Germaine of Foix – A maligned Queen (Part one)

Germaine of Foix was born in 1488 as the daughter of John of Foix, Viscount of Narbonne, a son of Eleanor, Queen of Navarre, and Marie of Orléans, a sister of King Louis XII of France. A younger brother named Gaston was born the following year. There were likely more siblings, who did not survive.

Germaine and Gaston were likely born in the Castle of Mazères and spent their first years there. Their mother died in 1492. The following year, a fire devastated the Castle of Mazères and nearly took the lives of Germaine and her brother. They were rescued just in time and were sent to live at the court of King Louis XII and Anne of Brittany. Anne sent them to the Palace of Tournelles in Paris, which was a royal residence at the time. When their father passed away in 1503, he entrusted them to the King of France.

Germaine had an excellent education under Anne of Brittany and was known as “Demoiselle de Foix” at the French court.¹ Germaine was taught to read, write, dance, and sing. She also knew how to play the harpsichord and the lute.

On 26 November 1504, Queen Isabella I of Castile died at the age of 53. Her heir was her second daughter, Joanna, who was considered to be unfit. Isabella’s husband, King Ferdinand II of Aragon, did not want Aragon to go Joanna and wanted to remarry to father a male heir who would supersede Joanna in the succession. A new bride was found in the form of Germaine, who was also his grand niece as Germaine’s grandmother, Queen Eleanor of Navarre, was Ferdinand’s elder half-sister.

The response to this planned match was mostly negative, as the Castilians believed Ferdinand was dishonouring the memory of his late wife.² This led to attacks on Germaine and she was called “flamboyant”, “frivolous” and “obese.”³

On 19 October 1505, Germaine married Ferdinand by proxy at Blois. She was 18 years old, while he was 54.  As a dowry, Germaine brought the rights France had or could have had over Naples, as well as the title of King of Jerusalem. Following the death of her brother, she would also claim her rights over Navarre. Germaine left France and entered Castile through Fuenterrabía, where she was received by Alonso of Aragon, the Archbishop of Zaragoza, who was also an illegitimate son of her new husband. She finally met Ferdinand on 18 March 1506 in Dueñas, and the marriage was duly consummated following the in-person wedding on 22 March. In 1507, Germaine travelled to meet her step-daughter Joanna in Burgos, who received her “graciously.”⁴ She and Ferdinand also visited King Louis XII, where she was described as being audacious and arrogant.⁵

One observer wrote, “… and did not do as Germaine de Foix, second wife of King Ferdinand, who, seeing herself elevated to such a high rank, became so proud that she never paid any heed to her country, and disdained it so much, that King Louis XII, her uncle, and Ferdinand, having met at Savonne, and she, being with the King her husband, held such greatness, that she never paid any attention to the French, not even her brother, the Duke of Nemours, Gaston of Foix, and did not deign to speak to or look at the nobles of France who were there, for which she was greatly mocked.”⁶

According to historian Prudencio de Sandoval, “The Queen was no beauty, somewhat lame, given to taking it easy and going to banquets, gardens and parties. This lady introduced splendid spreads to Castile, [in spite of the fact that] Castilians, and even their Kings, were very moderate in this. Few days passed on which she did not entertain or was not entertained. Her best friend was whoever spent most money in parties and banquets for her. In 1511, Burgos held a banquet in her honour, at which they spent a thousand maravedis on radishes. From this great disorder, there followed deaths [and] quarrels, for many died from overeating.”⁷

On 3 May 1509, Germaine gave birth to a son who was named John. He lived just long enough to be baptised.⁸ Their attempts at having another child continued with Ferdinand even using a “virility potion.”⁹ However, it does not appear that Germaine fell pregnant again. If John had lived, Aragon and Castile would have remained separated. The use of the so-called virility potion was also attributed to Germaine, who was accused of making her husband sick and even causing his death.³

Despite her unpopularity, Ferdinand felt confident enough in her to make her Lieutenant General of the Kingdom of Aragon while he was out of the kingdom. She had the authority to hold a Cortes, which she did several times.

At the end of 1515, King Ferdinand fell ill, and Germaine rushed to be by his side. He wrote his final will on 22 January, in which he referred to Germaine as his “very dear and beloved wife” and mentioned their son.¹⁰ He left her a very wealthy widow, and she would keep her wealth even if she remarried. He also requested from his grandson Charles that he would take care of her.

Five days after her husband’s death, Germaine moved into the monastery of Guadalupe with Ferdinand’s namesake grandson, the future Ferdinand I, Holy Roman Emperor. The younger Ferdinand had been raised in Castile, while his other siblings grew up in the Low Countries. Only his youngest sister, Catherine, also lived in Castile, but she lived with their imprisoned mother, Joanna, in Tordesillas. Germaine wrote to Charles to inform him of his grandfather’s death, and he wrote back, assuring her of his protection and that he would execute all the provisions of his grandfather’s will.

Read part two here.

1. Germana de Foix by Rosa E. Ríos Lloret, p. 32
2. The Monstrous Regiment of Women: Female Rulers in Early Modern Europe by Sharon L Jansen p.96
3. Marino, Nancy F. “THE LITERARY COURT IN VALENCIA, 1526-36.” Hispanófila, no. 104, 1992, pp. 1–15. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/43808291. Accessed 9 May 2024.
4. Juana I by Gillian B. Fleming p.187
5. Germana de Foix by Rosa E. Ríos Lloret, p. 141
6. Germana de Foix by Rosa E. Ríos Lloret, p. 141-142
7. Carajicomedia: Parody and Satire in Early Modern Spain by Frank Dominguez p.160
8. Germana de Foix by Rosa E. Ríos Lloret, p. 65
9. Juana the Mad by Bethany Aram p.98
10. Germana de Foix by Rosa E. Ríos Lloret, p. 102