Barcelona Cathedral Interior - Sepulchres of 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 which the Pope had them excommunicated.

Life

Almodis was the daughter of Count Bernard I of Marche and wife Amélie. She married

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 ...

around 1038 and they had two sons and one daughter. Almodis and Hugh of

Lusignan The House of Lusignan ( ; ) was a royal house of French origin, which at various times ruled several principalities in Europe and the Levant, including the kingdoms of Jerusalem, Cyprus, and Armenia, from the 12th through the 15th centuries duri ...

divorced due to

consanguinity Consanguinity ("blood relation", from Latin '' consanguinitas'') is the characteristic of having a kinship with another person (being descended from a common ancestor). Many jurisdictions have laws prohibiting people who are related by blood fr ...

. She later, with Hugh's assistance, married Count Pons of Toulouse in 1040. Almodis was still Pons' wife in April 1053, when she was abducted by Count

Ramon Berenguer I of Barcelona Ramon Berenguer I (1023–1076), called the Old ( ca, el Vell, french: le Vieux), was Count of Barcelona in 1035–1076. He promulgated the earliest versions of a written code of Catalan law, the Usages of Barcelona. Born in 1024, he succee ...

. He kidnapped her from Narbonne with the aid of a fleet sent north by his ally, the Muslim emir of

Tortosa Tortosa (; ) is the capital of the '' comarca'' of Baix Ebre, in Catalonia, Spain. Tortosa is located at above sea level, by the Ebro river, protected on its northern side by the mountains of the Cardó Massif, of which Buinaca, one of the hig ...

. They married immediately (despite the fact both of her previous husbands were still alive) and they appear with their twin sons in a charter the next year. Pope Victor II excommunicated Almodis and Ramon for this illegal marriage until 1056. Almodis maintained contact with her former husbands and many children, and in 1066/1067 she traveled to Toulouse for her daughter's wedding. A few years before, in 1060,

had revolted against his lord, Duke

William VIII of Aquitaine William VIII ( – 25 September 1086), born Guy-Geoffrey (''Gui-Geoffroi''), was duke of Gascony (1052–1086), and then duke of Aquitaine and count of Poitiers (as William VI) between 1058 and 1086, succeeding his brother William VII (Pierre-Gui ...

, in support of Almodis' son

William IV of Toulouse William IV of Toulouse ( 1040 – 1094) was Count of Toulouse, Margrave of Provence, and Duke of Narbonne from 1061 to 1094. He was the son of Pons of Toulouse and Almodis de la Marche. He was married to Emma of Mortain, daughter of Robert, ...

. Her sons supported one another in military campaigns; Hugh VI of Lusignan,

Raymond IV of Toulouse Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse ( 1041 – 28 February 1105), sometimes called Raymond of Saint-Gilles or Raymond I of Tripoli, was a powerful noble in southern France and one of the leaders of the First Crusade (1096–1099). He was the Count o ...

, and Berenguer Ramon II of Barcelona all took the Cross. Her third husband Ramon was married to her niece, Isabela Trencavel, the daughter of Rangearde de la Marche. Their son,

Peter Raymundi Peter Raymundi, or Pere-Ramon (1050-?) was the heir of Ramon Berenguer I, Count of Barcelona and his first wife, Isabela Trencavel, daughter of Count Sancho of Gascony, known for the murder of his stepmother, Almodis de la Marche in October 1071. Ra ...

, was Ramon's original heir. Peter Raymundi resented Almodis' influence and was concerned she was trying to replace him with her own two sons, his consanguineous nephews, both who had claims through their father, Count La Marche. He murdered her in October 1071.

William of Malmesbury William of Malmesbury ( la, Willelmus Malmesbiriensis; ) was the foremost English historian of the 12th century. He has been ranked among the most talented English historians since Bede. Modern historian C. Warren Hollister described him as " ...

reflected that she was, "''sad, funbridled lewdness''". Pere-Ramon was disinherited and exiled for his crime and fled the country. When his father died in 1076, Barcelona was split between Almodis' sons, Berenguer Ramon and Ramon Berenguer. The family history of murder did not end with Pere-Ramon, as Berenguer Ramon earned his nickname "The

Fratricide Fratricide (, from the Latin words ' "brother" and the assimilated root of ' "to kill, to cut down") is the act of killing one's own brother. It can either be done directly or via the use of either a hired or an indoctrinated intermediary (a ...

" when he killed his own twin brother.

Family

She married

around 1038 and they had two sons and one daughter: * Hugh VI of Lusignan (c. 1039–1101) * Jordan de Lusignan * Mélisende de Lusignan (b. bef. 1055), married before 1074 to Simon I "l'Archevêque", Vidame de Parthenay Almodis and Hugh of

divorced due to

, and Hugh arranged for her to marry Count Pons of Toulouse in 1040. Together they produced several children, including: *

* Hugh, Abbot of Saint-Gilles * Almodis of Toulouse, married Count

Pierre of Melgueil Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

In 1053, she married Ramon Berenguer I, Count of Barcelona. Together they produced four children: * Berenguer Ramon II, Count of Barcelona * Ramon Berenguer II, Count of Barcelona * Agnes of Barcelona, married Count

Guigues II of Albon Guigues II d'Albon, known as the ''Fat'' (Pinguis), born around 1025 and died around 1079, was count in Grésivaudan and Briançonnais from 1070 to 1079, count of Albon in 1079. He came from the House of Albon. He bears the cognomen “le Gra ...

* Sancha of Barcelona, married Count

Guillermo Ramon I of Cerdagne William I Raymond ( ca, Guillem Ramon; oc, Guilhem Ramon) (1068–1095) was the count of Cerdanya and Berga from the year of his birth till that of his death, giving up Berga a year earlier to his son William-Jordan. He was the son of Raymond ...

Notes

Sources

* * * * * *46 {{DEFAULTSORT:Marche, Almodis de la Almodis Countesses of Toulouse Countesses of Barcelona People excommunicated by the Catholic Church 1020s births 1071 deaths Burials at Barcelona Cathedral 11th-century Spanish women 11th-century French women 11th-century people from the County of Barcelona