Ermesenda

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.

Ermesenda married Guillem V de Montpellier between 1086 and 1087. Guillem (son of Guillem IV de Montpellier and Ermengarde de Melgueil) was born about 1073; died in 1121. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Living 1149. Also called Guillemette, etc.

Guilelma married Bernard IV of Melgueil on 18 Jan 1120. Bernard (son of Raymond of Melgueil and Marie) died in 1152. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

William V of Montpellier certainly had a younger son named Bernard. And this Bernard's brother-in-law Bernard IV of Melgueil was certainly a nephew of Pons, seventh abbey of Cluny, under whom Cluny's power and influence greatly grew.

James Westfall Thompson's 1907 "Notes and Studies on the Identity of Bernard of Cluny" (citation details below) makes a good circumstantial, if not probative, case that this Bernard was the twelfth-century Benedictine monk best known for De contemptu mundi and the hymn "Omni die dic Mariae" ("Daily, daily sing to Mary"). Who is called in several contemporary records Morlanensis.

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:

Lord of Omelaz and Mont-Arnaud. "Omelas or Olmet was a maisonfort in the diocese of Lodève." [James Westfall Thompson, citation details below]

Guillem married Tiburge d'Orange between 1129 and 1130. Tiburge (daughter of Raymbaud II d'Orange) died after 7 Nov 1136. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Comtesse de Melgueil.

Béatrix married Berenguer Ramon I in 1135. Berenguer (son of Ramon III Berenguer and Dulce de Gévauden) was born about 1114; died in 1144. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Béatrix married Bernard Pelet before Mar 1145. Bernard (son of Bermond Pelet and Agnes) died between 1170 and 1172. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

From Wikipedia:

Gui Guerrejat ("the warrior") was the fifth son of William VI of Montpellier. When still a boy, in 1146, he inherited the castles of Paulhan and le Pouget from his father.

After the death of his brother William VII, around 1172, Gui served jointly with John of Montlaur, bishop of Maguelonne, as guardian of his nephews, particularly of William VIII who had inherited the lordship. In this capacity Gui and John attended the conference at Mezouls in 1174 at which Raymond V of Toulouse and Alfonso II of Aragon negotiated an agreement with the young William VIII. In October 1174 Gui was at Alfonso II's court at Lerida. In 1176 he was among those present when the will was read of Ermessende of Pelet, countess of Melgueil. In 1177 he joined Bernard Ato V of Nîmes and Agde, Countess Ermengarde of Narbonne, and his nephews William VIII and Gui Burgundion, in an alliance in opposition to Raymond V of Toulouse, who now ruled Melgueil as widower of Ermessende of Pelet.

According to her Occitan vida (in the Biographies des Troubadours), the trobairitz Azalais de Porcairagues was the lover of Gui Guerrejat; her one surviving poem seems to be addressed to him.

Family/Spouse: Mathia. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Adelais married Ebles III de Ventadour in 1151. Ebles (son of Ebles II de Ventadour and Agnes de Montlucon) died in 1170 in Montecassino Abbey, Italy. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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]

Notes:

Also called Tibors de Sarenom. She was the earliest known trobairitz, female troubador, active during the classical period of medieval Occitan literature.

Family/Spouse: Bertrand of Baux. Bertrand (son of Raymond de Baux and Stéphanette de Gevaudan) was born about 1120; died between Apr 1180 and 5 Apr 1181. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Count of Provence and Mauguion. Genealogics (citation details below) notes that he was murdered, but gives no further details. Wikipedia (which calls him "Ramon Berenguer II") says only that he died trying to take Nice in the war against Genoa.

Raymond married Richeza of Poland before 1 Aug 1162. Richeza (daughter of Wladislaw II, King of Poland and Agnes of Babenberg) was born about 1135; died on 16 Oct 1185. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Living 1169. Titular Comte de Melgueil, Seigneur d'Alès.

Family/Spouse: Bonafosse. Bonafosse died about 25 Mar 1205. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

"Guise Guerrajat; °~1177, a quelques biens près de Montpellier provenant de son père Domini Guidonos Garrechati [Archives Nationales, fonds Doat, Vol.38, fol.20-22]. Ses parents sont donc Gui de Pouget dit Guerrajat, Guido Guerregiatur, & Mathia et frère de Guilhem de Montpellier &1156 Mathilde de Bourgogne, voir les Guilhems, Seigneurs de Montpellier. Les parents de Gui de Pouget dit Guerrajat sont donc Guilhem de Montpellier &1129 Sybille di Saluzzo." [Ludovic Noirie, citation details below.]

Family/Spouse: Hector de Panat. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Vicomte de Ventadour. Living 1174.

