William V, known as the Great, was a Duke of Aquitaine. He refused the crown of a united Italy after realising the political situation on the peninsula was a mess.

He is my 25 x great-grandfather.

William was born in Aquitaine, France sometime in 969, son of William IV and Emma of Blois¹.

Titles

In 993, William succeeded his father as²:

• William V, Duke of Aquitaine.
• William III, Count of Poitiers.

Family

William married three times³:

1. In 997, Adelmode of Limoges, who bore him a son, William VI.
2. Early in 1011, Sancha of Gascony, who bore him three children: Odo, Adalais, and Theobald.
3. In 1019, Agnes of Burgundy, who bore him three children:
   1. Peter
   2. Guy Geoffrey who became Duke as William VIII.The boys were twins⁴.
   3. Agnes.

Notable events

William donated land to the church in Saint-Jean d’Angely⁵. This was recorded in a charter, noting the donation was for the soul of his son, William⁶.

In 992, he and his parents donated land to the church in Saint-Maixent by charter⁷.

William convened a council in Poitiers in the year 1000, which concluded that disputes should no longer be resolved by force, but by justice⁸.

In 1024, Holy Roman Emperor Henry II died. Italian nobility did not want to maintain their union with Germany and urged William to take the crown. This interested William but when he examined the political situation in Italy he discovered it was a mess. He turned the Italians down⁹.

You can read the full story of this Italian question here.

William was a cultivated person and had a renowned collection of books. He turned Aquitaine into a centre of learning in southern France¹⁰.

In 1029, William abdicated in favour of his first-born son¹¹. He became a monk at the abbey at Maillezais¹².

Residence

It’s hard to understand where he lived since these sort of records are impossible to find. Excluding military campaigns, we can conclude the following:

• Aquitaine, where he was born. He spent plenty of time here and it’s clear this was his base.
• Given his responsibilities, it’s likely he spent time in Poitiers.
• He may have spent time in the Italian peninsula, given the possibility of becoming king there.
• Maillezais, where he lived the rest of his days.

Death

William died in Maillezais on 30 or 31 January 1030 of natural causes¹³. They buried him in the Roman Catholic Cathedral of St Pierre in Maillezais which he’d founded¹⁴.

Lineage

He is my 25 x great-grandfather.

References

1. Dukes of Aquitaine; Medieval Lands; Charles Crawley; (Retrieved 2018-10-01) [↩]
2. Dukes of Aquitaine; Medieval Lands; Charles Crawley; (Retrieved 2021-01-03) [↩]
3. Dukes of Aquitaine; Medieval Lands; Charles Crawley; (Retrieved 2021-01-03) [↩]
4. Dukes of Aquitaine; Medieval Lands; Charles Crawley; (Retrieved 2018-10-01) [↩]
5. Dukes of Aquitaine; Medieval Lands; Charles Crawley; (Retrieved 2021-01-03) [↩]
6. Dukes of Aquitaine; Medieval Lands; Charles Crawley; (Retrieved 2021-01-03) [↩]
7. Dukes of Aquitaine; Medieval Lands; Charles Crawley; (Retrieved 2021-01-03) [↩]
8. Dukes of Aquitaine; Medieval Lands; Charles Crawley; (Retrieved 2021-01-03) [↩]
9. Dukes of Aquitaine; Medieval Lands; Charles Crawley; (Retrieved 2021-01-03) [↩]
10. Dukes of Aquitaine; Medieval Lands; Charles Crawley; (Retrieved 2021-01-03) [↩]
11. Dukes of Aquitaine; Medieval Lands; Charles Crawley; (Retrieved 2021-01-03) [↩]
12. Dukes of Aquitaine; Medieval Lands; Charles Crawley; (Retrieved 2021-01-03) [↩]
13. Dukes of Aquitaine; Medieval Lands; Charles Crawley; (Retrieved 2021-01-03) [↩]
14. Dukes of Aquitaine; Medieval Lands; Charles Crawley; (Retrieved 2021-01-03) [↩]

Family Tree