Gaston I of Foix or Gaston VIII of Foix-Béarn (1287 – Maubuisson, 13 December 1315) was the 9th

Count of Foix The Count of Foix ruled the independent County of Foix, in what is now Southern France, during the Middle Ages. The House of Foix eventually extended its power across the Pyrenees mountain range, joining the House of Bearn and moving their cou ...

, the 22nd Viscount of Béarn and

Co-Prince of Andorra The co-princes of Andorra are jointly the heads of state ( ca, cap d'estat) of the Principality of Andorra, a landlocked microstate lying in the Pyrenees between France and Spain. Founded in 1278 by means of a treaty between the Bishop of ...

Biography

He was a son of

Roger-Bernard III, Count of Foix Roger-Bernard III (1243 – 3 March 1302) was the Count of Foix from 1265 to his death. He was the son of Roger IV of Foix and Brunissende of Cardona. He entered into conflicts with both Philip III of France and Peter III of Aragon, who h ...

and Margaret of Béarn, the eldest daughter and heiress of Gaston VII of Béarn. He succeeded his father in 1302 as Count Gaston I of Foix and Viscount Gaston VIII of Béarn, first under the regency of his mother. He was probably present at the

Battle of the Golden Spurs The Battle of the Golden Spurs ( nl, Guldensporenslag; french: Bataille des éperons d'or) was a military confrontation between the royal army of France and rebellious forces of the County of Flanders on 11 July 1302 during the Franco-Flemish ...

in 1302, and fought again for the King of France against the Flemish at the

Battle of Mons-en-Pévèle The Battle of Mons-en-Pévèle (or Pevelenberg) was fought on 18 August 1304 between the French and the Flemish. The French were led by their king, Philip IV. Prelude The French king wanted revenge for the defeat in Battle of the Golden Spur ...

in 1304. When the cities of his County of Foix rebelled against the Royal tax collectors, because they raised the taxes to finance the expensive war against Flanders, Gaston supported his cities. For this, the County was confiscated for a while by the Senechal of

Carcassonne Carcassonne (, also , , ; ; la, Carcaso) is a French fortified city in the department of Aude, in the region of Occitanie. It is the prefecture of the department. Inhabited since the Neolithic, Carcassonne is located in the plain of the ...

. In 1308, he started a war against the

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 I ...

, against the orders of the King, who had forbidden intra-French warfare. Gaston was taken prisoner and locked up in the Châtelet. He was only released after paying a ransom of 36,000 livres. He also had armed conflicts with his uncle

James II of Majorca James II ( ca, Jaume) (31 May 1243 – 29 May 1311) was King of Majorca and Lord of Montpellier from 1276 until his death. He was the second son of James I of Aragon and his wife, Violant, daughter of Andrew II of Hungary. In 1279, by the T ...

and even with his own mother, who firmly ruled Foix during his many absences. In 1310, he inherited the Viscounty of Marsan from his aunt Constance of Moncada. When another uncle,

Ermengol X, Count of Urgell Ermengol X (1254–1314) was the Count of Urgel and Viscount of Àger from 1268 to 1314. He was the son of Álvaro of Urgell and his second wife, Cecilia, daughter of Roger-Bernard II of Foix. Ermengol inherited Urgel at the age of fourteen upon ...

, died without a male heir, Gaston claimed the

County of Urgell The County of Urgell ( ca, Comtat d'Urgell, ; la, Comitatus Urgellensis) is one of the historical Catalan counties, bordering on the counties of Pallars and Cerdanya. History The county of Urgell was carved by the Franks out of a former sectio ...

, but was no match against King Alfonso IV of Aragon, who incorporated Urgell into the

Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon ( , ) an, Corona d'Aragón ; ca, Corona d'Aragó, , , ; es, Corona de Aragón ; la, Corona Aragonum . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of ...

. On his return from yet another war against Flanders, Gaston fell ill and died in the

Maubuisson Abbey Maubuisson Abbey (french: Abbaye de Maubuisson or ) is a Cistercian nunnery at Saint-Ouen-l'Aumône, in the Val-d'Oise department of France. It was founded in A.D. 1236 by Blanche of Castile, Queen of France, who may have been buried there in 1 ...

, near

Pontoise Pontoise () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the "new town" of Cergy-Pontoise. Administration Pontoise is the official '' préfecture'' (capital) of the Val-d'Oise ''d� ...

. His body was transferred to the Boulbonne Abbey, where it was buried alongside his ancestors. Some records state he was buried in the now-demolished church of the Couvent des Jacobins in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

Marriage and children

Gaston married in 1301

Joan of Artois Joan may refer to: People and fictional characters *Joan (given name), including a list of women, men and fictional characters *:Joan of Arc, a French military heroine *Joan (surname) Weather events *Tropical Storm Joan (disambiguation), multiple ...

(1289-1350), daughter of Philip of Artois and

Blanche of Brittany Blanche of Brittany (1271–1327) was a daughter of John II, Duke of Brittany, and his wife Beatrice of England. She is also known as Blanche de Dreux. Through her mother she was the granddaughter of King Henry III of England and Eleanor of Pro ...

. They had: * Gaston II de Foix, Count of Foix, Viscount of Béarn (1308 – 26 September 1343). * Roger Bernard IV de Foix (1310 – after 24 March 1350), married Constanza de Luna (1310 – January 1353), daughter of Artal de Luna, by whom he had three children. * Robert de Foix, Bishop of Lavaur * Margaret of Foix * Blanche de Foix, married in 1328 Jean de Grailly, Viscount of Castillon, Captal de Buch, by whom she had two children, including

Jean III de Grailly, Captal de Buch Jean III de Grailly (aka. John De Grailly, died 7 September 1376), Captal de Buch, , was a Gascon nobleman and a military leader in the Hundred Years' War, who was praised by the chronicler Jean Froissart as an ideal of chivalry. Biography ...

. * Joan of Foix (died 1358), married Infante Peter of Aragon, Count of Ribagorza y Ampurias, by whom she had three children, including Eleanor of Aragon, Queen of Cyprus.

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Biography

Marriage and children

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