Fulk Bertrand I was the joint Count of Provence with his elder brother William IV

William IV of Provence

William IV was the Count of Provence from 1018 to his death. He was a son of William II, whom he succeeded, and a co-count with his brothers Fulk and Geoffrey. He appears in many charters of his mother, Gerberga, who acted as his regent until 1019. He was the eldest amongst his siblings and he...

 from 1018 and with his younger brother Geoffrey I

Geoffrey I of Provence

Geoffrey I or Josfred was the joint Count of Provence with his elder brothers William IV and Fulk from 1018 to his death. He was the third son of William II of Provence and Gerberga of Mâcon and a scion of the younger line of the family...

 from at least 1032 if not earlier. After William's death, Fulk assumed the title of margrave

Margrave

A margrave or margravine was a medieval hereditary nobleman with military responsibilities in a border province of a kingdom. Border provinces usually had more exposure to military incursions from the outside, compared to interior provinces, and thus a margrave usually had larger and more active...

, indicating headship of the dynasty. They were the sons of William II

William II of Provence

William II , called the Pious, was the Count of Provence, succeeded his father, William I, on the latter's retirement to a monastery just before his death in late 993. He did not succeed in the margravial title, which went to his uncle Rotbold II...

, count of Provence.

With Geoffrey, Fulk made a donation to the Abbey of Cluny on 26 May 1037 and to Saint Victor at Marseilles on 16 January 1040. Fulk Bertrand was a major proponent of the renewed monasticism of early eleventh-century Provence. He called together a council of clergy and noblesse to found the abbey of Saint Promasius near 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...

 and to restore Bremetense near Gap

Gap, Hautes-Alpes

Gap is a commune in southeastern France, the capital of the Hautes-Alpes department.-Geography:An Alpine crossroads at the intersection of D994 and Route nationale 85 the Route Napoléon, Gap lies above sea level along the right bank of the Luye River...

, which had been destroyed by the Saracens of Fraxinetum.

Nevertheless, he and his brother gave up control of much of the royal fisc

Fisc

Under the Merovingians and Carolingians, the fisc applied to the royal demesne which paid taxes, entirely in kind, from which the royal household was meant to be supported, though it rarely was...

, which had been under the control of the counts of Provence since the time of William the Liberator

William I of Provence

William I , called the Liberator, was Count of Provence from 968 to his abdication. In 975 or 979, he took the title of marchio or margrave. He is often considered the founder of the county of Provence...

. It was mostly parcelled out as allods to 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...

s and the weakening of the county of Provence as a united polity can be dated from their reign.

Despite the generosity of he and his brother to Fulk, viscount of Marseilles, Fulk Bertrand made war on him in 1031, damaging Toulon

Toulon

Toulon is a town in southern France and a large military harbor on the Mediterranean coast, with a major French naval base. Located in the Provence-Alpes-Côte-d'Azur region, Toulon is the capital of the Var department in the former province of Provence....

.

Family

He married Hildegard of Toulouse, (granddaughter of Raymond III of Toulouse

Raymond III of Toulouse

Raymond III was the Count of Toulouse, Nîmes, and Albi. He was the son of Raymond Pons and Garsenda, daughter of García II of Gascony....

) and they had two 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...

. He had one daughter, Gerberge

Gerberga of Provence

Gerberga was the Countess of Provence from 1093 to 1112. She was a daughter of [Geoffrey I of Provence ] and a sister of Bertrand II of Provence and Matilda....

.

Sources

• Lewis, Archibald R. The Development of Southern French and Catalan Society, 718–1050. University of Texas Press: Austin, 1965.
• Foundation for Medieval Genealogy: Provence.
• The Plantagenet Ancestry by William Henry Turton, Page 11.