Pons (II) William (1019–1060) was the

Count of Toulouse The count of Toulouse (, ) was the ruler of Toulouse during the 8th to 13th centuries. Originating as vassals of the Frankish kings, the hereditary counts ruled the city of Toulouse and its surrounding county from the late 9th century until 12 ...

from 1037. He was the eldest son and successor of William III Taillefer and

Emma of Provence Emma (c. 1007-1062) was the margravine of Provence from 1037 until 1062. She was the daughter of Rotbold II of Provence and Ermengarde of Burgundy. She inherited the title from her brother William III, and married William III of Toulouse. Wit ...

. He thus inherited the title '' marchio Provincæ''. He is known to have owned many

allod Allod, deriving from Frankish language, Frankish ''alōd'' meaning "full ownership" (from ''al'' "full, whole" and ''ōd'' "property, possession"; Medieval Latin ''allod'' or ''allodium''), also known as allodial land or proprietary property, was ...

s and he relied on

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

, Salic, and Gothic law. Already in 1030, he possessed a lot of power in the

Albigeois Albi (; ) is a commune in southern France. It is the prefecture of the Tarn department, on the river Tarn, 85 km northeast of Toulouse. Its inhabitants are called ''Albigensians'' (, ). It is the seat of the Archbishop of Albi. The ...

. In 1037, he gave many allodial churches and castles, including one half of that of Porta Spina, in the Albigeois, Nimois, and

Provence Provence is a geographical region and historical province of southeastern France, which stretches from the left bank of the lower Rhône to the west to the France–Italy border, Italian border to the east; it is bordered by the Mediterrane ...

as a bridal gift to his wife Majore. In 1038, he split the purchase of the

Diocese of Albi The Archdiocese of Albi(); () is a Latin archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. It is suffragan to the Archdiocese of Toulouse, and it comprises the department of Tarn. In the 12th century, the spread of alternative beliefs in the regio ...

with the

Trencavel The Trencavel family was an important French noble family in Languedoc between the 10th and 13th centuries. The name "Trencavel" began as a nickname and later became the family's surname. The name may derive from the Occitan words for "Nutcrac ...

family. In 1040, he donated property in Diens 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 ...

. In 1047, he first appears as

count palatine A count palatine (Latin ''comes palatinus''), also count of the palace or palsgrave (from German ''Pfalzgraf''), was originally an official attached to a royal or imperial palace or household and later a nobleman of a rank above that of an or ...

in a charter donating

Moissac Moissac () is a Commune of France, commune in the Tarn-et-Garonne Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region in southern France. The town is situated at the confluence of the riv ...

to Cluny. Pons married his first wife, Mayor, daughter of King

Sancho III of Navarre Sancho Garcés III ( 992–996 – 18 October 1035), also known as Sancho the Great (, ), was the King of Pamplona from 1004 until his death in 1035. He also ruled the County of Aragon and by marriage the counties of Castile, Álava and Monzón ...

, in 1037. She either died not too long after or was repudated. Between 1040 and 1045, he married

Almodis de La Marche Almodis de la Marche ( 1020 – 16 October 1071) was a French noble famed for her marriages. She and her third husband, Ramon Berenguer I, Count of Barcelona, with whom she committed double bigamy in 1053, were excommunicated by the Pope. Life ...

, former wife of

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 ...

, but he repudiated her in 1053. They had: *

William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June 1837) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 26 June 1830 until his death in 1837. The third son of George III, William succeeded hi ...

* Raymond IV, Count Saint-Gilles, succeeded his brother. *Hugh, abbot of Saint-Gilles *Almodis, married Pierre, Count of Melgueil Pons married a third time to Marjorie, daughter of Bernard-Roger, Count of Bigorre. Pons died in

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

and was buried in Saint-Sernin, probably late in 1060 or early in 1061.

Notes

References

Sources

* * *Lewis, Archibald R. ''The Development of Southern French and Catalan Society, 718–1050''. University of Texas Press: Austin, 1965. * ---- {{Toulouse Counts Counts of Toulouse 1019 births 1060 deaths Place of birth unknown House of Rouergue