Gerberga, Countess of Provence

Gerberga

Countess of Provence
Born| c. 1060
Died| 1115
Noble family| Bosonids
Spouse(s)| Gilbert I of Gévaudan
Issue| Douce I, Countess of Provence
Father| Geoffrey I of Provence
Mother| Etiennette

Gerberga (1045/65–1115), also spelled Gerberge or Gerburge, was the Countess of Provence for more than a decade, until 1112. Provence is a region located in the southeastern part of modern-day France that did not become part of France until 1481 (well after Gerberga's time).

Countess Gerberga was a daughter of Geoffrey I of Provence and his wife Etiennette of Marseille.[1] She became Countess of Provence upon the death of her brother, Bertrand II, in 1093.

She and her husband, Gilbert I of Gévaudan, were considered virtuous.[2] He participated in the Crusades, donating many relics from the Middle East to churches in Provence.[3] Gilbert later died in 1108. Gerberga then took control of the government, and is said to have ruled wisely.[4] In 1112, her eldest daughter Douce was married to Raymond Berengar III of Barcelona at which point Provence was ceded to him.[5] Her second daughter, Stephanie, would lay claim to the county and thus precipitate the Baussenque Wars in 1144.

## References[edit]

1. ^ de Manteyer 1908, p. 298.
2. ^ Fouque, Claude. Fastes de la Provence ancienne et moderne: Contenant l'histoire politique, civile, héroi'que et religieuse de ses principales villes, Volume 1 , p. 346 (Barile et Boulouch, 1838).
3. ^ Cook, Theodore. Old Provence, p. 205 (Interlink Books, 1905).
4. ^ Clement, Francois. L' Art De Vérifier Les Dates Des Faits Historiques, Des Chartes, Des Chroniques, Et Autres Anciens Monumens, Depuis La Naissance De Notre-Seigneur, p. 436 (Jombert, 1784).
5. ^ Cheyette 1999, p. 154-155.

## Sources[edit]

* Cheyette, Fredric L. (1999). "Women, Poets, and Politics in Occitania". In Evergates, Theodore (ed.). Aristocratic Women in Medieval France. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 138-.
* de Manteyer, Georges (1908). La Provence du premier au douzième siècle (in French). Vol. 2\. Librairie Alphonse Picard et Fils.

Preceded by

Bertrand II

|  Countess of Provence
1093–1112  | Succeeded by

Douce I
Raymond Berengar I

|
|

*[c.]: circa