List of rulers of Provence

The land of Provence has a history quite separate from that of any of the larger nations of Europe. Its independent existence has its origins in the frontier nature of the dukedom in Merovingian Gaul. In this position, influenced and affected by several different cultures on different sides, the Provençals maintained a unity which was reinforced when it was created a separate kingdom in the Carolingian decline of the later ninth century. Provence was eventually joined to the other Burgundian kingdom, but it remained ruled by its own powerful, and largely independent, counts.

Map showing the march and county Provence and the county of Forcalquier as parts of the Kingdom of Arelate in the 12th and 13th century

In the eleventh century, Provence became disputed between the traditional line and the counts of Toulouse, who claimed the title of "Margrave of Provence". In the High Middle Ages, the title of Count of Provence belonged to local families of Frankish origin, to the House of Barcelona, to the House of Anjou and to a cadet branch of the House of Valois. After 1032, the county was part of the Holy Roman Empire. It was inherited by King Louis XI of France in 1481, and definitively incorporated into the French royal domain by his son Charles VIII in 1484.

Merovingian dukes and patricians

During the period of the Merovingian dynasty in Gaul, Provence was a province ruled by duces (dukes), military leaders and district commanders who served as defenders of the frontiers of the kingdom and ruled over vast territories as opposed to the comites (counts), who ruled the cities and their environs. Provence was usually a part of the division of the Frankish realm known as the Kingdom of Burgundy, which was treated as its own kingdom. Their title sometimes appears as rector Provinciae.

This is an incomplete list of the known Merovingian-appointed dukes of Provence.

• Gondulf (fl. c. 491)
• Liberius (until 534), Ostrogothic appointee
• Namatius (bef. 552), Frankish appointee
• Bodegisel (fl. c. 566)
• Adovarius (561–569)
• Lupus (569–570)
• Jovin (570–573)
• Albin (573–575)
• Dinamius (from 575)
• Leudegisel (fl. c. 585), of Burgundian Provence
• Nicetas (from 587)
• Babo (fl. c. 600)
• Aegyla (fl. c. 602)
• Bado (634–641)
• Willibad (641–643), of Burgundian Provence
• Hector (fl. c. 679)
• Nemfidius (fl. c. 700)
• Antenor (fl. c. 697)
• Metrannus (fl. c. 700)
• Maurontus (c. 720 – 739)
• Abbo (fl. c. 739)

Carolingian dukes and margraves

Provence was ruled by a poorly known series of dukes during the period of general Carolingian unity until the Treaty of Verdun (843).

• Leibulf (until c. 829)
• Guerin (c. 829 – 845)
• Fulcrad (845 – c. 860)

Carolingian kings

After the division of the Carolingian Empire by the Treaty of Verdun (843), the first of the fraternal rulers of the three kingdoms to die was Lothair I, who divided his middle kingdom in accordance with the custom of the Franks between his three sons. Out of this division came the Kingdom of Provence, given to Lothair's youngest son, Charles. A heritage of royal rule was thus inaugurated in Provence that, though it was often subsumed into one of its larger neighbouring kingdoms, it was just as often proclaiming its own sovereigns.

The kingdom of Provence was also known as Lower Burgundy (or Cisjurane Burgundy). Its capital was first Vienne then Arles and it is therefore sometimes known as Arelate.

• Charles (855–863)

Provence divided between surviving brothers, Lothair II and the Emperor Louis II. The bulk goes to Louis.

• Louis II (863–875), also Holy Roman Emperor from 855

As with his Kingdom of Italy, Louis's Provence goes to his uncle on his death.

• Charles the Bald (875–877), also Holy Roman Emperor from 875
• Louis the Stammerer (877–879)

With the death of Louis, Charles' successor, Provence refused to elect his two sons and instead elected one of their own as king. Boso married Ermengard, daughter of Louis II, to strengthen his and his son's claim.

• Boso (879–887)
• Louis the Blind (887–928), also Holy Roman Emperor from 901 to 905

Louis's kingdom did not pass to his heirs, but instead to his brother-in-law, the husband of his sister, Hugh, who had acted as his regent since 905. Hugh never used the royal title in Provence.

• Hugh (911–933)

In 933, Provence ceases to be a separate kingdom as Hugh exchanged it with Rudolph II of Upper Burgundy for the Iron Crown of Lombardy, that is, rule of Italy.

