Centule IV Gaston (died 1058), called the Old, was the seventh

Viscount of Béarn A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

from 1012 to his death. He succeeded his father Gaston II while yet a minor, under a regency until 1022. His mother was his father's wife of an unknown name.

Reign

Centule placed great importance on maintaining good relations with the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. In the year in which he assumed the powers of government, he founded the near the border with Bigorre. He was subsequently installed as the ''defensor'' of that monastery and of the lands of

Saint Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupat ...

in Gascony and Béarn by his suzerain Sancho VI William of Gascony. In 1033, Centule confirmed the possession of the county of

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefect ...

by Duke Odo. He strove to expand his power into neighboring territories and married Angela, daughter and heiress of the neighboring Viscount Aner II Lupo of Oloron, thus uniting those two entities."ANGELA.
''An undated charter records that "Centullus Gastonis vicecomes" refused to make reparations to Duke Sancho for his marriage to "Angelæ". According to Jaurgain, she was the daughter of Aner Loup Vicomte d’Oloron but he cites no primary source on which this is based. As a widow, she donated the church and village of Aubin to Sainte-Marie de Lescar''." He gained the valleys of

Aspe Aspe (, ca-valencia, Asp) is a town and municipality located in the ''comarca'' of Vinalopó Mitjà, in the province of Alicante, Spain. The town is located in the valley of the river Vinalopó, from Alicante city. The economy of Aspe is based ...

, Ossau, and all the way from the river

Oloron Oloron-Sainte-Marie (; oc, Auloron e Senta Maria; eu, Oloroe-Donamaria) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine (before 2015: Aquitaine), southwestern France. History The town was founded by the ...

Navarrenx Navarrenx (; oc, Navarrencs, ; eu, Nabarrengose, eu, label=Zuberoan dialect, Zuberoan, Nabarrenkoxe) is a town and communes of France, commune in the departments of France, French department of Pyrénées-Atlantiques (Béarn) and the region of ...

. His eldest son Gaston III was associated with the vicecomital throne, but died in or before 1045. He warred against the viscounts of

Dax Dax or DAX may refer to: Business and organizations * DAX, stock market index of the top 40 German companies ** DAX 100, an expanded index of 100 stocks, superseded by the HDAX ** TecDAX, stock index of the top 30 German technology firms * Dax ...

and

Soule Soule (Basque: Zuberoa; Zuberoan/ Soule Basque: Xiberoa or Xiberua; Occitan: ''Sola'') is a former viscounty and French province and part of the present-day Pyrénées-Atlantiques ''département''. It is divided into two cantons of the arrond ...

, killing the viscount Arnold II of Dax in 1050. He himself died in a Souletin ambush eight years later. His grandson Centule V succeeded him.

Children

Aside from Gaston, he had six children: *Raymond Centule *Aureol Centule, lord of ,

Igon Igon (; oc, Aigon) is a commune in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in southwestern France. See also *Communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department The following is a list of the 546 communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques depart ...

Baudreix Baudreix ( oc, Baudreish) is a commune of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in southwestern France. It is located about 14 km southeast of Pau, on the Gave de Pau river. See also *Communes of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department ...

, and Auga *Igon *Baudreix *Boeil *Auga

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Centule 04 Of Bearn 1058 deaths Viscounts of Béarn Military personnel killed in action Year of birth unknown