Guillem VII de Montpellier

Notes:

Sire de Montpellier & Montferrier.

Guillem married Matilda of Burgundy on 25 Sep 1157 in Montpellier, Hérault, France. Matilda (daughter of Hugh II Borel and Mathilde of Mayenne) was born about 1130; died before 29 Sep 1172. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Guillem VIII de Montpellier died after 4 Nov 1202.
2. Guillemette de Montpellier died after Oct 1200.
3. Sibylia de Montpellier

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: 1162

Notes:

Also called William VI, Guilhelm VI, etc. According to Wikipedia, he "succeeded his father in the lordship of Montpellier in 1121, while still a minor, under his mother's guardianship. He suppressed a revolt of the bourgeoisie in 1143 and participated in several military campaigns of the Reconquista in Spain (1134, 1146–47). He also increased the public character of the lordship in Montpellier and supported the growth of its trade."

"Guillem VI was already a widower and became a monk at Grandselve after making his will." [Peter Stewart, citation details below.]

"Bernard's eldest brother, William VI of Montpellier, became a Cistercian monk in 1149." [James Westfall Thompson, citation details below]

Guillem married Sybille de Saluzzo in Aug 1129. Sybille (daughter of Boniface del Vasto and Agnes de Vermandois) died before 11 Dec 1146. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Also called Sibilla del Vasto. Not, Wikipedia and other sources notwithstanding, the daughter of a Catalan family, sometimes identified with the name "Mataplana."

Peter Stewart [citation details below]:

A few threads over the past year or two have discussed the parentage of Sibilla, wife of Guillem VI, seigneur of Montpellier.

Adequate proof has been set out here before that she was from Italy, daughter of Bonifacio, margrave of Vasto & Agnes de Vermandois. However, several modern genealogists & historians including Henri Vidal, Claudie Duhamel-Amado, Szabolcs de Vajay and Patrick van Kerrebrouck have wrongly stated that she was daughter of a Catalan viscount, Hugo de Mataplana.

After checking Liber instrumentorum memorialium: cartulaire des Guillems de Montpellier, edited by Alexandre Germain & Camille Chabaneau (Montpellier, 1884-1886), it seems likely to me that these authorities have copied each other's mistake in some sequence, because this false relationship is virtually precluded by the available evidence.

In his testament dated 11 December 1146 (op cit p. 182, no. 95) Guillem left the guardianship of his children and lands, under the superior custody of his mother Ermesendis de Melgueil, to his cousin ("consobrinus meus") Ponce de Mataplana.

The context makes it logical to read "consobrinus" in its literal and precise sense of maternal first cousin, as Ponce was enjoined to take care of Guillem's family and property along with his mother, but even if a looser translation (such as sister's son or father's sister's son) were allowed the word would still denote a close blood relative and not one by marriage -- it cannot mean brother-in-law (usually "cognatus", although that covers a wide range of kinship too) and Sibilla could not have been a sibling to Ponce anyway.

Another error made by Henri Vidal [in 'Les mariages dans la famille des Guillems, seigneurs de Montpellier', Revue historique de droit franc?ais et e?tranger 62 (1984)] is to make Raimond-Guillem, abbot of Aniane and bishop of Lodève, a son of Guillem VI (the third of five attributed to him).

Guillem made elaborate provisions for the descent of Montpellier in the event that any one of his children should die without issue. They were all young at the time, and allowance was made for the third son, Bernard, to become a cleric if he should wish to take holy orders or to be set up honourably if he chose not to do so. He was the only one nominated for the priesthood. There were explicitly just four sons, Guillem the elder, Guillem the younger, Bernard and Gui in that order ("IIIIor filii mei, Guillelmus major, et Guillelmus minor, et Bernardus, et Guido"), as well as three daughters whose rights followed theirs. Guillem VI was already a widower and became a monk at Grandselve after making his will, so that Raimond-Guillem of Lodève cannot have belonged to his immediate family.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: Abt 1074
• Alternate birth: Abt 1075
• Alternate death: Bef 21 Feb 1122

Notes:

Seigneur de Montpellier.

