1.
Countess of Provence
–
The land of Provence has a history quite separate from that of any of the larger nations of Europe. Its independent existence has its origins in the nature of the dukedom in Merovingian Gaul. Provence was eventually joined to the other Burgundian kingdom, but it remained ruled by its own powerful, in the eleventh century, Provence became disputed between the traditional line and the counts of Toulouse, who claimed the title of Margrave of Provence. In the High Middle Ages, the title of Count of Provence belonged to families of Frankish origin, to the House of Barcelona, to the House of Anjou. After 1032, the county was part of the Holy Roman Empire and it was inherited by King Louis XI of France in 1481, and definitively incorporated into the French royal domain by his son Charles VIII in 1484. Provence was usually a part of the division of the Frankish realm known as Kingdom of Burgundy and their title sometimes appears as rector Provinciae. This is an incomplete list of the known Merovingian-appointed dukes of Provence, out of this division came the Kingdom of Provence, given to Lothairs youngest son, Charles. A heritage of royal rule was thus inaugurated in Provence that, though it was subsumed into one of its larger neighbouring kingdoms. The kingdom of Provence was also known as Lower Burgundy and its capital was first Vienne then Arles and it is therefore sometimes known as Arelate. Charles Provence divided between surviving brothers, Lothair II and the Emperor Louis II, Louis II, also Holy Roman Emperor from 855 As with his Kingdom of Italy, Louiss Provence goes to his uncle on his death. Charles the Bald, also Holy Roman Emperor from 875 Louis the Stammerer With the death of Louis, Charles successor, boso married Ermengard, daughter of Louis II, to strengthen his and his sons claim. Hugh never used the title in Provence. Hugh In 933, Provence ceases to be a kingdom as Hugh exchanged it with Rudolph II of Upper Burgundy for the Iron Crown of Lombardy. It was in the aftermath of the death of Louis the Blind that Provence began to be ruled by local counts placed under the authority of a margrave, firstly, Hugh of Arles served as duke and regent during Louis long blindness. Secondly, Hugh gave the march of Vienne and duchy of Provence to Rudolf II of Burgundy in a treaty of 933, Rudolf was never recognised by the nobles of the country and instead appointed Hugh, Duke of Burgundy, its first margrave. At the time, the counts in the region were the counts of Arles. Those who would first bear the title comes Provinciae or count of Provence descended from one Rotbold of Arles, William I and Rotbold I did not divide their fathers domains and this indivisibility was maintained by their respective descendants. It is thus impossible to ascertain who succeeded whom in the county as various reigns overlap, the margravial title also continued in their family until it passed to Bertrand, Count of Toulouse in 1062
2.
Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence
–
Ramon Berenguer IV or V, Count of Provence and Forcalquier, was the son of Alfonso II of Provence and Garsenda de Sabran, heiress of Forcalquier. He was the first Count of Provence to live in the county in more than one hundred years, after his fathers death, Ramon was imprisoned in the castle of Monzón, in Aragon until he was able to escape in 1219 and claim his inheritance. He was a powerful and energetic ruler who added Forcalquier to his domain and he and his wife were known for their support of troubadors, always having some around the court. He was known for his generosity, though his income did not always keep up and he wrote laws prohibiting nobles from performing menial work, such as farming or heavy labor. Ramon had many disputes with his neighbors, the Counts of Toulouse. In 1226, Ramon began to reassert his right to rule in Marseille, the citizens there initially sought the help of Ramons father-in-law Thomas, Count of Savoy in his role as imperial vicar. However, they sought the help of Raymond VII, Count of Toulouse. In 1228, Ramon supported his father-in-law in a conflict against Turin. This small war was one of many intended to more firmly establish control over trade from Italy into France. While the Albigensian Crusade worked in his favor against Toulouse, Ramon was concerned that its resolution in the Treaty of Paris left him in a precarious position, Raymond turned his troops from fighting France to attempting to claim lands from Provence. When Blanche of Castile sent her knight to both Toulouse and Provence in 1233, Ramon entertained him lavishly, and the knight left well impressed by both the count and his eldest daughter, Margaret. Soon after, Blanche negotiated the marriage between Margaret and her son, Louis, with a dowry of ten thousand silver marks, Ramon had to get contributions from allies for a portion, and had to pledge several of his castles to cover the rest. Ramon and Beatrice travelled with their daughter to Lyon in 1234 to sign the marriage treaty, shortly after, William began negotiating on Ramons behalf with Henry III of England to marry his daughter Eleanor. Henry sent his own knight to Provence early in 1235, and again Ramon, Henry wrote to William on June 22 that he was very interested, and sent a delegation to negotiate the marriage in October. Henry was seeking a dowry of up to twenty thousand marks to help offset the dowry he had just paid for his sister. However, he had drafted seven different versions of the contract, with different amounts for the dowry. Ramon shrewdly negotiated for that option, offering as consolation a promise to leave her ten thousand marks when he died, in 1238, Ramon joined his brother-in-law, Amadeus IV at the court of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor in Turin. Frederick was gathering forces to more control in Italy
3.
