Amanieu VII (died 1326) was the

Lord of Albret The House of Albret, which derives its name from the lordship (''seigneurie'') of Albret (Labrit), situated in the Landes of Gascony, Landes, was one of the most powerful feudal families of Kingdom of France, France and Kingdom of Navarre, Navarr ...

from 1298 until his death; the son of Amanieu VI. He was an ally of the English and sat on the King's Council during the reigns of

Edward I Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 125 ...

and

Edward II of England Edward II (25 April 1284 – 21 September 1327), also known as Edward of Caernarfon or Caernarvon, was King of England from 1307 until he was deposed in January 1327. The fourth son of Edward I, Edward became the heir to the throne follo ...

. As a relative of the

Plantagenet The House of Plantagenet ( /plænˈtædʒənət/ ''plan-TAJ-ə-nət'') was a royal house which originated from the French county of Anjou. The name Plantagenet is used by modern historians to identify four distinct royal houses: the Angev ...

s and of the sitting pope (

Martin IV Pope Martin IV (; born Simon de Brion; 1210/1220 – 28 March 1285), was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 22 February 1281 until his death in 1285. He was the last French pope to hold his court in Rome before ...

) and one of the most powerful lords in

Gascony Gascony (; ) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part of the combined Province of Guyenne and Gascon ...

, he was the recipient of conspicuous royal largesse. In 1286 Amanieu ended a long private war with Jean Ferrars, the English

seneschal The word ''seneschal'' () can have several different meanings, all of which reflect certain types of supervising or administering in a historic context. Most commonly, a seneschal was a senior position filled by a court appointment within a royal, ...

of Gascony, in return for 20,000 ''

livres tournois The (; ; abbreviation: ₶ or £) was one of numerous currencies used in medieval France, and a unit of account (i.e., a monetary unit used in accounting) used in early modern France. The 1262 monetary reform established the as 20 , or 80. ...

'' from Edward I. His son Bernard Ezi II succeeded him in Albret and on the Council. Amanieu used the French occupation of Aquitaine during the war between Edward I and

Philip IV of France Philip IV (April–June 1268 – 29 November 1314), called Philip the Fair (), was King of France from 1285 to 1314. Jure uxoris, By virtue of his marriage with Joan I of Navarre, he was also King of Navarre and Count of Champagne as Philip&n ...

from 1294 to 1303 to expand his own authority at the expense of the ducal administration. In 1302 he was amongst the team of plenipotentiaries appointed by

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots (Latin: Malleus Scotorum), was King of England from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he was Lord of Ireland, and from 1254 ...

to negotiate the Treaty of Paris (1303) that returned Gascony to Edward.CPR Edward I vol 4 1301-17,56 Between 1310 and 1324 he continued to increase his independence from the English government in

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

by appealing a successive number of sometimes trivial quarrels before the

Parlement of Paris The ''Parlement'' of Paris () was the oldest ''parlement'' in the Kingdom of France, formed in the 14th century. Parlements were judicial, rather than legislative, bodies and were composed of magistrates. Though not representative bodies in the p ...

. In 1324 he completed his defection from the English cause by joining the French during the short

War of Saint-Sardos The War of Saint-Sardos was a short war fought between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of France in 1324 during which the French invaded the English Duchy of Aquitaine. The war was a clear defeat for the English and led indirectly to the ...

References

* Labarge, Margaret Wade. ''Gascony, England's First Colony 1204–1453''. London: Hamish Hamilton, 1980. *Lodge, Eleanor C. ''Gascony under English Rule''. Kennikat Press: 1926. * Sumption, Jonathan. ''The Hundred Years War I, Trial by Battle'' Year of birth unknown 1326 deaths House of Albret {{France-noble-stub