Counts of Toulouse
Encyclopedia
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. With the Carolingians, the appointments of both counts and dukes become more regular and better-known, though the office soon fell out of the orbit of the royal court and became hereditary.
The hereditary Counts of Toulouse ruled the city of Toulouse
and its surrounding county from the late 9th century until 1270. The counts and other family members were also at various times Counts of Quercy
, Rouergue
, Albi, and Nîmes
, and Margraves of Gothia
and Provence
. Also, Raymond IV founded the Crusader state of Tripoli
, and his descendants were counts there.
As a successor state for the Visigothic Kingdom
, Tolouse, along with Aquitania
and Languedoc
), inherited the Visigothic Law and Roman Law which had combined to allow women more rights than their contemporaries would enjoy until the 20th century. Particularly with the Liber Judiciorum
as codified 642/643 and expanded on in the Code of Recceswinth in 653, women could inherit land and title and manage it independently from their husbands or male relations, dispose of their property in legal wills if they had no heirs, and women could represent themselves and bear witness in court by age 14 and arrange for their own marriages by age 20. As a consequence, male-preference primogeniture
was the practiced succession law for the nobility.
At that point Toulouse passed to the Crown of France, by the terms of the Treaty of Meaux
, 1229.
House of Bourbon
In 1681, Toulouse was resurrected as a royal appanage
by Louis XIV.
He was an illegitimate son of Louis and his longest serving mistress Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan
.
(1744-1811), of Spring House, Bansha
, of the princely House of Carbery
of the Irish Eóganachta
dynasty, was made Count de MacCarthy Reagh of Toulouse by Louis XVI
. He was succeeded in the title by his son, Robert Joseph MacCarthy Reagh (1770-1827), Aide de Camp to the Prince de Conti. His son in turn, Justin-Marie-Laurent-Robert (1811-1861) succeeded as the 3rd Count de MacCarthy of Toulouse. The 4th and final Count de MacCarthy was Nicolas-Francois-Joseph (1833-1906), first cousin of the 3rd Count. The male line then became extinct on the death without issue of Count Nicolas-François-Joseph.
The hereditary Counts of Toulouse ruled the city of Toulouse
Toulouse
Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...
and its surrounding county from the late 9th century until 1270. The counts and other family members were also at various times Counts of Quercy
Quercy
Quercy is a former province of France located in the country's southwest, bounded on the north by Limousin, on the west by Périgord and Agenais, on the south by Gascony and Languedoc, and on the east by Rouergue and Auvergne....
, Rouergue
Rouergue
Rouergue is a former province of France, bounded on the north by Auvergne, on the south and southwest by Languedoc, on the east by Gévaudan and on the west by Quercy...
, Albi, and Nîmes
Nîmes
Nîmes is the capital of the Gard department in the Languedoc-Roussillon region in southern France. Nîmes has a rich history, dating back to the Roman Empire, and is a popular tourist destination.-History:...
, and Margraves of Gothia
Septimania
Septimania was the western region of the Roman province of Gallia Narbonensis that passed under the control of the Visigoths in 462, when Septimania was ceded to their king, Theodoric II. Under the Visigoths it was known as simply Gallia or Narbonensis. It corresponded roughly with the modern...
and Provence
Provence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
. Also, Raymond IV founded the Crusader state of Tripoli
County of Tripoli
The County of Tripoli was the last Crusader state founded in the Levant, located in what today are parts of western Syria and northern Lebanon, where exists the modern city of Tripoli. The Crusader state was captured and created by Christian forces in 1109, originally held by Bertrand of Toulouse...
, and his descendants were counts there.
As a successor state for the Visigothic Kingdom
Visigothic Kingdom
The Visigothic Kingdom was a kingdom which occupied southwestern France and the Iberian Peninsula from the 5th to 8th century AD. One of the Germanic successor states to the Western Roman Empire, it was originally created by the settlement of the Visigoths under King Wallia in the province of...
, Tolouse, along with Aquitania
Occitania
Occitania , also sometimes lo País d'Òc, "the Oc Country"), is the region in southern Europe where Occitan was historically the main language spoken, and where it is sometimes still used, for the most part as a second language...
and 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...
