Arles

Boso

Count Boso
A 17th century depiction of Boso, count of Arles
Illustration from Histoire des comtes de Provence p29 (Antoine de Ruffi, 1655)
Father: Roubard

Married: Constance

Bozo and Constance are documented as married in a document dated May 961.

Children Occupation: Count of Arles

Documents describing Boso as a count are dated between 949 and 965.

Notes:
  Boso (sometimes referred to as Boso II to distinguish him from the earlier King Boso) was the architect of the house of Provence. While his son, William le Libérateur, achieved international fame, it was Boso who successfully navigated the collapse of the Carolingian authority to establish his family as the hereditary rulers of the region.
  Boso emerged during a period of extreme instability. The old Kingdom of Provence was fragmenting, and power was being seized by local lords. Boso’s primary achievement was the consolidation of the county of Arles and by the mid-10th century, he had positioned himself as the most powerful figure in the lower Rhône valley. Although he operated under the nominal sovereignty of King Conrad the Peaceful, Boso functioned as a de facto sovereign. He was the one who presided over the plaids (judicial assemblies) in Arles and dictated the election of local bishops, such as Pons of Orange in 964. Boso understood that land was power. He was a frequent participant in "exchanges" with the Church, notably with the archbishops of Arles and Marseille. These weren't always purely pious acts; they were often strategic realignments of territory to secure the frontiers of his county. He was a patron of the earliest developments at Montmajour, helping to transform the "island of Saint Peter" from a swampy retreat into a dynastic sanctuary that would eventually house the remains of his descendants. Boso left a stabilized Provence to his sons. He transitioned the family from being "officials" appointed by a King to being hereditary lords who owned the land they ruled. His ability to maintain the "magnificence of the church of Arles" while expanding his secular grip provided the platform from which his son William would later launch the campaign to liberate Provence from the Saracens.

Boso appears in a charter, dated to 965, which describes him as a count, and names his two sons, Roubard and William, as well as his deceased father, Roubaud.
Cartulaire de l'Abbaye de Saint-Victor de Marseilles vol 1 pp40-41 (M. Guérard, 1857)
[Mart. 965.] … Honoratus, Massiliensis aecclesię ęquissimus presul, in Arelale civitate, publice, in conspectu Bosoni comitis2, filii Rothboldi quondam, atque in presentia omnium virorum Arelatensium, judicumque ac principum … Placuit itaque, rogante domno Honorato, jam predicto presule, et comiti excellentissimi , hanc notitiam diffinitionis conscribi facere, consentiente ejus filio, Rotbboldo, et fratre ejus, Wilelmo1 comite, omnibusque consiliantibus Arelatensium principibus
  2 Boso II, comes Provinciæ, circ. 948 - 968.
  1 Guillelmus I, secundus Bosonis filius, qui patri in comitatu Provinciæ, a. circ. 968, successit.
This roughly translates as:
[March 965.] … Honoratus, the most just prelate of the church of Marseille, in the city of Arles, publicly, in the sight of count Boso, son of the late Rotbold, and in the presence of all the men of Arles, and of the judges and princes … It pleased [them] therefore, at the request of the lord Honoratus, the aforementioned prelate, and of the most excellent count, to have this notice of definition drawn up, with the consent of his son, Rotbold, and of his brother, count William, and all the counseling princes of the people of Arles.
  2 Boso II, count of Provence, circa 948 - 968.
  1 William I, the second son of Boso, who succeeded his father in the county of Provence, circa 968.

Manteyer has published a number of charters, dated between 949 and 965, describing Boso as a count.
La Provence du premier au douzième siècle pp200-3 (Georges de Manteyer, 1908)
  Le premier soin du nouveau roi de Provence fut d’y renouveler le personnel comtal et vicomtal. L’acte du 7 octobre 949 prouve qu’il avait déjá institué un nouveau comte d’Arles en remplacement de Berthe.
… Les actes émanés du nouveau comte d’Arles, du 7 octobre 949 au mois de mars 9651, sont datés d’Arles: là était sa résidence ordinaire, pendant que son vicomte résidait à Marseille. Ces actes, où paraît le comte d’Arles, sont relatifs à des localités sises aux comtés d’Arles, de Marseille, d’Aix, de Fréjus, d’Antibes, d’Avignon, d’Orange, de Vaison, de Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux et de Gap. Cela ne veut pas dire que tous ces comtés fissent partie du groupe de cités dépendant de lui en raison de ses fonctions: dans quelquesunes d’entre elles, il ne possédait évidemment que des biens particuliers. Il parait bien certain, toutefois, que les cités de Marseille, d’Aix et de Fréjus rentraient dans le groupe en question. Le nouveau comte d’Arles institué par Conrad porte le même nom que ses deux derniers prédécesseurs: c’est encore un Boson. Il est impossible de le confondre avec eux; car son père, dont on n’a que le nom, s’appelait lui-même Roubaud; sa mère est inconnue. Sa femme s’appelle Constance; il en eut deux fils, Roubaud et Guillaume. Le dernier acte où figure le comte Boson est daté d’Arles au mois de mars 965: c’est un plaid comtal dont la rédaction offre beaucoup d’intérêt. Le jugement, prononcé par le comte, obtient l’assentiment de son fils Roubaud et de son frère le comte Guillaume. Il résulte de la tout d’abord que Roubaud est l’aîné des deux fils du comte et on pourrait déjà s’en douter en constatant que, selon l’habituelle transmission du nom de l’aïeul au petit-fils, c’est lui qui porte le nom de son grand-père paternel; puisque son père le consulte seul, le cadet n’était probablement pas encore majeur. Il résulte aussi de ce texte formel que le comte d’Arles avait un frère, également comte, nommé Guillaume: non seulement le comte d’Arles en parle dans le dispositif pour noter son consentement, mais ce frère appose sa souscription après le juge arlésien, en indiquant de nouveau sa qualité de comte. Cette part approbative prise à un plaid arlésien prouve que Guillaume est lui-même comte en Provence: l’autorité des deux frères s’exerce par indivis.
  1. Arles, 7 octobre [949]. Échange entre l’archevêquc Manasses et Teucinde: « in comitatu Arelatensi, insolam sancti Petri que nominatur a Montemajori… quod pertinet ad prepositum… Facta commutatione… in Arelate civitate publice, nonis octobris, anno XII regnante Conrado rege Alamannorum vel Provincie. Israel Aquensis archiepiscospus, Manasses archiepiscopus firmavit, Contarus Forojuliensis firmavit, Honoratus episcopus firmavit… Lambertus presens fuit. Boso comes firmavit… Hodilus… scripsit » (Chantelou, Hist. de Montmajour, éd. du Roure, pp. 25-27).
  Arles, 14 août [952]. Échange entre Teucinde et l’archevêque: « incomitatu Arelatense, in villa… Barcianicus… Facta… in Arelate civitate… XVIIII kal. septembris anno XV regnante Gonrato rege. Boso comes firmavit. Lanbertus judices fîrmavit. Hodilus… scripsit… » (Albanès, Gall. noviss., Arles, no 255).
  15 septembre 958. « Chuonradus… rex… Boso cornes intimavit… abbatiam Sancti Amantii… Data VII. X. Kalendas octobris anno ab incarnatione Domini Jesu Christi DCCCCLVIII, anno XXI regnante Chuonrado rege » (Rec. des Ch, de Cluny, no 1052).
  Arles, mai [961]. « ego Gencius… pro seniore meo Bosone et uxor sua quondam… in pago Aquense superiore, ad castrum… Ansoyse… Facta… in Arelate civitate… in mense maii, anno XXIV regnante Conrado rege Alamannorum vel Provinciarum… Boso comes et uxor sua Constantia firmaverunt. Illorum filii similiter Willelmus comes. Rotbaldus comes… » (Montmajour, pp. 37-38). Les souscriptions des fils sont postérieures.
  Arles, 9[6]4. Election de Pons, évêque d’Orange, en remplacement d’Ebræus: « deficiente metropolitano Arelatensi, consensu augustalium principum et regis nostri Conradi necnon et Bosonis comitis et episcoporum comprovincialium… ecclesiæ Arelatensis ngressi magnificentiam… imperialem adierunt præsentiam…; commotus igitur Cæsar Conradus rex, immo suadente Bosone comite, obsecrantibus etiam prælibatis principibus, annuit illis imperiali licentia providere quem vellent… » (Gall. Christ., t. 1, instr. eccl. Arausicanæ, no 1, p. 131). La date, corrompue, est DCCCCXIV: il faut la restituer. L’acte est postérieur à 948, en raison de la présence de Conrad: il est antérieur au 1er mars 982, date à laquelle Pons est déjà évèque d’Orange (Gall. Christ., t. 1, instr. eccl. Carpent., no 11, p. 148. Dans cet intervalle, le siège d’Arles n’a été vacant qu’une fois, entre Manassès et Itier: de là, la restitution de DCCCLXIV.
  Vienne, 8 décembre 966/4. « Chuonradus… rex… hoc quod Boso Arelatensis comes nobis reddidit ut de terra sancti Remigii de Francia… insula maris… Lirinis… in comitatu Vuapinco… in comilatu Aquense… sancte Marie Antibolensis » (Ibid., pp. 44-45).
  Arles, mars 965. Plaid « in conspectu Bosoni comitis filii Rothboldi quondam… in pago Massiliense… consentiente ejus filio Rothboldo et fratre ejus Wilelmo comite… anno igitur incarnationis dominicę DCCCCLXV, inditione VlI mense martio, regnante Rodulfo (sic) rege Alamannorum seu Provenciarum… Ego… comes Boso… scribi et manu mea roborare curavi. Lambertus judex firmavit. Comes Wilelmus firmavit…» (Saint-Victor, no 29. Cet acte n’est pas le seul de Conrad passé à Arles où le nom du roi ait été remplacé parcelui de son fils Rodolphe (cf. Gall. Christ. noviss., Arles, no 281, acte du 31 décembre l’an XLII).
  Dans l’expression ejus filio, le mot ejus se rapporte au comte Roubaud: dans fratre ejus qui suit, le mot ejus répété à dessein par le scribe se rapporte encore au comte Roubaud. A moins d’en méconnaître le sens naturel, on ne peut expliquer autrement ce texte très clair. 
This roughly translates as:
  The first concern of the new king of Provence was to replace the comital and viscountal officials. The act of October 7, 949 proves that he had already appointed a new count of Arles to replace Bertha.
… The acts issued by the new count of Arles, from October 7, 949 to March 965, are dated from Arles: this was his usual residence, while his viscount resided in Marseille. These acts, in which the count of Arles appears, relate to localities situated in the counties of Arles, Marseille, Aix, Fréjus, Antibes, Avignon, Orange, Vaison, Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux and Gap. This does not mean that all these counties were part of the group of cities dependent on him because of his functions: in some of them, he evidently only possessed private property. It seems quite certain, however, that the cities of Marseille, Aix and Fréjus belonged to the group in question. The new count of Arles appointed by Conrad bears the same name as his two immediate predecessors: he is also a Boso. It is impossible to confuse him with them; for his father, of whom only the name is known, was himself called Roubaud; his mother is unknown. His wife was named Constance; he had two sons, Roubaud and William. The last act in which count Boso appears is dated from Arles in March 965: it is a comital court record whose wording is of great interest. The judgment, pronounced by the count, receives the assent of his son Roubaud and his brother count William. It follows, first of all, that Roubaud is the elder of the count's two sons, a fact that could already be inferred from the observation that, according to the usual custom of transmitting the grandfather's name to the grandson, he bears the name of his paternal grandfather; since his father consults him alone, the younger son was probably not yet of age. This formal text also reveals that the count of Arles had a brother, also a count, named William: not only does the count of Arles mention him in the document to record his consent, but this brother affixes his signature after the judge from Arles, again indicating his title of count. This act of approval in a legal proceeding in Arles proves that William himself was a count in Provence: the authority of the two brothers was exercised jointly.
  1. Arles, 7 October [949]. Exchange between the archbishop Manasses and Teucinde: "in the county of Arles, the island of saint Peter which is named Montmajour… which belongs to the Provost… The exchange having been made… publicly in the city of Arles, on the nones of October, in the 12th year of the reign of Conrad, king of the Alemanni or of Provence. Israel, Archbishop of Aix; Manasses, Archbishop, confirmed it; Contarus of Fréjus confirmed it; Honoratus, Bishop, confirmed it… Lambert was present. Count Boso confirmed it… Odilus… wrote it" (Chantelou, Hist. de Montmajour, ed. du Roure, pp. 25-27).
  Arles, 14 August [952]. Exchange between Teucinde and the archbishop: "in the county of Arles, in the village of… Barcianicus… Done… in the city of Arles… the 19th day before the kalends of September in the 15th year of the reign of king Conrad. Count Boso confirmed it. Lambert, judge, confirmed it. Odilus… wrote it…" (Albanès, Gall. noviss., Arles, no. 255).
  15 September 958. "Conrad… king… count Boso gave notice… the abbey of Saint-Amant… Given the 7th day before the kalends of October in the year of the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ 958, in the 21st year of the reign of king Conrad" (Rec. des Ch. de Cluny, no. 1052).
  Arles, May [961]. "I, Gencius… for my senior [lord] Boso and his late wife… in the upper region of Aix, at the castle of… Ansouis… Done… in the city of Arles… in the month of May, in the 24th year of the reign of Conrad, king of the Alemanni or of the Provinces… Count Boso and his wife Constance confirmed it. Their sons likewise, count William and count Roubaud, confirmed it…" (Montmajour, pp. 37-38). The subscriptions of the sons are subsequent [added later].
  Arles, 9[6]4. Election of Pons, bishop of Orange, replacing Ebræus: "The metropolitan of Arles being absent, with the consent of the august princes and of our king Conrad, as well as of count Boso and the bishops of the province… they entered into the magnificence of the church of Arles… they approached the imperial presence…; therefore moved, Caesar king Conrad, rather at the persuasion of count Boso, and at the entreaty of the aforementioned princes, granted them the imperial license to provide whomever they wished…" (Gall. Christ., t. 1, instr. eccl. Arausicanæ, no. 1, p. 131). The date, corrupted, is 914: it must be restored. The act is later than 948, due to the presence of Conrad: it is earlier than March 1, 982, the date by which Pons is already bishop of Orange (Gall. Christ., t. 1, instr. eccl. Carpent., no. 11, p. 148). In this interval, the see of Arles was vacant only once, between Manasses and Itier: hence, the restoration of 964.
  Vienne, 8 December 966/4. "Conrad… king… that which Boso, count of Arles, returned to us as of the land of saint Remigius of Francia… island of the sea… Lérins… in the county of Gap… in the county of Aix… saint Mary of Antibes" (Ibid., pp. 44-45).
  Arles, March 965. Plaid [judicial assembly] "in the presence of count Boso, son of the late Rotbold… in the region of Marseille… with the consent of his son Roubaud and his brother, count William… therefore in the year of the incarnation of the Lord 965, indiction VII, in the month of March, in the reign of Rudolf (sic), king of the Alemanni or of the Provinces… I… count Boso… took care to have this written and to strengthen it with my hand. Lambert, judge, confirmed it. Count William confirmed it…" (Saint-Victor, no. 29. This act is not the only one of Conrad passed at Arles where the name of the king was replaced by that of his son Rudolf (cf. Gall. Christ. noviss., Arles, no. 281, act of 31 December in the year 42).
  In the expression ejus filio [his son], the word ejus [his] refers to count Roubaud: in fratre ejus [his brother] which follows, the word ejus repeated intentionally by the scribe still refers to count Roubaud. Unless one disregards the natural meaning, one cannot otherwise explain this very clear text.

