William V, Marquis of Montferrat, -1191

William V of Montferrat (occ./piem. Guilhem, it. Guglielmo) (c. 1115 – 1191) also known regnally as William III of Montferrat while also referred to as William the Old or William the Elder, in order to distinguish him from his eldest son, William Longsword, was seventh Marquis of Montferrat from 1135 to his death in 1191. William was the only son of Marquis Renier I and his wife Gisela, a daughter of Count William I of Burgundy and widow of Count Humbert II of Savoy. It seems likely, given that he was still fit enough to participate in battle in 1187, that William was one of his parents' youngest children. He was described by Acerbo Morena as of medium height and compact build, with a round, somewhat ruddy face and hair so fair as to be almost white. He was eloquent, intelligent and good-humoured, generous but not extravagant. Dynastically, he was extremely well connected: a nephew of Pope Callixtus II, a half-brother of Amadeus III of Savoy whose daughter, Matilda, was married to King Afonso I of Portugal, a brother-in-law of Louis VI of France (through his half-sister Adelasia of Moriana), a cousin of Alfonso VII of Castile, and his maternal great-grandmother was Alice of Normandy which made him a distant relative to the Norman monarchs of England.