Bordeaux (county)

The first counts of Bordeaux ( Latin comes Burdagalensis ) are known in the VI century. Under the Merovingians under the control of the counts was the city of Bordeaux and its environs.

In the VI-VIII centuries, the names of the counts of Bordeaux are rarely mentioned. But from the beginning of the 9th century, they begin to play a greater role due to the strategically important location of the city in defense from the Normans .

Around 781, Charlemagne appointed Count Semyon I Loop , who in 812 also became the Duke of Vasconia . However, during the reign of Louis I the Pious, Loop was deposed and led the Basque uprising against the Franks, during which he died.

After the death in 838 of King Pepin I, the Aquitaine nobility recognized his son Pipin II as his king. However, his grandfather, Emperor Louis I the Pious, did not recognize his grandson as king at the insistence of his second wife, Judith , transferring Aquitaine to his youngest son, Charles II Lysy , in May 839 . The kingdom was also the county of Bordeaux.

In order to confront Pipin and the local nobility, Louis began to appoint counts in the region. Around 840, Semen II , son or grandson of Semyon I, was appointed Earl of Bordeaux to confront the duke of Vasconia Sansha II Sansha . After the death of Louis the Pious, he first supported Charles II the Bald, but in 845 switched to the side of King Aquitaine Pippin II , who granted him the title Duke of Vasconia, although this brought no new possessions to Semyon.

In the 840s, invasions of Gascony and Aquitaine of the Normans began, which were originally used as mercenaries by Pippin II. In 846, Semyon was captured by the Normans and was executed by them. In his place, Pippin II appointed Guillaume I , whose origin is not reliably established. He, like his predecessor, had to repel the Norman attacks. During one of these attacks in 848, Guillaume died, and the city of Bordeaux was captured by the Normans.

In 863, Charles II the Bald appointed Count Bordeaux Arnault , nephew of Sansha II Sansha. After the death of his uncle in 864, Arno claimed the title of Duke of Vasconia, but in the same year he died in the battle against the Normans. After this, the mention of the counts of Bordeaux almost disappear.

In 887 and 906, Amovin was mentioned as Count of Bordeaux. His origin is unknown, he could be both Norman and Franc.

In the second half of the X century, the liberation of Gascony from the Normans began. In 870, Count of Bordeaux Guillaume II , who was probably a descendant of Guillaume, fought against the Normans. It is not known whether he owned the city of Bordeaux or was only a titular count. It is reliably known that in the hands of Guillaume were lands north of the Garonne. Around 970, Guillaume launched a war against the Normans. The war was with varying success. Initially, Guillaume managed to win, but then he was captured and was released - perhaps under the promise not to fight against the Normans. But he continued the war and in 976 he was again captured and executed.

The struggle was continued by the Duke of Gascony, Guillaume II Sansha . In 982, he defeated the Normans in the battle of Taller , after which the Normans were finally driven out of Gascony. In 988, Guillaume enjoyed the title of Count of Bordeaux, which was worn by his sons.

After his death in 1032, the title of Counts of Bordeaux disappeared. The city itself, along with Gascony, soon became part of the Duchy of Aquitaine , becoming its capital.

Merovingian graphs

• 575 : Sigulf (d. After 575)
• 584 : Varnashar (d. After 584)
• 585 : Galactorium mind. after 585)

Carolingian graphs

• OK. 781 - 816 : Segin (Semyon) I (d. After 816), Duke of Vasconia from 812, Count of Bordeaux in
• 840 - 846 : Segin (Semyon) II (d. 846), Count of Bordeaux from 840, Duke of Vasconia from approx. 845
• 846-848: Guillaume I (846-848852), Count of Bordeaux and Duke of Vasconia from 846
• 863 - 864 : Arnault (d. 864), Count de Fezansac , Duke of Vasconia from 863, titular Count of Bordeaux

Independent Counts

• 848 - Mid X Century : Normans
• before 887 - after 906 : Amovin (d. after 906), Count of Bordeaux in 887 and 906
• before 970–976 : Guillaume II the Good (d. 976), Count of Bordeaux in 970–976
• up to 988 - approx. 996 : Guillaume III Sanshe (d. C. 996), Count of Gascony (as Guillaume II) c. 961, Count of Agen and Bazas s 977, Count of Bordeaux in 988
• OK. 996 - approx. 1009 : Bernard I Guillaume (d. 25 December c. 1009), Count of Gascony and Bordeaux c. 996
• OK. 1009 - 1032 : Sunsh VI Guillaume (d. 4 October 1032), Count of Gascony and Bordeaux from approx. 1009, Duke of Gascony

Titular Dukes of Bordeaux

• Henry (September 29, 1820 - August 24, 1883), Duke of Bordeaux and Count of Chambord, grandson of King Charles X of France, contender for the French throne

• Higounet Charles. Bordeaux pendant le haut moyen age. - Bordeaux, 1963.
• J. de Jaurgain . La Vasconie, étude historique et critique, deux parties . - Pau, 1898, 1902.

• Gascony (English) . Foundation for Medieval Genealogy. Date of treatment December 22, 2013. Archived on August 28, 2011.
• Supery Joel. Bordeaux, key of Viking invasions? (English) (unavailable link) (October 9, 2011). Date of treatment December 22, 2013. Archived December 24, 2013.