ALBRET

. The lords of Albret (“Lebret,” “La Bret”), vassals of the dukes of Aquitaine, belonged to one of the most important families in Gascony. Their original seat was Labrit (Landes), but eventually they considered Casteljaloux (Lotet-Garonne) their chief residence. They bore an unusual coat of arms, de gueules plain, devoid of heraldic devices, and five of them were named Bernard-Aiz (a spelling now considered preferable to the more common Bernard-Ezi, which derived from the Latin genitive).

Amanieu V (d. 1240) was a first cousin of Isabelle d’Angouleme, queen of England. Amanieu VII (d. 1326), Edward I’s occasional ambassador to the pope, became rector of the northern papal states for Clement V and served France in the Anglo-French war of Saint-Sardos (1323-25). His son Bernard-Aiz V (d. 1359), son-in-law of the count of Armagnac, switched sides several times during the preliminaries of the Hundred Years’ War. He fought for Edward III at Poitiers and was rewarded with a pension of 1,000 pounds.

Bernard-Aiz V’s son Arnaud-Amanieu (d. 1401) paid homage to the Black Prince in 1363 and fought as his vassal in Castile (Najera, 1367). The inability of the Black Prince to continue his pension made him receptive to the overtures of Charles V of France. In 1368, Arnaud-Amanieu married Charles V’s sister-in-law Marguerite de Bourbon and was promised a substantial pension. He later became Grand Chambellan de France.

Arnaud-Amanieu’s son, Charles I (d. 1415), grew up at the French court as a “companion” to the dauphin (Charles VI) and was named constable of France in 1403. As partial payment for his royal pension, he received the county of Dreux in 1407. Considered a member of the Armagnac party, he was replaced as constable in 1411 but regained the post in 1413 and was killed at Agincourt. His son Charles II (d. 1471) sired Alain le Grand (d. 1522), whose son Jean married the queen of Navarre in 1484.

Richard C. Famiglietti

[See also: ARMAGNAC; ARMAGNACS; CHARLES V THE WISE; CHARLES VI; HUNDRED YEARS’ WAR]

Dubois, Jean. “Inventaire des titres de la maison d’Albret.” Recueil des travauxde la Societe d’Agriculture, Sciences et Arts d’Agen 2nd ser. 16(1913):1-212.

Luchaire, Achille. “Notice sur les origines de la maison d’Albret (977-1270).” Bulletin de la Societe des Sciences, Lettres et Arts de Pau 2nd ser. 2(1872-73):24-40, 99-124.

Marquette, Jean-Bernard. “Les Albret.” Cahiers duBazadais 30 (1975):5-52; 31(1975):55-107;

34(1976):117-203; 38 (1977):211-374; 41(1978):377-536; 45/46(1979):539-886.

--. Le tresor des chartes d’Albret. Paris: Bibliotheque Nationale, 1973, Vol. 1.