William V, Marquess of Montferrat
William V of Old ( ital: Guglielmo il Vecchio, † 1191 ) was a Margrave of Montferrat from the family of Aleramiden. He was a son of the Marquis of Montferrat Rainer ( † around 1136 ) and Gisela, a daughter of Count William I of Burgundy.
William was married to Judith, a daughter of Margrave Leopold III. of Austria from the family of Babenberg. About her mother Agnes of Waiblingen his wife was a granddaughter of Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV, and thus a cousin of Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa. Through his half-sister Adelaide of Maurienne he was a brother of King Louis VI. the thicknesses of France.
The couple had several children, one of which particularly came to the sons of historical significance:
- William Longsword († 1177 ), Count of Jaffa and Ascalon
- Konrad ( † 1192 ), Margrave of Montferrat and King of Jerusalem
- Boniface I ( † 1207 ), Margrave of Montferrat and King of Thessaloniki
- Friedrich, Bishop of Alba
- Rainer († 1183 ), Byzantine Caesar
- Agnes († 1202), Count Guido Guerra III with ∞. Guidi
- Alasia, ∞ with Marquis Manfred II of Saluzzo
- N.N. Daughter, ∞ with Margrave Alberto Moro Malaspina
Wilhelm escorted from 1147 to his nephew, King Louis VII of France, on the Second Crusade. In Italy, he was one of the most loyal followers of the emperor Frederick I Barbarossa against the Lombard League. He helped in 1159 with the subjugation of Milan and in 1176 fought in the Battle of Legnano with.
Under him the dedication of the house of Montferrat began in Greek and Latin East. His eldest son, William Longsword married in 1176 the Princess Sibylle and became the father of the future king Baldwin V of Jerusalem. However, Wilhelm traveled died 1177th The youngest son Rainer married in 1180 a daughter of the Byzantine emperor Manuel I Comnenus, but was murdered in 1183 in Constantinople Opel. The second son Conrad went later also to Konstantin Opel and served the Emperor Isaac II Angelos.
1183 William himself went a second time after Outremer to fight there against the infidels. In 1187 he took part in the disastrous Battle of Hattin, where it was in captivity by Saladin. Then his son Konrad came to Tyre zoom traveled to save his father. Saladin but threatened to kill his father, Konrad should not provide them with the important port city. Then Konrad had to search for the smallest stone in the city to offer it as a prize for his father, which he made clear Saladin, that he was ready for anything in the world to abandon Tyre. Impressed was Saladin captured Wilhelm in July 1188 but released. William stayed with his son in Tyre until he probably died in 1191.