William (Guillaume) IV (Talvas) of Ponthieu, Count of Ponthieu

1179 - 1221  (~ 42 years)

• Name	William (Guillaume) IV (Talvas) of Ponthieu
  Suffix	Count of Ponthieu
  Born	ca 1179	Abbeville, Picardie, France
  Gender	Male
  Died	04 Oct 1221
  Buried	Abbey of Valloires, Picardie, France
  	Grave location and cemetery photo: http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=102346447
  Notes	Wikipeida https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_IV,_Count_of_Ponthieu He was Count of Ponthieu, ruler of a small province in northern France. It was one of six feudal counties that eventually merged to become part of the Province of Picardy, in northern France. Its chief town is Abbeville. He was son and heir of John (Jean) I, Count of Ponthieu (died 1191) by his third wife Beatrice de St Pol. His father was the son of Guy II, Count of Ponthieu (who died on the Second Crusade 1147) and grandson of William III of Ponthieu, also frequently called William III Talvas, and who represented the senior line of the lords of Montgomery, once trusted vassals and allies of William the Conqueror. Talvas was married on August 20, 1195 to Alys, Countess of the Vexin, the daughter of King Louis VII of France. She was some eighteen years older than he, and was said by some to have been seduced by King Henry II of England while betrothed to his son, King Richard the Lionheart. Richard sent her back to her brother, King Philip II of France, refusing to marry his father's mistress. Philip then arranged for Alys to marry William Talvas, with the intent that the couple would be childless, and he would thus gain control of Ponthieu, a small but strategically important county. However, Alys then gave birth to a daughter and heiress, Marie, in 1199. This daughter was the maternal grandmother of Eleanor of Castile, first wife of Edward I, King of England, to whom Ponthieu and the disputed Vexin inheritance would eventually pass as Eleanor's dowry. William Talvas died in 1221, his daughter Marie being his heiress. William was an important army commander in the Anglo-French War (1202-1214). He also participated in the Albigensian Crusade, particularly in the Siege of Termes in 1210. He led the left wing of the victorious French army in the Battle of Bouvines in 1214.
  Person ID	I36062	Master File
  Last Modified	9 Sep 2016

  
  

  Father	John (Jean) I of Ponthieu, Count of Ponthieu,   b. 1140, Abbeville, Picardie, France ,   d. 1191  (Age 51 years)
  Mother	Beatrice of Saint-Pol
  Family ID	F14867	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart

  
  

  Family	Alys of France, Countess of Vexin,   b. 04 Oct 1160,   d. ca 1220  (Age 59 years)
  Children	1. Marie of Ponthieu, Countess of Ponthieu,   b. 17 Apr 1199, Abbeville, Picardie, France ,   d. 21 Sep 1250, Abbeville, Picardie, France  (Age 51 years)
  Last Modified	9 Sep 2016
  Family ID	F14864	Group Sheet  |  Family Chart