1.
Roncesvalles
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Roncesvalles is a small village and municipality in Navarre, northern Spain. It is situated on the small river Urrobi at an altitude of some 900 metres in the Pyrenees, about 4 kilometres from the French frontier as the crow flies and he was described as a noble knight. The small collegiate church contains several relics associated with Roland. The battle is said to have fought in the valley known as Valcarlos, which is now occupied by a hamlet bearing the same name. Both of these are traversed by the road leading north from Roncesvalles to Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. Every year thousands of pilgrims begin their way to Santiago de Compostela at Roncesvalles, the area was also the site of the 1813 Battle of Roncesvalles during the Peninsular War. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh. The Colegiata of Roncesvalles Orreaga / Roncesvalles in online Basque encyclopedia
2.
Nobility
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The privileges associated with nobility may constitute substantial advantages over or relative to non-nobles, or may be largely honorary, and vary from country to country and era to era. There is often a variety of ranks within the noble class. g, san Marino and the Vatican City in Europe. Hereditary titles often distinguish nobles from non-nobles, although in many nations most of the nobility have been un-titled, some countries have had non-hereditary nobility, such as the Empire of Brazil. The term derives from Latin nobilitas, the noun of the adjective nobilis. In modern usage, nobility is applied to the highest social class in pre-modern societies and it rapidly came to be seen as a hereditary caste, sometimes associated with a right to bear a hereditary title and, for example in pre-revolutionary France, enjoying fiscal and other privileges. Nobility is a historical, social and often legal notion, differing from high socio-economic status in that the latter is based on income. Being wealthy or influential cannot, ipso facto, make one noble, various republics, including former Iron Curtain countries, Greece, Mexico, and Austria have expressly abolished the conferral and use of titles of nobility for their citizens. Not all of the benefits of nobility derived from noble status per se, usually privileges were granted or recognised by the monarch in association with possession of a specific title, office or estate. Most nobles wealth derived from one or more estates, large or small and it also included infrastructure such as castle, well and mill to which local peasants were allowed some access, although often at a price. Nobles were expected to live nobly, that is, from the proceeds of these possessions, work involving manual labour or subordination to those of lower rank was either forbidden or frowned upon socially. In some countries, the lord could impose restrictions on such a commoners movements. Nobles exclusively enjoyed the privilege of hunting, in France, nobles were exempt from paying the taille, the major direct tax. In some parts of Europe the right of war long remained the privilege of every noble. During the early Renaissance, duelling established the status of a respectable gentleman, Nobility came to be associated with social rather than legal privilege, expressed in a general expectation of deference from those of lower rank. By the 21st century even that deference had become increasingly minimised, in France, a seigneurie might include one or more manors surrounded by land and villages subject to a nobles prerogatives and disposition. Seigneuries could be bought, sold or mortgaged, if erected by the crown into, e. g. a barony or countship, it became legally entailed for a specific family, which could use it as their title. Yet most French nobles were untitled, in other parts of Europe, sovereign rulers arrogated to themselves the exclusive prerogative to act as fons honorum within their realms. Nobility might be inherited or conferred by a fons honorum
3.
Eleanor of Navarre
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Eleanor of Aragon, was the regent of Navarre from 1455 to 1479, then briefly the queen regnant of Navarre in 1479. She was crowned on 28 January 1479 in Tudela and she was born in Olite, Navarre, the third and youngest child of King John II of Aragon and Queen Blanche I of Navarre and the younger sister of Blanche II of Navarre. She was born 2 February 1426, and was acclaimed by the Cortes in Pamplona,9 August 1427, as the heir of Charles IV. After their mothers death, however, their father occupied Navarre and she married Gaston IV, Count of Foix, in 1441. In 1442, Eleanor moved with her spouse to Bearn, in 1455, her father deposed her brother and her sister as heirs of Navarre and proclaimed Eleanor as the heir and the regent and general governor of Navarre, and she moved to Sangüesa. She continued as regent after the death of her brother in 1461, in 1462, she signed the treaty of Olite, where she recognized her father as the monarch of Navarre and accepted to have her sister Blanche imprisoned under her care. In 1464, Blanche died in her care, suspected to have been poisoned, by the treaty, she was recognized by her father as the heir of Navarre and his regent in Navarre. In 1468, her father killed her advisor Nicolas de Etchabarri, in 1471, however, her father recognized her as the governor of Navarre until his death. At her fathers death in 1479, she gave her oath as the monarch of Navarre, peter, cardinal and bishop of Arles, John, viscount of Narbonne, whose daughter Germaine of Foix was second wife to Ferdinand II of Aragon. Marie, married William VIII, marquess of Montferrat, joan, married John V, count of Armagnac. Margaret, married Francis II, duke of Brittany, Catherine, married Gaston II de Foix, Count of Candale and Benauges. Isabella, married Guy de Pons, viscount of Turenne, Eleanor, engaged firstly with Charles, duke de Guyenne and secondly with the duke of Medinacelli, but she died before the wedding. James, count of Cortes, married Catherine of Beaumont, anthony, Raoul, Identification et Etude des Ossements des Rois de Navarre inhumés dans la Cathédrale de Lescar, Paris, Masson,1931 Navarre Kings Genealogy
4.
County of Bigorre
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The County of Bigorre was a small feudatory of the Duchy of Aquitaine in the ninth through 15th centuries. The county was constituted out of the dowry of a Faquilène, an Aquitainian princess, for her husband Donatus Lupus I, the original Bigorre was considerable in size, but successive generations, following on Gascon traditions, gave out portions as appanages to younger sons. The county lost Lavedan, Aster, Aure, and Montaner in the first two generations. The original Gascon dynasty, probably descended from Lupus II of Gascony, died out in Bigorre in the 11th century, in the 12th century, it went to the house of Marsan and then of Comminges and in the thirteenth to that of Montfort. It was briefly in the hands of the Armagnacs and passed between English and French suzerainty during the Hundred Years War before finally being recovered by the French. In the 15th century, it fell to the House of Foix again, Donatus Lupus I. –910 Lupus I910 –930 Donatus Lupus II930 –. In 1360, the Treaty of Brétigny made it decisively French, in 1407, it belonged to Bernard VII of Armagnac, who sold it that year to John I, Count of Foix. From then on it is a title of the counts of Foix
5.
