William IX
Full Name: William IX of Aquitaine
Nickname/Alias: Guillaume de Poitiers; William VII of Poitiers; William the Troubadour
Achievements: Troubadour poetry
Born: October 22, 1071
Died: February 10, 1126; Poitiers, France (Aged 54)
Field & Discipline: Literature; Poetry
Language: Provençal
Father: Duke William XVIII
Mother: Hildegarde (daughter of Robert I of Burgundy)
Siblings: Unknown
Spouse: Philippa of Mahaut (daughter of the Count of Toulouse, m. 1094)
Children: William X of Aquitaine
Education: At court
Life & Times:
William inherited the dukedom in 1071. At home his leadership was characterized by persistent local warfare and conflict with the church. In 1094 he married Philippa of Mahaut, a daughter of the Count of Toulouse.
In 1096 he entertained Pope Urban II, travelling in search of recruits for the First Crusade. William annoyed Rome by his protection of the [protected] Cathars,* a religious group regarded as heretics.
In 1101, he led an army to the Holy Land. This was to be a disaster, with his soldiers ambushed whilst he was crossing Anatolia. His second crusade, in 1120, was a great success.
William had numerous adulterous affairs, and was finally excommunicated in 1114 for his flagrant adultery with Maubergeonne, viscountess of Châtellerault. William’s behaviour on the occasion of his excommunication was extreme: he seized Bishop Peter by the hair and holding a drawn sword to him threatened to kill him as he pronounced the excommunication. Peter invited William to kill him, but William decided against helping the bishop to heaven. Later the bishop was imprisoned by William, and when he died in captivity, William joked that he had helped the bishop to heaven after all. Despite all this he was readmitted to the Church in 1117.
Rather more important in the long run has been William’s contribution to the culture of the ‘courtly love’ tradition. William is the first known troubador poet, although it is likely that there were earlier ‘courtly love’ poets, but William’s social standing ensured the survival of at least some of his works.
Charming and charismatic, he was appreciated in his time for his ability to entertain with jokes, comic acting and songs. His initial inspiration to be a troubador may have come from slaves brought back from Spain, where he fought campaigns against the Moors at Cordova, from1120 to 1123.
Eleven of William’s poems survive. These are amorous, boisterous and funny. The works celebrate pleasure, contrasted with the abstemious morality of the Church. Romantic adventure is William’s main theme and he uses crude humor and satirizes the language of religion.
His other poems are serious, showing a wide range of emotions and intellectual and spiritual depth. Even here, William still contrasts his exaltation of romantic love in all its forms with the values of the Church. The language is sophisticated and lyrical. In typical courtly love tradition, William idolises women and emphasises how love ennobles and gives a spiritual quality to the lover.
After his death he was succeeded by his son, William X, and then by his grand-daughter, [granddaughter was] Eleanor of Aquitaine.*
Assessment: The first of the troubadours whose works have come down to us, the first poet in whom we find evidence of the ‘courtly love’ tradition that soon dominated Western literature.
Oneliner: William Duke of Aquitaine, first troubador poet
Bibliography:
- Dictionary of the Middle Ages. Edited by Joseph R. Strayer. Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York, 1988.