John of Foix, Viscount of Narbonne

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John of Foix (1450 – 1500, Etamps, France) was a younger son of Gaston IV of Foix and Queen Eleanor of Navarre. His elder brother was Gaston, Prince of Viana[1].

He received the Viscounty of Narbonne from his father. He was on good terms with both Louis XI of France and Louis XII of France. He married Marie of Orleans, sister of Louis XII, in 1476. They had two children:

  • Germaine de Foix (1488 - 1538), who married Ferdinand II of Aragon, and whose relationship to the Navarrese throne was used as an excuse by Ferdinand to claim the throne of Navarre.
  • Gaston de Foix (1489 - 1512), who served as a general for his uncle Louis XII, dying in battle in Italy

Following the death of his nephew, Francis I of Navarre in 1483, John claimed Navarre as the next male in the succession, challenging Francis' sister and heiress, Catherine I of Navarre[2]. Although the Salic law had never been enforced in the Kingdom of Navarre, the result of this claim was a civil war in Navarre, which only ended in Catherine's favour in 1497, with John being forced to give up his claim. He died three years later.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Gaston IV, Comte de Foix
  2. ^ Stuart Carroll (2006). Blood and Violence in Early Modern France. Oxford University Press, p.43.