Co-Princes of Andorra
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The Co-Princes of Andorra are the two rulers of the Principality of Andorra, a landlocked microstate lying in the Pyrenees mountains between France and Spain. Founded in 1278 through a treaty between the Bishop of Urgell and the French Count of Foix, this unique arrangement has persisted through medieval times to the present day. The French president is also the person to be a monarch. Each Co-Prince appoints a representative, the French Co-Prince currently being represented by Jean-Pierre Hugues. Tradition holds that Charlemagne granted a charter to the Andorran people in return for their fighting against the Moors, the feudal overlord of this territory was at first the Count of Urgell. In 988, however, the count, Borrell II, gave Andorra to the Diocese of Urgell in exchange for land in Cerdanya, the Bishop of Urgell, based in Seu dUrgell, has ruled Andorra ever since. In 1095, the Lord and the Bishop signed a declaration of their co-sovereignty over Andorra, arnalda, daughter of Arnau of Caboet, married the Viscount of Castellbò, and both became Viscounts of Castellbò and Cerdanya. Their daughter, Ermessenda, married Roger Bernat II, the French Count of Foix and they became, respectively, count and countess of Foix, viscount and viscountess of Castellbò and Cerdanya, and also co-sovereigns of Andorra. In the 11th century, a dispute arose between the bishop of Urgell and the count of Foix, the conflict was mediated by Aragon in 1278, and led to the signing of the first paréage, which provided that Andorras sovereignty be shared between the count and the bishop. This gave the principality its territory and political form, and marked the commencement of Andorras unique monarchical arrangement. Over the years, the French title to Andorra passed from the counts of Foix to the kings of Navarre. After King Henry III of Navarre became King Henry IV of France, he issued an edict in 1607 establishing the King of France, in 1812–13, the First French Empire annexed Catalonia and divided it into four départements, with Andorra forming part of the district of Puigcerdà. Following the defeat of Napoleon I, this annexation was reversed and Andorra reverted to its former independence, the French head of state—whether king, emperor, or president—has continued to serve as a co-prince of Andorra ever since. On July 12,1934, Andorras monarchical system was challenged by an adventurer named Boris Skossyreff, though initially enjoying some support within Andorras political establishment, he was ultimately arrested by Spanish authorities on July 20 of that year after declaring war on the Bishop of Urgell. Skossyfreff was expelled, and was never considered to have been the Andorran monarch in any legal sense, before 1993, Andorra had no codified constitution, and the exact prerogatives of the co-princes were not specifically defined in law. It clarified the continuance of the unique Andorran monarchy, and also delineated the precise role and this medieval custom was subsequently abandoned in 1993. In 2009, French president Nicolas Sarkozy threatened to abdicate as Co-prince if the principality did not change its laws to eliminate its longstanding status as a tax haven. The Constitution of Andorra carefully defines the role and prerogatives of the co-princes of Andorra today
6.
Kingdom of Navarre
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The medieval Kingdom of Pamplona was formed when the native chieftain Íñigo Arista was elected or declared King in Pamplona, and led a revolt against the regional Frankish authority. The southern part of the kingdom was conquered by the Crown of Castile in 1512, the monarchs of this unified state took the title King of France and Navarre until its fall in 1792, and again during the Bourbon Restoration from 1814 until 1830. There are similar earlier toponyms but the first documentation of Latin navarros appears in Eginhards chronicle of the feats of Charles the Great, other Royal Frankish Annals give nabarros. Basque naba/Castilian nava + Basque herri, the linguist Joan Coromines consider naba as not clearly Basque in origin but as part of a wider pre-Roman substrate. The area was conquered by the Romans by 74 BC. It was first part of the Roman province of Citerior, then of the Tarraconensis province, after that it was part of the conventus Caesaraugustanus. The Roman empire influenced the area in urbanization, language, infrastructure, commerce, after the decline of the Western Roman Empire, neither the Visigoths nor the Arabs succeeded in permanently occupying the western Pyrenees. The western Pyrenees passages were the only ones allowing good transit through the mountains and that made the region strategically important from early in its history. The Franks under Charlemagne extended their influence and control towards the south, occupying several regions of the north and it is not clear how solid the Frankish control over Pamplona was. In response, the Cordoban Emirate launched a campaign to place the region under their firm control and it placed a muwallad governor, Mutarrif ibn Musa, in Pamplona. The same year the Basque leader, Jimeno the Strong, submitted to the Emir, in 799, Mutarrif ibn Musa was killed by a pro-Frankish faction whose leader Velasco gained control of the region. In 806 and 812 Pamplona fell into the Franks hands, due to difficulties at home, the Frankish rulers could not give full attention to the outlying borderlands, and the country gradually withdrew entirely from their allegiance. In 816, Louis the Pious removed Seguin as Duke of Vasconia, the rebel Garcia Jiménez arose in his place, and was killed in turn in 818. Louis son Pepin, then King of Aquitaine, stamped out the Vasconic revolt in Gascony and he next hunted the chieftains who had taken refuge in southern Vasconia, i. e. Pamplona and Navarre, no longer controlled by the Franks. He sent an army led by the counts Aeblus and Aznar-Sanchez, on the way back, however, they were ambushed and defeated in Roncesvaux by a probable joint Vasconic-Banu Qasi force. Out of this pattern of resistance against both Frankish and Cordoban interests, the Basque chieftain Íñigo Arista took power, tradition tells he was elected as king of Pamplona in 824, giving rise to a dynasty of kings in Pamplona that would last for eighty years. Pamplona and Navarre are cited as separate entities in a Frankish Carolingian chronicle, Pamplona is cited in 778 by another Frankish account as a Navarrese stronghold, while this may be put down to their vague knowledge of the Basque territory. They distinguished Navarre and its main town in 806 though, while the Chronicle of Fontenelle quotes Induonis et Mitionis, however, Arab chroniclers make no such distinctions, and just talk of the Baskunisi, a transliteration of Vascones, since a big majority of the population was Basque
7.
