Pons (II) William (1019 – 1060) 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 ...

from 1037. He was the eldest son and successor of William III Taillefer and

Emma of Provence Emma (estimate 975-1062) was Sovereign Count and Margrave of Provence from 1037 until 1062. She was the daughter of Rotbold II of Provence and Ermengarde of Burgundy. She inherited the title from her elder brother William III, and married Willi ...

. He thus inherited the title '' marchio Provincæ''. He is known to have owned many allods and he relied on

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...

, Salic, and Gothic law. Already in 1030, he possessed a lot of power in the

Albigeois Albi (; oc, Albi ) is a commune in southern France. It is the prefecture of the Tarn department, on the river Tarn, 85 km northeast of Toulouse. Its inhabitants are called ''Albigensians'' (french: Albigeois, Albigeoise(s), oc, albig ...

. In 1037, he gave many allodial churches and castles, including one half of that of Porta Spina, in the Albigeois, Nimois, and

Provence Provence (, , , , ; oc, Provença or ''Prouvènço'' , ) is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which extends from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the Italian border to the east; it is bor ...

as a bridal gift to his wife Majore. In 1038, he split the purchase of the

Diocese of Albi The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Albi (–Castres–Lavaur) (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Albiensis (–Castrensis–Vauriensis)''; French: ''Archidiocèse d'Albi (–Castres–Lavaur)''), usually referred to simply as the Archdiocese of Albi, is a ...

with the Trencavel family. In 1040, he donated property in Diens to Cluny. In 1047, he first appears as

count palatine A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an ord ...

in a charter donating Moissac to Cluny. Pons married his first wife, Marjorie (d.1044), in 1022. They had; *

Pons the Younger The pons (from Latin , "bridge") is part of the brainstem that in humans and other bipeds lies inferior to the midbrain, superior to the medulla oblongata and anterior to the cerebellum. The pons is also called the pons Varolii ("bridge of ...

, did not inherit his county or march. In 1040, he married,

Almodis de La Marche Almodis de la Marche ( 1020 – 16 October 1071) was a French noble. She was famed for her marriage career, in particularly for her third marriage to Ramon Berenguer I, Count of Barcelona, with whom she committed double bigamy in 1053, for whi ...

, former wife of

Hugh V of Lusignan Hugh V (died 8 October 1060), called the Fair or the Pious, was the fifth Lord of Lusignan and Lord of Couhé. He succeeded his father, Hugh IV, sometime around 1026. Marriage and children Hugh married Almodis (990 or c. 1020 – murdered O ...

, but he too repudiated her in 1053. They had: * William IV,

Raymond IV Raymond IV may refer to: * Raymond IV of Pallars Jussà (count, 1047–1098) *Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse (r. 1094 - 1105), also count of Tripoli (1102–1105) *Raymond IV, Count of Tripoli Raymond IVKevin James Lewis, ''The Counts of Tripoli and ...

, Count Saint-Gilles, succeeded his brother. *Hugh, abbot of Saint-Gilles *Almodis, married Pierre,

Count of Melgueil The County of Melgueil ( oc, Melguelh, modern Mauguio) was a fief of first the Carolingian Emperor, then the King of France, and finally (1085) the Papacy during the Middle Ages. Counts probably sat at Melgueil from the time of the Visigoths. The ...

Pons died in

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

and was buried in Saint-Sernin, probably late in 1060 or early in 1061.

Notes

References

Sources

* * *Lewis, Archibald R. ''The Development of Southern French and Catalan Society, 718–1050''. University of Texas Press: Austin, 1965. ---- {{Toulouse Counts Counts of Toulouse 991 births 1060 deaths Place of birth unknown House of Rouergue