Ursula Germaine of Foix (french: Ursule-Germaine de Foix; ca, Úrsula Germana de Foix; ; c. 1488 – 15 October 1536) was an early modern French noblewoman from the House of Foix. By marriage to King

Ferdinand II of Aragon Ferdinand II ( an, Ferrando; ca, Ferran; eu, Errando; it, Ferdinando; la, Ferdinandus; es, Fernando; 10 March 1452 – 23 January 1516), also called Ferdinand the Catholic (Spanish: ''el Católico''), was King of Aragon and Sardinia fro ...

, she was Queen of Aragon, Majorca, Naples, Sardinia, Sicily, and Valencia and Princess of Catalonia from 1506 to 1516 and

Queen of Navarre This is a list of the kings and queens of kingdom of Pamplona, Pamplona, later kingdom of Navarre, Navarre. Pamplona was the primary name of the kingdom until its union with Kingdom of Aragon, Aragon (1076–1134). However, the territorial desig ...

from 1512 to 1516. She was

vicereine A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...

of Valencia from 1523 until her death in 1536, jointly with her second and third husbands, Johann of Brandenburg-Ansbach and

Ferdinand, Duke of Calabria Ferdinand, Duke of Calabria (Spanish: ''Fernando de Aragón, Duque de Calabria'') (15 December 1488 – 20 October 1550) was a Neapolitan prince who played a significant role in the Mediterranean politics of the Crown of Aragon in the early 16t ...

. By her third marriage, she was Duchess of

Calabria , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographics1_title2 ...

Ancestry

Ursula Germaine of Foix was born around 1488, possibly in Mazères,

Kingdom of France The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period. ...

, as the first child of John of Foix,

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 ...

Étampes Étampes () is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southwest from the center of Paris (as the crow flies). Étampes is a sub-prefecture of the Essonne department. Étampes, together with the neighboring c ...

and

Viscount 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 judicia ...

Narbonne Narbonne (, also , ; oc, Narbona ; la, Narbo ; Late Latin:) is a commune in Southern France in the Occitanie region. It lies from Paris in the Aude department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It is located about from the shores of the ...

(1457–1500) and his wife, born Marie of Orléans (1457–1493). Through her father, she was the granddaughter of Eleanor, Queen (Regnant) of Navarre (1426–1479), while through her mother, she was the niece of Louis XII, King of France (1462–1515). She had one sibling, a younger brother, acclaimed

commanding officer The commanding officer (CO) or sometimes, if the incumbent is a general officer, commanding general (CG), is the officer in command of a military unit. The commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitu ...

Gaston of Foix,

Duke of Nemours Duke of Nemours was a title in the Peerage of France. The name refers to Nemours in the Île-de-France region of north-central France. History In the 12th and 13th centuries, the Lordship of Nemours, in the Gatinais, France, was a possession of ...

("The

Thunderbolt A thunderbolt or lightning bolt is a symbolic representation of lightning when accompanied by a loud thunderclap. In Indo-European mythology, the thunderbolt was identified with the 'Sky Father'; this association is also found in later Hel ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

"; 1489–1512).

Queen of Aragon

Background

On 26 November 1504,

Isabella I Isabella I ( es, Isabel I; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''la Católica''), was Queen of Castile from 1474 until her death in 1504, as well as Queen consort of Aragon from 1479 until 1504 by ...

Queen Regnant A queen regnant (plural: queens regnant) is a female monarch, equivalent in rank and title to a king, who reigns '' suo jure'' (in her own right) over a realm known as a "kingdom"; as opposed to a queen consort, who is the wife of a reigni ...

of the countries of the

Crown of Castile The Crown of Castile was a medieval polity in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and, some decades later, the parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accessi ...

and Queen Consort of those in 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 ...

(1451–1504), died. As both her son and her grandsons had already died, the Crown of Castile was inherited by her eldest living daughter, Infanta Joanna ("Joanna the Mad"; 1479–1555) and Joanna's husband, Archduke Philip of Austria,

Lord of the Netherlands Habsburg Netherlands was the Renaissance period fiefs in the Low Countries held by the Holy Roman Empire's House of Habsburg. The rule began in 1482, when the last Valois-Burgundy ruler of the Netherlands, Mary, wife of Maximilian I of Austri ...

and

Duke of Burgundy Duke of Burgundy (french: duc de Bourgogne) was a title used by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, from its establishment in 843 to its annexation by France in 1477, and later by Holy Roman Emperors and Kings of Spain from the House of Habsburg ...

