Dangereuse de L'Isle-Bouchard (daughter of Barthelemy de Bueil and Gerberge de Blaison) was born Abt. 1079. She married (1) Aimery I de Rochefoucauld, son of Boson II de Chatellerault and Aleanor (Eleanor) de Thouars. She was a concubine of (2) William IX "The Troubador" Duc d'Aquitaine

A lovely account about Dangereuse de L'Isle-Bouchard from Lou Alice Fink (http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/f/i/n/Lou-A-Fink/WEBSITE...):

Dangereuse de l’Isle-Bouchard was not a conventional woman: concubine of the powerful William IX the Troubadour, Duke of Aquitaine, a member herself of that special cadre of female musicians known to sing the songs of unearthly love, the band of renegade ladies known simply as trobairitz.

The year was 1100, and la Dangerosa of scandal sat in her solitary tower at Poitiers, composing verse, or, at least attempting such a feat. William would be arriving soon for his ministrations and the woman who had abandoned status, home and husband to live in sin with one of a like inclination as herself, wished to present him with a new song, should his own prove worthy the reciprocation.

Because both William and his father had traveled to the land of the Kaliph during the First Crusade, their castle was filled with Barbary women, tropies of war, but also treasured maidens who in the Aquitaine were treated with honor and respect. Dangerosa learned from those foreigners of her own sex many wise and wonderful mysteries: the language of the birds, the counting of stars in the night sky to form hidden verses of cosmic chant, the knowledge of the Magoi. The dark-skinned, lynx-eyed ladies became as her kin, according her the rank of Sultana, reciting hymns to the goddess Isis in her presence, filling what might have become a lonely life with pleasure and hours of enchanted days bathed with the resonance of their exotic timbres.

These sisters of the Levant also schooled their mistress in magic, facilitating visions, creating a secret world within Dangerosa’s tower. A space William would enter into on each visit with amazement, a place where he shed ducal trapping and became lowly serf. At each audience he would play for her a tribute, beseeching the woman he had supposedly kidnapped from her husband, but who in fact had made him her captive, with words such as:

Good lady, I ask for nothing,

But please take me as your servant,

For I shall serve you as great Goddess,

Whatever fate you send my way.

Even on the jousting field, proud William humbled himself before the Lady Dangerosa, displaying her image on his shield, engraved with the motto: Over me in Battle, Likewise in Bed. The other nobles scoffed at such blatant chivalry, the bishops scowled, but Dangerosa stayed in her tower with her ladies and paid no heed to what silly people might say.

A knock at the bedchamber door informed Dangereuse that her ardent William had arrived. Breathing deeply of jasmine scent burning from a silver censer the noble woman stood, shaking out the skirt of a midnight blue gown. Roses picked earlier by her companions cascaded from the lady’s lap, gracing the plain floor with a floral array. She thought of the proposal she must put to the duke that eve - that her daughter, Aelinore, marry his son and namesake, future leader of Aquitaine - and her mind began to spin, dancing to a sarabande of possibility.

A red-haired, imposing figure dropped down to wooden plank, gathering sweet-smelling flowers to his bosom, drinking in the perfumes of the tower. Lady Dangerosa stared placidly at the subjugation, awaiting her cue.

My heart gladly breaks,

For her again and again;

Accept here poor William,

Most servile of men.

No stranger to such outpourings, Dangerosa was stunned to recognize the power of a mystical transport descending over her person, and without hesitating, the jewel of the House of the Isle-Bouchard replied: Within every woman there is a queen. Speak to that sovereign beauty and the queen will answer.

Inspired by the phrase, the troubadour was quick to answer:

Lady, I am yours and yours I shall stay,

Pledged to thy service, come what may.

This oath I give is full and free,

The type of vow sworn on bended knee.

Of all my joys, you are the first,

And of them all you will be the last,

As long as life endures,

Future, present and past.

And while the Companions of Purity began a desert wail in the garden, their oracular service passed through the eyes, and the person and tripped over the tongue of la Dangerosa:

Our houses unite and a queen will be born,

A founder of dynasties, bright Rose and dark Thorn.

Her name will be Eleanor, her signet the whip,

The lords of two lands feel the sting of her lip.

The troubadours flock to her court of fine Love,

Where women are spotless, respected above

Dukes, earls, even kings

Become Eleanor’s playthings.

A saint named Bernard of the brethren Clairvaux,

Will beseech our granddaughter with vassals to go,

On a crusade abroad, to meet Saracen horde,

To Vezalay she comes amidst tumultuous roars.

She rides a white steed, dressed as Amazon queen

And her cry of To Arms! creates quite a scene.

With ladies attendant they ride to the East

Fitted in armor with lances, a visual feast.

And her sons will be kings and they bow at her foot,

For Eleanor is dame of the golden, bright boot.

