishop of Reims, an ambitious churchman born a serf, whom Louis elevates to high office—though he will later betray the emperor.
• Elisachar, Abbot of St. Maximin near Trier, and Hildebold, Archbishop of Cologne, both retained from Charlemagne’s administration.
• Benedict of Aniane, a Visigothic monastic reformer, tasked with strengthening the Frankish Church.

Benedict of Aniane and the Reform of Monastic Life

Benedict of Aniane, often called the Second Benedict, enforces a major religious reform:

• He ensures that all monastic houses in Louis' realm adhere to the Rule of Saint Benedict, originally formulated by Benedict of Nursia (480–550)—the First Benedict.
• This reform standardizes monastic discipline, reinforcing the importance of communal prayer, manual labor, and study as the pillars of monastic life.

The Papal Coronation of Louis the Pious (816)

In October 816, Pope Stephen IV travels north to meet Louis the Pious at Reims, where the emperor prostrates himself three times before the Pope, demonstrating his piety and submission to the Church.

On Sunday, October 5, 816, during Mass, Stephen formally anoints and crowns Louis as emperor, placing on his head a crown claimed to have belonged to Constantine the Great. At the same time, he also crowns Louis’ wife, Ermengarde of Hesbaye, and salutes her as Augusta.

This event serves multiple purposes:

• It reinforces papal authority in the imperial coronation process, especially after Louis had self-coronated in 813 at the behest of Charlemagne.
• It reaffirms the alliance between the Frankish rulers and the papacy, solidifying the Papal States and their privileges.
• It emphasizes that imperial legitimacy is granted not just by heredity or conquest, but also through papal approval.

Diplomatic Agreements and Religious Reforms

While at Louis’ court, Pope Stephen IV secures:

• A land grant, likely at Vendeuvre-sur-Barse, reinforcing the Church’s growing territorial independence.
• The renewal of the Frankish-papal alliance, confirming the privileges of the Roman Church and the continued sovereignty of the Papal States.
• The promotion of Theodulf of Orléans to archbishop, a significant elevation in the Frankish ecclesiastical hierarchy.
• The release of Roman political prisoners, exiled during the turbulent reign of Pope Leo III.

Stephen also urges Louis to enforce reforms among the clergy living under the Rule of Chrodegang, including:

• The strict separation of men and women in religious communities.
• The requirement that monastic property be held in common, ensuring no individual accumulation of wealth.
• Regulations on food and wine consumption, reinforcing a disciplined clerical lifestyle.

The Coronation of 816: A Turning Point in Frankish-Papal Relations

The 816 coronation of Louis the Pious is a significant moment in the history of the Frankish Empire and the papacy. It marks a shift from Charlemagne’s imperial self-reliance to a more church-dependent rule, paving the way for increasing papal influence over the empire’s affairs. This coronation foreshadows the medieval struggles between secular rulers and the papacy, as both seek to define the limits of imperial and ecclesiastical power in Europe.

Bernard of Septimania, the younger brother of Gaucelm, Count of Empúries and Roussillon, must have inherited from his father land in the area around Toulouse, from which he has expanded his power to become the third Count of Barcelona around 826.

He first attracts the attention of higher-ups by quelling the local revolt of a nobleman named Aisso, who is perhaps a Gothic lieutenant of the deposed Bera, the first Count of Barcelona.

The garrisons of the castles in the area, who had been favorable to Bera, join Aisso in a revolt against the new count.

Only the castle of Roda de Ter, in the county of Ausona, resists and is subsequently destroyed by Aisso.

From his newly occupied territory, ...

…Aisso attacks the county of Cerdanya and …

…the region of the Vallès.

The Emperor, learning of Aisso’s raids in Barcelona, orders his second son, Pepin, King of Aquitaine, to take action.

A Frankish assembly at Quierzy-sur-Oise decides to send an expedition against the Córdoban caliphate but the counts in charge of the army—the brothers-in-law Hugh of Tours and Matfrid of Orléans—are slow to act.

The young count Bernard having requested and received some help from the Emperor, as well as that of some local hispani (probably Gothic noblemen), Aisso, to counter these reinforcements, had sent his brother to request help from Abd ar-Rahman II, Emir of Córdoba, the only potential ally powerful enough to threaten the Franks.

Abd ar-Rahman had sent the general Ubayd Allah Abu Marwan to Zaragoza in May 827, from whence he invades the territory of Barcelona, reaching the city itself in the summer.

He besieges it and ransacks its environs, but fails to take it.

By the time the Frankish army arrives, in late 827, Abu Marwan has already returned to Muslim territory, taking Aisso and his followers with him.

This reprieve, seen as a victory, greatly increases Bernard's prestige.

The ravaged county of Ausona, a dependency of Barcelona, is to remain depopulated into the mid-ninth century, its ruin attributed to the late arrival of Hugh and Matfrid.

Both counts will be dispossessed of their counties at at the Assembly of Aachen in 828.

Aznar has fallen out with Bernard of Septimania, Berengar's successor in the March of Gothia.

In 828, Gascony revolts again.

Another assembly, at Ingelheim in June 828, considers a reprisal raid into Cordoban territory, but although a Frankish army is gathered in Thionville, it does not enter the lands controlled by Bernard as the risk of Muslim raiding seems to have declined.

Hugh of Tours and Matfrid of Orléans are deposed from their respective counties at the assembly of Aachen in 828, Orléans is granted to Odo, and Bernard's brother Gaucelm receives the fiefs of Conflent and Rasez.

As Leibulf of Provence had died in the spring, his vast dominions—Narbonne, Béziers, Agde, Melgueil, Nîmes, and probably Uzès—are assigned to Bernard.

Bernard takes from this wide collection of Septimanian honores the title "Duke of Septimania".

The Emperor sends his son Lothair to Pavia in August 829 to wear the Iron Crown.

Louis summons Bernard to replace his son at court, granting him the title of camerarius or Chamberlain and the custody of the young Charles, at this time just Duke of Alsace, Alemannia, and Rhaetia, but later destined to be King of West Francia.

Bernard delegates the government of his counties to his brother Gaucelm, who thereupon takes the title marchio or margrave.

After only a few months at court, Bernard has made many enemies.

Indeed, he is the prime catalyst for the revolt of Lothair the following year.