William I (1020 – 12 November 1087), called the Great (''le Grand'' or ''Tête Hardie'', "the Stubborn"), was

Count of Burgundy This is a list of the County of Burgundy, counts of Burgundy, i.e., of the region known as Franche-Comté, not to be confused with the Duchy of Burgundy, from 982 to 1678. House of Ivrea (982–1184) House of Hohenstaufen (1190–1231) ...

from 1057 to 1087 and

Mâcon Mâcon (), historically Anglicization, anglicised as Mascon, is a city in east-central France. It is the Prefectures of France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Saône-et-Loire in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. Mâcon is home t ...

from 1078 to 1087. He was a son of Reginald I, Count of Burgundy and Alice of Normandy, daughter of

Richard II, Duke of Normandy Richard II (died 28 August 1026), called the Good (French: ''Le Bon''), was the duke of Normandy from 996 until 1026. Life Richard was the eldest surviving son and heir of Richard the Fearless and Gunnor. He succeeded his father as the ruler o ...

. William was the father of several notable children, including

Pope Callixtus II Pope Callixtus II or Callistus II ( – 13 December 1124), born Guy of Burgundy, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from February 1119 to his death in 1124. His pontificate was shaped by the Investiture Controversy ...

. In 1057, William succeeded his father and reigned over a territory larger than that of the

Franche-Comté Franche-Comté (, ; ; Frainc-Comtou dialect, Frainc-Comtou: ''Fraintche-Comtè''; ; also ; ; all ) is a cultural and Provinces of France, historical region of eastern France. It is composed of the modern departments of France, departments of Doub ...

itself. In 1087, he died in

Besançon Besançon (, ; , ; archaic ; ) is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerland. Capi ...

, Prince-Archbishopric of Besançon,

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

—an independent city within the

County of Burgundy The Free County of Burgundy (; ) was a medieval and early modern feudal polity ruled by a count from 982 to 1678. It became known as Franche-Comté (the ''Free County''), and was located in the modern region of Franche-Comté. It belonged to th ...

. He was buried in Besançon's Cathedral of St John. William married a woman named (a.k.a. Etiennette).She was identified as the daughter of

Adalbert, Duke of Lorraine Adalbert (c. 1000 – 11 November 1048) was the Duke of Upper Lorraine from 1047 until his death the next year. He was the first son of Gerhard IV, Count of Metz, and Gisela (Gisella), possibly a daughter of Theodoric I, Duke of Upper Lorra ...

in an article by Szabolcs de Vajay in ''Annales de Bourgogne'', XXXII:247–267 (Oct.–Dec. 1960), but the author subsequently made an unqualified retraction of this claim in "Parlons encore d'Etiennette" in ''Prosopographica et Genealogica'', vol. 3: ''Onomastique et Parenté dans l'Occident medieval,'' K. S. B. Keats-Rohan and C. Settipani, eds. (2000), pp. 2–6. Children of Stephanie (order uncertain): * Renaud II, William's successor; died on

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the Middle Ages. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Muslim conquest ...

* Stephen I, successor to Renaud II; died on the Crusade of 1101 * Raymond of Burgundy, who married

Urraca of León and Castile Urraca ( León, 24 June 1081 – Saldaña, 8 March 1126), called the Reckless ''(La Temeraria)'', was Queen of León, Castile and Galicia from 1109 until her death. She claimed the imperial title as suo jure ''Empress of All Spain'' and '' ...

and thus was given the government of

Galicia (Spain) Galicia ( ; or ; ) is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain and nationalities and regions of Spain, historic nationality under Spanish law. Located in the northwest Iberian Peninsula, it includes the provinces o ...

* Sibylla of Burgundy, Duchess of Burgundy * Gisela of Burgundy, Marchioness of Montferrat * Clementia married Robert II, Count of Flanders and was

regent In a monarchy, a regent () is a person appointed to govern a state because the actual monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge their powers and duties, or the throne is vacant and a new monarch has not yet been dete ...

during his absence. She married, secondly,

Godfrey I, Count of Leuven Godfrey I (, 1060 – 25 January 1139), called the Bearded, the Courageous, or the Great, was the Landgrave of Brabant, Count of Brussels and Leuven (Louvain) from 1095 to his death and Duke of Lower Lorraine from 1106 to 1129. He was also Mar ...

* Guy of Vienne, elected

pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

, in 1119 at the

Abbey of Cluny Cluny Abbey (; , formerly also ''Cluni'' or ''Clugny''; ) is a former Benedictine monastery in Cluny, Saône-et-Loire, France. It was dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul. The abbey was constructed in the Romanesque architectural style, with ...

, as Callixtus II * William * Eudes * , Archbishop of Besançon * Stephanie married Lambert, lord of Peyrins (brother of Adhemar of Le Puy) * Ermentrude, married (in 1065) Theodoric I, Count of Montbéliard

References

Sources

* * * *
Portail sur Histoire Bourgogne et Histoire Franche-Comté
Gilles Maillet. {{DEFAULTSORT:William I, Count Of Burgundy 1020 births 1087 deaths Anscarids Counts of Burgundy Counts of Mâcon Burials at Besançon Cathedral