Gaston VII de Montcada ( la, Guasto de Biarde) (1225 – 26 April 1290), called ''Froissard'', was the twentieth

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 ...

from 1229. He was the son and heir of Guillermo II de Montcada and of Garsenda, daughter of Alfonso II of Provence and Garsenda of Forcalquier. He was succeeded by

Roger-Bernard III 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 held ...

Regulating the governance

On the domestic front, Gaston issued a series of ''

fueros (), (), () or () is a Spanish legal term and concept. The word comes from Latin , an open space used as a market, tribunal and meeting place. The same Latin root is the origin of the French terms and , and the Portuguese terms and ; all ...

'', part of the Fors de Bearn, for each of the Béarnais valleys. He issued two for

Aspe Aspe (, ca-valencia, Asp) is a town and municipality located in the ''comarca'' of Vinalopó Mitjà, in the province of Alicante, Spain. The town is located in the valley of the river Vinalopó, from Alicante city. The economy of Aspe is based ...

, one in 1247 and another in 1250. In that same year Gaston declared his second daughter, Margaret, to be the heir of Béarn, but his third daughter and her powerful husband, Geraud VI of Armagnac, would not accept it. Towards the end of his life he reneged and declared as his heir his youngest daughter, Guillemette, but upon his death Béarn was seized by Margaret's husband,

Order of the Faith and Peace

Gaston was highly reputed as a warrior, staunch defender of the Béarnais, ally of the French, and enemy of the

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

. A powerful and independent figure in Gascony, he was the first major patron of the

Order of the Faith and Peace The Order of the Faith and Peace or Order of the Sword was a military order in Gascony in the mid-13th century. The order was first mentioned by Pope Gregory IX in 1231 in a letter to ''magistro militiae ordinis sancti Jacobi ejusque fratribus ...

. He was defeated and captured by

Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester 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 ...

, in 1248. In 1250 he was brought to England with Simon, who pardoned him there.

Imprisonment

However, in 1252 Gaston once more rebelled when he allied with

Alfonso X of Castile Alfonso X (also known as the Wise, es, el Sabio; 23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284) was King of Castile, León and Galicia from 30 May 1252 until his death in 1284. During the election of 1257, a dissident faction chose him to be king of Ger ...

, who had laid claim to the

Duchy of Gascony The Duchy of Gascony or Duchy of Vasconia ( eu, Baskoniako dukerria; oc, ducat de Gasconha; french: duché de Gascogne, duché de Vasconie) was a duchy located in present-day southwestern France and northeastern Spain, an area encompassing the m ...

. This time Henry III pursued a diplomatic strategy; he arranged a marriage between his son Edward and Alfonso's daughter

Eleanor Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal name ''Aliénor''. It is the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages. The name was introd ...

. Fourteen-year-old Edward was then granted the duchy by his father. In January 1276 Gaston surrendered to Edward and was imprisoned at Winchester. Three years later he made an agreement with Edward whereby his lands were restored.''Chronicle of Britain'' (Editor: Henrietta Heald) p.288

Family

Between 1245 and 1250 Gaston married

Martha, Viscountess of Marsan Martha of Marsan (1228 - 1283) (also known as ''Mathe'' or ''Amata'') was a ruling Viscountess of Marsan. She was ''suo jure'' Viscountess of Marsan, which she inherited from her father. Life Martha was a daughter of Petronilla, Countess of Bigorr ...

(also called Amata of Mastas; died 1270/3), daughter of

Boson de Mathe In particle physics, a boson ( ) is a subatomic particle whose spin quantum number has an integer value (0,1,2 ...). Bosons form one of the two fundamental classes of subatomic particle, the other being fermions, which have odd half-integer spi ...

, lord of

Cognac Cognac ( , also , ) is a variety of brandy named after the commune of Cognac, France. It is produced in the surrounding wine-growing region in the departments of Charente and Charente-Maritime. Cognac production falls under French appella ...

, and

Petronilla of Bigorre Petronilla of Bigorre or Petronilla of Comminges ( 1184 – 1251) was ruling Countess of Bigorre between 1194 and 1251. She was the only child of Bernard IV, Count of Comminges, and his wife Stephanie-Beatrice IV, Countess of Bigorre. Petronilla ...

. The couple had four children, all daughters: * Constance (died 1310), succeeded in Marsan and Bigorre. Married, firstly, on 23 March 1260, to the Aragonese ''

infante ''Infante'' (, ; f. ''infanta''), also anglicised as Infant or translated as Prince, is the title and rank given in the Iberian kingdoms of Spain (including the predecessor kingdoms of Aragon, Castile, Navarre, and León) and Portugal to th ...

'' Alfonso, son of James the Conqueror, who died 26 March; married, secondly, on 15 May 1269, to

Henry of Almain Henry of Almain (Anglo-Norman: ''Henri d'Almayne''; 2 November 1235 – 13 March 1271), also called Henry of Cornwall, was the eldest son of Richard, Earl of Cornwall, afterwards King of the Romans, by his first wife Isabel Marshal. His surname i ...

, son of

Richard of Cornwall Richard (5 January 1209 – 2 April 1272) was an English prince who was King of the Romans from 1257 until his death in 1272. He was the second son of John, King of England, and Isabella, Countess of Angoulême. Richard was nominal Count of P ...

; and married, thirdly, in 1279, to Aymon II of Geneva * Margaret, succeeded in Béarn. Married, in 1252, to

* Mathe, married

Gerald VI, Count of Armagnac Gerald VI, (1235–1285), was Viscount Fezensaguet from 1240 to 1285, then Count of Armagnac and Fezensac from 1256 to 1285. He was the son of Roger d'Armagnac, Viscount of Fezensaguet, and Pincelle d'Albret. Life In 1249 he contested the posses ...

in 1260 * Guillelme (or Guillemette; died 1309), affianced in 1270 to Sancho IV of Castile, annulled 1281; married, in 1291, to the Aragonese ''infante'' Peter (1275–1296), son of Peter the Great Widowed, Gaston married again on 2 April 1273 to Beatrice (c. 1237 – 1310), daughter of Peter II of Savoy and

Agnes of Faucigny Agnes of Faucigny (died 11 August 1268) was ''suo jure'' ruling Dame of Faucigny from 1253, as well as countess consort of Savoy by marriage to Peter II, Count of Savoy. Life She was born the eldest daughter of Aymon II, Seigneur de Faucigny, a ...

, widow of

Guigues VII of Viennois Guigues VII (1225–1269), of the House of Burgundy, was the dauphin of Vienne and count of Albon, Grenoble, Oisans, Briançon, Embrun, and Gap from 1237 to his death. He was the son of Andrew Guigues VI and Beatrice of Montferrat. When ...

References

Sources

External links

Gaston VII of Béarn
at Foundations for Medieval Genealogy {{DEFAULTSORT:Gaston 07 Of Bearn 1225 births 1290 deaths Viscounts of Béarn