William II (IV) Ironarm of Poitou, Count of Poitou
Born: ABT 937
Acceded: 963
Died: 3 FEB 995
Notes:
Duke of Aquitaine. abdicated 993. Also known as Fierabras.
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3William IV (937 – 3 February 994
[1]), called
Fierebras or
Fierebrace (meaning "Iron Arm", from the
French Fier-à-bras or Fièrebrace, in turn from the
Latin Ferox brachium), was the
Duke of Aquitaine and
Count of Poitou from 963 to his retirement in 990.
William's father,
William III, abdicated to the abbey of
Saint-Cyprien in
Poitiers and left the government to Fierebras. His mother was
Gerloc, the daughter of Duke
Rollo of Normandy. His sister was
Adelaide, wife of
Hugh Capet, the king against whom William later battled for his duchy. His early reign was characterised by many wars. He fought frequently against the
counts of Anjou, the first time against
Geoffrey Greymantle, who had taken
Loudun.
In 988, he went to war with the newly-elected
king of France, Hugh Capet, whom he refused to recognise. Capet had been granted Aquitaine by
King Lothair before the latter had been reconciled to William's father. Capet renewed his claim on the great duchy and invaded it that year. A royal army was defeated on the plain of the
Loire Valley. William sheltered the young
Louis, the son of
Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine, the last legitimate
Carolingian heir. He opened the
palace of Poitiers to him and treated him as royalty, regarding him as the true heir to the
French throne.
In 968, he married Emma or Emmeline, daughter of
Theobald I of Blois and
Luitgarde of Vermandois. Their marriage was stormy, in part because of William's indulgence in the pursuit of women and, a hunting aficionado, wild animals. She banished his paramours, they separated twice for long periods, and finally he retired to a monastery, as his father had done, leaving Emma to rule Aquitaine in the name of their son
William until 1004. Their second son, Ebles, died sometime after 997.