3William III (915 – 3 April 963), called
Towhead (
French: Tête d'étoupe,
Latin: Caput Stupe) from the colour of his hair, was the "Count of the Duchy of Aquitaine" from 959 and
Duke of Aquitaine from 962 to his death. He was also the
Count of Poitou (as
William I) from 935 and
Count of Auvergne from 950. The
primary sources for his reign are
Ademar of Chabannes,
Dudo of Saint-Quentin, and
William of Jumièges.
William was son of
Ebalus Manzer and Emilienne. He was born in
Poitiers. He claimed the Duchy of Aquitaine from his father's death, but the royal chancery did not recognise his ducal title until the year before his own death.
Shortly after the death of
King Rudolph in 936, he was constrained to forfeit some land to
Hugh the Great by
Louis IV. He did it with grace, but his relationship with Hugh thenceforward deteriorated. In 950, Hugh was reconciled with Louis and granted the duchies of Burgundy and Aquitaine. He tried to conquer Aquitaine with Louis's assistance, but William defeated them.
Lothair, Louis's successor, feared the power of William. In August 955 he joined Hugh to besiege Poitiers, which resisted successfully. William, however, gave battle and was routed.
After the death of Hugh, his son
Hugh Capet was named duke of Aquitaine, but he never tried to take up his fief, as William reconciled with Lothair.
He was given the abbey of
Saint-Hilaire-le-Grand, which remained in his house after his death. He also built a library in the
palace of Poitiers.
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Family background, marriage and issue
His father was duke Ebles Manzer, who already was a man in his middle years when he was born in about 913. According to the
chronicle of Ademar de Chabannes, his mother was daughter of
Rollo of Normandy. On the other hand, the less reliable Dodo has William III himself to marry in about 936 a daughter of Rollo. The lady (more likely his mother) was
Geirlaug, in gallic usage
Gerloc.
William III married a lady named or renamed Adele, perhaps about 936, which might have been a match arranged by William I of Normandy for him.
With his wife Adeleid, they had at least one child whose filiation is clearly attested:
▪ William, his successor in Aquitaine. He abdicated to the abbey of
Saint-Cyprien in Poitiers and left the government to his son.
Many genealogies accept the high likelihood that their daughter was:
▪ Adelaide, who married
Hugh CapetBut her parentage is not reliably testimonied in documentation of their epoch, instead it is regarded only as a good possibility by usual modern genealogical literature.
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William I (III) Towhead of Poitou, Count of Poitou
Born: ABT 915
Acceded: 934
Died: 3 APR 963
Notes:
Count of Auvergne, Velay, Limousin. Duke of Aquitaine.
William I (III)"Towhead"
Duke Of Aquitaine; Count Of Poitou
Count of Auvergne, Velay, Limousin. Duke of Aquitaine.
aka William I (II) Aquitaine
William I (III)"Towhead"
Guillaume I (II) Aquitaine
Auvergne, Velay, Limousin