County of Forcalquier

Who rules

Name

William IV (Guillaume IV), with his brother Bertrand II as co-count

Title

Count of Forcalquier

Since

about 1150 (death of their father between 1149 and 1151)

Born

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

Family

House of Urgell-Forcalquier. William is the widower of Adelaide of Beziers (Trencavel); his only daughter Garsenda married Rainon of Sabran in 1178 and died before 1193. Bertrand II, co-count, dies in 1207.

Confidence

high

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

Overlord

The emperor directly (imperial precept of 1174, after Alfonso II of Aragon had obtained an imperial sentence against William in 1162)

The realm that morning

Old William IV and his brother hold the whole county, including the Gapencais and Embrunais. He is at odds with his grandson-in-law after the 1199 campaign; no peace is recorded.

Threats

• Alfonso II and Peter II of Aragon
• His own age and the lack of a male heir

Consort

None (William is a widower).

Heirs

His granddaughters by Garsenda and Rainon of Sabran: Garsenda (born 1180), wife of Alfonso II of Provence and promised the county under the 1193 treaties, with her son Ramon Berenguer (born 1198); and Beatrice (born 1182), unmarried on 1 January 1200, whom William will marry to the Dauphin in 1202.

Court

Forcalquier and Sisteron.

Treaties marriages wars

• Alliance with Raymond V of Toulouse, 1191
• Treaties of Aix with Alfonso II of Aragon, July 1193 (marriage and alliance; Aubignosc, Montjustin and Vitrolles pledged)
• Accord with Raymond VI of Toulouse, 1195, fixing the borders and ending joint holdings
• War against Alfonso of Provence, 1199

The 1193 settlement

Two treaties of July 1193: the marriage of Garsenda of Sabran with Alfonso, under which the county was to pass to them, and a military alliance with castles pledged. The settlement disinherits the younger granddaughter Beatrice, which is the lever William will use in 1202.

Rome and interdict

Imperial ground, outside the French interdict.

The host

The count's castles and the service of the Agoult, Simiane, Sabran and the Alpine lords.

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.

1. 1200, season not pinnedThe coalition of 1199 may take the field again. The next fighting on record is in 1202.Depends on: William IV and his allies still refusing to accept the 1193 settlement Stopped by: Mediation by Peter II of Aragon or the Church
2. 1202 (beyond 1200)Alliance with the Dauphin, who marries Beatrice and receives the Gapencais and Embrunais with the land to Sisteron's bridge.Depends on: The quarrel with Alfonso continuing Stopped by: A settlement
3. 1209 (beyond 1200)William IV dies; Garsenda inherits Forcalquier, the count of Provence occupies Sisteron, and the Alpine north goes to the Dauphin.Depends on: His natural death Stopped by: Nothing likely

Where the sources disagree

• William IV's death: 1208 (en.wikipedia) against 1209 (fr.wikipedia).

Evidence: Treaties and wars attested; officers not.

Primary sources for this realm

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.