Geoffrey I of Provence

Geoffrey I of Provence
Geoffrey I of Provence
	William II of Provence
Mother	Gerberga of Burgundy

Geoffrey I or Josfred

William II of Provence

and Gerberga of Burgundy and a scion of the younger line of the family. It is possible that he did not carry the title "count" until after the death of his eldest brother William around 1032.

Count

He became

Abbey of Cluny on 26 May 1037. During his brother's life, he was secondary to him. With the death of his brother, he became sole count with the title marchyo sive comes Provincie. The title of marchio (margrave

) implied that he was the head of the dynasty.

He was a great builder of the church in his region, devastated in the previous century by

Saint Victor in Marseille. In 1045, he consented to a donation of one of his vicecomital vassals to the monastery and in March 1048 to the transferral of property from Raimbaud, Archbishop of Arles, to the church. On 1 July 1055 and again in 1057, with his wife Etiennette and his son Bertrand, he himself donated property to St Victor. His patronage far exceeded his predecessors however. He relinquished his rights over any lands the viscount of Marseilles, Fulk, wished to donate to the monastery in 1044, while in 1032 he had consented to turn over lands to the church as allods

.

In 1038, he gave over comital rights which had been possessed of his house since the reign of his great-grandfather

Rudolf III of Burgundy

, his lord, sold any remaining rights over some royal villae, Geoffrey gave these away as allodial holdings.