Centule II (also ''Centulle'') (died 1129) was the

Count of Bigorre The County of Bigorre was a small feudatory of the Duchy of Gascony in the 9th through 15th centuries. Its capital was Tarbes. The county was constituted out of the dowry of Faquilène, an Aquitainian princess, for her husband Donatus Lupus I, ...

from 1114 to his death. He established feudal bonds across the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

with

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

. He was also a major participant in the

Crusades The Crusades were a series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and its surrounding t ...

, fighting in the

army of Raymond of Saint-Gilles The army of Raymond of Saint-Gilles was one of the first to be formed after Pope Urban II called for the First Crusade. Raymond formed a Provençal army and left his County of Toulouse in October 1096, traveling over the land route. He was the ...

, and the

Reconquista The ''Reconquista'' (Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese for ) or the fall of al-Andalus was a series of military and cultural campaigns that European Christian Reconquista#Northern Christian realms, kingdoms waged ag ...

. He was the second son of

Centule V of Béarn Centule (; ; , or ''Centulus''; ; ) is a masculine given name common in southern France and northern Spain during the Middle Ages. *Centule I, Count of Astarac () *Centule II, Count of Astarac () *Centule III, Count of Astarac () *Centule IV, Count ...

by his second wife, Beatrice I of Bigorre. He succeeded his elder brother Bernard III's daughter Beatrice II. His elder half-brother Gaston IV was the

viscount of Béarn A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a Title#Aristocratic titles, title used in certain European countries for a nobility, noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case ...

and the two maintained excellent fraternal relations, undertaking almost every military expedition jointly. Between 1095 and 1101, the two half-brothers were absent from the south of France on the

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the Middle Ages. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Muslim conquest ...

. While Gaston was one of the heroes of the Crusade and consequently finds mention in many chronicles, Centule had not yet succeeded his brother at that point and was a mere nobleman, without a fief. In 1113, Bernard died and his successor, the heiress Beatrice, followed him to the grave the next year. Centule, now armed with the forces of Bigorre behind him, joined Gaston in an alliance with

Alfonso the Battler Alfonso I (7 September 1134), called the Battler or the Warrior (), was King of Aragon and Kingdom of Navarre, Navarre from 1104 until his death in 1134. He was the second son of King Sancho Ramírez and successor of his brother Peter I of Arago ...

King of Aragon This is a list of the kings and queens of Aragon. The Kingdom of Aragon was created sometime between 950 and 1035 when the County of Aragon, which had been acquired by the Kingdom of Navarre in the tenth century, was separated from Navarre in ...

and

Navarre Navarre ( ; ; ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre, is a landlocked foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Autonomous Community, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and New Aquitaine in France. ...

, on the successful expedition against

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

in 1118. For his part in the victory, Centule received a section of the city in fief of the king and twenty four villages in the

Val d'Aran Aran (; ; ) (often known as the Aran Valley, or Val d'Aran in Aranese Occitan; in other forms of Occitan: ''Vath d'Aran'' or ''Vau d'Aran'', in Catalan: ''Vall d'Aran'', in Spanish: ''Valle de Arán'') is an autonomous administrative entity (form ...

. He participated in the conquest of Tudela in 1119 and in the great attack on

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

in 1125–1126. In May 1122, he rendered homage to Alfonso for land he held across the Pyrenees. Centule married Estefania, daughter of

Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona Ramon Berenguer III ''the Great'' (11 November 1082 – 23 January or 19 July 1131) was the count of Barcelona, Girona, and Ausona from 1086 (jointly with Berenguer Ramon II and solely from 1097), Besalú from 1111, Cerdanya from 1117, and cou ...

, and Dolça de Gévaudaun. They had one daughter: * Beatrice II (or III) de Bigorre (d. after 7 February 1148) Centule died in 1129 and was succeeded by his daughter who was married to Pierre de Marsan. With this marriage she united the county of Bigorre and the

viscounty A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case of French viscounts, the title is s ...

of Marsan.

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Centule 02 Of Bigorre 1129 deaths Counts of Bigorre Christians of the First Crusade People of the Reconquista Year of birth unknown