Charles I of Albret
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Charles dAlbret was Constable of France from 1402 until 1411, and again from 1413 until 1415. He fought under Bertrand du Guesclin as a young man and he was made the constable of France by Charles VI in 1402, but dismissed when the Burgundian faction gained power at court. He was restored to his office in 1413 when the Armagnac faction regained power, an important figure at the French court, he is the subject of two of Christine de Pizans Autres Ballades. Constable dAlbret was killed at Agincourt during the battle on 25 October 1415. He married, as her husband, Marie de Sully, daughter of Louis de Sully and Isabel de Craon, on 27 January 1400 and had issue, Jeanne dAlbret, married in 1422 John I. She was his wife, the only one of his three wives who bore him issue. Gaston IV of Foix was the eldest of their two sons, Charles II dAlbret, married Anne of Armagnac, the daughter of Bernard VII of Armagnac, Count of Charolais and Bonne of Berry, by whom he had seven children. Queen Jeanne III of Navarre was a notable descendant, guillaume dAlbret, Lord of Orval Jean dAlbret Catherine dAlbret, married Jean de Montagu, vidame of Laon and illegitimate son of Charles V of France. Constable Charles dAlbret plays a significant role in William Shakespeares play Henry V, as he does not die on stage, his death is portrayed in very different ways in film adaptations of the play. Constable dAlbret was portrayed by Leo Genn in the 1944 film Henry V, the film sets up dAlbret as the most militarily worthy of the French warriors, but with a sneering manner and a fierce and inhuman appearance in black armour with a pointed visor. He is killed in combat with Henry, played by Laurence Olivier. His distinctive black armour is later taken and worn by Ancient Pistol and he is played by Richard Easton in the 1989 film Henry V. Constable dAlbrets death at Agincourt is vividly depicted in the film which starred Kenneth Branagh in the title role. He is rescued mortally wounded from the battlefield, only to die in shamed despair among other shocked French aristocrats. In the 2012 TV film of Henry V, concluding the series The Hollow Crown and his death is portrayed in an unheroic light. The page is later revealed to be the Chorus, remembering the events as an old man after the disasters of Henry VIs reign
8.
Constable of France
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The Constable of France, as the First Officer of the Crown, was one of the original five Great Officers of the Crown of France and Commander in Chief of the army. He, theoretically, as Lieutenant-general of the King, outranked all the nobles and was only to the King. The Connétable de France was also responsible for justice and served to regulate the Chivalry. His jurisdiction was called the connestablie, the office was established by King Philip I in 1060 with Alberic becoming the first Constable. The position was replaced by the purely ceremonial title Dean of Marshals. The later title Marshal General of France or more precisely Marshal General of the Kings camps and armies was bestowed on outstanding military leaders. The recipient had authority over all the French armies and garrisons engaged in a war and was senior to the Maréchaux de France, the badge of office was a highly elaborate sword called Joyeuse, after the legendary sword of Charlemagne. Joyeuse was a made with fragments of different swords and used in the Sacre of the French Kings since at least 1271. It was contained in a blue scabbard embellished with fleur-de-lis in column from hilt to point, traditionally, the constable was presented with the sword on taking his office. He had the position of Lieutenant-General of the King, both within and without the kingdom, the constable had under his command all military officers, including the maréchaux, he was also responsible for the financing of the army, administering military justice within the host. The official name of the jurisdiction was la connétablie, which he exercised with the assistance of the Maréchaux de France and this paralleled the Court of the Lord Constable, later called curia militaris of Court of Chivalry, which existed in England at that time. Marshal of France At exceptional times the Marshal of France was senior to the Constable, porte-Oriflamme - a very prestigious honorary position, not a rank, which gave the right to carry the royal banner in battle. Grand Master of Crossbowmen Grand Master of Artillery, NOT UNDER THE AUTHORITY OF THE CONSTABLE, The title Lieutenant-general of the Realm was not a military rank. Note that there are gaps in the dates as the position was not always filled following the demise of its occupant, john Talbot, 1st Earl of Shrewsbury, 1445–1453 Louis de Luxembourg, Count of Saint-Pol, 1465–. Both titles were of a purely honorific nature and disappeared with the Napoleonic regime, if I Were King,1938, with François Villon, who was appointed by Louis XI, King of France to be Constable of France for one week. Various versions of Shakespeares play Henry V depict Constable Charles dAlbret, Comte de Dreux and he is played by Leo Genn in the 1944 film, by Richard Easton in the 1989 film, and by Maxime Lefrancois in the 2012 film. In the 1944 film he dies in combat with King Henry. In the 1989 film he is depicted as falling from his horse into the mud, in the 2012 film he is shot by a longbowman after stabbing the Duke of York in the back in woodland away from the main battle
9.
