See also
| Husband: | Ramon II BERENGUER (1135-1166) | |
| Wife: | Richeza + of POLAND (1131-1185) | |
| Children: | Douce of PROVENCE (1162- ) | |
| Marriage | 17 Nov 1161 | |
| Name: | Ramon II BERENGUER | |
| Sex: | Male | |
| Father: | - | |
| Mother: | - | |
| Birth | 1135 | |
| Occupation | Count of Provence | |
| Title | frm 1144 to 1166 (age 8-31) | Count of Provence |
| Death | 1166 (age 30-31) | |
| Cause: killed during the siege of Nice | ||
| Name: | Richeza + of POLAND | |
| Sex: | Female | |
| Father: | Wladislaw II + (1105-1159) | |
| Mother: | Agnes + of BABENBERG (1111-1157) | |
| Birth | 1131 | Wroclaw, Poland |
| Occupation | Queen Consort of Castile, Leon, Galicia and All Spains | |
| Title | frm 1152 to 1157 (age 20-26) | Queen Consort of Castile, Leon, Galicia and All Spains |
| Title | frm 1161 to 1167 (age 29-36) | Queen Consort of Provence |
| Title | frm 1167 to 1185 (age 35-54) | Queen Consort of Everstein |
| Death | 16 Jun 1185 (age 53-54) | |
| Name: | Douce of PROVENCE | |
| Sex: | Female | |
| Birth | 1162 | |
Ramon Berenguer II (Raymond Berengar) (c. 1135–1166) was the count of Provence from 1144 to his death. His uncle, Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona, was the regent until 1157.
In 1144, Ramon's father, Count Berenguer Ramon, died in an offensive against Genoa and he inherited the county. He was immediately opposed by the family of Baux and it took the military action of his uncle, the count of Barcelona, in 1147 to secure his throne. The war with the Baux continued until the count of Barcelona's death in 1162.
In August of 1161, he had travelled to Turin with his uncle obtain the confirmation of his countship in Provence from the Emperor Frederick I, for Provence was legally a fief of the Holy Roman Empire. There he met Richeza of Poland, the daughter of the exiled Polish high duke, Ladislaus II. He married her on 17 November and on the return journey, his uncle died.
He resumed the war with Genoa, but died trying to take Nice in the spring of 1166. His daughter, Douce, succeeded him, while widow Richeza married Raymond V of Toulouse.
Richeza of Poland (also known as of Silesia) (Polish: Ryksa Polska or Slaska) (ca. 1140 – 16 June 1185) was a Polish princess member of the House of Piast in the Silesian branch and by her marriages Queen of León and Castile, Countess of Provence and Countess of Everstein.
She was the third child and only daughter of King Wladyslaw II the Exile, High Duke of Poland and ruler of Silesia, by his wife Agnes of Babenberg, daughter of Margrave Leopold III of Austria and half-sister of King Conrad III of Germany.[1]
Queen of Castile and LeónBorn and raised for the first years of her life in Poland, Richeza accompanied her parents and brothers into exile in 1146. They established themselves firstly in Bohemia and later in Germany, under the care of King Conrad III, who give his deposed brother-in-law the Saxon district of Altenburg as his residence.
In 1151 came the news that the King Alfonso VII of León and Castile wanted to make an alliance with the Kingdom of Germany through a wedding. Richenza, niece of King Conrad III, was the most appropriate candidate to be the wife of the Iberian ruler. Between October and December 1152 Richeza and King Alfonso VII were married. In Castile she was known as Queen Riquilda (Spanish: Reina Riquilda). Her first child, Infante Ferdinand of Castile, was born in the city of Toledo one year later, in 1153. Two years later, in 1155, Richeza gave birth to her second child, Infanta Sancha of Castile. King Alfonso VII died suddenly in the middle of the war against the Moors in Sierra Morena on 21 August 1157. Apparently, Infante Ferdinand died soon before his father.[2]
[edit] Countess of ProvenceThe late King divided his domains between his two surviving sons born from his first marriage to Berenguela of Barcelona: Sancho III obtained Castile and Ferdinand II received León. The relationship between Richeza and her stepsons wasn't good, especially after King Sancho III declared war on Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona, father of Alfonso (later King of Aragon), who was betrothed to Richeza's daughter Sancha. The unstable relations of King Ferdinand II with the Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa (cousin of Richeza) and the Antipope Victor IV added further difficulties to the Dowager Queen, who finally decided to move to the Kingdom of Aragon in 1159.
In the Aragonese court, Richeza met Ramon Berenguer II, Count of Provence, nephew of Count of Barcelona. Although they soon fell in love, their union would be clearly political. Ramon Berenguer II supported Victor IV against Pope Alexander III, who, in turn, supported King Louis VII of France. The county of Provence was in a strategic location, between France and the Italian Peninsula. Frederick Barbarossa also wanted to win to his side to Count Ramon Berenguer IV, who entered in an alliance with the Kings of France, Castile and León. In contrast, Ramon Berenguer II, soon cousin by marriage of the Emperor gained prestige and could face the pretentions of Count Hugh of Baux, who had just received the Imperial Provence as a fief.
Premarital negotiations lasted almost a year and a half. Between January and October 1161 Richeza and Count Ramon Berenguer II were finally married. They had only one daughter, Douce of Provence, born ca. 1162. Ramon Berenguer II was killed during the siege of Nice in 1166.
Soon after her second husband's death, plans for a new marriage for Richeza began. Apparently, she was betrothed to Raymond V, Count of Toulouse by her cousin the Emperor Frederick Barbarossa around 1166; at the same time, the now Countess Douce II of Provence was engaged to the future Raymond VI. Count Raymond V wanted with this engagement to become more closely to the Hohenstaufen dynasty and took full control over the County of Provence. However, the firm opposition of King Alfonso II of Aragon (future Richeza's son-in-law) soon cancelled both betrothals, and with the help of the Genoese, began the war against Raymond V, who lasted eight years.
Some sources stated that in fact Richeza and Raymond V were married; however, this event is refuted by the majority of modern historians.
[edit] Countess of EversteinBy 1167, Richeza married her third and last husband, Count Albert III of Everstein (b. ca. 1135 - d. ca. 1202) (who fought at the side of Frederick Barbarossa in his wars against the Guelphs) and moved to Germany with her new husband. After that, she was known as Countess Richeza of Everstein (German: Gräfin Richeza von Everstein). From this union were certainly born two sons, Counts Albert IV and Konrad II of Everstein, although in some sources the existence of other three sons called Otto, Louis and Hermann of Everstein was stated.[3]
Little is known about the later life of Richeza. She died in 1185