Amanieu VI d'Albret

Amanieu VI (? — after April 1272) was a French nobleman, the Lord of Albret (French: Seigneur d’Albret). The lordship (seigneurie) of Albret, in the Landes, gave its name to one of the most powerful feudal families of France in the Middle Ages. One of Amanieu’s descendants became king of Navarre; a later descendant was Henry IV, king of France.^[1]

Coat of arms of the early lords of Albret.

Amanieu’s reign was dominated by conflict over the English kings’ control of Gascony. His father, also named Amanieu, was one of the leaders of the revolt against English rule.^[2] After his father's death in 1255, Amanieu surrendered Milhau and its surrounding region to Prince Edward,^[3] newly arrived to assert English control over the province.^[4] His son, Amanieu VII, became a staunch ally of the English and was a member of the Curia Regis during the reigns of both Edward I and Edward II of England.

Family

Lord Amanieu VI was a son of Lord Amanieu V and his first wife, Lady Assalide of Tartas (daughter of the nobleman Arnaud Raymond of Tartas).^[3] The first spouse of Amanieu VI was Lady Viane of Gontaud, who later divorced him; however, according to an ecclesiastical judgment in 1272, Viane was later ordered to return to her husband Amanieu.^[5][6] Amanieu’s second spouse was Lady Mathe of Bordeaux.^[7][8] Amanieu VI and Viane had at least two children, whilst he and Mathe had more children:

• Lord Bernard Ezi I,^[9] father of the daughters: Mathe of Albret and Isabella of Albret
• Assalide
• Lord Amanieu VII^[10]
• Arnaud Amanieu
• Mathe

References

1. Prinet 1911.
2. March, Frank Burr (1912). English rule in Gascony, 1199-1259 with Special Reference to the Towns. Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Historical Studies. p. 129.
3. Casarissa, Diego de Mora y (1855). Los héroes y las maravillas del mundo: Dios, la tierra y los hombres. Anales del mundo desde los tiempos biblicos hasta nuestros dias [The heroes and the wonders of the world: God, the earth and men. Annals of the world from biblical times to our days]. Vol. 4. Libreria de J. Perez. p. 367 – via Google Books.
4. Hardy, Sir Thomas Duffus (1869). Syllabus (in English) of the Documents Relating to England and Other Kingdoms: 1066-1377. Longmans, Green & Co. pp. 50–52 – via Google Books.
5. No record has been found which indicates how this matter was eventually resolved. She had been separated from her husband on the basis that Amanieu’s father had been her godfather.
6. Passier, H. & A. (1875). Trésor généalogique de Dom Villevieille (Paris) [Genealogical Treasury of Dom Villevieille] (“Dom Villevieille (Passier)”), Vol. I, p. 185.
7. Le Grand Dictionnaire Historique Ou Le Mélange Curieux De L'Histoire Sacrée Et Profane: Qui Contient En Abregé L'Histoire Fabuleuse Des Dieux & des Heros de l'Antiquité Payenne, Les Vies Et Les Actions Remarquables Des Patriarches, des Juges, des Rois des Juifs, des Papes ... [The Great Historical Dictionary Or The Curious Mixture Of Sacred And Profane History: That Contains In Abridged Form The Fabulous History Of The Gods And Heroes Of Pagan Antiquity, The Lives And Remarkable Actions Of The Patriarchs, The Judges, The Kings Of The Jews, Popes ....]. Mariette. 1725. p. 246 – via Google Books.
8. Her parentage and marriage are confirmed by the first testament of her husband Amanieu, dated 25 July 1262.
9. L'art de vérifier les dates des faits historiques, des chartes, des chroniques, et autres anciens monuments, depuis la naissance de Jésus-Christ,... [The art of verifying the dates of historical facts, charters, chronicles, and other ancient monuments, since the birth of Jesus Christ, ...]. De Saint-Allais. 1818. p. 35 – via Google Books.
10. Lodge, Eleanor C. Gascony under English Rule. Kennikat Press: 1926.

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Prinet, Léon Jacques Maxime (1911). "Albret". In Chisholm, Hugh (ed.). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.