William II (or III) (late 980s – 1019), called the Pious, was the

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 ...

at that time putting him under the

Kingdom of Arles The Kingdom of Burgundy, known from the 12th century as the Kingdom of Arles, was a realm established in 933 by the merger of the kingdoms of Upper and Lower Burgundy under King Rudolf II. It was incorporated into the Holy Roman Empire in 1033 ...

Life

William was the son of William I (or II) of Provence and

Adelaide-Blanche of Anjou Adelaide-Blanche of Anjou( –1026) was, by her successive marriages, countess of Gévaudan and Forez, of Toulouse, of Provence, and of Burgundy, and queen of Aquitaine. She was the regent of Gevaudan during the minority of her sons in the 9 ...

, who were married by January 984. William appears in the documents of his father from 992, and succeeded the elder William on the latter's retirement to a monastery just before his death in 994,Detlev Schwennicke, ''Europäische Stammtafeln: Stammtafeln zur Geschichte der Europäischen Staaten'', Neue Folge, Band II (Marburg, Germany: Verlag von J. A. Stargardt, 1984), Tafel 187 but as a minor he fell under the control of his paternal uncle, Rotbold I, who would intervene with William and his mother, Adelaide, until Rotbold's death in 1008. William did not succeed to the margravial title, which went to Rotbold. By 1013, he had married Gerberga, daughter of

Otto-William, Count of Burgundy Otto-William (; ; 958 – 21 September 1026 AD) was count of Mâcon, Nevers, and county of Burgundy, Burgundy. Life Otto was born in 958 during the joint reign of his grandfather, King Berengar II of Italy, and his father, Adalbert of Ivrea, K ...

and Ermentrude, Countess of

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 ...

and

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 ...

. Due to his relative youth, throughout his rule William faced challenges from the Provençal lords, including the seizing of his family's ecclesiastical interests. These conflicts escalated until William died 4 March 1019, while fighting the castellans of Fos and Hyères, and the two widows, Adelaide and Gerberga, were forced to call on the assistance of Adelaide's older son,

William III, Count of Toulouse William III Taillefer (also spelled ''Tallefer'' or ''Tallifer''; – September 1037) was the Count of Toulouse, Albi, and Quercy, as well as the Marquis of Gothie from 972 or 978 to his death. He was the first of the Toulousain branch of his fam ...

, to protect the birthright of the young heirs.

Family

Together William and Gerberga had: *

William IV of Provence William IV (died 1030) was the Count of Provence from 1018 to his death. During this time Provence was part of the Kingdom of Arles The Kingdom of Burgundy, known from the 12th century as the Kingdom of Arles, was a realm established in 933 by t ...

(† ), who succeeded his father. *

Fulk Bertrand of Provence Fulk Bertrand IHis name appears as Fulco or Fulcho and Bertrannus in contemporary documents. It is Foulques in modern French. His ordinal is a reference to a second Bertrand, his son, who later reigned in Provence. (died 27 April 1051) was the j ...

(† 27 Apr. 1051), Count of Provence. *

Geoffrey I of Provence Geoffrey I or JosfredAlso spelled Jauffred, Jozfred, Gosfred, or Gausfred. (died February between 1061 and 1063) was the joint Count of Provence with his elder brothers William IV William IV (William Henry; 21 August 1765 – 20 June ...

Life

Family

Notes

References

Sources

See also