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List of rulers of Provence

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Map showing the march and county Provence and the county of Forcalquier as parts of the Kingdom of Arelate in the 12th and 13th century

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 frontier nature of the dukedom in Merovingian Gaul. In this position, influenced and affected by several different cultures on different sides, the Provençals maintained a unity which was reinforced when it was created a separate kingdom in the Carolingian decline of the later ninth century. Provence was eventually joined to the other Burgundian kingdom, but it remained ruled by its own powerful, and largely independent, counts.

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 local families of Frankish origin, to the House of Barcelona, to the House of Anjou and to a cadet branch of the House of Valois. After 1032, the county was part of the Holy Roman Empire. 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.

Merovingian dukes and patricians

During the period of the Merovingian dynasty in Gaul, Provence was a province ruled by duces (dukes), military leaders and district commanders who served as defenders of the frontiers of the kingdom and ruled over vast territories as opposed to the comites (counts), who ruled the cities and their environs. Provence was usually a part of the division of the Frankish realm known as the Kingdom of Burgundy, which was treated as its own kingdom. Their title sometimes appears as rector Provinciae.

This is an incomplete list of the known Merovingian-appointed dukes of Provence.

Carolingian dukes and margraves

Provence was ruled by a poorly known series of dukes during the period of general Carolingian unity until the Treaty of Verdun (843).

Carolingian kings

After the division of the Carolingian Empire by the Treaty of Verdun (843), the first of the fraternal rulers of the three kingdoms to die was Lothair I, who divided his middle kingdom in accordance with the custom of the Franks between his three sons. Out of this division came the Kingdom of Provence, given to Lothair's youngest son, Charles. A heritage of royal rule was thus inaugurated in Provence that, though it was often subsumed into one of its larger neighbouring kingdoms, it was just as often proclaiming its own sovereigns.

The kingdom of Provence was also known as Lower Burgundy (or Cisjurane Burgundy). Its capital was first Vienne then Arles and it is therefore sometimes known as Arelate.

Provence divided between surviving brothers, Lothair II and the Emperor Louis II. The bulk goes to Louis.
As with his Kingdom of Italy, Louis's Provence goes to his uncle on his death.
With the death of Louis, Charles' successor, Provence refused to elect his two sons and instead elected one of their own as king. Boso married Ermengard, daughter of Louis II, to strengthen his and his son's claim.
Louis's kingdom did not pass to his heirs, but instead to his brother-in-law, the husband of his sister, Hugh, who had acted as his regent since 905. Hugh never used the royal title in Provence.
In 933, Provence ceases to be a separate kingdom as Hugh exchanged it with Rudolph II of Upper Burgundy for the Iron Crown of Lombardy, that is, rule of Italy.

Counts and Margraves, within the Empire

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 appointed Hugh, Duke of Burgundy, its first margrave.

At the time, the premier counts in the region were the counts of Arles and those of Avignon. 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 father's 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.

By his marriage to Emma of Provence, daughter of Rotbold II, William III, Count of Toulouse inherited lands and castles in Provence. Emma inherited the title Margrave of Provence on her elder brother's death in 1037. Her son Pons by William III did not survive her, but her grandson did and claimed her title in opposition to the younger line of counts of Provence.

Bosonid dynasty

Name Born Reign Consort Death Notes
William I the Liberator c.950
Son of Boson II of Arles and Constance of Vienne 		961–975 Arsenda of Comminges
no children

