William The Good, Count Of Bordeaux
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William the Good () was the
count of Bordeaux The Count of Bordeaux (Latin ''comes Burdagalensis'') was the ruler of the city of Bordeaux and its environs in the Merovingian and Carolingian periods. The names of the counts are scarcely known until the ninth century, when they start to take on a ...
in the final decades of the 10th century. The last recorded count of Bordeaux before him was Amalvinus, who flourished in the first decade of the century. Little is known of his rule, which may have been occupied by defence against
Viking raids The Viking Age (about ) was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. The Viking Age applies not only to their ...
. On his death the County of Bordeaux passed to Duke
William Sánchez of Gascony __notoc__ William II Sánchez (also William Sancho, , , Gascon: ''Guilhem Sans'', , or ), Duke of Gascony from ''circa'' 961 at least until 996, was the younger illegitimate son of duke Sancho IV and successor, around 961, of his childless e ...
. An early 11th-century notice attributed to
Hugh Hugh is the English-language variant of the masculine given name , itself the Old French variant of '' Hugo (name)">Hugo'', a short form of Continental Germanic Germanic name">given names beginning in the element "mind, spirit" (Old English ). ...
,
bishop of Agen The Diocese of Agen (Latin: ''Dioecesis Agennensis''; French: ''Diocèse d'Agen'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in France. The Diocese of Agen comprises the ''département'' of Lot-et-Garonne, in t ...
, in the '' History of the Abbey of Condom'' (Latin ''Historia abbatiae Condomensis'') says that at the time when William the Good was captured, probably by Vikings, Hugh's uncle, Duke William of Gascony, made a donation to the Abbey of Condom, which Hugh had founded. Charles Higounet, ''Bordeaux pendant le Haut Moyen Âge'' (Bordeaux: 1963), pp. 45–47. There were conflicting traditions in the 12th century over whether the Abbey of Sainte-Croix in Bordeaux, which had been destroyed by Vikings, was restored by William the Good before 977 or by Duke
William V of Aquitaine William the Great (; 969 – 31 January 1030) was duke of Aquitaine (as ) and count of Poitou (as or III) from 990 until his death. Upon the death of the emperor Henry II, he was offered the kingdom of Italy but declined to contest t ...
in 1027. Since William V certainly had non influence in Bordeaux in 1027, it seems likely that the two Williams were confused and that the actual founder was the obscure Count of Bordeaux. This is supported by a
papal bull A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden Seal (emblem), seal (''bulla (seal), bulla'') traditionally appended to authenticate it. History Papal ...
issued by
Urban II Pope Urban II (; – 29 July 1099), otherwise known as Odo of Châtillon or Otho de Lagery, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 12 March 1088 to his death. He is best known for convening the Council of Clermon ...
on 27 April 1099, which states that "William of good memory, the count of Bordeaux, by his right granted" the abbey an endowment and the right to rebuild.Higounet, ''Bordeaux'', p. 125: ''bone memorie Guillelmus Burdegalensium comes de jure suo concessit''. According to documents from Sainte-Croix, William's father was Raymond and his mother was Entregodis (Andregoto), probably the daughter of that name of Duke
García II Sánchez of Gascony García II Sánchez ( Basque: ''Gartzia Antso'', French: ''Garsie-Sanche le Tors'' or ''le Courbé'', Gascon: ''Gassia Sans'', Latin: ''Garsia Sancius Corvum''; died 930), called the Bent, was Duke of Gascony from sometime before 887 to his dea ...
. The name Raymond may indicate a family connection to 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 ...
. If this genealogy is correct, William was the first cousin of William Sánchez, and the latter was his heir. William was succeeded as count sometime between 977 and 988.


References

{{reflist Counts of Bordeaux