Centule III was the Count of Bigorre from 1163 until his death. He was the eldest son of Beatrice III and Peter I and succeeded his mother in Bigorre on her death.

In 1170 he became a vassal

Vassal

A vassal or feudatory is a person who has entered into a mutual obligation to a lord or monarch in the context of the feudal system in medieval Europe. The obligations often included military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain privileges, usually including the grant of land held...

 of Alfonso II of Aragon

Alfonso II of Aragon

Alfonso II or Alfons I ; Huesca, 1-25 March 1157 – 25 April 1196), called the Chaste or the Troubadour, was the King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona from 1164 until his death. He was the son of Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona and Petronilla of Aragon and the first King of Aragon who was...

 in return for receiving the Val d'Aran

Val d'Aran

The Val d'Aran is a valley in the Pyrenees mountains and a comarca in the northwestern part of the province of Lleida, in Catalonia, northern Spain. Most of the valley constitutes the only part of Spain, and of Catalonia, on the north face of the Pyrenees, hence the only part of Catalonia whose...

 in full. Under his watch the communal movement began to sweep Bigorre, but he avoided violent confrontations by granting the towns of his realm charters. The first charter was granted to Bagnères

Bagnères-de-Bigorre

Bagnères-de-Bigorre is a French commune in the south-western Hautes-Pyrénées department, of which it is a sub-prefecture.-Notable people:Bagnères-de-Bigorre was the birthplace of:*Alan Brooke, 1st Viscount Alanbrooke...

 in 1171.

In 1155 he married Matelle, the widow of Peter of Béarn, and left one daughter, Stephanie, who passed Bigorre and the Viscounty of Marsan, which Centule had inherited from his father, to firstly Peter II of Dax and then Bernard IV of Comminges.

Sources

• Bisson, T. N. The Medieval Crown of Aragon: A Short History. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1986. ISBN 0-19-821987-3. For Centule, see p. 37.