Beatrice of Melgueil
Overview
Biography
(See also Genealogical Table(s): 3, 6.)
Beatrice was the daughter and heir of Bernard IV, count of Melgueil/Maguelonne and Substation and Guillemette of Montpellier. Her father(a great-grandson of Almodis of la Marche) died in 1132 when Beatrice was 7 or 8. Her uncle , William VI of Montpellier married her to Berengar Raymond of Provence , brother of Raymond Berengar, count of Barcelona, with whom she had one son, Raymond Berengar, who succeeded to the county of Provence in 1144 when his father was killed in a skirmish with the Genoese outside their castle. Beatrice then married Bernard Pelet, lord of Alès, who assumed the title of count of Mauguio/Melgueil but never acted in that capacity without Beatrice. Cheyette points out that the documents in the Cartulaire de Maguelone referred to her as “Beatrice, countess of Mauguio, daughter of Guilelma and of Bernard, count of Mauguio of happy memory” and to her second husband as the “count, husband of the aforesaid Beatrice” (Ermengard of Narbonne, 30). They had two children, a son Bertrand and a daughter Ermessend. When Bernard Pelet died, his son tried to take over the county, but his mother would not allow it, seeing the title and its powers as hers. When he allied himself with William of Montpellier, she disinherited him and he was never able to make good his claim. Beatrice divided her holdings in April of 1172 between her daughter Ermessend and her young granddaughter (from her first son), Douce, giving the castle, county, lands and minting rights to be exercized by Ermessend’s husband Peter Bermund of Sauve and Douce’s intended father-in-law, Raymond V of Toulouse, Peter to hold Ermessend’s portion in fief of Raymond, and Beatrice to receive four thousand solidi a year as a pension. When Ermessend’s husband died that December, Beatrice and Raymond V married Ermessend to Douce’s fiancé, the future Raymond VI in order to settle the succession to Melgueil. Bertrand was not able to unseat Raymond even with the aid of Alphonse of Aragon.
Letters from Beatrice of Melgueil
A letter to Abbot Peter of Aniane (1158)A letter to Public (1145)
A letter to Public (1159, March)
A letter to Public (1161, October)
A letter to Raymond V, count of Toulouse (1172, December 12)
A letter to William of Montpellier (1145)
A letter to William of Montpellier (1145, March)
A letter to William of Montpellier (1149, July)