Adelaide-Blanche of Anjou
c.984
four children 		After 29 August 993 First counts of Provence and brothers, ruled together until 975, when William took the margravial title. and Rotbold took the same title in 993, after William abdication.
975–993
Rotbold I Son of Boson II of Arles and Constance of Vienne 961–993 Emilde
two children 		1008
993–1008
Regency of Adelaide-Blanche of Anjou:993–999
William II the Pious c.980
Son of William I and Adelaide-Blanche of Anjou 		999–1019 Gerberga of Burgundy
c.984
four children 		4 March 1019 Fell under control of his uncle Rotbold until his death in 1008.
Rotbold II c.980
Son of Rotbold I and Emilde 		1008–1014 Ermengarde of Burgundy
before 1002
three children 		1014
William III Son of Rotbold II and Ermengarde of Burgundy 1014–1037 Lucie
before 1002
three children 		1037
William IV c.980
Son of William II and Gerberga of Burgundy 		1019–1030 Unmarried 1030
Fulk Bertrand c.1000
Son of William II and Gerberga of Burgundy 		1030–1051 Hildegard
two children 		27 April 1051 Brothers, ruled jointly after their elder brother's death.
Geoffrey I c.1000
Son of William II and Gerberga of Burgundy 		1030–1062 Etienette
four children 		February 1062
After William III's death with no descendants, the line of counts became the sovereign line in Provence, but not uncontested. In fact, through Emma of Provence, who inherited her brother William III's margravial title, her descendants, the counts of Toulouse, claimed Provence for themselves using the title Margrave of Provence, in spite of never having ruled there.
William Bertrand I c.1040
Son of Fulk Bertrand and Hildegard 		1062–1094 Theresa of Aragon
no children

Adelaide of Cavenez
one child 		28 July 1094 Co-ruled as brothers and cousins.
Geoffrey II c.1040
Son of Fulk Bertrand and Hildegard 		1062–1067 Ermengard
no children 		28 July 1094
William Bertrand II c.1050
Son of Geoffrey I and Etienette 		1063–1093 Matilda
one child 		28 July 1094
Gerberga 1045/65
Daughter of Geoffrey I and Etienette 		1094–1112 Gilbert I of Gévaudan
1073
two children 		28 July 1094 Considered a wise ruler.[1] She abdicated in 1112 to her eldest daughter, soon after her marriage to the count of Barcelona.

House of Gévaudan

Name Born Reign Consort Death Notes
Douce I c.1090
Daughter of Gilbert I of Gévaudan [fr] and Gerberga 		1112–1127 Ramon Berenguer III of Barcelona
3 February 1112
Arles
five children 		1127 Ruled together with her husband, the Catalan Ramon Berenguer III of Barcelona.

Houses of Barcelona (comital) and Toulouse (margravial)

Division of Provence obtained by Alfonso Jordan in 1125

With a lack of interest in the Reconquista on their southern frontier, the Catalans turned towards their origins, the Mediterranean littoral and northwards. They coveted the region between the Cévennes and the Rhône, then under the control of Toulouse. In 1112, the count of Barcelona, Ramon Berenguer III, married the heiress of Provence, Douce, who was the daughter of the Countess Gerberga of Provence, Gévaudan, Carladais, and part of Rodez. The marriage was probably taken at the urging of the church, which was then in conflict with house of Toulouse. In 1076, Count Raymond IV was excommunicated, but he still lent his support to Aicard, the deposed archbishop of Arles (since 1080). With the count away on the First Crusade, the church took the opportunity to seize the balance of power in the region. This marriage effectively put Provence under Catalan control.

To accommodate the longstanding claims of the count of Toulouse, in 1125, Raymond's heir, Alfonso Jordan, signed a treaty whereby his family's traditional claim to the title of "Margrave of Provence" was recognised and the march of Provence was defined as the region north of the lower Durance and on the right of the Rhône, including the castles of Beaucaire, Vallabrègues, and Argence. The region between the Durance, the Rhône, the Alps, and the sea was that of the county and belonged to the house of Barcelona. Avignon, Pont de Sorgues, Caumont and Le Thor remained undivided.

Internally, Provence was racked by uncertainties over rights of succession. Douce and Ramon Berenguer signed all charters jointly until her death in 1127, after which he alone appears as count in all charters until his death in 1131. At that time, Douce's younger sister, Stephanie was married to Raymond of Baux, who promptly laid claim to the inheritance of her mother, even though Provence had peacefully passed into the hands of her nephew, Berenguer Ramon I.