("Philip the Handsome/Fair"; 1478–1506). King Ferdinand II, Isabella's widower and Joanna's father, thus lost control of the countries that he had only ruled '' jure uxoris'' (

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

: "by right of iswife"). His main concern was that with his own death, the Crown of Aragon would also be inherited by Joanna and Philip, passing most of the

Iberian peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, def ...

to the

House of Habsburg The House of Habsburg (), alternatively spelled Hapsburg in Englishgerman: Haus Habsburg, ; es, Casa de Habsburgo; hu, Habsburg család, it, Casa di Asburgo, nl, Huis van Habsburg, pl, dom Habsburgów, pt, Casa de Habsburgo, la, Domus Hab ...

. This could have been prevented by the birth of a male heir to Ferdinand, who would have displaced Joanna from at least the

order of succession An order of succession or right of succession is the line of individuals necessitated to hold a high office when it becomes vacated such as head of state or an honour such as a title of nobility. As part of an alignment with the

, he agreed to marry Germaine of Foix, niece of King

Louis XII Louis XII (27 June 14621 January 1515), was King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Maria of Cleves, he succeeded his 2nd cousin once removed and brother in law at the tim ...

. Their engagement was established on 12 October 1505, in 2nd Treaty of Blois, in which Louis XII ceded his claims to the Kingdoms of Naples and

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

to his niece, provided that she had a son from the marriage. Naples was already under Ferdinand's control, while the Kingdom of Jerusalem was practically nonexistent by this time. Through the union, Ferdinand hoped to father a male heir and gain accession to the throne of Navarre.

Marriage

18-year-old Germaine married 54-year-old Ferdinand on 19 October 1506 in

Blois Blois ( ; ) is a commune and the capital city of Loir-et-Cher department, in Centre-Val de Loire, France, on the banks of the lower Loire river between Orléans and Tours. With 45,898 inhabitants by 2019, Blois is the most populated city of the ...

proxy Proxy may refer to: * Proxy or agent (law), a substitute authorized to act for another entity or a document which authorizes the agent so to act * Proxy (climate), a measured variable used to infer the value of a variable of interest in climate ...

. She entered her new country in

Hondarribia es, fuenterribense , population_note = , population_density_km2 = auto , blank_name_sec1 = Official language(s) , blank_info_sec1 = Basque, Spanish , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , ti ...

, where Alonso/Alfonso of Aragon,

Archbishop of Zaragoza The Archdiocese of Saragossa ( la, Archidioecesis Caesaraugustana) is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory located in north-eastern Spain, in the Provinces of Spain, province of Zaragoza (province), Zaragoza (Saragossa in English), part of t ...

(1468–1520), her husband's

illegitimate Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as '' ...

son received her. She met her husband on 18 March 1507 in Dueñas, where the marriage was consummated, then great celebrations followed in

Valladolid Valladolid () is a municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and de facto capital of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. It has a population around 300,000 peop ...

. The marriage lead to a short period of peace between France and Aragon, but was badly received in Castile, where the majority of people had previously supported Ferdinand's claims, but saw his remarriage as a

betrayal Betrayal is the breaking or violation of a presumptive contract, trust, or confidence that produces moral and psychological conflict within a relationship amongst individuals, between organizations or between individuals and organizations. ...

of their late queen, his first wife

Isabella Isabella may refer to: People and fictional characters * Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Isabella (surname), including a list of people Places United States * Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpor ...

. The elderly king was a considerate, tender, and respectful husband, who reportedly had much

sexual desire Sexual desire is an emotion and motivational state characterized by an interest in sexual objects or activities, or by a drive to seek out sexual objects or to engage in sexual activities. It is an aspect of sexuality, which varies significantly f ...

for his young wife, as well as for other women. Ferdinand's son-in-law, Philip, had died on 25 September 1506, only weeks before Ferdinand and Germaine were married. Ferdinand convinced the ''cortes'' that Queen Joanna was too

mentally ill A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness or psychiatric disorder, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. Such features may be persistent, relapsing and remitt ...

to govern, and was appointed her guardian and

regent A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...

of her countries. On 3 May 1509, Germaine gave birth to a son, Infante John, Prince of Girona, who died shortly after his birth. Despite the use of potions, the couple did not have another child. Had John lived, or had they had another son, the

would have split from the

again, after being semi-united by the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella. On 28 January 1513, the King granted his wife the Viscounty of Castellbó, a former possession of her family, the House of Foix. While Germaine was not very politically active, she did represent her husband at the 1512 ''Cortes'' ''Generales'' and the 1515 ''Cortes'' of Aragon. She was presiding over the latter when she received news of her husband dying, and she rushed to his deathbed in

Madrigalejo Madrigalejo is a municipality located in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain. According to the 2006 census ( INE), the municipality has a population of 2075 inhabitants. In this village, Ferdinand II of Aragon Ferdinand II ( an, Fe ...