Death: The last record of Boso is in a charter dated May 965

Sources:

Constance

Married: Boso

Bozo and Constance are documented as married in a document dated May 961.

Children Notes:
Constance is named as Boso's wife in a charter dated May 961, online in manuscript at Histoire de l'abbaye de Montmajour p28 (Claude Chantelou, 1876) and summarised by Georges de Manteyer:
La Provence du premier au douzième siècle p201n (Georges de Manteyer, 1908)
  Arles, mai [961]. « ego Gencius… pro seniore meo Bosone et uxor sua quondam… in pago Aquense superiore, ad castrum… Ansoyse… Facta… in Arelate civitate… in mense maii, anno XXIV regnante Conrado rege Alamannorum vel Provinciarum… Boso comes et uxor sua Constantia firmaverunt. Illorum filii similiter Willelmus comes. Rotbaldus comes… » (Montmajour, pp. 37-38). Les souscriptions des fils sont postérieures.
This roughly translates as:
  Arles, May [961]. "I, Gencius… for my senior [lord] Boso and his late wife… in the upper region of Aix, at the castle of… Ansouis… Done… in the city of Arles… in the month of May, in the 24th year of the reign of Conrad, king of the Alemanni or of the Provinces… Count Boso and his wife Constance confirmed it. Their sons likewise, count William and count Roubaud, confirmed it…" (Montmajour, pp. 37-38). The subscriptions of the sons are subsequent [added later].

Sources:

Constance of Arles

Father: William I "le Libératuer"

Hugonis Floriacensis Modernorum Regum Francorum Actus in Monumenta Germaniæ Historica SS 9 p385 (ed. G. H. Pertz, 1851)
Duxit autem uxorem Constantiam, filiam Guillelmi comitis Arelatensis, natam de Blanca, sorore Gaufridi comitis Andegavensis; ex qua genuit 4 filios, Hugonem qui cognominatus est Magnus, Henricum, Robertum, Odonem.
This roughly translates as:
Moreover, he [Robert] took as his wife Constance, the daughter of William, count of Arles, born of Blanche, the sister of Geoffrey, count of Anjou; from her he fathered four sons: Hugh, who was surnamed the Great; Henry; Robert; and Odo.

Mother: Adelaide "Blanche" of Anjou

Adonis archiepiscopi Viennensis chronicon continuatio altera in Monumenta Germaniæ Historica SS 2 p326 (ed. G. H. Pertz, 1829)
Regnans cum patre Rotbertus 10 annis; post mortem eius 34 annis vixit, regnavit et senuit. De coniuncta vero sibi uxore Constantia, filia Adelaidis, cui prenomen erat Candida, inclitos et precipuos habens filios, unum ex eis ad regnum elegit Hugonem.  
This roughly translates as:
Robert, reigning with his father for 10 years; after his [father's] death, he lived, reigned, and grew old for 34 years. From the wife joined to him, Constance, daughter of Adelaide, whose first name was Candida, having renowned and distinguished sons, he chose one of them, Hugh, for the kingship

Married: Robert II of France, about 1002

Around 1001, Robert finally succumbed to the Church’s demands, "repudiated" Bertha and married Constance. However, Robert was still attached to Bertha and he took her to Rome in 1010 to seek recognition of his marriage to her, but was unsuccessful, and the king was forced to return to Constance.

Children Notes:
The conflict between Queen Constance of Arles and her son, Henry I, was a bitter struggle for the future of the French throne, rooted in Constance's fierce desire to control the royal succession. The tension began years before Robert the Pious died. Robert and Constance had several sons, including Hugh Magnus (the eldest), Henry, and Robert. Constance favored the younger son, Robert, whom she found more malleable or perhaps more like her own hot-tempered southern kin. King Robert II insisted on the traditional succession. After the death of the eldest son, Hugh, in 1025, the King designated Henry as his heir and had him crowned co-king in 1027. Constance was enraged by Henry's coronation, refusing to acknowledge him as king, and in the letter transcribed below, Fulbert, a high-ranking bishop, explicitly states that he is too afraid of the queen to travel to the coronation - that she "is believed enough when she promises evil things, with many and memorable deeds of hers providing proof".
  When King Robert died in July 1031, Constance moved immediately to block Henry’s path to sole power. She didn't just argue; she went to war. Constance used her influence to seize several key royal castles, including Senlis, Meun, and Sens. Henry, caught off guard and lacking immediate support from the Frankish lords, was forced to flee for his life. He sought refuge with Robert the Magnificent, the Duke of Normandy (father of William the Conqueror). With Norman troops and the support of a few loyal counts,
Surrender of Constance to her son Henry
A 14th century depiction of the surrender of Constance to her son, king Henry I
Illumination from Grandes Chroniques de France held at the Bibliothèque nationale de France  (Français 2813, folio 177 recto) posted on wikipedia
Henry fought his way back into the heart of France, methodically besieging the fortresses his mother had seized, ending when Constance submitted to Henry in 1032. A settlement followed in which Henry I was recognized as the undisputed king of France and Robert (the younger brother) was given the duchy of Burgundy as a consolation prize. This created the first "Capetian House of Burgundy," a powerful branch of the family that would rule that region for over three centuries. Constance retired to Melun, where she died just months later.

