Ramon Berenguer IV, Count Of Provence
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Ramon Berenguer IV or V (; 1198 – 19 August 1245) was a member of the
House of Barcelona The House of Barcelona was a medieval dynasty that ruled the County of Barcelona continuously from 878 and the Crown of Aragon from 1137 (as kings from 1162) until 1410. They descend from the Bellonids, the descendants of Wilfred the Hairy. Th ...
who ruled as
count of Provence The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a Typography, typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a star (heraldry), heraldic star. Computer scientists and Mathematici ...
and Forcalquier. He was the first count of Provence to live in the county in more than one hundred years. During the minority of a previous count in 1144–1161, the regency was exercised by Ramon Berenguer IV de Barcelona, who is sometimes counted among the counts of Provence, which has led to varied numbering of the counts of Provence named Ramon Berenguer. This Ramon Berenguer was the fourth of his name to be a reigning count of Provence.


Family

Ramon Berenguer was the son of Alfonso II, Count of Provence, and Garsenda, Countess of Forcalquier. After his father's death (1209), Ramon's mother sent him to the Templar castle of Monzón in Aragon. He was accompanied by his cousin James, whose life was also under threat. He left Monzon in 1216 to claim his inheritance, which included the county of Forcalquier—inherited from his mother. On 5 June 1219, Ramon Berenguer married Beatrice of Savoy, daughter of Thomas, Count of Savoy. She was a shrewd and politically astute woman, whose beauty was likened by
Matthew Paris Matthew Paris, also known as Matthew of Paris (;  1200 – 1259), was an English people, English Benedictine monk, English historians in the Middle Ages, chronicler, artist in illuminated manuscripts, and cartographer who was based at St A ...
to that of a second
Niobe Niobe (; : Nióbē) was in Greek mythology a daughter of Tantalus and of either Dione or of Eurythemista or Euryanassa. She was the wife of Amphion and the sister of Pelops and Broteas. Niobe is mentioned by Achilles in Homer's ''Iliad ...
. The wedding also provided the 21-year-old Ramon with a powerful father-in-law to aid him in establishing his authority and protecting his interests. They had: * stillborn son (1220) * stillborn son (1220) * Margaret of Provence (1221–1295), wife of Louis IX, King of France *
Eleanor of Provence Eleanor of Provence ( 1223 – 24/25 June 1291) was a Provence, Provençal noblewoman who became List of English royal consorts, Queen of England as the wife of King Henry III of England, Henry III from 1236 until his death in 1272. She served ...
(1223–1291), wife of Henry III, King of England *
Sanchia of Provence Sanchia of Provence (c. 1225 – 9 November 1261) was Queen of the Romans from 1257 until her death in 1261 as the wife of Richard of Cornwall, King Richard. Sanchia was the third daughter of Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence, and Bea ...
(1225–1261), wife of Richard, King of the Romans, brother of the King of England * Beatrice of Provence (1229–1267), wife of Charles I, King of Sicily, brother of the King of France


