Joanna II of Naples
| Joanna II | |
|---|---|
Queen of Naples | |
| Reign | 6 August 1414 – 2 February 1435 |
| Coronation | 28 October 1419 |
| Predecessor | Ladislaus |
| Successor | René |
| Born | 25 June 1371 Zadar, Kingdom of Croatia |
| Died | 2 February 1435 (aged 63) Naples, Kingdom of Naples |
| Burial | , Naples, Kingdom of Naples |
| Spouses | |
| House | Capetian House of Anjou |
| Father | Charles III of Naples |
| Mother | Margaret of Durazzo |
Joanna II (25 June 1371 – 2 February 1435) was reigning
Early life
Joanna was born at Zara (present-day
After 1386 Marie of Blois Duchess Dowager of Anjou started negotiations about her son Louis II of Anjou's marriage with Joanna, but Louis flatly refused to marry the daughter of his father's principal enemy in May 1387.[2]
Joanna married her first husband,
Accession
In 1414, the 41-year-old and childless Joanna succeeded her brother
In 1416, a riot exploded in Naples, and James was compelled to send back his French administrators and to renounce his title. In this period, Joanna began her relationship with
Rupture with the papacy
With James now powerless, Joanna could finally celebrate her coronation on 28 October 1419, when she was crowned Queen of Sicily and Naples. However, her relationship with Naples' nominal feudal suzerain, Pope Martin V, soon worsened. Upon the advice of Caracciolo, she denied Martin economic aid to rebuild the papal army. In response, the Pope called in Louis III of Anjou, son of the rival of King Ladislaus and himself still a pretender to the Neapolitan throne. In 1420, Louis invaded Campania, but the Pope, trying to gain personal advantage from the menace posed to Joanna, called the ambassadors of the two parties to Florence.
Joanna rejected the ambiguous papal proposal calling for help from the brother of her erstwhile betrothed, the powerful King Alfonso V of Aragon, to whom she promised the hereditary title to Naples. Alfonso entered Naples in July 1421. Louis lost the support of the Pope, but at the same time the relationship between Joanna and Alfonso worsened. In May 1423, Alfonso had Caracciolo arrested and besieged Joanna's residence, the Castel Capuano. An agreement was obtained; Caracciolo was freed, and fled to Aversa with Joanna. Here she met again with Louis, declared her adoption of Alfonso to be null and void, and named Louis as her new heir. Alfonso was forced to return to Spain, so that she could be returned to Naples in April 1424. Caracciolo's exceeding ambition pushed Joanna to plot his assassination in 1432. On 19 August 1432, Sergianni Caracciolo was stabbed in his room in Castel Capuano. He was buried in Naples in the church of San Giovanni a Carbonara.
Years of peace
The remaining years of Joanna's reign were relatively peaceful. Louis dwelled in his fiefdom, the
References
- ^ a b c d Guida Myrl Jackson-Laufer, Women Rulers Throughout the Ages: An Illustrated Guide, (ABC-CLIO, 1999), 201-202.
- ^ Rohr 2016, pp. 17, 206.
- ^ Ephraim Emerton, The Beginnings of Modern Europe (1250-1450), (Ginn and Company, 1917), 428-429.
- ^ Elena Woodacre, The Queens Regnant of Navarre: Succession, Politics, and Partnership, 1274-1512, (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013), 91.
Sources
- Emerton, Ephraim (1917). The Beginnings of Modern Europe (1250–1450). Ginn and Company.
- Jackson, Guida M. (1999). Women Rulers Throughout the Ages: An Illustrated Guide. Santa Barbara, CA: ABC-CLIO. ISBN 1-57607-091-3.
- Rohr, Zita Eva (2016). Yolanda of Aragon (1381–1442), Family and Power: The Reverse of the Tapestry. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-137-49912-7.
- Woodacre, Elena (2013). The Queens Regnant of Navarre: Succession, Politics, and Partnership, 1274–1512. London: Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1137339140.
Further reading
- Waley.P, Denley.P,(2013) Later Medieval Europe 1250-1520 Routledge
- Jansen, Drell and Andrews, (2011) eds. Medieval Italy texts in translation UPP
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