From Wikipedia:

At the call of Pope Urban II, William took up the cross of the First Crusade under the banner of Raymond IV of Toulouse. He served notable at the capture of the small Syrian village of Ma'arrat al-Numan in 1098. After the fall of Jerusalem in 1099, William remained in the Holy Land for a while. He remained at the side of Godfrey de Bouillon and accompanied him to the siege of Antioch in December 1097. He did not return to Montpellier until 1103, bringing with him a relic of Saint Cleopas.

When William returned, he found that the Aimoin brothers to whom he had confided the administration of the lordship in his absence had usurped many seigniorial rights and that he was obligated to recognise much of their newfound authority, which diminished his own, in order to retain his position.

William participated in the army of Raymond Berengar III of Barcelona which captured Majorca from the Moors in 1114. The rest of his reign was marked by the important acquisition of nearby territories, which greatly recouped his power: Montarnaud, Cournonsec, Montferrier, Frontignan, Aumelas, Montbazin, Popian.

Guillem married Ermesenda between 1086 and 1087. Ermesenda died after 21 Feb 1122. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Or Ermesindis, etc. She was not, contrary to many sources, a daughter of Pierre of Melgueil and Almodis de Toulouse.

From Peter Stewart, soc.genealogy.medieval, 27 Mar 2020:

Ermensenda's husband Guillaume V of Montpellier married his daughter Guilelma to Bernard IV of Melgueil, a grandson of Pierre. Consequently, if Ermensenda had been the daughter of Pierre in question, a first-cousin marriage would have taken place in the early-12th century, which is beyond implausible.

At the time Pierre of Melgueil settled his dispute with Guillaume V of Montpellier the latter was apparently still very young — Pierre died in the late 1080s and (according to Claudie Duhamel-Amado) Guillaume V was born in 1073 or 1074. Given this, it seems likely that a marriage between Pierre's daughter and Guillaume did not last long and that in any event she was not Ermensenda, who outlived him and was the mother of his children including Guilelma married in 1120 to Bernard of Melgueil.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: Abt 1130

Notes:

Also called Boniface of Saluzzo, Bonifacio de Saluces, Bonifacio di Revello, Boniface de Clavesana, etc. Margrave of Savona and Western Liguria.

Boniface married Agnes de Vermandois after 1111. Agnes (daughter of Hugues le Grand and Adèle de Vermandois) died after 1125. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Seigneur de Montpellier.

Guillem married Ermengarde de Melgueil. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Also called Teto; Teotone; Oddone. Margrave de Vasto. Margrave of Western Liguria.

Otto married Bertha of Turin about 1036. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Also called Berta de Susa.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: 18 Oct 1102, Tarsus, Cilicia

Notes:

Count of Crépy. Count of Vermandois and Valois. Duke of France.

Also called Hugh "Magnus".

The place where he died, in what is now south-central Turkey, is the same Tarsus as in "Saul of Tarsus," before he turned into St. Paul.

Post to SGM by Nathaniel Lane Taylor, 22 Jan 2004, about the battle in which Hugues died:

[I]t was I who first first posted the death date & circumstances on Hugh of Vermandois when I started this whole messy thread. But the 1101 date is clearly correct, because Hugh died of wounds after the battle in which a Crusader force was annihilated at Heraklea (Asia Minor) in late September of 1101. There is no mistaking the year, in the chronology of the first Crusade's aftermath. Runciman (2:28-29) does not provide a precise date for that battle, but it was one of three major failures of Western forces the Summer and Fall of 1101. See generally his History of the Crusades, vol. 2, chapter 2, "The Crusades of 1101." On the battle at Heraklea, he says:

"Early in September they [see below] entered Heraclea, which they found deserted as Konya had been. Just beyond the town flowed the river, one of the few Anatolian streams to flow abundantly throughout the summer. The Christian warriors, half-mad from thirst, broke their ranks to rush to the welcoming water. But the Turkish army lay concealed in the thickets on the river banks. As the crusaders surged on in disorder, the Turks sprang out on them and surrounded them. There was no time to reform ranks. Panic spread through the Christian army. Horsemen and infantry were mixed in a dreadful stampede; and as they stumbled in their attempt to flee they were slaughtered by the enemy. The duke of Aquitaine, followed by one of his grooms, cut his way out and rode into the mountains. After many days of wandering through the passes he found his way to Tarsus. Hugh of Vermandois was badly wounded in the battle; but some of his men rescued him and he too reached Tarsus. But he was a dying man. His death took place on 18 October and they buried him there in the Cathedral of St Paul. He never fulfilled his vow to go to Jerusalem. Welf of Bavaria only escaped by throwing away all his armor. After several weeks he arrived with two or three attendants at Antioch. Archbishop Thiemo [of Salzburg] was taken prisoner and martyred for his faith. The fate of the Margravine of Austria is unknown. Later legends said that she ended her days a captive in a far-off harem, where she gave birth to the Moslem hero Zengi. More probably she was thrown from her litter in the panic and trampled to death."

Runciman cites Albert of Aachen, 8.34-40 (pp. 579-82 in the edition he cites); and Ekkehard, 24-26 (pp. 30-32), among other material on the legend of the the Margravine of Austria, etc.

It is PNH's contention that this Hugh le Grand is the exact bellybutton of the Middle Ages. His father was a king of France; his mother was one of the daughters of Yaroslav the Wise, Grand Prince of Kiev; and his daughter Isabel married, as her first husband, one of the Conqueror's proven companions at Hastings. Another daughter, Agnes, married a marcher lord of northern Italy. Through his mother he was also descended from three canonized Kievan saints and two kings of Sweden. He married the last member of the Carolingian dynasty. He died on Crusade. He was called Hugues le Grand. Case closed.

Hugues married Adèle de Vermandois about 1080. Adèle (daughter of Herbert IV and Adela of Vexin) died in 1120; was buried on 28 Sep 1120 in Vermandois, Aisne, Picardy, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: Between 1120 and 1124

Notes:

Countess of Vermandois. Last member of the Carolingian dynasty.

According to Royal Ancestry, she died "28 September, between 1120 and 1124."

Notes:

Seigneur de Montpellier.

Guillem married Beliardis. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Count of Melgueil.

Raymond married Béatrice de Poitou before 1055. Béatrice (daughter of William III of Poitou and Agnes of Burgundy) was born about 1028. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Margrave de Vasto.

Anselmo married Adila. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: 1035

Notes:

Also called Ulric Manfredo. Count of Susa. Margrave of Turin.

Olderich married Berta of Este before 1014. Berta (daughter of Oberto Obizzo II of Este and Railende du Como) died in 1029. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: Aft 4 Nov 1037
• Alternate death: Aft 29 Dec 1037

Notes:

From Wikipedia:

Bertha of Milan or Bertha of Luni (c. 997-c. 1040), was a member of the Obertenghi dynasty. Bertha was married to Ulric Manfred II of Turin. She is sometimes identified with the Bertha who was married to Arduin of Ivrea.

Although it is known that Bertha was a member of the Otbertenghi dynasty, there is some debate about who her parents were. Her father is often said to be Oberto II, but others argue that Bertha's father was in fact Otbert III of Milan.

By 1014 at the latest, Bertha had married Ulric Manfred (that year, Emperor Henry II confirmed their joint donation to the abbey of Fruttuaria). Her dowry included lands in the counties of Tortona, Parma and Piacenza.

In May 1028 with her husband, Ulric Manfred, Bertha founded the convent of Santa Maria at Caramagna. The following year, in July 1029, along with her husband and his brother, Bishop Alric of Asti, Bertha founded the Benedictine abbey in of S. Giusto in Susa, which housed the relics of Saint Justus of Novalesa. The church of the Abbey of San Giusto is now Susa Cathedral.

