Aimery I of Narbonne

Aimery I of Narbonne
Viscount of Narbonne
Reign	1071 – c. 1105 (died in the Holy Land)
Predecessor	Bernard Bérenger of Narbonne
Successor	Aimery II of Narbonne
Born	c. 1071
Died	c. 1106 (died in the Holy Land) Holy Land
Noble family	House of Narbonne
Spouse(s)	Mahaut of Apulia
Issue	Aimery II of Narbonne; Bernard (Bernard Raimond); Guiscard; Bérenger, Archbishop of Narbonne
Father	Bernard Bérenger of Narbonne
Mother	Foy of Rouergue

Aimery I of Narbonne, son of Bernard Berenger of Narbonne and Foy of Rouergue. ^{[1] [2]} He was viscount of Narbonne 1071 until his death in the Holy Land in 1106. ^[2]

Biography

Quite young when his father Viscount Bernard died, the first years of Aimery take place in the shadow of his uncle, Pierre Bérenger, who asserted his hold on Narbonne both as viscount and as archbishop of Narbonne, despite the opposition of the pope and his legates. The government of Aimery is especially marked by its clashes with the archbishops Dalmace of Narbonne and Bertrand of Montredon for the control of Narbonne.

According to a missing charter referred to in later documents, in 1093 Aimery authorized a group of Benedictine monks to settle in the forest of Fontfroide, a modest starting point for what would later become one of the most powerful monasteries in the region, Cistercian Abbey of Fontfroide. ^[3]

Leaving for the Holy Land around 1103, Aimery died soon after. His eldest son Aymeri II succeeded him.

Marriage and descent

Between 1085 and 1087, Aimery married Mahaut of Apulia, daughter of Robert Guiscard, duke of Apulia. ^[1] They had:

• Aimery II (died in 1134), viscount of Narbonne, his successor ^[1]
• Bernard, also says Bernard Raimond (attested in 1103) ^[1]
• Guiscard (attested in 1103) ^[1]
• Bérenger (died in 1162), ^[1] first monk at the abbey of Saint-Pons-de-Thomières (1103), and then abbot de Lagrasse (1114 / 1117-1156) and Archbishop of Narbonne (1156-1162)

Notes

1. Graham-Leigh 2005, p. table 6.
2. Stasser 1993, p. 507.
3. Grèzes-Rueff 1977, p. 255-256.

Sources

• Graham-Leigh, Elaine (2005). The Southern French Nobility and the Albigensian Crusade. The Boydell Press.
• Grèzes-Rueff, François (1977). "L'abbaye de Fontfroide et son domaine foncier aux XIIe-XIIIe siècles" (PDF). Annales du Midi (in French). 89 (133): 253–280. doi:10.3406/anami.1977.1683.
• Stasser, Thierry (1993). "La maison vicomtale de Narbonne aux Xe et XIe siècles". Annales du Midi (in French). 105 (204): 489–507. doi:10.3406/anami.1993.2383.