Françoise de Foix
Encyclopedia
Françoise de Foix, Comtesse de Châteaubriant (c. 1495 – October 16, 1537) was a mistress of Francis I of France
Francis I of France
Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...

.

Background

Françoise was the daughter of Jean de Foix, Vicomte de Lautrec, and Jeanne d'Aydie. Her father was the son of Pierre de Foix, Vicomte de Lautrec; Pierre had been a younger brother of Gaston IV of Foix, who had married Leonor, Queen of Navarre
Eleanor of Navarre
Eleanor of Aragon , Regent and the queen regnant of Navarre in 1479...

. Françoise was thus a second cousin of the Duchess of Brittany and Queen of France, Anne
Anne of Brittany
Anne, Duchess of Brittany , also known as Anna of Brittany , was a Breton ruler, who was to become queen to two successive French kings. She was born in Nantes, Brittany, and was the daughter of Francis II, Duke of Brittany and Margaret of Foix. Her maternal grandparents were Queen Eleanor of...

, whose mother had been a daughter of Gaston IV and Leonor. Françoise was brought up at Anne's court, where she met Jean de Laval, count of Châteaubriant
Châteaubriant
-Coat of arms:Two coats of arms are attributed :*First Pale: Blue, three gold fleurs de lys, Pales split in two by a shortened staff with a red hache....

, to whom she was engaged in 1505. On March 11, 1508, she gave birth to a daughter, Anne, who would die on April 12, 1521. The couple formally married in 1509, living together at Châteaubriant until Francis I called them at court in 1516. Tall and dark-haired, she was also cultured, spoke Latin and Italian, and wrote poetry.

Official mistress

Upon arriving at the royal court, Françoise's attributes and gifts made her alluring to the equally gifted and cultured King, who promptly attempted to seduce her. He began to give favours and gifts to her family. Her husband became a commander of a company
Company (military unit)
A company is a military unit, typically consisting of 80–225 soldiers and usually commanded by a Captain, Major or Commandant. Most companies are formed of three to five platoons although the exact number may vary by country, unit type, and structure...

. Her elder brother, the Viscount of Lautrec
Odet de Foix, Vicomte de Lautrec
Odet de Foix, Vicomte de Lautrec was a French military leader. He gained the reputation of a gallant and able soldier, but this scarcely seems to be justified by the facts; though he was always badly used by fortune....

, received the charge of governor of the Milanese duchy. Her two other brothers, Thomas, lord of Lescun
Thomas de Foix-Lescun
Thomas de Foix-Lescun , commonly known as Lescun, was a French commander during the Italian War of 1521, and the brother of Odet de Foix, Vicomte de Lautrec, André de Foix, Lord of Lesparre and Françoise de Foix....

, and André, lord of Lesparre or Asparros
André de Foix
André de Foix, Lord of Lesparre , was a French General.He was the son of Jean de Foix, vicecount of Lautrec and governor of the Dauphiné, and of Jeanne d'Aydie de Lescun. His sister was Françoise de Foix, mistress of King Francis I of France...

, were also promoted to high positions in the military by the king. Françoise eventually became the mistress of the king, after a period of resistance, circa 1518.

On April 25, 1519, the Dauphin François was baptised at Amboise
Amboise
Amboise is a commune in the Indre-et-Loire department in central France. It lies on the banks of the Loire River, east of Tours. Today a small market town, it was once home of the French royal court...

. Jean de Châteaubriant and his wife assisted in the ceremony, and Françoise was placed near to the royal princesses, which signified to the Court that she was La mye du roi ("The Sweetheart of the King"). She was the first official mistress that Francis had taken, and he made his affections for her plain to the Court, against her wishes. This greatly displeased his mother, Louise of Savoy
Louise of Savoy
Louise of Savoy was a French noble, Duchess regnant of Auvergne and Bourbon, Duchess of Nemours, the mother of King Francis I of France...

, who disliked the de Foix family.

By contrast, Françoise's husband, Jean, though inevitably aware of the affair, showed little interest in the matter: when, in December 1519, Francis sent him to Brittany to negotiate a tax, the Count thanked Francis, and did not raise the matter of the affair. During this time, Françoise remained at the Court, where she was made a lady-in-waiting of Queen Claude, the Duchess of Brittany.

