Bernal de Foix, 1st Count of Medinaceli
Encyclopedia
Bernal de Foix, First Count of Medinaceli , also known as "the Bastard of Bearn", was a military officer and politician in the Crown of Castile
, a region now part of Spain
.
Bernal de Foix was an illegitimate
son of the 11th count of Foix, Gaston III de Foix. He was invested as the First Count of Medinaceli
in 1368, upon his marriage to Doña Isabel de la Cerda
. Isabel, the young widow of Don Rodrigo Alvarez de Asturias, was the granddaughter of Alfonso X of Castile
, who had been proclaimed King of Castile by his father but was usurped by his brother Sancho IV of Castile
. She was granted large estates on the condition that she relinquish all claim to the Crown of Castile for herself and her heirs.
The Medinaceli dukes had extensive estates in the Spanish provinces of Soria and Guadalajara.
De Foix donated property to his wife on 15 October 1370.
De Foix took the side of royal bastard Henry II of Castile against de Foix's legitimate brother King Pedro I of Castile in the Castilian Civil War
. He chose to stay in Castile when Henry II killed King Pedro I of Castile at the Castle of Montiel in March 1369. He commanded a troop of Castilians under Henry II.
Crown of Castile
The Crown of Castile was a medieval and modern state in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accession of the then King Ferdinand III of Castile to the vacant Leonese throne...
, a region now part of Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
.
Bernal de Foix was an illegitimate
Legitimacy (law)
At common law, legitimacy is the status of a child who is born to parents who are legally married to one another; and of a child who is born shortly after the parents' divorce. In canon and in civil law, the offspring of putative marriages have been considered legitimate children...
son of the 11th count of Foix, Gaston III de Foix. He was invested as the First Count of Medinaceli
Medinaceli
Medinaceli is a municipality and town in the province of Soria . Its name derives from the Arabic toponym madīnat sālim . The town is named after one Salim bin Waral, head of a Masmuda Berber family which settled there in the 8th century....
in 1368, upon his marriage to Doña Isabel de la Cerda
Isabel de la Cerda
Isabel de la Cerda also known as Isabel de la Cerda Pérez de Guzmán Isabel de la Cerda also known as Isabel de la Cerda Pérez de Guzmán Isabel de la Cerda also known as Isabel de la Cerda Pérez de Guzmán (Seville c.1329 - after 1383 was the only surviving daughter of Luis de la Cerda and his first...
. Isabel, the young widow of Don Rodrigo Alvarez de Asturias, was the granddaughter of Alfonso X of Castile
Alfonso X of Castile
Alfonso X was a Castilian monarch who ruled as the King of Castile, León and Galicia from 1252 until his death...
, who had been proclaimed King of Castile by his father but was usurped by his brother Sancho IV of Castile
Sancho IV of Castile
Sancho IV the Brave was the King of Castile, León and Galicia from 1284 to his death. He was the second son of Alfonso X and Yolanda, daughter of James I of Aragon.-Biography:...
. She was granted large estates on the condition that she relinquish all claim to the Crown of Castile for herself and her heirs.
The Medinaceli dukes had extensive estates in the Spanish provinces of Soria and Guadalajara.
De Foix donated property to his wife on 15 October 1370.
De Foix took the side of royal bastard Henry II of Castile against de Foix's legitimate brother King Pedro I of Castile in the Castilian Civil War
Castilian Civil War
The Castilian Civil War lasted three years from 1366 to 1369. It became part of the larger conflict then raging between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of France: the Hundred Years' War...
. He chose to stay in Castile when Henry II killed King Pedro I of Castile at the Castle of Montiel in March 1369. He commanded a troop of Castilians under Henry II.