Name Born Reign Consort Death Notes
Ramon Berenguer I the Great 11 November 1082
Rodez
Son of Count Ramon Berenguer II of Barcelona and Gerberga 		1112–1131 María Rodríguez de Vivar
c.1103
two children

Almodis de Mortain
c.1106
no children

Douce I
3 February 1112
Arles
five children 		29 January/13 July 1131
Barcelona
aged 48 		Also Count of Barcelona. Ruled together with his wife, Douce I, Countess of Provence. His reign saw a proliferation of Provençal culture in Catalonia.
Alfonso Jordan 1103
Tripoli
Son of Count Raymond IV of Toulouse and Elvira of Castile 		1125–1148 Faydite d'Uzès
c.1125
four children 		16 August 1148
Caesarea
aged 44–45 		Also Count of Toulouse. Obtained half of Provence by the division agreement of 1125.
Berenguer Ramon I February 1114
Son of Ramon Berenguer I and Douce I 		1131–1144 Beatrice of Melgueil
c.1135
one child 		March 1144
Melgueil
aged 30 		Younger son of the previous. Took and offensive against Genoa.
Regency of Count Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona:1144–1157
Ramon Berenguer II c.1135
Son of Berenguer Ramon I and Beatrice of Melgueil 		1157–1166 Richeza of Poland
17 November 1161
one child 		March 1166
Nice
aged 30–31 		In August 1161, he travelled to Turin with his uncle to obtain confirmation of his countship in Provence from the Emperor Frederick I, for Provence was legally a fief of the Holy Roman Empire.
Raymond I 1134
Tripoli
Son of Alfonso Jordan and Faydite d'Uzès 		1148–1194 Constance of France
c.1154
(annulled 1166)
five children 		December 1194
Nîmes
aged 59–60 		Also Count of Toulouse as Raymond V.
Douce II c.1162
Daughter of Ramon Berenguer II and Richeza of Poland 		1166 Unmarried 1172
Nice
aged 9–10 		She ruled a few months, as her half brother-in-law, Alfonso II of Aragon, claimed Provence for himself on the basis of the imperial enfeoffment of 1162.
Alfonso I the Chaste 1/25 March 1157
Huesca
Son of Count Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona and Petronilla of Aragon 		1166–1173 Sancha of Castile
18 January 1174
Zaragoza
nine children 		25 April 1196
Perpignan
aged 39 		Also King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona. In August 1161, he had travelled to Turin with his uncle obtain the confirmation of his countship in Provence from the Emperor Frederick I, for Provence was legally a fief of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1173 gave the County to his younger brother Ramon Berenguer. However, kept the title until his death in 1196.
Ramon Berenguer III c.1158
Son of Count Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona and Petronilla of Aragon 		1173–1181 Unmarried 5 April 1181
Montpellier
aged 22–23 		In 1176, he joined his brother Sancho in conquering Nice from Genoa. He was assassinated.
Sancho c.1161
Son of Count Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona and Petronilla of Aragon 		1181–1185 1223
Montpellier
aged 61–62 		in 1184, Sancho signed a treaty of alliance with the count of Forcalquier, the count of Toulouse and the Republic of Genoa agreeing to oppose the king of Aragon's efforts to dominate Genoa and to take the city of Marseille from him. Abdicated in 1185.
Alfonso II 1180
Barcelona
Son of Alfonso I and Sancha of Castile 		1185–1209 Garsenda, Countess of Forcalquier
July 1193
Aix-en-Provence
one child 		2 February 1209
Palermo
aged 28–29 		His reign was marked by his conflicts with the count of Forcalquier, to whose granddaughter he was married.
Raymond II 27 October 1156
Saint-Gilles, Gard
Son of Raymond I and Constance of France 		1194–1222 Ermessende of Pelet
1172
no children

