Odet de Foix, Vicomte de Lautrec
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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...
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.
The branch of the Viscounts of Lautrec originated with Pierre, the son of John III of Foix; Pierre's elder brother was Gaston IV of Foix.
He married Charlotte d'Albret (1495-1527) in 1520 and had several children:
- Gaston (1522-28)
- Henry (1523-40)
- Claude (d.1549)
- Francis (d.1528)
Odet de Foix and his two brothers, the seigneur de 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 the seigneur de l'Esparre 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...
, served 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...
as captains; and the influence of their sister, Françoise de Châteaubriant
Françoise de Foix
Françoise de Foix, Comtesse de Châteaubriant was a mistress of Francis I of France.-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 became the king's mistress, gained them high office. In 1515 Lautrec took part in the campaign of Marignano
Battle of Marignano
The Battle of Marignano was fought during the phase of the Italian Wars called the War of the League of Cambrai, between France and the Old Swiss Confederacy. It took place on September 13 and 15, 1515, near the town today called Melegnano, 16 km southeast of Milan...
.
In 1516 Lautrec received the government of the Milanese duchy, but by his severity made the French domination insupportable. In 1521 he succeeded in defending the duchy against the Spanish
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...
army, but in 1522 he was completely defeated 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...
, and was forced to evacuate the Milanese. The mutiny of his Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
troops had compelled him, against his wish, to engage in the battle.
He was created a marshal of France
Marshal of France
The Marshal of France is a military distinction in contemporary France, not a military rank. It is granted to generals for exceptional achievements...
, and in 1527 he again received the command of the army of Italy
Army of Italy (France)
The Army of Italy was a Field army of the French Army stationed on the Italian border and used for operations in Italy itself. Though it existed in some form in the 16th century through to the present, it is best known for its role during the French Revolutionary Wars and Napoleonic...
. He occupied the Milanese, and was then sent to undertake the conquest of the kingdom of Naples
Kingdom of Naples
The Kingdom of Naples, comprising the southern part of the Italian peninsula, was the remainder of the old Kingdom of Sicily after secession of the island of Sicily as a result of the Sicilian Vespers rebellion of 1282. Known to contemporaries as the Kingdom of Sicily, it is dubbed Kingdom of...
. The defection of Andrea Doria
Andrea Doria
Andrea Doria was an Italian condottiere and admiral from Genoa.-Early life:Doria was born at Oneglia from the ancient Genoese family, the Doria di Oneglia branch of the old Doria, de Oria or de Auria family. His parents were related: Ceva Doria, co-lord of Oneglia, and Caracosa Doria, of the...
and an outbreak of the plague
Bubonic plague
Plague is a deadly infectious disease that is caused by the enterobacteria Yersinia pestis, named after the French-Swiss bacteriologist Alexandre Yersin. Primarily carried by rodents and spread to humans via fleas, the disease is notorious throughout history, due to the unrivaled scale of death...
in the French camp brought on a fresh disaster. Lautrec himself caught the infection, and died in the August 1528.