Bernard Aton IV. Trencavel

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Bernard Aton IV. Trencavel († 1129 ) was a vice count of Albi and Nîmes , and first vice count of Carcassonne , Béziers , Agde and Razès from the House of Trencavel . He was a son of Vice Count Raimund Bernard Trencavel († 1074) and Countess Ermengarde of Carcassonne († 1099).

He established the position of the Trencavel as one of the leading houses in the south of high medieval France , the Languedoc .

Life

Bernard Aton IV. Trencavel (right) hands over his daughter Ermengarde to her husband, Count Gausfred III. of Roussillon. Illustration from Liber feudorum Ceritaniae , folio 71, 13th century.

While he received Albi and Nîmes as heirs from his father, Bernard Aton on his mother's side was considered a candidate for rule over the important Carcassonne , as well as Béziers, Agde and Razès. His mother had sold the county of Carcassonne in 1067 to the Count of Barcelona , who from then on exercised direct rule in Carcassonne. In 1082 Count Raimund Berengar II of Barcelona was killed in a hunt. His successor brother Berengar Raimund II was said to have participated in this death. The people of Carcassonne immediately renounced the new count and made it possible for Bernard Aton and his mother to move into the city, which marked the beginning of the more than 100-year rule of the Trencavel. Ermengarde and Bernard Aton took on the title of Vice Count , with which they recognized that the count's rights would remain with the House of Barcelona and at the same time entered into a vassal relationship with it. However, they continued to fight for their own rights against Barcelona. In 1093 they were able to attempt a reconquest by Count Raimund Berengar III. successfully fend off.

After mother and son had reached a contractual settlement with Count Roger II von Foix in 1095 with regard to his inheritance on Carcassonne, Bernard Aton felt sufficiently stable in his rule to take part in the crusade of 1101 . For this purpose he bequeathed the town of Cazilhac to the Lagrasse Abbey . The Count of Barcelona was able to use his absence to capture Carcassonne, but when Bernard Aton returned in 1105 he was able to move back into the city. With the supporters of the house of Barcelona he went hard in court, which made him unpopular among the population. In 1120, the residents of Carcassonne finally refused to allow him to enter the city and tried to ally against him with the powerful Count Alfons Jordan of Toulouse . But because he was involved in battles against the Duke of Aquitaine at that time and could not support the citizens of Carcassonne, they had to let Bernard Aton move back into the city in 1124.

Bernard Aton IV died in 1129, and he distributed his accumulated vice-counties among his sons.

family

Bernard Aton IV. Trencavel had been married to Cecilia, a daughter of Count Bertrand II of Provence , since 1083 . He had several children with her:

  • Roger I († 1150), Vice Count of Carcassonne, Razès and Albi
  • Raimund I († October 15, 1167), Vice Count of Béziers, Agde, Carcassonne, Razès and Albi
  • Bernard Aton V († around 1159), Vice Count of Nîmes and Agde
  • Ermengarde "Trencavella" († 1156), ⚭ 1110 (separated in 1152) with Count Gausfred III. of Roussillon
  • Matheline († after 1152), ⚭ 1105 with Arnaud de Béziers-Sauvian
  • Ermesinde († before 1146), ⚭ 1121 with Rostaing de Posquières ( House Uzès )
  • Pagane († after 1152)

literature

  • Frederic L. Cheyette: The 'Sale' of Carcassonne to the Counts of Barcelona (1067-1070) and the Rise of the Trencavels , in: Speculum 63 (1988) 826-864
  • André Dupont: Le vicomte Bernard-Aton IV (1074-1129) , in: Mémories de l'Académie de Nîmes VII, 56 (1965-1967) 153-177
  • Sylvette Rouillan-Castex: Bernard-Aton Trencavel et les Carcassonnais , in: Carcassonne et sa région: fédération historique du Languedoc méditerranéen et du Roussillon (1970), pp. 147-151

Web links

predecessor Office successor
Raimund Bernard Trencavel Vice Count of Albi
1074–1129
Roger I. Trencavel
Raimund Bernard Trencavel Vice Count of Nîmes
1074–1129
Bernard Aton V. Trencavel
Barcelona county Vice Count of Carcassonne
Vice Count of Razès
1082–1129
Roger I. Trencavel
Barcelona county Deputy Count of Béziers
Deputy Count of Agde
1082–1129
Raimund I. Trencavel