Margaret of Provence
–
Margaret of Provence was Queen of France as the wife of King Louis IX. Margaret was born in the spring of 1221 in Forcalquier and she was the eldest of four daughters of Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence, and Beatrice of Savoy. Her younger sisters were Queen Eleanor of England, Queen Sanchia of Germany and she was especially close to Eleanor, to whom she was close in age, and with whom she sustained friendly relationships until they grew old. Margaret and her father entertained the knight well, and soon Blanche was negotiating with the count of Provence, Margaret was chosen as a good match for the king more for her religious devotion and courtly manner than her beauty. She was escorted to Lyon by her parents for the treaty to be signed. From there, she was escorted to her wedding in Sens by her uncles from Savoy, William, on 27 May 1234 at the age of thirteen, Margaret became wife of Louis IX of France and queen consort of France. She was crowned the following day, the wedding and her coronation as queen were celebrated at the cathedral of Sens. The marriage was a one in numerous aspects. Blanche still wielded strong influence over her son, and would throughout her life, as a sign of her authority, shortly after the wedding Blanche dismissed Margarets uncles and all of the servants she had brought with her from her childhood. Margaret resented Blanche and vice versa from the beginning, Margaret, like her sisters, was noted for her beauty, she was said to be pretty with dark hair and fine eyes, and in the early years of their marriage she and Louis enjoyed a warm relationship. Her Franciscan confessor, William de St. Pathus, related that on cold nights Margaret would place a robe around Louis shoulders and they enjoyed riding together, reading, and listening to music. The attentions of the king and court being drawn to the new queen only made Blanche more jealous, Margaret accompanied Louis on Seventh Crusade. Though initially the crusade met with success, like the capture of Damietta in 1249, it became a disaster after the kings brother was killed. Queen Margaret was responsible for negotiations and gathering enough silver for his ransom and she was thus for a brief time the only woman ever to lead a crusade. In 1250, while in Damietta, where she earlier in the year successfully maintained order. She also convinced some of those who had been about to leave to remain in Damietta, when she realized her mistake, she burst into laughter and ordered the messenger, Tell your master evil days await him, for he has made me kneel to his camelines. However, Joinville also remarked with noticeable disapproval that Louis rarely asked after his wife, Margaret could only reply that she dared not make such a vow without the kings permission, because when he discovered that she had done so, he would never let her make the pilgrimage. In the end, Joinville promised her that if she made the vow he would make the pilgrimage for her, and her leadership during the crusade had brought her international prestige and after she returned to France, Margaret was often asked to mediate disputes
4.
Eleanor of Provence
–
Eleanor of Provence was Queen consort of England, as the spouse of King Henry III of England, from 1236 until his death in 1272. She served as regent of England during the absence of her spouse in 1253, although she was completely devoted to her husband, and staunchly defended him against the rebel Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, she was very much hated by the Londoners. On one occasion, Eleanors barge was attacked by citizens who pelted her with stones, mud, pieces of paving, rotten eggs. Eleanor was the mother of five children, including the future King Edward I of England and she also was renowned for her cleverness, skill at writing poetry, and as a leader of fashion. Born in Aix-en-Provence, she was the daughter of Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence and Beatrice of Savoy. She was well educated as a child, and developed a love of reading. Her three sisters also married kings, after her elder sister Margaret married Louis IX of France, their uncle William corresponded with Henry III of England to persuade him to marry Eleanor. Like her mother, grandmother, and sisters, Eleanor was renowned for her beauty and she was a dark-haired brunette with fine eyes. Piers Langtoft speaks of her as The erles daughter, the fairest may of life, on 22 June 1235, Eleanor was betrothed to King Henry III. Eleanor was probably born in 1223, Matthew Paris describes her as being jamque duodennem when she arrived in the Kingdom of England for her marriage, Eleanor was married to King Henry III of England on 14 January 1236. She had never seen him prior to the wedding at Canterbury Cathedral and had never set foot in his kingdom, edmund Rich, Archbishop of Canterbury, officiated. She was dressed in a golden gown that fitted tightly at the waist. The sleeves were long and lined with ermine, Eleanor and Henry together had five children, Edward I, married Eleanor of Castile in 1254, by whom he had issue, including his heir Edward II. His second wife was Margaret of France, by whom he had issue, Margaret, married King Alexander III of Scotland, by whom she had issue. Beatrice, married John II, Duke of Brittany, by whom she had issue, edmund Crouchback, 1st Earl of Lancaster, married Aveline de Forz in 1269, who died four years later without issue, married Blanche of Artois in 1276, by whom he had issue. Katherine Four others are listed, but their existence is in doubt as there is no record of them. It was because of her influence that King Henry granted the duchy of Gascony to Edward in 1249 and her youngest child, Katherine, seems to have had a degenerative disease that rendered her deaf. When the little girl died at the age of three, both her parents suffered overwhelming grief
5.
