Sunifred, abbé d'Arles

Abbot of Saint Mary's of Arles (after 878 - 890/891). Son of the counts of Urgell-Cerdanya and, probably, of Barcelona, Sunifred I and Ermessenda, and brother of Count Wilfred I the Hairy. Although he was a cleric, dean and monk, his behaviour was not consistent with his profession. He accompanied his other brother, Miró I the Elder, on the devastating incursions made into the lands and churches of El Rosselló and Septimania against Marquis Bernat de Gòtia. This act prompted a stern admonition from Pope John VIII in 878, who ordered him back to his monastery. He also helped his brother Wilfred I in the colonisation of the plains of Vic. The freehold claimed by Sunifred went over to Sant Martí del Congost, a parish he had founded and provided with generous gifts. As the abbot of Arles, in 881 he travelled to the court of Charlemagne (then in the Rhône valley) to secure a precept from him. Together with his brothers, Sesenanda, Wilfred, Radulf and Miró, in 888, he donated the village of Prada to La Grassa. None of the brothers recognised King Odó.