William I (22 March 875 – 6 July 918), called the Pious, was the

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 cou ...

from 886 and

Duke of Aquitaine The duke of 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 successor states of the Visigothic Kingdom ( ...

from 893, succeeding the Poitevin ruler Ebalus Manser. He made numerous monastic foundations, most important among them the foundation of

Cluny Abbey 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 t ...

on 11 September 910.

Life

William was son of Bernard Plantapilosa and Ermengard. Sometime before 898, William married the Bosonid Angilberga, daughter of

Boso of Provence Boso of Provence (; 841 – 11 January 887) was the first non-Carolingian dynasty, Carolingian pretender to the royal throne of West Francia in 879, who failed to achieve wider recognition, being accepted only in Lower Burgundy and Provence, ...

and Ermengard of Italy. By inheritance, William was the ruler of

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; or ) is a cultural region in central France. As of 2016 Auvergne is no longer an administrative division of France. It is generally regarded as conterminous with the land area of the historical Province of Auvergne, which was dis ...

and the

Limousin Limousin (; ) is a former administrative region of southwest-central France. Named after the old province of Limousin, the administrative region was founded in 1960. It comprised three departments: Corrèze, Creuse, and Haute-Vienne. On 1 Jan ...

. He conquered Poitou and Aquitaine in 893 on behalf of Ebalus Manser. He kept the latter for himself and was proclaimed duke. His possessions extended from

Austrasia Austrasia was the northeastern kingdom within the core of the Francia, Frankish Empire during the Early Middle Ages, centring on the Meuse, Middle Rhine and the Moselle rivers. It included the original Frankish-ruled territories within what had ...

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 included the

Autun Autun () is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Saône-et-Loire Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region of central-eastern France. It was founded during the Principate era of the e ...

ois and

Mâconnais The Mâconnais () district is located in the south of the Burgundy wine region in France, west of the Saône river. It takes its name from the town of Mâcon. It is best known as a source of good value white wines made from the Chardonnay grape; t ...

. In 909, William founded the

Benedictine The Benedictines, officially the Order of Saint Benedict (, abbreviated as O.S.B. or OSB), are a mainly contemplative monastic order of the Catholic Church for men and for women who follow the Rule of Saint Benedict. Initiated in 529, th ...

abbey of Cluny that would become an important political and religious centre. William required no control over the abbey, which he arranged should be responsible directly to the

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 ...

(see Clunian reforms). This was especially striking since most monasteries were privately owned and the appointment of abbots and officials was left to that family or individual, leading to the appointment of untrained and unordained abbots and officials. William also nominated Cluny's first abbot, Berno of Baume. A sign of William's independence of rule in Aquitaine is that he had a '' deniers'' minted in his own name at Brioude.Rouche, p. 428. He was buried in the monastery of Saint-Julien. William had no sons of his own and was succeeded by a nephew, William the Younger, son of his sister Adelinda by Acfred I of Carcassonne.

Marriage and issue

William married Engelberga, daughter of

and Ermengard they had: *Engelberga *Possibly another daughter

References

Sources

* *''Nouvelle Biographie Générale''. Paris, 1859. *Rouche, Michel. "Private life conquers state and society," in ''A History of Private Life'', Vol. I, Paul Veyne, ed. Harvard University Press, 1987. ---- {{DEFAULTSORT:William 01, Duke of Aquitaine 875 births 918 deaths Dukes of Aquitaine Counts of Auvergne 9th-century people from West Francia 10th-century people from West Francia Founders of Christian monasteries

Life

Marriage and issue

See also

References

Sources