Battle of Agincourt
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The Battle of Agincourt was a major English victory in the Hundred Years War. The battle took place on Friday,25 October 1415 in the County of Saint-Pol, Artois, Henry V led his troops into battle and participated in hand-to-hand fighting. The French king of the time, Charles VI, did not command the French army himself as he suffered from severe psychotic illnesses with moderate mental incapacitation, instead, the French were commanded by Constable Charles dAlbret and various prominent French noblemen of the Armagnac party. This battle is notable for the use of the English longbow in very large numbers, the battle is the centrepiece of the play Henry V by William Shakespeare. The Battle of Agincourt is well documented by at least seven contemporary accounts, the approximate location of the battle has never been in dispute and the place remains relatively unaltered even after 600 years. Two of the most frequently cited accounts come from Burgundian sources, one from Jean Le Fèvre de Saint-Remy, who was present at the battle, Henry V invaded France following the failure of negotiations with the French. He initially called a Great Council in the spring of 1414 to discuss going to war with France, Henry would marry Princess Catherine, the young daughter of Charles VI, and receive a dowry of 2 million crowns. The French responded with what they considered the terms of marriage with Princess Catherine, a dowry of 600,000 crowns. By 1415, negotiations had ground to a halt, with the English claiming that the French had mocked their claims and ridiculed Henry himself. In December 1414, the English parliament was persuaded to grant Henry a double subsidy, on 19 April 1415, Henry again asked the Great Council to sanction war with France, and this time they agreed. The siege took longer than expected, the town surrendered on 22 September, and the English army did not leave until 8 October. The campaign season was coming to an end, and the English army had suffered many casualties through disease and he also intended the manoeuvre as a deliberate provocation to battle aimed at the dauphin, who had failed to respond to Henrys personal challenge to combat at Harfleur. The French had raised an army during the siege which assembled around Rouen and this was not strictly a feudal army, but an army paid through a system similar to the English. The French hoped to raise 9,000 troops, but the army was not ready in time to relieve Harfleur, after Henry V marched to the north, the French moved to block them along the River Somme. They were successful for a time, forcing Henry to move south, away from Calais, the English finally crossed the Somme south of Péronne, at Béthencourt and Voyennes and resumed marching north. Without a river obstacle to defend, the French were hesitant to force a battle and they shadowed Henrys army while calling a semonce des nobles, calling on local nobles to join the army. By 24 October, both faced each other for battle, but the French declined, hoping for the arrival of more troops. The two armies spent the night of 24 October on open ground, the English had very little food, had marched 260 miles in two and a half weeks, were suffering from sickness such as dysentery, and faced much larger numbers of well equipped French men at arms
10.
John II of Aragon and Navarre
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John II, called the Great or the Faithless, was the King of Navarre through his wife from 1425 and the King of Aragon in his own right from 1458 until his death. He was the son of Ferdinand I and his wife Eleanor of Alburquerque, John was born at Medina del Campo. In his youth he was one of the infantes of Aragon who took part in the dissensions of Castile during the minority, till middle life he was also lieutenant-general in Aragon for his brother and predecessor Alfonso V, whose reign was mainly spent in Italy. His troubles with his subjects were closely connected with tragic dissensions within his own family, John was first married to Blanche I of Navarre of the house of Évreux. By right of Blanche he became king of Navarre, and on her death in 1441 he was left in possession of the kingdom for his lifetime, but one son, Charles, given the title Prince of Viana as heir of Navarre, had been born of the marriage. John quickly came to regard this son with jealousy, after his second marriage, to Juana Enríquez, it grew into absolute hatred, being encouraged by Juana. John tried to deprive his son of his right to act as lieutenant-general of Aragon during his fathers absence. Charless cause was taken up by the Aragonese, however, there followed the long Navarrese Civil War, with alternations of success and defeat, ending only with the death of the prince of Viana, perhaps by poison administered by his stepmother in 1461. The Catalans, who had adopted the cause of Charles and who had grievances of their own and his last years John spent contending with these. He was forced to pawn Roussillon, his possession on the north-east of the Pyrenees, to King Louis XI of France, in his old age John was blinded by cataracts, but recovered his eyesight by the operation of couching conducted by his physician Abiathar Crescas, a Jew. The Catalan revolt was pacified in 1472, but John carried on a war, in which he was generally unfortunate and he was succeeded by Ferdinand, his son by his second marriage, who was already married to Isabella I of Castile. With his death and sons accession to the throne of Aragon, illegitimate children, Alfonso de Aragón y de Escobar, Duke of Villahermosa Juan de Aragón, Archbishop of Zaragoza Phillipe del Radona Rivadeneyra. Cronicas de los reyes de Castilla, Biblioteca de autores espanoles, history of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella. This article incorporates text from a now in the public domain, Chisholm, Hugh
11.
Blanche I of Navarre
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Blanche I was Queen of Navarre from 1425 to 1441. She became queen regnant upon the death of her father King Charles III of Navarre and she served as Regent of Sicily in 1404–05 and in 1408–15. Blanche was the second eldest daughter of King Charles III of Navarre and she became heir to the throne of Navarre on the death of her elder sister, Joan, in 1413. Blanche married firstly Martin the Younger, King of Sicily and Prince of Aragon and they were married by proxy on 21 May 1402 in Catania. Blanche traveled to meet Martin, and they were married in person on 26 December 1402, the bride was about fifteen years old and the groom twenty-eight. Martin had been in need of legitimate heirs, as he had survived his previous wife and former co-ruler, Queen Maria of Sicily, from October 1404 to August 1405, she served as regent of Sicily during the absence of her spouse in Aragon. From August 1408 to July 1409, she served as regent of Sicily during the absence of her spouse in Sardinia, when Martin died on 25 July 1409, he was succeeded by his own father, Martin I of Aragon. Her former father-in-law allowed her to continue as regent of Sicily, with the victory of Ferdinand I in Aragon, Blanche lost her regency power in Siciliy, which was annexed to Aragon in November 1415, and left for Navarre. Blanche returned to Navarre where she was sworn in as heir to the throne in Olito the 28 October 1415, and was given allegiance by the lords. On 6 November 1419, Blanche married her husband, John, duke of Peñafiel. Ferdinand had succeeded his maternal uncle Martin I in 1412, on 10 June 1420, they were married in person in Pamplona. The couple first lived in Peñafiel, but were called to live in Navarre by her father in 1422, Charles III died on 8 September 1425 and Blanche succeeded him as Queen regnant of Navarre. John became King of Navarre in her right as John II, Blanche died in Santa María la Real de Nieva in 1441. After her death, John kept the government of Navarre in his own hands, from the hands of their own son Charles of Viana and he would become King of Aragon and King of Sicily upon the death of his elder brother Alfonso V of Aragon in 1458. Blanche and Martin had one son, Infante Martin of Aragon, Blanche and John II of Aragon had four children, Charles of Navarre Joan of Navarre Blanche of Navarre, married Henry IV of Castile. After 13 years of marriage, Henry sought and obtained a divorce, Blanca was sent home, where her family imprisoned her, and she was later killed by poison. Due donne per un regno, Maria dAragona e Bianca di Navarra, Napoli, Liguori,2003 Blanca I de Navarra in Auñamendi Entziklopedia Marek, a listing of descedants of Philip III of Navarre
12.
