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 court ...

, the 22nd

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 ...

and Co-Prince of Andorra.

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 hel ...

and

Margaret of Béarn Margaret of Béarn – also known as Margaret or Marguerite of Montcada – was born in c. 1245–1250 and died in c. 1319. A noblewoman, she ruled (with her husband or for her son's) lands near the Pyrenees mountains and in the southwestern part ...

, the eldest daughter and heiress of

Gaston VII of Béarn Gaston is a masculine given name of French origin and a surname. The name "Gaston" may refer to: People First name *Gaston I, Count of Foix (1287–1315) *Gaston II, Count of Foix (1308–1343) *Gaston III, Count of Foix (1331–1391) *Gaston I ...

. 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-Flemis ...

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 Sp ...

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 ...

, 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 Trea ...

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 t ...

, 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 B ...

. 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 125 ...

, 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 ''dépa ...

. 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. S ...

Marriage and children

Gaston married in 1301 Joan of Artois (1289-1350), daughter of

Philip of Artois Philip of Artois (November 1269 – 11 September 1298) was the son of Robert II of Artois, Count of Artois, and Amicie de Courtenay. He was the Lord of Conches, Nonancourt, and Domfront. He married Blanche of Brittany, daughter of John ...

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 Prov ...

. 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 Captal de Buch (later Buché from Latin ''capitalis'', "first", "chief") was a medieval feudal title in Gascony held by Jean III de Grailly among others. According to Du Cange, the designation ''captal'' (''capital, captau, capitau'') was applied ...

, 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 H ...

. * Joan of Foix (died 1358), married Infante

Peter of Aragon Peter of Aragon may refer to * Peter I of Aragon and Navarre (c. 1068–1104), King of Aragón and Navarre since 1094 * Ramon Berenguer III, Count of Provence (1158 - 1181), born as Peter of Aragón, Count of the Provence since 1173 * Peter II ...

, Count of Ribagorza y Ampurias, by whom she had three children, including

Eleanor of Aragon, Queen of Cyprus Her tomb in Barcelona Eleanor of Aragon (1333 – 26 December 1417) was Queen consort of Cyprus by marriage to Peter I of Cyprus. She was regent of Cyprus during the absence of her spouse in 1366, and regent during the minority of her son Peter ...

References

Sources

* *

Biography

Marriage and children

References

Sources

Further reading