In one of his charters, dated 1027 or 1028, Robert notes how much he enjoyed the "pleasant conversation" of Constance.
Roberti regis diplomata in Recueil des historiens des Gaules et de la France vol 10 p621 (1874)
Innotescat ergo universitati sanctæ matris Ecclesiæ fidelium, tam præsentium quàm etiam futurorum, me et conjugem meam Constantiam, jocunda conversatione mihi admodum dilectam, et in administratione renim ad se pertineutium satis utilem et strenuam, prædium nostræ regali sedi Vermeriæ contiguum, quod de auro [à patris suis domo] ex patris sui dono asportato prædicta conjux mea emerat, S. Mariæ  Compendiensis Ecclesiæ, cujus cultum singulariter per ceteros Sanctorum amplectebatur, et SS. Martyribus Cornelio et Cypriano in eadem Ecclesia requiescentibus humiliter dedisse, et devotè jure prætorio et forensi tradidisse pro nostra incolumitate et salute animarum nostrarum, et filii nostri Hugonis jam regni solio, antequam decederet, sublimati, et proh dolor! nostris diebus inibi sepnlti.
This roughly translates as:
Let it be known therefore to the whole of the faithful of holy mother Church, as well those present as also those to come, that I and my spouse Constance, greatly beloved by me for her pleasant conversation, and sufficiently useful and vigorous in the administration of things pertaining to her, have humbly given a property adjacent to our royal seat of Verberie, which my aforesaid spouse had bought with gold carried away from her father’s house as a gift from her father, to the church of St. Mary of Compiègne (whose worship she embraced singularly above the rest of the saints) and to the holy martyrs Cornelius and Cyprian resting in the same church; and [we have] devotedly handed it over by praetorian and forensic law for our safety and the salvation of our souls, and for our son Hugh, already raised to the throne of the kingdom before he departed, and, oh, the grief! buried there in our own days.

After the death of Hugh, the eldest son, Constance opposed the coronation of their second son, Henry, favouring their third son, Robert, leading to a civil war following Henry's coronation.
Glabri Rodulphi Historiarum liber III in Recueil des historiens des Gaules et de la France vol 10 pp39-40 (1874)
Constituerat autem secundum Burgundiæ Ducem, Henricum nomine, post Hugonem natum, ipsumque decrevit pro fratre in regnum sublimare. Sed rursùm mater muliebri animositate agitata, tam à patre quàm à ceteris, qui parti illius favebant, dissentit, dicens tertium ad regni moderamen præstantiorem fore filium, qui et Roberti patris nomine censebatur.
This roughly translates as:
Moreover, he [Robert] had appointed Henry the second duke of Burgundy, after Hugh was born, and he decreed to raise him into the kingdom in place of his brother. But again the mother, driven by womanly animosity, disagreed both with the father and with the others who were favoring that party, saying that the third son, who was called by the name of his father Robert, would be more outstanding for the government of the kingdom.

Fulbert describes his fear of the wrath of queen Constance for even attending Henry's coronation.
Fulberti Carnotensis Epistolæ in Recueil des historiens des Gaules et de la France vol 10 p481 (1874)
        LXXVIII.
    Ad Goffridum Episcopum Cabilonensem.
  Ob infirmam valetududinem non interest Henrici Regis benedictioni.
VENERABILI Patri et Coëpiscopo suo G. Fulbertus. Ad benedictionem Henrici regiæ prolis voto quidem rapior, sed adversa me corporis valetudo retardat. Tentarem tamen utcunque moderatis equitationibus eò pervenire, si non absterreret sævitia [Constantiæ] matris ejus, cui satis creditur, cùm mala promittit: fidem facientibus multis et memorabilibus gestis ejus. Qua difficultate prohibitus, rogo vestram charitatem, dilectissime, ut vice mea suadeatis domno Archiepiscopo Remensi, ceterisque Primoribus, ne qua occasione differant benedictionem juvenis supradicti. Spero enim illum Deo et bonis omnibus placiturum. Valete..
This roughly translates as:
        78.
    To Geoffrey bishop of Chalon.
  Because of weak health he is not present at the benediction of king Henry.
To the VENERABLE Father and his fellow-bishop G[eoffrey], Fulbert [sends greetings]. Indeed I am carried away by the desire for the benediction of Henry, the royal offspring, but the adverse health of my body holds me back. Nevertheless, I would attempt to arrive there somehow by moderate rides, if the cruelty of his mother [Constance] did not terrify me, who is believed enough when she promises evil things, with many and memorable deeds of hers providing proof. Prevented by this difficulty, I ask your charity, most beloved, that in my place you persuade the lord archbishop of Reims and the rest of the Princes, that they not delay the benediction of the aforementioned youth for any reason. For I hope that he will be pleasing to God and to all good men. Farewell.

Hugonis Floriacensis Modernorum Regum Francorum Actus in Monumenta Germaniæ Historica SS 9 pp387-8 (ed. G. H. Pertz, 1851)
  10. Henricus igitur patri suo succesdens in rego anno incarnacionis dominicae 1032, regnauit annis 27. Huius mater Constantia magnam regni porcionem post funus mariti in suum conabatur retinere dominium, urbem scilicet Silvanectensem et Senonensem et castellum Bistisiacum et Donnum Martinum et Puteolum et Milidunum et Pisciacum et Codiciacum. Multos etiam Franciae et Burgundiae proceres sibi conciliaverat et a filii fidelitate seiunxerat. Quod Henricus non tulit, sed adorsus Pisciacum, mox illud suum retorsit ad dominium. Demum vero Puteolum obsedit et cepit. Quod cernens Constantia, ab eo dextram expeciit. Post haec autem aggressus est rex Odonem comitem, et abstulit illi Gorniacum castrum. Senonicae quoque urbis partem, quam illi regina Constantia dederat, ad suum postmodum retorsit dominium.
This roughly translates as:
  10. Henry, therefore, succeeding his father in the kingdom in the year of the Incarnation of the Lord 1032, reigned for 27 years. After the death of her husband, his mother Constance endeavored to retain a great portion of the kingdom under her own lordship: namely, the cities of Senlis (Silvanectensem) and Sens (Senonensem), and the castles of Béthisy, Dammartin, Puteolum, Melun, Pisciacum, and Coucy. She had even won over many nobles of France and Burgundy to her side and separated them from loyalty to her son. Henry did not endure this, but having attacked Pisciacum, he soon twisted it back into his own lordship. At last, he besieged and captured Puteolum. Seeing this, Constance sought a truce (dextram) from him. After these things, the king attacked count Odo and took from him the castle of Gournay. That part of the city of Sens, which queen Constance had given to [Odo], he later twisted back into his own lordship.

Helgardi Flor. Epitome Vitæ Roberti Regis in Recueil des historiens des Gaules et de la France vol 10 p110 (1874)
Tabulam ad altare S. Pétri , in cujus honore exstat locus, auro bono totara cooperait, de qua Constantia nobilis Regina ejus conjux gloriosa, post mortem viri sui sanctissimi Deo, et sancto attribuit Aniano, summam scilicet librarum [DCC] septem ipsius metalli in meliorandis à se Monasterii [sartis tectis] facti tectis: quibus ab imis ad superiora apertis, cœlum meliùs cerneretur quàm terra. Extitit in ea quantitas auri [MCC] quindecim librarum probati. Quod reliquum fuit, in quibus debuit, distribuit, quia erat ei sollicitudo Ecclesiarum Dei, juxta utile Senioris sui velle.
This roughly translates as:
A panel at the altar of St. Peter, in whose honor the place stands, he [Robert] covered entirely with good gold; from which the noble Queen Constance, his glorious spouse, after the death of her most holy husband, assigned to God and to saint Anianus a sum, namely of seven [DCC] hundred pounds of that same metal, for improving by her own hand the [repaired roofs] of the monastery’s roofs; which, being open from the bottom to the top, the sky could be seen better than the earth. There was in that [panel] a quantity of gold of fifteen [MCC] hundred pounds of tested [gold]. What was left over, she distributed to those whom she ought, because she had a care for the churches of God, according to the beneficial will of her lord.

The ecclesiastical history of England and Normandy by Ordericus Vitalis vol 4 p135 (trans. Thomas Forester, 1853)
Robert was a son of Robert king of France by his queen Constance, so that he derived his nobility from the blood of kings and emperors; and he much distinguished himself in different countries, by his noble deeds and great merits. He it was who was sought by his powerful mother to be raised to the throne of France, in preference to his elder brother Henry; an object which she used all possible means to effect. In the end, justice having placed the sceptre in the hand of Henry, the right heir, Robert held for a long period the duchy of Burgundy, and had three sons, Henry, Robert, and Simon.

The Encyclopaedia Britannica 11th edition vol 23 p399 (ed. Hugh Chisholm, 1911)
  ROBERT II. (c. 970-1031), king of France … For five years the king braved all anathemas, but about 1002 he gave up Bertha and married Constance, daughter of a certain Count William, an intriguing and ambitious woman, who made life miserable for her husband, while the court was disturbed by quarrels between the partisans of the two queens. Still attached to Bertha, Robert took this lady with him to Rome in 1010, but the pope refused to recognize their marriage, and the king was forced to return to Constance. By this wife Robert had four sons, and in 1017, the eldest of these, Hugh, (1007-1025), was crowned as his father’s colleague and successor. After Hugh’s death the king procured the coronation of his second son, Henry, duke of Burgundy, afterwards king of France, a proceeding which displeased Constance, who wished her third son, Robert (d. 1075), afterwards duke of Burgundy, to receive the crown.

The Encyclopaedia Britannica 11th edition vol 13 pp290-1 (ed. Hugh Chisholm, 1911)
  HENRY I. (1008-1060), king of France, son of King Robert and his queen, Constance of Aquitaine, and grandson of Hugh Capet, came to the throne upon the death of his father in 1031, although in 1027 he had been anointed king at Reims and associated in the government with his father. His mother, who favoured her younger son Robert, and had retired from court upon Henry’s coronation, formed a powerful league against him, and he was forced to take refuge with Robert II., duke of Normandy. In the civil war which resulted, Henry was able to break up the league of his opponents in 1032. Constance died in 1034, and the rebel brother Robert was given the duchy of Burgundy, thus founding that great collateral line which was to rival the kings of France for three centuries.

