Provençal Chronicles

[kasumigenx]

A Happy Marriage



On 1137 William X of Aquitaine left Poitiers to Bordeaux, William was accompanied by his daughters. Upon reaching Bordeaux, he entrusted his daughter Petronilla to the care of the Archbishop of Bordeaux while his daughter, Eleanor would accompany him to Barcelona, where she would marry the Count of Barcelona, Ramon Berenguer IV in the following year.



On 1136, the sister of William X, Agnes, Queen of Aragon has celebrated the birth of a son, named Alfonso of Aragon, Ramon Berenguer IV presented a suit to marry Eleanor of Aquitaine in 1137 which resulted in Eleanor of Aquitaine marrying Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona, the two spoke the same language and were happy to be with each other.



William X of Aquitaine would die in his own pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in 1138 after attending the wedding of his daughter and he died happily in Santiago de Compostella, contented that his duchy would be in good hands with his daughter Eleanor and his son in law, Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona.

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Succession and Betrothals

Eleanor, Duchess of Aquitaine and Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona would arrive in Aquitaine in 1138 after the death of her father and Eleanor would bear 2 daughters named Maria(1140) and Petronilla(1145), she would have a son in 1147 named Ramon, named after her husband, the two would be very happy together and Eleanor of Aquitaine would betroth her sister, Petronilla or Alice to Henry of Anjou, the son of Empress Matilda and Geoffrey Plantagenet on 1145.

Eleanor of Aquitaine would give birth to four further children for Ramon Berenguer named William(1152), Eleanor(1155), Dulce(1162), and Joanna(1165) which would delight the two and further secure the succession of their realms.

[kasumigenx]

Angevin-Aquitainian Alliance

On 1146, Henry of Anjou would marry Alice of Aquitaine in Poitiers, but Eleanor would only send aid to Henry of Anjou and Geoffrey V of Anjou in reclaiming England from the Blois who are ruling England, but in 1147 after the birth of a son and heir, Eleanor and Ramon Berenguer would join the war against the House of Blois in support of the Partisans of Empress Matilda.

Eleanor of Aquitaine’s father is a friend and ally of Geoffrey Plantagenet and she admired the man, but her priority is her duchy and her own people and she would rein her closeness to the man as the person who she married is the right man for her people.

Due to the help of Eleanor of Aquitaine and her husband Ramon Berenguer IV, the Angevins were able secure Normandy completely in 1149 against the Blesvins who are their enemies in their claims in England.

The Aquitainians in the South would also help the claim to England by the Angevins on 1153 which led to the Treaty of Winchester which would make Henry the heir of King Stephen, allowing Henry II to be King after the death of King Stephen in 1154.

[kasumigenx]

Missed Opportunity

On 1138, Louis VI hearing about the marriage of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Ramon Berenguer IV, he would be sad that an opportunity for his son, Louis to marry Eleanor of Aquitaine had failed as William X had married his own daughter to the count of Barcelona, he would instead focus on a marriage to Flanders with his son, Louis and arranged a betrothal with Laurette of Flanders, he would be fine with the marriage as Eleanor and Ramon are both French Vassals and would not try to gain any independence and he would underestimate the couple due to their marriage but they don’t actually experience the outcome of the marriage until later and would not stop Eleanor from gaining Toulouse in 1142 when the Counts nominated her as the Countess of Aquitaine with her husband.

Louis VII would marry Laurette of Flanders but she would only bear two daughters named Margaret(1148) and Alix(1150) and Laurette of Flanders would die in 1150.

[kasumigenx]

Claims to Toulouse

On 1142, Eleanor of Aquitaine would gain the possesion of the County of Toulouse with the help of her husband Ramon Berenguer IV as a coalition of lords in the County of Toulouse led by Roger II of Béziers, viscount of Carcassonne, Béziers, Albi and Razès formed an alliance against the Count of Toulouse after the marriage of Emengarde of Narbonne with Alfonso Jordan and she would be nominated as the Countess of Toulouse and Ramon Berenguer IV of Barcelona would support her claims to the County of Toulouse and besieged it depriving Alfonso Jordan of the County of Toulouse but he would remain as the Prince of Gothia and Margrave of Provence.

There would be rebellions in the County of Toulouse for Alfonso Jordan when Eleanor started her rule but the regents put out by Ramon Berenguer IV would put a stop to any revolts in Toulouse which would be a foundation for the future rulers of Aquitaine.

[kasumigenx]

Map of France AD 1154
www.deviantart.com/kazumikikuchi/art/1085345350

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Family Tree of Eleanor of Aquitaine and Ramon Berenguer V of Barcelona

Eleanor of Aquitaine m. Ramon Berenguer V of Barcelona(a)

1a. Maria b. 1140 m. Alfonso II of Aragon

2a. Petronilla b. 1145 m. Conan IV of Brittany

3a. Ramon b. 1147 m. Alix of France

4a. William b. 1152 m. Beatrice, Countess of Vienne

5a. Eleanor b. 1155 m. Alfonso VIII

6a. Dulce b. 1161 m. William III of Sicily

7a. Joanna b. 1165 m. Henry VI of HRE

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Family Tree of Louis VII

Louis VII m. Laurette of Flanders d. 1150(a) Constance of Castile d. 1160(b) Adela of Champagne(c)

1a. Margaret, Countess of Flanders b. 1148 m. Baldwin V of Hainault

2a. Alix of France b. 1150 m. Raymond(Ramon) of Aquitaine

3b. Berengiere b. 1158

4b. Constance b. 1160

5c. Philip II of France b. 1165

6c. Agnes b. 1171

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Family Tree of Henry II of England

Henry II of England m. Alice of Aquitaine

1a. Matilda b. 1148

2a. William b. 1153

3a. Henry b. 1155

4a. Eleanor b. 1156

5a. Richard b. 1157

6a. Geoffrey b. 1158

7a. Constance b. 1161

8a. Alice b. 1165

9a. John b. 1166

[kasumigenx]

Wendish Crusade

The Wendish Crusade achieved a result in favor of the Polabians. Niklot gained control of Wagria and Polabia. Niklot would rule the Polabian lands independently. Canute and Sweyn would be angry of the Polabians along with ruler of the Saxons, they would squabble and hate each other after the Wendish Crusades.



The Wends or Polabian Slavs would survive and be independent and would later open relations with the Kingdom of Poland and slowly christianize due to the marriages with Poland and Bohemia.



The victory of Niklot in 1147 is the start of the luck of the Polabians in the East of the German lands which would allow the Polabians to survive in the present day.

[kasumigenx]

Death of Ramon Berenguer V

On 1170, Raymond Berenguer V of would die and his son, Ramon would inherit Barcelona and had already ruled Aquitaine with his mother Eleanor of Aquitaine on his own majority, his sisters Maria had married the King of Aragon and his sister Petronilla have married the Duke of Brittany which would make the influence of Ramon I of Aquitaine more far reaching and his aunt, Alix of Aquitaine had married the King of England.

Ramon I of Aquitaine have married Alix of France since his majority in 1164 who has lesser claims to Flanders and her elder sister, the heiress to Flanders have married the Count of Hainaut to settle the claims of the Count of Hainaut to Flanders.

[stevep]

Aug 11, 2024 5:44:01 GMT kasumigenx said:

Map of France AD 1154
www.deviantart.com/kazumikikuchi/art/1085345350

  Well that looks like the French monarchy is probably the 3rd power inside his kingdom.  Coupled with latter Aquitaine gains and marriages you could either see then replace the OTL French monarchy or emerge as a separate kingdom.