Person:Isabelle de Foix (1)

Isabella, Countess of Foix (from wikipedia 5 Apr 2015, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isabella,_Countess_of_Foix)

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conditions were relaxed after 1400 when Martin of Aragon refunded Isabella the County of Castelbon which the King had withdrawn from her brother 1386, after he fought for the crown.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

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1 1.2} ISABELLE de Foix, in Cawley, Charles. Medieval Lands: A prosopography of medieval European noble and royal families
   5 Apr 2015.

   i) ISABELLE de Foix (before 2 Nov 1361-1428, bur Abbaye de Boulbonne (Cistercian), Mazères {Ariège}). The 15th century Chronicle of Esquerrier names "Madona Isabel molher de Mossen Archimbaud captal de Grailli, de Buc et de Puch Pauli" as sister of "Mossen Mathieu"[966]. The testament dated 2 Nov 1361 at Barcelona of "Rogerius Bernardi de Fuxio Dei gratia vicecomes CastriBoni dominusque de Navalles, MontisCateni et CastriVeteris" names "Isabelli filiæ nostræ" appointing her as his heir if he had no male descendants[967]. She succeeded her brother in 1398 as Ctss de Foix et de Bigorre, Vicomtesse de Béarn, Vescomtesa de Castellbò, Vicomtesse de Marsan, de Gavardan et de Lautrec, dame de Navailles et de Sault. Martín King of Aragon donated to Isabelle, comtesse de Foix, the vizcondad de Castellbò and other possessions of her late brother Mathieu Comte de Foix, with a few exceptions, by letters dated 20 Jul 1400[968]. The principalilty of Béarn was defined as sobiraa (sovereign) under the treaty of Tarbes, Hautes-Pyrénées 10 May 1399 between the English and French chancelleries. In 1400, Isabelle recovered the major part of the family's Spanish properties confiscated from her brother Matthieu. m (1381) ARCHAMBAUD de Grailly, Captal de Buch, Comte de Benauges, Lavaux et Longueville, son of PIERRE [II] de Grailly, Captal de Buch & his second wife Erembourg de Périgord (-1413).