Death: 22 July 1034, in Melun, France

Raoul Glaber: Les cinq livres de ses histoires (900-1044) book 3 chapter 9 #36 p85 (ed. Maurice Prou, 1886)
  36. Anno quoque sequenti, mense Julio2, Rotbertus rex apud castrum Meledunense diem clausit extremum; delatumque est corpus ejus ad ęcclesiam Sancti Dionisii martyris ac in eadem sepultum. Tunc rursus oritur inter matrem et filios rediviva discordiae crudelitas, ac preteritarum irarum frena laxant inveterata odia. Diu multumque vastando res proprias debacatum est donec Fulco Andegavorum comes cognatus3 scilicet ipsorum, matrem redarguens cur bestialem vesaniam erga filios exerceret, utrumque parentem in pacem reduceret. Sequenti vero anno, eodem mense, atque in eodem castro quo rex obierat, et ipsa obiit, indeque portata est ad Sancti Dionisii basilicam ac juxta regem sepulta. 
  2. Le 20 juillet 1031.
  3 Au dessus de cognatus, une main postérieure a ajouté dans le ms. lat. 10912 avunculus. Cette addition a été empruntée aux Gesta consul. Andegav., éd Marchegay p. 112.
This roughly translates as:
  36. Also in the following year, in the month of July2, king Robert closed his final day [passed away] at the castle of Melun; and his body was carried to the church of Saint Denis the Martyr and buried in that same place. Then, once again, a renewed cruelty of discord arose between the mother and the sons, and long-standing hatreds loosened the reins of past angers. For a long time, there was an outburst of violence involving the wasting of their own property, until their kinsman, Fulk, Count of the Angevins3, reproving the mother for why she was exercising such beastly madness toward her sons, brought both parent and children back into peace. In the following year, however, in the same month and in the same castle where the king had died, she also died; from there she was carried to the basilica of Saint Denis and buried next to the king.
  2. 20 July 1031
  3. Above cognatus, a later hand added avunculus in manuscript lat. 10912. This addition was borrowed from the Gesta consul Andegav., edited by Marchegay, p. 112.

Tomb of Robert II of France and Constance
Effigies of king Robert II of France and queen Constance on the ossuary in the crypt in the basilica of Saint-Denis, Paris
photo posted on 5 June 2023 by Łukasz Janecki on findagrave.com
Burial: 25 July 1034, next to her husband before the altar of the holy Trinity in the basilica of Saint-Denis, Paris, France

Adonis archiepiscopi Viennensis chronicon continuatio altera in Monumenta Germaniæ Historica SS 2 p326 (ed. G. H. Pertz, 1829)
Obiit autem Miliduno castro, incarnationis dominicae anno 1032, et deportatus Parisiis, iuxta patrem suum sepelitur ante altare sanctae Trinitatis. Inclita vero Regina Constantia post mortem sui senioris piissimi Rotberti anno tertion moritur, & 8. Kal. Aug. iuxta ipsum sepelitur.  
This roughly translates as:
He died, moreover, in the castle of Melun, in the year of the incarnation of the Lord 1032, and having been carried to Paris, he was buried next to his father before the altar of the Holy Trinity. The illustrious Queen Constance, indeed, died in the third year after the death of her most pious lord Robert, and was buried next to him on the 8th of the Kalends of August [July 25].

Constance's tomb was desecrated during the French Revolution and her bones were thrown into a common pit (a mass grave) outside the church. After the restoration of the monarchy in the 19th century, these remains were gathered and placed in a massive ossuary in the crypt of the Basilica, where they remain today.

Sources:

Roubard

Children Notes:
Roubaud appears in a charter, dated to 965, which named him as the father of Boso, and records that he is deceased (quondam).
Cartulaire de l'Abbaye de Saint-Victor de Marseilles vol 1 p40 (M. Guérard, 1857)
[Mart. 965.] … Honoratus, Massiliensis aecclesię ęquissimus presul, in Arelale civitate, publice, in conspectu Bosoni comitis2, filii Rothboldi quondam, atque in presentia omnium virorum Arelatensium, judicumque ac principum
  2 Boso II, comes Provinciæ, circ. 948 - 968.
This roughly translates as:
[March 965.] … Honoratus, the most just prelate of the church of Marseille, in the city of Arles, publicly, in the sight of count Boso, son of the late Rotbold, and in the presence of all the men of Arles, and of the judges and princes
  2 Boso II, count of Provence, circa 948 - 968.

Death: The only record of Roubard, dated May 965, describes him as deceased, though he may have died well before this date.

Sources:

William I "le Libératuer"

Count William of Arels
A 17th century depiction of William, count of Arles
Illustration from Histoire des comtes de Provence p33 (Antoine de Ruffi, 1655)
Father: Boso

Mother: Constance

Married (1st): Arsinde

Arsinde is named as William's wife in charters dated between April 972 and June 981.

Married (2nd): Adelaide "Blanche" of Anjou

Children Occupation: Count of Arles and granted the title of marquis of Provence in 979. In 993 he renounced these offices and became a monk.

Notes:
  William I, known as William the Liberator (le Libérateur), was the foundational figure of medieval Provence. His reign transitioned the region from a chaotic frontier harassed by invaders into a structured, sovereign territory that would eventually seat his daughter, Constance, on the throne of France. The defining achievement of William’s life was the Battle of Tourtour in 973. For decades, Saracen pirates based at Fraxinetum (modern-day La Garde-Freinet) had terrorized the Mediterranean coast, notably capturing and ransoming Maiolus, abbot of Cluny. William galvanized the local nobility, crushed the Saracen forces, and permanently expelled them from their strongholds. This victory earned him the title pater patriæ (father of the country) and allowed him to distribute the conquered lands among his vassals, effectively creating the feudal map of Provence.
  William was a master of the "long game" in Mediterranean politics. He held the title of count, but after his military successes and the expansion of his influence, he began using the higher titles of marquis and duke. His marriages were strategic - Arsinde, his first wife, likely of Languedocian nobility, helped him consolidate power locally in the 970s. His second marriage to Adelaide (Blanche) of Anjou, the "divorced queen of Aquitaine" was a massive social climb. It linked the house of Provence to the powerful counts of Anjou and the crumbling Carolingian crown, providing the prestige necessary to eventually marry their daughter, Constance, to the Capetian king Robert the Pious.
  In 993, feeling his death approaching, William performed a dramatic "Great Renunciation." He traveled to Avignon. There, in the presence of his old friend and now saint Maiolus, he abdicated his titles. William traveled the short distance from Avignon to the villa at Sarrians, which he had already designated as a gift to the monastery of Cluny, where he performed the ritual of laying down his "secular insignia" (his belt and mantle) and formally received the habit of St Benedict. William remained there as a monk until his death, probably in late 993 and was buried at Sarrians.

In a charter dated April 972 (this is the date agreed by modern historians, depsite it being dated by Guérard to April 970), William is described as the count of Provence, and names his wife, Arsinna. This has a "double-layer" of donation - William grants the land to his follower Hugh Blavia, who then immediately gifts that same land to the Abbey of Saint-Victor in Marseille. This allowed Hugh to secure his own spiritual salvation while count William fulfilled his duty to patronize the Church.
Cartulaire de l'Abbaye de Saint-Victor de Marseilles vol 1 pp590-1 (M. Guérard, 1857)
        598.
    Carta de Ugone Blavia.
[April. 970.] Dilecto atque amabile nobis, Ugone Blavia. Ego, in Dei nomine, Wilelmus3, comes Provincię, et conjux mea Arsinna4, cessores atque donatores, una pro bono amore et benevolencię vestrę, quę circa vos habemus, et quod semper bene humiliter nobis servistis, propterea, cedimus vel donamus vobis aliquid de proprietate mea, Wilelmo abvenit, in comitatu Forojuliense, in loco denominato Ravanerias, et ultra rivulo Martino, et desta ultra usque in Lamaura, unam medietatem tibi donamus, de fundum possessionis, de vestitum et de hermo, et in antea de quantum vestitum erit unam medietatem habeas; illa quę ego debeo habere; et Bonaldus debet ipsa terra vestire et edificare. Et, in comitatu Sisterico, in villa Marzosco, donamus vobis quantum nobis pax obvenit; et, in villa Fonte Jana, donamus vobis quantum nobis pax obvenit; eo actenus tenore ipsas duas villas Marzosco et villa Fonte Jana, quandiu Gualterius vixerit, teneat et possideat usum et fructum; post obitum vero, ipse Ugo recipiat vel heres sui, de fundum possessionis; hoc sunt vineis, terris cultis et incultis, casariciis, ortis, oglatis, pratis, pascuis, silvis, garricis, pomiferis vel impomiferis, aquis aquarum vel decursibus earum; et faciatis de predicta donatione quicquid facere aut vindicare volueritis, habendi, vendendi, dandi vel comutandi, veslrisque heredibus derelinquendi, in Dei nomine, habeatis integram licenciam et potestatem. Sane si quis, nos aut heredes nostri vel ullus homo, contra donationem istam ire, agere vel inquietare voluerit, non valeat vendicare quod repetit, sed componat in vinculo auri optimi libras II, et in antea donatio ista fuma et stabilis permaneat omnique tempore, cum stipulatione interposita pro omni firmitate subnexa.
  Facta donatio ista in Arelate civitate, publice, in mense aprelis, anno XXXIII regnante Conrado1 rege.
  Signum domnus Wilelmus commes, et uxor sua Arsinna, qui hanc cartula scribere et firmare rogaverunt, manus illorum firma. Signum domnus Rotbaldus2 commes, voluit et eonsensit et firmavit. Signum Dodonus firmavit. Signum Aicardus firmavit. Signum Amalricus firmavit. Signum Poncius firmavit. Signum Raimbertus firmavit. Signum Wilelmus firmavit. Signum Daidonatus firmavit.
  Et ego Ugo, cognomento Blavia, hanc donationem, sicut senior meus Guilelmus et domna mea Arsinna mihi donaverunt, ita et ego dono domno meo sancto Victori martiri et ejus congregationi, in perpetuum habendam.
  3 Guillelmus I.
  4 Arsinda, prima Guillelmi uxor.
  1 Conradus Pacificus, rex Arelatensis.
  2 Rotbaldus, frater Guillelmi I.
This roughly translates as:
        598.
    Charter of Hugh Blavia.
[April. 970.] To our beloved and amiable [friend], Hugh Blavia. I, in the name of God, William, comes of Provence, and my spouse Arsinda, [being] ceder-grantors and donors, together on account of the good love and of our benevolence which we have toward you, and because you have always served us well and humbly, for that reason, we cede or grant to you something from my property, [which] came to William, in the comitatu of Fréjus, in the place named Ravanerias, and beyond the Martin stream, and from there beyond as far as Lamaura; we grant to you one half, from the depth of the possession, of the cultivated and of the waste [land], and henceforth of as much as shall be cultivated you shall have one half; that [half] which I ought to have; and Bonaldus ought to cultivate and build upon that land.
  And, in the comitatu of Sisteron, in the village of Marzosco, we grant to you as much as has come to us in peace; and, in the village of Fonte Jana, we grant to you as much as has come to us in peace; with this tenor hitherto: that as long as Gualterius shall live, he may hold and possess the use and the fruit of these two villages, Marzosco and the village of Fonte Jana; but after his death, Hugh himself or his heirs may receive [them], from the depth of the possession; these are vineyards, lands cultivated and uncultivated, farmhouses, gardens, olive groves, meadows, pastures, forests, garigues, fruit-bearing or non-fruit-bearing [trees], waters of waters or their watercourses; and you may do with the aforesaid donation whatever you wish to do or to claim, having, selling, giving or exchanging, and leaving it to your heirs; in the name of God, you shall have full license and power.
  Indeed if anyone, [whether] we or our heirs or any man, should wish to go, act, or disturb against this donation, he shall not prevail to claim what he seeks, but he shall pay 2 pounds of the best gold as a fine, and henceforth this donation shall remain firm and stable for all time, with the stipulation interposed for all subsequent firmness.
  This donation was made in the city of Arles, publicly, in the month of April, in the 33rd year of Conrad rege reigning.
  Sign of the lord William commes, and his wife Arsinda, who asked for this little charter to be written and confirmed, their hands [are] firm. Sign of the lord Rotbold commes, [who] willed and consented and confirmed. Sign of Dodonus confirmed. Sign of Aicardus confirmed. Sign of Amalricus confirmed. Sign of Poncius confirmed. Sign of Raimbertus confirmed. Sign of Wilelmus confirmed. Sign of Daidonatus confirmed.
  And I, Hugh, surnamed Blavia, just as my lord William and my lady Arsinda granted this donation to me, so also I grant [it] to my lord saint Victor the martyr and to his congregation, to be held in perpetuity.
  3 William I.
  4 Arsinda, William's first wife.
  1 Conrad the Pacific, king of Arles.
  2 Rothbald, brother of William I.

