William I of Aquitaine
William I of Aquitaine (d.
918), nicknamed
the Pious was
Count of Auvergne between
886 and 918 and
Duke of Aquitaine from
893 to his death, succeeding the
Poitiers ruler
Ebalus of Aquitaine. William was son of the count
Bernard II of Auvergne. He had no sons of his own and was succeeded by a nephew. A sign of William's independence of rule in Aquitaine is that he had a
denier minted in his own name, at Brioude (Rouche 1987 p 428).
In
909, William founded the
Benedictine Abbey of Cluny, that would become an important political and religious centre. William required no control over the
Abbey and established that Cluny's
monks would respond only to the
pope (see
Clunian Reforms).
See also :
Dukes of Aquitaine family tree*Rouche, Michel, "Private life conquers state and society," in
A History of Private Life vol I, Paul Veyne, editor, Harvard University Press 1987 ISBN 0-674-39974-9
