Ramon Berenguer and his wife were known for their support of
troubadors, always having some around the court. He was known for his generosity, though his income did not always keep up. He wrote laws prohibiting nobles from performing menial work, such as farming or heavy labour. Ramon Berenguer had many border disputes with his neighbours, the
counts of Toulouse. In 1226, Ramon began to reassert his right to rule in
Marseille. The citizens there initially sought the help of Ramon's father-in-law
Thomas, Count of Savoy in his role as imperial
vicar. However, they later sought the help of
Raymond VII, Count of Toulouse. In 1228, Ramon Berenguer supported his father-in-law in a double-sided conflict against
Turin and
Guigues VI of Viennois. This small war was one of many rounds intended to more firmly establish control over trade from Italy into France, and Provence included several key routes. While the
Albigensian Crusade worked in his favour against Toulouse, Ramon Berenguer was concerned that its resolution in the
Treaty of Paris left him in a precarious position. Raymond turned his troops from fighting France to attempting to claim lands from Provence. When
Blanche of Castile sent her knight to both Toulouse and Provence in 1233, Ramon Berenguer entertained him lavishly, and the knight left well impressed by both the count and his eldest daughter,
Margaret. Soon after, Blanche negotiated the marriage between Margaret and her son,
Louis, with a
dowry of ten thousand silver marks. Ramon Berenguer had to get contributions from allies for a portion, and had to pledge several of his castles to cover the rest. Ramon Berenguer and Beatrice travelled with their daughter to
Lyon in 1234 to sign the marriage treaty, and then Margaret was escorted to her wedding in Sens by her uncles
William and
Thomas of Savoy. Shortly after, William began negotiating on Ramon Berenguer's behalf with
Henry III of England to marry his daughter Eleanor. Henry sent his own knight to Provence early in 1235, and again Ramon Berenguer and his family entertained him lavishly. Henry wrote to William on 22 June that he was very interested, and sent a delegation to negotiate the marriage in October. Henry was seeking a dowry of up to twenty thousand silver marks to help offset the dowry he had just paid for his sister,
Isabella. However, he had drafted seven different versions of the marriage contract, with different amounts for the dowry, the lowest being zero. Ramon Berenguer shrewdly negotiated for that option, offering as consolation a promise to leave her ten thousand marks in his last will. In 1238, Ramon Berenguer joined his brother-in-law
Amadeus IV at the court of
Emperor Frederick II in Turin. Frederick was gathering forces to assert more control in Italy. Raymond VII of Toulouse was also summoned, and all were expected to work together in the war. In January 1244,
Pope Innocent IV decreed that no one but the pope could excommunicate Ramon Berenguer. In 1245, Ramon Berenguer sent representatives to the
First Council of Lyon, to discuss crusades and the excommunication of Frederick. Ramon Berenguer died in August 1245 in
Aix-en-Provence, leaving the county to his youngest daughter, Beatrice. ==Death and legacy==