William II (or III) (late 980s – 1019), called the Pious, was the

Count of Provence The land of Provence has a history quite separate from that of any of the larger nations of Europe. Its independent existence has its origins in the frontier nature of the dukedom in Merovingian Gaul. In this position, influenced and affected by ...

Life

William was the son of William I (or II) of Provence and

Adelaide-Blanche of Anjou Adelaide-Blanche of Anjou( –1026) was, by her successive marriages, countess of Gévaudan and Forez, of Toulouse, of Provence, and of Burgundy, and queen of Aquitaine. She was the regent of Gevaudan during the minority of her sons in the 960 ...

, who were married by January 984. William appears in the documents of his father from 992, and succeeded the elder William on the latter's retirement to a monastery just before his death in 994,Detlev Schwennicke, ''Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'', Neue Folge, Band II (Marburg, Germany: Verlag von J. A. Stargardt, 1984), Tafel 187 but as a minor he fell under the control of his paternal uncle, Rotbold I, who would intervene with William and his mother, Adelaide, until Rotbold's death in 1008. William did not succeed to the margravial title, which went to Rotbold. By 1013, he had married Gerberga, daughter of

Otto-William, Count of Burgundy Otto-William (french: Otte-Guillaume; german: Otto Wilhelm; 955/62 – 21 September 1026 AD) was count of Mâcon, Nevers, and Burgundy. Life Otto was born in 958 during the joint reign of his grandfather, King Berengar II of Italy, and his fat ...

and Ermentrude, Countess of

Mâcon Mâcon (), historically anglicised as Mascon, is a city in east-central France. It is the prefecture of the department of Saône-et-Loire in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. Mâcon is home to near 34,000 residents, who are referred to in French as M� ...

and

Besançon Besançon (, , , ; archaic german: Bisanz; la, Vesontio) is the prefecture of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerl ...

. Due to his relative youth, throughout his rule William faced challenges from the Provençal lords, including the seizing of his family's ecclesiastical interests. These conflicts escalated until William died 4 March 1019, while fighting the castellans of Fos and Hyères, and the two widows, Adelaide and Gerberga, were forced to call on the assistance of Adelaide's older son,

William III, Count of Toulouse William III Taillefer (also spelled ''Tallefer'' or ''Tallifer''; – September 1037) was the Count of Toulouse, Albi, and Quercy from 972 or 978 to his death. He was the first of the Toulousain branch of his family to bear the title '' marchio'' ...

, to protect the birthright of the young heirs.

Family

Together William and Gerberga had: *

William IV of Provence William IV (died 1030) was the Count of Provence from 1018 to his death. He was a son of William II, whom he succeeded, and a co-count with his brothers Fulk Fulk is an old European personal name, probably deriving from the Germanic ''folk'' ("pe ...

(† ), who succeeded his father. *

Fulk Bertrand of Provence Fulk Bertrand IHis name appears as Fulco or Fulcho and Bertrannus in contemporary documents. It is Foulques in modern French. His ordinal is a reference to a second Bertrand, his son, who later reigned in Provence. (died 27 April 1051) was the join ...

(† 27 Apr. 1051), Count of Provence. *

Geoffrey I of Provence Geoffrey I or JosfredAlso spelled Jauffred, Jozfred, Gosfred, or Gausfred. (died February between 1061 and 1063) was the joint Count of Provence with his elder brothers William IV and Fulk from 1018 to his death. He was the third son of William I ...

Life

Family

Notes

References

Sources

See also