Charles, Prince of Viana
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Charles, Prince of Viana, sometimes called Charles IV of Navarre, was the son of King John II of Aragon and Queen Blanche I of Navarre. His mother was the daughter and heiress of Charles III, King of Navarre, agnes died, childless, on 6 April 1448, eight years after her marriage to Charles, aged only about twenty-six. After her death, the took a mistress, Brianda de Vaca. A match was agreed between Charles and the Infanta Catherine of Portugal, daughter of King Edward I, but the marriage was delayed and had not taken place when Charles died in 1461. When Joanna began to interfere in the affairs of Navarre, a civil war broke out. Released upon promising not to take the title until after his fathers death. In 1458 Alfonso died and John became king of Aragon, while Charles was offered the crowns of Naples and he declined these proposals, and having been reconciled with his father returned to Navarre in 1459. Aspiring to marry Isabella of Castile, he was thrown into prison by his father. This insurrection soon became general and John was obliged to yield and he released his son, and recognized him as perpetual governor of Catalonia, and heir to the kingdom. Soon afterwards, however, on 23 September 1461, the prince died at Barcelona, not without a suspicion that he had been poisoned by his stepmother, Charles was a cultured and amiable prince, fond of music and literature. He translated Aristotles Ethics into Aragonese, a work first published at Zaragoza in 1509, and wrote a chronicle of the kings of Navarre, Cronica de los reyes de Navarra
13.
Blanche II of Navarre
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Blanche II of Navarre, titular queen of Navarre, was the daughter of John II of Aragon and Blanche I of Navarre. She was also Princess of Asturias by marriage, Blanche was born on 9 June 1424 in Olite, Navarre. In 1427, she, her brother Charles, and her sister Eleanor, were proclaimed the rightful heirs of the kingdom of Navarre, Blanche was promised to the heir of Castile in the peace treaty between Navarre and Castile in 1436. She married Henry IV of Castile in 1440, the marriage was reputedly never consummated. In 1453, after thirteen years, Henry sought the annulment of the marriage, an official examination confirmed the virginity of Blanche. A divorce was granted by the Pope on the grounds that some witchcraft had prevented Henry from consummating the marriage, after this, Blanche was sent home to Navarre, where she was imprisoned by her family, from 1462, she was under the custody of her sister. She remained childless throughout her life, after the death of her brother in 1461, some Navarrese dissatisfied elements and some of the anti-Aragonese party regarded Blanche as the rightful monarch, as they had regarded Charles. She would have thus become Blanche II of Navarre, had not her father already had her incarcerated and thus not capable to act. John tried to marry her to Charles, Duke of Berry, and younger brother of Louis XI of France to make an alliance, but Blanche refused, and her act irritated her father John. In 1464, she came back to Pamplona with the help of its bishop Nicolas de Etchabarri, murdered short after and she died by poison in Orthez less than a month later. Both her father and her sister Eleanor are suggested to have responsible for her death. La Basse-Navarre dans la guerre de Navarre, récit historique, d’après Navarra, retrieved 22 April 2016 – via Tipirena. net
14.
Francis II, Duke of Brittany
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Francis II of Brittany was Duke of Brittany from 1458 to his death. He was the son of Richard of Brittany and the grandson of Duke John IV, a recurring theme in Francis life would be his quest to maintain the quasi-independence of Brittany from France. As such, his reign was characterised by conflicts with King Louis XI of France and with his daughter, Anne of France, the armed and unarmed conflicts between 1484-1488 have been called the Mad War and also the War of the Public Weal. Francis II was born on 23 June 1433 to Richard, Count of Étampes, Richard was the youngest son of John IV, Duke of Brittany. Richards older brothers John and Arthur both succeeded their father as duke, but upon Arthurs death in 1458, the legitimate male heir was his nephew. Francis II serendipitously became the protector of Englands House of Lancaster in exile from 1471-1484, during the latter half of the 15th century, civil war existed in England as the Houses of York and Lancaster fought each other for the English throne. In 1471, the Yorkists defeated their rivals in the battles of Barnet, the Lancastrian King Henry VI and his only son, Edward of Lancaster, died in the aftermath of the Battle of Tewkesbury. Their deaths left the House of Lancaster with no direct claimants to the throne, the Yorkist king, Edward IV, was in complete control of England. He attainted those who refused to submit to his rule, such as Jasper Tudor and his nephew Henry, naming them as traitors and confiscating their lands. The Tudors tried to flee to France but strong winds forced them to land in the Duchy of Brittany, Henry Tudor, the only remaining Lancastrian noble with a trace of royal bloodline, had a weak claim to the throne, and Edward regarded him as a nobody. Francis II, however, viewed Henry as a tool to bargain for Englands aid in conflicts with France. In October 1483, Henry launched an invasion of England from Brittany. His fleet of 15 chartered vessels was scattered by a storm, Henry realized that the soldiers on shore were Richard IIIs men, and so he decided to abandon the invasion and return to Brittany. The Duke of Buckingham, who was Henrys main conspirator in England, was convicted of treason and beheaded in Salisbury on 2 November 1483, Henrys conspiracy against Richard III had unravelled, and without Buckingham or Henry, the rebellion was easily crushed. Survivors of the failed uprising then fled to Brittany, where they openly supported Henrys claim to the throne. On Christmas Day in 1483 at Rennes Cathedral, Henry Tudor swore an oath to marry Edward IVs daughter, Elizabeth of York, Henrys rising prominence made him a great threat to Richard III, and the Yorkist king made several overtures to Francis II to surrender the young Lancastrian. Francis II refused, holding out for the possibility of better terms from Richard, in mid-1484, Francis was incapacitated by illness and while recuperating, his treasurer, Pierre Landais, took over the reins of government. Landais reached an agreement with Richard III to send Henry and his back to England in exchange for military
15.
