Background
Her dates of birth and death are disputed, though it is believed that she was born soon after the marriage of her parents in 1228 and died after she claimed Bigorre in 1283. She was suo jure Viscountess of Marsen, which she inherited from her father. Martha was the third child of her mother, her second marriage to Guy de Montfort had produced two half-sisters, Alice, who would go onto succeed their mother and a second Petronilla who was married to Raoul de la Roche-Tesson.
Whilst Martha, would inherit the title of Viscountess of Marsen from her father.
Career
Petronilla made a testament soon after the birth of Martha, so that Alice would inherit her title of Countess of Bigorre. Between 1245 and 1250, Martha married Gaston VII, Viscount of Béarn, the couple had four daughters:
Constance (died 1310), succeeded in Marsan and Bigorre. Margaret, succeeded in Béarn.
Married, in 1252, to Roger-Bernard III de Foix
Martha, married Gerald VI, Count of Armagnac in 1260
Guillelme(or Guillemette.
Died 1309), affianced in 1270 to Sancho IV of Castile, annulled 1281. Married, in 1291, to the Aragonese infante Peter (1275–1296), son of Peter the Great
Upon the death of Countess Petronilla in 1251, Alice should have succeeded her as Countess.
However, before Petronilla"s death, she had handed control of the government over to Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester, who interpreted the act as a gift and so did not allow Alice to claim her inheritance. Alice appealed to Martha and Gaston for help in claiming her inheritance, the couple sent Alice military support and forced De Montfort to abandon his claims, returning to England soon after.
Alice ruled as Countess for four years and died in 1255.
However, Martha"s nephew made the mistake of keeping land that she had in Bigorre. In 1258, war resumed in the region and Eschivat agreed to temporarily surrender the County of Bigorre to Simon de Montfort, this time to end the conflict. Soon after, Simon de Montfort rebelled against King Henry III of England, and Eschivat helped Gaston VII and Martha regain Bigorre.
He died in 1283, without children.
Constance inherited the title of Viscountess from Martha.
Views
Gaston VII then invaded the county, forcing Eschivat to defend it, seeking alliances with the English and Roger IV, Count of Foix.
