Gaston II (Foix)

Foix-Béarn coat of arms

Gaston II. (* 1308 ; † September 26, 1343 ), called the Brave (le Preux), was Count of Foix , Vice-Count of Béarn (as Gaston IX) and Marsan and co-lord of Andorra from 1315 until his death . He was the eldest son of his predecessor, Count Gaston I, and his wife Jeanne d'Artois.

Since Gaston II was only seven years old when his father died, his mother and grandmother took over the reign for him, which was not without friction between the two women. In 1329 Gaston finally took over the government himself and moved the seat of the count's house from his old ancestral castle Foix to Orthez in Gascogni .

Throughout his life, Gaston was involved in conflicts with the Counts of Armagnac who made claims on the Béarn, but Gaston enjoyed the favor of King Philip VI. of France . The dispute was provisionally settled in 1329 after papal mediation by Bertrandus de Deocio. Then Gaston got into a power struggle with his mother Jeanne d'Artois, who had already caused unrest during the reign of his father. Gaston won the fight by imprisoning his mother in Foix Castle in 1331 with royal approval. Only in 1347 did he release her after mediation by his brother Robert.

Although Gaston as Vice Count of Béarn and Marsan a vassal of the English King Edward III. At the outbreak of the Hundred Years War he sided with the French king and supported him in the occupation of the Guyenne, where he took the castle of Tartas in 1339 . For his services, Gaston was with the lucrative post of royal Lieutenant-General of the Languedoc and Gascony considered. The county of Foix was subordinated to the Sénéchaussée of Toulouse and Gaston was also enfeoffed with the vice-county of Lautrec . He also supported his cousin King Jacob III. of Mallorca against the expansion efforts of King Peter IV of Aragon .

Then he participated on the side of King Alfonso XI. of Castile in his fight against the Moors , where he died off Algeciras on September 26, 1343. His body was transferred to the Abbey of Boulbonne where his ancestors were already resting.

Marriage and offspring

Count Gaston II had been married to Aliénor, a daughter of Bernard VII , Count von Comminges , since 1327 . The couple's only child was:

• Gaston III. Fébus (* 1331; † 1391), successor as Count of Foix, Vice Count of Béarn and Marsan, and co-lord of Andorra

In addition, four illegitimate children are known of Gaston II:

• Arnaud Guillaume (X 1391), ∞ Jeanne de Morlanes
• Bearnese (Marqueze) († before 1412), ∞ Raymond Roger II. De Castelnau-Tursan
• Pierre, ∞ Florencia de Aragón, granddaughter of King Alfonso IV of Aragon
• Marguerite, ∞ Jean de Châteauverdun, Lord of Caumont

Web links

• "Short biography of Gaston II. Von Foix" (French)

predecessor	Office	successor
Gaston I./VIII./I.	Count of Foix 1315-1343	Gaston III./X./III.
Gaston I./VIII./I.	Vice Count of Béarn 1315–1343	Gaston III./X./III.
Gaston I./VIII./I.	Co-Prince of Andorra 1315–1343	Gaston III./X./III.