Bernard VIII of Comminges (c. 1285–1336) was the

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Comminges The Comminges (; Occitan/ Gascon: ''Comenge'') is an ancient region of southern France in the foothills of the Pyrenees, corresponding closely to the arrondissement of Saint-Gaudens in the department of Haute-Garonne. This natural region is norma ...

in what is now southern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. He was the son and successor of Count

Bernard VII of Comminges Bernard ('' Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "bra ...

(died 1312) and Laura of Montfort (died before 1300). The County of Comminges lay in the valley of the

Garonne The Garonne (, also , ; Occitan, Catalan, Basque, and es, Garona, ; la, Garumna or ) is a river of southwest France and northern Spain. It flows from the central Spanish Pyrenees to the Gironde estuary at the French port of Bordeaux – a ...

, in the northern foothills of

Pyrenees The Pyrenees (; es, Pirineos ; french: Pyrénées ; ca, Pirineu ; eu, Pirinioak ; oc, Pirenèus ; an, Pirineus) is a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. It extends nearly from its union with the Cantabrian Mountains to C ...

. The county of

Couserans 125px, Coat of arms of CouseransCouserans (; Gascon: ''Coserans'' ) is a small former province of France located in the Pyrenees mountains. Today Couserans makes up the western half of the Ariège ''département'', around the towns of Saint-Gir ...

lay to the west and that of

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 ...

to the east. The ruling family were descended from the Counts of

Foix Foix (; oc, Fois ; ca, Foix ) is a commune, the former capital of the County of Foix. It is the capital of the department of Ariège as it is the seat of the Préfecture of that department. Foix is located in the Occitanie region of southwe ...

. Count Bernard married three times, but died without a male heir; a posthumous son, Count Jean I, died in infancy in 1339. Bernard had five or six daughters of whom Jeanne married the son of Bernard's brother, Count Pierre-Raymond I (died 1341), also named Pierre-Raymond (II), who ruled from 1341 until about 1375–1376. The marriage produced two daughters, Alienòr and Marguerite, but the line died out in 1443 at Marguerite's death, and the county passed to the French Crown in 1453 on the death of Marguerite's husband. The most famous child of Bernard's was Cecilia I of Urgell.E. Michael Gerli, Samuel G. Armistead (2003). ''Medieval Iberia: an encyclopedia''. Routledge.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernard 08 Of Comminges Counts of Comminges Occitan nobility 1285 births 1336 deaths 13th-century French people 14th-century French people