Counts and Margraves, within the Empire

In the aftermath of the death of Louis the Blind that Provence began to be ruled by local counts placed under the authority of a margrave. Firstly, Hugh of Arles served as duke and regent during Louis' long blindness. Secondly, Hugh gave the march of Vienne and duchy of Provence to Rudolf II of Burgundy in a treaty of 933. Rudolf was never recognised by the nobles of the country and appointed Hugh, Duke of Burgundy, its first margrave.

At the time, the premier counts in the region were the counts of Arles and those of Avignon. Those who would first bear the title comes Provinciae or "count of Provence" descended from one Rotbold of Arles. William I and Rotbold I did not divide their father's domains and this indivisibility was maintained by their respective descendants. It is thus impossible to ascertain who succeeded whom in the county as various reigns overlap.

By his marriage to Emma of Provence, daughter of Rotbold II, William III, Count of Toulouse inherited lands and castles in Provence. Emma inherited the title Margrave of Provence on her elder brother's death in 1037. Her son Pons by William III did not survive her, but her grandson did and claimed her title in opposition to the younger line of counts of Provence.

Bosonid dynasty

	Name	Born	Reign	Consort	Death	Notes
	William I the Liberator	c.950 Son of Boson II of Arles and Constance of Vienne	961–975	Arsenda of Comminges no children Adelaide-Blanche of Anjou c.984 four children	After 29 August 993	First counts of Provence and brothers, ruled together until 975, when William took the margravial title. and Rotbold took the same title in 993, after William abdication.
			975–993
	Rotbold I	Son of Boson II of Arles and Constance of Vienne	961–993	Emilde two children	1008
			993–1008
Regency of Adelaide-Blanche of Anjou:993–999
	William II the Pious	c.980 Son of William I and Adelaide-Blanche of Anjou	999–1019	Gerberga of Burgundy c.984 four children	4 March 1019	Fell under control of his uncle Rotbold until his death in 1008.
	Rotbold II	c.980 Son of Rotbold I and Emilde	1008–1014	Ermengarde of Burgundy before 1002 three children	1014
	William III	Son of Rotbold II and Ermengarde of Burgundy	1014–1037	Lucie before 1002 three children	1037
	William IV	c.980 Son of William II and Gerberga of Burgundy	1019–1030	Unmarried	1030
	Fulk Bertrand	c.1000 Son of William II and Gerberga of Burgundy	1030–1051	Hildegard two children	27 April 1051	Brothers, ruled jointly after their elder brother's death.
	Geoffrey I	c.1000 Son of William II and Gerberga of Burgundy	1030–1062	Etienette four children	February 1062
After William III's death with no descendants, the line of counts became the sovereign line in Provence, but not uncontested. In fact, through Emma of Provence, who inherited her brother William III's margravial title, her descendants, the counts of Toulouse, claimed Provence for themselves using the title Margrave of Provence, in spite of never having ruled there. 1062–1094 William IV of Toulouse 1094–1105 Raymond IV of Toulouse 1105–1112 Bertrand of Toulouse 1119–1125 Alfonso Jordan of Toulouse
	William Bertrand I	c.1040 Son of Fulk Bertrand and Hildegard	1062–1094	Theresa of Aragon no children Adelaide of Cavenez one child	28 July 1094	Co-ruled as brothers and cousins.
	Geoffrey II	c.1040 Son of Fulk Bertrand and Hildegard	1062–1067	Ermengard no children	28 July 1094
	William Bertrand II	c.1050 Son of Geoffrey I and Etienette	1063–1093	Matilda one child	28 July 1094
	Gerberga	1045/65 Daughter of Geoffrey I and Etienette	1094–1112	Gilbert I of Gévaudan 1073 two children	28 July 1094	Considered a wise ruler.[1] She abdicated in 1112 to her eldest daughter, soon after her marriage to the count of Barcelona.

House of Gévaudan

	Name	Born	Reign	Consort	Death	Notes
	Douce I	c.1090 Daughter of Gilbert I of Gévaudan and Gerberga	1112–1127	Ramon Berenguer III of Barcelona 3 February 1112 Arles five children	1127	Ruled together with her husband, the Catalan Ramon Berenguer III of Barcelona.

