Raymond Berengar of Andria

Who was Raymond Berengar of Andria?

Raymond Berengar was the count of Andria and possibly Count of Provence and Prince of Piedmont.

Raymond Berengar was the fifth son of Charles II of Naples and Maria of Hungary. He was born in Provence during a brief return of his father to take command of a fleet there. His homeland is evidenced in his Provençal name and the name of his nurse, Adelasia of Aix-en-Provence. He was known to have been born after Robert and no document of the time places him in Naples for many more years. Consequently, he spent his childhood under the guardianship of William de Manoir in the cities of Aix, Sisteron, St Victor, near Marseilles, and Baryols. It is from Sisiteron that a letter was sent, dated 2 May 1286, by him and his two brothers, Robert and Louis, asking Edward I of England for the release of their captive father.

By the Treaty of Canfranc, he was given as a hostage, along with his elder brothers, in exchange for his father. He was ill at the time and did not get sent to Catalonia until the next year. He joined his brothers at Moncada on 9 March. The three princes were treated with the honour due their status and they carried an entourage of a hundred young noblemen. Raymond invited Pierre de Jean-Olieu to visit him in prison, but received only a letter of consolation. The brothers were finally released on 7 June 1295 in accordance with the stipulations of the Treaty of Anagni.