Editing Provence (section)

=== Fraxinet, the Counts of Provence (9th–13th centuries) ===
[[File:Ramon Berenguer III.jpg|thumb|left|upright|The Catalan [[Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona|Ramon Berenguer I]], Count of Provence, in the Castle in Fos, painted by [[Marià Fortuny]] ([[Reial Acadèmia Catalana de Belles Arts de Sant Jordi]], on deposit at the Palace of the [[Generalitat of Catalonia]], Barcelona)]]

Three different dynasties of counts ruled Provence during the Middle Ages, and Provence became a prize in the complex rivalries between the [[Catalan people|Catalan]] rulers of [[Barcelona]], the [[kings of Burgundy]], the German rulers of the [[Holy Roman Empire]], and the [[House of Valois-Anjou|Angevin]] kings of France.{{Clarify|date=March 2010}}

[[File:Blason d'Aragon.svg|thumb|upright|The coat of arms of [[Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona]], and his descendants, who rules as counts of Provence from 1112 until 1246]]

[[File:Blason province fr Provence.svg|right|thumb|upright|Coat of arms of the counts of Provence of the [[House of Valois-Anjou]], who ruled Provence from 1246 until it became part of France in 1486]]

The [[Bosonids]] (879–1112) were the descendants of the first king of Provence, Boson. His son, [[Louis the Blind]] (890–928), lost his sight trying to win the throne of Italy, after which his cousin, [[Hugh of Italy]] (died 947), became the duke of Provence and the [[count of Vienne]]. Hugh moved the capital of Provence from Vienne to [[Arles]] and made Provence a [[fief]] of [[Rudolph II of Burgundy]].

In the 9th century, [[Arab]] pirates (called [[Saracens]] by the French) and then the [[Normans]] invaded Provence. The Normans pillaged the region and then left, but the Saracens built castles and began raiding towns and holding local residents for ransom. The conquering Arabs established the emirate of [[Fraxinet]] in 887. Early in 973, the Saracens captured [[Majolus of Cluny|Maieul]], the [[abbot]] of the monastery at [[Abbey of Cluny|Cluny]], and held him for ransom. The ransom was paid and the abbot was released, but the people of Provence, led by [[William I of Provence|Count William I]], rose up and defeated the Saracens near their most powerful fortress ([[La Garde-Freinet]]) at the [[Battle of Tourtour]]. The Saracens who were not killed in the battle were baptised and enslaved, and the remaining Saracens in Provence fled the region.
Meanwhile, dynastic quarrels continued. A war between [[Rudolph III of Burgundy]] and his rival, German emperor [[Conrad the Salic]] led in 1032 to Provence becoming a [[fiefdom]] of the [[Holy Roman Empire]], which it remained until 1246.

In 1112, the last descendant of Boson, [[Douce I, Countess of Provence]], married the Catalan [[Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Barcelona]], who as a result became Raymond Berenguer I, Count of Provence. He ruled Provence from 1112 until 1131, and his descendants, the Catalan counts, ruled in Provence until 1246. In 1125, Provence was divided; the part of Provence north and west of the [[Durance]] river went to the [[Count of Toulouse]], while the lands between the Durance and the Mediterranean, and from the Rhône river to the Alps, belonged to the counts of Provence. The capital of Provence was moved from Arles to [[Aix-en-Provence]], and later to [[Brignoles]].<ref>''Histoire de la Provence'', pg. 16</ref>

Under the Catalan counts, the 12th century saw the construction of important cathedrals and abbeys in Provence, in a harmonious new style, the [[Romanesque architecture|Romanesque]], which united the [[Gallo-Roman]] style of the Rhône Valley with the [[Lombardy|Lombard]] style of the Alps. [[Aix Cathedral]] was built on the site of the old Roman forum, and then rebuilt in the [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] style in the 13th and 14th centuries. The [[Church of St. Trophime]] in Arles was a landmark of Romanesque architecture, built between the 12th and the 15th centuries. A vast fortress-like monastery, [[Montmajour Abbey]], was built on an island just north of Arles and became a major destination for medieval pilgrims.

In the 12th century, three [[Cistercian]] monasteries were built in remote parts of Provence, far from the political intrigues of the cities. [[Sénanque Abbey]] was the first, established in the [[Luberon]] between 1148 and 1178. [[Thoronet Abbey]] was founded in a remote valley near [[Draguignan]] in 1160. [[Silvacane Abbey]], on the Durance river at [[La Roque-d'Anthéron]], was founded in 1175.

In the 13th century, the French kings started to use marriage to extend their influence into the south of France. One son of King [[Louis VIII of France|Louis VIII]] "the Lion", [[Alfonso, Count of Poitou|Alphonse, Count of Poitou]], married the heiress of the Count of Toulouse, [[Joan, Countess of Toulouse|Joan]]. Another, [[Louis IX]] "the Saint" of France or Saint Louis (1214–1270), married [[Marguerite of Provence]]. Then, in 1246, [[Charles I of Naples|Charles, Count of Anjou]], the youngest son of Louis VIII, married the heiress of Provence, [[Beatrice of Provence|Beatrice]]. Provence's fortunes became tied to the [[Capetian House of Anjou|Angevin Dynasty]] and the Kingdom of Naples.<ref>Bastiė, ''Histoire de la Provence''</ref>