Garsenda, Countess of Forcalquier

Garsenda
Countess of Provence
Countess of Forcalquier
Garsenda as she appears on her seal, from drawing by Louis Blancard (1860)
Bornc. 1180
Diedc. 1242/1257
SpouseAlfonso II, Count of Provence
IssueRamon Berenguer IV
Garsenda of Provence, Viscountess of Béarn
HouseSabran
FatherRainou of Sabran
MotherGarsenda I of Forcalquier

Garsenda (French: Garsende; c. 1180 – c. 1242/1257) was the Countess of Provence as the wife of Alfonso II from 1193 and the Countess of Forcalquier in her own right from 1209, which was subsequently united with that of 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. She was, in the words of her most recent editors, "one of the most powerful women in Occitan history".[1]