Bernard Ato V (died 1163) was the

Viscount of Nîmes A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

of the

Trencavel The Trencavel was an important noble family in Languedoc between the 10th and 13th centuries. The name "Trencavel" began as a nickname and later became the family's surname. The name may derive from the Occitan words for "Nutcracker" (''trenca ...

family from 1129 to his death. He was then succeeded by his son and successor

Bernard Ato VI Bernard Ato VI (born c. 1159Kastner, 41.) was the posthumous son and successor of Bernard Ato V, Viscount of Nîmes and Agde., at ''Medieval Lands Project''. He reigned from 1163 until 1214, when he surrendered his fiefs to Simon de Montfort, Ear ...

. In 1138, Bernard Ato swore an oath of fidelity to

Alfonso Jordan Alfonso Jordan, also spelled Alfons Jordan or Alphonse Jourdain (1103–1148), was the Count of Tripoli (1105–09), Count of Rouergue (1109–48) and Count of Toulouse, Margrave of Provence and Duke of Narbonne (1112–48). Life Alfonso was the ...

Count of Toulouse The count of Toulouse ( oc, comte de Tolosa, french: comte de Toulouse) was the ruler of county of Toulouse, Toulouse during the 8th to 13th centuries. Originating as vassals of the kingdom of the Franks, Frankish kings, the hereditary counts ru ...

, along with his brothers Roger of Carcassonne and Raymond of Béziers. Nevertheless, because his father

Bernard Ato IV Bernard Ato IV (died 1129) was the Viscount of Nîmes of the Trencavel family from 1074 to his death. Bernard Ato was the son of Raymond Bernard of Nîmes (died 1074) and Ermengarde of Carcassonne. In 1096, Bernard joined the army of Raymond of Sa ...

had supported

William IX of Aquitaine William IX ( oc, Guilhèm de Peitieus; ''Guilhem de Poitou'' french: Guillaume de Poitiers) (22 October 1071 – 10 February 1126), called the Troubadour, was the Duke of Aquitaine and Gascony and Count of Poitou (as William VII) between 1086 and ...

in his attempt to take Toulouse and because his lands controlled the roads between Alfonso's

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...

ian and Provençal lands, Bernard Ato and Alfonso were fundamentally at odds. Alfonso even seized some castles in the vicinity of Nîmes itself.

Sources

*Cheyette, Fredric L. ''Ermengard of Narbonne and the World of the Troubadours''. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 2001. 1163 deaths Occitan nobility Trencavel Year of birth unknown {{Europe-noble-stub