William III, Duke of Aquitaine
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William III | |
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Duke of Aquitaine | |
Reign | 959 - 3 April 963 |
Predecessor | Ebalus, Duke of Aquitaine |
Successor | William IV, Duke of Aquitaine |
Born | 913 Poitiers |
Died | 3 April 963 Saint-Maixent-l'École |
Burial | Abbaye Saint-Cyprien de Poitiers |
Spouse | Gerloc |
Issue | William IV, Duke of Aquitaine Adelaide of Aquitaine |
House | Ramnulfids |
Father | Ebalus, Duke of Aquitaine |
Mother | Emilienne |
William III (913 – 3 April 963), called Towhead (
William was son of
. He claimed the Duchy of Aquitaine from his father's death, but the royal chancery did not recognise his ducal title until the year before his own death.Shortly after the death of King Rudolph in 936, he was constrained to cede some land to Hugh the Great by Louis IV. He did it with grace, but his relationship with Hugh thenceforward deteriorated. In 950, Hugh was reconciled with Louis and granted the duchies of Burgundy and Aquitaine. He tried to conquer Aquitaine with Louis's assistance, but William defeated them. Lothair, Louis's successor, feared the power of William. In August 955 he joined Hugh to besiege Poitiers, which resisted successfully. William, however, gave battle and was routed.
After the death of Hugh, his son Hugh Capet was named duke of Aquitaine, but he never tried to take up his fief, as William reconciled with Lothair.
He was given the abbey of Saint-Hilaire-le-Grand, which remained in his house after his death. He also built a library in the palace of Poitiers.
Family background, marriage and issue
His father was duke
With Gerloc, William had at least one child whose filiation is clearly attested:
- William, his successor in Aquitaine.[3]He abdicated to the abbey of Saint-Cyprien in Poitiers and left the government to his son.
- Adelaide, who married Hugh Capet[a]
See also
- Dukes of Aquitaine family tree
Notes
- ^ According to Bouchard, Adelaide was not from Poitou/Aquitaine. A document from 982, used as "proof" of Adelaide's origins, indicates a sister(Adela) of William IV of Aquitaine marrying a Duke Eblo, which was later altered to state Duke Hugh Capet. Bouchard states the document seems disorganized and that both Duke Eblo and his wife Adela were already dead by 982. Bouchard therefore states Adelaide's ancestry is unknown.[4]
References
- ^ Painter 1956, p. 244.
- ^ Hagger 2017, p. 191.
- ^ McKitterick 1999, p. 362.
- ^ Bouchard 2001, p. 114.
Sources
- Bouchard, Constance Brittain (2001). Those of My Blood: Creating Noble Families in Medieval Francia. University of Pennsylvania Press.
- Hagger, Mark S. (2017). Norman Rule in Normandy, 911-1144. The Boydell Press.
- McKitterick, Rosamond (1999). The Frankish Kingdoms under the Carolingians, 751-987. Longman.
- Painter, Sidney (1956). "Castellans of the Plain of Poitou in the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries". Speculum. 31 (2 Apr). The University of Chicago Press: 243–257. S2CID 162306871.