William I ( 950 – after 29 August 993), called the Liberator, was

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 ...

from 968 to his abdication. In 975 or 979, he took the title of ''marchio'' or margrave. He is often considered the founder of the county of Provence. He and his elder brother Rotbold I were sons of

Boson II of Arles In particle physics, a boson ( ) is a subatomic particle whose spin quantum number has an integer value (0,1,2 ...). Bosons form one of the two fundamental classes of subatomic particle, the other being fermions, which have odd half-integer spi ...

and his wife Constance, who, based on her name, has been speculated to be daughter of

Charles Constantine of Vienne Charles-Constantine (died 962) was a Count of Vienne. His father, Louis the Blind, was King of Provence and Holy Roman Emperor. Life When Charles' father Louis died in 929, Hugh of Arles, who was already king of Italy, took over Provence and gav ...

. They both carried the title of or count concurrently, but it is unknown if they were joint-counts of the whole of Provence or if the region was divided. His brother never bore any other title than count so long as William lived, so the latter seems to have attained a certain supremacy. In 980, he was installed as

Count of Arles This is a list of the counts of Arles. * Garin, or Warin, (until 853), also ''Guerin'' in French, ''Garí'' in Spanish, and ''Guerí'' in Catalan; also duke of Toulouse (835–840), margrave of Burgundy, and count of Autun, Mâcon, Chalon, Meme ...

. His sobriquet comes from his victories against the

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...

by which he liberated Provence from their threat, which had been constant since the establishment of a base at

Fraxinet Fraxinetum or Fraxinet ( ar, فرخشنيط, translit=Farakhshanīt or , from Latin language, Latin ''fraxinus'': "fraxinus, ash tree", ''fraxinetum'': "ash forest") was the site of a Muslim fortress in Provence between about 887 and 972. It ...

. At the

Battle of Tourtour The Battle of Tourtour of 973 was a significant victory for the Christian forces of William I of Provence over the Andalusi settlers based at Fraxinetum. Background For several decades, the Saracens had been making inroads into Provence, building ...

in 973, with the assistance of the counts of the

High Alps The High Alps are the parts of the Alps unsuitable for habitation or seasonal transhumance. This includes all regions higher than 3,000 m above sea level, as well as most regions between 2,500 m and 3,000 m (Juf at 2,126 m is the highest permanent ...

and the

viscount 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 ...

s of

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

and Fos, he definitively routed the

, chasing them forever from Provence. He reorganised the region east of the

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; wae, Rotten ; frp, Rôno ; oc, Ròse ) is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and southeastern France before discharging into the Mediterranean Sea. At Ar ...

, which he conquered from the Saracens and which had been given him as a gift from King

Conrad of Burgundy Conrad I, called the Peaceful (french: Conrad le Pacifique; german: Konrad der Friedfertige; – 19 October 993), a member of the Elder House of Welf, was King of Burgundy from 937 until his death. Life He was the son of King Rudolph II, the fi ...

. Also by royal consent, he and his descendants controlled the ''

fisc Under the Merovingians and Carolingians, the fisc (from Latin ''fiscus,'' whence we derive "fiscal") applied to the royal demesne which paid taxes, entirely in kind, from which the royal household was meant to be supported, though it rarely was. ...

'' in Provence. With Isarn, Bishop of Grenoble, he repopulated

Dauphiné The Dauphiné (, ) is a former province in Southeastern France, whose area roughly corresponded to that of the present departments of Isère, Drôme and Hautes-Alpes. The Dauphiné was originally the Dauphiné of Viennois. In the 12th centu ...

and settled an Italian count named Ugo Blavia near Fréjus in 970 in order to bring that land back to cultivation. For all this, he figures prominently in

Ralph Glaber Rodulfus, or Raoul Glaber (which means "the Smooth" or "the Bald") (985–1047), was an 11th-century Benedictine chronicler. Life Glaber was born in 985 in Burgundy. At the behest of his uncle, a monk at Saint-Léger-de-Champeaux, Glaber was sen ...

's chronicle with the title of ''dux'' and he appears in a charter of 992 as ''

pater patriae ''Pater Patriae'' (plural ''Patres Patriae''), also seen as ''Parens Patriae'', is a Latin honorific meaning "Father of the Country", or more literally, "Father of the Fatherland". It is also used of U.S. President George Washington, the Swed ...

''. He donated land to

Cluny Cluny () is a commune in the eastern French department of Saône-et-Loire, in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. It is northwest of Mâcon. The town grew up around the Benedictine Abbey of Cluny, founded by Duke William I of Aquitaine in 9 ...

and retired to become a monk, dying at

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...

, where he was buried in the church of Saint-Croix at Sarrians. He was succeeded as margrave by his brother. His great principality began to diminish soon after his death as the castles of his vassals, which he had kept carefully under ducal control, soon became allods of their possessors.

Marriage and issue

He married 1st Arsinde, daughter of Arnaud I de Carcassonne.Detlev Schwennicke, ''Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'', Neue Folge, Band II (Marburg, Germany: Verlag von J. A. Stargardt, 1984), Tafel 187 They had no children. He married 2nd (against papal advice) in 984,

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 ...

, daughter of

Fulk II of Anjou Fulk II of Anjou (c. 905 — 960), called ("the Good") was Count of Anjou from 942 to his death.Refer to Bernard S. Bachrach, "Fulk Nerra: Neo-Roman Consul, 987-1040" (California, 1993) 261 and 262 for a useful genealogy of the Angevin comital l ...

and Gerberga, and their children were: *

Constance of Arles Constance of Arles (c. 986 – 28 July 1032), also known as Constance of Provence, was Queen of France as the third spouse of King Robert II of France. Life Born Detlev Schwennicke, ''Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europ� ...

(986–1034), married

Robert II of France Robert II (c. 972 – 20 July 1031), called the Pious (french: link=no, le Pieux) or the Wise (french: link=no, le Sage), was King of the Franks from 996 to 1031, the second from the Capetian dynasty. Crowned Junior King in 987, he assisted his ...

. * William II (or III) of Provence. * Ermengarde, she married Robert I, Count of Auvergne. * Tota-Adelaide, she married

Bernard I, Count of Besalú Bernard I ( 977 – 1020), called Taillefer (''Bernat Tallaferro''), was the Count of Besalú in Catalonia from 988 until his death. He was the eldest son of Oliba Cabreta and Ermengard of Empúries, and succeeded his father in Besalú while hi ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:William 01 of Provence 950s births 993 deaths Year of birth uncertain Counts of Provence Occitan people

Marriage and issue

See also

References