The prophecy completed, the barbary chant finished, Dangerosa allowed William to kiss her foot, then reached backwards towards the table to collect that instrument of clairvoyance, a perfect red rose.

Dangereuse married Almeric I de Chastellerault, son of Boso II - Viscomte de Turenne and Aleanor de Thouars. (Almeric I de Chastellerault was born about 1077 in Châtellerault, Poitou-Charentes, France, died on 7 Nov 1151 in Noyers and was buried in Nov 1151.)

William IX was excommunicated twice, the first time in 1114 for some unknown offense. His response to this was to demand absolution from the Bishop of Poitiers at swordpoint. He was excommunicated a second time for abducting Dangereuse (Dangerosa in Occitan), the wife of his vassal Aimery I de Rochefoucauld, Viscount of Châtellerault. He installed her in the Maubergeonne tower of his castle, and, as related by William of Malmesbury, even painted a picture of her on his shield.

This greatly offended both his wife and his son, William. According to Orderic Vitalis, Philippa protested against her treatment in October 1119 at the Council of Reims, claiming to have been abandoned by the duke in favor of Dangereuse. She later retired to the convent of Fontevrault. Relations with his son were only repaired when the younger William married Aenor of Châtellerault, Dangereuse's daughter by her husband.

An anonymous 13th century biography of William, forming part of the collection Biographies des Troubadours, remembers him thus:

"The Count of Poitiers was one of the most courtly men in the world and one of the greatest deceivers of women. He was a fine knight at arms, liberal in his womanizing, and a fine composer and singer of songs. He travelled much through the world, seducing women."

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Dangereuse de L' Isle Bouchard

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dangereuse_de_l%27Isle_Bouchard

Dangereuse de L' Isle Bouchard

Mistress to William IX, Duke of Aquitaine

Viscountess of Châttellerault

Spouse(s) Aimery I of Châttellerault

Issue

With Aimery

• Aenor, Duchess of Aquitaine
• Hugh, Viscount of Châttellerault
• Raoul
• Amable, Countess of Angoulême
• Aois

With William

• Henri, Prior of Cluny
• Adelaide de Faye
• Sybille, Abbess of Saintes

Noble family L' Isle Bouchard

• Father Barthelemy de L'Isle Bouchard
• Mother Gerberge de Blaison

Died 1151

Dangereuse de L' Isle Bouchard (d.1151) was a daughter of Barthelemy de L'Isle Bouchard and his wife Gerberge de Blaison. She was the maternal grandmother of the celebrated Eleanor of Aquitaine. She was also mistress to her granddaughters' paternal grandfather William IX, Duke of Aquitaine.[1]

Dangereuse is also known as La Maubergeonne.

Family

Dangereuse's paternal grandparents were Archimbaud Borel de Bueil and Agnes de L'Isle Bouchard. Her maternal grandparents were Eon de Blaison and Tcheletis de Trèves.

Through her granddaughter, Dangereuse was an ancestor of various nobles and monarchs including: Richard I of England, Marie, Countess of Champagne, John of England, Geoffrey, Duke of Brittany, Joan, Queen of Sicily, Eleanor, Queen of Castile, Matilda, Duchess of Saxony and Henry the Young King.

Her granddaughter Eleanor was Queen consort of France, Queen consort of England and Duchess of Aquitaine (in her own right).

Life

Marriage

Dangereuse married Viscount Aimery I of Châttellerault at an unknown date. She advised her husband to donate propery to Saint-Denis en Vaux in a charter dated 1109; this means they were married before this point.[2] Dangereuse was a woman who did as she pleased and cared little for public opinion. [3]

Their marriage produced five children (two sons and three daughters):

-Hugh (died before 1176) succeeded his father as Viscount

-Raoul (died 1190) married Elisabeth de Faye and had issue

-Aenor/Eleanor (c. 1103 – March 1130) married William X, Duke of Aquitaine, mother to Duchess Eleanor and Petronilla

-Amable, married Wulgrin II, Count of Angoulême

-Aois (fate unknown)

Dangereuse and Aimery were married for around seven years before she left her husband to become the mistress to Duke William IX; this became an infamous liaison. [4]

Mistress to William IX

Whilst travelling through Poitou, Duke William met the "seductive" Dangereuse.[5] This led to her leaving her husband for Duke William IX of Aquitaine, who was excommunicated by the church for "abducting", but she however, appeared to have been a willing party in the matter. He installed her in the Maubergeonne tower of his castle in Poitiers (leading to her nickname La Maubergeonne), and, as related by William of Malmesbury, even painted a picture of her on his shield. [6] [7]

Upon returning to Poitiers from Toulouse, his wife Philippa of Toulouse was enraged to discover a rival woman living in her palace. She appealed to her friends at court and to the Church[8]; however, no noble could assist her since William was their feudal overlord, and whilst the Papal legate Giraud (who was bald) complained to William and told him to return Dangereuse to her husband, William's only response was, "Curls will grow on your pate before I part with the Viscountess." Humiliated, Philippa chose in 1116 to retire to the Abbey of Fontevrault, where she was befriended, ironically, by Ermengarde of Anjou, William's first wife.

