Bernal de Foix, 1st Count of Medinaceli ( es, Mosén Bernardo de Bearne y Foix, primer conde de Medinaceli; d. 1381), also known as "the Bastard of Bearn", was a military officer in 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 ...

, a region that is now part of

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

Life and career

Bernal de Foix was an

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 ''b ...

son of Gaston III de Foix, the 11th

Count of Foix The Count of Foix ruled the independent County of Foix, in what is now Southern France, during the Middle Ages. The House of Foix eventually extended its power across the Pyrenees mountain range, joining the House of Bearn and moving their court ...

. He was invested as the first Count of Medinaceli in 1368, and he married Doña

Isabel de la Cerda Isabel de la Cerda also known as ''Isabel de la Cerda Pérez de Guzmán'' (Seville c.1329 - after 1383) was the only surviving daughter of Luis de la Cerda and his first wife Leonor de Guzmán; she was Lady of Puerto de Santa María and titular Pri ...

in 1370. Isabel, the widow of

Ruy Pérez Ponce de León Ruy Pérez Ponce de León or Rodrigo Pérez Ponce de León (b. ? - d. 1295) was a Spanish people, Spanish nobility, noble of the House of Ponce de León, in the service of the Kingdom of Castile. He was the 15th Grand Master (order), Grand Maste ...

, was the granddaughter of

Alfonso de la Cerda Alfonso de la Cerda, (Valladolid 1270 - Ávila 1333), called "the Disinherited", was the elder son of Ferdinand de la Cerda and his wife Blanche of France, and was a grandson of Alfonso X of Castile. Alfonso and his brother Fernando were cand ...

, a grandson of King

Alfonso X of Castile Alfonso X (also known as the Wise, es, el Sabio; 23 November 1221 – 4 April 1284) was King of Castile, León and Galicia from 30 May 1252 until his death in 1284. During the election of 1257, a dissident faction chose him to be king of Germ ...

. She was granted large estates on the condition that she relinquish all claims to the Crown of Castile for herself and her heirs. (Translation of ''Histoire de Don Pèdre I^er, Roi de Castille'') He took the side of royal bastard

Henry of Trastámara Henry II (13 January 1334 – 29 May 1379), called Henry of Trastámara or the Fratricidal (''el Fratricida''), was the first King of Castile and León from the House of Trastámara. He became king in 1369 by defeating his half-brother Peter the ...

against Henry's legitimate half-brother, King

Peter of Castile Peter ( es, Pedro; 30 August 133423 March 1369), called the Cruel () or the Just (), was King of Castile and León from 1350 to 1369. Peter was the last ruler of the main branch of the House of Ivrea. He was excommunicated by Pope Urban V for ...

, during the

Castilian Civil War The Castilian Civil War was a war of succession over the Crown of Castile that lasted from 1351 to 1369. The conflict started after the death of king Alfonso XI of Castile in March 1350. It became part of the larger conflict then raging betwe ...

. He commanded a troop of Castilians under Henry. He chose to stay in Castile when Henry killed King Peter at the Castle of Montiel in March 1369. The Count of Medinaceli donated property to his wife on 15 October 1370. The family later had extensive estates in the Spanish provinces of

Soria Soria () is a municipality and a Spanish city, located on the Douro river in the east of the autonomous community of Castile and León and capital of the province of Soria. Its population is 38,881 (INE, 2017), 43.7% of the provincial population. ...

and

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...

Issue

He and his wife had two children: *Gastón (1371–1404), succeeded his father as 2nd Count of Medinaceli *María (d. 1381), died in childhood

References

1331 births 1381 deaths Counts of Spain Bernal 01 {{spain-stub