Navorska tree » Ramon Berenguer IV, Comte de Provença (1195-1245)

Personal data Ramon Berenguer IV, Comte de Provença 

• He was born on September 23, 1195 in Aix, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, França.
• He was christened in Forcalquier, Alpes-de-Haute, França.
• (note1) .Source 1

  Source: Henk Bastiaanse, Michael Kennedy, Marcos Thadeu, et al.

• He died on August 19, 1245 in Aix-en-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône, França, he was 49 years old.
• He is buried after August 18, 1245 in Church of the Knights of St. John, Malta.
• A child of Alfons de Provença and Garsenda de Sabran
• This information was last updated on September 26, 2025.

Household of Ramon Berenguer IV, Comte de Provença

He is married to Béatrix de Savoie.

They got married on June 5, 1219 at Aix-en-Provence, Provence, França, he was 23 years old.

Child(ren):

1. Marguerite Berenguer  1221-1295 
2. Éléonore de Provence  1223-1291 
3. Béatrice de Provence  1223-1267 

Notes about Ramon Berenguer IV, Comte de Provença

Ramon Berenguer IV, Comte de Provence
Comte Raymond Berenger IV de Provença et de Forcalquier

Sources: Author: Bastiaanse, Henk; Kennedy, Michael; Thadeu, Marcos; et al.; Title: "Comte Raymond Berenger IV de Provença et de Forcalquier," (Publication site: Salt Lk. City UT, Publisher: Family Search, Publication date: xvi Sept MMXXV)

https://www.familysearch.org/en/tree/person/details/KZT9-DPC

"... Comte Raymond Berenger IV de Provença et de Forcalquier

Reason:

Raimond-Bérenger V de Provence (en catalan : Ramon Berenguer, en provençal Ramon-Berenguier), parfois désigné comme « Raimond-Béranger IV », né vers 1198 et mort le 19 août 1245 à Aix-en-Provence, est comte de Provence et comte de Forcalquier de 1209 à sa mort.

Il est le père de Marguerite de Provence, épouse du roi de France Louis IX à partir de 1234.
Titre
Comte de Provence et de Forcalquier
2 février 1209 – 19 août 1245
(36 ans, 6 mois et 17 jours)
https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raimond-B%C3%A9renger_V_de_Provence

son of ALPHONSE II Comte de Provence [Aragon-Barcelona] & his wife Gersende de Sabran Ctss de Forcalquier ([1198]-Aix 19 Aug 1245, bur Aix-en-Provence, église de Saint Jean de Jérusalem). "Garsendis uxor quondam Ildefonsi comitis Provinciæ" donated her rights "in comitatu Forcalqueriensi", granted by "Guillelmo quondam comite Forcalqueriensi avo meo", to "Raymundo Berengario filio meo" with "filiæ meæ sororis tuæ Garsendis" as substitute should he die, with the consent of "patre meo Raines de Castelar", by charter dated 30 Nov 1209.
He succeeded his father in 1209 as RAYMOND BERENGER IV Comte de Provence et de Forcalquier. Under his testament dated 20 Jun 1238, he designated his fourth daughter as his heir[418]. The testament of "R. Berengarius…comes et marchio Provincie et comes Forcalquerii", dated 20 Jun 1238, names "Margaritam filiam nostrum…reginam Francie…Elionors filiam nostrum…reginam Anglie…Sanciam filiam nostram" and appoints "Beatricem filiam nostrum heredem generalem"
https://fmg.ac/Projects/MedLands/PROVENCE.htm#RaymondBerengerIVdied1245B

Last Changed: September 12, 2025 Edgar Wills Ariza Sex Male Last Changed: February 13, 2020 Marcos Thadeu Fernandes Lagrotta

Birth 23 September 1195 Aix, Bouches-du-Rhône, Provence-Alpes-Cote d'Azur, France Last Changed: February 5, 2024 Christopher John Lane

Christening Forcalquier, Alpes-de-Haute, France Reason: my heritage Last Changed: November 9, 2023 Karl Schulze

Death 19 August 1245 Aix-en-Provence, Bouches-du-Rhône, France Last Changed: February 5, 2024 Laura Ruth Gibson

Burial August 1245 Church of the Knights of St. John, Malta Last Changed: September 16, 2025 Damian Cauceglia

Alternate Name Also Known As Ramon Berenguer IV Count of Provence

Title (Nobility) From 1209 to 1245 Count of Provence
Title (Nobility) from 1220 to 1245 Count of Forcalquier

Alt. Burial 19 August 1245 Church of the Knights St. Jean de Malte, Aix-en-Provence, France ...

Noble Family House of Barcelona
Title of Nobility Comte de Provence et de Forcalquier

Spouses & Children

Comte Raymond Berenger IV de Provença et de Forcalquier Male 1195-1245 KZT9-DPC [<-ancestor]
Beatrice di Savoia Female 1198-1267 LC7J-DQJ [<-ancestress]
Marriage 5 June 1219 Aix-en-Provence, Provence, France

Children (6)

[1] de Provence Male 1220-1220 GFFG-846
[2] Marguerite de Provence reine de France Female 1221-1295 L8WY-WSB [<-ancestress]
[3] Raimund de Provence Male 1221-Deceased 9MQK-8BN
[4] Béatrice de Provence Female 1223-1267 9MNJ-ZHM [<-ancestress]
[5] Queen Eleanor of Provence Female 1223-1291 9HD3-MC1 [<-ancestress]
[6] Sancha de Provence Female 1228-1261 MJYB-YMJ

Parents & Siblings

Comte Alfons II de Provença Male 1180-1209 K2VH-K8W [<-ancestor]
Garsenda de Sabran Condesa de Provenza Female 1181-1242 LZ1V-VWM [<-ancestress]
No Marriage Events

Children (2)

[1] Comte Raymond Berenger IV de Provença et de Forcalquier Male 1195-1245 KZT9-DPC [<-ancestor]
[2] Gerzenda de Provence Female 1200-1268 GGJB-XBF

Brief Life History

Ramon Berenguer IV or V (1198-19 August 1245), Count of Provence and Forcalquier, was the son of Alfonso II of Provence and Garsenda de Sabran, heiress of Forcalquier.

