William III Taillefer Count of Toulouse, Albi and Quercy 1
- Born: 975
- Marriage (1): Emma of Provence before 992
- Died: Sep 1037 at age 62
Research Notes:
From Wikipedia - William III, Count of Toulouse :
William III Taillefer (also spelled Tallefer or Tallifer; 975 - September 1037) was the Count of Toulouse , Albi , and Quercy from 972 or 978 to his death. He was the first of the Toulousain branch of his family to bear the title marchio , which he inherited (c.975) from Raymond II of Rouergue .
His parentage has been subject to reevaluation. He has traditionally been called son of Raymond III Pons and Garsinda .[1] However, recent research has revealed that William was instead son of Adelais of Anjou , known to have married a Raymond, "Prince of Gothia ". This discovery has required a complete reevaluation of the succession to the County of Toulouse during this period, and no scholarly consensus has developed.[2]
He and his vassals were notorious usurpers of church property. He stole from the abbey of Lézat , but gave it back between 1015 and 1025. Pope John XIX ordered him to stop his vassals from taking the lands of Moissac , a problem later remedied by his successor, Pons , who gave Moissac to Cluny .
William became the most powerful prince in western Languedoc and he saw the rise of the House of Capet in France and a corresponding decrease in royal authority recognised in the south. He bore the title of marchio prefatus in pago Tholosano: "prefect margrave in the Toulousain country." His influence extended into the Narbonensis and even Provence , on behalf of his wife. His power did not remain undiminished in his own city of Toulouse , where he was forced by a council of local noblemen and clerics to give up dues imposed on the market there.
Before 992, William married Emma , daughter of Rotbold III of Provence . From her he gained titles and lands to Provence. From a prior marriage, he had two sons, Raymond and Hugh, who died young. His eldest son by Emma, Pons , inherited Toulouse and the title of Margrave of Provence. His second son Bertrand became Count of Forcalquier , a Provençal fief. He had two daughters: Rangarda, wife of Peter Raymond of Carcassonne by Emma, and Ildegarda Elisa, wife of Fulk Bertrand of Provence by Emma. He had an illegitimate daughter that married Otto Raymond of L'Isle-Jourdain .
Notes ^ e.g. Lewis, p 341. ^ Some historians have suggested a single additional generation (referred to as Raymond III of Toulouse , his father Raymond Pons being stripped of an ordinal), while others follow the Codice de Roda in giving Raymond Pons a son Raymond who in turn had sons Hugh and Raymond. Identifying the last with the husband of Adelais inserts two generations, making William the great-grandson of Raymond Pons. Yet another reconstruction suggests that Raymond and Garsinda died childless, and that Toulouse passed to kinsman Raymond II of Rouergue , from whom the husband of Adelais would descend. See Martin de Framond, "La succession des comtes de Toulouse autour de l'an mil(940--1030): reconsidérations", Annales du Midi 204 (1993), pp 461--488; Thierry Stasser, "Adélaïde d'Anjou. Sa famille, ses mariages, sa descendance", Le Moyen Age 103,1 (1997): 9-52; FMG for different reconstructions.
William married Emma of Provence before 992. (Emma of Provence died in 1062.)
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