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

Albret The House of Albret, which derives its name from the lordship (''seigneurie'') of Albret (Labrit), situated in the Landes of Gascony, Landes, was one of the most powerful feudal families of Kingdom of France, France and Kingdom of Navarre, Navarr ...

, Viscount of

Tartas Tartas (; ) 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 France ...

, 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, 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 (adminis ...

. 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 mar ...

. 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 ...

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 initially benefited from his fidelity to King

Louis XI of France Louis XI (3 July 1423 – 30 August 1483), called "Louis the 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 revolt known as the ...

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 Alain ...

, which brought him the county of

County of Périgord The County of Périgord was a historical region of France. The name Périgord derived from the Gauls, Gaul Gallic tribes, tribe of the Petrocorii, who resisted the Roman Republic, Roman Roman conquest of Gaul, conquest. It was preserved in the ea ...

, 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 vis ...

, and the Penthièvre claim to the

Duchy of Brittany The Duchy of Brittany (, ; ) was a medieval feudal state that existed between approximately 939 and 1547. Its territory covered the northwestern peninsula of France, bordered by the Bay of Biscay to the west, and the English Channel to the north. ...

. He later seized

Armagnac Armagnac (, ) is a distinctive kind of brandy produced in the Armagnac (region), 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 ...

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 * Second E ...

, to

Catherine Katherine (), also spelled Catherine and Catherina, other variations, is a feminine given name. The name and its variants are popular in countries where large Christian populations exist, because of its associations with one of the earliest Ch ...

, recently proclaimed queen regnant of the

Kingdom of Navarre The Kingdom of Navarre ( ), originally the Kingdom of Pamplona, occupied lands on both sides of the western Pyrenees, with its northernmost areas originally reaching the Atlantic Ocean (Bay of Biscay), between present-day Spain and France. The me ...

and heiress to

Foix 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 prefecture of that department. Foix is located in the Occitanie region of southwestern France ...

and

Bigorre Bigorre (; Gascon: ''Bigòrra'') is a region in southwest France, historically an independent county and later a French province, located in the upper watershed of the Adour, on the northern slopes of the Pyrenees, part of the larger region k ...

The ''Mad War''

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

by marriage to

Anne of Brittany Anne of Brittany (; 25/26 January 1477 – 9 January 1514) was reigning Duchess of Brittany from 1488 until her death, and Queen of France from 1491 to 1498 and from 1499 to her death. She was the only woman to have been queen consort of Fran ...

, 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 () was an Early Renaissance 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 Charles VIII. Th ...

. 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 Louis II de la Trémoille (29 September 1460 – 24 February 1525), also known as La Trimouille, was a French general. He served under three kings: Charles VIII, Louis XII and Francis I. He was killed in combat at the Battle of Pavia. Mili ...

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 Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

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 Charlotte of Albret (1480 – 11 March 1514), Dame de Châlus, was a wealthy French noblewoman of the Albret family. She was the sister of King John III of Navarre and the wife of the widely notorious Cesare Borgia, whom she married in 1499. She w ...

, who married

Cesare Borgia Cesare Borgia (13 September 1475 – 12 March 1507) was a Cardinal (Catholic Church)#Cardinal_deacons, cardinal deacon and later an Italians, Italian ''condottieri, condottiero''. He was the illegitimate son of Pope Alexander VI of the Aragonese ...

in May 1499. With Frances of Périgord, his children were: *

Jean d'Albret John III (, , ; 1469 – 14 June 1516) was King of Navarre from 1484 until his death in 1516 as the husband and co-ruler of Queen Catherine. He was a son of Alain I, Lord of Albret, and Frances, Countess of Périgord. King of Navarre Marria ...

, 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. * Gabriel, lord of Avesnes-sur-Helpe *

, lady of Châlus, who married in 1500

Amanieu d'Albret Amanieu d'Albret (1478 – 1520) was a French Roman Catholic cardinal. Life Amanieu d'Albret was born in the Kingdom of France ca. 1478, the son of Alain I of Albret, and Frances, Countess of Périgord. His older brother Jean married Catherine ...

(† 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. Early life Charles was born into the House of Croÿ as the eldest son of Philip ...

* Isabelle, who married Gaston II,

captal de Buch Captal (Lat. capitalis, first, chief ), was a medieval feudal title in Gascony. According to Du Cange the designation was applied loosely to the more illustrious nobles of Aquitaine, counts, viscounts, etc., probably as ''capitales domini'', p ...

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

References

Sources

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alain 01 of Albret

French nobility The French nobility () was an Aristocracy, aristocratic social class in France from the France in the Middle Ages, Middle Ages until its abolition on 23 June 1790 during the French Revolution. From 1808 to 1815 during the First French Empire, ...

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

1440 births 1522 deaths House of Albret Counts of Castres