Nielsen Hayden genealogy

William V "il Vecchio" of Montferrat

Male Abt 1115 - 1191  (~ 76 years)


Personal Information    |    Notes    |    Sources    |    All

  • Name William V "il Vecchio" of Montferrat 
    Birth Abt 1115  [1
    Gender Male 
    Death 1191  Tyre Find all individuals with events at this location  [1
    Siblings 1 sibling 
    Person ID I9563  Ancestry of PNH, TNH, and others | Ancestor of AP, Ancestor of DDB, Ancestor of DGH, Ancestor of DK, Ancestor of EK, Ancestor of JTS, Ancestor of LD, Ancestor of LMW, Ancestor of TNH, Ancestor of TSW, Ancestor of TWK, Ancestor of UKL
    Last Modified 6 Jan 2018 

    Father Rainier of Montferrat,   b. Abt 1084   d. Bef 1137 (Age ~ 52 years) 
    Mother Gisela of Burgundy,   b. Abt 1070   d. Aft 1133 (Age ~ 64 years) 
    Marriage 1105  [1
    Family ID F5429  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

    Family Judith of Babenberg,   b. 1115   d. Aft 18 Oct 1168 (Age > 53 years) 
    Marriage Bef 28 Mar 1133  [1
    Children 
    +1. Azalaïs of Montferrat,   b. 1150   d. 1232 (Age 82 years)
    +2. Boniface I,   b. Abt 1150   d. Sep 1207 (Age ~ 57 years)
    Family ID F5428  Group Sheet  |  Family Chart
    Last Modified 6 Jun 2019 

  • Notes 
    • Also Guilhem, Gugliemo, Guillermo. Marquess of Montferrat.

      From Wikipedia:

      Dynastically, he was extremely well-connected: a nephew of Pope Callixtus II, a half-brother of Amadeus III of Savoy, a brother-in-law of Louis VI of France (through his half-sister Adelasia of Moriana), and cousin of Alfonso VII of Castile. [...] William and Judith's powerful dynastic connections created difficulties in finding suitable wives for his sons, however: too many potential spouses were related within prohibited degrees. In 1167, he unsuccessfully tried to negotiate marriages for his eldest sons to daughters of Henry II of England - but the girls were very young at the time and were related through Judith's descent from William V of Aquitaine. He then applied for sisters of William I of Scotland, who were not related, but were already married.

      [...]

      William took part in the Second Crusade, alongside his half-brother Amadeus of Savoy (who died during the campaign), his nephew Louis VII of France, his brother-in-law Count Guido of Biandrate, and his wife's German and Austrian relatives.

      As supporters of the imperial party (later known as the Ghibellines), he and his sons fought [alongside] the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa (Judith's nephew) in his lengthy struggle against the Lombard League. Following Barbarossa's capitulation with the Peace of Venice in 1177, William was left to deal with the rebellious towns in the area alone. Meanwhile, the Byzantine emperor Manuel I Komnenos sought support for his own politics in Italy.

      William broke with Barbarossa and formed an alliance with Manuel. His eldest surviving son, Conrad, was taken prisoner by Barbarossa's Chancellor, Archbishop Christian of Mainz, but then captured the chancellor in battle at Camerino. In 1179 Manuel suggested a marriage between his daughter Maria, second in line to the throne, and one of William's sons. As Conrad and Boniface were already married, the youngest son, Renier, was married off to the princess, who was ten years his senior. Renier and Maria were later killed during the usurpation of Andronikos, and the family rebuilt ties with Barbarossa.

      In 1183, with the accession of his grandson Baldwin V, a minor, as co-King of Jerusalem, William, then probably in his late sixties, left the government of Montferrat to Conrad and Boniface, and returned to the east. He was granted the castle of St. Elias (present-day Taybeh). He fought in the Battle of Hattin in 1187, where he was captured by Saladin's forces. In the meantime, his second son, Conrad, had arrived at Tyre from Constantinople. Conrad was given the command of the defences. During the siege of Tyre in November that year, he is said to have refused to surrender as much as a stone of its walls to liberate his father, even threatening to shoot him with a crossbow himself when Saladin had him presented as a hostage. Eventually, Saladin withdrew his army from Tyre. In 1188, William was released unharmed at Tortosa, and seems to have ended his days in Tyre, with his son. He probably died in the summer of 1191: Conrad last describes himself as "marchionis Montisferrati filius" in a charter of May that year.

  • Sources 
    1. [S160] Wikipedia.