The County of Bigorre was a small feudatory of the Duchy of Gascony in the ninth through 15th centuries.[1] Its capital was Tarbes.[2]
The county was constituted out of the dowry of Faquilène, an Aquitainian princess, for her husband Donatus Lupus I, the son of Lupus III of Gascony. The original Bigorre was considerable in size, but successive generations, following on Gascon traditions, gave out portions as appanages to younger sons. The county lost Lavedan, Aster, Aure, and Montaner in the first two generations.
The original dynasty died out in Bigorre in the 11th century, the county passing to the House of Foix and then that of Béarn. In the 12th century, it went to the house of Marsan and then of Comminges and in the thirteenth to that of Montfort. It was briefly in the hands of the Armagnacs and passed between English and French suzerainty during the Hundred Years' War before finally being recovered by the French. In the 15th century, it fell to the House of Foix again and thence to the crown in an exchange of properties.
| Ruler | Dates | Gascon line | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 840–? | Bigorre line | ||
| ?–910 | Bigorre line | Son of the predecessor. | |
| 910–930 | Bigorre line | Son of the predecessor. | |
| 930–? | Bigorre line | Son of the predecessor. | |
| ?–980 | Bigorre line | Son of the predecessor. | |
| 980–1030 | Bigorre line | Son of the predecessor. | |
| 1030–1038 | Bigorre line | Daughter of the predecessor, married Bernard Roger of Foix. | |
| 1030–1034 | Foix line | ||
| 1038–1077 | Foix line | Son of the predecessors. | |
| 1077–1080 | Foix line | Son of the predecessor. | |
| 1080–1095 | Foix line | Sister of the predecessor, married Centule of Béarn. | |
| 1080–1090 | Béarn line | ||
| 1095–1113 | Béarn line | Son of the predecessors. | |
| 1113–1130 | Béarn line | Son of the predecessor. | |
| 1130–1156 | Béarn line | Daughter of the predecessor, married Peter of Marsan. | |
| Marsan line | |||
| 1156–1178 | Marsan line | Son of the predecessors. | |
| 1178–1194 | Marsan line | Daughter of the predecessor, married Bernard of Comminges. They were separated in 1192 | |
| 1180–1192 | Comminges line | ||
| 1194–1251 | Comminges line | Daughter of the predecessors, in her long countship she married various nobles:
| |
After this point the succession became disputed and whether the county owes allegiance to England or France was also fought over. In 1360, the Treaty of Brétigny made it decisively French. In 1407, it belonged to Bernard VII of Armagnac, who sold it that year to John I, Count of Foix. From then on it is a subsidiary title of the counts of Foix.