Houses of Barcelona (comital) and Toulouse (margravial)

Division of Provence obtained by Alfonso Jordan in 1125

With a lack of interest in the Reconquista on their southern frontier, the Catalans turned towards their origins, the Mediterranean littoral and northwards. They coveted the region between the Cévennes and the Rhône, then under the control of Toulouse. In 1112, the count of Barcelona, Ramon Berenguer III, married the heiress of Provence, Douce, who was the daughter of the Countess Gerberga of Provence, Gévaudan, Carladais, and part of Rodez. The marriage was probably taken at the urging of the church, which was then in conflict with house of Toulouse. In 1076, Count Raymond IV was excommunicated, but he still lent his support to Aicard, the deposed archbishop of Arles (since 1080). With the count away on the First Crusade, the church took the opportunity to seize the balance of power in the region. This marriage effectively put Provence under Catalan control.

To accommodate the longstanding claims of the count of Toulouse, in 1125, Raymond's heir, Alfonso Jordan, signed a treaty whereby his family's traditional claim to the title of "Margrave of Provence" was recognised and the march of Provence was defined as the region north of the lower Durance and on the right of the Rhône, including the castles of Beaucaire, Vallabrègues, and Argence. The region between the Durance, the Rhône, the Alps, and the sea was that of the county and belonged to the house of Barcelona. Avignon, Pont de Sorgues, Caumont and Le Thor remained undivided.

Internally, Provence was racked by uncertainties over rights of succession. Douce and Ramon Berenguer signed all charters jointly until her death in 1127, after which he alone appears as count in all charters until his death in 1131. At that time, Douce's younger sister, Stephanie was married to Raymond of Baux, who promptly laid claim to the inheritance of her mother, even though Provence had peacefully passed into the hands of her nephew, Berenguer Ramon I.