Histoire des comtes de Provence pp33-36 (Antoine de Ruffi, 1655)
  Guillaume I. apres la mort de ſon pere Boſon luy ſucceda au Comté de Prouence. Ce fut vn Prince pieux, genereux, & magnanime, il viuoit ſous le Roy Conrad. Durant ſon regne les Sarrazins ſe rendirent les maiſtres du Fort de Fraxinet, & de quelques villes de Prouence, qu’ils ruinerent entierement. Celle de Frejus entre autres fut tellement deſolée, qu’elle fut reduite en ſolitude; car les habitans furent la pluſpart taillez en pieces, & ce peu qui échapa de la furie de ces Barbares s’enfuit en des lieux éloignez. Mais Guillaume en cette conjonƈture fit reluire ſa generoſité & ſa valeur: car il chaſſa les Sarrazins de Prouence, & reprit meſme le Fort de Fraxinet, apres vne memorable défaite. Ce qui eſt rapporté par S. Odile Abbé de Cluni, en la vie de S. Mayeul, où il donne à Guillaume cet éloge de Tresilluſtre, & Tres Chreſtien Prince, & encore par Raoul Glaber, & par quelques Chartes.
  Comme la Prouence ſe trouua paiſible par la fuite des Sarrazins, Guillaume voulut reconnoiſtre ceux qui s’estoient portez genereuſement en cette entrepriſe. Et d’autant que Giballin de Grimaldis, homme vaillant & magnifique, l’auoit non ſeulement touſiours accompagné en tous les combats qu’il auoit donnez contre les Sarrazins; mais qu’il auoit meſme par ſa propre vertu deliuré des mains de ces Barbares la Coſte de mer de S. Tropez; Guillaume luy fit preſent de cette Coſte de mer auec toute ſon eſtendue, à la reſerue des droiƈts qui eſtoient deus à l’Eglise de Frejus. Cette liberalité fut faiƈte en la ville d’Arles, du consentement d’Adelle femme du Prince, & de ſon fils Guillaume, & en preſence d’Anno Archeueſque d’Arles, & de pluſieurs autres personnes de qualité.
  Peu apres Rioulphe Eueſque de Frejus s’adreſſa au Comte Guillaume, qui ſe trouua en la ville de Manosſque & luy representa le deplorable eſtat dans lequel ſon Eglise eſtoit reduite; qu’il ne luy reſtoit rien que le nom d’Eueſque; que dans ſon dioceſe toutes choſes eſtoient dans vneſi grande confuſion depuis la venue des Sarrazins, qu’il ne ſçauoit-pas où eſtoient ſituées les terres qui appartenoient à ſon Egliſe; qu’il n’y auoit plus perſonne en vie qui en pûſt donner quelque cónoiſſance, d’autant que tout auoit eſté, ou perdu par la longueur du temps, ou conſumé par le feu. Si bien qu’il le ſupplioit de faire reſtituer à son Egliſe tout le bien, & toutes les terres qui en auoient eſté vſurpées Guillaume ne voulut rien or donner alors ſur cette affaire, croyant qu’il y deuoit penser meurement. Quelque temps apres ſe trouuant en la ville d’Arles de l’auis de ſon Conſeil il fit donation, conjointement auec sa femme Adelle, à l’Eueſque, & à ſes ſucceſſeurs, de la moitié de la ville de Frejus, & du port de la meſme ville, enſemble de toute la dixmе.
  La pieté de ce Prince ne parut pas ſeulement en cette occaſion, mais en beaucoup d’autres. Il donna au Monaſtere de Montmajour vn fief, que la Charte appelle Sarrianis, & vne portion du lieu de Pertuis qu’il auoit eu en don d’vn Eueſque nómé Inguilran, & de ſon frere Nouilong. Il confirma vne donation qu’vne pieuſe Dame, appellée Teucinda, auoit faite de l’isle de Montmajour, & de ſes dependances au meſme Monaſtere. Il rendit à celuy de Cluni le lieu de Valenſole, que l’Abbé Mayeul & les Religieux luy auoient autrefois donné pour en ioüir durant ſa vie. Et en vne aſſemblée qui fut faite en la ville d’Arles, composée d’vn grand nombre de Cheualiers, que la Charte appelle Vaſſos Dominicos tàm Romanos quàm Salicos, pour monſtrer que les vns eſtoient du Païs couſtumier, les autres du Droiƈt eſcrit, Honoré Eueſque de Marſeille entra dans cette celebre aſſemblée, & demanda auec grande inſtance la reſtitution de quelques biens fituez au Comté d’Aix, que quelques particuliers, qui eſtoient alors dans l’assemblée, auoient vſurpez au Monaſtere S. Viƈtor. Guillaume trouuant la requeſte de l’Eueſque, iuste, fit reſtituer ces biens à ce Monaſtere.
  Guillaume eut pour femme Blanche fille de Geofroy Griſegorelle Comte d’Anjou, ſelon le dire de quelques Autheurs. Mais les Chartes nous apprennent qu’elle s’appelloit Adelle, de laquelle il eut Guillaume II. du nom, & Conſtance mariée à Robert Roy de France. I’ay veu toutefois deux titres, dans leſquels la femme de ce Prince eſt nommée Arſindis. Ce qui m’oblige de croire qu’il fut marié deux fois, & que cette Dame fut ſa premiere femme, de laquelle il n’eut aucune lignée. La mort de Guillaume eſt diuerſement rapportée par les Hiſtoriens: car les vns eſcriuent qu’il fut tué en vne bataille donnée entre Lambert Comte de Louuain & Geofroy d’Ardenne. Les autres, qu’il mourut auec l’habit de Moine, que luy donna Mayeul Abbé de Cluni. Ce qui ſemble en quelque façon confirmé par vne Charte, qui dit, que ce Prince auoit prié l’Abbé & les Religieux de luy permettre d’eſtre enſeueli dans leur Monaſtere. Tant y a qu’il y a apparence que ſa mort n’arriua qu’enuiron l’an 992. ou apres, ſelon la datte de ſon teſtament, qui eſt de la meſme année, & qu’on void encore en eſtat dans les Archiues de Sainƈt Ceſaire d’Arles. Il porta la qualité & le titre de Prince, de Duc, de Marquis, de Comte de Prouence, & de Pere de la Patrie.
This roughly translates as:
  William I, after the death of his father Boso, succeeded him in the County of Provence. He was a pious, generous, and magnanimous Prince; he lived under king Conrad. During his reign, the Saracens made themselves masters of the Fort of Fraxinet, and of several towns of Provence, which they entirely ruined. That of Fréjus among others was so desolated that it was reduced to a solitude; for the inhabitants were for the most part cut to pieces, and the few who escaped the fury of these Barbarians fled to distant places. But William in this juncture made his generosity and his valor shine: for he drove the Saracens from Provence, and even retook the Fort of Fraxinet after a memorable defeat. This is reported by Saint Odilo, Abbot of Cluny, in the Life of Saint Maiolus, where he gives to William this eulogy of "Most Illustrious and Most Christian Prince," and also by Raoul Glaber, and by several Charters.
  As Provence found itself peaceful by the flight of the Saracens, William wished to recognize those who had behaved generously in this undertaking. And insofar as Giballin de Grimaldis, a valiant and magnificent man, had not only always accompanied him in all the combats he had given against the Saracens, but had even by his own virtue delivered from the hands of these Barbarians the seacoast of Saint-Tropez; William made him a present of this seacoast with all its extent, reserving the rights that were due to the Church of Fréjus. This liberality was made in the city of Arles, with the consent of Adelaide, wife of the Prince, and of his son William, and in the presence of Anno, Archbishop of Arles, and of several other persons of quality.
  Shortly thereafter, Rioulfe, Bishop of Fréjus, addressed himself to Count William, who was in the town of Manosque, and represented to him the deplorable state to which his Church was reduced; that there remained to him nothing but the name of Bishop; that in his diocese all things were in such great confusion since the coming of the Saracens that he did not know where the lands belonging to his Church were situated; that there was no longer anyone alive who could give any knowledge of them, insofar as everything had been either lost by the length of time or consumed by fire. So much so that he supplicated him to have restored to his Church all the goods and all the lands that had been usurped from it. William wished to order nothing then on this matter, believing that he ought to think upon it maturely. Some time later, being in the city of Arles, by the advice of his Council, he made a donation, jointly with his wife Adelaide, to the Bishop, and to his successors, of half of the city of Fréjus and of the port of the same city, together with all the tithe.
  The piety of this Prince appeared not only on this occasion, but in many others. He gave to the Monastery of Montmajour a fief, which the Charter calls Sarrians, and a portion of the place of Pertuis which he had had as a gift from a Bishop named Ingelram, and from his brother Nouilong. He confirmed a donation that a pious Dame, called Teucinda, had made of the island of Montmajour and of its dependencies to the same Monastery. He returned to that of Cluny the place of Valensole, which the Abbé Maiolus and the Religious had formerly given him to enjoy during his life. And in an assembly that was held in the city of Arles, composed of a great number of Knights, whom the Charter calls Vaſſos Dominicos tàm Romanos quàm Salicos to show that some were of the customary Land [North], others of written Law [South], Honoratus, Bishop of Marseille, entered into this celebrated assembly and requested with great instance the restitution of some goods situated in the County of Aix, which some private individuals, who were then in the assembly, had usurped from the Monastery of Saint-Victor. William, finding the request of the Bishop just, had these goods restored to that Monastery.
  William had for his wife Blanche, daughter of Geoffrey Greymantle, Count of Anjou, according to the saying of some Authors. But the Charters teach us that she was called Adelaide, by whom he had William II of the name, and Constance, married to Robert, King of France. I have seen, however, two titles in which the wife of this Prince is named Arsindis. This obliges me to believe that he was married twice, and that this Dame was his first wife, by whom he had no lineage. The death of William is variously reported by Historians: for some write that he was killed in a battle given between Lambert, Count of Louvain, and Geoffrey of Ardenne. Others, that he died with the habit of a Monk, which Maiolus, Abbot of Cluny, gave him. This seems in some way confirmed by a Charter, which says that this Prince had prayed the Abbot and the Religious to permit him to be buried in their Monastery. At any rate, it appears that his death occurred only around the year 992 or after, according to the date of his testament, which is of the same year, and which is still seen in good condition in the Archives of Saint-Césaire of Arles. He bore the quality and the title of Prince, of Duke, of Marquis, of Count of Provence, and of Father de la Fatherland.

