Centulle IV (Béarn)

Centulle IV. , Nicknamed le Vieux (the old man), was the seventh Vice Count of Béarn in south-west France ( Pyrénées-Atlantiques ) from 1022 until his death in 1058 .

Life

Centulle IV's father was Gaston II , Vice-Count of Béarn . When his father died in 1012, Centulle was still a minor. A regent was therefore installed for him until he came of age in 1022. His mother's name is not known.

Centulle endeavored to maintain good relations with the Catholic Church. So in 1022 he laid the foundation stone of the Abbey of Saint-Pé-de-Bigorre , which is located on the border between the Béarn and Bigorre . His liege lord Sancho VI. Gascony made him the defensor (defender) of the abbey and the lands of St. Peter in Gascon and in Béarn.

Obviously he was able to increase the power of the Béarn by marrying Angèle de Gascogne , Vice Countess of Oloron - she brought the neighboring Vice Countess of Oloron into the marriage. Angèle de Gascogne was the heir to Aner II Loup de Gascogne , the vice-count of Oloron. Centulle also gained the Aspe , Ossau and Barétous valleys between the Oloron and Navarrenx rivers .

It appears that Centulle had his son Gaston III. introduced to the successor quite early on, but he had already died around 1045 (1053 is also given as the year of death).

Centulle IV fought the neighboring vice counts of Dax and von Soule and had the vice count of Dax, Arnaud II , killed in 1050.

Centulle IV. Died in 1058 in an ambush by the troops from Soule. He was followed by his grandson Centulle V as Vice Count of Béarn.

progeny

Three sons are known from his marriage to the Vice Countess of Oloron Angèle de Gascogne:

• Gaston III, the designated successor
• Raimond Centulle
• Auriol Centulle, Lord of Clarac , Igon , Baudreix , Boeil and Auga .

literature

• Pierre Tucoo-Chala: Quand l'Islam était aux portes des Pyrénées . J&D Editions, Biarritz 1994, ISBN 2-84127-022-X .

predecessor	Office	successor
Gaston II.	Vice Count of Béarn 1022-1058	Centulle V.