- William I of Baux
William I of Baux ( _oc. Guilhèm dei Bauç", archaic" Guillem "or" Guilhem dels Baus, _fr. Guillaume des Baux "or" du Baus, _la. Guillelmus de Balcio; c. 1155 – June 1218) was the
Prince of Orange from 1182 until his death. He was an importantProvençal nobleman.William was the son of
Bertrand of Baux , the first Prince of Orange a major patron of Occitan poetry, andTibors de Sarenom , a sister ofRaimbaut d'Aurenga and herself atrobairitz . In 1215 when theEmperor Frederick II sought to make his power effective in theKingdom of Burgundy , he granted to William atMetz the whole "Kingdom of Arles and Vienne", probably referring to theviceroyalty of the kingdom. William was imprisoned inAvignon in the summer of 1216 and remained there until his death in June 1218. William's descendants continued to claim the Kingdom of Arles until 1393.William was a man of letters and a
troubadour , inheriting his love oflyric poetry from his patron-composer parents. Two "coblas" and a "sirventes " are preserved of William's writings. He was also in contact with other troubadours. The lone surviving "sirventes" ofGui de Cavalhon was written against William.An anecdotal "
razo " is preserved describing how William robbed a French merchant, who subsequently took his case to the king,Philip Augustus , but was rejected because "it had taken place too far away" (i.e. out of French jurisdiction in Provence). The merchant subsequently counterfeited theroyal seal and used it to lure William to his (unnamed) city with promises of rewards. When William and his companions arrived in the city the merchant had them arrested and imprisoned until he had made amends for what he had taken. On his return to Provence, William allegedly planned to annex a piece of land ("la Osteilla" or "Estella") belonging toAdemar II of Valentinois when he was captured by Ademar's fisherman in a small boat on theRhône . This event inspired a "cobla" from the troubadourRaimbaut de Vaqueiras , who nicknamed William "Engles" (the Englishman, for unknown reasons).William married Ermengarde, daughter of Raymond of Mévouillon, but divorced her on
21 March 1203 . Their child,Raymond I of Baux , succeeded his father as Prince of Orange and King of Arles. William remarried to a woman named Alix. His sons by her, William II and Bertrand II, both later inherited Orange. William also had a daughter named Tibors who married Giraud III Amic, lord ofThor de Châteauneuf .ources
*Cook, Theodore Andrea. "Old Provence". Signal Books, 2001. ISBN 1 90266 918 5.
*Egan, Margarita, ed. "The Vidas of the Troubadours". New York: Garland, 1984. ISBN 0 8240 9437 9.External links
* [http://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/PROVENCE.htm#GuillaumeBauxOrangedied1218A Foundation for Medieval Genealogy: Guillaume de Baux.]
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