William VI, Marquess of Montferrat
William VI. ( ital: Guglielmo di Monferrato, † September 17, 1225 ) was a Margrave of Montferrat from the family of Aleramiden. He was a son of the Marquis Boniface I of Montferrat († 1207 ) and Elena di Bosco.
William has already taken over in 1202, the regency Montferrat after his father had joined the Fourth Crusade. The father died in 1207 in Greece as King of Thessaloniki, where he was, succeeded by his second son under age, Demetrius.
Like his ancestors was William a faithful follower of the imperial house of the Hohenstaufen. Although he initially accepted the Welf Otto IV of Brunswick as king during the German throne dispute after the assassination of Philip of Swabia, in 1212 he was the first Italian Large of II on the side of the young Frederick passed. He supported him on his journey through Lombardy on their way to Germany. From Frederick II, he was appointed vicar of Burgundy ( the regnum Arelat ) appointed, which, however, brought him the enmity of the Counts of Savoy, Provence and Toulouse. On the fourth Lateran Council in 1220, he joined as an advocate of the imperial cause against the Lombard League on.
William was married to Sophia of Swabia since 1187, a daughter of Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa, but still died the same year. In his second marriage he was married to Berta di Clavesanas since 1202, with whom he had several children:
- Boniface II († 1253 ), Margrave of Montferrat
- Beatrix ( † 1274), 1 ∞ 1219 with Guigues VI. of Vienne († 1237 ); 2 ∞ with Guido II of Baugé
- Alix ( † before April 1233 ) ∞ 1229 by King Henry I of Cyprus
- ? Elena heiress of Thessaloniki, ∞ with Guglielmo da Verona, Three Men of Euboea.
- ? Oddone di Tonengo († 1250/51 ), cardinal deacon of San Nicola in Carcere Tulliano and Cardinal Bishop of Porto- Santa Rufina
Crusade
After the conquest of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade in 1204 Boniface of Montferrat had founded the Kingdom of Thessalonica, then 1207 killed in battle against the Bulgarians. In Thessaloniki him his second under-age son Demetrius followed under the regency of his mother Margaret of Hungary after. This succession was one of the henchmen of Boniface, however, not without controversy. Especially a large fraction Lombard knights under Oberto Biandrate favored the succession of William VI. as King of Thessaloniki, especially since this is the oldest son of his father and also was in mündigem age to lead the fight against Bulgarians and Greeks can. The revolt of the Lombards, however, was defeated by Emperor Henry in favor of Demetrius.
William himself showed no will in the Greek East to travel there to inherit a threatened from all sides kingdom, nor to support his younger half-brother. The connected with the house Montferrat troubadour Elias Cairel, who had taken part in the Fourth Crusade, it was therefore in the lament " pois chai la fuoilla del garric " ( Well, after like oak) had made allegations and advised him in it rather as abbot in to apply Cluny or Citeaux, if he already does not want to comply with the duty to defend his younger brother. Wilhelm was just no other Bohemond.
In 1221 William was finally ready to take the cross after it was (later Pope Gregory IX. ) Promised an indemnity of 15,000 marks of silver to him by Cardinal Hugo of Ostia. He should support the crusade of Damietta, which, however, were no longer relevant in the same year by the final defeat of the Crusaders in the Nile Delta. Meanwhile, got his brother Demetrius in Greece ever deeper into trouble, the Byzantine despot of Epirus Theodore Angelos I. had conquered the entire kingdom to 1223 with the exception of the capital. Only now William was ready to rush to the aid of his brother, but when he stood out from Brindisi to sea in December 1224 Thessaloniki was already conquered by Theodoros Angelos. Arrived in Greece there was Wilhelm do anything more, he died there in Almyros (district Magnesia ) in September 1225 of a fever, according to rumors triggered by a poisoning. The kingship Thessaloniki remained his family received only as a mere titulary.