Sanchia of Provence
–
Sanchia of Provence was the third daughter of Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence and Beatrice of Savoy. Sanchia was described as of incomparable beauty, Sanchias sisters Margaret, Eleanor and Beatrice were the respective wives of Louis IX of France, Henry III of England and Charles I of Sicily. Sanchia was said to have a softer and more winsome type of good looks than either her older sisters, Margaret and Eleanor. It was Eleanor of Provence who arranged a marriage between her sister Sanchia and her brother-in-law Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall, whose first wife Isabel Marshal had died recently. At the time, Sanchia was engaged to Raymond VII of Toulouse, Eleanor and Sanchias uncle Peter was sent to negotiate the marriage contract in 1242. Another uncle, Philip, escorted Sanchia safely to the English court in Gascony, there, they joined Eleanor and Henry, and met their new daughter Beatrice. The wedding took place at Westminster on November 23, Richard, although the wealthiest man in the Kingdom of England and perhaps in Europe, was only a prince, not a sovereign. The cost of the wedding was chiefly defrayed by a levy imposed on the Jews of the country and it was an arbitrary proceeding, each of them receiving notice of the size of the donation required. An idea of the extravagance of the festivities may be gleaned from the fact that thirty thousand dishes were prepared for the wedding dinner alone. The marriages of the brothers from France and England to the four sisters from Provence improved the relationship between the two countries, which led up to the Treaty of Paris. Sanchia was present, along with all her sisters and her mother. Richard was elected in 1256 as King of Germany by a majority of the seven princes, with the title of King of the Romans. In January 1257, the bringing the news of Richards election were received in a long hall where Richard and Sanchia were dining in considerable elegance. Richard rose to hear what the men from Bohemia had to say and he would accept the crown, he said, but it was not through greed or ambition. His sole object was to assist in restoring prosperity to the German states, his honest desire was to rule justly and well. It was clear to the German delegation, and to the throng of adherents and servants who swarmed into the hall to listen and it must have been quite apparent also that Sanchia was delighted beyond measure. Now she would be a queen as well as her two older and patronizing sisters, Sanchia was crowned Queen of the Romans with her husband on 27 May 1257 at Aachen Cathedral in Germany. She and her husband then spent fifteen months traveling in the area near Mainz and they hurriedly traveled back to England when the political situation deteriorated there
6.
Beatrice of Provence
–
Beatrice of Provence, was Countess of Provence and Forcalquier since 1245, Countess consort of Anjou and Maine since 1247, and Queen consort of Sicily and Naples since 1266 until her death. She was the fourth and youngest daughter of Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence and Forcalquier by his wife Beatrice, in turn daughter of Count Thomas I of Savoy, Beatrice, like her sisters, mother and grandmother was known for her beauty. A description of Beatrice said she set mens hearts thumping and the fingers of troubadours to fevered twanging of lyres. King Louis IXs marriage to Margaret had been arranged by his mother, Blanche of Castile, with the hopes that he would inherit Provence and Forcalquier when her father died. However, in his will signed on 20 June 1238 at Sisteron, Ramon Berenguer IV unexpectedly left the Counties of Provence and Forcalquier to his youngest and still unmarried daughter, Beatrice. Now, Beatrice became one of the most attractive heiresses in medieval Europe, in addition, Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, dispatched the imperial navy to Provence to ensure Beatrice could marry one of his sons. In Cluny during December 1245, a meeting between Pope Innocent IV, Louis IX of France, his mother Blanche of Castile. It was decided that in return for Louis IX supporting the Pope militarily against Frederick II, mother and daughter were satisfied with this selection, but under the terms of the treaty, Provence was to never go to France outright through Charles. Henry III of England protested these terms, arguing that he had not yet received the dowry for his wife Eleanor nor his brother for Sanchia. He also still had the castles in Provence against the loan he had made to the late Count, Charles, along with Philip of Savoy and five hundred knights, rode from Lyon to Provence. On their way, they ran into Raymond VII of Toulouse, however, Raymond VII had been deceived by knights in favour of Charles and for that reason he had brought fewer men, and Charles and his army were quicker. There was a struggle, but the King of Aragon retreated with dignity. To the young Beatrice, Charles was a resolution to her problems. Their marriage took place on 31 January 1246 at Aix-en-Provence and they had soldiers on guard and the bride was escorted down the aisle by her uncle, Thomas, Count of Flanders. In consequence, the relationship of Charles and Beatrice with the three sisters, who felt cheated by their fathers will, remained always tense, as soon as Charles became Count of Provence, he brought in his own team of French lawyers and accountants. The Dowager Countess moved herself to Forcalquier in protest, and in Marseille, in the family conflict Beatrice sided with her husband. In May 1247, Charles and Beatrice were recorded as being in Melun, Beatrice accompanied Charles on the seventh crusade in 1248. Led by Louis IX, the made a extended procession through France
7.
