Sancho VI William of Gascony
Encyclopedia
Sancho VI William (died 4 October 1032) was the Duke of Gascony
from 1009 to his death. His reign is most notable for the renewal of Gascons ties with Spain.
Sancho was a son of William II Sánchez
and Urraca of Navarre and relative of Sancho III of Navarre
and he spent a portion of his life at the court of that king in Pamplona
. He also took part in the Reconquista
. It is possible he even submitted Gascony to the suzerainty of Navarre. In 1010, he appeared together with Sancho, Robert II of France
, and William V of Aquitaine
at Saint-Jean d'Angély. He certainly never paid homage to the king of France.
In 1027, he met William V
at Blaye
and they jointly selected Geoffrey
, a Frank
, as Archbishop of Bordeaux, which had become the Gascon capital during Sancho's reign. He had given his sister Brisca in marriage to the widower duke William and when he died without successors in 1032, the Aquitainian duke's children by this second marriage inherited Gascony.
Duke of Gascony
The Duchy of Vasconia , later known as Gascony, was a Merovingian creation: a frontier duchy on the Garonne, in the border with the rebel Basque tribes...
from 1009 to his death. His reign is most notable for the renewal of Gascons ties with Spain.
Sancho was a son of William II Sánchez
William II Sánchez of Gascony
William II Sánchez , Duke of Gascony from circa 961 at least until 996, was the younger illegitimate son of duke Sancho IV and successor, around 961, of his childless elder brother, duke Sancho V. He united the County of Bordeaux with the Gascony...
and Urraca of Navarre and relative of Sancho III of Navarre
Sancho III of Navarre
Sancho III Garcés , called the Great , succeeded as a minor to the Kingdom of Navarre in 1004, and through conquest and political maneuvering increased his power, until at the time of his death in 1035 he controlled the majority of Christian Iberia, bearing the title of rex Hispaniarum...
and he spent a portion of his life at the court of that king in Pamplona
Pamplona
Pamplona is the historial capital city of Navarre, in Spain, and of the former kingdom of Navarre.The city is famous worldwide for the San Fermín festival, from July 6 to 14, in which the running of the bulls is one of the main attractions...
. He also took part in the Reconquista
Reconquista
The Reconquista was a period of almost 800 years in the Middle Ages during which several Christian kingdoms succeeded in retaking the Muslim-controlled areas of the Iberian Peninsula broadly known as Al-Andalus...
. It is possible he even submitted Gascony to the suzerainty of Navarre. In 1010, he appeared together with Sancho, Robert II of France
Robert II of France
Robert II , called the Pious or the Wise , was King of France from 996 until his death. The second reigning member of the House of Capet, he was born in Orléans to Hugh Capet and Adelaide of Aquitaine....
, and William V of Aquitaine
William V of Aquitaine
William V , called the Great , was Duke of Aquitaine and Count of Poitou from 990 until his death. He was the son and successor of William IV by his wife Emma of Blois, daughter of Theobald I of Blois. He seems to have taken after his formidable mother, who ruled Aquitaine as regent until 1004...
at Saint-Jean d'Angély. He certainly never paid homage to the king of France.
In 1027, he met William V
William V of Aquitaine
William V , called the Great , was Duke of Aquitaine and Count of Poitou from 990 until his death. He was the son and successor of William IV by his wife Emma of Blois, daughter of Theobald I of Blois. He seems to have taken after his formidable mother, who ruled Aquitaine as regent until 1004...
at Blaye
Blaye
Blaye is a commune and subprefecture in the Gironde department in Aquitaine in southwestern France.-Population:Its inhabitants are called Blayais or the Blayaises.-Geography:...
and they jointly selected Geoffrey
Geoffrey II, Archbishop of Bordeaux
Geoffrey II was a Frankish archbishop of Bordeaux. He was selected by William V of Aquitaine and Sancho VI of Gascony at Blaye in 1027....
, a Frank
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
, as Archbishop of Bordeaux, which had become the Gascon capital during Sancho's reign. He had given his sister Brisca in marriage to the widower duke William and when he died without successors in 1032, the Aquitainian duke's children by this second marriage inherited Gascony.
Sources
- Higounet, Charles. Bordeaux pendant le haut moyen age. Bordeaux, 1963.
- Lewis, Archibald R. The Development of Southern French and Catalan Society, 718–1050. University of Texas Press: Austin, 1965.
- Zurita, GerónimoJeronimo Zurita y CastroJerónimo de Zurita y Castro was a Spanish historian of the sixteenth century who founded the modern tradition of historical scholarship in Spain....
. Anales de la Corona de Aragón I. Edited by Antonio Ubieto Arteta and Desamparados Pérez Soler. Valencia: 1967.