Rule

Ramon Berenguer and his wife were known for their support of
troubadors A troubadour (, ; ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female equivalent is usually called a ''trobairitz''. The tro ...
, always having some around the court. He was known for his generosity, though his income did not always keep up. He wrote laws prohibiting nobles from performing menial work, such as farming or heavy labour. Ramon Berenguer had many border disputes with his neighbours, the
counts of Toulouse The count of Toulouse (, ) was the ruler of county of Toulouse, Toulouse during the 8th to 13th centuries. Originating as vassals of the kingdom of the Franks, Frankish kings, the hereditary counts ruled the city of Toulouse and its surrounding ...
. In 1226, Ramon began to reassert his right to rule in
Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...
. The citizens there initially sought the help of Ramon's father-in-law Thomas, Count of Savoy in his role as imperial
vicar A vicar (; Latin: '' vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English p ...
. However, they later sought the help of Raymond VII, Count of Toulouse. In 1228, Ramon Berenguer supported his father-in-law in a double-sided conflict against
Turin Turin ( , ; ; , then ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...
and Guigues VI of Viennois. This small war was one of many rounds intended to more firmly establish control over trade from Italy into France, and Provence included several key routes. While the
Albigensian Crusade The Albigensian Crusade (), also known as the Cathar Crusade (1209–1229), was a military and ideological campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, what is now southern France. The Crusade was prosecuted pri ...
worked in his favour against Toulouse, Ramon Berenguer was concerned that its resolution in the Treaty of Paris left him in a precarious position. Raymond turned his troops from fighting France to attempting to claim lands from Provence. When Blanche of Castile sent her knight to both Toulouse and Provence in 1233, Ramon Berenguer entertained him lavishly, and the knight left well impressed by both the count and his eldest daughter,
Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...
. Soon after, Blanche negotiated the marriage between Margaret and her son,
Louis Louis may refer to: People * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer Other uses * Louis (coin), a French coin * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also ...
, with a
dowry A dowry is a payment such as land, property, money, livestock, or a commercial asset that is paid by the bride's (woman's) family to the groom (man) or his family at the time of marriage. Dowry contrasts with the related concepts of bride price ...
of ten thousand silver marks. Ramon Berenguer had to get contributions from allies for a portion, and had to pledge several of his castles to cover the rest. Ramon Berenguer and Beatrice travelled with their daughter to
Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
in 1234 to sign the marriage treaty, and then Margaret was escorted to her wedding in Sens by her uncles
William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...
and Thomas of Savoy. Shortly after, William began negotiating on Ramon Berenguer's behalf with
Henry III of England Henry III (1 October 1207 – 16 November 1272), also known as Henry of Winchester, was King of England, Lord of Ireland, and Duke of Aquitaine from 1216 until his death in 1272. The son of John, King of England, King John and Isabella of Ang ...
to marry his daughter Eleanor. Henry sent his own knight to Provence early in 1235, and again Ramon Berenguer and his family entertained him lavishly. Henry wrote to William on 22 June that he was very interested, and sent a delegation to negotiate the marriage in October. Henry was seeking a dowry of up to twenty thousand silver marks to help offset the dowry he had just paid for his sister, Isabella. However, he had drafted seven different versions of the marriage contract, with different amounts for the dowry, the lowest being zero. Ramon Berenguer shrewdly negotiated for that option, offering as consolation a promise to leave her ten thousand marks in his last will. In 1238, Ramon Berenguer joined his brother-in-law Amadeus IV at the court of
Emperor Frederick II Frederick II (, , , ; 26 December 1194 – 13 December 1250) was King of Sicily from 1198, King of Germany from 1212, King of Italy and Holy Roman Emperor from 1220 and King of Jerusalem from 1225. He was the son of Emperor Henry VI of the Ho ...
in Turin. Frederick was gathering forces to assert more control in Italy. Raymond VII of Toulouse was also summoned, and all were expected to work together in the war. In January 1244,
Pope Innocent IV Pope Innocent IV (; – 7 December 1254), born Sinibaldo Fieschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 25 June 1243 to his death in 1254. Fieschi was born in Genoa and studied at the universities of Parma and Bolo ...
decreed that no one but the pope could excommunicate Ramon Berenguer. In 1245, Ramon Berenguer sent representatives to the First Council of Lyon, to discuss crusades and the excommunication of Frederick. Ramon Berenguer died in August 1245 in
Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...
, leaving the county to his youngest daughter, Beatrice.


Death and legacy

Ramon Berenguer V died in
Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence, or simply Aix, is a List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, city and Communes of France, commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. A former capital of Provence, it is the Subprefectures in France, s ...
. At least two '' planhs'' (Occitan funeral laments) of uncertain authorship (one possibly by Aimeric de Peguilhan and one falsely attributed to
Rigaut de Berbezilh Rigaut de Berbezilh (also Berbezill or Barbesiu; , ) was a troubadour (floruit, fl. 1140–1163Aubrey, 8.Gaunt and Kay, 290.) of the petty nobility of County of Saintonge, Saintonge. He was a great influence on the Sicilian School and is quoted ...
) were written in his honour.
Giovanni Villani Giovanni Villani (; 1276 or 1280 – 1348)Bartlett (1992), 35. was an Italian banker, official, diplomat and chronicler from Florence who wrote the ''Nuova Cronica'' (''New Chronicles'') on the history of Florence. He was a leading statesman of ...
in his '' Nuova Cronica'' said:
Count Raymond was a lord of gentle lineage, and kin to them of the house of Aragon, and to the family of the count of Toulouse, By inheritance Provence, this side of the Rhone, was his; a wise and courteous lord was he, and of noble state and virtuous, and in his time did honourable deeds, and to his court came all gentle persons of Provence and of France and of Catalonia, by reason of his courtesy and noble estate, and he made many Provençal coblas and canzoni of great worth.Giovanni Villani, Rose E. Selfe, ed. (1906)
"§90—Incident relating to the good Count Raymond of Provence."
''Villani's Chronicle, Being Selections from the First Nine Books of the ''Croniche Fiorentine'' of Giovanni Villani'' (London: Archibald Constable & Co.), 196. The Provençal '' coblas'' and '' cansos'' referred to do not survive and Ramon Berenguer is not listed among the
troubadour A troubadour (, ; ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female equivalent is usually called a ''trobairitz''. The tr ...
s, though he was their patron.


Notes


Sources

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ramon Berenguer, Count of Provence House of Aragon Counts of Provence 1198 births 1245 deaths