Historical region and former province, southwestern France.
It was bounded by Gascony and the Pyrenees ; its capital was Pau. It formed part of Aquitania under the Romans; it was later devastated by the Vandal s and Visigoth s. Held as the countship of Béarn by the future Henry IV , it became a holding of the French crown when he became king in 1589. In the 16th century Pau was an important cultural centre under the patronage of Margaret of Angoulême .