'Sunifred I', or 'Sunyer' in
Catalan, was the count of many Catalan and Septimanian counties; including
Ausona,
Besalú,
Girona,
Narbonne,
Agde,
Béziers,
Lodève,
Melgueil,
Cerdanya,
Urgell,
Conflent, and
Nîmes; and
count of Barcelona from
844 to
848.
He was the son of
Belló, count of
Carcassonne.
In
834, he was named count of
Urgell and Cerdanya, which were at the time in the control of
Aznar I Galíndez (an ally of the
Banu Qasi), by
Louis the Pious,
Holy Roman Emperor. Sunifred conquered Cerdanya in
835 and Urgell three years later (
838). By the death of
Bernard of Septimania, he received the march of
Gothia. He then augmented his domains when Conflent fell into his hands, as count of Cerdanya, on the death of
Bera II.
In
841, the
Moors invaded
Barcelona and marched against Narbonne through the region of Cerdanya. Sunifred stopped them cold in battle, an event which certainly influenced
Charles the Bald's appointment of him to the counties of Barcelona,
Ausona,
Besalú,
Girona,
Narbonne,
Agde,
Béziers,
Lodève, and
Nîmes in 844.
Throughout his reign, he was aloof of
William of Septimania, son of Bernard, who had risen in 844 against Charles the Bald.
He died in 848 and his counties were given away by the Frankish king. One of his nephews,
Wilfred the Hairy was appointed count in
878 and his direct descendants ruled until the death of
Martin I of Aragón in
1410 and the
Pact of Caspe in
1412.