Bernard VIII of Comminges (c. 1285–1336) was the

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: ...

Comminges The Comminges (; Occitan language, Occitan/Gascon language, Gascon: ''Comenge'') is an ancient region of southern France in the foothills of the Pyrenees, corresponding approximately to the arrondissement of Saint-Gaudens in the departments of Fran ...

in what is now southern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. He was the son and successor of Count Bernard VII of Comminges (died 1312) and Laura of Montfort (died before 1300). The County of Comminges lay in the valley of the

Garonne The Garonne ( , ; Catalan language, Catalan, Basque language, Basque and , ; or ) is a river that flows in southwest France and northern Spain. It flows from the central Spanish Pyrenees to the Gironde estuary at the French port of Bordeaux � ...

, in the northern foothills of the

Pyrenees The Pyrenees are a mountain range straddling the border of France and Spain. They extend nearly from their union with the Cantabrian Mountains to Cap de Creus on the Mediterranean coast, reaching a maximum elevation of at the peak of Aneto. ...

. The county of

Couserans 125px, Coat of arms of CouseransCouserans (; Gascon: ''Coserans'' ) is a former county of France located in the Pyrenees mountains. Today Couserans makes up the western half of the Ariège ''département'', around the towns of Saint-Girons and ...

lay to the west and that of

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 ...

to the east. The ruling family were descended from the Counts of

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 ...

. Count Bernard married three times, but died without a male heir; a posthumous son, Count Jean I, died in infancy in 1339. Bernard had five or six daughters of whom Jeanne married the son of Bernard's brother, Count Pierre-Raymond I (died 1341), also named Pierre-Raymond (II), who ruled from 1341 until about 1375–1376. The marriage produced two daughters, Alienòr and Marguerite, but the line died out in 1443 at Marguerite's death, and the county passed to the French Crown in 1453 on the death of Marguerite's husband. The most famous child of Bernard's was Cecilia I of Urgell.E. Michael Gerli, Samuel G. Armistead (2003). ''Medieval Iberia: an encyclopedia''. Routledge.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bernard 08 Of Comminges Counts of Comminges Occitan nobility 1280s births 1336 deaths 13th-century French nobility 14th-century French nobility