After Ulric Manfred's death (in December 1033 or 1034), Bertha briefly acted as regent for their daughter, Adelaide of Susa.

In 1037 Bertha captured envoys who wished to cross the Alps from Piedmont to Champagne, thus foiling a conspiracy against Emperor Conrad II. Conrad II rewarded Bertha for her part in suppressing the rebellion against him by issuing an imperial diploma which confirmed her donations to the abbey of S. Giusto in Susa.

Henri married Anne of Kiev, Queen Consort of France on 19 May 1051 in Rheims, Marne, Champagne-Ardenne, France. Anne (daughter of Yaroslav I "The Wise", Grand Prince of Kiev and Ingegerd (St. Anna) of Sweden) was born in 1036 in Kiev, Ukraine; died after 1075. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: Bef 1079

Notes:

Also known as Agnes of Kiev and Anna Yaroslavna.

According to Royal Ancestry, she died "5 Sept., between 1075 and 1078."

Notes:

Count of Vermandois and Valois.

Herbert married Adela of Vexin before 1068. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Also called Adelaide of Vermandois; Adele of Valois.

Notes:

Seigneur de Montpellier.

Notes:

Comte de Melgueil.

Bernard married Adèle de Substantion. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Living 23 Dec 1066.

Notes:

Count of Poitou. Duke of Aquitaine.

William married Agnes of Burgundy. Agnes (daughter of Otto-William of Burgundy and Ermentrude de Roucy) was born about 995; died on 10 Nov 1068; was buried in Abbey of St. Nicolas de Poitiers, Vienne, Poitou-Charentes, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Also called Agnes de Macon. Duchess of Aquitaine.

Notes:

Second Arduinici Marquess of Susa from 977 to his death. Sometimes called Manfred of Susa.

Manfred married Prangardia di Canossa after 962. Prangardia (daughter of Adalbert Atto di Canossa and Hildegard) was born in of Canossa, Italy. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: Aft 1014
• Alternate death: Abt 1017
• Alternate death: 1021

Notes:

Margrave of Este, 975; Count of Genoa; Margrave of Milan.

Oberto married Railende du Como. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: 27 Mar 971, Orléans, Loiret, France
• Alternate birth: 27 Mar 972, Orléans, Loiret, France

Notes:

Called "The Pious."

Robert married Constance of Provence, Queen Consort of France about May 1004. Constance (daughter of Guillaume I "le Liberateur" and Adelaide-Blanche of Anjou) was born between 985-990; died on 22 Jul 1034 in Melun, Seine-et-Marne, Île-de-France, France; was buried in Abbey of Saint-Denis, Saint-Denis, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: Abt 986
• Alternate death: 25 Jul 1032, Château Melun, Seine-et-Marne, Île-de-France, France

Notes:

Also called Constance de Toulouse; Constance of Arles.

"Queen Constance was not someone to be caught with down a dark alley, or even a well-lit street -- she was a violent termagant who once poked out a priest's eye with a stick when undertaking crowd control at a heresy trial. She fomented war between her sons over the succession after Robert II's death." [Peter Stewart, SGM, 3 Jun 2022]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: 20 Feb 1054

Notes:

Also called Jaroslav I Vladimirovich. Grand Prince of Kiev from 1019 to 1054.

Yaroslav married Ingegerd (St. Anna) of Sweden. Ingegerd (daughter of Olof Skötkonung, King of Sweden and Estrid of the Obotrites) died on 10 Feb 1050. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Also known as Ingegerd (or Ingegarde, or Ingrid) Olofsdotter. Her christening name was Irina (Irene). For having initiated the building of the Saint Sophia Cathedral in Kiev, she was later declared a saint under the name St. Anna. Her feast days are 10 February and 4 October.

Notes:

Count of Vermandois.

Otto married Parvi. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Also called Pavie.

Raoul married Adele de Bar-sur-Aube. Adele (daughter of Nocher III) died in 1053. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Also called Aelis.