Family
Ramon Berenguer was the son of Alfonso II, Count of Provence, and Garsenda, Countess of Forcalquier. After his father's death (1209), Ramon's mother sent him to the Templar castle of Monzón in Aragon. He was accompanied by his cousin James, whose life was also under threat. He left Monzon in 1216 to claim his inheritance, which included the county of Forcalquier—inherited from his mother.
On 5 June 1219, Ramon Berenguer married Beatrice of Savoy, daughter of Thomas, Count of Savoy. She was a shrewd and politically astute woman, whose beauty was likened by Matthew Paris to that of a second Niobe. The wedding also provided the 21-year-old Ramon with a powerful father-in-law to aid him in establishing his authority and protecting his interests. They had:
- stillborn son (1220)
- stillborn son (1220)
- Margaret of Provence (1221–1295), wife of Louis IX, King of France
- Eleanor of Provence (1223–1291), wife of Henry III, King of England
- Sanchia of Provence (1225–1261), wife of Richard, King of the Romans, brother of the King of England
- Beatrice of Provence (1229–1267), wife of Charles I, King of Sicily, brother of the King of France
Rule
Ramon Berenguer 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. He wrote laws prohibiting nobles from performing menial work, such as farming or heavy labor.
Ramon Berenguer had many border 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 Ramon's father-in-law Thomas, Count of Savoy in his role as imperial vicar. However, they later sought the help of Raymond VII, Count of Toulouse.
In 1228, Ramon Berenguer supported his father-in-law in a double-sided conflict against Turin and Guigues VI of Viennois. This small war was one of many rounds intended to more firmly establish control over trade from Italy into France, and Provence included several key routes.
While the Albigensian Crusade worked in his favor against Toulouse, Ramon Berenguer 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 Berenguer 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 Berenguer had to get contributions from allies for a portion, and had to pledge several of his castles to cover the rest. Ramon Berenguer and Beatrice travelled with their daughter to Lyon in 1234 to sign the marriage treaty, and then Margaret was escorted to her wedding in Sens by her uncles William and Thomas of Savoy.
Shortly after, William began negotiating on Ramon Berenguer's behalf with Henry III of England to marry his daughter Eleanor. Henry sent his own knight to Provence early in 1235, and again Ramon Berenguer and his family entertained him lavishly. 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 silver marks to help offset the dowry he had just paid for his sister, Isabella. However, he had drafted seven different versions of the marriage contract, with different amounts for the dowry, the lowest being zero. Ramon Berenguer shrewdly negotiated for that option, offering as consolation a promise to leave her ten thousand marks in his last will.
In 1238, Ramon Berenguer joined his brother-in-law Amadeus IV at the court of Emperor Frederick II in Turin. Frederick was gathering forces to assert more control in Italy. Raymond VII of Toulouse was also summoned, and all expected to work together in the war.
In January 1244, Pope Innocent IV decreed that no one but the pope could excommunicate Ramon Berenguer. In 1245, Ramon Berenguer sent representatives to the First Council of Lyon, to discuss crusades and the excommunication of Frederick.
Ramon Berenguer died in August 1245 in Aix-en-Provence, leaving the county to his youngest daughter, Beatrice.
Alfonso Jordan, also spelled Alfons Jordan or Alphonse Jourdain (1103–1148), was the Count of Tripoli (1105–09), Count of Rouergue (1109–48) and Count of Toulouse, Margrave of Provence and Duke of Narbonne (1112–48).
Thomas Ι was Count of Savoy from 1189 to 1233. He is sometimes numbered "Thomas I" to distinguish him from his son of the same name. His long reign marked a decisive period in the history of Savoy.
Thomas II was the Lord of Piedmont from 1233 to his death, Count of Flanders jure uxoris from 1237 to 1244, and regent of the County of Savoy from 1253 to his death, while his nephew Boniface was fighting abroad. He was the son of Thomas I of Savoy and Margaret of Geneva.
Peter II, called the Little Charlemagne, held the Honour of Richmond, Yorkshire, England, from April 1240 until his death, holder of the Honour of l’Aigle, and was Count of Savoy from 1263 until his death in 1268. Briefly, from 1241 until 1242 he was the castellan of Dover Castle and Keeper of the Coast. In 1243 he was granted land by the Thames in London where he later built the Savoy Palace.
Philip I was Count of Savoy from 1268 to 1285. Before this, he was Bishop of Valence (1241–1267) and Archbishop of Lyon (1245–1267).
Eleanor of Provence was a French noblewoman who became Queen of England as the wife of King Henry III from 1236 until his death in 1272. She served as regent of England during the absence of her spouse in 1253.
Margaret of Provence was Queen of France by marriage to King Louis IX.
Alfonso II was the second son of Alfonso II of Aragon and Sancha of Castile. His father transferred the County of Provence from his uncle Sancho to him in 1185. Alfonso II was born in Barcelona.
Almodis de la Marche was a French noble. She was famed for her marriage career, in particularly for her third marriage to Ramon Berenguer I, Count of Barcelona, with whom she committed double bigamy in 1053, for which the Pope had them excommunicated.
Forcalquier is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France.
Guigues VII (1225–1269), of the House of Burgundy, was the dauphin of Vienne and count of Albon, Grenoble, Oisans, Briançon, Embrun, and Gap from 1237 to his death. He was the son of Andrew Guigues VI and Beatrice of Montferrat. When his father died, his mother helped guide the leadership of the new Dauphin.
Sanchia of Provence was Queen of the Romans from 1257 until her death in 1261 as the wife of King Richard.
Beatrice of Savoy was Countess consort of Provence by her marriage to Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence. She served as regent of her birth country Savoy during the absence of her brother in 1264.
Beatrice of Provence, was ruling Countess of Provence and Forcalquier from 1245 until her death, as well as Countess of Anjou and Maine, Queen of Sicily and Naples by marriage to Charles I of Naples.
Saint-Maime is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France. It is located in the Luberon national park and is home to the 12th century chapel Chapelle Sainte-Agathe.
Garsenda was the Countess of Provence as the wife of Alfonso II from 1193 and the Countess of Forcalquier in her own right from 1209 and subsequently united with Provence. She was also a patron of Occitan literature, especially the troubadours, and herself wrote some lyric poetry and is counted among the trobairitz as Garsenda de Proensa. She was, in the words of her most recent editors, "one of the most powerful women in Occitan history".
Margaret of Geneva (1180?–1252), was a countess of Savoy by marriage to Thomas I of Savoy. She was the daughter of William I, Count of Geneva, and Beatrice de Faucigny (1160–1196).
Gaston VII de Montcada, called Froissard, was the twentieth Viscount of Béarn from 1229. He was the son and heir of Guillermo II de Montcada and of Garsenda, daughter of Alfonso II of Provence and Garsenda of Forcalquier. He was succeeded by Roger-Bernard III of Foix.
Beatrice of Savoy was a daughter of Amadeus IV, Count of Savoy and his first wife Marguerite of Burgundy. She was a member of the House of Savoy by birth and by her first marriage she was Marchioness consort of Saluzzo.
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