Françoise remained the official mistress of Francis for a decade. She had no political influence, only managing to persuade the King to not disgrace her brother after his defeat at the Battle of Bicocca
Battle of Bicocca
The Battle of Bicocca or La Bicocca was fought on April 27, 1522, during the Italian War of 1521–26. A combined French and Venetian force under Odet de Foix, Vicomte de Lautrec, was decisively defeated by a Spanish-Imperial and Papal army under the overall command of Prospero Colonna...

. However, in 1525, the King was captured at the Battle of Pavia
Battle of Pavia
The Battle of Pavia, fought on the morning of 24 February 1525, was the decisive engagement of the Italian War of 1521–26.A Spanish-Imperial army under the nominal command of Charles de Lannoy attacked the French army under the personal command of Francis I of France in the great hunting preserve...

 and held captive in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...

. When he returned to France, the young and blond Anne de Pisseleu d'Heilly
Anne de Pisseleu d'Heilly
Anne de Pisseleu d'Heilly , Duchess of Étampes, was the mistress of Francis I of France.She was a daughter of Adrien de Pisseleu, seigneur d'Heilly, a nobleman of Picardy, who, with the rise of his daughter at court, was made seigneur of Meudon, master of waters and forests of Île de France, of...

 caught his attention. The two women battled for the King's affections for two years before Françoise gave up and returned to Châteaubriant in 1528.

Later life and death

After returning to Châteaubriant, Françoise continued to live with her husband, Jean, who was made governor of Brittany
Governor of Brittany
This page is a list of royal governors of Brittany during the Ancien Regime.*Nominoe, 9th century*Enguerrand VII, Lord of Coucy from 1380*Jean de Laval, husband of Françoise de Foix, 16th century*Louis III de Bourbon, Duke of Montpensier 1569-1582...

 and received other favours. Françoise still continued to write letters to the King, who visited Châteaubriant many times. His last visit seems to be in 1532, when he stayed at the new castle that Jean had constructed in May.

Françoise de Foix died on October 16, 1537. Her death is the subject of rumours: one legend, related by the French historian Varillas, and taking credence from the known brutality of Jean de Laval, claims that the Count shut his wife in a dark, padded cell and had her killed. In fact, it is considered more likely that Françoise died of a sickness .

She is interred in the church of the Trinitarians of Châteaubriant, where her husband erected a tomb in her memory, with an epitaph by Clément Marot
Clément Marot
Clément Marot was a French poet of the Renaissance period.-Youth:Marot was born at Cahors, the capital of the province of Quercy, some time during the winter of 1496-1497. His father, Jean Marot , whose more correct name appears to have been des Mares, Marais or Marets, was a Norman from the Caen...

 and a statue of her. Jean de Laval died on February 11, 1543, aged 56 and bequeathing a third of his possessions to Anne de Montmorency
Anne de Montmorency
Anne de Montmorency, duc de Montmorency, Honorary Knight of the Garter was a French soldier, statesman and diplomat. He became Marshal of France and Constable of France.-Early life:...

, including Châteaubriant. He was succeeded in his charges of governor of Brittany by Jean IV de Brosse
Jean IV de Brosse
Jean IV de Brosse was the son of René de Brosse and Jeanne de Commines .After the death of his father at the Battle of Pavia, he succeeded him as Count of Penthièvre....

, the husband of Anne de Pisseleu.

Brantôme
Pierre de Bourdeille, seigneur de Brantôme
Pierre de Bourdeille, seigneur de Brantôme was a French historian, soldier and biographer.-Life:Brantôme was born in Périgord, Aquitaine, the third son of the baron de Bourdeille...

 also recounted many anecdotes about the countess. An anecdote about an unnamed mistress of Francis I, where the lady is almost surprised by the king when in bed with the admiral Bonnivet
Guillaume Gouffier, seigneur de Bonnivet
Guillaume Gouffier, seigneur de Bonnivet was a French soldier.The younger brother of Artus Gouffier, seigneur de Boisy, tutor of Francis I of France, Bonnivet was brought up with Francis, and after the young king's accession he became one of the most powerful of the royal favourites. In 1515 he...

, is often attributed to Françoise de Foix.

External links

Le Chansonnier de Françoise de Foix A page about a songbook that probably belonged to the countess.
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