Ermengol VI was born in 1096 in
Valladolid, whence his nickname comes. During his minority, he was under the regency of his grandfather, Pedro Ansúrez, but the real power lay in the hands of
Guerau II of Cabrera and
Raymond Berenguer III of Barcelona. With their help, the young count conquered
Balaguer in 1105 and made it his capital. Ermengol collaborated with
Alfonso the Battler in the 1118 capture of
Zaragoza and in the expedition of
Alfonso VII the Emperor, for whom he served as
mayordomo mayor, against
Almería in 1147. In 1146, he was one of the commanders of Alfonso's army at the
battle of Albacete. In 1133, Ermengol ceded
Andorra to the
Bishop of Urgell. He had good relations with the
House of Barcelona and he accompanied
Raymond Berenguer IV to
Provence in 1144. In 1149, he assisted Raymond Berenguer in the conquest and repopulation of
Lleida, receiving one-third of the city, which was thenceforward part of his dominion. He was a patron of several religious establishments, including
Solsona Cathedral as well as the Monastery of Santa María de Retuerta in Valladolid, which had been founded by his father-in-law, Pedro Ansúrez. On 24 March 1144, Count Ermengol drafted his will and named several executors, including his wife Elvira and his father-in-law Count
Rodrigo González de Lara. Even though he asked to be buried at Solsona Cathedral, when he died in the Kingdom of Castile on 20 June 1154, he was buried at the
Monastery of Santa María de Valbuena, founded by his sister Stephanie, the widow of
Fernando García de Hita and
Rodrigo González de Lara. ==Marriages and issue==