William's place in history was established by his military victory over the Saracens in response to their capture and ransoming Maiolus, abbot of Cluny in 983.
La Provence du premier au douzième siècle pp247-9 (Georges de Manteyer, 1908)
  Cette capture d’un compatriote puissant et respecté, alors intermédiaire entre le pape et l’empereur, produisit en Provence l’élan nécessaire à l’effort qui s’mposait. La victoire du marquis, qui anéantit les Sarrasins à leur retour par les Alpes, doit donc bien être fixée au mois de septembre 983. En effet, munis de leur butin, ceux-ci ne durent pas tarder à rentrer vers la fin d’août pour le mettre à l’abri. La Vie de Mayeul par Cyr n’indique pas le nom du vainqueur: celle qui fut faite par Odilon nomme Guillaume. Le marquis rendit à l’abbé ses livres, mais il ne lui rendit pas son argent: il se payait de sa peine. On ne peut dire où se produisit la rencontre.
… Tout porte à croire que la prise du Freinet, par Roubaud et Ardoin, est un fait contemporain de la victoire remportée par Guillaume sur les Sarrasins qui revenaient de Valais avec leur butin. En effet, la mention de Roubaud au lieu de Guillaume est significative: étant donné l’effacement habituel de ce comte devant son frère, c’est celui-ci qui serait nommé comme chef d’expédition s’il avait été présent. Pendant que les Sarrasins, forts d’un millier d’hommes, étaient séparés en deux groupes, l’un qui revenait de Valais, l’autre qui gardait le Freinet, les marquis de Provence et de Turin s’entendirent pour une action commune. Les Provençaux, guidés par le traître Aymon, combinèrent leur expédition dans le plus grand secret. Tandis que le marquis de Provence Guillaume dressait, dans un défilé des Alpes, l’embuscade où devait tomber le premier groupe, son frère Roubaud, avec le marquis de Turin, se rendait maître du repaire.
… Ainsi disparut ce fléau des pillards mahométans que la Provence avait laissé d’abord s’établir chez elle avec indifférence et même, qui pis est, avec indulgeace, absorbée qu’elle était par ses dissensions intestines. … Le comte Guillaume surgit: il se met au premier rang avant Roubaud, unit sous son autorité dès 971 tous les comtés de Provence, se fait décerner le titre régulier de manjuis en 979 à l’occasion d’un mouvement de la France en Guyenne. La Provence a désormais un chef effectif, bien à elle.
This roughly translates as:
  This capture of a powerful and respected compatriot [Maiolus], then an intermediary between the pope and the emperor, produced in Provence the momentum necessary for the effort that was required. The victory of the marquis, which annihilated the Saracens upon their return through the Alps, can therefore be fixed to the month of September 983. Indeed, provided with their booty, they must not have delayed in returning toward the end of August to put it in safety. The Life of Maiolus by Cyr [Syrus] does not indicate the name of the victor; the one that was made by Odilo names William. The marquis returned his books to the abbé, but he did not return his money: he was paying himself for his trouble. One cannot say where the encounter took place.
… Everything leads one to believe that the taking of Fraxinet, by Roubaud and Ardoin, is a contemporary fact of the victory won by William over the Saracens who were returning from Valais with their booty. Indeed, the mention of Roubaud instead of William is significant: given the usual secondary role of this comte before his brother, it is the latter who would be named as the leader of the expedition if he had been present. While the Saracens, a thousand men strong, were separated into two groups, one returning from Valais, the other guarding Le Freinet, the marquis of Provence and of Turin agreed upon a common action. The Provençals, guided by the traitor Aymon, coordinated their expedition in the greatest secrecy. While the marquis of Provence, William, set up an ambush in an Alpine pass where the first group was to fall, his brother Roubaud, with the Marquis of Turin, seized the stronghold.
… Thus disappeared this scourge of Mohammedan pillagers that Provence had first allowed to establish themselves in her midst with indifference and even, what is worse, with indulgence, absorbed as she was by her internal dissensions. … Count William emerged: he placed himself at the forefront, ahead of Roubaud, united all the counties of Provence under his authority as early as 971, and was granted the official title of marquis in 979 during a French military campaign in Aquitaine. Provence now had an effective leader of its own.