), inherited the Visigothic Law and Roman Law which had combined to allow women more rights than their contemporaries would enjoy until the 20th century. Particularly with the Liber Judiciorum
Visigothic Code
The Visigothic Code comprises a set of laws promulgated by the Visigothic king of Hispania, Chindasuinth in his second year...
as codified 642/643 and expanded on in the Code of Recceswinth in 653, women could inherit land and title and manage it independently from their husbands or male relations, dispose of their property in legal wills if they had no heirs, and women could represent themselves and bear witness in court by age 14 and arrange for their own marriages by age 20. As a consequence, male-preference primogeniture
Primogeniture
Primogeniture is the right, by law or custom, of the firstborn to inherit the entire estate, to the exclusion of younger siblings . Historically, the term implied male primogeniture, to the exclusion of females...
was the practiced succession law for the nobility.
Royal appointments
- floruitFloruitFloruit , abbreviated fl. , is a Latin verb meaning "flourished", denoting the period of time during which something was active...
587 AustrovaldAustrovaldAustrovald, Astrobald, and Austrevald was the Duke of Aquitaine from 587.Austrovald was probably a count of Toulouse until that year, when he was appointed to succeeded the dux Desiderius in Aquitaine, by King Guntram.... - floruit 660 FelixFelix of AquitaineFelix was a patrician of Toulouse Duke of Aquitaine from 660 until his death. He had his seat at Toulouse and he is considered the first independent Duke of Aquitaine, i.e. formally vassal of the Franks but detached de facto from the Frankish central power base. He united under his rule the...
- 778–790 TorsonTorson of ToulouseTorson was the first count of Toulouse ....
- 790–806 William IWilliam of GelloneSaint William of Gellone was the second Count of Toulouse from 790 until his replacement in 811. His Occitan name is Guilhem, and he is known in French as Guillaume d'Orange, Guillaume Fierabrace, and the Marquis au court nez.He is the hero of the Chanson de Guillaume, an early chanson de geste,...
- 806–816 BeggoBeggo of ParisBeggo was the son of Gerard I of Paris and Rotrude, daughter of Carloman, son of Charles Martel. He was appointed Count of Toulouse, Duke of Septimania, Duke of Aquitaine, and Margrave of the Hispanic March in 806 and followed his father as Count of Paris in 815.In 806, William of Gellone...
- Raymond Raphinel (811–818), his relation to the preceding and succeeding counts is unknown
- 816–835 Berengar
- 835–842 Bernard I
- 842–843 AcfredAcfred of ToulouseAcfred was the Count of Toulouse from 842 to 843. When Charles the Bald deposed Bernard of Septimania in 842, he installed Acfred in Toulouse in July. The next year, however, Bernard, allied with Pepin II of Aquitaine, expelled Acfred. He never regained his county...
Senior branch
- 844–852 FredelonFredelon of ToulouseFredelon, Freddon, or Fredol was the first Count of Toulouse of the dynasty of Rouergue.Son of Fulcoald of Rouergue and Senegund, daughter of Alda, sister of William of Gellone, Fredeon was related to the families of the counts of Rouergue and Toulouse.In 840, Fulcoald died, but Fredelon was not...
- 844–849 William IIWilliam of SeptimaniaWilliam of Septimania was the son of Bernard and Dhuoda. He was the Count of Toulouse from 844 and Count of Barcelona from 848....
, successfully opposed Fredelon
- 844–849 William II
- 852–863 Raymond IRaymond I of ToulouseRaymond I was the Count of Limoges , Rouergue and Quercy , and Toulouse and Albi . He was the younger son of Fulcoald of Rouergue and Senegund, niece of William of Gellone through his sister Alda....
- 863–865 HumfridHumfridHumfrid was the Count of Barcelona, Girona, Empúries, Roussillon, and Narbonne from 858 to 864. He also bore the title Margrave of Gothia , as he held several frontier counties....
, deposed Raymond- 863–865 Sunifred, appointed to oppose Humfrid
- 865–877 Bernard IIBernard II of ToulouseBernard II , called the Calf, was the Count of Toulouse, Rouergue, Limoges, Nîmes, Carcassonne, Razès, and Albi. He was the son of Raymond I and Bertha. The dates of his reign are disputed: either 865–877 or 864–872....
- 877–886 Bernard IIIBernard PlantapilosaBernard Plantapilosa , or Plantevelue, son of Bernard of Septimania and Dhuoda, was the Count of Auvergne from 872 to his death. The Emperor Charles the Fat granted him the title of Margrave of Aquitaine in 885....
- 886–918 OdoOdo of ToulouseOdo was the Count of Toulouse from 872 to 918 or 919, when he died.He was a son of Raymond I of Toulouse and Bertha or of Bernard II of Toulouse....
