William III of Aquitaine (c900-963)

Main

Duke of Aquitaine
Count of Poitou
AKA: Guillaume III, Duc d'Aquitaine
962: Abdicated in favor of his son
962: Became monk at Abbaye Saint-Cyprien

William III of Aquitaine, Duke of Aquitaine, Count of Poitiers, was born 900 in Poitiers, France to Ebalus of Aquitaine (c870-935) and Emilienne and died 3 April 963 of unspecified causes. He married Gerloc de Normandie (c912-962) 936 ^JL in France.

Biography

William III called William Towhead (French: Tête d'étoupe, Latin: Caput Stupe) from the colour of his hair, was the "Count of the Duchy of Aquitaine" from 959 and Duke of Aquitaine from 962 to his death. He was also the Count of Poitou (as William I) from 935 and Count of Auvergne from 950.

William was son of Ebalus Manzer^[1] and Emilienne. He was born in Poitiers. He claimed the Duchy of Aquitaine from his father's death, but the royal chancery did not recognise his ducal title until the year before his own death.

Shortly after the death of King Rudolph in 936, he was constrained to cede some land to Hugh the Great by Louis IV. He did it with grace, but his relationship with Hugh thenceforward deteriorated. In 950, Hugh was reconciled with Louis and granted the duchies of Burgundy and Aquitaine. He tried to conquer Aquitaine with Louis's assistance, but William defeated them. Lothair, Louis's successor, feared the power of William. In August 955 he joined Hugh to besiege Poitiers, which resisted successfully. William, however, gave battle and was routed.

After the death of Hugh, his son Hugh Capet was named duke of Aquitaine, but he never tried to take up his fief, as William reconciled with Lothair.

He was given the abbey of Saint-Hilaire-le-Grand, which remained in his house after his death. He also built a library in the palace of Poitiers.

Family

According to the chronicle of Ademar de Chabannes, William's wife was Geirlaug (French: Gerloc, also known as Adèle), a daughter of Rollo of Normandy.^[2] The less reliable Dudo of Saint-Quentin has William rather than Ebles marrying Gerloc, perhaps about 936, in a match that may have been arranged by William I of Normandy.

With Gerloc, William had at least one child whose filiation is clearly attested:

William, his successor in Aquitaine.^[3] He abdicated to the abbey of Saint-Cyprien in Poitiers and left the government to his son.
Adelaide, who married Hugh Capet (c940-996), future King of France.^[4]^[5]}}

Children

Offspring of William III Poitou and Gerloc de Normandie (c912-962)
Name	Birth	Death	Joined with
William IV of Aquitaine (937-994)	937	3 February 994	Emma de Blois (-1003)
Adelaide of Aquitaine (c945-1004)	945	1004	Hugh Capet (c940-996)
Unknown of Aquitaine (?-?)			Gislebert de Roucy (c950-c1000)

Siblings

Offspring of Ebalus of Aquitaine (c870-935) and Emilienne (bef911-)
Name	Birth	Death	Joined with
Ebalus of Aquitaine (?-977)		977
William III of Aquitaine (c900-963)	900 Poitiers, France	3 April 963	Gerloc de Normandie (c912-962)

References

^ ^a ^b Painter 1956, p. 244.
^ Hagger 2017, p. 191.
^ McKitterick 1999, p. 362.
^ According to Bouchard, Adelaide was not from Poitou/Aquitaine. A document from 982, used as "proof" of Adelaide's origins, indicates a sister(Adela) of William IV of Aquitaine marrying a Duke Eblo, which was later altered to state Duke Hugh Capet. Bouchard states the document seems disorganized and that both Duke Eblo and his wife Adela were already dead by 982. Bouchard therefore states Adelaide's ancestry is unknown.
^ Bouchard 2001, p. 114.

Sources

The primary sources for his reign are Ademar of Chabannes, Dudo of Saint-Quentin, and William of Jumièges.
Bouchard, Constance Brittain (2001). Those of My Blood: Creating Noble Families in Medieval Francia. University of Pennsylvania Press.
Hagger, Mark S. (2017). Norman Rule in Normandy, 911-1144. The Boydell Press.
McKitterick, Rosamond (1999). The Frankish Kingdoms under the Carolingians, 751-987. Longman.
Painter, Sidney (1956). "Castellans of the Plain of Poitou in the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries". Speculum 31 (2 Apr): 243–257. DOI:10.2307/2849411.

William III of Aquitaine (c900-963) House of Poitiers Born: 915 Died: 3 April 963
Preceded by Ebalus	Duke of Aquitaine 935–963	Succeeded by William IV
	Count of Poitiers 935–963

Footnotes (including sources)

‡ General

Ω Birth

'"`UNIQ--ref-00000001-QINU`"'

Bergsmit, AMK152, Phlox, Rtol, Thurstan, MainTour

[FOOTNOTEPainter1956244-1] Painter 1956, p. 244.

[FOOTNOTEHagger2017191-2] Hagger 2017, p. 191.

[FOOTNOTEMcKitterick1999362-3] McKitterick 1999, p. 362.

[4] According to Bouchard, Adelaide was not from Poitou/Aquitaine. A document from 982, used as "proof" of Adelaide's origins, indicates a sister(Adela) of William IV of Aquitaine marrying a Duke Eblo, which was later altered to state Duke Hugh Capet. Bouchard states the document seems disorganized and that both Duke Eblo and his wife Adela were already dead by 982. Bouchard therefore states Adelaide's ancestry is unknown.

[FOOTNOTEBouchard2001114-5] Bouchard 2001, p. 114.

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