	Name	Born	Reign	Consort	Death	Notes
	Ramon Berenguer I the Great	11 November 1082 Rodez Son of Count Ramon Berenguer II of Barcelona and Gerberga	1112–1131	María Rodríguez de Vivar c.1103 two children Almodis de Mortain c.1106 no children Douce I 3 February 1112 Arles five children	29 January/13 July 1131 Barcelona aged 48	Also Count of Barcelona. Ruled together with his wife, Douce I, Countess of Provence. His reign saw a proliferation of Provençal culture in Catalonia.
	Alfonso Jordan	1103 Tripoli Son of Count Raymond IV of Toulouse and Elvira of Castile	1125–1148	Faydite d'Uzès c.1125 four children	16 August 1148 Caesarea aged 44–45	Also Count of Toulouse. Obtained half of Provence by the division agreement of 1125.
	Berenguer Ramon I	February 1114 Son of Ramon Berenguer I and Douce I	1131–1144	Beatrice of Melgueil c.1135 one child	March 1144 Melgueil aged 30	Younger son of the previous. Took and offensive against Genoa.
Regency of Count Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona:1144–1157
	Ramon Berenguer II	c.1135 Son of Berenguer Ramon I and Beatrice of Melgueil	1157–1166	Richeza of Poland 17 November 1161 one child	March 1166 Nice aged 30–31	In August 1161, he travelled to Turin with his uncle to obtain confirmation of his countship in Provence from the Emperor Frederick I, for Provence was legally a fief of the Holy Roman Empire.
	Raymond I	1134 Tripoli Son of Alfonso Jordan and Faydite d'Uzès	1148–1194	Constance of France c.1154 (annulled 1166) five children	December 1194 Nîmes aged 59–60	Also Count of Toulouse as Raymond V.
	Douce II	c.1162 Daughter of Ramon Berenguer II and Richeza of Poland	1166	Unmarried	1172 Nice aged 9–10	She ruled a few months, as her half brother-in-law, Alfonso II of Aragon, claimed Provence for himself on the basis of the imperial enfeoffment of 1162.
	Alfonso I the Chaste	1/25 March 1157 Huesca Son of Count Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona and Petronilla of Aragon	1166–1173	Sancha of Castile 18 January 1174 Zaragoza nine children	25 April 1196 Perpignan aged 39	Also King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona. In August 1161, he had travelled to Turin with his uncle obtain the confirmation of his countship in Provence from the Emperor Frederick I, for Provence was legally a fief of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1173 gave the County to his younger brother Ramon Berenguer. However, kept the title until his death in 1196.
	Ramon Berenguer III	c.1158 Son of Count Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona and Petronilla of Aragon	1173–1181	Unmarried	5 April 1181 Montpellier aged 22–23	In 1176, he joined his brother Sancho in conquering Nice from Genoa. He was assassinated.
	Sancho	c.1161 Son of Count Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona and Petronilla of Aragon	1181–1185		1223 Montpellier aged 61–62	in 1184, Sancho signed a treaty of alliance with the count of Forcalquier, the count of Toulouse and the Republic of Genoa agreeing to oppose the king of Aragon's efforts to dominate Genoa and to take the city of Marseille from him. Abdicated in 1185.
	Alfonso II	1180 Barcelona Son of Alfonso I and Sancha of Castile	1185–1209	Garsenda, Countess of Forcalquier July 1193 Aix-en-Provence one child	2 February 1209 Palermo aged 28–29	His reign was marked by his conflicts with the count of Forcalquier, to whose granddaughter he was married.
	Raymond II	27 October 1156 Saint-Gilles, Gard Son of Raymond I and Constance of France	1194–1222	Ermessende of Pelet 1172 no children Beatrice of Béziers after 1176 (annulled 1189) one child Joan of England October 1196 Rouen two children A daughter of Isaac Komnenos of Cyprus c.1200 (annulled 1202) no children Eleanor of Aragon January 1204 Perpignan no children	1 August 1222 Toulouse aged 65	Also Count of Toulouse as Raymond VI. Alled with the Cathars, like many of the neighbouring Languedoc states, his domains in Toulouse were challenged by the Albigensian Crusade between 1215 and 1218.
Regency of Garsenda, Countess of Forcalquier:1209–1220
	Ramon Berenguer IV	1198 Son of Alfonso II and Garsenda, Countess of Forcalquier	1220–1245	Beatrice of Savoy 5 June 1219 Aix-en-Provence six children	19 August 1245 Aix-en-Provence aged 46–47	Supporter of the Provençal lyric and culture and the Albigensian Crusade. He also helped his father-in-law in his conflict with Turin and Guigues VI of Viennois. His surviving four daughters all married kings, causing a dispute about his succession.
	Raymond III	July 1197 Beaucaire, Gard Son of Raymond II and Joan of England	1222–1249	Sancha of Aragon March 1211 (annulled 1241) one child Margaret of Lusignan 1243 (annulled 1245) no children	27 September 1249 Toulouse aged 52	Also Count of Toulouse as Raymond VII. Took Carcassonne with Count Roger-Bernard III of Foix, in the Albigensian Crusade.
	Beatrice	1229 Daughter of Ramon Berenguer IV and Beatrice of Savoy	1245–1267	Charles I of Sicily 31 January 1246 Aix-en-Provence seven children	23 September 1267 Nocera Inferiore aged 37–38	Her inheritance caused tense relations with her sisters; Her husband installed his French court in Provence and, after her death, inherited the County.
	Joanna	c.1220 Toulouse Son of Raymond III and Sancha of Aragon	1249–1271	Alphonse of France c.1237 Toulouse no children	25 August 1271 Siena aged 50–51	The war between Louis VIII of France and Languedoc region ended with the Treaty of Meaux (1229), determining the wedding of Joan, the heiress of Toulouse, with Alphonse, prince of France. The lack of descendance of the couple determined the annexation of the County of Toulouse, the Duchy of Narbonne, and the Margraviate of Provence to the Crown of France after their deaths.

Capetian Angevin dynasty

• 1246–1285 Charles I, Count of Anjou, Maine, Provence and Forcalquier (1246), King of Naples, Sicily (1266) and Jerusalem (1277).
• 1285–1309 Charles II of Naples the Lame, King of Naples and (nominal) Jerusalem and Sicily, son of Charles I
• 1309–1343 Robert of Naples the Wise, Duke of Calabria (1296–1309), King of Naples and (nominal) Jerusalem and Sicily (1309), son of Charles II
• 1343–1382 Joan I of Naples, Queen of Naples and (nominal) Jerusalem and Sicily (1343–1381)
• 1349–1362 Louis I of Naples, King of Naples and (nominal) Jerusalem and Sicily, as husband of Joan I of Naples

Queen Joan died heirless, leaving the county to Louis I of Anjou, son of King John II of France the Good, of the House of Valois, and great-great-grandson of Charles II of Naples.

