Arnaud Amanieu, Lord of Albret

Who was Arnaud Amanieu, Lord of Albret?

Arnaud Amanieu was the Lord of Albret from 1358. Arnaud Amanieu was the son of Bernard Ezi IV and Mathe of Armagnac.

In 1330, Edward III of England sent men to Gascony to negotiate with the nobles. Beranrd Ezi IV tried to negotiate a marriage between Arnaud Amanieu and a daughter of Edmund of Woodstock, Earl of Kent, but the plans fell through.

In 1363, Edward the Black Prince, then Duke of Gascony, went to his province to procure the homage of his barons, chief among whom was Arnaud Amanieu. In the cathedral of Bordeaux on 9 July, the lord of Albret was the first to kneel sans belt and cap before the Prince and swear an oath of fealty, then to kiss a Bible and a cross, and finally to kiss the Prince on the mouth. However, good relations did not last long between Lord and Prince.

In 1368, while preparing to cross the Pyrenees to join in the Castilian Civil War, Edward demanded a contingent from Arnaud Amanieu, but the forces requested were more than the lord of Albret could suffice. Arnaud Amanieu refused, causing the Black Prince to say:

Edward's Council also declared a fouage, a new tax, which was bitterly resented by the great landholders.