Viscounts of Béarn
Encyclopedia
Viscount
A viscount or viscountess is a member of the European nobility whose comital title ranks usually, as in the British peerage, above a baron, below an earl or a count .-Etymology:...
s of Béarn (Basque
Basque language
Basque is the ancestral language of the Basque people, who inhabit the Basque Country, a region spanning an area in northeastern Spain and southwestern France. It is spoken by 25.7% of Basques in all territories...
: Bearno, Gascon
Gascon language
Gascon is usually considered as a dialect of Occitan, even though some specialists regularly consider it a separate language. Gascon is mostly spoken in Gascony and Béarn in southwestern France and in the Aran Valley of Spain...
: Bearn or Biarn) were the rulers of a former province of France, located in the Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
mountains and in the plain at their feet, in southwest France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Along with the three Basque
Northern Basque Country
The French Basque Country or Northern Basque Country situated within the western part of the French department of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques constitutes the north-eastern part of the Basque Country....
provinces of Soule
Soule
Soule is a former viscounty and French province and part of the present day Pyrénées-Atlantiques département...
, Lower Navarre
Lower Navarre
Lower Navarre is a part of the present day Pyrénées Atlantiques département of France. Along with Navarre of Spain, it was once ruled by the Kings of Navarre. Lower Navarre was historically one of the kingdoms of Navarre. Its capital were Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and Saint-Palais...
, and Labourd
Labourd
Labourd is a former French province and part of the present-day Pyrénées Atlantiques département. It is historically one of the seven provinces of the traditional Basque Country....
, as well as small parts of Gascony
Gascony
Gascony is an area of southwest France that was part of the "Province of Guyenne and Gascony" prior to the French Revolution. The region is vaguely defined and the distinction between Guyenne and Gascony is unclear; sometimes they are considered to overlap, and sometimes Gascony is considered a...
, it forms the current département of Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Pyrénées-Atlantiques
Pyrénées-Atlantiques is a department in the southwest of France which takes its name from the Pyrenees mountains and the Atlantic Ocean.- History :...
(64).
Béarn is bordered by Basque provinces Soule
Soule
Soule is a former viscounty and French province and part of the present day Pyrénées-Atlantiques département...
and Lower Navarre
Lower Navarre
Lower Navarre is a part of the present day Pyrénées Atlantiques département of France. Along with Navarre of Spain, it was once ruled by the Kings of Navarre. Lower Navarre was historically one of the kingdoms of Navarre. Its capital were Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and Saint-Palais...
to the west, by Gascony (Landes
Landes forest
The Landes forest or the Landes of Gascony , in the historic Gascony region of southwestern France now known as Aquitaine, is the largest maritime-pine forest in Europe...
and Armagnac
Armagnac (region)
The hilly countship of Armagnac , in the foothills of the Pyrenées between the Adour and Garonne rivers, is a historic countship of the Duchy of Gascony, established in 601 in Aquitaine...
) to the north, by Bigorre
Bigorre
Bigorre is region in southwest France, historically an independent county and later a French province, located in the upper watershed of the Adour, on the northern slopes of the Pyrenees, part of the larger region known as Gascony...
to the east, and by Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
(Aragon
Aragon
Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza...
) to the south.
House of Béarn
- ?-866866Year 866 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar.- Asia :* Fujiwara no Yoshifusa becomes regent of Japan, starting the Fujiwara regentship.- Europe :...
: 1st Centule I - 866866Year 866 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar.- Asia :* Fujiwara no Yoshifusa becomes regent of Japan, starting the Fujiwara regentship.- Europe :...
-905905Year 905 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar.- Africa :* The Abbasid Caliphate re-establishes control of Egypt from the Tulunids.- Asia :...
: 2nd Lupus (son) - 905905Year 905 was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar.- Africa :* The Abbasid Caliphate re-establishes control of Egypt from the Tulunids.- Asia :...
-940940Year 940 was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar.- Asia :* Saadia Gaon compiles his siddur in Iraq.* Narita-san Temple is founded in Chiba, Japan....
: 3rd Centule II (son) - 940940Year 940 was a leap year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar.- Asia :* Saadia Gaon compiles his siddur in Iraq.* Narita-san Temple is founded in Chiba, Japan....
-984984Year 984 was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar.- Asia :* Emperor Kazan succeeds Emperor En'yū on the throne of Japan....
