Eschivat IV Chabanais (died 1283) was Count of Bigorre from 1255 to 1283 and

Count of Armagnac The following is a list of rulers of the county of Armagnac: House of Armagnac *William Count of Fézensac and Armagnac ?– 960 * Bernard the Suspicious, First count privative of Armagnac 960– ? * Gerald I Trancaléon ? –1020 * Bernard ...

and de Fézensac of 1255 in 1256. He was the son of Jordan, Lord of Chabanais, and Alix de Montfort, Countess of Bigorre.

Biography

He succeeded his mother as Count of Bigorre in 1255 and married Mascarós II d'Armagnac, Countess of Armagnac and Fézensac the same year. The counties of Armagnac and Fézensac were still claimed by

Gerald Gerald is a male Germanic given name meaning "rule of the spear" from the prefix ''ger-'' ("spear") and suffix ''-wald'' ("rule"). Variants include the English given name Jerrold, the feminine nickname Jeri and the Welsh language Gerallt and Iris ...

, Viscount of Fezensaguet. The death of his wife, Mascarós, the following year, ended the conflict and made Gerald VI heir to the County of Armagnac. He faced a new conflict, this time in Bigorre. Near the end of her life, the Countess Petronilla de Bigorre, Eschivat's grandmother,''Dictionnaire de la conversation et de la lecture'', 2nd Edition, Vol.3, Ed. William Duckett, (Aux Comptoirs de la Direction, 1856), 200. relinquished the government of Bigorre to her brother-in-law,

Simon de Montfort Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester ( – 4 August 1265), later sometimes referred to as Simon V de Montfort to distinguish him from his namesake relatives, was a nobleman of French origin and a member of the English peerage, who led the ...

Earl of Leicester Earl of Leicester is a title that has been created seven times. The first title was granted during the 12th century in the Peerage of England. The current title is in the Peerage of the United Kingdom and was created in 1837. Early creatio ...

and governor of Guyenne. Simon had interpreted this act as a gift and had been fought by the heiress of the county, Alix de Montfort assisted by her half-sister,

Martha Martha (Hebrew: מָרְתָא‎) is a biblical figure described in the Gospels of Luke and John. Together with her siblings Lazarus and Mary of Bethany, she is described as living in the village of Bethany near Jerusalem. She was witness ...

, wife of Gaston VII

Viscount of Béarn A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

. To prevent Guyenne and Gascony from rebelling, Henry III recalled Simon de Montfort and appointed John Grailly in his place. Eschivat had succeeded his mother without protest, but made the mistake of keeping land that Mathe had in Bigorre. Gaston VII then invaded the county, forcing Eschivat to defend it, seeking the assistance of Prince Edward of England and the alliance of

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: ...

Roger IV of Foix Roger IV (died 24 February 1265), son and successor of Roger-Bernard II the Great, was the eighth count of Foix from 1241 to his death. His reign began with the south again at war with the north in France and, though he was reluctant to join his ...

he married the daughter Ines (1256). In 1258, war resumed in the region and Eschivat agreed to temporarily surrender the

County of Bigorre The County of Bigorre was a small feudatory of the Duchy of Gascony in the ninth through 15th centuries. Its capital was Tarbes. The county was constituted out of the dowry of Faquilène, an Aquitainian princess, for her husband Donatus Lupus ...

to Simon de Montfort, this time to end the conflict. In doing so, he committed the same mistake as his grandmother, because Simon refused to return the county. Soon after, Simon de Montfort rebelled against King Henry III, and Eschivat helped Gaston VII regain Bigorre. After his death, his aunt Mathe and his sister Laura competed for the

Notes

References

* ''Dictionnaire de la conversation et de la lecture'', 2nd Edition, Vol.3, Ed. William Duckett, Aux Comptoirs de la Direction, 1856. {{DEFAULTSORT:Eskivat De Chabanais 1283 deaths Counts of Armagnac Counts of Bigorre Year of birth unknown