He was the first Count of Provence to live in the county in more than one hundred years.

«b»Career«/b»
After his father's death (1209), Ramon was imprisoned in the castle of Monzón, in Aragon until he was able to escape in 1219 and claim his inheritance. He was a powerful and energetic ruler who added Forcalquier to his domain.

He and his wife were known for their support of troubadors, always having some around the court. He was known for his generosity, though his income did not always keep up. He wrote laws prohibiting nobles from performing menial work, such as farming or heavy labor.

Ramon had many border disputes with his neighbors, the Counts of Toulouse. In 1226, Ramon began to reassert his right to rule in Marseille. The citizens there initially sought the help of Ramon's father-in-law Thomas, Count of Savoy in his role as imperial vicar. However, they later sought the help of Raymond VII, Count of Toulouse.

In 1228, Ramon supported his father-in-law in a double-sided conflict against Turin and Guigues VI of Viennois. This small war was one of many rounds intended to more firmly establish control over trade from Italy into France, and Provence included several key routes.

While the Albigensian Crusade worked in his favor against Toulouse, Ramon was concerned that its resolution in the Treaty of Paris left him in a precarious position. Raymond turned his troops from fighting France to attempting to claim lands from Provence. When Blanche of Castile sent her knight to both Toulouse and Provence in 1233, Ramon entertained him lavishly, and the knight left well impressed by both the count and his eldest daughter, Margaret. Soon after, Blanche negotiated the marriage between Margaret and her son, Louis, with a dowry of ten thousand silver marks. Ramon had to get contributions from allies for a portion, and had to pledge several of his castles to cover the rest. Ramon and Beatrice travelled with their daughter to Lyon in 1234 to sign the marriage treaty, and then Margaret was escorted to her wedding in Sens by her uncles from Savoy, William and Thomas.

Shortly after, William began negotiating on Ramon's behalf with Henry III of England to marry his daughter Eleanor. Henry sent his own knight to Provence early in 1235, and again Ramon and his family entertained him lavishly. Henry wrote to William on June 22 that he was very interested, and sent a delegation to negotiate the marriage in October. Henry was seeking a dowry of up to twenty thousand silver marks to help offset the dowry he had just paid for his sister, Isabella. However, he had drafted seven different versions of the marriage contract, with different amounts for the dowry, the lowest being zero. Ramon shrewdly negotiated for that option, offering as consolation a promise to leave her ten thousand marks when he died.

In 1238, Ramon joined his brother-in-law, Amadeus IV at the court of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor in Turin. Frederick was gathering forces to assert more control in Italy. Raymond VII of Toulouse was also summoned, and all expected to work together in the war.

In January 1244, Pope Innocent IV decreed that no one but the pope could excommunicate Ramon. In 1245, Ramon sent representatives to the First Council of Lyon, to discuss crusades and the excommunication of Frederick.

Ramon died in August 1245 in Aix-en-Provence, leaving the county to his youngest daughter, Beatrice.

«b»Marriage and children«/b»
On 5 June 1219, Ramon married Beatrice of Savoy, daughter of Thomas, Count of Savoy. She was a shrewd and politically astute woman, whose beauty was likened by Matthew Paris to that of a second Niobe. The wedding also provided the 14-year-old Ramon with a powerful father-in-law to aid him in establishing his authority and protecting his interests. They had four daughters who reached adulthood, all of whom married kings.

1.) stillborn son (1220)

2.) Margaret of Provence (1221-1295), wife of Louis IX, King of France

3.) Eleanor of Provence (1223-1291), wife of Henry III, King of England

4.) stillborn son (1225)

5.) Sanchia of Provence (1228-1261), wife of Richard, King of the Romans

6.) Beatrice of Provence (1231-1267), wife of Charles I, King of Sicily

His daughters were all educated and literate.

«b»Death and legacy«/b»
Ramon Berenguer IV died in Aix-en-Provence. At least two planhs (Occitan funeral laments) of uncertain authorship (one possibly by Aimeric de Peguilhan and one falsely attributed to Rigaut de Berbezilh) were written in his honour.

Giovanni Villani in his Nuova Cronica had this to say about Raymond:

Count Raymond was a lord of gentle lineage, and kin to them of the house of Aragon, and to the family of the count of Toulouse, By inheritance Provence, this side of the Rhone, was his; a wise and courteous lord was he, and of noble state and virtuous, and in his time did honourable deeds, and to his court came all gentle persons of Provence and of France and of Catalonia, by reason of his courtesy and noble estate, and he made many Provençal coblas and canzoni of great worth."
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Timeline Ramon Berenguer IV, Comte de Provença

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