The Count of Bordeaux (Latin ''comes Burdagalensis'') was the ruler of the city of

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

and its environs in the

Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from around the middle of the 5th century until Pepin the Short in 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the ...

and

Carolingian The Carolingian dynasty ( ; known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish noble family named after Charles Martel and his grandson Charlemagne, descendants of the Arnulfing and Pippinid c ...

periods. The names of the counts are scarcely known until the ninth century, when they start to take on a larger role because of their strategic importance in the defence against

Viking raids The Viking Age (about ) was the period during the Middle Ages when Norsemen known as Vikings undertook large-scale raiding, colonising, conquest, and trading throughout Europe and reached North America. The Viking Age applies not only to their ...

. Over the next two centuries, the county of Bordeaux was brought into union with the

Duchy of Gascony The Duchy of Gascony or Duchy of Vasconia was a duchy located in present-day southwestern France and northeastern Spain, an area encompassing the modern region of Gascony. The Duchy of Gascony, then known as ''Wasconia'', was originally a Franki ...

. The County of Saintes (''comitatus Santonicensis'') was often held concomitant with Bordeaux. Towards the end of the tenth century, the counts of Bordeaux began minting money in their own name. There was an active mint at Bordeaux in Merovingian times, and a series of 19 moneyers are known by name between 580 and about 710. Thereafter, minting at Bordeaux ceased until the reign of

Louis the Pious Louis the Pious (; ; ; 16 April 778 – 20 June 840), also called the Fair and the Debonaire, was King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor, co-emperor with his father, Charlemagne, from 813. He was also King of Aquitaine from 781. As the only ...

as emperor, when the mint was re-opened. After that there is another hiatus until minting was resumed in the king's name under Louis IV (936–54) and Lothair (954–86). Subsequently obols are known bearing the names of William,

Bernard Bernard ('' Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It has West Germanic origin and is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''be ...

Sancho The name Sancho () is an Iberian name of Basque origin (Santxo, Santzo, Santso, Antzo, Sans). Sancho stems from the Latin name Sanctius. Feminine forms of the name are Sancha, Sancia, and Sanchia (), and the common patronymic is Sánchez and ...

and Odo. The coins of William may belong to the time of William the Good or his successor, William Sánchez.Charles Higounet, ''Bordeaux pendant le Haut Moyen Âge'' (Bordeaux: 1963), pp. 303–05.

List of counts

*Sigulf (

fl. ''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...

575) *Warnachar (fl. 584) *Galactorius (fl. 585), ''defensor civitatis'' (defender of the city) * Seguin I (c. 781 – 816), also Duke of Gascony * Seguin II Mostelanicus (840 – 846), also Duke of Gascony, also in Saintes *

William I William I may refer to: Kings * William the Conqueror (–1087), also known as William I, King of England * William I of Sicily (died 1166) * William I of Scotland (died 1214), known as William the Lion * William I of the Netherlands and Luxembour ...

(846 – 848), also Duke of Gascony * Arnold (863 – 864) * Amalvinus (c. 887 – c. 906) * William II the Good (977 – 988) :''Bordeaux inherited by William II of Gascony. Thereafter united to the duchy and acts as its capital even until Angevin times.''

References

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