Raymond VII(July 1197 – 27 September 1249) wasCount of Toulouse,Duke of NarbonneandMarquis of Provencefrom 1222 until his death.
| Raymond VII | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Count of Toulouse | |
| Reign | 1222–1249 |
| Predecessor | Raymond VI |
| Successor | Joan |
| Born | July 1197 Château de Beaucaire |
| Died | 27 September 1249 (aged 52) Toulouse |
| Burial | |
| Spouse | Sancha of Aragon Margaret of Lusignan |
| Issue | Joan, Countess of Toulouse |
| House | Rouergue |
| Father | Raymond VI, Count of Toulouse |
| Mother | Joan of England |
Family and marriages
editRaymond was born at theChâteau de Beaucaire,the son ofRaymond VI of Toulouse[1]andJoan of England.Through his mother, he was a grandson ofHenry II of Englandand a nephew of kingsRichard IandJohn of England.
In March 1211, at the age of 13, Raymond VII marriedSancha of Aragon.[1]They had one daughter,Joan,and were divorced in 1241.[2]He was engaged toSanchia of Provence,but she marriedRichard of Cornwallinstead.[2]In 1243 Raymond married Margaret of Lusignan, the daughter ofHugh X of LusignanandIsabella of Angoulême.[3]They had no children and theCouncil of Lyonsin 1245 granted Raymond a divorce.[4]He then tried to get support ofBlanche,mother of KingLouis IX of France,to marryBeatrice of Provence,who had just becomeCountess of Provence,but Beatrice married Blanche's sonCharlesinstead.
Life
editDuring theAlbigensian Crusadein May 1216, Raymond set out fromMarseilleand besiegedBeaucaire,which he captured on 24 August. He fought to reconquer the county of Toulouse fromSimon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicesterand later Simon's sonAmaury VI of Montfort.
He succeeded his father in 1222. At the moment of his accession, he and the newcount of Foix,Roger Bernard II the Great,besiegedCarcassonne.On 14 September 1224, theAlbigensian Crusaderssurrendered and the war came to an end, each southern lord making peace with the church. However, in 1225, thecouncil of Bourgesexcommunicatedhim and launched acrusadeagainst him, theking of France,Louis VIII,calledthe Lion,wanting to renew the conflict in order to enforce his royal rights inLanguedoc.Roger-Bernard tried to keep the peace, but the king rejected his embassy and the counts of Foix and Toulouse took up arms again. The war was largely a discontinuous series of skirmishes and, in January 1229, Raymond, defeated, was forced to sign theTreaty of Paris(also known as the "Treaty of Meaux" ). By this treaty he ceded the former viscounty ofTrencaveltoLouis IXand his daughterJoanwas forced to marryAlphonse,brother of the king.[5]
In 1242, Raymond allied with CountHugh of La Marcheand KingHenry III of Englandagainst Louis IX during theSaintonge War.Louis sent against him an army under the ConstableImbert de Beaujeuand BishopHugh of Clermont.He was forced to surrender the castle ofSaverdunandBram.
When Raymond died, Alphonse became count of Toulouse, and after Alphonse's death the county was annexed byFrance.Raymond VII was buried beside his mother Joan inFontevrault Abbey.
References
edit- ^abWolff & Hazard 1975,p. 291.
- ^abSmith 2010,p. 61.
- ^Vincent 2018,p. 82.
- ^Vincent 2018,p. 95.
- ^Barber 2000,pp. 141–142.
Sources
edit- Barber, Malcolm (2000).The Cathars: Dualist Heretics in Languedoc in the High Middle Ages.Routledge.
- Macé, Laurent. "Raymond VII of Toulouse: The Son of Queen Joanne, 'Young Count' and Light of the World."The World of Eleanor of Aquitaine: Literature and Society in Southern France between the Eleventh and Twelfth Centuries,edd. Marcus Bull and Catherine Léglu. Woodbridge: Boydell Press, 2005.ISBN1-84383-114-7.
- Smith, Damian J. (2010).Crusade, Heresy and Inquisition in the Lands of the Crown of Aragon: (c. 1167–1276).Brill.
- Vincent, Nicholas (2018). "England and the Albigensian Crusade". In Weiler, Björn K.U. (ed.).England and Europe in the Reign of Henry III (1216–1272).Routledge. pp. 67–98.
- Wolff, Robert Lee; Hazard, Harry W., eds. (1975).A History of the Crusades.Vol. II. The University of Wisconsin Press.