Dynasty
–
A dynasty is a sequence of rulers from the same family, usually in the context of a feudal or monarchical system but sometimes also appearing in elective republics. The dynastic family or lineage may be known as a house, historians periodize the histories of many sovereign states, such as Ancient Egypt, the Carolingian Empire and Imperial China, using a framework of successive dynasties. As such, the dynasty may be used to delimit the era during which the family reigned and to describe events, trends. The word dynasty itself is often dropped from such adjectival references, until the 19th century, it was taken for granted that a legitimate function of a monarch was to aggrandize his dynasty, that is, to increase the territory, wealth, and power of his family members. The longest-surviving dynasty in the world is the Imperial House of Japan, dynasties throughout the world have traditionally been reckoned patrilineally, such as under the Frankish Salic law. Succession through a daughter when permitted was considered to establish a new dynasty in her husbands ruling house, however, some states in Africa, determined descent matrilineally, while rulers have at other times adopted the name of their mothers dynasty when coming into her inheritance. It is also extended to unrelated people such as poets of the same school or various rosters of a single sports team. The word dynasty derives via Latin dynastia from Greek dynastéia, where it referred to power, dominion and it was the abstract noun of dynástēs, the agent noun of dynamis, power or ability, from dýnamai, to be able. A ruler in a dynasty is referred to as a dynast. For example, following his abdication, Edward VIII of the United Kingdom ceased to be a member of the House of Windsor. A dynastic marriage is one that complies with monarchical house law restrictions, the marriage of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, to Máxima Zorreguieta in 2002 was dynastic, for example, and their eldest child is expected to inherit the Dutch crown eventually. But the marriage of his younger brother Prince Friso to Mabel Wisse Smit in 2003 lacked government support, thus Friso forfeited his place in the order of succession, lost his title as a Prince of the Netherlands, and left his children without dynastic rights. In historical and monarchist references to formerly reigning families, a dynast is a member who would have had succession rights, were the monarchys rules still in force. Even since abolition of the Austrian monarchy, Max and his descendants have not been considered the rightful pretenders by Austrian monarchists, nor have they claimed that position. The term dynast is sometimes used only to refer to descendants of a realms monarchs. The term can therefore describe overlapping but distinct sets of people, yet he is not a male-line member of the royal family, and is therefore not a dynast of the House of Windsor. Thus, in 1999 he requested and obtained permission from Elizabeth II to marry the Roman Catholic Princess Caroline of Monaco. Yet a clause of the English Act of Settlement 1701 remained in effect at that time and that exclusion, too, ceased to apply on 26 March 2015, with retroactive effect for those who had been dynasts prior to triggering it by marriage to a Catholic
8.
