Roger Bernard II (c. 1195 – 26 May 1241), called the Great, was the seventh count of Foix from 1223 until his death. He was the son and successor of the count Raymond-Roger and his wife Philippa of Montcada.

Life

In 1208, Roger-Bernard married Ermesinde, daughter and heir of Arnau de Castellbò, viscountess of Castellbò and a

Cathar Catharism ( ; from the , "the pure ones") was a Christian quasi- dualist and pseudo-Gnostic movement which thrived in Southern Europe, particularly in northern Italy and southern France, between the 12th and 14th centuries. Denounced as a he ...

. By his wife, he had a son, Roger IV of Foix, and a daughter, Cecilia of Foix. Cecilia of Foix married Álvaro, Count of Urgell. When his relations with his French sovereign allowed it, he concentrated on expansion and fortification southwards. He fortified the towns guarding the way to

Andorra Andorra, officially the Principality of Andorra, is a Sovereignty, sovereign landlocked country on the Iberian Peninsula, in the eastern Pyrenees in Southwestern Europe, Andorra–France border, bordered by France to the north and Spain to A ...

and Urgel, and fell into conflict with the bishop of Urgel over the valley of Caboet in May 1233. He opposed the

Inquisition The Inquisition was a Catholic Inquisitorial system#History, judicial procedure where the Ecclesiastical court, ecclesiastical judges could initiate, investigate and try cases in their jurisdiction. Popularly it became the name for various med ...

and got into even more conflict with the bishop in April 1239. He did not involve himself in the war of Raymond Trencavel, though he did negotiate an honourable treaty in 1240.

Albigensian crusade

He made his name famous in 1217 when, for six weeks, he defended the castle of Montgrenier against the onslaught of

Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester ( – 25 June 1218), known as Simon IV (or V) de Montfort and as Simon de Montfort the Elder, was a French nobleman and knight of the early 13th century. He is widely regarded as one of the great militar ...

. That same year, he distinguished himself at the siege of Toulouse. In 1220, he assisted his father in the recapture of Lavaur and Puylaurens and was instrumental in helping his father retake his lost dominions. The resumption of

Mirepoix A mirepoix ( , ) is a mixture of diced vegetables cooked with fat (usually butter) for a long time on low heat without coloring or browning. The ingredients are not sautéed or otherwise hard-cooked, because the intention is to sweeten rather t ...

wasn't accomplished until his own reign, however. At the moment of his accession, he and the new

count of Toulouse The count of Toulouse (, ) was the ruler of Toulouse during the 8th to 13th centuries. Originating as vassals of the Frankish kings, the hereditary counts ruled the city of Toulouse and its surrounding county from the late 9th century until 12 ...

, Raymond VII, besieged

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. ...

. On 14 September 1224, the

Albigensian Crusade The Albigensian Crusade (), also known as the Cathar Crusade (1209–1229), was a military and ideological campaign initiated by Pope Innocent III to eliminate Catharism in Languedoc, what is now southern France. The Crusade was prosecuted pri ...

rs surrendered and the war came to an end, each southern lord making peace with the church. However, in 1226, the new

king of France France was ruled by monarchs from the establishment of the kingdom of West Francia in 843 until the end of the Second French Empire in 1870, with several interruptions. Classical French historiography usually regards Clovis I, king of the Fra ...

, Louis VIII, called ''the Lion'', renewed the conflict in order to enforce his royal rights in

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (, , ; ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately . History ...

. Roger-Bernard tried to keep the peace, but the king rejected his embassy and the counts of Foix and Toulouse took up arms again. Roger-Bernard and a small contingent of his feudatories constituted a pocket of resistance in

Limoux Limoux (; ) is a commune and subprefecture in the Aude department, a part of the ancient Languedoc province and the present-day Occitanie region in southern France. Its vineyards are famous for being first to produce sparkling wine known ...

from June 1226 to June 1227, but the war was largely a discontinuous series of skirmishes. In January 1229, Raymond of Toulouse signed the

Treaty of Meaux The Treaty of Paris, also known as Treaty of Meaux, was signed on 12 April 1229 between Raymond VII of Toulouse and Louis IX of France in Meaux near Paris. Louis was still a minor, and it was his mother Blanche of Castile, as regent, who was in ...

with Louis the Lion's successor,

Louis IX Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), also known as Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death in 1270. He is widely recognized as the most distinguished of the Direct Capetians. Following the death of his father, Louis ...

. Already excommunicated (since March or April 1227) and with his only ally gone and a new royal army in the field against him, Roger-Bernard sued for peace in June. By the ensuing treaty, he received back much of his land, but not Mirepoix, which he had previously fought so hard to reconquer.

Death

Roger-Bernard ended his days at peace with the established church, having been excommunicated a second time in 1236. He took the

habit A habit (or wont, as a humorous and formal term) is a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously. A 1903 paper in the '' American Journal of Psychology'' defined a "habit, from the standpoint of psychology, ...

at the abbey of Boulbonne, and was buried there in 1241. He was succeeded by his son Roger IV, whom he had married to Brunissende, the daughter of Raymond Folc IV and heiress of Viscounty of Cardona.

Notes

References

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External links

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Histoire des comtes de Foix
. {{DEFAULTSORT:Roger-Bernard 02 Of Foix 1241 deaths House of Foix Counts of Foix People excommunicated by the Catholic Church People of the Albigensian Crusade Occitan nobility Year of birth uncertain