Count of Forcalquier

Who he is

Name

William IV (Guillaume IV)

Title

Count of Forcalquier

Since

about 1150, jointly with his brother Bertrand II (d. 1207)

Born

about 1130 (en.wikipedia) or about 1150 (fr.wikipedia)

Family

Widower of Adelaide of Beziers. His only daughter Garsenda married Rainon of Sabran and died before 1193; her daughters Garsenda (b. 1180, wife of Alfonso II of Provence) and Beatrice (b. 1182, unmarried on 1 January 1200) are his heirs.

Confidence

high

fr.wikipedia and en.wikipedia; the birth date differs between them.

Overlord

The emperor directly (imperial precept of 1174)

What it holds

• Forcalquier: castle, town and the co-cathedral chapter
• Sisteron: castle, town and the bridge over the Durance
• Manosque: the count's palace, with the Hospitallers established in the town
• The Gapencais with Gap (shared with the bishop of Gap)
• The Embrunais with Embrun (shared with the archbishop of Embrun)
• The Ubaye valley (the whole Barcelonnette valley)
• Rights in Avignon inherited from the house of Urgell (in practice minor; not pinned)

How it was acquired

Inherited share of the old Provence held by the house of Urgell; recognised by the emperor in 1174. In 1195 an accord with Raymond VI of Toulouse fixed the borders and ended joint holdings.

Allies and rivals

Allies in 1199: Hugh III of Les Baux, William of Orange, Roncelin of Marseille, and Raymond VI of Toulouse by one account. Rival: Alfonso II, his own grandson-in-law. In 1202 he will ally with the Dauphin Andrew.

How things stand that morning

Old and in open quarrel with Alfonso after the failed attack on Aix in 1199. He holds his county whole, including the Gapencais and Embrunais, which he will give away in 1202 with his granddaughter Beatrice. Whether the castles pledged in 1193 are still in Provencal hands is not pinned.

Wealth

Tolls on the Durance road and the Sisteron bridge, transhumance between Provence and the Alps, the fairs and market of Forcalquier, Manosque's farmland.

Military

Castles of Forcalquier and Sisteron, the Alpine castles of the Gapencais; the service of the Agoult, Simiane and Sabran.

Threats

• Alfonso II and Peter II of Aragon
• The 1193 settlement itself, which disinherits his younger granddaughter
• Old age and the lack of a male heir

What the year holds

What happened next, if nothing in play changes it. Each event carries what it depends on and what would stop it.

In 1200

1. 1200, season not pinnedThe coalition of 1199 (William IV of Forcalquier with Hugh III of Les Baux, William of Les Baux prince of Orange, Roncelin of Marseille and, by one account, Raymond VI of Toulouse) may take the field again after its failure before Aix. The next fighting on record is in 1202, when William IV allies with the Dauphin and Alfonso takes Sisteron; Peter II of Aragon then imposes a truce at Aigues-Mortes in 1203.Depends on: William IV's continued refusal to let the 1193 settlement run its course, and the barons' grievances against the count Stopped by: A settlement brokered by Peter II of Aragon or the Church, or William IV's death (he dies in 1209)

Later, on the likely course

1. 1202Alliance with the Dauphin Andrew, who marries Beatrice of Sabran and receives the Gapencais and Embrunais, with the land from the Buech bridge to Sisteron. Alfonso takes Sisteron that year.Depends on: William IV still bent on keeping the county from Alfonso; a match for Beatrice Stopped by: A settlement with Alfonso

Places of note

• Forcalquier: Comital seat
• Sisteron: Castle and Durance bridge
• Manosque: Comital palace; Hospitallers

Where the sources disagree

• Birth: about 1130 (en.wikipedia) against about 1150 (fr.wikipedia). Death: 1208 (en.wikipedia) against 1209 (fr.wikipedia). The 1209 date fits the succession of Garsenda in that year.

Evidence: The treaties of 1193 and the wars are attested; the castle-by-castle demesne is not.

On the map: The Alpine blocks are rough outlines; the county's core between the Luberon and the Durance is fixed by anchors, and its barons are drawn separately.

Primary sources for Forcalquier

Chronicles, registers, sagas and inscriptions written in or near 1200 that cover this entry. Each has its own page with editions, translations and where to read it.

• Deeds of the Counts of Barcelona, Anonymous (monks of Santa Maria de Ripoll) (first version 1162 to 1184; continued in the later 13th century; final version 1303 to 1314). The house chronicle of the counts of Barcelona.
• The Great Book of Fiefs, Various; compiled by Ramon de Caldes for Alfonso II of Aragon (compiled 1192 to 1194). The register of the count-king's feudal rights, finished a few years before 1200 and in use at Peter II's court: some 900 charters of homage, convention, oath, sale and marriage arranged by county and lineage, covering Catalonia, Roussillon, Cerdanya, Pallars, Urgell, the Carcassonne and Beziers lands of the Trencavels, Provence and Aragon.