- 918–924 Raymond IIRaymond II of ToulouseRaymond II was the Count of Toulouse, Nîmes, and Albi. He was the, probably elder, son of Odo of Toulouse and Garsenda.In 886, at the death of Bernard the Calf, he succeeded to the comital title in Nîmes and Albi while Odo his father received the county of Toulouse. In 898, his father made him...
- 924–950 Raymond PonsRaymond Pons of ToulouseRaymond Pons was the Count of Toulouse from 924. He was the last head of his house to rule in Toulouse before the power passed to his cousins the counts of Rouergue....
, traditionally called Raymond III
-
- It had long been thought that he was succeeded directly by William III. However, recent research suggests adding at least one and probably three previously overlooked counts. That two were named Raymond has resulted in conflicting numbering systems, but most historians continue to use the traditional numbering for later Raymonds.
- 950–961 Raymond III (or IV)Raymond III of ToulouseRaymond III was the Count of Toulouse, Nîmes, and Albi. He was the son of Raymond Pons and Garsenda, daughter of García II of Gascony....
- 961–972 HughHugh of ToulouseHugh was probably the Count of Toulouse, Nîmes, Quercy, and Albi from 961 to his death or sometime before. He was the son of Raymond III of Toulouse and probably grandson of Raymond Pons....
- 972–978 Raymond IV (or V)
- 978–1037 William IIIWilliam III of ToulouseWilliam III Taillefer was the Count of Toulouse, Albi, and Quercy from 972 or 978 to his death. He was the first of the Toulousain branch of his family to bear the title marchio, which he inherited from Raymond II of Rouergue.His parentage has been subject to reevaluation...
- 1037–1061 PonsPons of ToulousePons William was the Count of Toulouse from 1037. He was the eldest son and successor of William III Taillefer and Emma of Provence. He thus inherited the title marchio Provincæ. He is known to have owned many allods and he relied on Roman, Salic, and Gothic law.Already in 1030, he possessed a...
- 1061–1094 William IVWilliam IV of ToulouseWilliam IV of Toulouse was Count of Toulouse, Margrave of Provence, and Duke of Narbonne from 1061 to 1094. He succeeded his father Pons of Toulouse upon his death in 1061. His mother was Almodis de la Marche, but she was kidnapped by and subsequently married to Ramon Berenguer I, Count of...
- 1094–1105 Philippa Maude, Duchess of the Aquitaine
- 1094–1098 Raymond IVRaymond IV of ToulouseRaymond IV of Toulouse , sometimes called Raymond of St Gilles, was Count of Toulouse, Duke of Narbonne, and Margrave of Provence and one of the leaders of the First Crusade. He was a son of Pons of Toulouse and Almodis de La Marche...
de Saint Gilles, Maude's paternal uncle, usurpsUsurperUsurper is a derogatory term used to describe either an illegitimate or controversial claimant to the power; often, but not always in a monarchy, or a person who succeeds in establishing himself as a monarch without inheriting the throne, or any other person exercising authority unconstitutionally...
the County of Toulouse on the death of William IV. While Raymond IV was on Crusade, Philippa and her powerful husband William IX, Duke of Aquitaine reclaims Toulouse for Phillipa in 1098.
- 1094–1098 Raymond IV
- 950–961 Raymond III (or IV)
- It had long been thought that he was succeeded directly by William III. However, recent research suggests adding at least one and probably three previously overlooked counts. That two were named Raymond has resulted in conflicting numbering systems, but most historians continue to use the traditional numbering for later Raymonds.
Junior branch
- 1105–1112 BertrandBertrand of ToulouseBertrand of Toulouse was count of Toulouse, and was the first count of Tripoli to rule in Tripoli itself....
Toulouse was mortgaged to Bertrand, a cousin of Phillipa. Thereafter the county was vested to Bertrand's heirs - 1112–1148 Alfonso JordanAlphonse I of ToulouseAlfonso Jordan was the Count of Tripoli from 1105 until 1109 and thereafter Count of Toulouse until his death. He was the son of Raymond IV of Toulouse by his third wife, Elvira of Castile, was born in the castle of Mont-Pelerin, Tripoli, in today's Lebanon...
- 1148–1194 Raymond VRaymond V of ToulouseRaymond V was count of Toulouse from 1148 until his death in 1194.He was the son of Alphonse-Jordan. When Alphonse died in the Holy Land in 1148, the county of Toulouse passed to his son Raymond, at the time 14 years old....
- 1194–1222 Raymond VIRaymond VI of ToulouseRaymond 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:...
