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Lord of the Pyrenees: Gaston Febus, Count of Foix
Author(s): Richard Vernier (Author)
- Publisher: Boydell Press
- Publication Date: 16 Aug. 2008
- Edition: Illustrated
- Language: English
- Print length: 232 pages
- ISBN-10: 9781843833567
- ISBN-13: 9781843833567
Book Description
Relates the colourful life of ‘enlightened despot’ Gaston III, count of Foix, an enigmatic and brilliant figure in a turbulent period. The reign of Gaston III, Count of Foix and self-proclaimed sovereign Lord of Béarn, stands out as one of the rare success stories of the `calamitous’ fourteenth century. By playing a skilful game of shifting allegiances and timelydefiance, he avoided being drawn into the conflicts between his more powerful neighbours – France and English Aquitaine, Aragon and Castile — thus sparing his domains the devastations of warfare. Best known as a patron of thearts, and the author of a celebrated Book of the Hunt, Fébus – as he styled himself – also prefigures the eighteenth-century `enlightened despots’ with his effort to centralize government, protect natural resources and promote enterprise. But a sequence of mysterious tragedies — the abrupt dismissal of his wife, the slaying of his only legitimate son – reveal the dark side of the brilliant and enigmatic `Sun Prince of the Pyrenees’. RICHARD VERNIER is Professor Emeritus of Romance Languages and Literatures, Wayne State University. He is the author of The Flower of Chivalry: Bertrand du Guesclin and the Hundred Years War.
Editorial Reviews
Review
Provides a useful addition to the secondary literature in English, a well-written account of the man and a perceptive overview of his times. ― SPECULUM
As is typical of this publisher, the volume is beautifully produced and bound. […] This is a scholarly history but because Vernier is a gifted story-teller, the volume will be enjoyed by anyone with an interest in the Middle Ages. ―
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