{"product_id":"9781843833567-lord-of-the-pyrenees-gaston-fbus-count-of-foix-1331-1391","title":"Lord of the Pyrenees: Gaston Fébus, Count of Foix [1331-1391]","description":"\u003cmeta content=\"text\/html; charset=utf-8\" http-equiv=\"Content-Type\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eRelates the colourful life of 'enlightened despot' Gaston III, count of Foix, an enigmatic and brilliant figure in a turbulent period.\u003cbr\u003eRelates the colourful life of 'enlightened despot' Gaston III, count of Foix, an enigmatic and brilliant figure in a turbulent period.The reign of Gaston III, Count of Foix and self-proclaimed sovereign Lord of Béarn, stands out as one of the rare success stories of the `calamitous' fourteenth century. By playing a skilful game of shifting allegiances and timelydefiance, he avoided being drawn into the conflicts between his more powerful neighbours - France and English Aquitaine, Aragon and Castile -- thus sparing his domains the devastations of warfare.  Best known as a patron of thearts, and the author of a celebrated Book of the Hunt, Fébus - as he styled himself - also prefigures the eighteenth-century `enlightened despots' with his effort to centralize government, protect natural resources and promote enterprise. But a sequence of mysterious tragedies -- the abrupt dismissal of his wife, the slaying of his only legitimate son - reveal the dark side of the brilliant and enigmatic `Sun Prince of the Pyrenees'. RICHARD VERNIER is Professor Emeritus of Romance Languages and Literatures, Wayne State University. He is the author of The Flower of Chivalry: Bertrand du Guesclin and the Hundred Years War.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Rarewaves","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55207670284662,"sku":"9781843833567","price":130.33,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0092\/7504\/8033\/files\/orig_28531256.jpg?v=1738208231","url":"https:\/\/www.rarewaves.com\/products\/9781843833567-lord-of-the-pyrenees-gaston-fbus-count-of-foix-1331-1391","provider":"Rarewaves.com","version":"1.0","type":"link"}