RAYMOND OF TOULOUSE

Name of several members of the ruling family of the County of Toulouse.

Raymond IV, founder of the Latin County of Tripoli in the Holy Land; b. c. 1043; d. Tripoli, Feb. 28, 1105. Raymond became Marquis of Provence in 1066 and Count of Toulouse in 1093, upon the death of his elder brother, Count William IV. In 1095, shortly after the Council of Clermont, Raymond took the cross and set out for the Holy Land in October of 1096. After the capture of Antioch (1098), Raymond attempted to gain control of the city on behalf of Byzantine Emperor alexius i comnenus, but he was thwarted by Bohemond I. When the crusaders took Jerusalem (1099), Raymond also attempted unsuccessfully to establish himself there. He then allied himself with the Byzantines and subsequently joined forces with the Crusade of 1101. He escaped the general massacre of that unsuccessful expedition and then returned to Syria, where he took Tortosa and commenced a further campaign against Tripoli. Although Raymond died before the capture of Tripoli (1109), he is usually regarded as the founder of the Latin County of Tripoli (see crusades; crusaders' states).

Raymond VI, defender of Provence against the A1bigensian Crusade; b. Oct. 27, 1156; d. August 1222. Raymond inherited the County of Toulouse from his father, Count Raymond V (1134–94), and in the early years of his reign secured a settlement of the war begun by his father with richard i, King of England. In 1207 innocent iii excommunicated Raymond for protecting and fostering the albigenses or cathari. After the assassination of papal legate peter of castelnau by one of Raymond's officers in 1208, a crusade was launched against the Albigenses and against Raymond, as their protector. Following the disastrous battle of Muret on Sept. 12, 1213, Raymond went into exile. He endeavored to clear his name at the Fourth lateran council (1215) but he was condemned instead to the loss of his lands, which were turned over to simon de montfortl'amaury. Raymond then returned to Provence, where he was able to recover a part of his former domains before his death. Although he was married five times, Raymond left only two legitimate children: a daughter, Constance, and a son, Raymond VII, who succeeded him.

Raymond VII, the last Count of Toulouse; b. Beaucaire, July 1197; d. Milhau, Sept. 27, 1249. He continued to fight against the Albigensian Crusade and the Montfort family. After Simon de Montfort's heir, Amaury, transferred his claims in Provence to the French king (1226), Raymond had to face the perils of a renewed campaign. Eventually he made peace with his enemies under the harsh terms of the Treaty of Meaux (1229), which stripped him of most of his possessions. The marriage of his only daughter, Jeanne, to Alfonse de Poitiers, brother of King louis ix of France, assured that at Raymond's death his remaining lands would pass under the control of the French monarchy.

Bibliography: c. de vic and j. vaissete, Histoire générale de Languedoc, 15 v. (rev. ed. Toulouse 1872–93) v. 3, 4, 6. a. p. moline de saint-yon, Histoire des comtes de Toulouse, 4. v. (Paris 1859–61) v. 2–4. j. h. and l. l. hill, Raymond IV de Saint Gilles (Toulouse 1959). p. belperron, La Croisade contre les Albigeols (Paris 1942).

[j. a. brundage]