High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The House of Armagnac, at the end of the thirteenth century, was not yet powerful enough to play a political role beyond their possessions. The House of Toulouse, which ruled over the large southwest of France, was defeated by the Capetians during the Albigensian Crusade, but local dynasties, like the House of Foix, the Counts of Comminges, the House of Albret, were gaining momentum. At the beginning of the fourteenth century, the Armagnacs reached the rank of great feudal lords with the legacy of the County of Rodez. This heritage combined with its Gascon lands, allowed the family to hold a rank of major importance in the heart of the nobility and, therefore, to ally itself to the royal House of France. Between the fourteenth and fifteenth century, the Armagnacs came into possession of other territories including the counties of Charolais, La Marche, Pardiac, Castres, the land of Nemours elevated to a duchy, and the Carladez.