Coat of arms of the counts of Foix
The 'County of Foix' was an independent medieval
fief in
southern France, and later a
province of France, whose territory corresponded roughly the eastern part of the modern ''
département'' of
Ariège (the western part of Ariège being
Couserans).
During the
Middle Ages, the county of Foix was ruled by the
counts of Foix, whose castle overlooks the town of
Foix. However, it should be noted that in
1290 the counts of Foix acquired the viscountcy
Béarn, which became the center of their domain, and from that time on the counts of Foix rarely resided in the county of Foix, preferring the richer and more verdant Béarn.
The county of Foix was an independent fief of the kingdom of France and consisted of an agglomeration of small holdings ruled by lords, who, though subordinate to the counts of Foix, had some voice in the government of the county.
The provincial-states of the county, which can be traced back to the 14th century, consisted of three orders and possessed considerable power and energy. In the 17th and 18th centuries Foix formed one of the thirty-three ''gouvernements'', or military areas, of France and kept its provincial-states until the
French Revolution. In 1790 it was joined with
Couserans to form the ''département'' of Ariège.
The county of Foix, as it existed just before the
French Revolution, had a land area of
2,466 km² (952 sq. miles).
At the 1999 census there were 76,809 inhabitants living on the territory of the former province of the county of Foix, which means a density of only 32 inh. per km² (84 inh. per sq. miles). The largest urban areas are
Pamiers, with 17,715 inhabitants in 1999, and
Foix, with 10,378 inhabitants in 1999.
History
County of Foix in 1328 (Béarn is outside of the map).
House of Foix
The
Counts of Foix flourished from the
11th to the
15th century. They were at first
feudatories of the
counts of Toulouse, but after the latter's defeat in the
Cathar Crusade they succeeded in establishing their direct
vassalage to the
king of France.
During the
13th and
14th centuries the counts of Foix figured among the most powerful of the
French feudal nobles. Living on the borders of France, having constant interaction with the kingdom of
Navarre, and in frequent communication with
England through
Gascony and
Aquitaine, they were in a position favorable to an assertion of independence, and acted more like the equals than the dependents of the kings of France.
The title of 'count of Foix' was first assumed by 'Roger of Foix' (died ca.
1064), son of 'Bernard Roger of Foix', who was a younger son of
Roger I, Count of Carcassonne, when he inherited the town of Foix and the adjoining lands, which had hitherto formed part of the county of
Carcassonne.
His grandson, 'Roger II', took part in the
First Crusade in
1095 and was afterwards excommunicated by
Pope Paschal II for seizing ecclesiastical property. Subsequently he appeased the anger of the church through rich donations, and when he died in
1125 he was succeeded by his son, 'Roger III', and his son, '
Roger Bernard I'.
Roger-Bernard's only son, '
Raymond Roger', accompanied the French king,
Philip Augustus, to
Palestine in
1190 and distinguished himself at the
capture of Acre. He was afterwards engaged in the
Albigensian Crusade defending the
Cathars, and, on being accused of heresy, his lands were given to
Simon IV de Montfort. Raymond Roger came to terms with the Church and recovered his estates before his death in
1223. He was a patron of the
Provencal poets and a poet himself.
He was succeeded by his son, '
Roger Bernard II the Great', who assisted
Raymond VII, Count of Toulouse, and the Albigenses in their resistance to the French kings,
Louis VIII and
Louis IX, was excommunicated on two occasions, and died in
1241.
His son, '
Roger IV', died in
1265 and was succeeded by his son, '
Roger Bernard III' who, more famous as a poet than as a warrior, was taken prisoner both by
Philip III of France and by
Peter III of Aragon. He married Marguerite, daughter and heiress of
Gaston VII, Viscount of
Béarn, and he inherited Béarn and
Nébouzan from his father-in-law in 1290, which led to the outbreak of a long feud between the Houses of Foix and
Armagnac.
From 1278 the counts of Foix, and their legal successors, have also been
Co-princes of Andorra.
House of Foix-Béarn
Castle of Foix towering above the town, with the Pyrenees behind.
The quarrel was continued under Roger Bernard's son and successor, 'Gaston I', who became count in
1302, inheriting both Foix and Béarn. Becoming embroiled with the French king,
Philip IV, in consequence of the struggle with the count of Armagnac, Gaston was imprisoned in
Paris. He quickly regained his freedom and accompanied King
Louis X on an expedition into
Flanders in
1315, and died on his return to France in the same year.
His eldest son, 'Gaston II', made peace with the house of Armagnac and took part in various wars both in France and Spain, dying at
Seville in
1343, when he was succeeded by his son, 'Gaston III'.
'
Gaston III' (
1331-
1391), called
Phoebus, the Latin version of
Apollo, on account of his beauty, was the most famous member of the House of Foix-Béarn. Like his father he assisted France in her struggle against England, being entrusted with the defence of the frontiers of Gascony.
When the French king,
John II, favored the count of Armagnac, Gaston left his service and went to fight against the pagans of
Prussia. Returning to France around
1357, he delivered some noble ladies from the attacks of the adherents of the
Jacquerie at
Meaux, and was soon at war with the count of Armagnac.
During this struggle he also attacked the count of
Poitiers, the royal representative in
Languedoc, but owing to the intervention of
Pope Innocent VI he made peace with the count in
1360. Gaston, however, continued to fight against the count of Armagnac, who, in
1362, was defeated and compelled to pay a ransom. This war lasted until
1377.
Early in
1380, the count was appointed governor of
Languedoc, but when
Charles VI succeeded
Charles V as king later in the same year, this appointment was cancelled. Refusing, however, to heed the royal command, and supported by the communes of Languedoc, Gaston fought for about two years against John, duke of
Berry, who had been chosen as his successor.