Beatrice of Béziers
after 1176
(annulled 1189)
one child

Joan of England
October 1196
Rouen
two children

A daughter of Isaac Komnenos of Cyprus
c.1200
(annulled 1202)
no children

Eleanor of Aragon
January 1204
Perpignan
no children 		1 August 1222
Toulouse
aged 65 		Also Count of Toulouse as Raymond VI. Alled with the Cathars, like many of the neighbouring Languedoc states, his domains in Toulouse were challenged by the Albigensian Crusade between 1215 and 1218.
Regency of Garsenda, Countess of Forcalquier:1209–1220
Ramon Berenguer IV 1198
Son of Alfonso II and Garsenda, Countess of Forcalquier 		1220–1245 Beatrice of Savoy
5 June 1219
Aix-en-Provence
six children 		19 August 1245
Aix-en-Provence
aged 46–47 		Supporter of the Provençal lyric and culture and the Albigensian Crusade. He also helped his father-in-law in his conflict with Turin and Guigues VI of Viennois. His surviving four daughters all married kings, causing a dispute about his succession.
Raymond III July 1197
Beaucaire, Gard
Son of Raymond II and Joan of England 		1222–1249 Sancha of Aragon
March 1211
(annulled 1241)
one child

Margaret of Lusignan
1243
(annulled 1245)
no children 		27 September 1249
Toulouse
aged 52 		Also Count of Toulouse as Raymond VII. Took Carcassonne with Count Roger-Bernard III of Foix, in the Albigensian Crusade.
Beatrice 1229
Daughter of Ramon Berenguer IV and Beatrice of Savoy 		1245–1267 Charles I of Sicily
31 January 1246
Aix-en-Provence
seven children 		23 September 1267
Nocera Inferiore
aged 37–38 		Her inheritance caused tense relations with her sisters; Her husband installed his French court in Provence and, after her death, inherited the County.
Joanna c.1220
Toulouse
Son of Raymond III and Sancha of Aragon 		1249–1271 Alphonse of France
c.1237
Toulouse
no children 		25 August 1271
Siena
aged 50–51 		The war between Louis VIII of France and Languedoc region ended with the Treaty of Meaux (1229), determining the wedding of Joan, the heiress of Toulouse, with Alphonse, prince of France. The lack of descendance of the couple determined the annexation of the County of Toulouse, the Duchy of Narbonne, and the Margraviate of Provence to the Crown of France after their deaths.

Capetian Angevin dynasty

Queen Joan died heirless, leaving the county to Louis I of Anjou, son of King John II of France the Good, of the House of Valois, and great-great-grandson of Charles II of Naples.

Valois-Anjou dynasty

  • 1382–1384 Louis I of Anjou, Count and then Duke of Anjou (1351), Duke of Calabria and Count of Maine (1356), Duke of Touraine (1370), nominal King of Sicily (1382)
  • 1384–1417 Louis II of Anjou, Duke of Anjou, Calabria and Touraine, Count of Maine, nominal King of Sicily (1384), Count of Guise (1404), son of Louis I
  • 1417–1434 Louis III of Anjou, Duke of Anjou and Touraine, nominal King of Sicily (1417), Duke of Calabria (1424), son of Louis II
  • 1434–1480 René I of Naples the Good, Count of Guise (1417–1422), Duke of Lorraine and Bar (1431), King of Naples and (nominal) Sicily and Jerusalem (1434–1442), Duke of Anjou and Touraine (1434), King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona (in dispute, 1466–1472), son of Louis II
  • 1480–1481 Charles III (V of Maine), also known as Charles of Maine, Count of Maine and Guise (1472), nephew of René I

Upon his death the heirless Charles du Maine bequeathed the counties of Provence-Forcalquier to King Louis XI of France. From this point, the title of Count of Provence becomes simply one of the many hereditary titles of the French monarchy. The only time the title was used independently following this time was by the future Louis XVIII of France, who was known as the Comte de Provence until the death of his nephew Louis XVII in 1795, when he claimed the French throne.

Governors and grand seneschals, within France

Governors

Grand seneschals

  • 1480–1481 Pierre de La Jaille (see Château_de_Ranton)
  • 1482–1483 Raymond de Glandevès-Faucon
  • 1483 Palamède de Forbin
  • 1485–1493 Aymar de Poitiers, Count of Valentinois

Governors – grand seneschals

Grand seneschals

Governors

In 1790, the French Revolution definitively ended the governorship.

See also

References

  1. ^ Clement, Francois. L' Art De Vérifier Les Dates Des Faits Historiques, Des Chartes, Des Chroniques, Et Autres Anciens Monumens, Depuis La Naissance De Notre-Seigneur, p. 436 (Jombert, 1784).
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