Patrimony. Back to the time of the Crusades, when Count Raimond IV answers the Pope’s call
Through Toulouse editorial office
Published on
Toulouse, May 24, 1096. Outside the Saint-Sernin basilica, the crowd is chanting with fervor: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem! Jerusalem! »Inside, the pope himself Urban II, who, six months earlier, had launched a call to the crusade during the Council of Clermont, consecrates the altar table of the building still under construction, under the eyes of Raimond IV, the Count of Toulouse and his suite, as well as 14 bishops and archbishops.
Retired at Château Narbonnais
The jubilation, which embraces the city, does not end until late in the evening. The lord of Toulouse, in his late fifties and graying hair, does not interfere. Exhausted and thoughtful, he retired to the Château Narbonnais. He senses that this expedition to the Holy Land is the last adventure of his tumultuous existence. The next morning, he gravely announces to his court that he will not return. It is now up to Bertrand, his eldest son, to take charge of his possessions which he had roughly acquired.
A warrior, strategist and poet
Ambitious and tempestuous, he is as comfortable with the spear as he is with the sword, and has always loved to fight. His reputation had thrilled to the emirates of Spain and across the seas. In 1080, the wealthy Count of Sicily ended up giving up his lovely daughter Mathilde and her comfortable dowry. Widower, he will later marry another beautiful party: Elvira, the illegitimate daughter of the King of Castile.
One of the most powerful in the South
The union, issued with great pomp, will be blessed by the pre Adhémar de Monteil, emissary of the Pope. At the end of the decade, Raimond, count of Saint-Gilles, became one of the most powerful sovereigns of the South, by finally achieving the coveted title of the count of Toulouse.
Man of taste and friend of the arts, he likes the pomp and the company of “beautiful people”. He brings the greatest troubadours to his palace. It even happens, when inspired, to play his own melodies to his guests.
But Raimond cannot be satisfied with a life of a quiet prince. His appetite for rides and melee remains intact.
Farewell to Toulouse in October 1906
In October 1096, he bids farewell to the people of Toulouse in the church of Saint-Pierre-des-Cuisines. Here he is at the head of one of the four armies of this first crusade, that of the Provençaux (Godefroy de Bouillon commands that of the North, Bohémond the Normans of Sicily) and, is accompanied on his journey, by his wife and his followers.
He died of his injuries at 63
After having crossed Italy and the Balkans, the Crusaders arrived in Byzantium in April 1097, then ended up in Antioch, which he managed to take after a long siege. In July 1099, Jerusalem tour gave in to her. The count, who promised not to return, settled in front of the city of Tripoli and had a fortress erected there called the Mont-Pèlerin castle. Five years later, after yet another assault on the city, he finds himself caught in a fire.
Exhausted, he ended up dying of his injuries in February 1105, at the age of 63.
Mathieu Arnal
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