Raymond VII of Toulouse
Encyclopedia
Raymond VII of Saint-Gilles (July 1197, Beaucaire, Gard – 27 September 1249) was Count of Toulouse
, Duke of Narbonne
and Marquis of Provence from 1222 until his death. He was the son of Raymond VI of Toulouse
and Joan of England
. Through his mother, he was a grandson of Henry II of England
and a nephew of kings Richard I
and John of England
. They had one daughter, Joan, and were divorced in 1241. In 1243 Raymond married Margaret of Lusignan, the daughter of Hugh X of Lusignan
and Isabella of Angoulême
. They had no children and were divorced on 3 August 1245 after an inquisition found their marriage to be consanguineous.
in May of 1216, he set out from Marseille
and besieged Beaucaire, which he captured on 24 August. He fought to reconquer the county of Toulouse from Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester
and later Simon's son Amaury VI of Montfort
.
He succeeded his father in 1222. At the moment of his accession, he and the new count of Foix, Roger Bernard II the Great
, besieged Carcassonne
. On 14 September 1224, the Albigensian Crusade
rs surrendered and the war came to an end, each southern lord making peace with the church. However, in 1225, the council of Bourges
excommunicated
him and launched a crusade against him, the king of France, Louis VIII
, called the Lion, wanting to renew the conflict in order to enforce his royal rights in Languedoc
. Roger-Bernard tried to keep the peace, but the king rejected his embassy and the counts of Foix and Toulouse took up arms again. The war was largely a discontinuous series of skirmishes and, in January 1229, Raymond, defeated, was forced to sign the Treaty of Paris
(also known as the "Treaty of Meaux"), by which he ceded the former viscounty of Trencavel
to the king and his daughter Joan was forced to marry Alphonse
, brother of the new king, Louis the Lion's successor, Louis IX
.
When Raymond died, Alphonse became count of Toulouse, and after Alphonse's death the county was annexed by France
. Raymond VII was buried beside his mother Joan in Fontevrault Abbey.
Counts of Toulouse
The first Counts of Toulouse were the administrators of the city and its environs under the Merovingians. No succession of such royal appointees is known, though a few names survive to the present...
, Duke of Narbonne
Duke of Narbonne
The title Duke of Narbonne was a title employed at various times by the overlords of Narbonne, while the direct power in the city was held by the viscounts...
and Marquis of Provence from 1222 until his death. He was the son of Raymond VI of Toulouse
Raymond VI of Toulouse
Raymond VI was count of Toulouse and marquis of Provence from 1194 to 1222. He was also count of Melgueil from 1173 to 1190.-Early life:...
and Joan of England
Joan of England, Queen of Sicily
Joan of England was the seventh child of Henry II of England and his queen consort, Eleanor of Aquitaine.Joan was a younger maternal half-sister of Marie de Champagne and Alix of France...
. Through his mother, he was a grandson of Henry II of England
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
and a nephew of kings Richard I
Richard I of England
Richard I was King of England from 6 July 1189 until his death. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Lord of Cyprus, Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Count of Nantes, and Overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period...
and John of England
John of England
John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...
Marriages
Raymond VII married firstly, in March 1211, Sancha of Aragon, the daughter of King Alfonso II of AragonAlfonso II of Aragon
Alfonso II or Alfons I ; Huesca, 1-25 March 1157 – 25 April 1196), called the Chaste or the Troubadour, was the King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona from 1164 until his death. He was the son of Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona and Petronilla of Aragon and the first King of Aragon who was...
. They had one daughter, Joan, and were divorced in 1241. In 1243 Raymond married Margaret of Lusignan, the daughter of Hugh X of Lusignan
Hugh X of Lusignan
Hugh X de Lusignan, Hugh V of La Marche or Hugh I of Angoulême or Hugues X & V & I de Lusignan succeeded his father Hugh IX as Seigneur de Lusignan and Count of La Marche in November, 1219 and was Count of Angoulême by marriage.Hugh X de Lusignan was betrothed to marry 12 year-old Isabel of...
and Isabella of Angoulême
Isabella of Angoulême
Isabella of Angoulême was queen consort of England as the second wife of King John from 1200 until John's death in 1216. They had five children by the king including his heir, later Henry III...
. They had no children and were divorced on 3 August 1245 after an inquisition found their marriage to be consanguineous.