Valois-Anjou dynasty

• 1382–1384 Louis I of Anjou, Count and then Duke of Anjou (1351), Duke of Calabria and Count of Maine (1356), Duke of Touraine (1370), nominal King of Sicily (1382)
• 1384–1417 Louis II of Anjou, Duke of Anjou, Calabria and Touraine, Count of Maine, nominal King of Sicily (1384), Count of Guise (1404), son of Louis I
• 1417–1434 Louis III of Anjou, Duke of Anjou and Touraine, nominal King of Sicily (1417), Duke of Calabria (1424), son of Louis II
• 1434–1480 René I of Naples the Good, Count of Guise (1417–1422), Duke of Lorraine and Bar (1431), King of Naples and (nominal) Sicily and Jerusalem (1434–1442), Duke of Anjou and Touraine (1434), King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona (in dispute, 1466–1472), son of Louis II
• 1480–1481 Charles III (V of Maine), also known as Charles of Maine, Count of Maine and Guise (1472), nephew of René I

Upon his death the heirless Charles du Maine bequeathed the counties of Provence-Forcalquier to King Louis XI of France. From this point, the title of Count of Provence becomes simply one of the many hereditary titles of the French monarchy. The only time the title was used independently following this time was by the future Louis XVIII of France, who was known as the Comte de Provence until the death of his nephew Louis XVII in 1795, when he claimed the French throne.

Governors and grand seneschals, within France

Governors

• 1481–1483 Palamède de Forbin
• 1491–1493 François de Luxembourg

Grand seneschals

• 1480–1481 Pierre de La Jaille (see Château_de_Ranton)
• 1482–1483 Raymond de Glandevès-Faucon
• 1483 Palamède de Forbin
• 1485–1493 Aymar de Poitiers, Count of Valentinois

Governors – grand seneschals

• 1493–1503 Philip of Hachberg-Sausenberg, margrave de Hochberg
• 1504–1513 Louis d'Orléans, Count of Longueville
• 1514 Jean de Poitiers, lord of Saint-Vallier
• 1515–1525 René of Savoy, Count of Tende
• 1525–1566 Claude de Savoie, Count of Tende
• 1566–1572 Honoré de Savoie, Count of Tende

Grand seneschals

• 1572–1582 Jean V de Pontevès, Count of Carcès
• 1582–1610 Gaspard de Pontevès, Count of Carcès
• 1610–1655 Jean de Pontevès, Count of Carcès
• 1655–1662 François de Simiane-Gordes

Governors

• 1572–1573 Gaspard de Saulx-Tavannes
• 1573–1578 Albert de Gondi, comte de Retz
• 1578–1579 François de La Baume, comte de Suze
• 1579–1586 Henri d'Angoulême, called, Henri, bâtard de Valois
• 1586–1594 Jean-Louis de Nogaret, duc d'Épernon
• 1592–1594 Gaspard de Pontevès, comte de Carcès
• 1594–1631 Charles de Lorraine, duc de Guise
• 1631–1637 Nicolas de L'Hôpital, marquis de Vitry
• 1637–1653 Louis-Emmanuel de Valois, comte d'Alais
• 1653–1669 Louis de Bourbon-Vendôme, duc de Mercœur
• 1669–1712 Louis-Joseph de Bourbon, duc de Vendôme
• 1712–1734 Claude-Louis-Hector, duc de Villars
• 1734–1770 Honoré-Armand, duc de Villars
• 1770–1780 Camille-Louis de Lorraine
• 1780–1790 Charles-Just de Beauvau

In 1790, the French Revolution definitively ended the governorship.

See also

• List of consorts of Provence

References

1. Clement, Francois. L' Art De Vérifier Les Dates Des Faits Historiques, Des Chartes, Des Chroniques, Et Autres Anciens Monumens, Depuis La Naissance De Notre-Seigneur, p. 436 (Jombert, 1784).

External links

• GENEALOGY.EU: RULERS OF PROVENCE
• Titles of counts of Provence