Garsenda (french: Garsende; c. 1180 – c. 1242/1257) was the

Countess of Provence The land of Provence has a history quite separate from that of any of the larger nations of Europe. Its independent existence has its origins in the frontier nature of the dukedom in Merovingian Gaul. In this position, influenced and affected by ...

as the wife of Alfonso II from 1193 and the Countess of Forcalquier in her own right from 1209 and subsequently united with Provence. She was also a patron of

Occitan literature Occitan literature (referred to in older texts as Provençal literature) is a body of texts written in Occitan, mostly in the south of France. It was the first literature in a Romance language and inspired the rise of vernacular literature throug ...

, especially the

troubadour A troubadour (, ; oc, trobador ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a ''trobairit ...

s, and herself wrote some lyric poetry and is counted among the trobairitz as ''Garsenda de Proensa''. She was, in the words of her most recent editors, "one of the most powerful women in Occitan history".

Early life and marriage

Garsenda was the daughter of Rainou (or Rénier), lord of Caylar and

Ansouis Ansouis (; oc, Ansoís) is a commune in the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region in southeastern France.House of Sabran, and Garsenda, daughter of

William IV of Forcalquier William IV, Count of Forcalquier (french: Guillaume IV d'Urgell ou Guillaume II de Forcalquier; 1130–1208) was the son of Bertrand I, Count of Forcalquier and Josserande de la Flotte. William married Adelaide de Beziers, daughter of Saura de Ca ...

. She was named after her mother, who was the heiress of William IV, but predeceased him. Garsenda therefore inherited Forcalquier from her grandfather. She was only thirteen years of age when, in 1193, her grandfather William IV and Alfonso II signed the Treaty of Aix whereby Garsenda would inherit William's county and would marry Alfonso, who was in line to become Count of Provence. The marriage took place at

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. ...

in July 1193. They had at least two children, Raymond Berengar IV and Garsenda, who married

Guillermo II de Montcada Guillem Ramon de Moncada or Guillermo II de Bearn (died 1229) was, from 1224 until his death, Lord of Montcada and Castellví de Rosanes (in Catalonia) and, as Guillermo II, Viscount of Bearn, of Marsan, of Gabardan and of Brulhois (in the sout ...

, and bore him two children, including

Gaston VII, Viscount of Béarn Gaston VII de Montcada ( la, Guasto de Biarde) (1225 – 26 April 1290), called ''Froissard'', was the twentieth Viscount of Béarn from 1229. He was the son and heir of Guillermo II de Montcada and of Garsenda, daughter of Alfonso II of Provenc ...

Regency and patronage

In 1209, both William IV and Alfonso died and Garsenda became the natural guardian of their son and heir, Raymond Berengar IV. Initially her brother-in-law, Peter II of Aragon, assigned the

regency A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state ''pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy, ...

of Provence to his brother Sancho, but when Peter died in 1213 Sancho became regent of

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sou ...

and passed Provence and Forcalquier to his son Nuño Sánchez. Dissension broke out between the Catalans and the partisans of the countess, who accused Nuño of attempting to supplant his nephew in the county. The Provençal aristocracy originally took advantage of the situation for their own ambitious ends, but eventually they lined up behind Garsenda and removed Nuño, who returned to Catalonia. The regency was passed to Garsenda and a regency council was established consisting of the native nobles. Blason famille fr Sabran

It was probably during her regency (1209/1213 – 1217/1220) that Garsenda became the focus of a literary circle of poets, though the '' vida'' of Elias de Barjols refers to his patron as Alfonso. There is a '' tenso'' between a ''bona dompna'' (good lady), identified in one

chansonnier A chansonnier ( ca, cançoner, oc, cançonièr, Galician and pt, cancioneiro, it, canzoniere or ''canzoniéro'', es, cancionero) is a manuscript or printed book which contains a collection of chansons, or polyphonic and monophonic settings ...

as ''la contessa de Proessa'',Variously spelled ''comtessa'' or ''contesa''. and an anonymous troubadour. The two '' coblas'' of the exchange are found in two different orders in the two chansonniers, called ''F'' and ''T'', that preserve them. It cannot be known therefore who spoke first, but the woman's half begins ''Vos q'em semblatz dels corals amadors''. In the poem the countess declares her love for her interlocutor, who then responds courteously but carefully. Under some interpretations the troubadour is

Gui de Cavaillon Gui de Cavalhon, Cavaillo, or Gavaillo ( fl. 1200–1229) was a Provençal nobleman: a diplomat, warrior, and man of letters. He was probably also the Guionet who composed '' tensos'' and ''partimens'' with Cadenet, Raimbaut de Vaqueiras, Mainar ...

, whose ''vida'' repeats the rumour (probably unfounded) that he was the countess' lover. Gui, however, was at the Provençal court between 1200 and 1209, pushing the date of the exchange forward a bit. Elias de Barjols apparently "fell in love" with her as a widow and wrote songs about her "for the rest of his life", until he entered a monastery. Raimon Vidal also praised her renowned patronage of troubadours.

Retirement and later life

In 1220, Guillaume II de Sabran, a nephew of William IV, who claimed Forcalquier and had been in revolt in the region of

Sisteron Sisteron (; , oc, label=Mistralian norm, Sisteroun; from oc, label= Old Occitan, Sestaron) is a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department, Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, southeastern France. Sisteron is situated on the banks of the rive ...

, was neutralised in part through the mediation of the

Archbishop of Aix The Archdiocese of Aix-en-Provence and Arles (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Aquensis in Gallia et Arelatensis''; French: ''Archidiocèse d'Aix-en-Provence et Arles''; Occitan Provençal: ''Archidiocèsi de Ais de Provença e Arle'' or ''Archidioucès ...

, Bermond le Cornu. By 1217 or 1220 Garsenda had finally ceded Forcalquier to her son and handed over the reins of government. Garsenda retired to the monastery of La Celle around 1225. In 1242, she went to visit her newly born great-granddaughter,

Beatrice of England Beatrice of England (25 June 1242 – 24 March 1275) was a member of the House of Plantagenet, the daughter of Henry III of England and Eleanor of Provence. Childhood Born 25 June 1242, Beatrice was the second-eldest daughter of King Henry III ...

, and her parents in Bordeaux. As the father of infant Beatrice, Henry III of England, was engaged in a war in France at the time, she brought sixty knights to his service. Garsenda may have been alive as late as 1257, when a certain woman of that name made a donation to a church of St-Jean on the condition that three priests be kept to pray for her soul and that of her husband.

Poetry

Notes

Sources

* * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Garsenda, Countess of Forcalquier 1180s births 13th-century deaths Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain 13th-century French troubadours 13th-century women rulers 13th-century viceregal rulers 13th-century French women writers 13th-century women composers Countesses of Provence Counts of Forcalquier Female regents Garsenda Medieval women poets Trobairitz