Bernard V (died 1172), son of
Raymond Pilet d’Alès
Raymond is a male given name. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund (disambiguation), Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic langu ...
and his wife Mabel, of an unknown family.
Count of Meigueil, by right of his wife (
jure uxoris
''Jure uxoris'' (a Latin phrase meaning "by right of (his) wife"), citing . describes a title of nobility used by a man because his wife holds the office or title ''suo jure'' ("in her own right"). Similarly, the husband of an heiress could becom ...
). Seigneur of
Alès (as Bernard II d’Alès). Bernard became Count of Meigueil upon his marriage to Beatrix de Melgueil, in 1146. One source claims Bernard was in the
First Crusade
The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic ru ...
, but there is no evidence that this was the case.
Beatrix (1130-1190), also known as Beatrice, was the only child of Bernard IV, Count of Melgueil (d. 1132), and Guillemette de Montpellier (daughter of
William V, Lord of Montpellier). Bernard IV inherited the countship from his father Raymond II, representing a lineage of Counts of Melgueil dating to 930. Beatrix became Countess of Melgueil in 1130 upon her father’s death. Because of her young age,
William VI of Montpellier
William VI or Guillem VI (died 1161) was the eldest son of William V and his wife Ermessende, daughter of Count . William succeeded his father in the lordship of Montpellier in 1121, while still a minor, under his mother's guardianship. He suppres ...
, the son of William V, was named regent of the county and remained so until Beatrix married her first husband
Berengar Raymond, Count of Provence. Upon his death in 1144, Beatrix ruled the county.
Beatrix then married Bernard II d’Alès, who became Bernard V, Count of Meigueil. Beatrix and Bernard had two children:
* Bertrand Pilet (d. 1191 or after)
*
Ermessende of Pilet (d. 1176).
This is where things become complicated in the ruling of the County of Meigueil. Bertrand was disinherited by his mother and unsuccessfully fought the arrangements made with the Counts of Toulouse by his sister. He swore homage to
King Alfonso II of Aragon to help contest these arrangements to no avail.
Bertrand married a woman named Bonafosse (d. 1205) of an unknown family and had one child Raymond (d. 1129). Raymond swore allegiance to his brother-in-law
Raymond VI, Count of Toulouse
Raymond VI ( oc, Ramon; October 27, 1156 – August 2, 1222) was Count of Toulouse and Marquis of Provence from 1194 to 1222. He was also Count of Melgueil (as Raymond IV) from 1173 to 1190.
Early life
Raymond was born at Saint-Gilles, Gard, ...
, undoubtedly to help regain his inheritance. He married Sibylle
d’Anduze, daughter of Bernard VII, Seigneur d’Anduze.
Ermenssende of Pilet married first Pierre Bermond IV, Seigneur of
Sauve and
Sommières
Sommières (; oc, Someire) is a commune in the Gard department in southern France, located at the border with the Hérault department.
It lies from Nîmes, from Montpellier.
Geography
Sommières is to the south of the garrigues and on th ...
. Her second marriage was to
Raymond VI, Count of Toulouse
Raymond VI ( oc, Ramon; October 27, 1156 – August 2, 1222) was Count of Toulouse and Marquis of Provence from 1194 to 1222. He was also Count of Melgueil (as Raymond IV) from 1173 to 1190.
Early life
Raymond was born at Saint-Gilles, Gard, ...
, son of
Raymond V of Toulouse and
Constance of France, daughter of
Louis VI of France
Louis VI (late 1081 – 1 August 1137), called the Fat (french: link=no, le Gros) or the Fighter (french: link=no, le Batailleur), was King of the Franks from 1108 to 1137.
Chronicles called him "King of Saint-Denis". Louis was the first member ...
. The counts of Toulouse ruled Melgueil until 1211 when
Pope Innocent III
Pope Innocent III ( la, Innocentius III; 1160 or 1161 – 16 July 1216), born Lotario dei Conti di Segni (anglicized as Lothar of Segni), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 to his death in 16 J ...
enfeoffed it to Guillaume d'Autignac,
Bishop of Maguelone
The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Montpellier (–Lodève–Béziers–Agde–Saint-Pons-de-Thomières) (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Metropolitae Montis Pessulani (–Lotevensis–Biterrensis–Agathensis–Sancti Pontii Thomeriarum)'' ...
.
Sources
* Devic, Claude, and Vaissète, Joseph, ''Histoire générale de Languedoc : Volume I, Toulouse'', édition Privat, 1872
* Emmerson, Richard K., ''Key Figures in Medieval Europe: An Encyclopedia,'' Routledge Publishing, New York, 2013
* Riley-Smith, Jonathan, The First Crusaders, 1095-1131, Cambridge University Press, London, 1997
References
{{Reflist
Counts of Provence
Occitan nobility