Queen Dowager

After two years of health problems, King Ferdinand died on 23 January 1516. He left Germaine Syracuse in

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, the towns of

Tàrrega Tàrrega is a town and municipality located in the Urgell comarca, Province of Lleida, Catalonia. According to the 2020 census ( Statistical Institute of Catalonia), the town has a population of 17,445. The village has a Mediterranean climate wi ...

, Sabadell and Villagrasa in

Catalonia Catalonia (; ca, Catalunya ; Aranese Occitan: ''Catalonha'' ; es, Cataluña ) is an autonomous community of Spain, designated as a '' nationality'' by its Statute of Autonomy. Most of the territory (except the Val d'Aran) lies on the nort ...

, and Basilicata in

Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...

, resulting in a yearly

income Income is the consumption and saving opportunity gained by an entity within a specified timeframe, which is generally expressed in monetary terms. Income is difficult to define conceptually and the definition may be different across fields. Fo ...

of 50 000

florins The Florentine florin was a gold coin struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains (3.499 grams, 0.113 troy ounce) of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a purcha ...

, and ordered his grandson

Archduke Charles Archduke Charles Louis John Joseph Laurentius of Austria, Duke of Teschen (german: link=no, Erzherzog Karl Ludwig Johann Josef Lorenz von Österreich, Herzog von Teschen; 5 September 177130 April 1847) was an Austrian field-marshal, the third s ...

, Lord of the Netherlands (1500–1558) to take care of her. Charles, Queen Joanna's son who had been raised in the

Habsburg Netherlands Habsburg Netherlands was the Renaissance period fiefs in the Low Countries held by the Holy Roman Empire's House of Habsburg. The rule began in 1482, when the last Valois-Burgundy ruler of the Netherlands, Mary, wife of Maximilian I of Austr ...

, arrived in Castile in 1517, and Germaine moved from Aragon to be closer to his court, and lived in the

Monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

of El Abrojo near

. At first, her stepgrandson, only 12 years her junior, showed much respect for her, rising from his seat and uncovering his head if she entered the room and addressing her

kneeling Kneeling is a basic human position where one or both knees touch the ground. Kneeling is defined as “to position the body so that one or both knees rest on the floor,” according to Merriam-Webster. Kneeling when only composed of one knee, and ...

, but soon abandoned this

courtesy Courtesy (from the word ''courteis'', from the 12th century) is gentle politeness and courtly manners. In the Middle Ages in Europe, the behaviour expected of the nobility was compiled in courtesy books. History The apex of European courtly c ...

. He did, however, grant her Olmedo and

Madrigal de las Altas Torres Madrigal de las Altas Torres (in English: Madrigal of the high towers) is a municipality of Spain located in the province of Ávila, autonomous community of Castile and León. Displaying a total area of 106.80 km2, the municipality has, as of 2019, ...

on 19 June 1517 and

Arévalo Arévalo is a municipality in Spain, it is situated in the province of Ávila and is part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. The name came from the Celtic word ''arevalon'', meaning "place near the wall." Regional importance The ...

on 15 March 1518. Around this time, she was described as "not very beautiful, somewhat lame, a great lover of lounging around and going to

banquets A banquet (; ) is a formal large meal where a number of people consume food together. Banquets are traditionally held to enhance the prestige of a host, or reinforce social bonds among joint contributors. Modern examples of these purposes i ...

orchards An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit- or nut-producing trees which are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also sometimes a feature of lar ...

gardens A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...

, and

parties A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature ...

Margrave Johann of Brandenburg-Ansbach 1520 (DE WSE M0013)

On 20 August 1518, more than 2 years after her husband's death, Germaine gave birth to a daughter,

, in

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

, probably fathered by Charles. In her will, Germaine referred to her daughter as ''la Serenissima doña Ysabel, Ynfanta de Castilla, hija de la Maj. del Emperador'' ("the Most Serene Lady Isabella,

Infanta ''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 ...

of Castile, daughter of His Majesty the Emperor"). In 1519, Charles travelled to Aragon to take his

oath Traditionally an oath (from Anglo-Saxon ', also called plight) is either a statement of fact or a promise taken by a sacrality as a sign of verity. A common legal substitute for those who conscientiously object to making sacred oaths is to g ...

as king, and Germaine went with him. While in

Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, Charles arranged a marriage for Germaine with

Margrave Margrave was originally the medieval title for the military commander assigned to maintain the defence of one of the border provinces of the Holy Roman Empire or of a kingdom. That position became hereditary in certain feudal families in the Em ...

