County of Forcalquier
Encyclopedia
Provence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
in the Kingdom of Burgundy
Kingdom of Burgundy
Burgundy is a historic region in Western Europe that has existed as a political entity in a number of forms with very different boundaries. Two of these entities - the first around the 6th century, the second around the 11th century - have been called the Kingdom of Burgundy; a third was very...
, then part of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
. It was named after the fortress around which it grew, Forcalquier
Forcalquier
Forcalquier is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France.Forcalquier is located between the Lure and Luberon mountain ranges, about south of Sisteron and west of the Durance river...
.
The earliest mention of a castle at Forcalquier dates to 1044, when it was in the possession of Fulk Bertrand
Fulk Bertrand of Provence
Fulk Bertrand I was the joint Count of Provence with his elder brother William IV from 1018 and with his younger brother Geoffrey I from at least 1032 if not earlier. After William's death, Fulk assumed the title of margrave, indicating headship of the dynasty...
, joint count of Provence. When Fulk died in 1051 his lands were shared between his sons William Bertrand
William Bertrand of Provence
William Bertrand , known as William V or Bertrand I or II, was the count and margrave of Provence from 1051 to his death...
and Geoffrey II
Geoffrey II of Provence
Geoffrey II was the first count of Forcalquier following the death of his father Fulk Bertrand in 1062. His elder brother Bertrand II inherited Provence, but not the title of margrave. Geoffrey himself is often counted amongst the co-counts of Provence of the era...
, who inherited Forcalquier. Sometime in the 1060s Forcalquier was inherited by William's daughter Adelaide, who was the first person to be styled "Countess of Forcalquier". She married Ermengol IV of Urgell
Ermengol IV of Urgell
Ermengol IV , called el de Gerb or Gerp, was the Count of Urgell from 1066 to his death. He was the son of Ermengol III and Clemencia, daughter of Bernard II of Bigorre....
and died in 1129, at a time when Provence was sharply disputed by the many persons who had inherited some title to it. The Counts of Toulouse
Counts of Toulouse
The first Counts of Toulouse were the administrators of the city and its environs under the Merovingians. No succession of such royal appointees is known, though a few names survive to the present...
claimed the title marchio as descendants of Emma of Provence
Emma of Provence
Emma was the daughter of Rotbold III of Provence and Ermengarda. She inherited the title Margrave of Provence from her elder brother William III in 1037 and married William III of Toulouse.With William, she had four children:...
, while the Counts of Barcelona laid claim to Provence in right of Douce, wife of Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona
Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona
Ramon Berenguer III the Great was the count of Barcelona, Girona, and Ausona from 1082 , Besalú from 1111, Cerdanya from 1117, and Provence, in the Holy Roman Empire, from 1112, all until his death in Barcelona in 1131...
. In 1125 a formal division of Provence into a march and a county was effected, but in 1131 a new claimant, the House of Baux
House of Baux
The House of Baux is a French noble family from the south of France. It was one of the most pretigious and powerful families of Medieval Provence, known as the 'Race d’Aiglon'. They were independent Lords as castellan of Les Baux and Arles and wielded very considerable authority at local level...
, provoked a series of wars, the Baussenque Wars
Baussenque Wars
The Baussenque Wars were a series of armed conflicts between the House of Barcelona, then ruling in Provence, and the House of Baux...
, fought over the rights to the county of Provence. Meanwhile the county north of the Durance
Durance
The Durance is a major river in south-eastern France.Its source is in the south-western Alps, in Montgenèvre ski resort near Briançon and it flows south-west through the following départements and cities:* Hautes-Alpes: Briançon, Embrun.* Alpes-de-Haute-Provence: Sisteron, Manosque.* Vaucluse:...
, with Forcalquier and Embrun
Embrun
Embrun may refer to:* Embrun, Hautes-Alpes, a town and former archbishopric in southeastern France** Embrun Cathedral, the national monument and former cathedral there* Embrun, Ontario, a community in eastern Ontario, Canada...
, had devolved to Adelaide's son by Ermengol, William III (the enumeration of counts of Forcalquier includes earlier counts of Provence). William III and his descendants, a cadet branch of the Counts of Urgell
Counts of Urgell
This is a list of the counts of Urgell.-ca. 798-870 Counts appointed by the Carolingians:*798-820 Borrell, count of Urgell and Cerdanya*820-824 Aznar I Galíndez, count of Aragon, was given Borrell's counties while he was exiled from Aragon...
, continued to rule Forcalquier until the end of the century, when the Treaty of Aix (1193), which gave in marriage the last count's granddaughter, Garsenda of Sabran, to Alfonso
Alfonso II, Count of Provence
Alfonso II was the second son of Alfonso II of Aragon and Sancha of Castile. His father transferred the County of Provence from his uncle Sancho to him in 1185. Alfonso II was born in Barcelona....
, son 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...
and heir of the county of Provence. Their marriage in July 1193, Alfonso's inheritance in 1196, and Garsenda's in 1209 united the two counties permanently.
List of counts
- 1063/1067–1129 Adelaide
- 1129 William III
- 1129–1149 Guigues, co-ruling with...
- 1129–1144 Bertrand I
- 1144–1207 Bertrand II, co-ruling with...
- 1144–1209 William IV
- 1209–1217/1220 GarsendaGarsenda of ForcalquierGarsenda or Garsende de Sabran was the Countess of Provence as the wife of Alfonso II from 1193 and the Countess of Forcalquier in her own right from 1209. She brought Forcalquier to the House of Barcelona and united it to Provence...
- United to Provence in the person of Raymond Berengar IV.