Blanche of Anjou
Encyclopedia
Blanche of Anjou was the second Queen consort
of James II of Aragon
. She was a member of the Capetian House of Anjou
, she is also known as Blanche of Naples
and Maria of Hungary. Blanche had thirteen siblings they included: Charles Martel of Anjou
, Louis of Toulouse
, Philip I, Prince of Taranto, Eleanor, Queen of Sicily
and Margaret, Countess of Anjou and Maine.
Blanche's paternal grandparents were Charles I of Sicily
and Beatrice of Provence
, daughter of Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence
and Beatrice of Savoy
. Her maternal grandparents were Stephen V of Hungary
and his wife, Elisabeth, who was daughter of Zayhan of Kuni, a chief of the Cuman tribe and had been a pagan
before her marriage.
. Her father was helping him defend Montferrat. However, the engagement was broken off and John died in 1305.
The new Pope Boniface VIII
, elected in 1294 at Naples under the auspices of King Charles, mediated between the latter and James II of Aragon
, and the dishonourable Treaty of Anagni was signed: James was to marry Blanche and was promised the investiture by the pope of Sardinia
and Corsica
, while he was to leave the Angevin a free hand in Sicily and even to assist him if the Sicilians resisted.
On 29 October or 1 November 1295 at Vilabertran
, Blanche and James were married. They had ten children:
Blanche died on the 14 October 1310, her death was probably linked to the birth of her daughter Violante, who was born in October 1310. Blanche was buried at Santes Creus
.
|-
|-
|-
|-
Queen consort
A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...
of James II of Aragon
James II of Aragon
James II , called the Just was the King of Sicily from 1285 to 1296 and King of Aragon and Valencia and Count of Barcelona from 1291 to 1327. In 1297 he was granted the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica...
. She was a member of the Capetian House of Anjou
Capetian House of Anjou
The Capetian House of Anjou, also known as the House of Anjou-Sicily and House of Anjou-Naples, was a royal house and cadet branch of the direct House of Capet. Founded by Charles I of Sicily, a son of Louis VIII of France, the Capetian king first ruled the Kingdom of Sicily during the 13th century...
, she is also known as Blanche of Naples
Family
Blanche was the second daughter of Charles II of NaplesCharles II of Naples
Charles II, known as "the Lame" was King of Naples, King of Albania, Prince of Salerno, Prince of Achaea and Count of Anjou.-Biography:...
and Maria of Hungary. Blanche had thirteen siblings they included: Charles Martel of Anjou
Charles Martel of Anjou
Charles Martel of the Angevin dynasty, also known as Charles I Martel, was the eldest son of king Charles II of Naples and Maria of Hungary, the daughter of King Stephen V of Hungary....
, Louis of Toulouse
Louis of Toulouse
Saint Louis of Toulouse was a cadet of the royal French house of Anjou who was made a Catholic bishop. The California mission, city and county of San Luis Obispo, California, are named after him....
, Philip I, Prince of Taranto, Eleanor, Queen of Sicily
Eleanor of Anjou
Eleanor of Naples was the Queen consort of Frederick III of Sicily. She was a member of the Capetian House of Anjou by birth.-Family:She was the third daughter of Charles II of Naples and Mary of Hungary....
and Margaret, Countess of Anjou and Maine.
Blanche's paternal grandparents were Charles I of Sicily
Charles I of Sicily
Charles I , known also as Charles of Anjou, was the King of Sicily by conquest from 1266, though he had received it as a papal grant in 1262 and was expelled from the island in the aftermath of the Sicilian Vespers of 1282...
and Beatrice of Provence
Beatrice of Provence
Beatrice of Provence , was a countess regnant of Provence. She was also a Queen consort of Sicily by marriage to King Charles I of Sicily....
, daughter of Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence
Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence
Ramon Berenguer IV , Count of Provence and Forcalquier, was the son of Alfonso II of Provence and Garsenda of Sabran, heiress of Forcalquier. After his father's death , Ramon was imprisoned in the castle of Monzón, in Aragon until he was able to escape in 1219 and claim his inheritance. He was a...
and Beatrice of Savoy
Beatrice of Savoy
Beatrice of Savoy was the daughter of Thomas I of Savoy and Margaret of Geneva. She was Countess consort of Provence by her marriage to Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Provence.-Family:...
. Her maternal grandparents were Stephen V of Hungary
Stephen V of Hungary
Stephen V , was King of Hungary from 1270 to 1272.-Early years:...
and his wife, Elisabeth, who was daughter of Zayhan of Kuni, a chief of the Cuman tribe and had been a pagan
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
before her marriage.
Life
Blanche was originally betrothed in 1290 to John I, Marquess of MontferratJohn I, Marquess of Montferrat
John I was the Margrave of Montferrat, last the Aleramici dynasty, from 1292 to his death.John was the only son of William VII of Montferrat and his second wife Beatrice, daughter of Alfonso X of Castile. In his youth, John was put under the tutelage of Thomas I of Saluzzo during the period of...
. Her father was helping him defend Montferrat. However, the engagement was broken off and John died in 1305.
The new Pope Boniface VIII
Pope Boniface VIII
Pope Boniface VIII , born Benedetto Gaetani, was Pope of the Catholic Church from 1294 to 1303. Today, Boniface VIII is probably best remembered for his feuds with Dante, who placed him in the Eighth circle of Hell in his Divina Commedia, among the Simonists.- Biography :Gaetani was born in 1235 in...
