Bernard VIII of Comminges
Encyclopedia
Bernard VIII of Comminges (c. 1285–1336) was count
of Comminges
in what is now southern France
. He was the son and successor of Count Bernard VII (died 1312) with Laure de Montfort (died before 1300).
The County of Comminges lay in the valley of the Garonne
, in the northern foothills of Pyrenees
. The county of Couserans
lay to the west and that of Bigorre
to the east. The ruling family were descended from the Counts of Foix
.
Count Bernard married three times, but died without a male heir. A posthumous son, Count Jean I, died in infancy in 1339. Bernard had five or six daughters of whom Jeanne married the son of Bernard's brother, Count Pierre-Raymond I (died 1341), also named Pierre-Raymond (II), who ruled from 1341 until abot 1375–1376. The marriage produced two daughters, Alienor and Marguerite, but the line died out in 1443 at Marguerite's death, and the county passed to the French Crown in 1453 on the death of Marguerite's husband.
Count
A count or countess is an aristocratic nobleman in European countries. The word count came into English from the French comte, itself from Latin comes—in its accusative comitem—meaning "companion", and later "companion of the emperor, delegate of the emperor". The adjective form of the word is...
of Comminges
Comminges
The Comminges is an ancient region of southern France in the foothills of the Pyrenees, corresponding closely to the arrondissement of Saint-Gaudens in the department of Haute-Garonne...
in what is now southern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. He was the son and successor of Count Bernard VII (died 1312) with Laure de Montfort (died before 1300).
The County of Comminges lay in the valley of the Garonne
Garonne
The Garonne is a river in southwest France and northern Spain, with a length of .-Source:The Garonne's headwaters are to be found in the Aran Valley in the Pyrenees, though three different locations have been proposed as the true source: the Uelh deth Garona at Plan de Beret , the Ratera-Saboredo...
, in the northern foothills of Pyrenees
Pyrenees
The Pyrenees is a range of mountains in southwest Europe that forms a natural border between France and Spain...
. The county of Couserans
Couserans
Couserans is a small former province of France located in the Pyrenees mountains. Today Couserans makes up the western half of the Ariège département, around the towns of Saint-Girons and Saint-Lizier. A small part of Couserans is also in the extreme south of Haute-Garonne, just across the border...
lay to the west and that of Bigorre
Bigorre
Bigorre is region in southwest France, historically an independent county and later a French province, located in the upper watershed of the Adour, on the northern slopes of the Pyrenees, part of the larger region known as Gascony...
to the east. The ruling family were descended from the Counts of Foix
Foix
Foix is a commune, the capital of the Ariège department in southwestern France. It is the least populous administrative centre of a department in all of France, although it is only very slightly smaller than Privas...
.
Count Bernard married three times, but died without a male heir. A posthumous son, Count Jean I, died in infancy in 1339. Bernard had five or six daughters of whom Jeanne married the son of Bernard's brother, Count Pierre-Raymond I (died 1341), also named Pierre-Raymond (II), who ruled from 1341 until abot 1375–1376. The marriage produced two daughters, Alienor and Marguerite, but the line died out in 1443 at Marguerite's death, and the county passed to the French Crown in 1453 on the death of Marguerite's husband.