Life
During the Albigensian CrusadeAlbigensian Crusade
The Albigensian Crusade or Cathar Crusade was a 20-year military campaign initiated by the Catholic Church to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc...
in May of 1216, he set out from Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
and besieged Beaucaire, which he captured on 24 August. He fought to reconquer the county of Toulouse from Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester
Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester
Simon IV de Montfort, Seigneur de Montfort-l'Amaury, 5th Earl of Leicester , also known as Simon de Montfort the elder, was a French nobleman who took part in the Fourth Crusade and was a prominent leader of the Albigensian Crusade...
and later Simon's son Amaury VI of Montfort
Amaury VI of Montfort
Amaury VI de Montfort was the son of the elder Simon de Montfort and Alice of Montmorency, and the brother of the younger Simon de Montfort.He participated in the Albigensian Crusade under his father's command...
.
He succeeded his father in 1222. At the moment of his accession, he and the new count of Foix, Roger Bernard II the Great
Roger-Bernard II of Foix
Roger Bernard II , called the Great, was the sixth count of Foix from 1223 until his death. He was the son and successor of the illustrious count Raymond-Roger and his wife Philippa of Montcada....
, besieged Carcassonne
Carcassonne
Carcassonne is a fortified French town in the Aude department, of which it is the prefecture, in the former province of Languedoc.It is divided into the fortified Cité de Carcassonne and the more expansive lower city, the ville basse. Carcassone was founded by the Visigoths in the fifth century,...
. On 14 September 1224, the Albigensian Crusade
Albigensian Crusade
The Albigensian Crusade or Cathar Crusade was a 20-year military campaign initiated by the Catholic Church to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc...
rs surrendered and the war came to an end, each southern lord making peace with the church. However, in 1225, the council of Bourges
Council of Bourges
The Council of Bourges was a Catholic council convened in November 1225 in Bourges, France; it was the second largest church assembly held in the West up to that time, exceeded in the numbers of prelates that attended only by the Fourth Lateran Council...
excommunicated
Excommunication
Excommunication is a religious censure used to deprive, suspend or limit membership in a religious community. The word means putting [someone] out of communion. In some religions, excommunication includes spiritual condemnation of the member or group...
him and launched a crusade against him, the king of France, Louis VIII
Louis VIII of France
Louis VIII the Lion reigned as King of France from 1223 to 1226. He was a member of the House of Capet. Louis VIII was born in Paris, France, the son of Philip II Augustus and Isabelle of Hainaut. He was also Count of Artois, inheriting the county from his mother, from 1190–1226...
, called the Lion, wanting to renew the conflict in order to enforce his royal rights in Languedoc
Languedoc
Languedoc is a former province of France, now continued in the modern-day régions of Languedoc-Roussillon and Midi-Pyrénées in the south of France, and whose capital city was Toulouse, now in Midi-Pyrénées. It had an area of approximately 42,700 km² .-Geographical Extent:The traditional...
. Roger-Bernard tried to keep the peace, but the king rejected his embassy and the counts of Foix and Toulouse took up arms again. The war was largely a discontinuous series of skirmishes and, in January 1229, Raymond, defeated, was forced to sign the Treaty of Paris
Treaty of Paris (1229)
The Treaty of Paris was signed on April 12, 1229 between Raymond VII of Toulouse and Louis IX of France. Louis was still a minor and it was his mother Blanche of Castile who had been responsible for the treaty. The agreement officially ended the Albigensian Crusade in which Raymond conceded defeat...
(also known as the "Treaty of Meaux"), by which he ceded the former viscounty of Trencavel
Trencavel
The Trencavel were an important noble family in Languedoc during the 10th through 13th centuries. The name "Trencavel," originally a nickname and later a family name, may derive from the Occitan words for "nutcracker"...
to the king and his daughter Joan was forced to marry Alphonse
Alphonse of Toulouse
Alfonso or Alphonse was the Count of Poitou from 1225 and Count of Toulouse from 1247.-Life:...
, brother of the new king, Louis the Lion's successor, Louis IX
Louis IX of France
Louis IX , commonly Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death. He was also styled Louis II, Count of Artois from 1226 to 1237. Born at Poissy, near Paris, he was an eighth-generation descendant of Hugh Capet, and thus a member of the House of Capet, and the son of Louis VIII and...
.
When Raymond died, Alphonse became count of Toulouse, and after Alphonse's death the county was annexed by France
Philip III of France
Philip III , called the Bold , was the King of France, succeeding his father, Louis IX, and reigning from 1270 to 1285. He was a member of the House of Capet.-Biography:...
. Raymond VII was buried beside his mother Joan in Fontevrault Abbey.
Ancestry
Sources
- Macé, Laurent. "Raymond VII of Toulouse: The Son of Queen Joanne, 'Young Count' and Light of the World." The World of Eleanor of Aquitaine: Literature and Society in Southern France between the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries, edd. Marcus Bull and Catherine Léglu. Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2005. ISBN 1 84383 114 7.