Alain I of Albret (1440–1522), called "The Great", was a powerful French aristocrat. He was 16th Lord of Albret, Viscount of Tartas, the 2nd Count of Graves and the Count of Castres. He was the son of Catherine de Rohan and Jean I of Albret.Achille Luchaire, ''Alain Le Grand Sire D'albret'', (Slatkine Reprints, 1974), 13-14. He was the grandson and heir of Charles II of Albret and became head of the House of Albret in 1471. During his half century of rule, he took a political course which was more agitated than effective, following his father's example, making him one of the most visible actors on the stage of Europe.

Early career

Alain I initially benefited from his fidelity to King

Louis XI of France Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (french: le Prudent), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revo ...

and, through this, enlarged his principality. He married Frances, Countess of Périgord, which brought him the county of County of Périgord, the viscounty of Limoges, and the Penthièvre claim to the Duchy of Brittany. He later seized Armagnac and married his son, John, to Catherine, recently proclaimed queen regnant of the

Kingdom of Navarre The Kingdom of Navarre (; , , , ), originally the Kingdom of Pamplona (), was a Basque kingdom that occupied lands on both sides of the western Pyrenees, alongside the Atlantic Ocean between present-day Spain and France. The medieval state took ...

and heiress to Foix and

Bigorre Bigorre ({{IPA-fr, biɡɔʁ; Gascon: ''Bigòrra'') is a region in southwest France, historically an independent county and later a French province, located in the upper watershed of the Adour, on the northern slopes of the Pyrenees, part of t ...

The ''Mad War''

At this time, Alain hoped to consolidate his power by taking control of the Duchy of Brittany by marriage to

Anne of Brittany Anne of Brittany (; 25/26 January 1477 – 9 January 1514) was reigning Duchess of Brittany from 1488 until her death, and Queen of France from 1491 to 1498 and from 1499 to her death. She is the only woman to have been queen consort of France ...

, the daughter and heir of Duke Francis II. He entered into rebellion against the royal authority in support of the duchy, during the so-called Mad War. His intrigues were unsuccessful and he was defeated, having been unable to provide support to the duke in 1487. The following year, he brought reinforcements by sea, but was defeated by

Louis II de la Trémoille Louis II de la Trémoille (29 September 1460 – 24 February 1525), also known as La Trimouille, was a French general. He served under three kings: Charles VIII, Louis XII and Francis I. He was killed in combat at the Battle of Pavia. Milit ...

at the Battle of Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier. He continued, however, to claim the legacy of Francis II, occupying Nantes with his Gascon troops. He still hoped to marry Anne and inherit the duchy but found it expedient to deliver

Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

to the royal army in exchange for an agreement that the French would support his claim to Anne's hand. Anne had no intention of marrying Alain. Instead, she married the French king, putting an end of Alain's dynastic ambition in Brittany.

Family

Despite his failure in Brittany, Alain established other dynastic links through his daughter,

Charlotte of Albret Charlotte of Albret (1480 – 11 March 1514), Dame de Châlus, was a wealthy French noblewoman of the Albret family. She was the sister of King John III of Navarre and the wife of the widely notorious Cesare Borgia, whom she married in 1499. She wa ...

, who married

Cesare Borgia Cesare Borgia (; ca-valencia, Cèsar Borja ; es, link=no, César Borja ; 13 September 1475 – 12 March 1507) was an Italian ex- cardinal and '' condottiero'' (mercenary leader) of Aragonese (Spanish) origin, whose fight for power was a major ...

in May 1499. With Frances of Périgord, his children were: * Jean d'Albret, who married in 1484 Catherine, Queen of Navarre. King '' iure uxoris'' of Navarre up to 1516. His granddaughter, Jeanne, married Antoine of Vendôme and was the mother of King Henry IV of France. * Gabriel, lord of Avesnes-sur-Helpe *

, lady of Châlus, who married in 1500

Amanieu d'Albret Amanieu d'Albret (1478 – 1520) (called the Cardinal d'Albret) was a French Roman Catholic cardinal. Biography Amanieu d'Albret was born in the Kingdom of France ca. 1478, the son of Alain I of Albret, and Frances, Countess of Périgord. His ...

(† 1520), bishop of Pamiers, Comminges, and Lescar, and later a cardinal * Pierre, count of Périgord * Louise, viscountess of Limoges († 1531), who married in 1495 Charles I de Croÿ * Isabelle, who married Gaston II, captal de Buch Alain d'Albret died at Castel Jaloux in October 1522.

References

Sources

* *''This article was initially translated from the Wikipedia article Alain d'Albret, mostly fro
this version
but with the final paragraph fro
this version
'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Alain 01 of Albret French nobility Nobility 1440 births 1522 deaths House of Albret Counts of Castres