Roger III (Foix)

Roger III († 1147 or 1148 ) was Count von Foix from 1124 until his death . He was the eldest son of Count Roger II of Foix and his second wife Estefanía of Besalú.

Compensation with the Trencavel

At the beginning of his reign, Count Roger III went. on March 31, 1125 an agreement with the Vice-Count Bernard Aton IV. Trencavel of Carcassonne, which presumably included the final abandonment of the Count of Foix's claim to the property of the Vice-Count, who had granted him through the inheritance of his ancestor Roger the old . Roger's brothers also signed this agreement. In return, Roger was given important positions such as Preixan and Arsens, and he was given back sovereignty over towns such as Mirepoix, Lordat and Dun, which his father had once mortgaged to Trencavel. After Trencavel's death in 1130, the mutual recognition should become a closer alliance between the two houses, since Roger III. and the sons of Trencavel assured each other of arms aid, directed against any aggressor who was to appear against them. An exception should apply to the Counts of Toulouse , since both houses were now dependent on them.

War for Provence

The same years were marked by the conflict between the houses of Barcelona and Toulouse for supremacy in Languedoc. This culminated in an open struggle, which was caused by the succession in the county of Provence . Their heiress Dulcia was with Count Raimund Berengar III. of Barcelona and brought her considerable inheritance into the marriage. But the Counts of Toulouse tried to prevent the ensuing embrace of their territory. The entire nobility of the Languedoc was involved in the following struggle. While the houses of Trencavel and Montpellier took sides for Barcelona, ​​Roger III stood. von Foix on the side of Count Alfons Jourdan of Toulouse , who was his liege lord for large parts of his county. In this war, however, neither side could force a decision, whereupon the Count of Toulouse recognized the Provencal inheritance to Barcelona in 1125. The conflict was supposed to smolder until 1143 and only end after the parties were generally exhausted. Roger III was particularly successful here. as a referee who, as the brother-in-law of the Count of Barcelona, ​​was on good terms with him.

The Count and Emperor of Spain

At the beginning of the 30's, Roger III. like the rest of the nobility of Languedoc, was drawn into the political situation south of the Pyrenees , where King Alfonso VII of Castile was in conflict with his stepfather, King Ramiro II of Aragon . Alfons claimed the throne of Aragon as Ramiro had only one daughter as heir. The Counts of Languedoc acted as mediators between the two parties who were able to resolve the conflict in Zaragoza in 1134 . The Aragonese princess Petronella was later to marry Count Raimund Berengar IV of Barcelona , in return Alfons got the support of the counts for his fight against the Muslims , they were still willing to recognize Alfons as emperor without having to pay homage to him. Roger III was present at the Spanish Emperor's coronation on May 26, 1135 in León .

The last few years

After that, Roger III took care of it. to expand his power in Foix. He built a castle near the Abbey of Lézat-sur-Lèze, which was supposed to protect the abbey against looting by bandits. He was ready to give the abbey a share of sovereign privileges such as jurisdiction and tax revenue. His foundation of the first house of the Templar Order on European soil, the “Ville-Dieu” (City of God), on October 27, 1136 in Nogarède on the Ariège river, was also significant . The foundation of the abbey of Boulbonne , which took place in 1129 and was subordinated to the Bonnefont monastery in 1150 , was just as important . Boulbonne was later to serve as the burial place for the Counts of Foix.

Count Roger III. died between the years 1147 and 1148.

Marriage and offspring

Count Roger III. was married since 1117 to Jimena (Ximene), a daughter of Count Raimund Berengar III. from Barcelona and his first wife María Rodríguez de Vivar. Jimena, a granddaughter of El Cid on her mother's side , was given the county of Osona by her father , but after Jimena's death around 1149 it reverted to the House of Barcelona. The couple's children were:

• Roger Bernard I († November 1188), successor as Count of Foix
• Daughter unknown by name, ⚭ Roger I. de Comminges, Vice Count of Couserans
• Bradimene, ⚭ 1131 Wilhelm d'Aniort (de Niort), Vice Count of Sault
• Dulce (Dulça) (†? December 25, 1209), ⚭ 1157 Ermengol VII. Count of Urgell

Web links

• "Short biography of Roger III. from Foix " (French)

predecessor	Office	successor
Roger ii	Count of Foix 1124–1148	Roger Bernard I.