Family/Spouse: Sibylle de Fay. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

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

Guillemette married Raymond I d'Anduze in Nov 1169 in Montpellier, Hérault, France. Raymond (son of Bertrand d'Anduze and Adelais de Roquefeuil) was born about 1150; died between 1200 and 1204. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Raimond Gaucelm III. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Lord of Meyrargues.

Family/Spouse: Etienette de Baux. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Mentioned 1215.

Family/Spouse: Lambert Adhémar. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Prince d'Orange.

From Wikipedia (accessed 14 Jun 2020):

William I of Baux (Occitan: Guilhe?m dei Bauc?, archaic Guillem or Guilhem dels Baus), French: Guillaume des Baux or du Baus, Latin: Guillelmus de Balcio […] was the Prince of Orange from 1182 until his death. He was an important Provençal nobleman.

William was the son of Bertrand of Baux, the first Prince of Orange, a major patron of Occitan poetry, and Tibors de Sarenom, a sister of Raimbaut d'Aurenga and herself a trobairitz. In 1215, when the Emperor Frederick II sought to make his power effective in the Kingdom of Burgundy, he granted to William at Metz the whole "Kingdom of Arles and Vienne", probably referring to the viceroyalty of the kingdom. William was imprisoned in Avignon in the summer of 1216 and remained there until his death in June 1218. William's descendants continued to claim the Kingdom of Arles until 1393.

William was a man of letters and a troubadour, inheriting his love of lyric poetry from his patron-composer parents. Two coblas and a sirventes are preserved of William's writings. He was also in contact with other troubadours. The lone surviving sirventes of Gui de Cavalhon was written against William.

An anecdotal razo is preserved describing how William robbed a French merchant, who subsequently took his case to the king, Philip Augustus, but was rejected because "it had taken place too far away" (i.e. out of French jurisdiction in Provence). The merchant subsequently counterfeited the royal seal and used it to lure William to his (unnamed) city with promises of rewards. When William and his companions arrived in the city the merchant had them arrested and imprisoned until he had made amends for what he had taken. On his return to Provence, William allegedly planned to annex a piece of land ("la Osteilla" or "Estella") belonging to Ademar II of Valentinois when he was captured by Ademar's fisherman in a small boat on the Rhône. This event inspired a cobla from the troubadour Raimbaut de Vaqueiras, who was nicknamed William Engles (the Englishman, for unknown reasons).

William married Ermengarde, daughter of Raymond of Mévouillon, but divorced her on 21 March 1203. Their child, Raymond I of Baux, succeeded his father as Prince of Orange and King of Arles. William remarried to a woman named Alix. His sons by her, William II and Bertrand II, both later inherited Orange. William also had a daughter named Tibors who married Giraud III Amic, lord of Thor de Châteauneuf.

From Leo van de Pas:

Guillaume first made his name with his efforts to drive the Moors out of the Rhône valley, and he earned a place in the chansons de geste ("songs of deeds"), a group of epic poems of medieval France written from the 11th through to the 13th centuries.

Guillaume was a son of Bertrand, sire de Baux, prince d'Orange, and of Tiburge, princess of Orange. He was first married to Ermengarde de Mévouillon, whom he divorced in November 1204 because of their degree of relationship. He then married Alix Eloy. By each wife he had a son who would have progeny. By Alix he also had a daughter who would have progeny, and a son who did not.

Guillaume had been on good terms with Raymond VI, count of Toulouse and marquis of Provence. However, after the Battle of Muret on 12 September 1213, early in the Albigensian Crusade, when Simon V de Montfort defeated Raymond VI, Raymond was deprived of his county and marquisate, and Guillaume took over the marquisate, pretending to act on the order of the pope. Pope Innocent III ordered him to turn it over to his legate Cardinal Pierre de Benevento, so as not to prejudice the disposal he would make of it later. Guillaume was very disappointed when the Lateran Council in 1215 instead conferred the marquisate on the young son of Raymond VI, to whom Innocent III had taken a liking.

To end the anarchy in Provence, Emperor Friedrich II in 1215 considered creating some viceroys there who were devoted to him. One of these was Guillaume, who on 8 January 1215 was created viceroy of the kingdom of Vienne and Arles (Burgundy), with the promise that he would be crowned, which never took place. The appointment was only to an empty title with no authority or influence. However Guillaume's descendants continued to claim the kingdom of Arles until 1393.

Later in the Albigensian Crusade, Guillaume took the side of the Crusaders, no doubt because he thought it more favourable to his interests, and in Provence he took over the leadership of the Catholic lords. This action brought him to grief. In the summer of 1216 he fell into the hands of the Cathars who imprisoned him at Avignon. Two years later he was said to have been skinned alive before 30 July 1218. His sons Raymond I and Guillaume II from his two marriages succeeded him as co-princes of Orange.

Family/Spouse: Alix Eloy. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Ermengarde de Mévouillon. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]