William (St) of Aquitaine
William (St.) Of Aquitaine
duke, surnamed "the Great," was the son of count Thierry, and is thought to have been the brother of Charlemagne, who greatly honored him, and rewarded his services in reducing the Saracens in Spain. William founded a monastery in Gellone, a little valley on the borders of the diocese of Lodeve, which he entered barefooted and in sack-cloth in 806, after having obtained the consent of his wife, and made provision for his children. He practiced great austerity, aid died May 28, 812 or 813. His body was found in 1679 under the great altar of the church there. See Hoefer, Nouv. Biog. Géneralé, 22:594.
