L'Epitafi de Llevant erigit per Gomarellus el 976: una mirada a la Catalunya de l'època

Abstract

Llevants epitaph erected by Gomarellus in 976: a look at the Catalonia of the period. In this article we study a particularly valuable marble epitaph, for its inscription of high quality and great literary interest, which demonstrates the knowledge of ancient Christian writers. From the rarity of the names of both the deceased and the person who erected the memorial, efforts are directed to identify the characters, through a route around Catalonia at the time. Llevant would have been a rich tycoon with assets in the counties of Osona and Barcelona, well related to the counts and the bishop Vives of Barcelona. It is not sure whether Gomarell was one of the witness of the will of the countess Rikilda, who was a presbyter. But he could be the person who in the assault of al-Mansur in Barcelona in 985 was captured and taken to Cordoba, and when returned the one that refused to retrieve the property he had mortgaged. On the other hand it seems that the epitaph might come from the cemetery of the old St. Michaels church in Barcelona.