Manteyer has summarised the documentation regarding William's first and second wives.
La Provence du premier au douzième siècle pp254-8 (Georges de Manteyer, 1908)
    § 5. — Les deux femmes du marquis Guillaume.
  Le marquis Guillaume se maria deux fois. Arsinde fut sa première femme: l’acte, passé à Arles en avril 972, où Guillaume prend le titre de comte de Provence, est rédigé au nom des deux époux1. De même, l’acte de donation de Pertuis passé en juin 9812. Le second acte, où paraît le titre de marquis, passé à Arles le 17 avril 981, est la donation, consentie à Hugues Blavie, d’une condamine aux Lônes dans le canton Roubian. Cet acte est rédigé au nom seul de Guillaume, mais il est souscrit également par sa femme Arsinde3. Conformément à une règle, qui est constante à cette épocque, le titre militaire de marquis ne peut être porté par une femme; Arsinde prend donc simplement sa qualité de comtesse.
  Arsinde, si l’on juge par son nom, devait être originaire de Languedoc4. L’acte du 29 août 9935 prouve que le frère de Roubaud, Guillaume, se remaria avec Alix et qu’il en eut un fils nommé Guillaume comme lui. Cet acte est en effet rédigé en commun, au nom de Guillaume, de sa femme Alix, de son fils Guillaume et de son frère Roubaud1. Dès 986, Alix était la femme du marquis2: elle était sœur de Drogon, évêque du Puy, et, par conséquent, fille du comte d'Anjou Foulques et de Gerberge, comme le prouve un acte de septembre 9943, Il s’agit donc bien d’Alix, veuve du comte de Gévaudan Etienne I; elle avait eu de de ce premier mariage Pons, Bertrand, Guillaume et Ermengarde. En 979, elle s’était remariée avec Louis V. Pendant près de deux ans elle avait été reine de Guyenne; mais, divorcée en 981 et délaissée à Brioude, elle s’était réfugiée en Provence et s’y était unie à Guillaume, comme le raconte Richer1. Guillaume venait précisément d’être revêtu du titre de marquis, en raison de la venue de Louis V en Guyenne: c’est peut-être la raison pour laquelle la reine divorcée et désireuse de vengeance vint se donner à lui plutôt qu’à un autre. Malgré l’issue malheureuse de son bref mariage avec Louis V, Alix, après tout, avait été reine. Pour un marquis, la mariée était encore belle: cette union dut être pour lui à peu près ce qu’avait été vers 913 pour le duc de Provence Hugues son mariage avec la veuve du roi de Jurane. Les deux actes de 986 et de 993 ne sont pas les seuls où Alix paraisse à côté du marquis: il y en a quatre autres et ce sont ceux de juin [989], du 6 mars 990, de 992 et du 28 août [993 ?]2. L'acte du mois d’août 1001 prouve qu’Alix eut de Guillaume non seulement un fils, mais une fille nommée Constance1; cette fille portait ainsi le nom de sa grand’ mere paternelle. A peine les Carolingiens disparus, la femme répudiée de Louis V prit sa revanche: elle maria sa fille avec le roi rance Robert II. Cet événement se produisit entre le mois d’août 1001 et le 25 août 1003: Constance reçut en dot de l’or qu’elle ne gaspilla pas2. A sa suite, les modes de Provence envahirent la France. Elle devait mourir à Melun en juillet 1032.
  Les derniers actes que l’on ait du marquis sont de 992 en faveur de Saint-Césaire d’Arles, du 29 août 993 en faveur de Psalmody et du 28 août vers 990 en faveur de Cluny. Étant donné que le frère, la femme et le fils de Guillaume souscrivent celui-ci comme celui du 29 août, étant donné qu’il s’agit également d’une libéralité en faveur d’une abbaye, on est porté à croire que cet acte fut passé le 28 août 993, la veille de celui relatif à Psalmody. Ce sont là, en somme, les dernières dispositions prises par le marquis à la veille de sa mort. On sait que, quand Guillaume sentit approcher son heure dernière, il demanda l’assistance spirituelle de saint Mayeul et celui-ci, malgré son grand âge, vint, pour le voir, planter sa tente dans l’ile sise sous Avignon. Il est bien évident que le marquis se devait de témoigner sa reconnaissance à l’abbé: cette donation du 28 août en est un souvenir. Par conséquent les actes du 28 et du 29 août 993 ont dû être passés à Avignon et Guillaume a dû mourir dans cette cité peu apres. Il donna de plus, à Clunv, Sarrians pour y élever une église à la sainte Croix, en souvenir de sa victoire, et il déclara sa volonté d’y être inhumé1. Sa mort survint avant le mois de septembre 994 et ces derniers faits confirment bien l’opinion que le marquis occupait spécialement la région d’Avignon.
  1. Arles, avril [972]. « ego in Doi nomine Wilelmus comes Provincie et conjux mea Arsinna » [Saint-Victor, 598).
  2. juin [981]: « Willelmus comes et conjux mea Arsindis » (Chantelou pp. 56-57).
  3. Arles, 17 avril [981]: « ego in Dei nomen Vuilelmus, marchius Arelaleuse Provinlię… Signuui Vuilelmus… Signum Arsinda comitissa firmavit… » (Saint-Victor, no 1042).
  4. [Vers 959]. « Arsindis comitissa cum filiis suis Odo et Raimundo… in comitatu Narbonense… prædictus Raymundus comes… » (Vaissète, Hist. de Languedoc, t. V, 2e éd., col. 232-233, no 106-XCI). Cf. no 79, 89.
  5. [Avignon ?] 29 août [993|: « ego Guillelmus comes et uxor mea Adalaiz et germanus meus Rodbaldus et filius meus Guillelmus… hunc testamentun nostrum… fieri eligimus… donamus ad… Psalmodium… in pago Nemausensi, ubi Rodanus vel Vitusalus Visterque [iter] faciunt… ecclesiam… Sancti Cosmæ et Sancti Damiani et alia ecclesia… Sanctæ Mariæ… in territorio civitatis Magalonensis, in suburbio castri Substantionensis in terminiuim de villa Caldisianicas, cum cellulis… Facta donatione ista IIII calendas septembris anno septimo quod usurpavit Ugo ad Carolum Glium Ludovici regem… » (Gard, II. 106, Cart. Psalmody, fo 15).
  1. M. Blancard a parlé des actes, tirés des archives de Psalmody, qui concernent Guillaume et sa femme Alix. Ces actes lui paraissent décisifs et à bon droit; mais le fait qu’ils prouvent péremptoirement est exactement le contraire de ce que M. Blancard croyait pouvoir avancer. La cause de cette erreur regrettable de M. Blancard est bien simple: il parle de ces actes, non d’après leur texte, mais d’après l’analyse qu’en faisait Mabillon. Celui-ci se trompait en disant: « Ad hæc eidem Warnerio Guillelmus comes et uxor ejus Adelais ac cognatus ejus Rotbaldus comes ac Guillelmus frater ejus dimiserunt ecclesiam de Bergen… » (Annales Ordinis S. Benedicti… t. IV, Lucæ MDCCXXXIX, pp. 162-163). L’erreur consistait à à dire que, d’après ces actes, Guillaume mari d’Alix était différent du frère de Roubaud, Guillaume. Mabillon aurait dû imprimer: « ac cognatus ejus Rotbaldus comes ac Guillelmus filius ejus. » M. Blancard répète l’erreur échappée par inadvertance à Mabillon et il ne l’aurait certainement pas répétée s’il avait pris la peine de lire les textes de Psalmody avant d’en parler (L. Blancard, De l’existence simultanée de Guillaume mari d’Arsinde et Guillaume mari d’Adélaïde, comtes de Provence au Xe siècle, p. 9).
  Nice, 30 décembre [1000-1032]: « ego Odila… per remedium animarum Willelmo magnifico comite… in comitatu Nicensis, in territorio, prope civitate, Cimela… » (Cte E. Cais de Pierlas et Gust. Saige, Chartrier de Saint-Pons, Monaco, 1903, p. 5, no III).
  2. Avignon, 986: « ego Vuillelmus comes, inclitus marchio et uxor mea Adalaix comitissa… » (Ruffi, Dissert, hist., 1712, p. 16).
  3. Le Puy, septembre [994]: « ego Drogo gratia Dei episcopus Aniciensis, filius Fulcoiiis comitis et Gerbergæ dedi et concessi Willelmo comit Provinciæ filio Willelmi quondam comitis et Adalasiæ sororis mese castrum do Chalanconio cum omnibus pertinentiis suis quod heredes Alberti mihi nuper vendiderunt. ✝Signum Drogonis episcopi. Actum apud Podium mense septembris anno VIII regnantibus Hugone et Roberto regibus » (Bibl. nat. Dom Housseau, I, no 256; tiré des Arch. de Barcelone parmi les titres des comtés d’Aragon et de Provence). La communication de ce texte est due à l’obligeance de M. Guy de Puybaudet, ancien membre de l’École de Rome.
  1. « Regina, sese viduatam dolens et verita maioris incommodi iniuriam, Willelmum Arelatensem adiit eique nupsit. Et sic ex divortio adulterium publicum operatum est » (Richeri Histor., lib. III, § 95).
  2. Arles, juin [989]: « …inter domno Vuilelmo comité et uxor sua Adalax apud heum hominem nomine Aicardo… de villa… Segalarias… in comitatu Aqueuse… de castrum quod edificari potuerit… donamus tibi unam medietatem… Signum domnus Vuilelmus et uxor sua Adalax… Signum Teutbaldus, vicarius. » (Bouches-du-Rhône, H. Saint-Victor, I, no 17; Mém. de l’Ac. de Marseille, 1887, pp. 252-253). M. Blancard a identifié Seglarias avec Saint-Zacharie.
  Arles, 6 mars [990]. « Signum Willelmi comitis et uxoris sue Adalays… Rotbaldus comes voluit et concessit » (Chantelou, pp. 66-68). — 28 août [993?]: « Rodbaldus comes f. Adalaix comitissa f. Wilelmus comes f. et filius ejus Wilelmus f. » (Cluny, no 1837). — Arles, 992: « domnus princeps et marchio istius Provinciæ bonæ indolis Vuillelmus conjuge sua nomine Adalaix et filio suo nomine Vuillelmo veniens… Factum hoc testamentum in ipso monasterio per preceptum domini Vuillelmi principis consentiente conjuge ejus simul cum filio in præsenti adslante domno Annone archiepiscopo qui voluerunt et firmarunt simul cum canonicis. Domnus Rotbaldus comes voluit atque firmavit. Stephanus episcopus firmavit… Pontius episcopus firmavit. Alius Pontius archiepiscopus firmavit. Udolricus episcopus firmavit Vuillelmus vicecomes firmavit. » (Bibl. nat. de Madrid, ms. Ee. 45, ff. 24 vo-25 ro; Bouche, Hist. de Provence, t. II, p. 47).
  1. Août [1001]: « ego in Dei nomen Adalax comitissa et filius suus Villelmus comes et filia sua Constantia… Signum Adalax comitisse et filii sui Villelmi comitis et filiæ sue Constantie… » (Chantelou, pp. 70-71).
  2. 1029: « ego Robertus gratia Dei Francorum rex et Constantia divino nutu regina. Me et conjugem meam Constanciam jocunda conversatione mihi admodum dilectam et in administratione rerum ad se pertinentium satis utilem et strenuam predium… quod de auro a patris sui domo asportato… emerat… » (Bibl. nat., ms. lat. 17048, p. 424).
  1. [1031-1048]: « …in villa Sarrianis quam Wilelmus quondain dux Provintiæ et pater patriæ… monasterio Cluniensi et loco in quo se sepeliri rogavit… moriens donando… æcclesiam construere studuit et eam consecrare et dedicare rogavit a… Regimbaldo Arelatensium archyepiscopo ad honorem Dei et memoriam dominicę et victoriosissimę crucis ac Domini genitricis et… Petri et Pauli et… Marcelli… et… Saturnini… » (Cluny, no 2886).
This roughly translates as:
    § 5. — The two wives of the marquis William
  The marquis William married twice. Arsinde was his first wife: the act, passed at Arles in April 972, where William takes the title of comte of Provence, is drawn up in the names of both spouses1. Likewise, the act of donation of Pertuis passed in June 9812. The second act, in which the title of marquis appears, passed at Arles on April 17, 981, is the donation, granted to Hugh Blavia, of a condamine at Les Lônes in the canton of Roubian. This act is drawn up in the sole name of William, but it is also subscribed by his wife Arsinde3. In accordance with a rule which was constant at that epoch, the military title of marquis cannot be carried by a woman; Arsinde therefore simply takes her status as comtesse.
  Arsinde, judging by her name, must have been originally from Languedoc4. The act of August 29, 9935, proves that the brother of Roubaud, William, remarried with Alix [Adelaide] and that he had by her a son named William like himself. This act is indeed drawn up jointly, in the name of William, of his wife Alix, of his son William, and of his brother Roubaud1. As early as 986, Alix was the wife of the marquis2: she was the sister of Drogon, bishop of Le Puy, and, consequently, the daughter of Fulk, the count of Anjou, and Gerberga, as is proven by an act of September 9943. It is therefore indeed Alix, the widow of the count of Gévaudan, Stephen I; she had had from this first marriage Pons, Bertrand, William, and Ermengarde. In 979, she had remarried with Louis V. For nearly two years she had been queen of Aquitaine; but, divorced in 981 and abandoned at Brioude, she took refuge in Provence and united herself there to William, as Richer1 recounts. William had precisely just been invested with the title of marquis, by reason of the arrival of Louis V in Aquitaine: this is perhaps the reason why the divorced queen, desirous of vengeance, came to give herself to him rather than to another. Despite the unhappy outcome of her brief marriage with Louis V, Alix, after all, had been a queen. For a marquis, the bride was still beautiful: this union must have been for him approximately what the marriage with the widow of the king of Jurane had been around 913 for the duc of Provence, Hugh. The two acts of 986 and 993 are not the only ones where Alix appears alongside the marquis: there are four others, and they are those of June [989], 6 March 990, 992, and 28 August [993?]2. The act of the month of August 1001 proves that Alix had by William not only a son, but a daughter named Constance1; this daughter thus bore the name of her paternal grandmother. Scarcely had the Carolingians disappeared when the repudiated wife of Louis V took her revenge: she married her daughter to the Frankish king Robert II. This event occurred between the month of August 1001 and 25 August 1003: Constance received as a dowry gold which she did not waste2. In her wake, the fashions of Provence invaded France. She was to die at Melun in July 1032.
  The last acts that we have from the marquis are from 992 in favor of Saint-Césaire of Arles, of 29 August 993, in favor of Psalmody, and of 28 August circa 990 in favor of Cluny. Given that the brother, the wife, and the son of William subscribe to the latter as well as to that of 29 August, and given that it also concerns a liberality in favor of an abbey, one is inclined to believe that this act was passed on 28 August 993, the day before the one relating to Psalmody. These are, in short, the last dispositions taken by the marquis on the eve of his death. It is known that, when William felt his final hour approaching, he requested the spiritual assistance of Saint Maiolus, and the latter, despite his great age, came to see him, pitching his tent on the island situated below Avignon. It is quite evident that the marquis owed it to himself to testify his gratitude to the abbé: this donation of 28 August is a souvenir of it. Consequently, the acts of 28 and 29 August 993, must have been passed at Avignon, and William must have died in that city shortly thereafter. Furthermore, he gave to Cluny [the villa of] Sarrians to raise a church there to the Holy Cross, in memory of his victory, and he declared his will to be buried there1. His death occurred before the month of September 994, and these final facts confirm well the opinion that the marquis specifically occupied the region of Avignon.
  1. Arles, April [972]. “I am William, count of Provence in the name of God, and my wife Arsinna” [Saint-Victor, 598].
  2. June [981]: “William, count of Provence and my wife Arsinda” (Chantelou pp. 56-57).
  3. Arles, 17 April [981]: “I am William, marchioness of the Province of Arles… I have signed William… countess Arsinda has confirmed her sign…” (Saint-Victor, no. 1042).
  4. [About 959]. “Countess Arsinda with her sons Odo and Raymond… in the county of Narbon… the aforementioned count Raymond…” (Vaissète, Hist. de Languedoc, t. V, 2nd ed., col. 232-233, no. 106-XCI). Cf. no 79, 89.
  5. [Avignon ?] 29 August [993|: “I, William, count, and my wife Adalaiz, and my brother Rodbaldus, and my son William… we choose to make this our testament… we donate to… Psalmodium… in the village of Nemaus, where Rodanus or Vitusalus Visterque [is] making… the church… of Saints Cosmas and Damian and another church… Saint Mary… in the territory of the city of Magalon, in the suburb of the castle of Substantion on the border of the villa of Caldisian, with cells… This donation was made on the fourth day of September in the seventh year that Ugo usurped Charles I, king of Louis…”  (Gard, II. 106, Cart. Psalmody, fo 15).
  1. Mr. Blancard spoke about the acts, taken from the Psalmody archives, which concern Guillaume and his wife Alix. These acts seem decisive to him and rightly so; but the fact that they prove peremptorily is exactly the opposite of what Mr. Blancard thought he could put forward. The cause of this regrettable error by Mr. Blancard is very simple: he speaks of these acts, not according to their text, but according to Mabillon's analysis of them. He was wrong when he said: « Ad hæc eidem Warnerio Guillelmus comes et uxor ejus Adelais ac cognatus ejus Rotbaldus comes ac Guillelmus frater ejus dimiserunt ecclesiam de Bergen… » (Annales Ordinis S. Benedicti… t. IV, Lucæ MDCCXXXIX, pp. 162-163). The error consisted in saying that, according to these acts, Guillaume husband of Alix was different from Roubaud's brother, Guillaume. Mabillon should have printed:  « ac cognatus ejus Rotbaldus comes ac Guillelmus filius ejus. » Mr. Blancard repeats the error that Mabillon inadvertently escaped and he would certainly not have repeated it if he had taken the trouble to read the texts of Psalmody before talking about it (L. Blancard, De l’existence simultanée de Guillaume mari d’Arsinde et Guillaume mari d’Adélaïde, comtes de Provence au Xe siècle, p. 9).
   Nice, 30 décembre [1000-1032]: “I Odila… for the sake of the souls of count William the magnificent… in the county of Nice, in the territory, near the city, Cimela…” (Cte E. Cais de Pierlas et Gust. Saige, Chartrier de Saint-Pons, Monaco, 1903, p. 5, no III).
  2. Avignon, 986: “I, count William, illustrious marchioness, and my wife, countess Adalaix…” (Ruffi, Dissert, hist., 1712, p. 16).
  3. Le Puy, September [994]: “I, Drogo, by the grace of God, bishop of Anicia, son of count Fulco and Gerberga, have given and granted to William, count of Provence, son of William, formerly count and sister of Adalasia, my castle of Chalanconio with all its belongings which the heirs of Albert have recently sold to me. ✝Sign of Drogo, bishop of Chalanconio. Acted at the Podium in September of the year VIII, during the reigns of Hugh and Robert” (Bibl. nat. Dom Housseau, I, no. 256; taken from the Arch. of Barcelona among the titles of the counties of Aragon and Provence). The communication of this text is due to the kindness of M. Guy de Puybaudet, former member of the School of Rome.
  1. “The queen, mourning her widowhood and aware of the greater inconvenience and injury, went to William of Arles and married him. And thus out of the divorce public adultery was committed” (Richeri Histor., book III, § 95).
  2. Arles, June [989]: “…between the lord William the count and his wife Adalax with a certain man named Aicardo… of the villa… Segalarias… in the county of Aqueuse… of a castle that could be built… we give you one half… Signed lord William and his wife Adalax… Signed Teutbaldus, vicar.” (Bouches-du-Rhône, H. Saint-Victor, I, no 17; Mém. de l’Ac. de Marseille, 1887, pp. 252-253). M. Blancard has identified Seglarias with Saint-Zacharias.
  Arles, 6 March [990]. “Signed William the count and his wife Adalays… Rotbald the count wished and granted” (Chantelou, pp. 66-68). — 28 August [993?]: “Rodbald the count f. Adalaix the countess f. Wilelmus the count f. and his son Wilelmus the count f.” (Cluny, no 1837). — Arles, 992: “The lord prince and marquis of Provence, count William the Good, with his wife named Adalaix and his son named William… This testament was made in the monastery by the command of the lord William the prince, with his wife and son in the presence of the lord Ann, archbishop, who wished and signed it together with the canons. Lord Rotbald the count wished and signed it. Bishop Stephen signed it… Bishop Pontius signed it. Another archbishop Pontius signed it. Bishop Udolric signed it. Vice-count William signed it.” (Bibl. nat. de Madrid, ms. Ee. 45, ff. 24 vo-25 ro; Bouche, Hist. de Provence, t. II, p. 47).
  1. August [1001]: “In the name of God I Adalax the countess and her son William the count and her daughter Constantia… Signed Adalax the countess and her son William the count and her daughter Constantia  …” (Chantelou, pp. 70-71).
2. 1029: “I Robert by the grace of God king of the Franks and Constantia by divine will queen. I and my wife Constance, who is very dear to me for her pleasant conversation and in the administration of things pertaining to themselves, have acquired a very useful and vigorous estate… which they bought from gold taken from her father’s house…” (Bibl. nat., ms. lat. 17048, p. 424).
  1. [1031-1048]: “…in the villa of Sarrian which William, sometimes duke of Provence and father of the country… asked to be buried in the monastery of Cluny and the place where he died… he studied to build a church and he asked Regimbald, archbishop of Arles, to consecrate and dedicate it to the honor of God and the memory of the most victorious and dominical cross and of the mother of the Lord and of Peter and Paul and… Marcellus… and… Saturninus… ” (Cluny, no 2886).