Dangereuse and William had three children:

-Henri (died after 1132), a monk and later Prior of Cluny

-Adelaide, married Raoul de Faye

-Sybille, Abbess of Saintes

Some [9] believe that Raymond of Poitiers was a child of William and Dangereuse, rather than by Philippa of Toulouse. The primary source which names his mother has not so far been identified. However, he is not named in other sources as a legitimate son of Willam IX. It is therefore reasonable to suppose that he was born from the duke's relationship with Dangereuse. If this is the case, Dangereuse was grandmother to Bohemund III of Antioch, Maria of Antioch and Philippa of Antioch.

Philippa died two years later. William's first wife Ermengarde set out to avenge Philippa. In October 1119, she suddenly appeared at the Council of Reims being held by Pope Calixtus II and demanded that the Pope excommunicate William (again), oust Dangereuse from the ducal palace, and restore herself to her rightful place as Duchess consort. The Pope "declined to accommodate her"; however, she continued to trouble William for several years afterwards.

The relationship between William and his legitimate son William was troubled by his father's liaison with Dangereuse; this was only settled when the pair arranged the marriage between William the Younger and Dangereuse's daughter Aenor in 1121;[10] the following year Eleanor was born.

William died on 10 February 1126; nothing is recorded of Dangereuse after this point. Dangereuse died in 1151.

Sources

Harvey, Ruth E. The wives of the 'first troubadour', Duke William IX of Aquitaine (Journal of Medieval History), 1993

Parsons, John Carmi. Eleanor of Aquitaine: Lord and Lady, 2002

Footnotes

^ AQUITAINE, Medieval Lands

^ Documents concernant le Prieuré de Saint-Denis en Vaux, Archives historiques du Poitou Tome VII (Poitiers, 1878) ("Saint-Denis en Vaux") I, p. 346.

^ Eleanor of Aquitaine: a biography

^ Eleanor of Aquitaine: a biography

^ Pilgrims, heretics, and lovers: a medieval journey

^ Lou Alice Fink of Louisville, KY: Information

^ Eleanor of Aquitaine: Queen and Legend

^ Orderic Vitalis, Vol. VI, Book XII, p. 259

^ Aquitaine, Medieval Lands

^ Encyclopedia of women in the Middle Ages

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http://homepages.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~cousin/html/p360.htm

Dangereuse "Maubergeonne" de l'Isle Bouchard, vicomtesse de Châtellerault1

b. circa 1080, d. after 1119

Dangereuse "Maubergeonne" de l'Isle Bouchard, vicomtesse de Châtellerault|b. c 1080\nd. a 1119|p360.htm#i7689|Bartholomew de l'Isle Bouchard|b. c 1060\nd. a 1097|p355.htm#i7690|Gerberge (?)|b. c 1063|p61.htm#i7691|||||||||||||

Father Bartholomew de l'Isle Bouchard2 b. circa 1060, d. after 1097

Mother Gerberge (?)2 b. circa 1063

Also called Dangerose.3 Her popular nickname, "Maubergeonne," derives from the tower in which she was installed by William the Troubadour after he carried her off.1 Dangereuse "Maubergeonne" de l'Isle Bouchard, vicomtesse de Châtellerault was born circa 1080. She was the daughter of Bartholomew de l'Isle Bouchard and Gerberge (?).2 Dangereuse "Maubergeonne" de l'Isle Bouchard, vicomtesse de Châtellerault married Aymeric I, vicomte de Châtellerault, son of Boson de la Rochefoucaud, vicomte de Châtellerault and Ænor de Thouars, in 1109; His 2nd.3 Dangereuse "Maubergeonne" de l'Isle Bouchard, vicomtesse de Châtellerault associated with Guillaume IX "le Troubadour", duc de Guyenne, comte de Poitiers, son of Guillaume VI Gui-Geoffroi, comte de Poitou, duc d' Aquitaine et de Gascogne and Hildegarde de Bourgogne, after 1112; Mistress. Dangereuse "Maubergeonne" de l'Isle Bouchard, vicomtesse de Châtellerault died after 1119.

Family 1

Aymeric I, vicomte de Châtellerault b. 1077, d. 7 November 1151

Children

   * Ænor de Châtellerault+ b. a 1109, d. a Mar 11303

* Raoul de Châtellerault, seigneur de Faye la Vineuse+ b. c 1112, d. a 11844
Family 2

Guillaume IX "le Troubadour", duc de Guyenne, comte de Poitiers b. circa 22 October 1071, d. 10 February 1127

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