: 4th Gaston I (son) - 984984Year 984 was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar.- Asia :* Emperor Kazan succeeds Emperor En'yū on the throne of Japan....
-1004 : 5th Centule III (son) - 1004-1012 : 6th Gaston IIGaston II of BéarnGaston II Centule was the Viscount of Béarn from 996 to his death. He succeeded his father Centule III after the latter's assassination at the hands of Lupus the Strong, Lord of Serres....
(son) - 1012-1058 : 7th Centule IVCentule IV of BéarnCentule IV Gaston , called the Old, was the seventh Viscount of Béarn from 1012 to his death.He succeeded his father Gaston II while yet a minor, under a regency until 1022....
(son)- until 1045 : 8th Gaston IIIGaston III of BéarnGaston III was the Viscount of Béarn in association with his father Centule IV. His mother was Angela of Oloron. Despite the fact that he predeceased his father, Pierre de Marca proposed the hypothesis that he was associated with his father in the seventeenth century...
(son)
- until 1045 : 8th Gaston III
- 1058-1090 : 9th Centule VCentule V of BéarnCentule V , called the Young, was the Viscount of Béarn from 1058 to his death. Centule increased the autonomy of the viscounts of Béarn and distanced them from the dukes of Aquitaine, to whom they owed theoretical vassalage...
(son) - 1090-1131 : 10th Gaston IVGaston IV of BéarnGaston IV was viscount of Béarn from 1090 to 1131. He was called "le Croisé" due to his participation in the First Crusade....
- the Crusader (son) - 1131-1134 : 11th Centule VICentule VI of BéarnCentule VI was the Viscount of Béarn from 1131 to his death. Like his father, he was an ideal Christian prince for his age, ready to serve the Church in the Reconquista....
(son) - 1134-1154 : 12th GuiscardaGuiscarda of BéarnGuiscarda was the eldest child of Gaston IV of Béarn and Talesa of Aragon. She later succeeded her younger brother Centule VI as viscountess in 1134....
(daughter, married Peter I Roger of Gabarret)
House of Gabarret
- 1134-1153 : 13th Peter II (son)
- 1153-1170 : 14th Gaston V (son)
- 1170-1171 : 15th Mary (sister, who married Guillem I of Montcada)
Probably legendary
- 1171-1171 : Theobald of BéarnTheobald of BéarnTheobald was the probably legendary Viscount of Béarn in 1171. He was from Bigorre. The story of his succession to Béarn is probably not reliable and is likely a later invention....
(from Bigorre) - 1171-1173 : SentongeSentonge of BéarnSentonge was the probably legendary Viscount of Béarn from 1171 until his execution two years later. He was from Auvergne. The story of his succession to Béarn is probably not reliable and is likely a later invention....
(from Auvergne)
House of Montcada
- 1170-1173 : 16th William I (married to)
- 1173-1215 : 17th Gaston VIGaston VI of BéarnGaston VI , called the Good, was the Viscount of Béarn, Gabardan, and Brulhois from 1173. He was also Count of Bigorre and Viscount of Marsan through his marriage in 1196 to Petronilla of Bigorre, the daughter of Countess Stephanie of Bigorre....
(son) - 1215-1223 : 18th William Raymond (brother of previous)
- 1223-1229 : 19th William II (son)
- 1229-1290 : 20th Gaston VII (son)
- 1290-1319 : 21st Margaret (daughter of, married Roger-Bernard III of FoixRoger-Bernard III of FoixRoger-Bernard III 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 him in captivity for a time...
)
House of Foix-Béarn
- 1302-1315 : 22nd Gaston VIII (son of, also count of Foix)
- 1315-1343 : 23rd Gaston IX (son of, also count of Foix)
- 1343-1391 : 24th Gaston XGaston III of Foix-BéarnGaston III/X of Foix-Béarn, also Gaston Fébus or Gaston Phoebus was the 11th count of Foix, and viscount of Béarn . Officially, he was Gaston III of Foix and Gaston X of Béarn.-Early life:...
