Gerberga | |
|---|---|
| Countess of Provence | |
| Born | c. 1060 |
| Died | 1115 |
| Noble family | Bosonids |
| Spouse(s) | Gilbert I of Gévaudan |
| Issue | Douce I, Countess of Provence |
| Father | Geoffrey I of Provence |
| Mother | Etiennette |
Gerberga (1045/65–1115), also spelled Gerberge or Gerburge, was the Countess of Provence for more than a decade, until 1112. Provence is a region located in the southeastern part of modern-day France that did not become part of France until 1481 (well after Gerberga's time).
Countess Gerberga was a daughter of Geoffrey I of Provence and his wife Etiennette of Marseille.[1] She became Countess of Provence upon the death of her brother, Bertrand II, in 1093.
She and her husband, Gilbert I of Gévaudan, were considered virtuous.[2] He participated in the Crusades, donating many relics from the Middle East to churches in Provence.[3] Gilbert later died in 1108. Gerberga then took control of the government, and is said to have ruled wisely.[4] In 1112, her eldest daughter Douce was married to Raymond Berengar III of Barcelona at which point Provence was ceded to him.[5] Her second daughter, Stephanie, would lay claim to the county and thus precipitate the Baussenque Wars in 1144.