Garsenda, Countess of Forcalquier

Garsenda
Countess of Provence Countess of Forcalquier
Garsenda as she appears on her seal, from drawing by Louis Blancard (1860)
Born	1180
Died	c. 1257
Spouse	Alfonso II, Count of Provence
Issue	Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence
House	Sabran
Father	Rainou of Sabran
Mother	Garsenda of Forcalquier

Garsenda (French: Garsende de Sabran; c. 1180 – c. 1242) was the Countess of Provence as the wife of Alfonso II from 1193 and the Countess of Forcalquier in her own right from 1209. She brought Forcalquier to the House of Barcelona and united it to Provence. She was also a patron of Occitan literature, especially the troubadours, and herself wrote some lyric poetry and is counted among the trobairitz as Garsenda de Proensa or Proença. She was, in the words of her most recent editors, "one of the most powerful women in Occitan history".

Garsenda was the daughter of Rainou (or Rénier), lord of Caylar and Ansouis of the Sabran family, and Garsenda, daughter of William IV of Forcalquier. She was named after her mother, who was the heiress of William IV, but predeceased him. Garsenda therefore inherited Forcalquier from her grandfather. She was only thirteen years of age when, in 1193, her grandfather William IV and Alfonso II signed the Treaty of Aix whereby Garsenda would inherit William's county and would marry Alfonso, who was in line to become Count of Provence. The marriage took place at Aix-en-Provence in July 1193. They had at least two children, Raymond Berengar IV and Garsenda, who married Guillermo II de Montcada, and bore him two children, including Gaston VII, Viscount of Béarn.

In 1209 both William IV and Alfonso died and Garsenda became the natural guardian of their son and heir, Raymond Berengar IV. Initially her brother-in-law, Peter II of Aragon, assigned the regency of Provence to his brother Sancho, but when Peter died in 1213 Sancho became regent of Aragon and passed Provence and Forcalquier to his son Nuño Sánchez. Dissension broke out between the Catalans and the partisans of the countess, who accused Nuño of attempting to supplant his nephew in the county. The Provençal aristocracy originally took advantage of the situation for their own ambitious ends, but eventually they lined up behind Garsenda and removed Nuño, who returned to Catalonia. The regency was passed to Garsenda and a regency council was established consisting of the native nobles.