- Phoebus [or Fébus] of Foix-Béarn (son of, also count of Foix) - 1391-1398 : 25th Matthew (son of Roger Bernard II, viscount of Castelbon, who was son of Roger Bernard I, viscount of Castelbon, who was younger brother of Gaston II of Foix-Béarn, also count of Foix and viscount of Castelbon)
- 1398-1412 : 26th Isabelle (sister of, also countess of Foix) and viscountess of Castelbon, married Archambaud of Grailly)
House of Foix-Grailly
- 1412-1436 : 27th John I (son of, also count of Foix, viscount of Villemur and count of Bigorre)
- 1436-1472 : 28th Gaston XI (son of, also count of Foix, viscount of Nébouzan and count of Bigorre, married Eleanor of NavarreEleanor of NavarreEleanor of Aragon , Regent and the queen regnant of Navarre in 1479...
, queen of Navarre) (References to "Gaston of Bearn" in history texts often refer to him) - 1479-1483 : 29th Francis Phoebus (son of Gaston of Foix, prince of Viane, also king of Navarre, count of Bigorre, count of Foix))
- 1483-1517 : 30th CatherineCatherine of NavarreCatherine was Queen of Navarre , duchess of Gandia, Montblanc, and Peñafiel, countess of Foix, Bigorre, and Ribagorza, and viscountess of Béarn.- Biography :...
(sister of, also queen of Navarre, countess of Bigorre, countess of Foix), married John of Albret, king of NavarreJohn III of NavarreJohn III , also known as Jean d'Albret, was jure uxoris, King consort of the Queen regnant Catherine of Navarre.He was a son of Alain I of Albret, Lord of Albret, and his wife, Frances of Châtillon-Limoges.-King of Navarre:...
In 1512 Ferdinand II of Aragon
Ferdinand II of Aragon
Ferdinand the Catholic was King of Aragon , Sicily , Naples , Valencia, Sardinia, and Navarre, Count of Barcelona, jure uxoris King of Castile and then regent of that country also from 1508 to his death, in the name of...
conquered the better part of the kingdom of Navarre
Kingdom of Navarre
The Kingdom of Navarre , originally the Kingdom of Pamplona, was a European kingdom which occupied lands on either side of the Pyrenees alongside the Atlantic Ocean....
, leaving the kingdom with only the small section it held north of the Pyrenees.
House of Albret
- Main article: House of Albret and AlbretAlbretThe lordship of Albret , situated in the Landes, gave its name to one of the most powerful feudal families of France in the Middle Ages...
- 1517-1555 : 31st Henri IHenry II of NavarreHenry II was the eldest son of John III of Navarre and Catherine I of Navarre, sister and heiress of Francis Phoebus, King of Navarre; he was born at Sangüesa.-King of Navarre:...
(son of, also king of Navarre, count of Foix, duke of Albret, count of Bigorre) - 1555-1572 : 32nd Jeanne (daughter of, queen of Navarre, countess of Foix, duchess of Albret, countess of Bigorre, married Anthony of Bourbon)
House of Bourbon
.svg.png)
- 1572-1607 : 33rd Henri IIHenry IV of FranceHenry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
(son of, also king of France, king of Navarre, duke of Bourbon, duke of Vendôme, count of Bigorre, count of Foix)
In 1620 the viscountcy of Béarn
Viscountcy of Béarn
The viscountcy of Béarn is a former province of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in southwest France...
was reunited to the French crown, whereas Lower Navarre
Lower Navarre
Lower Navarre is a part of the present day Pyrénées Atlantiques département of France. Along with Navarre of Spain, it was once ruled by the Kings of Navarre. Lower Navarre was historically one of the kingdoms of Navarre. Its capital were Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and Saint-Palais...
was in 1607.
See also
- BéarnBéarnBéarn is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in southwest France. Along with the three Basque provinces of Soule, Lower Navarre, and Labourd, the principality of Bidache, as well as small parts of Gascony, it forms in the...
- Viscountcy of BéarnViscountcy of BéarnThe viscountcy of Béarn is a former province of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in southwest France...
- Fors de BéarnFors de BearnThe Fors de Bearn, or fueros of Béarn, are a series of legal texts compiled over centuries in the Viscounty of Béarn...
- FoixFoixFoix is a commune, the capital of the Ariège department in southwestern France. It is the least populous administrative centre of a department in all of France, although it is only very slightly smaller than Privas...
- County of FoixCounty of FoixThe 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 ....
- Counts of FoixCounts of FoixThe counts of Foix ruled the independent County of Foix, in what is now southern France, during the Middle Ages. Later they extended their power to almost the entire Pyrenees mountain range, moving their court to Pau, in Béarn, until eventually the last count of Foix acceded to the French throne as...