- 1222–1249 Raymond VIIRaymond VII of ToulouseRaymond VII of Saint-Gilles 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...
- 1249–1271 JoanJoan, Countess of ToulouseJoan was Countess of Toulouse from 1249 through 1271. Her father was Raymond VII, Count of Toulouse. She married Alfonso, Count of Poitou in 1237 as the Treaty of Paris had stipulated she marry a brother to King Louis. On her father's death she became the countess....
- married Alfonso of PoitouAlphonse of ToulouseAlfonso or Alphonse was the Count of Poitou from 1225 and Count of Toulouse from 1247.-Life:...
- married Alfonso of Poitou
At that point Toulouse passed to the Crown of France, by the terms of the Treaty of Meaux
Treaty of Paris
Treaty of Paris could refer to a number of treaties which have been negotiated and signed in Paris, France, including:*Treaty of Paris , ended the Albigensian Crusade*Treaty of Paris , between Henry III of England and Louis IX of France...
, 1229.
House of BourbonHouse of BourbonThe House of Bourbon is a European royal house, a branch of the Capetian dynasty . Bourbon kings first ruled Navarre and France in the 16th century. By the 18th century, members of the Bourbon dynasty also held thrones in Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Parma...
In 1681, Toulouse was resurrected as a royal appanageAppanage
An apanage or appanage or is the grant of an estate, titles, offices, or other things of value to the younger male children of a sovereign, who would otherwise have no inheritance under the system of primogeniture...
by Louis XIV.
- 1681–1737 Louis-AlexandreLouis-Alexandre de Bourbon, Comte de ToulouseLouis Alexandre de Bourbon, comte de Toulouse , duc de Penthièvre , d'Arc, de Châteauvillain and de Rambouillet , , was the son of Louis XIV and of his mistress Madame de Montespan...
He was an illegitimate son of Louis and his longest serving mistress Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan
Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan
Françoise Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart, marquise of Montespan , better known as Madame de Montespan, was the most celebrated maîtresse en titre of King Louis XIV of France, by whom she had seven children....
.
MacCarthy Reagh of Toulouse
In 1776, Justin MacCarthy ReaghMacCarthy Reagh
The MacCarthy Reagh dynasty are a branch of the great MacCarthy dynasty, Kings of Desmond, deriving from the ancient Eóganachta, of the central Eóganacht Chaisil sept. The MacCarthys Reagh seated themselves as Princes of Carbery in what is now southwestern County Cork in the 13th century...
(1744-1811), of Spring House, Bansha
Bansha
Bansha is a village in the barony of Clanwilliam, South Tipperary in Ireland. The village is part of the parish of "Bansha and Kilmoyler" in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cashel and Emly. Bansha is co-extensive with the pre-Reformation parish of Templeneiry of which the townland name of...
, of the princely House of Carbery
Barony of Carbery
Carbery, or the Barony of Carbery, was once the largest barony in Ireland, and essentially a small, semi-independent kingdom on the southwestern coast of Munster, in what is now County Cork, from its founding in the 1230s by Donal Gott MacCarthy to its gradual decline in the late 16th and early...
of the Irish Eóganachta
Eóganachta
The Eóganachta or Eoghanachta were an Irish dynasty centred around Cashel which dominated southern Ireland from the 6/7th to the 10th centuries, and following that, in a restricted form, the Kingdom of Desmond, and its offshoot Carbery, well into the 16th century...
dynasty, was made Count de MacCarthy Reagh of Toulouse by Louis XVI
Louis XVI of France
Louis XVI was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre until 1791, and then as King of the French from 1791 to 1792, before being executed in 1793....
. He was succeeded in the title by his son, Robert Joseph MacCarthy Reagh (1770-1827), Aide de Camp to the Prince de Conti. His son in turn, Justin-Marie-Laurent-Robert (1811-1861) succeeded as the 3rd Count de MacCarthy of Toulouse. The 4th and final Count de MacCarthy was Nicolas-Francois-Joseph (1833-1906), first cousin of the 3rd Count. The male line then became extinct on the death without issue of Count Nicolas-François-Joseph.
Further reading
- Genty, Roger. Les Comtes de Toulouse: Histoire et Traditions. Editions de Poliphile, 1987.
- Brémond, Alphonse, Nobiliaire toulousain. Bonnal et Gibrac. 1863.
External links
- 'Les Régnants Toulousains": list (in French)
- Famille MacCarthy Reagh at GeneaWiki (in French)