Anne of Brittany
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Anne of Brittany was Duchess of Brittany from 1488 until her death, and queen consort of France from 1491 to 1498 and from 1499 to her death. She is the woman to have been queen consort of France twice. During the Italian Wars, Anne also became queen consort of Naples, from 1501 to 1504, Anne was raised in Nantes during a series of conflicts in which the king of France sought to assert his suzerainty over Brittany. Her father, Francis II, Duke of Brittany, was the last male of the House of Montfort, upon his death in 1488, Anne became duchess regnant of Brittany, countess of Nantes, Montfort, and Richmond, and viscountess of Limoges. She was only 12 at that time, but she was already a coveted heiress because of Brittanys strategic position. The next year, she married Maximilian I of Austria by proxy and he started a military campaign which eventually forced the duchess to renounce her marriage. Anne eventually married Charles VIII in 1491, none of their children survived early childhood, and when the king died in 1498, the throne went to his cousin, Louis XII. Following an agreement made to secure the annexation of Brittany, Anne had to marry the new king, Louis XII was deeply in love with his wife and Anne had many opportunities to reassert the independence of her duchy. They had two daughters together and, although neither could succeed to the French throne due to the Salic Law, the eldest was proclaimed the heiress of Brittany. Anne managed to have her eldest daughter engaged to the future Charles V of Austria, grandchild of Maximilian I and this marriage later led to the formal union between France and Brittany. Anne is highly regarded in Brittany as a ruler who defended the duchy against France. In the Romantic period, she became a figure of Breton patriotism and she was honoured with many memorials and her artistic legacy is important in the Loire Valley, where she spent most of her life. She was notably responsible, with her husbands, for projects in the châteaux of Blois. Four years later, her parents had a daughter, Isabelle. Her mother died when she was little, while her father died when Anne was eleven years old and it is likely that she learned to read and write in French, and perhaps a little Latin. Contrary to what is claimed, it was unlikely that she learned Greek or Hebrew. She was raised by a governess, Françoise de Dinan, Lady of Chateaubriant, in addition, she had several tutors, including her butler and court poet, Jean Meschinot, who is thought to have taught her dancing, singing and music. The Treaty of Guérande in 1365, however, stated that in the absence of an heir from the House of Montfort
16.
Charles VIII of France
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Charles VIII, called the Affable, French, lAffable, was a monarch of the House of Valois who ruled as King of France from 1483 to his death in 1498. He succeeded his father Louis XI at the age of 13 and his elder sister Anne of France acted as regent jointly with her husband Peter II, Duke of Bourbon until 1491 when the young king turned 21 years of age. During Annes regency, the great lords rebelled against royal centralisation efforts in a known as the Mad War. Preoccupied by the succession in the Kingdom of Hungary, Maximilian failed to press his claim. Upon his marriage, Charles became administrator of Brittany and established a union that enabled France to avoid total encirclement by Habsburg territories. The coalition formed against the French invasion of 1494-98 finally drove out Charles army, Charles died in 1498 after accidentally striking his head on the lintel of a door. Since he had no heir, he was succeeded by his cousin Louis XII of France from the Orléans cadet branch of the House of Valois. Charles was born at the Château dAmboise in France, the surviving son of King Louis XI by his second wife Charlotte of Savoy. Charles succeeded to the throne on 30 August 1483 at the age of 13 and he was regarded by his contemporaries as possessing a pleasant disposition, but also as foolish and unsuited for the business of the state. She would rule as regent, together with her husband Peter of Bourbon, Charles was betrothed on 22 July 1483 to the 3-year-old Margaret of Austria, daughter of the Archduke Maximilian of Austria and Mary, Duchess of Burgundy. The marriage was arranged by Louis XI, Maximilian, and the Estates of the Low Countries as part of the 1482 Peace of Arras between France and the Duchy of Burgundy. Margaret brought the Counties of Artois and Burgundy to France as her dowry, in 1488, however, Francis II, Duke of Brittany, died in a riding accident, leaving his 11-year-old daughter Anne as his heiress. The Regent Anne of France and her husband Peter refused to countenance such a marriage, however, since it would place Maximilian and his family, the Habsburgs, on two French borders. The French army invaded Brittany, taking advantage of the preoccupation of Frederick III and his son with the succession to Mathias Corvinus. Anne of Brittany was forced to renounce Maximilian and agree to be married to Charles VIII instead, in December 1491, in an elaborate ceremony at the Château de Langeais, Charles and Anne of Brittany were married. The 14-year-old Duchess Anne, not happy with the arranged marriage, however, Charless marriage brought him independence from his relatives and thereafter he managed affairs according to his own inclinations. Queen Anne lived at the Clos Lucé in Amboise, there still remained the matter of Charles first betrothed, the young Margaret of Austria. Although the cancellation of her betrothal meant that she by rights should have returned to her family, Charles did not initially do so
17.
