Bernal de Foix, 1st Count of Medinaceli

Bernal de Foix, First Count of Medinaceli (Spanish: Mosén Bernardo de Bearne y Foix, primer conde de Medinaceli, c. 1331 – 1 August 1391), also known as "the Bastard of Bearn",^[1] was a military officer and politician in the Crown of Castile, a region now part of Spain.

Bernal de Foix was an illegitimate son of the 11th count of Foix, Gaston III de Foix. He was invested as the First Count of Medinaceli in 1368, upon his marriage to Doña Isabel de la Cerda. Isabel, the young widow of Don Rodrigo Alvarez de Asturias, was the granddaughter of Alfonso X of Castile, who had been proclaimed King of Castile by his father but was usurped by his brother Sancho IV of Castile. She was granted large estates on the condition that she relinquish all claim to the Crown of Castile for herself and her heirs.^[1] The Medinaceli dukes had extensive estates in the Spanish provinces of Soria and Guadalajara.^[2] De Foix donated property to his wife on 15 October 1370.^[3]

De Foix took the side of royal bastard Henry II of Castile against de Foix's legitimate brother King Pedro I of Castile in the Castilian Civil War. He chose to stay in Castile when Henry II killed King Pedro I of Castile at the Castle of Montiel in March 1369. He commanded a troop of Castilians under Henry II.^[1]

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