- William V of Aquitaine
William V (969 –
31 January 1030 ), called the Great ("le Grand"), wasDuke of Aquitaine andCount of Poitou (as William II or III) from 990 until his death. He was the son and successor of William IV by his wife Emma, daughter ofTheobald I of Blois . He seems to have taken after his formidable mother, who ruled Aquitaine asregent until 1004. He was a friend to BishopFulbert of Chartres , who found in him anotherMaecenas , and founded a cathedral school atPoitiers . He himself was very well educated, a collector of books, and turned the prosperous court of Aquitaine into the learning centre of Southern France.Though a cultivated prince, he was a failure in the field. He called in the aid of his suzerain
Robert II of France in subduing his vassal,Boso of La Marche . Together, they yet failed. Eventually, Boso was chased from the duchy. He had to contain theVikings who yearly threatened his coast, but in 1006, he was defeated by Viking invaders. He lost theLoudun ais andMirebalais toFulk Nerra ,count of Anjou . He had to give upConfolens ,Ruffec , andChaban ais to compensateWilliam II of Angoulême , but Fulbert negotiated a treaty (1020) outlining the reciprocal obligations of vassal and suzerain.However, his court was a centre of artistic endeavour and he its surest patron. His piety and culture brought peace to his vast feudum and he tried to stem the tide of feudal warfare then destroying the unity of many European nations by supporting the current
Peace and Truce of God movements initiated byPope and Church. He foundedMaillezais Abbey (1010) andBourgueil Abbey . He rebuilt the cathedral and many other regligious structures in Poitiers after a fire. He travelled widely in Europe, annually visitingRome orSpain as a pilgrim. Everywhere he was greeted with royal pomp. His court was of an international flavour, receiving ambassadors from the Emperor Henry II,Alfonso V of León ,Canute of England , and even his suzerain, Robert of France.In 1024–1025, an embassy from
Italy , sent byUlric Manfred II of Turin , came to France seeking a king of their own, the Henry II having died. The Italians asked for Robert's sonHugh Magnus , co-king of France, but Robert refused to allow his son to go and the Italians turned to William, whose character and court impressed many. He set out for Italy to consider the proposal, but the Italian political situation convinced him to renounce the crown for him and his heirs. Most of his surviving six letters deal with the Italian proposal.His reign ended in peace and he died on the last (or second to last) day of January 1030 at Maillezais, which he founded and where he is buried.
The principal source of his reign is the
panegyric ofAdhemar of Chabannes .Family
He was married three times. His first wife was Adalemode of Limoges, widow of
Adalbert I of La Marche . They had one son:# William, his successor
His second wife was Sancha of Gascony [http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/GASCONY.htm#SanchaGascognediedbefore1018] (or Brisa/Prisca), daughter of Duke
William II Sánchez of Gascony and sister of Duke Sancho VI William. She was dead by 1018. They had two sons and a daughter:# Odo, later duke also
# Adalais, married CountGuiraut I Trancaleon of Armagnac
# Theobald, died youngHis third wife was Agnes of Burgundy, daughter of
Otto-William, Duke of Burgundy . Her second husband wasGeoffrey II of Anjou . They had two sons and a daughter also:# Peter William, later duke as William VII
# Guy Geoffrey, later duke as William VIII
# Agnes (or Ala), marriedHenry III, Holy Roman Emperor (1043)ources
*"Nouvelle Biographie Générale". Paris, 1859.
*Owen, D. D. R. "Eleanor of Aquitaine: Queen and Legend".
*Weir, Alison. "Eleanor of Aquitaine". 2001.ee also
*
Dukes of Aquitaine family tree
* [http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/AQUITAINE.htm#GuillaumeVAquitainedied1030B FMG on William the Great]
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