Ramon Berenguer IV (1198 – 19 August 1245), Count of Provence and Forcalquier, was the son of Alfonso II of Provence and Garsenda de Sabran, heiress of Forcalquier.
He was the first Count of Provence to live in the county in more than one hundred years.[1]
After his father's death (1209), Ramon was imprisoned in the castle of Monzón, in Aragon until he was able to escape in 1219 and claim his inheritance. He was a powerful and energetic ruler who addedForcalquier to his domain.
He 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.[2]
Ramon had many border disputes with his neighbors, the Counts of Toulouse. While the Albigensian Crusade worked in his favor, Ramon was concerned that its resolution in the Treaty of Paris left him in a precarious position. When Blanche of Castile sent her knight to both Toulouse and Provence in 1233, Ramon 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 had to get contributions from allies for a portion, and had to pledge several of his castles to cover the rest. Ramon 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 from Savoy, William and Thomas[3]
On 5 June 1219, Ramon married Beatrice of Savoy, daughter of Thomas I of Savoy. She was a shrewd and politically astute woman, whose beauty was likened by Matthew Paris to that of a second Niobe. Their children included four daughters, all of whom married kings.
- stillborn son (1220)
- Margaret of Provence (1221–1295), wife of Louis IX of France
- Eleanor of Provence (1223–1291), wife of Henry III of England
- stillborn son (1225)
- Sanchia of Provence (1228–1261), wife of Richard, 1st Earl of Cornwall
- Beatrice of Provence (1231–1267), wife of Charles I of Sicily
His daughters were all educated and literate.[4]
Ramon Berenguer IV died in Aix-en-Provence. At least two planhs (Occitan funeral laments) of uncertain authorship (one possibly by Aimeric de Peguilhan and one falsely attributed to Rigaut de Berbezilh) were written in his honour.
Giovanni Villani in his Nuova Cronica had this to say about Raymond:
*Raymond was a member of the House of Barcelona although his county was in France. Raymond was the grandfather of Edward the first of England.
LINKS
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramon_Berenguer_IV,_Count_of_Provencehttp://alturl.com/mf3u3
Raymond Bérenger IV, comte de Provence is my 25th great grandfather.
You
→ Mom
your mother → Pvt. Garnett Hancock, WWII Veteran
her father → Burrell H Hancock
his father → Samuel Austin Hancock
his father → Peter Hancock, CSA Soldier
his father → Mary Elizabeth Witt Hancock
his mother → William Witt
her father → Jane Witt
his mother → Sarah Harbour
her mother → John Witt, Il
her father → Ann Witt
his mother → Walter Daux
her father → Richard Daux
his father → Henry Daux
his father → Mary Dykes
his mother → Henry Radcliffe, 2nd Earl of Sussex
her father → Elizabeth Radcliffe, Countess of Sussex
his mother → Henry Stafford, 2nd Duke of Buckingham
her father → Humphrey Stafford, Earl Stafford
his father → Anne Neville, Duchess of Buckingham
his mother → Joan Beaufort, Countess of Westmorland
her mother → John of Gaunt, 1st Duke of Lancaster
her father → Edward III of England
his father → Edward II of England
his father → Edward I "Longshanks", King of England
his father → Eleanor of Provence, Queen consort of England
his mother → Raymond Bérenger IV, comte de Provence
her father
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