Immediately after her accession, Raymond V entered Provence to ensure that the betrothal would be honored. In order to secure his position, he attempted to arrange a marriage with Douce's mother. His efforts came to nothing due to intervention of the young King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona, Alfonso. Alfonso was the first cousin of Douce's father and his closest agnate. He and his council claimed that he had the right to Provence on the basis of Holy Roman EmperorFrederick Barbarossa's enfeoffment of 1162, and consequently he adopted the title Margrave of Provence. In order to gain time, Alfonso wrote to Raymond to tell him that he consented to the planned marriages of both Douce and her mother. Conflict soon ensued, however, and despite initial setbacks, Alfonso prevailed over Raymond. He arrived in Provence by the end of 1166. William VII of Montpellier was the first of Douce's vassals to declare allegiance to him, followed by the rest.[1]
In 1168, Alfonso granted Provence to his brother, Ramon Berenguer III. Douce was thus finally dispossessed of her inheritance, but retained the comital title. She moved to the court of her paternal grandmother, Beatrice, Countess of Melgueil. In April 1172, Beatrice decided that the County of Melgueil should be divided between her daughter, Ermessende of Pelet, and Douce, still betrothed to Raymond of Toulouse. Douce died the same year, however, and all of Melgueil passed to her half-aunt, who also married her fiancé.[1]
Referencesedit
^ abcVíctor Balaguer, Historia de Cataluña y de la Corona de Aragon, vol. II (Barcelona: Salvador Manero, 1861), V, ii, 11–18.
douce, countess, provence, douce, spanish, dulcia, catalan, dolça, 1162, 1172, countess, provence, viscountess, gévaudan, carlat, months, 1166, well, countess, melgueil, some, time, 1172, member, house, barcelona, which, acquired, county, provence, through, ma. Douce II Spanish Dulcia Catalan Dolca c 1162 1172 was Countess of Provence and Viscountess of Gevaudan and Carlat for a few months in 1166 as well as Countess of Melgueil for some time in 1172 She was a member of the House of Barcelona which acquired the County of Provence through the marriage of Douce I to Ramon Berenguer III Count of Barcelona Douce IICountess of ProvenceReign1166PredecessorRamon Berenguer II Count of ProvenceSuccessorAlfonso II of AragonBornc 1162Diedafter April 1172 aged c 10 HouseBarcelonaFatherRamon Berenguer II Count of ProvenceMotherRicheza of Poland Coat of arms of ProvenceLife editDouce was the sole child of the Provencal count Ramon Berenguer II and the Castilian queen dowager Richeza of Poland who married in 1162 In 1165 with the treaty signed in Beaucaire Ramon Berenguer betrothed his infant daughter to Raymond eldest son and heir apparent of Raymond V ruler of the neighbouring County of Toulouse When Ramon Berenguer died trying to conquer Nice in the spring of 1166 Douce inherited the County of Provence 1 Immediately after her accession Raymond V entered Provence to ensure that the betrothal would be honored In order to secure his position he attempted to arrange a marriage with Douce s mother His efforts came to nothing due to intervention of the young King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona Alfonso Alfonso was the first cousin of Douce s father and his closest agnate He and his council claimed that he had the right to Provence on the basis of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa s enfeoffment of 1162 and consequently he adopted the title Margrave of Provence In order to gain time Alfonso wrote to Raymond to tell him that he consented to the planned marriages of both Douce and her mother Conflict soon ensued however and despite initial setbacks Alfonso prevailed over Raymond He arrived in Provence by the end of 1166 William VII of Montpellier was the first of Douce s vassals to declare allegiance to him followed by the rest 1 In 1168 Alfonso granted Provence to his brother Ramon Berenguer III Douce was thus finally dispossessed of her inheritance but retained the comital title She moved to the court of her paternal grandmother Beatrice Countess of Melgueil In April 1172 Beatrice decided that the County of Melgueil should be divided between her daughter Ermessende of Pelet and Douce still betrothed to Raymond of Toulouse Douce died the same year however and all of Melgueil passed to her half aunt who also married her fiance 1 References edit a b c Victor Balaguer Historia de Cataluna y de la Corona de Aragon vol II Barcelona Salvador Manero 1861 V ii 11 18 Preceded byRamon Berenguer II Countess of Provence1166 Succeeded byAlfonso IPreceded byBeatrice Countess of Melgueil1172 With Ermessende Succeeded byErmessendeas sole ruler Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Douce II Countess of Provence amp oldid 1213415647, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