Johann of Brandenburg-Ansbach (1493–1525), a landless cadet of the

House of Hohenzollern The House of Hohenzollern (, also , german: Haus Hohenzollern, , ro, Casa de Hohenzollern) is a German royal (and from 1871 to 1918, imperial) dynasty whose members were variously princes, electors, kings and emperors of Hohenzollern, Brandenbu ...

. He was a cousin of

Joachim I Nestor Joachim I Nestor (21 February 1484 – 11 July 1535) was a Prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg (1499–1535), the fifth member of the House of Hohenzollern. His nickname was taken from King Nestor of Greek mythology. Biography Th ...

Prince-elector The prince-electors (german: Kurfürst pl. , cz, Kurfiřt, la, Princeps Elector), or electors for short, were the members of the electoral college that elected the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. From the 13th century onwards, the prin ...

of the

Margraviate of Brandenburg The Margraviate of Brandenburg (german: link=no, Markgrafschaft Brandenburg) was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire from 1157 to 1806 that played a pivotal role in the history of Germany and Central Europe. Brandenburg developed out ...

(1499–1535), whose vote Charles needed in order to be

elected Elected may refer to: * "Elected" (song), by Alice Cooper, 1973 * ''Elected'' (EP), by Ayreon, 2008 *The Elected, an American indie rock band See also *Election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population ...

Holy Roman Emperor. Germaine and Charles then travelled together to Germany where she was married.

Vicereine of Valencia

In 1523, Charles appointed the couple

viceroys A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning " ...

. In this position, Germaine had to solve the problem of the 1519–1523 Revolt of the Brotherhoods (Catalan language, Catalan: ''Revolta de les Germanies)'', an Criticism of monarchy, anti-monarchist, anti-Feudalism, feudal autonomist revolt of artisan Guild, guilds ("Germania, germanias"), inspired by the Maritime republics, Italian republics. She imposed harsh punishments on participants, known as ''agermanats'', and is thought to have signed the Execution warrant, execution warrants of 100 former Rebellion, rebels. This was the opposite of the more Mercy, lenient approach of her predecessor, Diego Hurtado de Mendoza (poet and diplomat), Diego Hurtado de Mendoza,

of Melito and Lemus (1469–1536), who had worked for reconciliation. In December 1524, Germaine signed a pardon that officially ended the persecution of all ''agermanats'', but Fine (penalty), fines imposed on guilds and guild-aligned cities would take many years to pay. Duque calabria1

Germaine's second marriage was unhappy and Abuse, abusive, Johann being a Violence, violent person engaging in various forms of debauchery. They had no children, and he died in 1525. Germaine remarried a year later, in August 1526 in Seville to

(1488–1550), the eldest son of Frederick of Naples, Frederick IV, the deposed king of Naples. The couple were Patronage, patrons of literature and music, maintaining a Renaissance court. The Poet, poets Juan Fernández de Heredia (circa 1310 – 1396), Luis de Milán (circa 1500 – circa 1561), and Baltasar de Romaní (circa 1485 – 1547) were among their protégés. They also collected Greek language, Greek and

Codex, codices. Germaine worked towards the gradual Cultural assimilation, integration of Valencia into Castile-dominated Spain. It has been suggested by Valencian historians that Germaine's move to

was the first step towards the degradation of the reputation of the Valencian language, as the higher classes started using Castilian Spanish instead of their first language to please her. Germaine died on 15 October 1536 in Llíria,

, at the age of 48, probably due to an edema caused by obesity. She was Burial, buried in the Monasterio de San Miguel de los Reyes ("Michael (archangel), Saint Michael of the Kings

"), which she had founded. Her third husband survived her by 14 years and remained Viceroy of Valencia until his death in 1550. He remarried to a widow, Mencía de Mendoza (1508–1554) in 1541 with whom he continued his patronage of arts.

Issue

* By her first husband,

(1452–1516), whom she married in 1505 or 1506: ** John, Prince of Girona (1509), John, Prince of Girona (born and died 3 May 1509), who died a few hours after his birth; * Possibly by her stepgrandson, Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor: ** Isabella of Castile (1518–1537), Infanta Isabella of Castile (20 August 1518 – 1537), died at the age of 19, never married and had no issue.

Arms

File:Coat of Arms of Germanie of Foix as Queen Consort of Aragon Sicily and Naples.svg, Coat of arms as queen consort and queen dowager (1505–1519) File:Coat of Arms of Germanie of Foix after her second marriage.svg, Coat of arms after her second marriage (1519-1536)