William VIII of Aquitane

  General Notes:

Born: 1025
Marriage: (1): Anne of Perigord
Marriage: (2): Hildegard of Burgundy circa 1068-1069
Died: 25 Sep 1086, Chateau de Chizé, France at age 61
Other names for William were Guido and William VI.
General Notes:
William VIII of Aquitaine, (Guy-Guillaume in French) (1025 – September 25, 1086) was the Duke of Aquitaine and Count of Poitiers as William VI of Poitiers between 1058 and 1086, following his brother William VII (Pierre-Guillaume). He became the Duke of Gascony in 1052, during his elder brother's rule. Gascony, henceforward known as Guyenne, had come to Aquitanian rule through William's father’s marriage to Sancha, the heiress of the house.William was one of the leaders of the allied army called to help Ramiro I of Aragon in the siege of Barbastro (1064). This expedition was the first campaign organized by the papacy, namely Pope Alexander II, against a Muslim city, and the precursor of the later Crusades movement. Aragon and its allies conquered the city, killed its inhabitants and collected an important booty. However, Aragon lost the city again in the following years. During William's rule, the alliance with the southern kingdoms of modern Spain was a political priority as shown by the marriage of all his daughters to Iberian kings.William was the youngest son of William V of Aquitaine by his wife Agnes of Burgundy. He was the brother-in-law of Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor who had married his sister, Agnes de Poitou. He married three times and had at least five children:First wife: Anne of Perigord (divorced 1058) Agnes (1052-1078)Second wife: Matilda of La Merche (divorced 1068), no children Third wife: Hildegard of Burgundy (daughter of duke Robert I of Burgundy) Beatrice (d.1110)Hugh (d.1126) Agnes (d.1097)William IX of Aquitaine, his heir William founded the Priory of St. Gemma in Xaintonge.Vilhelm VIII "den Unge" (VI av Poitou) kalles også Guido Gotfred. Han var allerede hertug av Aquitania da han ved sin bror Wilhelm V's død i 1058 fikk grevskapet Poitou.Han erobret Saintonge i 1063 og kjempet i Spanien mot sarasenerne.Vilhelm var gift1. gang ca. 1044 med en datter til Alderbert II av Perigord, forstøtt i 1058,2. gang ca. 1058-59 med Matilde, forstøtt i 1068,3. gang ca. 1068-69 med Hildegard (Alderade) av Burgund.Hans ekteskapelige ulykker og hans sammenstøt med kirken er berømte. Paven tvang ham til å skille seg fra sine to første hustruer på grunn av for nært slektskap i 1058 og 1068. Hans tredje hustru fant heller ikke kirkens bifall.Vilhelm døde i Chizé og ble begravet i Montierneuf i et vakkert gravsted som han hadde latt bygge for de cluny'skemunker.
Noted events in his life were:
• Acceded: Duke of Aquitaine and Count of Poitou, 1058.
William married Anne of Perigord. The marriage ended in divorce in 1058.

William married Hildegard of Burgundy, daughter of Robert I le Vieux of Burgundy and Countess Ermengarde d'Anjou. (Hildegard of Burgundy was born in 1050 and died after 1104.)