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The House of Armagnac is a French noble house established in 961 by
Bernard I, Count of Armagnac Bernard I (died 995), called the Cross-Eyed, was the first Count of Armagnac. He was the second son of William Garcés of Fézensac. When William died in 960, he divided his county up, giving Fézensac to his eldest son Odo, Armagnac to Bernard, ...
. It achieved its greatest importance in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The House of Armagnac, at the end of the thirteenth century, was not yet powerful enough to play a political role beyond its possessions. The
House of Toulouse The House of Toulouse, sometimes called ''House of Saint-Gilles'' or Raimondines, is the name of the dynasty that ruled the County of Toulouse. History Creation of the County of Toulouse The county of Toulouse is a former county in southern ...
, which ruled over the large southeast of France, was defeated by the Capetians during the
Albigensian Crusade The Albigensian Crusade or the Cathar Crusade (; 1209–1229) was a military and ideological campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, southern France. The Crusade was prosecuted primarily by the French crown ...
, but local dynasties, like the
House of Foix Foix (; oc, Fois ; ca, Foix ) is a commune, the former capital of the County of Foix. It is the capital of the department of Ariège as it is the seat of the Préfecture of that department. Foix is located in the Occitanie region of southwe ...
, the
Counts of Comminges This is a list of counts of the County of Comminges. Counts of Comminges House of Comminges House of Lescun ''In 1462, the king of France Louis XI detached the county of Comminges from the royal domain and gave it to his friend.'' * 1462 ...
and the
House of Albret The lordship (''seigneurie'') of Albret (Labrit), situated in the Landes, gave its name to one of the most powerful feudal families of France in the Middle Ages. History Its members distinguished themselves in the local wars of that epoch; and d ...
, were gaining momentum. At the beginning of the fourteenth century, the Armagnacs reached the rank of great feudal lords with the legacy of the County of Rodez. This heritage, combined with its Gascon lands, allowed the family to hold a rank of major importance in the heart of the nobility and, therefore, to ally itself to the royal House of France. Between the fourteenth and fifteenth century, the Armagnacs came into possession of other territories including the counties of Charolais, La Marche, Pardiac,
Castres Castres (; ''Castras'' in the Languedocian dialect, Languedocian dialect of Occitan language, Occitan) is the sole Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Tarn (department), Tarn Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administ ...
, the land of
Nemours Nemours () is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. Geography Nemours is located on the Loing and its canal, c. south of Melun, on the Moret–Lyon railway. Nemours – Saint-Pierre s ...
elevated to a duchy, and the Carladez. After being attached to the Kings of France during the fourteenth century, the Counts of Armagnac sought to emancipate themselves (money title ''Dei gracia'') from the Royal Trust in the fifteenth century and took an active part in the last struggles of feudalism in France. King
Louis XI Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (french: le Prudent), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revol ...
broke their desire for independence by force and the Armagnacs would never recover from their defeat. They declined and became extinct in the sixteenth century. The House of Armagnac's most famous member was Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac and Rodez, Constable of France, leader of the
Armagnacs The Armagnac faction was prominent in French politics and warfare during the Hundred Years' War. It was allied with the supporters of Charles, Duke of Orléans against John the Fearless after Charles' father Louis of Orléans was killed on a ...
opposed to the Burgundians during the
Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French Crown, ...
. The House of Armagnac is from the lineage of the former
Dukes 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 ...
known since the eighth or ninth century.


History


Origins

Garcia II Sanchez of Gascony (†930),
Duke 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 ...
, divided the duchy between his three sons:Dunbabin, Jean, ''France in the making, 843-1180'', (Oxford University Press, 2000), 87-88. *
Sancho IV Garcés of Gascony Sancho IV Garcés (Basque: ''Antzo Gartzia'', Gascon: ''Sans Gassia'' French: ''Sanche''; died 950 or 955) was the duke of Gascony from 930 until his death. During his tenure, Gascony shrank considerably as his brothers inherited important regions ...
(† 955), Duke of Gascony *
William Garcés of Fézensac William García (also ''Guillaume Garcès'' or ''Guillermo Garcés'') (died 960) was a Count of Fézensac. He was the second son of García II of Gascony and Amuna. When García II died in or around 926, he gave Gascony to his eldest son Sancho ...
(† 960) received the County Fézensac. *
Arnold I of Astarac Arnold I García (also ''Arnaldo Garcés'', ''Arnau Nonat'', ''Arnaud'', or ''Arnaut'') (died 960) was the first Count of Astarac from 926. Arnold was the youngest son of García II Sánchez of Gascony and Amuna. When García died, his duchy was d ...
received Astarac.


