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The Ramnulfids, or the House of Poitiers, were a French dynastyofFrankish origin ruling the County of Poitou and Duchy of Aquitaine in the 9th through 12th centuries.[1] Their power base shifted from ToulousetoPoitou. In the early 10th century, they contested the dominance of northern Aquitaine and the ducal title to the whole with the House of Auvergne. In 1032, they inherited the Duchy of Gascony, thus uniting it with Aquitaine. By the end of the 11th century, they were the dominant power in the southwestern third of France. The founder of the family was Ramnulf I, who became count in 835.
| House of Poitiers
Ramnulfids
| |
|---|---|
Arms of the Ramnulfid Count of Poitiers
| |
| Country | France |
| Founded | 854; 1170 years ago |
| Founder | Ranulf I of Aquitaine |
| Final ruler | Charlotte, Queen of Cyprus |
| Titles | |
| Estate(s) | Poitiers, Aquitaine, Antioch, Tripoli, Cyprus |
| Dissolution | 1204 (ducal line) |
| Cadet branches |
|
Ramnulf's son, Ramnulf II, claimed the title of King of Aquitaine in 888, but it did not survive him. Through his illegitimate son Ebalus he fathered the line of dukes of Aquitaine that would rule continuously from 927 to 1204, from the succession of William III to the death of Eleanor, who brought the Ramnulfid inheritance first to Louis VII of France and then to Henry II of England.
Several daughters of this house achieved high status. Adelaide married Hugh Capet and was thus the first Queen of France in the era of the Direct Capetians. Agnes married Henry III, Holy Roman Emperor, and ruled as regent for her son, the young Henry IV. The most illustrious woman was certainly Aquitaine's ruler Eleanor, whose marriage to Henry II of England crafted the Angevin Empire which was to cause so much discord between France and England.
The Ramnulfid house did much to encourage art, literature, and piety. Under William V, William IX, and William X, Aquitaine became the centre for the art of poetry and song in the vernacular; the troubadour tradition was born and raised there. The Peace and Truce of God were fostered and the ideal of courtly love invented.
The House of Poitiers produced many Dukes of Aquitaine, who were officially titled Counts of Poitiers. This line became extinct in the male-line in 1137, and in the female-line in 1204 with the death of Eleanor of Aquitaine, who was by her first marriage Queen of France, and by her second marriage, Queen of England.
| Dates | Dukes | Notes | |
| 854-866 | Ranulf I of Aquitaine († 866) | Count of Poitiers, son of Gerard, Count of Auvergne. | |
| 888-890 | Ranulf II of Aquitaine († 890) | Count of Poitiers, son of Ranulf I. He styled himself Duke of Aquitaine after the death of Charles the Fat and rejected the suzerainty of King Odo of France. | |
| 893/909-918 | William I the Pious († 918) | Kinsman of Ranulf II, Marquis of Gothia, Count of Auvergne, Berry, Macon, Limousin and Lyon. Described as dux in 893, and dux Aquitanorum in 909. | |
| 918-926 | William II the Young († 926) | Nephew of preceding. | |
| 926-927 | Acfred († 927) | Brother of preceding. Designated Ebalus as his successor. | |
| 927-932 | Ebalus the Bastard († 934) | Count of Poitiers, son of Ranulf II. In 932, Rudolph of Burgundy, King of France, took Aquitaine from him to give it to Raymond Pons. | |
| 959-963 | William III Towhead († 963) | Son of Ebalus. Count of Poitiers, Limousin and Auvergne, called "Count of the Duchy of Aquitaine" or "Count Palatine of Aquitaine", but not "Duke of Aquitaine". | |
| 963-995 | William IV Iron Arm († 995) | Count of Poitiers, son of preceding. | |
| 995-1030 | William V the Great († 1030) | Count of Poitiers, son of preceding. | |
| 1030-1038 | William VI the Fat († 1038) | Count of Poitiers, son of preceding. | |
| 1038-1039 | Odo of Gascony († 1039) | Count of Gascony from 1032 to 1039, Count of Poitiers, son of William V and half-brother of preceding. | |
| 1039-1058 | William VII, Duke of Aquitaine († 1058) | Count of Poitiers, son of William V and half-brother of preceding. | |
| 1058-1086 | William VIII, Duke of Aquitaine († 1086) | Count of Gascony from 1052 to 1086, Count of Poitiers, brother of preceding. | |
| 1086-1126 | William IX, Duke of Aquitaine († 1126) | Count of Poitiers and Gascony, son of preceding. | |
| 1126-1137 | William X, Duke of Aquitaine († 1137) | Count of Poitiers and Gascony, son of preceding. | |
| 1137-1204 | Eleanor of Aquitaine (1122 † 1204) | Countess of Poitiers and Gascony, eldest daughter of preceding, married firstly Louis VII the Young, King of France; the marriage was annulled in 1152, after then she married Henry of Anjou, future King of England. | |
A branch of the House of Poitiers settled in the Holy Land, founded by Raymond of Poitiers (1115-1149), a younger son of William IX of Aquitaine, from whom descended the last princes of Antioch and counts of Tripoli.
Henry of Antioch (d. 1276), son of Bohemond IV of Antioch, married Isabella of Lusignan (d. 1264), heiress of the kingdom of Cyprus, and thus founded the second House of Lusignan. The lineage of the House of Poitiers became extinct in 1487 with the death of Queen Charlotte of Cyprus.
