William VI (1004 – March 1038), called the Fat, was

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 ...

(as William IV) between 1030 and his death. He was the eldest son of William V the Great by his first wife, Adalmode of Limoges. Throughout his reign, he had to face the hostility of his stepmother, Agnes of Burgundy, the third wife of his father, who had remarried to

Geoffrey Martel Geoffrey II, called Martel (1006 – 14 November 1060), son of Fulk the Black, was a French knight and Count of Anjou from 1040 to 1060 and Count of Vendôme from 1032 to 1056. He fought battles against William VII, Duke of Aquitaine, Theobald ...

, then count of Vendôme. He entered into a war with Martel, who pretended to the government of the

Saintonge Saintonge may refer to: *County of Saintonge, a historical province of France on the Atlantic coast * Saintonge (region), a region of France corresponding to the historical province * Saintonge ware, a medieval pottery type produced in Saintes reg ...

. On 20 September 1034, he was captured in the field at Moncontour, near Saint-Jouin-de-Marnes. He was freed in 1036, after nearly three years imprisonment, only by ceding the cities of Saintes and

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

. He immediately reopened the war, but was defeated again and had to cede the isle of

Oléron The Isle of Oléron or Oléron Island (, ; Saintongese dialect, Saintongese: ''ilâte d'Olerun''; , ) is an island off the Atlantic coast of France (due west of Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, Rochefort), on the southern side of the Pertuis d'Antio ...

. William married Eustachie of Montreuil but had no known descendants. He reformed the administration of

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 ...

by naming a provost, and died there, being succeeded by his half-brother Odo. He was buried at

Maillezais Maillezais () is a commune in the Vendée department in the Pays de la Loire region in western France. It was once an island in the Marais Poitevin, until monks of the Maillezais Abbey dug canals in the 13th century. Remains of the sea wall ar ...

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* Dukes of Aquitaine Counts of Poitiers Burials at Maillezais Abbey 1004 births 1038 deaths {{france-noble-stub

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