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| County of Foix | |
|---|---|
| Mid-11th Century–1789 | |
 Flag  Coat of arms | |
.svg) County of Foix in France (1789) | |
| Capital | Foix |
| Demonym | Foixian |
| Government | |
| • Type | Province |
| Count | |
• 1034-1064 | Roger-Bernard I |
• 1343-1391 | Gaston III |
• 1436-1472 | Gaston IV |
| History | |
• Established | Mid-11th Century |
• Disestablished | 1789 |
| Today part of |  France |
TheCounty of Foix (French:Comté de Foix,pronounced[fwa];Occitan:Comtat de Fois,pronounced[fujs]locally[fujʃ];Catalan:Comtat de Foix,pronounced[foʃ]) was a medievalfief insouthern France, and later aprovince of France, whose territory corresponded roughly the eastern part of the moderndépartement ofAriège (the western part of Ariège beingCouserans).[1]
During theMiddle Ages, the county of Foix was ruled by thecounts of Foix, whose castle overlooks the town ofFoix. In 1290 the counts of Foix acquired the viscountcyBéarn, 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 autonomous 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.[2]
The provincial estates of the county, a legislative body that 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-threegouvernements, or military areas, of France and kept its provincial estates until theFrench Revolution. In 1790 it was joined withCouserans to form thedépartement of Ariège.[2]
The county of Foix, as it existed just before theFrench 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 arePamiers, with 17,715 inhabitants in 1999, andFoix, with 10,378 inhabitants in 1999.
TheCounts of Foix flourished from the 11th to the 15th century. They were at firstfeudatories of thecounts of Toulouse and thecounts of Barcelona, but after the latter's defeat in theCathar Crusade they succeeded in establishing their directvassalage to theking of France.[2]
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 theKingdom of Navarre, and in frequent communication with England throughGascony andAquitaine, 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.[2]
The title of count of Foix was first assumed by Roger of Foix (died ca. 1064), son ofBernard-Roger of Couserans, who was a younger son ofRoger I de Cominges, Count of Carcassonne, de Couserans et de Razés, when he inherited the town of Foix and the adjoining lands, which had hitherto formed part of the county ofCarcassonne.[2]
His grandson, Roger II, took part in theFirst Crusade in 1095 and was afterwards excommunicated byPope 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.[2]
Roger-Bernard's only son,Raymond Roger, accompanied the French king,Philip Augustus, toPalestine in 1190 and distinguished himself at thecapture of Acre. He was afterwards engaged in theAlbigensian Crusade defending theCathars, and, on being accused of heresy, his lands were given toSimon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester. Raymond Roger came to terms with the Church and recovered his estates before his death in 1223. He was a patron of theProvençal poets and a poet himself.[2]
He was succeeded by his son,Roger Bernard II the Great, who assistedRaymond VII, Count of Toulouse, and the Albigenses in their resistance to the French kings,Louis VIII andLouis IX, was excommunicated on two occasions, and died in 1241.[2]
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 byPhilip III of France and byPeter III of Aragon. He married Marguerite, daughter and heiress ofGaston VII, Viscount ofBéarn, and he inherited Béarn andNébouzan from his father-in-law in 1290, which led to the outbreak of a long feud between the Houses of Foix andArmagnac.[2]
From 1278 the counts of Foix, and their legal successors, have also beenCo-princes of Andorra.
