William (III), eighth count of Albarracin
| William | |
|---|---|
| Count of Albarracin Count of Calatayud Baron of Cerdanya | |
| Predecessor | Peter |
| Successor | Blanca |
| Born | 1111 Híjar, Kingdom of Aragon |
| Died | 11 January 1132 (aged 20-21) Bordón, Kingdom of Aragon |
| Buried | Cathedral of Híjar |
| Noble family | Cerdanya Vieja |
| Spouse(s) | Blanca de Mallorca del Bosque |
| Issue
William Raymond Blanca | |
| Father | Peter, seventh count of Albarracin |
| Mother | Teresa de Barbastro |
William de Cerdanya (Catalan: Guillem; 1111 - 11 January 1132) was an Aragonese nobleman during the early twelfth century. By inheritance, he achieved the greatest territorial power yet enjoyed by his dynasty, but he was murdered at a young age on the orders of his father-in-law. William is referred to as "William III" by historians to distinguish him from other members of his family with the same name.
Life
William was born during the spring of 1111 at Híjar, where his mother had claimed sanctuary during the civil war. He was his parents' only child. William was an infant when his father Peter was executed for treason on 6 July 1111; as a mark of King Adalbert's mercy, he was allowed to succeed to his father's titles. Little is known of Willilam's minority. It is likely that power was exercised on his behalf by his mother Teresa de Barbastro, or by John, bishop of Híjar.
The count's early childhood was spent during the Great Plague, which lasted in Aragon from 1111 to approximately 1115. His mother married Arnau d'Urgell circa 1112, but returned to Albarracin after her second husband's death in 1121. In 1124, William's dynasty was strengthened when his second cousin William Raymond inherited the county of Calatayud. There are few documentary records of William during his adolesence, but he joined King Adalbert at Barcelona in September 1126 during the endowment of the new royal library.
William married Blanca de Mallorca del Bosque in 1127. This was a prestigious marriage, and the new couple received gifts from the king and queen to celebrate their wedding. Blanca was the daughter of William Raymond, duke of Valencia, the favorite of successive Aragonese kings and a powerful figure at court. The couple's only son, named William Raymond after his grandfather, died in infancy.
William served as a councilor at King Adalbert's court, and seems to have frequently accompanied the king on his travels. In March 1128, William granted a charter to the residents of Teruel, outlining advantageous new laws governing their guilds. William's temporal power increased significantly when he inherited the county of Calatayud in October 1129, after the death of his childless second cousin William Raymond. According to one contemporary chronicler, this made William "the strongest man in the kingdom, after the lord king." In November of that year, in his capacity as count of Calatayud, William granted a charter to the city of Alhama de Aragón.
The count spent much of his time in Barcelona during his last years, except an appearance at Albarracin in July 1130. According to a source written about fifty years later, King Adalbert asked William to hunt down "spies and traitors" in the royal capital. William's work on the king's behalf may have contributed to his assassination at Bordón, while returning to Albarracin from Barcelona, on 11 January 1132. According to a contemporary, William was first pulled from his horse, and then stabbed and "dealt roughly with" by a man wielding a long knife, while other armed men subdued his guards.
The circumstances of William's murder fascinated medieval contemporaries. Royal justiciars ultimately determined that William's father-in-law, the duke of Valencia, had ordered his assassination to prevent the king from learning about plots that William had recently discovered. Another near-contemporary source declared that the duke of Valencia had ordered William's death after discovering that he had committed adultery. The case was used as part of the treason charges levied against the duke of Valencia in 1137.
William was succeeded by his only surviving child, his daughter Blanca, and was buried at Híjar.