Gaston III, Count of Foix

Gaston III of Foix-Béarn dit Fébus (30 April 1331 – 1 August 1391), was the eleventh Count of Foix (as Gaston III) and twenty-fourth Viscount of Béarn (as Gaston X) from 1343 until his death.

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Gaston III
Count of Foix Viscount of Béarn Viscount of Marsan Prince of Andorra
Fébus hunting the hare, miniature by the Bedford Master, taken from the Livre de chasse, circa 1407, Paris, BnF, Fr.616, f° 89 v°.
Predecessor	Gaston II, Count of Foix
Successor	Matthew, Count of Foix
Known for	Livre de chasse (Book of the Hunt)
Born	30 April 1331 Orthez, France
Died	1 August 1391 (1391-09) (aged 60) L'Hôpital-d'Orion
Spouse(s)	Agnes of Navarre ​ ​ (m. 1349; sep. 1362)​
Issue	Legitimate: Gaston, Prince and Heir of Foix-Béarn Illegitimate: Bernal de Foix, 1st Count of Medinaceli Yvain de Foix Gratien de Foix
Father	Gaston II, Count of Foix
Mother	Eleanor of Comminges
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Due to his ancestral inheritance, Gaston III was overlord of about ten territories located between Gascony and Languedoc. He took advantage of the Hundred Years' War to establish his domination over the northern Pyrenean foothills, playing on the conflicts between French and English monarchies. He is also the author of the Livre de chasse, a famous illustrated manuscript on hunting.

The only legitimate child of Gaston II, Count of Foix and Eleanor of Comminges, Gaston III inherited, on the death of his father at the Siege of Algeciras, a fragmented territory, partly dependent on the kings of France, and for the other of the kings of England. Playing on the Franco-English conflict, he claimed the sovereignty of Béarn on 25 September 1347, and where he held his court at Orthez. Gaston III turns out to be a fine tactician, combining diplomacy, strategy and military art. He won decisive victories against his hereditary enemy the House of Armagnac, ensuring the union between Béarn and Foix. Gaston III was also a skilled communicator: he chooses the nickname Fébus in 1358, after a crusade in Prussia, a nickname which refers to the solar myth associated with the ancient god Apollo (also named Phoibos). In 1380, his only legitimate son and heir Gaston participates in a plot to poison him; after being discovered, he is assassinated, probably by the hand of his father.

Gaston III is described as one of the greatest hunters of his time, a passion taken very seriously, as he was preparing for war. He strengthens and builds several fortresses to carry out his desire for independence. Endowed with an immense treasure, Gaston III notably built the Château de Montaner which he wanted to see become a fortress palace, a symbol of the union between Béarn and Foix. The called Prince of the Pyrenees demonstrates enlightened despotism in his practice of power, playing the role of lord protector for his people. Gaston III occupies a special place in Pyrenean history, benefiting from his political and military work, but also from the impact of the stories of several chroniclers and contemporaries, including Jean Froissart in his Chronicles.