Roger Bernard III, Count Of Foix
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Roger-Bernard III (1243 – 3 March 1302) was the
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 ...
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 Philip III (1 May 1245 – 5 October 1285), called the Bold (), was King of France from 1270 until his death in 1285. His father, Louis IX, died in Tunis during the Eighth Crusade. Philip, who was accompanying him, returned to France and wa ...
and
Peter III of Aragon Peter III of Aragon (In Aragonese, ''Pero''; in Catalan, ''Pere''; in Italian, ''Pietro''; November 1285) was King of Aragon, King of Valencia (as ), and Count of Barcelona (as ) from 1276 to his death. At the invitation of some rebels, he con ...
, who held him in captivity for a time. He was nevertheless a distinguished poet and
troubadour A troubadour (, ; ) was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages (1100–1350). Since the word ''troubadour'' is etymologically masculine, a female equivalent is usually called a ''trobairitz''. The tr ...
.


Conflict with Philip III

His conflict with Philip III was rooted in the longstanding desire of the
French monarchy 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 ...
to establish its authority 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 ...
, where, since the 10th century, it had been practically a dead letter. In 1272, Roger-Bernard allied with Gerald VI, Count of Armagnac to attack the lord of Sompuy, who, however, applied for protection to the king. This brought the king and the count into direct opposition. Ignoring the royal command, the two counts went to war. Philip, claiming rights as the heir of his uncle Alfonso of Poitou, invaded Languedoc at the head of a large army. Roger-Bernard fled to his castle at
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 the Seneschal of Toulouse, Eustache de Beaumarchès, seized his lands. Roger-Bernard, meanwhile, placed himself under the competing protection of
James I of Aragon James I the Conqueror ( Catalan/Valencian: ''Jaume I or Jaume el Conqueridor''; Aragonese: ''Chaime I'' ''o Conqueridor''; ; 2 February 1208 – 27 July 1276) was King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1 ...
, who endeavoured to negotiate a peace. Roger-Bernard, however, demanded harsh and unacceptable conditions. On 3 June, King Philip began the siege of Foix and on 5 June, the citadel fell by the work of the
sappers A sapper, also called a combat engineer, is a combatant or soldier who performs a variety of military engineering duties, such as breaching fortifications, demolitions, bridge-building, laying or clearing minefields, preparing field defenses, ...
in tearing down its defensive walls. Roger-Bernard surrendered and was carted off to prison in
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. ...
. The dispute between James and Philip, however, did not immediately abate. The former refused to relinquish what he held on behalf of the imprisoned count. On 8 February 1273, the conflict was resolved and the king of Aragon gave up his claims. Before the end of that year, the count of Foix was released and did homage to the king of France, receiving back a portion of his confiscated lands. Roger-Bernard's relationship with Philip III was thereafter solid, with Philip even considering him his "most loyal and faithful vassal" in December 1277.


War of the Navarrese Succession

On the death of Henry I of Navarre in 1274, a dispute arose over the succession to that small kingdom. Henry's heir was his daughter
Joanna Joanna is a feminine given name deriving from from . Variants in English include Joan, Joann, Joanne, and Johanna. Other forms of the name in English are Jan, Jane, Janet, Janice, Jean, and Jeanne. The earliest recorded occurrence of th ...
, wife of Philip the Fair, then heir-apparent of Philip III. The Aragonese, however, opposed her succession, which would have put the French in control of Navarre. In order to secure Joanna and Philip's rightful inheritance, Roger-Bernard led a French army into Navarre in September 1276. He took the capital city of
Pamplona Pamplona (; ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Navarre, Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. Lying at near above sea level, the city (and the wider Cuenca de Pamplona) is located on the flood pl ...
by force and razed it. In gladful compensation for this, Philip III restored all the count's remaining territories south of the Pas de La Barre.


Formation of Andorra

Perhaps the most lasting of Roger-Bernard's policies was his diplomatic agreement with the
bishop of Urgell The Diocese of Urgell (; ) is a Latin Church diocese of the Catholic Church in Catalonia (Spain) and the Principality of Andorra in the historical County of Urgell,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 ...
, a small mountain landlocked territory with a long history of quarrels over its lordship between bishop and count. On 8 September 1278, after long negotiations, the count and the bishop concluded a
paréage In Medieval France a ''paréage'' or pariage was a feudal treaty recognising joint sovereignty over a territory by two rulers, who were on an equal footing, ''pari passu''; compare peer. On a familial scale, ''paréage'' could also refer to the ...
, a form of
condominium A condominium (or condo for short) is an ownership regime in which a building (or group of buildings) is divided into multiple units that are either each separately owned, or owned in common with exclusive rights of occupation by individual own ...
, over the disputed country. Though slightly modified a little later (the same year), the paréage remains the governing system of Andorra to this day, though the office of Count of Foix has devolved to the Presidency of France since that time.


