Isabella, Countess of Foix

Isabella
suo jure Countess of Foix
Seal of Isabella
Reign 1399-1428
Spouse(s) Archambaud de Grailly
Issue
John I, Count of Foix
Gaston of Foix
Archambaud of Foix
Matthew of Foix
Peter, Archbishop of Arles
Noble family Foix
Father Roger Bernard IV, Viscount of Castelbon
Mother Gerauda of Navailles
Born before 2 November 1361
Died 1428
Burial Abbey of Boulbonne

Isabella of Foix also known as Isabella of Foix-Castelbon (before 2 November 1361-1428) was the daughter of Roger Bernard IV, Viscount of Castelbon and his wife Gerauda of Navailles. She was Countess of Foix in her own right, but shared power with her husband. She succeeded as Countess, along with her husband upon the childless death of her brother Matthew, Count of Foix.

Contents

Family

Isabella was the eldest of three children, her two brothers were the aforementioned Matthew and Roger Bernard, who died young. Isabella inherited since neither brothers left children.

Isabella's paternal grandparents were Roger Bernard III, Viscount of Castelbon and his wife Constance de Luna, daughter of Artal de Luna and Constance Perez of Aragon. Roger Bernard III was son of Gaston I of Foix and his wife Jeanne of Artois, daughter of Robert of Artois and Blanche of Brittany.

Isabella's maternal grandparents were Garcie Arnaud IV, Baron de Navailles and his wife Béarnaise de Miramont.[1]

Life

Isabella married in 1381 to Archambaud de Grailly. After the death of her younger brother Matthew in 1398, who had tried to claim the Aragonese crown for his wife Joanna; Isabella was last living member of the House of Foix and was heiress of a large ownership which focused especially on the northern slopes of the Pyrenees. This heritage was to be denied to Isabella by the French Crown because of her marriage to Archambaud, whose family had been supporters of the English during the Hundred Years' War. Charles VI of France wanted to prevent Foix from falling under influence of England, so a Royal Army under the leadership of the Constable de Sancerre invaded Foix and occupied large portions. In this situation, Isabella and her husband were willing to submit to the French Crown. The Treaty of Tarbes on 10 May 1399 saw Isabella made Countess as long as her husband stopped his alliance with the English and allow the two elder sons of the couple to be taken to Royal Court.

The fate of the new Foix dynasty during the French feudal was reflected in its name because Isabella's descendants renounced the leadership of the name and coat of arms of Grailly in favor of the House of Foix's. The loyalty of the new Dynasty of Foix to France was awarded in 1412, when Archambaud was appointed Lieutenant-General of the Languedoc.[2] In 1402 Isabella and her husband arranged the marriage for their eldest son, John to the eldest daughter of Charles III of Navarre, Joan, who was formally recognised as heiress to the Kingdom later that year. This marriage hoped to make a union between Foix and Navarre. However, in 1413, Joan died leaving no issue and John a widower, all hope of a union had now failed.

Foix was a neighbour of the Kingdom of Aragon, the conditions were relaxed after 1400 when Martin of Aragon refunded Isabella the County of Castelbon which the King had withdrawn from her brother 1386, after he fought for the crown.

Archambaud died in 1413, Isabella died in 1428 and was buried in the Abbey of Boulbonne, the resting place of her ancestors.

Children

The couple were married for around thirty-two years, in which time they had five sons:

Ancestry

References

Isabella, Countess of Foix
House of Foix-Castelbón
Cadet branch of the House of Foix
Born: bef. 2 November 1361 Died: circa 1428
French nobility
Preceded by
Matthew
Countess of Foix; Viscountess of Béarn, Marsan, Bruilhois, Gabardan, Nébouzan, Lautrec, Terres-Basses d'Albigeois; Co-Princess of Andorra
1398-1428
with Archambaud (1398–1412)
John I (1412–1428)
Succeeded by
John I
Viscountess of Castelbón; Baroness of Castelviel, Rosanes, Martorell, Montcada, Navailles and Sault
1398-1428
Vacant
Title last held by
Rose d'Albret
Countess consort of Benauges, Lavaux and Longueville; Lady of Grailly, Rolle, Ville-la-Grand, and Lavaux
1381-1412
Succeeded by
Joan of Navarre
This article incorporates information from the revision as of 06 November 2010 of the equivalent article on the German Wikipedia.