Guillaume (Iron Arm) IV, Duc d'Aquitaine 
Guillaume, known as Iron Arm, was born about 0937 in Poitou, Aquitaine, France. Iron Arm's father was Guillaume (Towhead) III, Duc d'Aquitaine and his mother was Adele de Normandie. His paternal grandparents were Ebalus (the Bastard), Duc d'Aquitaine and Princess Emliane Aelgiva of England; his maternal grandparents were Duke Rollo (Hrolf) of Normandy and Poppa de Valois. He was an only child. He died on February 3rd, 0994.General Notes
William IV (937 – 3 February 994[1]), called Fierebras or Fierebrace (meaning "Iron Arm", from the French Fier-à-bras or Fièrebrace, in turn from the Latin Ferox brachium), was the Duke of Aquitaine and Count of Poitou from 963 to his retirement in 990.
William's father, William III, abdicated to the abbey of Saint-Cyprien in Poitiers and left the government to Fierebras. His mother was Gerloc, the daughter of Duke Rollo of Normandy. His sister was Adelaide, wife of Hugh Capet, the king against whom William later battled for his duchy. His early reign was characterised by many wars. He fought frequently against the counts of Anjou, the first time against Geoffrey Greymantle, who had taken Loudun.
In 988, he went to war with the newly-elected king of France, Hugh Capet, whom he refused to recognise. Capet had been granted Aquitaine by King Lothair before the latter had been reconciled to William's father. Capet renewed his claim on the great duchy and invaded it that year. A royal army was defeated on the plain of the Loire Valley. William sheltered the young Louis, the son of Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine, the last legitimate Carolingian heir. He opened the palace of Poitiers to him and treated him as royalty, regarding him as the true heir to the French throne.
In 968, he married Emma or Emmeline, daughter of Theobald I of Blois and Luitgarde of Vermandois. Their marriage was stormy, in part because of William's indulgence in the pursuit of women and, a hunting aficionado, wild animals. She banished his paramours, they separated twice for long periods, and finally he retired to a monastery, as his father had done, leaving Emma to rule Aquitaine in the name of their son William until 1004. Their second son, Ebles, died sometime after 997.
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Ancestor Pedigree Chart
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*There are earlier generations for the ancestor(s) indicated. See their page(s) for details (click name)
- b.~ 0795 in Auvergne, France
- b.~ 0825 in Poitou, Aquitaine, France d.0886
- b.0800
- b.~ 0855 in Poitou, Aquitaine, France d.05 Aug 0890
- b.0804 in Maine, Normandy, France
- b.~ 0827 in Maine, Normandy, France
- b.0808 in Maine, Normandy, France
- b.~ 0880 in Poitou, Aquitaine, France d.0932
- b.13 Jun 0823 in Frankfurt, Hessen-Nassau, Prussia d.06 Oct 0877 in Brides-les-Bain, Brios, France
- b.01 Nov 0846 d.10 Apr 0879 in Compiegne, Oise, France
- b.~ 0865 in France
- b.~ 0816 in Saxony, Germany d.0886
- b.~ 0848 in Saxony, Germany
- b.~ 0817 in Saxony, Germany
- b.~ 0915 in Poitou, Aquitaine, France d.03 Apr 0963
- b.~ 0795 in France d.13 Jan 0858
- b.~ 0847 in Wantage d.28 Oct 0901 in Winchester, Hampshire, England
- b.~ 0810 d.> 0876
- b.0871 in Wessex, England d.17 Jul 0924 in Farndon-on-Dee
- b.~ 0852 d.05 Dec 0905 in St. Mary's Abbey, Winchester, Dorset
- b.0902 in Wessex, England
- b.0880
- b.~ 0937 in Poitou, Aquitaine, France d.03 Feb 0994
- b.~ 0760 in Norway d.~ 0790 in Maer, Nord-Trondelag, Norway
- b.~ 0800 in Maer, Nord-Trondelag, Norway d.~ 0870 in Maer, Nord-Trondelag, Norway
- b.~ 0830 in Maer, Nord-Trondelag, Norway d.~ 0894 in Maer, Nord-Trondelag, Norway
- b.~ 0790 in Jutland, Norway
- b.~ 0812 in Maer, Nord-Trondelag, Norway
- b.~ 0866 in Maer, Nord-Trondelag, Norway d.~ 0931 in Normandy, France
- b.~ 0848 in Orkney Islands, Scotland
- b.~ 0917 in Normandy, France d.>14 Oct 0962
- b.0847 in Bayeux, Normandy, France (Neustria) d.0886 in Bayeux, Normandy, France (Neustria)
- b.~ 0872 in Evreux, Normandy, France d.0938 in France
- b.~ 0825 in Rennes, France
- b.~ 0855 in Rennes, France
- b.~ 0800 in Brittany, France d.0857
- b.~ 0825 in Brittany, France
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Individual Additional Information
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Associated external link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_IV_of_Aquitaine
