Francoise De Foix Chateaubriant, countess de, a mistress of Francis I. of France, born about 1485, died Oct. 16, 1537. A scion of the illustrious house of Foix, she repaired at an early age to the court of Louis XII., and became the wife of the count de Chateaubriant. She was in the zenith of her beauty when Francis I. ascended the throne. Notwithstanding the jealous temper of her husband, the king was soon on intimate terms with the beautiful countess, who publicly wore jewelry given to her by her royal lover, bearing mottoes which his sister Margaret had written at his request. The royal favor served the interests of her brothers as well as her own ambition. Her husband, however, resented her faithlessness by frequently inflicting upon her corporal punishment. Her relations with the king lasted for a number of years, and until the defeat of Pavia (1525) and the captivity of Francis her inlluencc over him was unbounded; but on his return from Madrid she was supplanted by Anne de Pisseleu, afterward duchess d'Etam-pes. The rest of her life was spent with her husband in the now dismantled castle of Chateaubriant. A chamber is still pointed out in which, according to tradition, she was bled to death by her husband.

This, however, is not supported by any positive evidence, although his brutal treatment of her was notorious.