Gaston Fébus and Fortune. - A short extract from the chronicle of Aymeric de Peyrac, abbot of Moissac (1377-1406), provides new insight into the life of Gaston Fébus, count of Foix. Although Froissait and most other historians described him as a noble and courteous man, Aymeric insisted on the avarice, selfishness and hypocrisy of the count. This negative and reproachful point of view attests to the fact that other writers also conjectured that certain deeds may have been imputable to the count. But in Aymeric's opinion there is no doubt whatsoever concerning the murder of Gaston Fébus's son, for instance, or the accusation of sorcery. Linked to the Armagnac clan, the writer's judgment was above all moral and political ; he expounded on Fortune and death on an elevated literary level, serving to promote the figure of King Charles VI as a model. Among princes, chivalrous nobles like the Black Prince, or Jean d'Armagnac, Fébus's rival, were set apart, despite their failures, from the cynical princes, who refused the counsel of the Church and neglected the peace and wellbeing of their subjects.
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