The Count of Armagnac

William Garcés of Fézensac William García (also ''Guillaume Garcès'' or ''Guillermo Garcés'') (died 960) was a Count of Fézensac. He was the second son of García II of Gascony and Amuna. When García II died in or around 926, he gave Gascony to his eldest son Sancho ...
detached from his land the
County of Armagnac The County of Armagnac (, ; oc, label= Gascon, Armanhac), situated between the Adour and Garonne rivers in the lower foothills of the Pyrenées, was a historic county of the Duchy of Gascony, established in 601 in Aquitaine (now France). In ...
, to give to his younger son
Bernard Bernard (''Bernhard'') is a French and West Germanic masculine given name. It is also a surname. The name is attested from at least the 9th century. West Germanic ''Bernhard'' is composed from the two elements ''bern'' "bear" and ''hard'' "brav ...
, who founded the first house of Armagnac. Bernard II, younger son of Bernard I, was briefly Count of Biscay—a title which he inherited from his mother—but was deposed by his cousin Guy Geoffroy Guillaume VIII, Duke of Aquitaine. In 1140 the elder branch of Fézensac ended, which benefited the counts of Armagnac: a legacy that initiated the power of the family.


Heritage of the Count of Rodez

Following the acquisition through marriage of the County of Rodez between the end of thirteenth century and the early fourteenth century, the counts of Armagnac,
John I John I may refer to: People * John I (bishop of Jerusalem) * John Chrysostom (349 – c. 407), Patriarch of Constantinople * John of Antioch (died 441) * Pope John I, Pope from 523 to 526 * John I (exarch) (died 615), Exarch of Ravenna * John I o ...
and John II, came closer to the court of France. John I married his daughter,
Joan of Armagnac Joan of Armagnac (French: ''Jeanne d'Armagnac''; 24 June 1346 – 1387) was a French noblewoman of the Armagnac family, being the eldest daughter of Count John I of Armagnac and his wife Beatrice of Clermont. She became Duchess of Berry by her ...
to
John, Duke of Berry John of Berry or John the Magnificent ( French: ''Jean de Berry'', ; 30 November 1340 – 15 June 1416) was Duke of Berry and Auvergne and Count of Poitiers and Montpensier. He was Regent of France during the minority of his nephew 1380-1388 ...
, who then married his daughter,
Bonne of Berry Bonne of Berry (1367 – 30 December 1435) was a French countess. She was Countess of Savoy by marriage to Amadeus VII, Count of Savoy. When she was widowed, she unsuccesfully claimed the regency during her son's minority against her mother-in-l ...
to
Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac (1360 – 12 June 1418) was Count of Armagnac and Constable of France. He was the son of John II, Count of Armagnac, and Jeanne de Périgord. He succeeded in Armagnac at the death of his brother, John III, in ...
, who then married his daughter,
Bonne d'Armagnac Bonne of Armagnac (19 February 1399 – 1430/35) was the eldest daughter of Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac and Constable of France, and his wife Bonne of Berry. Marriage On 15 April 1410 at the age of 11, she married Charles, Duke of Orléans ...
to Charles d'Orléans. At the death of Louis d'Orléans, he succeeded him in the war against the Burgundians, becoming the head of the party that became that of the Armagnacs. To increase his power, he dispossessed the cadet branches of the family, recovering the Fezensaguet and Pardiac, but failed with Comminges. He died in 1418, leaving two sons: * John IV, Count of Armagnac and Rodez. * Bernard, Count of Pardiac, head of a cadet branch that will later inherit by marriage Nemours and La Marche.


The Armagnac and the Burgundians

From the assassination of Louis d'Orléans in 1407 to the Treaty of Arras in 1435, the House of Armagnac supported French interests against the Dukes of Burgundy allied with the English. The Armagnacs represented the armed wing of France.


The Armagnac struggle for independence against Capetian power

After serving the Capetians during the fourteenth century and the beginning of the fifteenth, the Armagnacs were openly seeking to emancipate themselves. They assumed that the role they played during the
Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French Crown, ...
gave them greater rights than the rest of the nobility. They had not counted on the pugnacity of King Louis XI.


