William IV ( 937 – 3 February 994''Nouvelle Biographie Générale''. The date of 5 February 995 probably comes from Owen.), called Fierebras (meaning "Proud Arm", from the French ''Fier-à-bras'' (which means Proud-to-Arm), in turn from the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

''Ferox brachium'') (which means A Fierce Arm), was the

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 ( ...

and

Count of Poitou Among the people who have borne the title of Count of Poitiers (, ; or ''Poitou'', in what is now France but in the Middle Ages became part of Aquitaine) are: *Bodilon * Warinus (638–677), son of Bodilon *Hatton (735-778) Carolingian Count ...

from 963 to his retirement in 990. William's father, William III, abdicated to the abbey of Saint-Cyprien in

Poitiers Poitiers is a city on the river Clain in west-central France. It is a commune in France, commune, the capital of the Vienne (department), Vienne department and the historical center of Poitou, Poitou Province. In 2021, it had a population of 9 ...

and left the government to Fierebras. His mother was Gerloc, the daughter of Duke Rollo of Normandy. His sister was

Adelaide Adelaide ( , ; ) is the list of Australian capital cities, capital and most populous city of South Australia, as well as the list of cities in Australia by population, fifth-most populous city in Australia. The name "Adelaide" may refer to ei ...

, wife of

Hugh Capet Hugh Capet (; ; 941 – 24 October 996) was the King of the Franks from 987 to 996. He is the founder of and first king from the House of Capet. The son of the powerful duke Hugh the Great and his wife Hedwige of Saxony, he was elected as t ...

, the king against whom William later battled for his duchy. His early reign was characterised by many wars. He fought frequently against the

counts of Anjou The Count of Anjou was the ruler of the County of Anjou, first granted by King Charles the Bald, Charles the Bald of West Francia in the 9th century to Robert the Strong. Ingelger and his son, Fulk the Red, were viscounts until Fulk assumed the t ...

, the first time against Geoffrey Greymantle, who had taken Loudun. In 988, he went to war with the newly elected

king of France France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I, king of the Fra ...

, Hugh Capet, whom he refused to recognise. Capet had been granted Aquitaine by King Lothair before the latter had been reconciled to William's father. Capet renewed his claim on the great duchy and invaded it that year. A royal army was defeated on the plain of the

Loire Valley The Loire Valley (, ), spanning , is a valley located in the middle stretch of the Loire river in central France, in both the administrative regions Pays de la Loire and Centre-Val de Loire. The area of the Loire Valley comprises about . It is r ...

. William sheltered the young

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 ...

, the son of

Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine Charles (c. 953 – 22 June 992/995?) was the duke of Lower Lorraine from 977 until his death. Life Born at Reims in the summer of 953, Charles was the son of Louis IV of France and Gerberga of Saxony and the younger brother of King Lothair ...

, the last legitimate

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty ( ; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid c ...

heir. He opened the

palace of Poitiers The Palace of Poitiers was the palace of the Counts of Poitiers and subsequent Dukes of Aquitaine in Poitiers, in Poitou, western France. It is a medieval testimony of the Plantagenet style of architecture. Until 2019, this building was used ...

to him and treated him as royalty, regarding him as the true heir to the French throne. In 968, he married Emma, daughter of Theobald I of Blois and Luitgarde of Vermandois. Their marriage was stormy, in part because of William's indulgence in the pursuit of women and, as a hunting aficionado, wild animals. She banished his paramours, they separated twice for long periods, and finally he retired to a monastery, as his father had done, leaving Emma to rule Aquitaine in the name of their son

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 ...

until 1004. Their second son, Ebles, died sometime after 997.

References

Sources

* *Owen, D. D. R. ''Eleanor of Aquitaine, Queen and Legend''. 1993. *''Nouvelle Biographie Générale''. Paris, 1859.