William III (913 – 3 April 963), called Towhead (french: Tête d'étoupe, la, Caput Stupe) from the colour of his hair, was the "Count of the Duchy of Aquitaine" from 959 and

Duke of Aquitaine The Duke of Aquitaine ( oc, Duc d'Aquitània, french: Duc d'Aquitaine, ) was the ruler of the medieval region of Aquitaine (not to be confused with modern-day Aquitaine) under the supremacy of Frankish, English, and later French kings. As su ...

from 962 to his death. He was also the

Count of Poitou Among the people who have borne the title of Count of Poitiers (or ''Poitou'', in what is now France but in the Middle Ages became part of Aquitaine) are: *Bodilon * Warinus (638–677), son of Bodilon * Hatton (735-778) Carolingian Counts ...

(as William I) from 935 and

Count of Auvergne This is a list of the various rulers of Auvergne. History In the 7th century Auvergne was disputed between the Franks and Aquitanians. It was later conquered by the Carolingians, and was integrated for a time into the kingdom of Aquitaine. The ...

from 950. The

primary source In the study of history as an academic discipline, a primary source (also called an original source) is an artifact, document, diary, manuscript, autobiography, recording, or any other source of information that was created at the time under ...

s for his reign are

Ademar of Chabannes Ademar is a masculine Germanic name, ultimately derived from ''Audamar'', as is the German form Otmar. It was in use in medieval France, Latinized as ''Adamarus'', and in modern times has been popular in French, Spanish and Portuguese-speaking cou ...

Dudo of Saint-Quentin Dudo, or Dudon, was a Picard historian, and dean of Saint-Quentin, where he was born about 965. Sent in 986 by Albert I, Count of Vermandois, on an errand to Richard I, Duke of Normandy, he succeeded in his mission, and, having made a very favo ...

, and

William of Jumièges William of Jumièges (born c. 1000 - died after 1070) (french: Guillaume de Jumièges) was a contemporary of the events of 1066, and one of the earliest writers on the subject of the Norman conquest of England. He is himself a shadowy figure, only ...

. William was son of Ebalus Manzer and Emilienne. He was born in Poitiers. He claimed the Duchy of Aquitaine from his father's death, but the royal chancery did not recognise his ducal title until the year before his own death. Shortly after the death of King Rudolph in 936, he was constrained to cede some land to

Hugh the Great Hugh the Great (16 June 956) was the duke of the Franks and count of Paris. Biography Hugh was the son of King Robert I of France and Béatrice of Vermandois.Detlev Schwennicke, '' Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der E ...

by Louis IV. He did it with grace, but his relationship with Hugh thenceforward deteriorated. In 950, Hugh was reconciled with Louis and granted the duchies of Burgundy and Aquitaine. He tried to conquer Aquitaine with Louis's assistance, but William defeated them. Lothair, Louis's successor, feared the power of William. In August 955 he joined Hugh to besiege Poitiers, which resisted successfully. William, however, gave battle and was routed. After the death of Hugh, his son

Hugh Capet Hugh Capet (; french: Hugues Capet ; c. 939 – 14 October 996) was the King of the Franks from 987 to 996. He is the founder and first king from the House of Capet. The son of the powerful duke Hugh the Great and his wife Hedwige of Saxony, ...

was named duke of Aquitaine, but he never tried to take up his fief, as William reconciled with Lothair. He was given the abbey of Saint-Hilaire-le-Grand, which remained in his house after his death. He also built a library in the

palace of Poitiers The palace of the Counts of Poitou/Dukes of Aquitaine in Poitiers in Poitou in western France is a medieval testimony of the Plantagenet style of architecture. Until 2019, this building was used as a courthouse. Origin The former Merovingian ...

Family background, marriage and issue

His father was duke

Ebles Manzer Ebalus, or Ebles Manzer, or Manser (c. 870 – 935), was Count of Poitou and Duke of Aquitaine on two occasions: from 890 to 892; and then from 902 until his death in 935 (Poitou) and from 928 until 932 (Aquitaine). Early life Ebles was an illegi ...

, who already was a man in his middle years when he was born in about 913. According to the chronicle of Ademar de Chabannes, William's wife was Geirlaug (French: ''Gerloc'', also known as Adèle), a daughter of

Rollo of Normandy Rollo ( nrf, Rou, ''Rolloun''; non, Hrólfr; french: Rollon; died between 928 and 933) was a Viking who became the first ruler of Normandy, today a region in northern France. He emerged as the outstanding warrior among the Norsemen who had se ...

. The less reliable

has William rather than Ebles marrying Gerloc, perhaps about 936, in a match that may have been arranged by William I of Normandy. With Gerloc, William had at least one child whose filiation is clearly attested: *

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

, his successor in Aquitaine. He abdicated to the abbey of Saint-Cyprien in Poitiers and left the government to his son. *

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

, who married Hugh Capet

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* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:William 03, Duke of Aquitaine 913 births 963 deaths House of Poitiers William 03 of Aquitaine Counts of Poitiers 10th-century French people

Family background, marriage and issue

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