Alain I of Albret (1440–1522), called "The Great", was a powerful French aristocrat. He was 16th Lord 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 ...

, Viscount of

Tartas Tartas (; oc, Tartàs) is a commune in the Landes department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Landes department The following is a list of the 327 communes of the Landes department of Fra ...

, the 2nd Count of

Graves A grave is a location where a dead body (typically that of a human, although sometimes that of an animal) is buried or interred after a funeral. Graves are usually located in special areas set aside for the purpose of burial, such as grave ...

and the Count of

Castres Castres (; ''Castras'' in the Languedocian dialect of Occitan) is the sole subprefecture of the Tarn department in the Occitanie region in Southern France. It lies in the former province of Languedoc, although not in the former region of Lan ...

. He was the son of Catherine de Rohan and

Jean I of Albret Jean I of Albret (1425 – 3 January 1468), 15th Lord of Albret, was a Viscount of Tartas. Life He was the eldest son of Charles II of Albret, Count of Dreux and of Anne of Armagnac. As he predeceased his father, he never ruled Albret. He married ...

.Achille Luchaire, ''Alain Le Grand Sire D'albret'', (Slatkine Reprints, 1974), 13-14. He was the grandson and heir of

Charles II of Albret Charles II d'Albret (1407–1471) was a French magnate, administrator, and soldier. He was the son of Charles I of Albret and Marie de Sully. His father died in 1415 at the Battle of Agincourt, leaving the younger Charles as lord of Albret and ti ...

and became head of the House of Albret in 1471. During his half century of rule, he took a political course which was more agitated than effective, following his father's example, making him one of the most visible actors on the stage of Europe.

Early career

Alain I initially benefited from his fidelity to King Louis XI of France and, through this, enlarged his principality. He married

Frances, Countess of Périgord Frances de Châtillon (died 1481) was Countess of Périgord, Viscountess of Limoges, and Dame of Avesnes and Châlus. She was the eldest daughter of William, Viscount of Limoges and Isabelle de La Tour d'Auvergne. In 1470, she married Alai ...

, which brought him the county of

County of Périgord The County of Périgord was a historical region of France. The name is derived from the ancient Gaul tribe Petrocores, who resisted the Romans. Périgord was a fief of the Duchy of Aquitaine, consisting of the three sub-regions of Périgieux, Berg ...

, the

viscounty of Limoges Between Limoges, Brive and Périgueux, the viscounts of Limoges (), also called viscounts of Ségur created a small principality, whose last heir was Henry IV. Ségur was the main home of these viscounts, in the heart of their domain. The visco ...

, and the Penthièvre claim to the

Duchy of Brittany The Duchy of Brittany ( br, Dugelezh Breizh, ; french: Duché de Bretagne) was a medieval feudal state that existed between approximately 939 and 1547. Its territory covered the northwestern peninsula of Europe, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean t ...

. He later seized

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 ...

and married his son,

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Secon ...

, to

Catherine Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. In the early Christ ...

, recently proclaimed queen regnant of the Kingdom of Navarre and heiress to

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 south ...

and Bigorre.

The ''Mad War''

At this time, Alain hoped to consolidate his power by taking control of the

by marriage to Anne of Brittany, the daughter and heir of Duke Francis II. He entered into rebellion against the royal authority in support of the duchy, during the so-called

Mad War The Mad War (french: la Guerre folle) was a late medieval conflict between a coalition of feudal lords and the French monarchy. It occurred during the regency of Anne of Beaujeu in the period after the death of Louis XI and before the majority of ...

. His intrigues were unsuccessful and he was defeated, having been unable to provide support to the duke in 1487. The following year, he brought reinforcements by sea, but was defeated by Louis II de la Trémoille at the Battle of Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier. He continued, however, to claim the legacy of Francis II, occupying Nantes with his Gascon troops. He still hoped to marry Anne and inherit the duchy but found it expedient to deliver Nantes to the royal army in exchange for an agreement that the French would support his claim to Anne's hand. Anne had no intention of marrying Alain. Instead, she married the French king, putting an end of Alain's dynastic ambition in Brittany.

Family

Despite his failure in Brittany, Alain established other dynastic links through his daughter, Charlotte of Albret, who married Cesare Borgia in May 1499. With Frances of Périgord, his children were: *

Jean d'Albret John III (french: Jean d'Albret; 1469 – 14 June 1516) was ''jure uxoris'' King of Navarre from 1484 until his death, as husband and co-ruler with Catherine of Navarre, Queen Catherine. He was a son of Alain I of Albret, Alain I, Lord of Albret ...

, who married in 1484 Catherine, Queen of Navarre. King ''

iure uxoris ''Jure uxoris'' (a Latin phrase meaning "by right of (his) wife"), citing . describes a title of nobility used by a man because his wife holds the office or title ''suo jure'' ("in her own right"). Similarly, the husband of an heiress could becom ...

'' of Navarre up to 1516. His granddaughter, Jeanne, married Antoine of Vendôme and was the mother of King

Henry IV of France Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarch ...

. * Gabriel, lord of Avesnes-sur-Helpe * Charlotte of Albret, lady of Châlus, who married in 1500 Cesare Borgia * Amanieu d'Albret († 1520), bishop of Pamiers, Comminges, and Lescar, and later a cardinal * Pierre, count of Périgord * Louise, viscountess of Limoges († 1531), who married in 1495

Charles I de Croÿ Charles I de Croÿ (1455–1527), Count and later 1st Prince of Chimay, was a nobleman and politician from the Low Countries in the service of the House of Habsburg. Career Charles was born in the House of Croÿ as eldest son of Philip I of Croÿ ...

* Isabelle, who married Gaston II,

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 ...

Alain d'Albret died at Castel Jaloux in October 1522.

References

Sources

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French nobility The French nobility (french: la noblesse française) was a privileged social class in France from the Middle Ages until its abolition on June 23, 1790 during the French Revolution. From 1808 to 1815 during the First Empire the Emperor Napol ...

Nobility Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The character ...

1440 births 1522 deaths House of Albret Counts of Castres