William II (Catalan: Guillem II: died 1066/1070) was the Count of Besalú from 1052 until his death, co-reigning for a time with his brother, Bernard II. He is described as having an "angry and violent character",[1] a "notoriously irascible" man.[2] According to the twelfth-century Deeds of the Counts of Barcelona, he was nicknamed Trunnus (Catalan el Tro) because he wore a false nose, having presumably lost his nose in battle.[3]
William was the eldest son and successor of William I "the Fat" and Adelaide. He married Stephanie, daughter of Count Geoffrey I of Provence. He had a son, Bernard III, and a daughter, Stephanie, who married Count Roger II of Foix.
William's reign was characterised by conflict with the church. He had to cede Bàscara to the bishopric of Girona. He associated his brother Bernard II, later his successor, with him as co-count. He was assassinated sometime between 1066 and 1070, and suspicion fell on his brother, who nonetheless succeeded to the county unopposed.[3]
Relations with Barcelonaedit
Between 1054 and 1057, William formed an important alliance with Count Raymond Berengar I of Barcelona. This was probably initiated by Raymond, who was in a conflict with his influential grandmother, Ermessenda, and need allies.[4]
On 11 September 1054, William attended a placitum (public court) in Barcelona. There he commended himself and swore an oath of fealty to Raymond, becoming his vassal for Besalú. This was supplemented by a written convention (convenientia) and three ancillary charters, in which William promised aid to Raymond and turned over the double castle of Finestres and the castle of Colltort, which had been granted to William's father by Raymond's father, Berengar Raymond I. William also promised that if he was wronged by anyone from the Raymond's counties of Barcelona, Girona or Osona, he would not take revenge, but would submit a complaint to Raymond and give him three months to obtain a judicial resolution. For this agreement to respect the peace of Raymond's counties, William pledged the castle of Finestres and La Guàrdia, with the castellans of the two castles standing as sureties to the agreement.[4]
To seal the new alliance between Besalú and Barcelona, William agreed to marry Raymond Berengar's sister-in-law, Llúcia, daughter of Count Bernard I of La Marche. On 11 December 1054, William signed a scriptura dotis, a charter granting a dower to Llúcia. In accordance with the Liber iudiciorum, the Visigothic law still in effect in Catalonia, he granted Llúcia one tenth of all his possessions. That same day he also made what he called a scriptura donationis causa sponsalitii, a donation on the occasion of his betrothal, granting Llúcia the counties of Berga and Ripoll and all that pertained to them. This marriage never came to fruition.[4]
In 1057, William and Raymond came to another agreement. This time William placed the castle of Colltort in pledge.[5]
Benito i Monclús, Pere; Taylor, Nathaniel L.; Kosto, Adam J. (1996). "Three Typological Approaches to Catalonian Archival Evidence, 10–12th Centuries". Anuario de Estudios Medievales. 26 (1): 43–88. doi:10.3989/aem.1996.v26.i1.687.
Kosto, Adam J. (2001). Making Agreements in Medieval Catalonia: Power, Order, and the Written Word, 1000–1200. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Valls i Taberner, Ferran; Soldevila, Ferran (2002). Història de Catalunya. L'Abadia de Montserrat. ISBN978-84-8415-434-1.
October 30, 2023
william, count, besalú, william, catalan, guillem, died, 1066, 1070, count, besalú, from, 1052, until, death, reigning, time, with, brother, bernard, described, having, angry, violent, character, notoriously, irascible, according, twelfth, century, deeds, coun. William II Catalan Guillem II died 1066 1070 was the Count of Besalu from 1052 until his death co reigning for a time with his brother Bernard II He is described as having an angry and violent character 1 a notoriously irascible man 2 According to the twelfth century Deeds of the Counts of Barcelona he was nicknamed Trunnus Catalan el Tro because he wore a false nose having presumably lost his nose in battle 3 William was the eldest son and successor of William I the Fat and Adelaide He married Stephanie daughter of Count Geoffrey I of Provence He had a son Bernard III and a daughter Stephanie who married Count Roger II of Foix William s reign was characterised by conflict with the church He had to cede Bascara to the bishopric of Girona He associated his brother Bernard II later his successor with him as co count He was assassinated sometime between 1066 and 1070 and suspicion fell on his brother who nonetheless succeeded to the county unopposed 3 Relations with Barcelona editBetween 1054 and 1057 William formed an important alliance with Count Raymond Berengar I of Barcelona This was probably initiated by Raymond who was in a conflict with his influential grandmother Ermessenda and need allies 4 On 11 September 1054 William attended a placitum public court in Barcelona There he commended himself and swore an oath of fealty to Raymond becoming his vassal for Besalu This was supplemented by a written convention convenientia and three ancillary charters in which William promised aid to Raymond and turned over the double castle of Finestres and the castle of Colltort which had been granted to William s father by Raymond s father Berengar Raymond I William also promised that if he was wronged by anyone from the Raymond s counties of Barcelona Girona or Osona he would not take revenge but would submit a complaint to Raymond and give him three months to obtain a judicial resolution For this agreement to respect the peace of Raymond s counties William pledged the castle of Finestres and La Guardia with the castellans of the two castles standing as sureties to the agreement 4 To seal the new alliance between Besalu and Barcelona William agreed to marry Raymond Berengar s sister in law Llucia daughter of Count Bernard I of La Marche On 11 December 1054 William signed a scriptura dotis a charter granting a dower to Llucia In accordance with the Liber iudiciorum the Visigothic law still in effect in Catalonia he granted Llucia one tenth of all his possessions That same day he also made what he called a scriptura donationis causa sponsalitii a donation on the occasion of his betrothal granting Llucia the counties of Berga and Ripoll and all that pertained to them This marriage never came to fruition 4 In 1057 William and Raymond came to another agreement This time William placed the castle of Colltort in pledge 5 Preceded byWilliam I Count of Besalu1052 1066 70 Succeeded byBernard IINotes edit Valls i Taberner amp Soldevila 2002 p 99 iracund i violent de caracter Kosto 2001 pp 170 71 a b Benito i Monclus Taylor amp Kosto 1996 pp 62 68 a b c Kosto 2001 pp 170 72 Kosto 2001 p 126 Sources editBenito i Monclus Pere Taylor Nathaniel L Kosto Adam J 1996 Three Typological Approaches to Catalonian Archival Evidence 10 12th Centuries Anuario de Estudios Medievales 26 1 43 88 doi 10 3989 aem 1996 v26 i1 687 Kosto Adam J 2001 Making Agreements in Medieval Catalonia Power Order and the Written Word 1000 1200 Cambridge Cambridge University Press Valls i Taberner Ferran Soldevila Ferran 2002 Historia de Catalunya L Abadia de Montserrat ISBN 978 84 8415 434 1 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title William II Count of Besalu amp oldid 1008253809, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