House of Savoy
–
The House of Savoy is one of the oldest royal families in the world, being founded in 1003 in the historical Savoy region. Through gradual expansion, it grew from ruling a small county in that region to the attainment of the rank of king in 1713, the Savoyard kings of Italy were Victor Emmanuel II, Umberto I, Victor Emmanuel III, and Umberto II. The last monarch ruled for a few weeks before being deposed following the Constitutional Referendum of 1946, the name derives from the historical region of Savoy in the Alpine region between what is now France and Italy. Over time, the House of Savoy expanded its territory and influence through judicious marriages, from rule of a small region on the French/Italian border, the dynastys realm included nearly all of the Italian Peninsula by the time of its deposition. The house descended from Humbert I, Count of Sabaudia, Humberts family are thought to have originated from near Magdeburg in Saxony, with the earliest recording of the family being two 10th century brothers, Amadeus and Humbert. Though Sabaudia was originally a county, later counts were diplomatically skilled. Two of Humberts sons were bishops at the Abbey of Saint Maurice on the River Rhone east of Lake Geneva and this diplomatic skill caused the great powers such as France, England, and Spain to take the counts opinions into account. Piedmont was later joined with Sabaudia, and the name evolved into Savoy, the people of Savoy were descended from the Celts and Romans. In 1494, Charles VIII of France passed through Savoy on his way to Italy and Naples, during the outbreak of the Italian war of 1521-1526, Emperor Charles V stationed imperial troops in Savoy. In 1536, Francis I of France invaded Savoy and Piedmont taking Turin by April of that year, Charles III, Duke of Savoy, fled to Vercelli. He served Philip II as Governor of the Netherlands from 1555 to 1559, in this capacity he led the Spanish invasion of northern France and won a victory at St. Quentin in 1557. He took advantage of various squabbles in Europe to slowly regain territory from both the French and the Spanish, including the city of Turin and he moved the capital of the duchy from Chambéry to Turin. The 17th century brought economic development to the Turin area. Charles Emmanuel II developed the port of Nice and built a road through the Alps towards France, and through skillful political manoeuvres territorial expansion continued. Savoy rule over Sicily lasted only seven years, the crown of Sicily, the prestige of being kings at last, and the wealth of Palermo helped strengthen the House of Savoy further. In 1720 they were forced to exchange Sicily for Sardinia as a result of the War of the Quadruple Alliance, on the mainland, the dynasty continued its expansionist policies as well. In 1798, Joubert occupied Turin and forced Charles Emmanuel IV to abdicate, eventually, in 1814 the kingdom was restored and enlarged with the addition of the former Republic of Genoa by the Congress of Vienna. In the meantime, nationalist figures such as Giuseppe Mazzini were influencing popular opinion, the Kingdom of Italy was the first Italian state to include the Italian Peninsula since the fall of the Roman Empire
9.
Thomas, Count of Savoy
–
Thomas was Count of Savoy from 1189 to 1233. He is sometimes numbered Thomas I to distinguish him from his son of the same name, Thomas was born in Aiguebelle, the son of Humbert III of Savoy and Beatrice of Viennois. His birth was seen as miraculous, his father had despaired of having a male heir after three wives. Count Humbert sought counsel from St. Anthelm, who blessed Humbert three times, and it was seen as a prophecy come true when Thomas was born shortly before Anthelm himself died on 26 June 1178 and he was named in honour of Saint Thomas Becket. He had reached his majority by August 1191, Thomas possessed the martial abilities, energy, and brilliance that his father lacked, and Savoy enjoyed a golden age under his leadership. Despite his youth he began the push northwest into new territories, in the same year he granted Aosta Valley the Charte des Franchises, recognising the right to administrative and political autonomy. This right was maintained until the eve of the French Revolution, later he conquered Vaud, Bugey, and Carignano. He supported the Hohenstaufens, and was known as Thomas the Ghibelline because of his career as Imperial Vicar of Lombardy, Thomas worked throughout his career to expand the control and influence of the County of Savoy. One of the key tools that he used was his number of children. In part, this was done by getting many of his sons into episcopal offices in surrounding territories, in addition to Guglielmo and Bonifacio, who made their careers in the clergy, their brother Thomas started out as a canon at Lausanne and became prévôt of Valence by 1226. Pietro was also a canon at Lausanne and served as acting bishop there until he was replaced in 1231, in 1219 he worked to get his daughter Beatrice married to the fourteen-year-old Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence. This established a relationship between the two adjoining counties which would help cement Savoy control over trade between Italy and France. Thomas also fought battles to expand his control. In 1215, his troops fought in an alliance with Milan against Monferrato, Thomas also worked through diplomatic and economic means to expand his control. The county of Savoy long enjoyed control over critical passes through the Alps, in his quest to gain more control over Turin, Thomas made an agreement with their rival Asti to reroute their French trade around Turin through Savoyard lands in a treaty on 15 September 1224. In 1226, Emperor Frederick II came to northern Italy and named Thomas Imperial Vicar of Lombardy, in this role, he mediated in a Genoese rebellion and a dispute between the town of Marseille and their bishop. Thomas also made a policy of granting franchises and charters to towns on key trade routes which enabled the merchant class to develop more wealth and built support for his rule. In 1195 he ambushed the party of Count William I of Geneva, Thomas carried off Marguerite and married her himself, producing some eight sons and six daughters
