William III, Count of

Nevers Nevers ( , ; la, Noviodunum, later ''Nevirnum'' and ''Nebirnum'') is the prefecture of the Nièvre Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in central France. It was the principal city of the ...

(c. 1107 – 21 November 1161) was

Count of Nevers The counts of Nevers were the rulers of the County of Nevers, which became a French duchy in 1539, with the rulers of the duchy calling themselves dukes. History The history of the County of Nevers is closely connected to the Duchy of Burgundy. ...

Auxerre Auxerre ( , ) is the capital of the Yonne department and the fourth-largest city in Burgundy. Auxerre's population today is about 35,000; the urban area (''aire d'attraction'') comprises roughly 113,000 inhabitants. Residents of Auxerre are r ...

and Tonnerre (1148–1161). He was born in

Family

He was a son of

William II of Nevers William II, Count of Nevers (born prior to 1089, reigned 1098 – 21 August 1148), was a crusader in the Crusade of 1101. Family He was a son of Renauld II, Count of Nevers and his second wife Agnes of Beaugency.Constance Brittain Bourchard, ' ...

and his wife Adelaide. The ancestry of his mother is unknown. His brother Renaud of Nevers was Count of Torrene until his death in 1148, while participating in the

Second Crusade The Second Crusade (1145–1149) was the second major crusade launched from Europe. The Second Crusade was started in response to the fall of the County of Edessa in 1144 to the forces of Zengi. The county had been founded during the First Crusa ...

.Constance Brittain Bouchard, ''Sword, Miter, and Cloister: Nobility and the Church in Burgundy, 980-1198'', (Cornell University Press, 1987), 347. Robert of Nevers, another brother, is only mentioned in a charter dating to 1134. Their sister Anne of Nevers was married with William VIII, Count of Auvergne, also known as "William the Old" (reign 1155–1182). They were parents to

Robert IV, Count of Auvergne The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory ...

(reign 1182–1194).

Life account

He is recorded as co-signing legal decisions by his father in charter dating to 1121 and 1134. On 21 September 1137,

Orderic Vitalis Orderic Vitalis ( la, Ordericus Vitalis; 16 February 1075 – ) was an English chronicler and Benedictine monk who wrote one of the great contemporary chronicles of 11th- and 12th-century Normandy and Anglo-Norman England. Modern historia ...

records him accompanying

Geoffrey V of Anjou Geoffrey V (24 August 1113 – 7 September 1151), called the Handsome, the Fair (french: link=no, le Bel) or Plantagenet, was the count of Anjou, Touraine and Maine by inheritance from 1129, and also Duke of Normandy by conquest from 1144. His ...

in his entry in the

Duchy of Normandy The Duchy of Normandy grew out of the 911 Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte between King Charles III of West Francia and the Viking leader Rollo. The duchy was named for its inhabitants, the Normans. From 1066 until 1204, as a result of the Norman c ...

, as part of the conflict between Matilda, Countess of Anjou and her cousin

Stephen of England Stephen (1092 or 1096 – 25 October 1154), often referred to as Stephen of Blois, was King of England from 22 December 1135 to his death in 1154. He was Count of Boulogne '' jure uxoris'' from 1125 until 1147 and Duke of Normandy from 1135 u ...

. Their struggle lasted from 1135 to 1154 and is known as

The Anarchy The Anarchy was a civil war in England and Normandy between 1138 and 1153, which resulted in a widespread breakdown in law and order. The conflict was a war of succession precipitated by the accidental death of William Adelin, the only legiti ...

. William III joined

Louis VII of France Louis VII (1120 – 18 September 1180), called the Younger, or the Young (french: link=no, le Jeune), was King of the Franks from 1137 to 1180. He was the son and successor of King Louis VI (hence the epithet "the Young") and married Duchess ...

in the

Steven Runciman Sir James Cochran Stevenson Runciman ( – ), known as Steven Runciman, was an English historian best known for his three-volume ''A History of the Crusades'' (1951–54). He was a strong admirer of the Byzantine Empire. His history's negative ...

, ''A History of the Crusades: Volume 2, The Kingdom of Jerusalem and the Frankish East'' (1952), p. 262 On 21 August 1148, his father died and William III succeeded him in Nevers and Auxerre. He is considered to have succeeded his younger brother in Tonnere at about the same time.

Marriage

William III married Ida of

Sponheim Sponheim is a municipality in the district of Bad Kreuznach in Rhineland-Palatinate in western Germany. History Sponheim was the capital of the County of Sponheim. Sponheim Abbey There was a Benedictine abbey which was founded in 1101 by Step ...

. She was a daughter of

Engelbert, Duke of Carinthia Engelbert II (died 13 April 1141), a member of the House of Sponheim, was Margrave of Istria and Carniola from about 1103/07 until 1124. In 1123, he succeeded his elder brother Henry as Duke of Carinthia and Margrave of Verona which he held until ...

and Uta of

Passau Passau (; bar, label=Central Bavarian, Båssa) is a city in Lower Bavaria, Germany, also known as the Dreiflüssestadt ("City of Three Rivers") as the river Danube is joined by the Inn from the south and the Ilz from the north. Passau's popu ...

. They had at least five children: *

William IV, Count of Nevers William IV, Count of Nevers, (c. 1130 – Acre, 24 October 1168) Count of Nevers, Auxerre and Tonnerre (1161–1168). Family William was a son of William III, Count of Nevers and Ida of Sponheim, and the older brother of his successor Guy, Count o ...

(died 24 October 1168). *

Guy, Count of Nevers Guy (died 19 October 1175), was count of Nevers and Auxerre. He was the son of William III, Count of Nevers and Ida of Sponheim. He married Matilda, granddaughter of Duke Hugh II of Burgundy, just prior to his leaving for the ''holy land''. Guy s ...

(died 19 October 1175). *Renaud of Nevers, Lord of Decize, died on

Third Crusade The Third Crusade (1189–1192) was an attempt by three European monarchs of Western Christianity (Philip II of France, Richard I of England and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor) to reconquer the Holy Land following the capture of Jerusalem by ...

at the

Siege of Acre (1189–91) Siege of Acre may refer to: *Siege of Acre (1104), following the First Crusade *Siege of Acre (1189–1191), during the Third Crusade *Siege of Acre (1263), Baibars laid siege to the Crusader city, but abandoned it to attack Nazareth. *Siege of Acr ...

. *Adelaide of Nevers married Renaud IV, Count of Joigny. *Ermengarde of Nevers.

References

External links

"The Dynasty of Carantania and their relations with France" by Jožko Šavli, an article covering Ida of Carinthia and her relations
{{s-end 1100s births 1161 deaths Counts of Nevers Counts of Auxerre Christians of the Second Crusade