Conflict with Aragon

In Spring 1280, the long-stewing conflict between Roger-Bernard and Peter of Aragon broke out into open rebellion. The count of Foix formed a coalition of other dissatisfied Catalan nobles, including Arnold Roger I of Pallars Sobirà and
Ermengol X of Urgell Ermengol X (1254–1314) was the Count of Urgel and Viscount of Àger from 1268 to 1314. He was the son of Álvaro of Urgell and his second wife, Cecilia, daughter of Roger-Bernard II of Foix. Ermengol inherited Urgel at the age of fourteen up ...
, and revolted against Peter. Besieged in Balaguer, he was forced to surrender on 22 July and was imprisoned. While the other leaders of the revolt were released the next year, Roger-Bernard languished in an Aragonese dungeon until December 1283, at which time it was politically expedient to free him in exchange for the viscounty of Castelbon in an effort to stave off French aggression in the form of the so-called "
Aragonese Crusade The Aragonese Crusade (1284–1285), also known as the Crusade of Aragon or Crusade against Catalonia, was a military venture waged by the Kingdom of France against the Crown of Aragon. Fought as an extension of the War of the Sicilian Vespers ...
." Roger-Bernard, however, was not beholden to the then-
excommunicate Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to deprive, suspend, or limit membership in a religious community or to restrict certain rights within it, in particular those of being in communion with other members of the co ...
king of Aragon and readily sided with the invading French. First, on 25 May 1285, Elne and then, on 7 September,
Girona Girona (; ) is the capital city of the Province of Girona in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 106,476 in 2024, but the p ...
surrendered to their French besiegers, Raimond-Roger, brother of the
Count of Pallars Sobirà 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.L. G. Pine, Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty'' ...
, negotiating the surrenders with the count of Foix.


Relationship with Philip IV

In 1290, Roger-Bernard tried to stop the seneschals of Toulouse and Carcassonne from interfering in his internal affairs, such as the administration of justice and the collection of taxes. Philip IV, now King of France, refused to call off his functionaries and diminish his own authority in the south and was thus forced to confiscate two of the count's castles as punishment for his disobedience and lack of cooperation with the crown. Nonetheless, in 1293, the king finally intervened to order the seneschal of Carcassonne to leave the count of Foix's matters to the count of Foix. In 1295, Philip made the count Governor of
Gascony Gascony (; ) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part of the combined Province of Guyenne and Gascon ...
and, on 29 April, ordered the seneschal to return the confiscated castles of 1290. In 1295, Roger-Bernard alleged that the seneschal was levying taxes without his consent or permission to finance the war with
England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
. As a means of paying the count back for these imposts, Philip granted him castles in July 1295 and 1298. In 1297, he was one of the three commanders of the French army under
Robert II, Count of Artois Robert II (September 1250 – 11 July 1302) was the Count of Artois, the posthumous son and heir of Robert I and Matilda of Brabant. He was a nephew of two kings; Louis IX of France and Charles I of Sicily. A capable military commander and ad ...
s which defeated the English army of
Henry de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln Henry de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln (c. 1251February 1311), Baron of Pontefract, Lord of Bowland, Baron of Halton and hereditary Constable of Chester, was an Kingdom of England, English nobleman and confidant of King Edward I of England, Edward I. He ...
at the Battle of Bonnegarde, during the
Gascon War The Gascon War, also known as the 1294–1303 Anglo-French War or the Guyenne War (), was a conflict between the kingdoms of France and England. Most of the fighting occurred in the Duchy of Aquitaine, made up of the areas of Guyenne and Gascon ...
. When Bernard Saisset, bishop of Pamiers, was inciting the people of
Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...
to revolt, it was to Roger-Bernard that he went looking for a leader. He was refused and the count informed the king.


Inheritance of Béarn

In 1252, Roger-Bernard married
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 ...
(also called Margaret of Montcada), the daughter of Gaston VII of Béarn and Martha of Marsan. In his will, Gaston declared Margaret to be his heir, which was generally accepted, though not by his second daughter Mathe and her husband Gerard VI of Armagnac. Later, Gaston declared his third daughter Guillemette the new heir, but when he died in 1290, Roger-Bernard immediately took possession of his counties (May). Roger-Bernard then divided his
coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon f ...
between that of Foix and that of Béarn. In 1293, after three years of peace, Gerard V finally contested the usurpation of Béarn and began a long war with Roger-Bernard over the rights of their wives. This war lasted until 1377. When the aforementioned Guillemette donated all her Catalan lands to
James II of Aragon James II (Catalan: ''Jaume II''; Aragonese: ''Chaime II;'' 10 April 1267 – 2 or 5 November 1327), called the Just, was the King of Aragon and Valencia and Count of Barcelona from 1291 to 1327. He was also the King of Sicily (as James I) f ...
in April 1300, Roger-Bernard opposed her and traveled at the head of troops through the pass of the Col de Puymorens in 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. ...
. He died at Tarascon-sur-Ariège on 3 March 1302 and was buried in Boulbonne beside his ancestors. Roger-Bernard and Margaret had: * Gaston I, his successor * Constance, married (1296) John I de Lévis, lord 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 ...
* Mathe, married (1294) Bernard IV of Astarac * Margaret (died 1304), married (1291) Bernard IV Jordan of L'Isle-Jourdain * Brunissende, married (1298) Elias VII of Périgord


References


Sources

* * * * * * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Roger-Bernard 03 Of Foix 1243 births 1302 deaths 13th-century princes of Andorra 14th-century princes of Andorra Counts of Foix 13th-century French troubadours Occitan nobility