When he was bested in the combat, he abandoned the struggle and retired to his estates, remaining neutral and independent. He then resided in
Orthez, the capital of Béarn. In
1348 Gaston married Agnes, daughter of Philip, Count of
Evreux (d.
1343), by his wife Jeanne II, queen of Navarre. By Agnes, whom he divorced in
1373, he had an only son, 'Gaston', who is said to have been incited by his uncle,
Charles II of Navarre, to poison his father, and who met his death in
1381. It is probable that he was killed by his father; this is the account presented by
Froissart.
Gaston was very fond of hunting, but was not without a taste for art and literature. Several beautiful manuscripts are in existence which were executed by his orders, and he himself wrote a treatise on hunting, the ''Livre de chasse'', known in English as ''The Hunting Book''. Froissart, who gives a graphic description of his court and his manner of life at Orthez in Béarn, speaks enthusiastically of Gaston, saying: "I never saw one like him of personage, nor of so fair form, nor so well made, and again, in everything he was so perfect that he cannot be praised too much".
Left without legitimate sons, Gaston de Foix was easily persuaded to bequeath his lands to King Charles VI, who thus obtained Foix and Béarn when the count died at Orthez in
1391. Almost immediately after Gaston's death Charles granted the county of Foix to 'Matthew', Viscount of
Castelbon, a descendant of Count Gaston I of Foix. When Matthew died without issue in
1398, his lands were seized by 'Archambault', Count of
Grailly and
Captal de Buch, the husband of Matthew's sister Isabella (d.
1426), who was confirmed as legitimate count of Foix in
1401.
House of Foix-Grailly
Archambault's eldest son, 'John' (''ca.''
1382-
1436), who succeeded to his father's lands and titles in
1412, had married Jeanne in
1402, daughter of
Charles III, king of Navarre. Having served the king of France in
Guyenne and the king of Aragon in
Sardinia, John became the royal representative in Languedoc, when the old quarrel between Foix and Armagnac broke out again. During the struggle between the Burgundian party and the Armagnacs, he intrigued with both, and consequently was distrusted by the ''
Dauphin'', afterwards King
Charles VII. Deserting the French cause, he then allied himself with
Henry V of England. When Charles VII became king in
1422, he returned to his former allegiance and became the king's representative in Languedoc and Guyenne. He then assisted in suppressing the marauding bands which were devastating France, fought for Aragon against
Castile, and aided his brother, the cardinal of Foix, to crush an insurgency in Aragon.
'
Peter, cardinal of Foix' (
1386-
1464), was the fifth son of Archambault of Grailly, and was made
archbishop of Arles in
1450. He took a prominent part in the struggle between the
rival popes, and founded and endowed the
Collège de Foix at
Toulouse. The next count was John's son, '
Gaston IV of Foix', who married
Leonora (d.
1479), a daughter of
John, king of Aragon and Navarre. In
1447 he bought the
viscounty of Narbonne, and having assisted King Charles VII in Guyenne, he was made a
peer of France in
1458. In
1455 his father-in-law designated him as his successor in Navarre, and
Louis XI of France gave him the counties of
Roussillon and
Cerdagne, and made him his representative in Languedoc and Guyenne; but these marks of favor did not prevent him from joining a league against Louis in
1471.
His eldest son, '
Gaston', the husband of
Madeleine, a daughter of Charles VII of France, died in
1470, and when Gaston IV died two years later, his lands descended to his grandson, '
Francis Phoebus' (d.
1483). Francis Phoebus became king of Navarre in
1479 and was succeeded by his sister '
Catherine' (d.
1517), the wife of
Jean d'Albret (d.
1516).
A younger son of Count Gaston IV was '
John' (d.
1500), who received the viscounty of Narbonne from his father and married Marie, a sister of the French king
Louis XII. He was on good terms both with Louis XI and Louis XII, and on the death of his nephew Francis Phoebus in
1483, claimed the kingdom of Navarre against Jean d'Albret and his wife, Catherine de Foix. The ensuing struggle lasted until
1497 when John renounced his claim. He left a son, '
Gaston de Foix' (
1489-
1512), a distinguished French general, and a daughter, '
Germaine de Foix', who became the second wife of
Ferdinand I of Spain.
In
1507, Gaston exchanged his viscounty of Narbonne with King
Louis XII of France for the duchy of
Nemours, and as
duke of Nemours he took command of the French troops in Italy. After delivering
Bologna and taking
Brescia, Gaston encountered the troops of the
Holy League at
Ravenna in April of
1512 and routed the enemy, but was killed during the pursuit.
There were also younger branches of the house of Foix-Grailly: the viscounts of
Lautrec (descended from Pierre de Foix, younger son of Jean III); the Counts of
Candale and
Benauges (descended from Gaston de Foix, a younger son of Archemboult); and the Counts of
Gurson and
Fleix and Viscounts of
Meille (Jean de Foix, Comte de Meille, Gurson et Fleix, was a younger son of Jean de Foix, Earl of Kendal).
Houses of Albret and the House of Bourbon
When Catherine, wife of Jean d'Albret, succeeded her brother Francis Phoebus, the House of Foix-Grailly was merged into that of
Albret, and later into that of
Bourbon with Henry III of Navarre, son of
Antoine de Bourbon and
Jeanne d'Albret.
Henry III of Navarre became King
Henry IV of France in
1589. In
1607, he united to the French crown his personal fiefs that were under French sovereignty (i.e. County of Foix,
Bigorre,
Quatre-Vallées, and
Nébouzan, but not
Béarn and
Lower Navarre, which were sovereign countries outside of the kingdom of France), and so the county of Foix became part of the royal domain.
See also
★
Foix
★
Castle of Foix
★
Counts of Foix
References
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