Guillem VIII de Montpellier

Guillem married Eudokia about 1179. Eudokia was born between 1160 and 1164; died on 4 Nov 1202. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

1. Marie of Montpellier died on 21 Apr 1213 in Rome, Italy; was buried in St. Peter's, Rome, Italy.

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]

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.

Notes:

Duke of Burgundy. Regent, 1101-02.

Hugh married Mathilde of Mayenne about 1115. Mathilde (daughter of Gauthier IV and Adelina de Presles) died after 1162 in Beaune, Burgundy, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Also called Matilda de Turenne.

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:

Also called Eudes Borel "the Red". Duke of Burgundy.

Odo married Sibylla of Burgundy in 1080. Sibylla (daughter of William I "The Great" of Burgundy and Stephanie) was born in 1065; died in 1101. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: Aft 1103

Notes:

Also called Matilda.

Notes:

Count of Mayenne.

Gauthier married Adelina de Presles. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Also called Adeline de Beaugency. Living 1108.

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:

Called "The Gallant" (le Damoiseau).

Henry married (Unknown wife of Henry I of Burgundy). (Unknown died after 5 Jul 1074; was buried in Besançon, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

"The name of Henry's wife is not known, though both Sibylla and Clémence have been suggested. Based purely on onomastics, historian Szabolcs de Vajay proposed that she was the daughter of Berenguer Ramon I, Count of Barcelona and his third wife, Guisle of Lluca. If this is true, Henry would have been married in Barcelona while on crusade." [Wikipedia]

Notes:

Count of Burgundy and, from 1078, Count of Mâcon.

Called "tête hardie", "the rash" or "the stubborn".

William married Stephanie between 1049 and 1057. Stephanie died after 1092. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

The Wikipedia article about William I, Count of Burgundy, asserts (as of 29 Jun 2015) two wives for him, an "Etiennette de Longuy" that he married circa 1040 and a "Stephanie" that he married before his death in 1087. The article then lists one set of children for Stephanie and another set of "children of either Stephanie or Etiennette". This appears to be confused. [Note that as of 1 May 2016, Wikipedia's article appears to have been cleaned up and corrected.]

According to Ancestral Roots, William had one wife, whom they identify as "Stephanie, parentage NN". They then note: "Prof. David H. Kelly believes her parentage unproven (2003). De Vajay, in Annales de Bourgogne vol. 32 (1960) 258-261, identifies Stephanie (Etiennette) as dau. of Clemence de Foix & Albert de Longwy, Duke of Lorraine, d. 1048. Clemence is identified as dau. of Bernard I Roger, Comte de Foix, d. 1035, & Garsinde de Bigorre; & Bernard as son of Roger I de Carcassonne & wife Adelaide. Moriarty, The Plantagenet Ancestry of King Edward III and Queen Philippa, supplies pedigree charts for these families, but does not agree with de Vajay as to her identity. Garnier, Tableaux Généalogiques des Souverains de la France et de ses Grand Feudataires, table XXVIII, shows her as dau. of Raymond II, Count of Barcelona."

Notes:

Also called Geoffrey of Mayenne.

From Leo van de Pas:

Geoffroy was the son of Haymon. According to the cartulary of the abbey of Saint-Vincent, dating between 1067 and 1070, he or more probably his father had his ownership of the château of Mayenne confirmed by Foulques III 'Nerra', comte d'Anjou, between 1014 and Foulques' death in 1040. Haymon subscribed a charter dated 1014 'Signum Haymonis de Medano', so he appears to have been castellan or seigneur already at that time. Geoffroy is first recorded as lord of Mayenne in a charter of Hugues IV, comte de Maine, dated the 20th year of the reign of Henri I, king of France, i.e. approximately 1051.

Before 1059 Geoffroy married Mahaut d'Alluye, widow of Guillaume I Gouët, seigneur de Montmirail, and daughter of Gautier d'Alluye. Their son Gautier would have progeny, marrying Adeline (Alix) (de Presles). The marriage of Geoffroy and Mahaut was partly driven by the need to defend against the encroachments of the Normans and of Rotrou I, comte du Perche.

Herbert II, comte de Maine, driven from Maine by Geoffrey II Martel, comte d'Anjou, had no sons, and named William the Conqueror, duke of Normandy, as his heir. On Herbert's death in 1062 William pressed his right to succeed in Maine. Most of the lords of Maine revolted against him. Led by Geoffroy they summoned as their new count Gautier III, comte d'Amiens et du Vexin. William of Normandy then embarked on the conquest of Maine, using scorched earth tactics and conquering the castles of his opponents one by one, capturing Gautier who died shortly after in mysterious circumstances. William also laid siege to the castle of Mayenne, to which Geoffroy had fled. When the castle was set on fire it surrendered in 1063.

In 1094 Geoffroy allied with Guillaume II de Sillé and the principal lords of Maine to support the house of Giroie in its feud against Robert de Bellême, 3rd earl of Shropshire and of Shrewsbury.

Gautier married Mahaut d'Alluye before 1059. Mahaut (daughter of Gautier d'Alluye) died after 1079. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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.

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate death: 21 May 1076

Notes:

"The Old." Duke of Burgundy.

"In 1025, with the death of his eldest brother Hugh Magnus, he and Henry rebelled against their father and defeated him, forcing him back to Paris. In 1031, after the death of his father the king, Robert participated in a rebellion against his brother, in which he was supported by his mother, Constance of Arles. Peace was only achieved when Robert was given Burgundy (1032). Throughout his reign, he was little more than a robber baron who had no control over his own vassals, whose estates he often plundered, especially those of the Church. He seized the income of the diocese of Autun and the wine of the canons of Dijon. He burgled the abbey of St-Germain at Auxerre. In 1055, he repudiated his wife, Helie of Semur, and assassinated her brother Joceran and murdered her father, his father-in-law, Lord Dalmace I of Semur, with his own hands. In that same year, the bishop of Langres, Harduoin, refused to dedicate the church of Sennecy so as not "to be exposed to the violence of the duke." [Wikipedia]

Robert married Helie of Semur about 1033. Helie (daughter of Dalmas I of Semur and Aremburge de Vergy) was born about 1015; died after 1055 in Priory of the Holy Trinity of Marcigny-lès-Nonnains, Burgundy, France. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Alternate birth: 1016, of Semur-en-Brionnais, Bourgogne, France

Notes:

Also called Petronilla; Eleanor; Héliette; Hermegarde. Died as a nun.

Notes:

Count of Burgundy.

Renaud married Adélaïde of Normandy before 2 Nov 1023. Adélaïde (daughter of Richard II and Judith of Brittany) died after 1074. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Sometimes called Judith. "As for Judith being the same person as Adelais, there is no reason to doubt this: she was recorded as Renaud's wife named Adelais in 1023, well before occurring with her mother's name Judith in 1037 (perhaps the alternative was used to distinguish her from her step-mother-in-law Adelais), and she was still living nearly two decades after Renaud's death." [Peter Stewart, citation details below.]