In 993, feeling his death approaching, William performed a dramatic "Great Renunciation." He traveled to Avignon. There, in the presence of his old friend and now saint Maiolus, he abdicated his titles. William traveled the short distance from Avignon to the villa at Sarrians, which he had already designated as a gift to the monastery of Cluny, where he performed the ritual of laying down his "secular insignia" (his belt and mantle) and formally received the habit of St Benedict. William remained there as a monk until his death.
Ex Vita S. Maioli Abbatis Cluniaacensiss in Recueil des historiens des Gaules et de la France vol 10 p362 (1874)
CUM Willelmus (a) Provincialium Princeps prægravari se ultima sentiret sorte, Maïoli se meritis salvari posse ab animæ credidit morte: qui sibi ad [Avignon] Avennorum accersitus opidum, ut multitudinis vitaret conventum, in insula quæ Rhodanum sub præfato castro scindit fluvium, sibi ponere jussit tentorium… In ipsius præscripti Rhodani ripa ab antiquis B. Martini constructa fuerat Ecclesia.
  (a) Willelmus iste Dux Provinciæ in Charta Leodegarii Cluniac. Monachi pater patriæ appellatur. De codem Odile sub finem libelii de Maïoli Gestis sic habet: Quantùm illum Willelmus Rector Provinciæ coluit, vita illius et finis ostendit. Per ejus quippè meritum et fidele obsequium, B. Benedicti percipere meruit habitum; in extremis scilicet pro more illoram termporum.
This roughly translates as:
WHEN William (a) the Prince of Provence felt himself weighed down by his final lot, Maioli believed that he could be saved from death by the merits of his soul: who, having been summoned to [Avignon], a town of Avens, in order to avoid the assembly of the multitude, ordered himself to pitch a tent on an island which divides the Rhone under the aforesaid castle… On the bank of the same prescribed Rhone the ancients had built a church of St. Martin.
  (a) This William, Duke of Provence, is called the father of the country in the Charter of Leodegar, the Monk of Cluny. The Codex Odile, at the end of the book on Maioli’s Deeds, has it thus: How much William, the Rector of the Province, worshipped him, his life and his end show. Through his merit and faithful service, he deserved to receive the habit of St. Benedict; in the extremes, that is to say, according to the custom of those times.

Death: 993 or 994, probably in Avignon, Provence

Burial: Cluny monastery in Sarrians, Provence

Recueil des chartes de l'abbaye de Cluny vol 4 pp63-4 (Auguste Bernard & Alexandre Bruel, 1876)
Ea auctoritate ammonitus, quidam Dei famulus, nomine Leodegarius, Cluniensis monasterii frater et monachus, in villa quę vocatur Sarrianis, quam Wilelmus, quondam dux Provintiæ et pater patrię2, sanctorum apostolorum Petri et Pauli et monasterio Cluniensi et loco in quo se sepeliri rogavit, et beato Maiolo adhuc in carne vivente et vivens delegavit et moriens donando attribuit, æcclesiam construere studuit
  2 Ce nom indique qu’il s’agit ici du comte de Provence (surnommé Père de ia Patrie), Guillaume I (968-998). L’original porte: dux et Provintiæ pater patrię.
This roughly translates as:
Admonished by that authority, a certain servant of God, Leodegarius by name, a brother and monk of the monastery of Cluny, strove to build a church in the village which is called Sarrians; which [village] William, formerly dux of Provence and father of the fatherland, had assigned while living and granted while dying to the holy apostles Peter and Paul and to the monastery of Cluny and to the place in which he asked himself to be buried and to the blessed Maiolus while still living in the flesh and [which he] assigned by giving at his death
  2 This name indicates that this refers to the Count of Provence (nicknamed Father of the Fatherland), William I (968-998). The original text reads: dux et Provintiæ pater patrię.

Sources:
Return to Chris Gosnell's Home Page

If you have any comments, additions or modifications to the information on this page, please feel free to email me.
Created and maintained by: chris@ocotilloroad.com