Bernat II Tumapaler of Armagnac
Encyclopedia
Bernard II Tumapaler was Duke of Gascony
from 1039 to 1052 and Count of Armagnac
from 1020 to 1061.
Bernard was the son of Adalais, daughter of William V of Aquitaine
and Prisca, and Girard I Trancaleon, whom he succeeded in Armagnac. Prisca was a daughter of William II of Gascony and it was through her that Bernard inherited his Gascon claim. Prisca's claim was passed to her son Odo
on the death of her brother Sancho VI in 1032. Bernard was recognised duke in turn on the death of his uncle Odo in 1039, but probably only in the southern regions and not in the region around Bordeaux
. Later his title to Gascony was contested by his uncle Guy Geoffrey, younger half-brother of Odo, but not descended from William II. Guy Geoffrey, however, was married to Garsenda, daughter of Aldabert II of Périgord and Alausia, the second daughter of the late Sancho VI.
Eventually, after a protracted fight, Bernard was defeated at the Battle of La Castelle (fought between Cazères
and Grenade
on the Adour
) and had to relinquish Gascony to Guy Geoffrey for 15,000 sou
s. However, by then the title was almost empty, as most of Gascony had been dismembered and parcelled out as appanage
s, being in the hand of the counts of Béarn
, Bigorre
, Armagnac
, Comminges
, Astarac
. Guy Geoffrey had only conquered a rump Gascony. Bernard fought the archbishop of Auch, partisan of Guy Geoffrey. He abdicated from Gascony before 4 May 1052 and Armagnac by 1061. He may have enterred a monastery. In May 1063, he led a rebellion of the Gascon barons against Guy Geoffrey, who had inherited the Duchy of Aquitaine in the meanwhile, but was soundly defeated and Gascony firmly bound to Aquitaine. He disappeared from history, but is not surely dead until 1090.
He married Ermengard and had three children:
Duke of Gascony
The Duchy of Vasconia , later known as Gascony, was a Merovingian creation: a frontier duchy on the Garonne, in the border with the rebel Basque tribes...
from 1039 to 1052 and Count of Armagnac
Count of Armagnac
The following is a list of rulers of the county of Armagnac:-House of Armagnac:*William Count of Fézensac and Armagnac ?– 960*Bernard the Suspicious, First count privative of Armagnac 960– ?*Gerald I Trancaléon ? –1020*Bernard I Tumapaler 1020–1061...
from 1020 to 1061.
Bernard was the son of Adalais, daughter of William V of Aquitaine
William V of Aquitaine
William V , called the Great , was Duke of Aquitaine and Count of Poitou from 990 until his death. He was the son and successor of William IV by his wife Emma of Blois, daughter of Theobald I of Blois. He seems to have taken after his formidable mother, who ruled Aquitaine as regent until 1004...
and Prisca, and Girard I Trancaleon, whom he succeeded in Armagnac. Prisca was a daughter of William II of Gascony and it was through her that Bernard inherited his Gascon claim. Prisca's claim was passed to her son Odo
Eudes of Aquitaine
Odo was Duke of Gascony from 1032 and then Duke of Aquitaine and Count of Poitou from 1038.He was a member of the House of Poitiers, the second son of William V of Aquitaine, the eldest by second wife Prisca, daughter of William II of Gascony and sister of Sancho VI.The Chronicle of Saint-Maixent...
on the death of her brother Sancho VI in 1032. Bernard was recognised duke in turn on the death of his uncle Odo in 1039, but probably only in the southern regions and not in the region around Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
. Later his title to Gascony was contested by his uncle Guy Geoffrey, younger half-brother of Odo, but not descended from William II. Guy Geoffrey, however, was married to Garsenda, daughter of Aldabert II of Périgord and Alausia, the second daughter of the late Sancho VI.
Eventually, after a protracted fight, Bernard was defeated at the Battle of La Castelle (fought between Cazères
Cazères
Cazères is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France.-Population:-External links:*...
and Grenade
Grenade
A grenade is a small explosive device that is projected a safe distance away by its user. Soldiers called grenadiers specialize in the use of grenades. The term hand grenade refers any grenade designed to be hand thrown. Grenade Launchers are firearms designed to fire explosive projectile grenades...
on the Adour
Adour
The Adour is a river in southwestern France. It rises in High-Bigorre , at the Col du Tourmalet, and flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Bayonne. It is long, of which the uppermost as the Adour du Tourmalet. At its final stretch, i.e...
) and had to relinquish Gascony to Guy Geoffrey for 15,000 sou
Sou
Sou may refer to:* Sou , a type of food pastry* Sou , a film by Theodore Ushev for Shorts in Motion: The Art of Seduction* Solidus #France, French slang for coins...
s. However, by then the title was almost empty, as most of Gascony had been dismembered and parcelled out as appanage
Appanage
An apanage or appanage or is the grant of an estate, titles, offices, or other things of value to the younger male children of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture...
s, being in the hand of the counts of Béarn
Béarn
Béarn is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in southwest France. Along with the three Basque provinces of Soule, Lower Navarre, and Labourd, the principality of Bidache, as well as small parts of Gascony, it forms in the...
, Bigorre
Bigorre
Bigorre is region in southwest France, historically an independent county and later a French province, located in the upper watershed of the Adour, on the northern slopes of the Pyrenees, part of the larger region known as Gascony...
, Armagnac
House of Armagnac
The House of Armagnac, at the end of the thirteenth century, was not yet powerful enough to play a political role beyond its possessions. The House of Toulouse, which ruled over the large southwest of France, was defeated by the Capetians during the Albigensian Crusade, but local dynasties, like...
, Comminges
Comminges
The Comminges is an ancient region of southern France in the foothills of the Pyrenees, corresponding closely to the arrondissement of Saint-Gaudens in the department of Haute-Garonne...
, Astarac
Astarac
Astarac is a region in Gascony, a county in the Middle Ages. It was formed as a county out of the partition of the Duchy of Gascony amongst his son following the death of García II Sánchez. The youngest son, Arnold I, received Astarac....
. Guy Geoffrey had only conquered a rump Gascony. Bernard fought the archbishop of Auch, partisan of Guy Geoffrey. He abdicated from Gascony before 4 May 1052 and Armagnac by 1061. He may have enterred a monastery. In May 1063, he led a rebellion of the Gascon barons against Guy Geoffrey, who had inherited the Duchy of Aquitaine in the meanwhile, but was soundly defeated and Gascony firmly bound to Aquitaine. He disappeared from history, but is not surely dead until 1090.
He married Ermengard and had three children:
- Arnold
- Girard, along with Arnold made a joint donation to the Abbey of Cluny in 1049.
- Gisela married Centule V of BéarnCentule V of BéarnCentule V , called the Young, was the Viscount of Béarn from 1058 to his death. Centule increased the autonomy of the viscounts of Béarn and distanced them from the dukes of Aquitaine, to whom they owed theoretical vassalage...
Sources
- Higounet, Charles. Bordeaux pendant le haut moyen age. Bordeaux, 1963.
- Foundation for Medieval Genealogy: Gascony.