Louis XII of France
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Louis XII was a monarch of the House of Valois who ruled as King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Maria of Cleves, he succeeded his cousin Charles VIII, who died without a closer heir in 1498. Before his accession to the throne of France, he was known as Louis of Orléans and was compelled to be married to his disabled and supposedly sterile cousin Joan by his second cousin, king Louis XI. By doing so, Louis XI hoped to extinguish the Orléans cadet branch of the House of Valois, Louis of Orléans was one of the great feudal lords who opposed the French monarchy in the conflict known as the Mad War. At the royal victory in the Battle of Saint-Aubin-du-Cormier in 1488, Louis was captured and he subsequently took part in the Italian War of 1494–1498 as one of the French commanders. When Louis XII became king in 1498, he had his marriage with Joan annulled by Pope Alexander VI and instead married Anne of Brittany and this marriage allowed Louis to reinforce the personal Union of Brittany and France. Louis persevered in the Italian Wars, initiating a second Italian campaign for the control of the Kingdom of Naples, Louis conquered the Duchy of Milan in 1500 and pushed forward to the Kingdom of Naples, which fell to him in 1501. Proclaimed King of Naples, Louis faced a new coalition gathered by Ferdinand II of Aragon and was forced to cede Naples to Spain in 1504. A popular king, Louis was proclaimed Father of the People in 1506 by the Estates-General of Tours for his reduction of the tax known as taille, legal reforms, Louis XII died in 1515 without a male heir. He was succeeded by his cousin Francis from the Angoulême cadet branch of the House of Valois, Louis was born on 27 June 1462 in the Château de Blois, Touraine. The son of Charles, Duke of Orléans, and Marie of Cleves, however, Louis XI may have been more influenced in this opinion by his opposition to the entire Orleanist faction of the royal family than by the actual facts of this paternity case. Despite any alleged doubts that King Louis XI may have had, King Louis XI died on 30 August 1483. He was succeeded to the throne of France by his thirteen year-old son, nobody knew the direction which the new king would take in leading the kingdom. Accordingly, on 24 October 1483, a call went out for a convocation of the Estates General of the French kingdom, in January 1484, deputies of the Estates General began to arrive in Tours, France. The deputies represented three different estates in society, the First Estate was the Church, in France this meant the Roman Catholic Church. The Second Estate was composed of the nobility and the royalty of France, the Third Estate was generally composed of commoners and the class of traders and merchants in France. Louis, the current Duke of Orleans and future Louis XII, each estate brought their chief complaints to the Estates General in hopes to have some impact on the policies that the new King would pursue. The First Estate wanted a return to the Pragmatic Sanction, the Pragmatic Sanction had been first instituted by King Charles VII, the current King Charles VIIIs grandfather
18.
Pierre de Foix, le jeune
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Peter of Foix the Younger was a French Roman Catholic bishop and cardinal. Pierre de Foix was born in Pau on February 7,1449, the son of Gaston IV, Count of Foix and he was the nephew of Louis XI of France and the grand-nephew of Cardinal Pierre de Foix, le vieux. He studied at Paris and then at the University of Ferrara, after graduation, he traveled to Rome, where he delivered an oration before Pope Paul II and the College of Cardinals. He joined the Order of the Friars Minor at this time, the pope made him a protonotary apostolic. On May 17,1475, he was elected Bishop of Vannes, Pope Sixtus IV confirmed his appointment on March 11,1476 and Foix subsequently occupied this see until his death. On July 31,1475, he was also named Bishop of Aire, Pope Sixtus IV made him a cardinal deacon in the consistory of December 18,1476. He received the red hat and the deaconry of Santi Cosma e Damiano on January 15,1477 and he served as apostolic administrator of the see of Bayonne from May 5,1484 until his death. He did not participate in the conclave of 1484 that elected Pope Innocent VIII. He served as administrator of the metropolitan see of Palermo from May 14,1485 until July 6,1489. Around 1485, he brokered a deal between Charles VIII of France and Francis II, Duke of Brittany. He later entered Rome on January 27,1488 for an audience with the pope and he then traveled to the Kingdom of Naples to visit his friend Ferdinand I of Naples. He returned to Rome on October 15,1488, on July 6,1489, he was named apostolic administrator of the see of Malta, holding this position until his death. He died in Rome on August 10,1490 and he was buried in the church dedicated to St. Tryphon which has since been demolished
19.
William VIII, Marquess of Montferrat
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William VIII Palaiologos was the Marquess of Montferrat from 1464 until his death. He was the son of Marquess John Jacob, and inherited the Marquisate after the death of his elder brother John IV. He obtained by Emperor Frederick III the territories lost to Savoy from 1435, William served as condottiero for Francesco I Sforza of Milan and was later the tutor of the latters son Galeazzo Maria. When the latter was assassinated, William acted as moderator in the Duchy of Milan, although William was married thrice, but each time without a legitimate son. He thenceforth had his daughters by his marriage, Giovanna, married to Ludovico II del Vasto, Marquess of Saluzzo and Blanche of Montferrat, married to Charles I. When he died in Casale Monferrato, he was succeeded by his brother Boniface III
20.
John V, Count of Armagnac
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John V of Armagnac, the penultimate Count of Armagnac of the older branch. He was the son of John IV of Armagnac and Isabella of Navarre, when word got out that two boys had been born in the castle of Lectoure, the couple promised to reform their controversial behavior. Other serious breaches ensued, John refused to seat a bishop of Auch selected by the King and assented to by the Pope, events came to a head in May 1455. Tried in absentia in 1460 before a parlement of Charles VII, he was convicted of lese-majeste, rebellion, forces were sent to capture him but he escaped punishment by fleeing to his cousins in Aragon. Though he pleaded his case in Rome, the couple were separated, within a few years a new King of France, Louis XI, reinstated John in his domains, where John rashly undid his fathers acts and broke faith with his promises. Betraying Louis, Armagnac was part of the league that called themselves Bien public, in 1469, Louis responded, under the pretense that John was treating with ambassadors from England, and sent an army to rout him. John fled to Spain, only to reappear in 1471 in the train of the rebellious brother. Louis had John besieged in his stronghold of Lectoure and put to death by Jean Jouffroy, in Lectoure on 19 August 1469, John married Joan, daughter of Count Gaston IV of Foix and Queen Eleanor of Navarre, later monarch of Navarre. April 1473 so that the race of the Count could be ended, in consequence, the title of Count of Armagnac passed, first fruitlessly to his younger brother Charles, and in 1497 to his cousin of the cadet branch, Armagnac-Nemours. His union with his sister Isabelle of Armagnac, produced three children, John of Armagnac, Seigneur of Camboulas, married in 1507 with Jeanne de La Tour, anthony of Armagnac, called the Bâtard dArmagnac. Rose of Armagnac, married in 1498 with Gaspard II de Villemur, Seigneur of Montbrun, a contemporary chronicler described him, Fire ran in his veins. He was as violent in his desires as imperious in his actions and his physical aspect was not seductive, short and stocky of stature, even pot-bellied, but gifted with great bodily strength. His neck was short, sumounted with an acne-pocked visage, with squinty eyes, un vrai feuilleton documentary history of Jean dAramagnac
21.
