Gaston I of Foix or Gaston VIII of Foix-Béarn (1287 – 13 December 1315 in Maubuisson) was the 9th

Count of Foix The Count of Foix ruled the 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 to Pau in B ...

, the 22nd

Viscount of Béarn A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a Title#Aristocratic titles, title used in certain European countries for a nobility, noble of varying status. The status and any domain held by a viscount is a viscounty. In the case ...

and Co-Prince of Andorra.

Biography

He was a son of

Roger-Bernard III, Count of Foix Roger-Bernard III (1243 – 3 March 1302) was the Count of Foix from 1265 to his death. He was the son of Roger IV of Foix and Brunissende of Cardona. He entered into conflicts with both Philip III of France and Peter III of Aragon, who held ...

and

Margaret of Béarn Margaret of Béarn – also known as Margaret or Marguerite of Montcada (c. 1245–1250 – c. 1319) was a noblewoman, who ruled (with her husband or for her son's) lands near the Pyrenees mountains and in the southwestern part of present-day ...

, the eldest daughter and heiress of Gaston VII of Béarn. He succeeded his father in 1302 as Count Gaston I of Foix and Viscount Gaston VIII of Béarn, first under the regency of his mother. He was probably present at the

Battle of the Golden Spurs The Battle of the Golden Spurs (; ) or 1302 Battle of Courtrai was a military confrontation between the royal army of Kingdom of France, France and rebellious forces of the County of Flanders on 11 July 1302 during the 1297–1305 Franco-Flem ...

in 1302, and fought again for the King of France against the Flemish at the Battle of Mons-en-Pévèle in 1304. When the cities of his County of Foix rebelled against the Royal tax collectors, because they raised the taxes to finance the expensive war against Flanders, Gaston supported his cities. For this, the County was confiscated for a while by the Senechal of

Carcassonne Carcassonne is a French defensive wall, fortified city in the Departments of France, department of Aude, Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. It is the prefectures in France, prefecture of the department. ...

. In 1308, he started a war against the

Count of Armagnac The following is a list of rulers of the County of Armagnac: House d'Armagnac, House of Armagnac *William of Fesenzac, William Count of Fézensac and Armagnac ?–960 *Bernard the Suspicious, first count privative of Armagnac 960–? *Gerald ...

, against the orders of the King, who had forbidden intra-French warfare. Gaston was taken prisoner and locked up in the Châtelet. He was only released after paying a ransom of 36,000 livres. He also had armed conflicts with his uncle

James II of Majorca James II () (31 May 1243 – 29 May 1311) was King of Majorca and Lord of Montpellier from 1276 until his death. He was the second son of James I of Aragon and his wife, Violant, daughter of Andrew II of Hungary. In 1279, by the Treaty of Perp ...

and even with his own mother, who firmly ruled Foix during his many absences. In 1310, he inherited the Viscounty of Marsan from his aunt Constance of Moncada. When another uncle, Ermengol X, Count of Urgell, died without a male heir, Gaston claimed the

County of Urgell The County of Urgell (, ; ) is one of the historical Catalan counties, bordering on the counties of County of Pallars, Pallars and Cerdanya. History The county of Urgell was carved by the Franks out of a former section of the Mark of Toulouse w ...

, but was no match against King

Alfonso IV of Aragon Alfonso IV (2 November 1299 – 24 January 1336), called the Kind (also ''the Gentle'' or ''the Nice'', ), was King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona (as Alfons III) from 1327 to his death. His reign saw the incorporation of the County of Urgell ...

, who incorporated Urgell into the

Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon (, ) ;, ; ; . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona (later Principality of Catalonia) and ended as a consequence of the War of the Sp ...

. On his return from yet another war against Flanders, Gaston fell ill and died in the Maubuisson Abbey, near

Pontoise Pontoise () is a commune north of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the "new town" of Cergy-Pontoise. Administration Pontoise is the official (capital) of the Val-d'Oise '' département'', although in reality the ' ...

. His body was transferred to the Boulbonne Abbey, where it was buried alongside his ancestors. Some records state he was buried in the now-demolished church of the Couvent des Jacobins in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Marriage and children

Gaston married in 1301 Joan of Artois (1289-1350), daughter of

Philip of Artois Philip of Artois (November 1269 – 11 September 1298), Lord of Conches, Nonancourt, and Domfront, was the son of Robert II, Count of Artois, and Amicie de Courtenay, daughter of Peter, Lord of Conches and Mehun. He married Blanche of Br ...

and

Blanche of Brittany Blanche of Brittany (1271–1327) was a daughter of John II, Duke of Brittany, and his wife Beatrice of England. She is also known as Blanche de Dreux. Through her mother she was the granddaughter of King Henry III of England and Eleanor of Pr ...

. They had: * Gaston II de Foix, Count of Foix, Viscount of Béarn (1308 – 26 September 1343). * Roger Bernard IV de Foix (1310 – after 24 March 1350), married Constanza de Luna (1310 – January 1353), daughter of Artal de Luna, by whom he had three children. * Robert de Foix, Bishop of Lavaur * Margaret of Foix * Blanche de Foix, married in 1328 Jean de Grailly, Viscount of Castillon,

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 ...

, by whom she had two children, including

Jean III de Grailly, Captal de Buch Jean III de Grailly (aka. John De Grailly, died 7 September 1376), Captal de Buch, , was a Gascon nobleman and a military leader in the Hundred Years' War, who was praised by the chronicler Jean Froissart as an ideal of chivalry. Biography ...

. * Joan of Foix (died 1358), married Infante Peter of Aragon, Count of Ribagorza y Ampurias, by whom she had three children, including

Eleanor of Aragon, Queen of Cyprus file:Barcelona Cathedral Interior - Royal tombs in the Cathedral of Barcelona - The Queens.jpg, Her tomb in Barcelona Eleanor of Aragon (1333 – 26 December 1417) was List of Cypriot consorts, Queen consort of Cyprus by marriage to Peter I of Cy ...

References

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Biography

Marriage and children

References

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Further reading