Bernard IV (Comminges)

Bernard IV († February 22, 1225 ) had been Count of Comminges from around 1176 . He was the eldest of four sons of Count Bernard III. and an illegitimate daughter of Count Alfons Jourdain of Toulouse .

At the beginning of his reign, Bernard shook off his family's vassalage to the Counts of Toulouse and entered into an alliance with the King of Aragon , whom he also recognized as the new liege lord. This alliance was to be strained early on after King Alfonso II of Aragon forced Bernard to give up the reign of his daughter in the county of Bigorre in favor of Aragon. This daughter was engaged to the Vice Count of Béarn, a close follower of Aragon. Through this act, Bernard lost control of Bigorre, which he had first administered as the husband of his wife (de iure uxoris ) and after his separation from her for his daughter. After Alfons death in 1196, Bernard again approached the Count of Toulouse, whom he paid homage to Muret and Samatan . It was not until 1201 that he was ready to swear the feudal oath to King Peter II of Aragon for the highlands of Comminges, with which he was in fact in a double relationship of dependency.

With the start of the Albigensian Crusade in 1209, however, the political situation in Languedoc changed . While Bernard initially maintained his neutrality in this, he turned against the Crusaders after the capture of Carcassonne in the same year. Together with Count Raimund Roger von Foix and later also with Count Raimund VI. of Toulouse he fought in 1211 at Montgey, Toulouse and Castelnaudary . However, Bernard suffered a setback shortly afterwards after his nephew Vice Count Roger II of Couserans surrendered to the Crusaders and let his country be occupied by them; a little later this also led to the capture of the adjacent Muret. This city would become the first target of the Coalition of the Counts of the South in their fight against the Crusade in 1213 after the King of Aragon had joined them. But on September 12th of that year they lost the decisive battle in which King Peter of Aragon fell. This defeat forced Bernard to give up the fight and his county was placed under a papal legate. In addition, he had to accept the marriage of his daughter Petronille with Guy de Montfort, the son of the leader of the crusade, whereby the Bigorre fell under his influence.

After the party of the counts also experienced a diplomatic defeat at the fourth Lateran Council , Bernard took part in the resistance struggle against the crusaders that was now beginning in 1216. Together with his eldest son he took part in the defense of Toulouse, in which Simon IV. De Montfort fell on June 25, 1218 . Bernard's son-in-law Guy de Montfort was killed in the capture of Castelnaudary in 1220 and four years later his brother Amaury de Montfort gave up the fight after Carcassonne could also be taken.

Bernard IV died a year later and, according to his will, was buried in the Commandery of the Templars at Montsaunès .

Marriages and offspring

Bernard was in his first marriage since 1180 with Beatrix III. (Stephanie), Countess of Bigorre and Vice Countess of Marsan, married from whom he separated after 1192. She was the heir to Count Centulle III. von Bigorre and his wife Martelle des Baux. The only child from this marriage was:

Pétronille (* around 1184; † 1251), Countess of Bigorre and Vice Countess of Marsan and Nébouzan
- ⚭ 1. around 1196 with Vice Count Gaston VI. of Béarn († 1214)
- ⚭ 2. 1215 Nuno Sanchez of Roussillon († 1242). The marriage was annulled a little later by Simon de Montfort.
- ⚭ 3. 1216 Guy de Montfort († fallen in 1220 in Castelnaudary)
- ⚭ 4. 1221 Aymeri de Rançon († died 1226 before Avignon )
- ⚭ 5. 1228 Boso de Matha († 1247), lord of Cognac

In his second marriage, Bernard was married to Comtors, a daughter of Vice Count Arnaud Guillaume von La Barthe, from around 1195. The marriage was divorced a little later. From her came the sons:

Bernard V (1196 - November 30, 1241), successor as Count of Comminges
Arnaud III. Roger († 1260), Bishop of Comminges since 1241

In his third marriage, Bernard married Maria von Montpellier , a daughter of William VIII , Lord of Montpellier , and his wife Eudoxia Komnena ( House of Montpellier ) in 1197 . The marriage was divorced in 1201, and Marie then married King Peter II of Aragon. Bernard and Marie had two daughters:

Mathilde, ⚭ around 1212 Vice Count Sancho III. by La Barthe
Petronille, ⚭ Centulle I , Count of Astarac

Furthermore, Bernard had two daughters from his marriages whose mothers could not be determined.

Delphine, Abbess of L'Esclache
Mascarose

personal data
SURNAME	Bernard IV.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	Count of Comminges
DATE OF BIRTH	12th Century
DATE OF DEATH	February 22, 1225