the crusade to Nicopolis. Gui VI made his family’s fortune by marrying Marie de Sully,
heiress not only to the lordship of Sully but to the important lordship of Craon in Anjou.
Their son, Georges de La Trémoille (1385–1446), did not follow his father’s Burgundian
allegiance but became grand chamberlain of Charles VII and was the most influential
figure at court until his ouster in 1433. His hostility to Jeanne d’Arc and Arthur de
Richemont, the principal French heroes of their day, and his participation in the Praguerie
of 1440 have left him with a bad reputation among historians. His sons, Louis de La
Tremoille and Georges, lord of Craon, although hereditary chamberlains of Burgundy,
generally served Louis XI, of whom Georges II was a particular favorite, holding
important military commands and serving as bailiff of Touraine. The son of Louis de La
Trémoille, Louis II (1460–1525), was an illustrious French commander, serving Anne de
Beaujeu in Brittany in the 1480s and, with younger members of the family, playing an
important role in the Italian wars of the early 16th century.
John Bell Henneman, Jr.
La Trémoille, Georges de. Archives d’un serviteur de Louis XI, ed. Louis, duc de La Trémoille.
Nantes: Grimaud, 1888.
La Trémoille, Louis, duc de. Les La Trémoille pendant cinq siècles. 5 vols. Nantes: Grimaud,
1890–96.
TRENCAVEL
. Possession of five great fiefs—Albi, Nîmes, Béziers, Agde, and Carcassonne—
established the power of the family of Trencavel in the 12th century. The origins of the
family may be traced to the viscounts of Albi, who appear in the 10th century. Bernard-
Aton II (r. 956–74) added through marriage the viscounty of Nîmes. In 1066, the
marriage of Raymond-Bernard, surnamed Trencavel, viscount of Albi and Nîmes, with
Ermengarde, heiress of the counties of Béziers and Agde, assembled the vast domains
that constituted the patrimony of the Trencavels. After her husband’s death in 1074, she
seized control also of the county of Carcassonne. The reign of Bernard-Aton IV (1074–
1129), under the strong hand of his mother, Ermengarde, saw the height of the
Trencavels’ power.
The viscounts’ indulgence of the Cathar heresy precipitated their downfall in the 13th
century. In 1179, Roger II suffered excommunication, and in 1209 the full weight of the
Albigensian Crusade fell on his son Raymond-Roger. In 1240, the last viscount,
Raymond Trencavel II, attempted to recover his lands by invasion. His forces were
stopped at the siege of Carcassonne, and in 1247 he ceded his rights to the king. Granted
several small fiefs within his old domains, Raymond Trencavel was still alive in 1263.
His son, Roger de Béziers, died on crusade at Tunis. The last of the Trencavels, Béatrix
de Béziers, died sometime after 1322, possessing the small towns of Cesseras and
Belvèze.
Alan Friedlander
[See also: ALBI; ALBIGENSIAN CRUSADE; BÉZIERS; CARCASSONNE;
LANGUEDOC]
Medieval france: an encyclopedia 1752