Jacques de Foix, Count of Montfort
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Jacques de Foix, was a Count of Montfort and Captal Buch, and the so-called “Infante of Navarre”. Born about 1470 he was the son of Gaston IV, Count of Foix and Bigorre, Viscount of Béarn. He was Governor of Béarn and Lieutenant-General of Lower Navarre for the king, Married in 1485 and divorced in 1494 to Ana de Peralta, daughter of Pedro de Peralta, 1st Count de Santisteban y Lerín and his second wife Isabelle de Grailly, but divorced her in 1494. He Married a second time in 1495 to Catherine de Beaumont, daughter of Louis de Beaumont, 2nd Count de Lerín, Jacques and his second wife had one child, Jean de Foix, abbot of Saint-Volusien-de-Foix. Jacques also had two children by unknown mistresses, Frederic de Foix, Lord dAlmenèches, and Jacques de Foix, Bishop of Oloron. Jacques de Foix, Inft of Navarre died in 1500A. D
22.
Foix
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Foix is a commune, the former capital of the County of Foix. Today it is the Préfecture of the Ariège department in southwestern France in the Occitanie region and it is the least populous administrative centre of a department in all of France, although it is only very slightly smaller than Privas. It lies south of Toulouse, close to the border with Spain, at the 2009 census, the city had a population of 9,861 people. It is only the city of the department after Pamiers which is one of the two sub-prefectures. The Romans built a fort on the hill where the Château de Foix castle now overlooks the town. The town of Foix probably owes its origin to an oratory founded by Charlemagne, the current area was preceded by the County of Foix. The founding, in 849, of the Abbey Saint-Volusien allowed the development of living in the tenth century to the twelfth century. The city reached its peak in the fourteenth century, in 1290, at a meeting of the Béarn region and the county of Foix, the city was practically abandoned by the Counts. Gaston Phoebus was the last to have lived in the castle, the castle was then used as a prison until 1864. In 1536 began the first Reformation preaching in Foix, and in 1579 the church of Montgauzy was destroyed, the same fate awaited the abbey and its church in 1581. The following year, Foix was retaken by Catholics, and in 1589 the Count of Foix, Henry of Navarre, was crowned King of France and this is replicated on the flag, and in the arms of the département. It originates from the arms of the Counts of Foix, and, as such and it bears a resemblance to the coat of arms of Aragon, both featuring in the coat of arms of Andorra. In 1955 the post office issued a stamp with a face value of 50 cents, consisting of the black, green, yellow. It is part of the century series of Provincial Coat of Arms. In 1958, the post office issued a stamp with a face value of 15 f. consisting of Ultramarine, gray, brown. Foix is twinned with the places, Lleida since 1962 Andorra la Vella Ripon Louis de Bassompierre, abbot of Saint-Volusien Frédéric Soulié, novelist, dramatist, critic. Charles de Freycinet, statesman and prime minister and it has also been the finishing town of Stage 11 in the 2008 Tour de France and of Stage 142012 Tour de France. The botanical garden, Les Épines de Lespinet, has a collection of cacti and succulents, as well as trees, banana plants
23.
Francis Phoebus of Navarre
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Francis Phoebus was king of Navarre, Viscount of Bearn, and Count of Foix. He was the son of Gaston, Prince of Viana, and grandson of Queen Eleanor and she recommended him to ally with France. During his brief reign, he was under the protection of his mother and he died young while playing the pipe, arguably poisoned. La Basse-Navarre dans la guerre de Navarre, récit historique, d’après Navarra, retrieved 22 April 2016 – via Tipirena. net
24.
Integrated Authority File
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The Integrated Authority File or GND is an international authority file for the organisation of personal names, subject headings and corporate bodies from catalogues. It is used mainly for documentation in libraries and increasingly also by archives, the GND is managed by the German National Library in cooperation with various regional library networks in German-speaking Europe and other partners. The GND falls under the Creative Commons Zero license, the GND specification provides a hierarchy of high-level entities and sub-classes, useful in library classification, and an approach to unambiguous identification of single elements. It also comprises an ontology intended for knowledge representation in the semantic web, available in the RDF format
25.
Virtual International Authority File
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The Virtual International Authority File is an international authority file. It is a joint project of national libraries and operated by the Online Computer Library Center. The project was initiated by the US Library of Congress, the German National Library, the National Library of France joined the project on October 5,2007. The project transitions to a service of the OCLC on April 4,2012, the aim is to link the national authority files to a single virtual authority file. In this file, identical records from the different data sets are linked together, a VIAF record receives a standard data number, contains the primary see and see also records from the original records, and refers to the original authority records. The data are available online and are available for research and data exchange. Reciprocal updating uses the Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting protocol, the file numbers are also being added to Wikipedia biographical articles and are incorporated into Wikidata. VIAFs clustering algorithm is run every month, as more data are added from participating libraries, clusters of authority records may coalesce or split, leading to some fluctuation in the VIAF identifier of certain authority records