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 KingLouis X on an expedition intoFlanders in 1315, and died on his return to France in the same year.[2]
His eldest son, Gaston II, made peace with the house of Armagnac and took part in various wars both in France and Spain, dying atSeville in 1343, when he was succeeded by his young son, Gaston III.[2]
Gaston III (1331–1391), calledPhoebus, the Latin version ofApollo, 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.[2]
When the French king,John II, favored the count of Armagnac, Gaston left his service and went to fight against the pagans ofPrussia. Returning to France around 1357, he delivered some noble ladies from the attacks of the adherents of theJacquerie atMeaux, and was soon at war with the count of Armagnac.[2]
During this struggle he also attacked the count ofPoitiers, the royal representative inLanguedoc, but owing to the intervention ofPope 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.[2]
Early in 1380, the count was appointed governor ofLanguedoc, but whenCharles VI succeededCharles 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 ofBerry, who had been chosen as his successor.[2]
When he was bested in the combat, he abandoned the struggle and retired to his estates, remaining neutral and independent. He then resided inOrthez, the capital of Béarn. In 1348 Gaston married Agnes, daughter of Philip, Count ofEvreux (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 byFroissart.[3]
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, theLivre de chasse,[1] known in English asThe 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".[4]
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 ofCastelbon, a descendant of Count Gaston I of Foix. When Matthew died without issue in 1398, his lands were seized by Archambault, Count ofGrailly andCaptal de Buch, the husband of Matthew's sister Isabella (d. 1426), who was confirmed as legitimate count of Foix in 1401.[4]
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 ofCharles III, king of Navarre. Having served the king of France inGuyenne and the king of Aragon inSardinia, 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 theDauphin, afterwards KingCharles VII. Deserting the French cause, he then allied himself withHenry V of England. When Charles VII became king in 1423, 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 againstCastile, and aided his brother, the cardinal of Foix, to crush an insurgency in Aragon.[4]
Peter, cardinal of Foix (1386–1464), was the fifth son of Archambault of Grailly, and was madearchbishop of Arles in 1450. He took a prominent part in the struggle between therival popes, and founded and endowed theCollège de Foix atToulouse. The next count was John's son,Gaston IV of Foix, who marriedLeonora (died 1479), a daughter ofJohn, king of Aragon and Navarre. In 1447 he bought theviscounty of Narbonne, and having assisted King Charles VII in Guyenne, he was made apeer of France in 1458. In 1455 his father-in-law designated him as his successor in Navarre, andLouis XI of France gave him the counties ofRoussillon andCerdagne, 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.[4]
His eldest son,Gaston, the husband ofMadeleine, 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 (died 1483). Francis Phoebus became king of Navarre in 1479 and was succeeded by his sisterCatherine (died 1517), the wife ofJean d'Albret (d. 1516).[4]
A younger son of Count Gaston IV wasJohn (died 1500), who received the viscounty of Narbonne from his father and married Marie, a sister of the French kingLouis 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 ofFerdinand II of Aragon.[4]
In 1507, Gaston exchanged his viscounty of Narbonne with KingLouis XII of France for the duchy ofNemours, and asduke of Nemours he took command of the French troops in Italy. After deliveringBologna and takingBrescia, Gaston encountered the troops of theHoly League atRavenna in April 1512 and routed the enemy, but was killed during the pursuit.[4]
There were also younger branches of the house of Foix-Grailly: the viscounts ofLautrec (descended from Pierre de Foix, younger son of Jean III); the Counts ofCandale andBenauges (descended from Gaston de Foix, a younger son of Archemboult and his sonJohn de Foix, 1st Earl of Kendal); the Counts ofGurson andFleix and Viscounts ofMeille (Jean de Foix, Comte de Meille, Gurson et Fleix, was a younger son ofJean de Foix, Earl of Kendal), and the Counts of Caraman, or Carmain, descended from Isabeau de Foix, Dame de Navailles (only child of Archambaud de Foix-Grailly, Baron de Navailles) and her husband Jean, Vicomte de Carmain, whose descendants adopted the name and arms of Foix.[5]
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When Catherine, wife of Jean d'Albret, succeeded her brother Francis Phoebus, the House of Foix-Grailly was merged into that ofAlbret, and later into that ofBourbon with Henry III of Navarre, son ofAntoine de Bourbon andJeanne d'Albret.
Henry III of Navarre became KingHenry 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, andNébouzan, but notBéarn andLower Navarre, which were sovereign countries outside of the kingdom of France), and so the county of Foix became part of theroyal domain.
This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Foix".Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 10 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 595–596.| International | |
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