The defeat and end of the Armagnacs

At the end of the fifteenth century, the Armagnacs were claiming sovereign rights (coin money, take the qualification Counts'' by the grace of God''), incurring the wrath of King
Louis XI Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the Prudent" (french: le Prudent), was King of France from 1461 to 1483. He succeeded his father, Charles VII. Louis entered into open rebellion against his father in a short-lived revol ...
. In 1473,
John V, Count of Armagnac John V of Armagnac ( Fr.: ''Jean V, comte d'Armagnac'') (1420 – 6 March 1473), the penultimate Count of Armagnac of the older branch. He was the son of John IV of Armagnac and Isabella of Navarre. Life Styled Viscount de Lomagne while his fathe ...
was besieged and killed in Lectoure by French troops led by Cardinal
Jean Jouffroy Jean Jouffroy (c. 1412–1473) was a French prelate and diplomat. He was born at Luxeuil-les-Bains (Haute-Saône). After entering the Benedictine order and teaching at the university of Pavia from 1435 to 1438, he became almoner to Philip the ...
, Archbishop of Albi, who murdered the count in front of his wife, pillaged, and burned everything, and left alive only the Countess Jeanne de Foix (daughter of
Gaston IV, Count of Foix Gaston IV (27 November 1422 – 25 or 28 July 1472) was the sovereign Viscount of Béarn and the Count of Foix and Bigorre in France from 1436 to 1472. He also held the viscounties of Marsan, Castelbon, Nébouzan, Villemeur and Lautrec and was ...
).Knecht, Robert, ''The Valois: Kings of France 1328-1589'', (Hambledon Continuum, 2007), 94. The Countess was stripped of her jewels and dragged, even though she was seven months pregnant, into the castle of
Buzet-sur-Tarn Buzet-sur-Tarn (, literally ''Buzet on Tarn''; oc, Buset) is a commune in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also ...
which had been turned into a state prison. There King Louis XI ordered the extinction of the House of Armagnac. Cardinal Jouffroy ordered the apothecaries and the soldiers to force the unfortunate Countess to drink a potion to destroy her unborn child. Jeanne de Foix's child was stillborn in April 1473. Jeanne died 10 February 1476.
Jacques d'Armagnac, Duke of Nemours Jacques d'Armagnac (4 August 1477), duke of Nemours, was the son of Bernard d'Armagnac, count of Pardiac, and Eleanor of Bourbon-La Marche. As the Count of Castres, Jacques served under Charles VII of France in Normandy in 1449 and 1450, and aft ...
and Count John V were both targets of King Louis XI's deadly vengeance against the House of Armagnac. They were two of the last three grandsons and male heirs of
Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac (1360 – 12 June 1418) was Count of Armagnac and Constable of France. He was the son of John II, Count of Armagnac, and Jeanne de Périgord. He succeeded in Armagnac at the death of his brother, John III, in ...
. The only male survivor of the House of Armagnac was,
Charles I, Count of Armagnac Charles d'Armagnac, born 1425, died June 3, 1497, in Castelnau-de-Montmiral at the age of 72 years, was Count of Armagnac and Rodez from 1473 to 1497. He was the son of John IV, Count of Armagnac and Rodez, and Isabella d'Évreux. His older brother ...
, Viscount Fezensaguet, who was born in 1425 and died without issue 3 June 1497 in
Castelnau-de-Montmiral Castelnau-de-Montmiral (; oc, Castèlnòu de Montmiralh) is a commune in the Tarn department in southern France. Demography Geography The Vère flows westward through the commune. History While traces of activities dating back to the B ...
at the age of 72 years. Charles I of Armagnac was particularly troublesome and King Louis XI had him confined in prison for thirteen years, from 1472 to 1485. With King Louis XI having disposed of the House of Armagnac,
Alain I of Albret Alain I of Albret (1440–1522), called "The Great", was a powerful French aristocrat. He was 16th Lord of Albret, Viscount of Tartas, the 2nd Count of Graves and the Count of Castres. He was the son of Catherine de Rohan and Jean I of Albret.Achil ...
occupied the county of Armagnac.


Coats of arms

Image:Blason_comte_fr_Armagnac.svg,
Counts 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 ...
Image:Armoiries Armagnac-Rodez.svg,
Counts 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
Rodez Rodez ( or ; oc, Rodés, ) is a small city and commune in the South of France, about 150 km northeast of Toulouse. It is the prefecture of the department of Aveyron, region of Occitania (formerly Midi-Pyrénées). Rodez is the seat of the ...
Image:Armoiries Armagnac-Pardiac.svg,
Counts of Pardiac The Count of Pardiac was a title in the French nobility. It was held by: * Bernard d'Armagnac, Count of Pardiac (1424–1462) * Jacques d'Armagnac, Duke of Nemours (1462–1477) * Jean d'Armagnac, Duke of Nemours (1484–1500) * Louis d'Armagnac, ...
, de La Marche and
Dukes 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 th ...
# Counts of Armagnac : ''d'argent au lion de gueules'' # Counts of Armagnac and Rodez : ''écartelé, aux 1 et 4 d'argent au lion de gueules, aux 2 et 3 de gueules au lion ou lion léopardé d'or'' # Counts of Pardiac, La Marche, and later Dukes of Nemours : ''écartelé, aux 1 et 4 d'argent au lion de gueules, aux 2 et 3 de gueules au lion ou lion léopardé d'or au lambel d'azur sur le tout''


Genealogy of House d'Armagnac

This genealogy is from the Medieval Lands Project.


Notes


References

* Dunbabin, Jean, ''France in the making, 843-1180'', Oxford University Press, 2000. * Knecht, Robert, ''The Valois: Kings of France 1328-1589'', Hambledon Continuum, 2007. {{Authority control
Armagnac Armagnac (, ) is a distinctive kind of brandy produced in the Armagnac region in Gascony, southwest France. It is distilled from wine usually made from a blend of grapes including Baco 22A, Colombard, Folle blanche and Ugni blanc, traditionally ...