, elected in 1294 at Naples under the auspices of King Charles, mediated between the latter and James II of Aragon
James II of Aragon
James II , called the Just was the King of Sicily from 1285 to 1296 and King of Aragon and Valencia and Count of Barcelona from 1291 to 1327. In 1297 he was granted the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica...
, and the dishonourable Treaty of Anagni was signed: James was to marry Blanche and was promised the investiture by the pope of Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
and Corsica
Corsica
Corsica is an island in the Mediterranean Sea. It is located west of Italy, southeast of the French mainland, and north of the island of Sardinia....
, while he was to leave the Angevin a free hand in Sicily and even to assist him if the Sicilians resisted.
On 29 October or 1 November 1295 at Vilabertran
Vilabertran
Vilabertran is a municipality in the comarca of Alt Empordà, Girona, Catalonia, Spain....
, Blanche and James were married. They had ten children:
- James (Jaume) (b. 29 September 1296 – d. TarragonaTarragonaTarragona is a city located in the south of Catalonia on the north-east of Spain, by the Mediterranean. It is the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and the capital of the Catalan comarca Tarragonès. In the medieval and modern times it was the capital of the Vegueria of Tarragona...
, July 1334). James renounced his right to the throne in 1319 to become a monk. He refused to consummate his marriage to Eleanor of Castile, who later become the second wife of his brother Alfonso.
- Alfonso IV of AragonAlfonso IV of AragonAlfonso IV, called the Kind was the King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona from 1327 to his death. He was the second son of James II and Blanche of Anjou...
(1299 – 24 January 1336). He became the King of Aragon in 1327 and ruled until his death. He married twice: first to Teresa d'Entença and then to Eleanor of Castile after his first wife died.
- MariaMaria of Aragon (1299-1316)Maria of Aragon was a daughter of James II of Aragon and his second wife Blanche of Anjou.She married the Infante Peter of Castile , son of Sancho IV of Castile. Their daughter, Blanche of Castile , married and later divorced Peter I of Portugal. Maria died at Sijena in 1316....
(b. 1299 – d. as a nun in Sijena, 1316). She married Infante Peter of Castile, son of Sancho IV of CastileSancho IV of CastileSancho IV the Brave was the King of Castile, León and Galicia from 1284 to his death. He was the second son of Alfonso X and Yolanda, daughter of James I of Aragon.-Biography:...
.
- Constance (Constança) (b. ValenciaValencia (city in Spain)Valencia or València is the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third largest city in Spain, with a population of 809,267 in 2010. It is the 15th-most populous municipality in the European Union...
, 1 April 1300 – d. Castillo de Garcia Munoz, 19 September 1327). Constance married Juan Manuel, Prince of Villena, nephew of Alfonso X of CastileAlfonso X of CastileAlfonso X was a Castilian monarch who ruled as the King of Castile, León and Galicia from 1252 until his death...
.
- John (Juan) (b. 1304 – d. Pobo, ZaragozaZaragozaZaragoza , also called Saragossa in English, is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain...
, 19 August 1334). John became the first Archbishop of ToledoToledo, SpainToledo's Alcázar became renowned in the 19th and 20th centuries as a military academy. At the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936 its garrison was famously besieged by Republican forces.-Economy:...
and TarragonaTarragonaTarragona is a city located in the south of Catalonia on the north-east of Spain, by the Mediterranean. It is the capital of the Spanish province of the same name and the capital of the Catalan comarca Tarragonès. In the medieval and modern times it was the capital of the Vegueria of Tarragona...
in 1318, and Patriarch of AlexandriaAlexandriaAlexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
in 1328.
- IsabellaIsabel of AragonIsabella of Aragon was the daughter of James II of Aragon and his second wife Blanche of Anjou. Queen consort of Frederick I of Austria. She was a member of the House of Aragon-Life:...
(b. 1305 – d. Styria, 12 July 1330), she married Frederick I of AustriaFrederick I of Austria (Habsburg)Frederick the Handsome or the Fair , from the House of Habsburg, was Duke of Austria and Styria from 1308 as Frederick I as well as King of Germany from 1314 as Frederick III until his death.-Biography:He was the second son of King Albert I of Germany with his wife Elisabeth of...
.
- Peter (Pere) (b. 1305 – d. PisaPisaPisa is a city in Tuscany, Central Italy, on the right bank of the mouth of the River Arno on the Tyrrhenian Sea. It is the capital city of the Province of Pisa...
, 4 November 1381), Count of Ribagorça and Prades. Peter married Jeanne, daughter of Gaston I of Foix, father of Eleanor, Queen of CyprusEleanor of Aragon, Queen of CyprusEleanor of Aragon was Queen consort of Cyprus as the wife of King Peter I of Cyprus. She was a member of the House of Barcelona as the daughter of Peter of Aragon and his wife Joan of Foix.-Queen of Cyprus:...
.
- Blanca (b. 1307 – d. BarcelonaBarcelonaBarcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, 1348), Prioress of Sixena.
- Ramon Berenguer (b. August 1308 – d. a priest at BarcelonaBarcelonaBarcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, 1366), Count of EmpúriesCounty of EmpúriesThe County of Empúries was a medieval county centred on the town of Empúries and enclosing the Catalan region of Peralada. It corresponds to the historic comarca of Empordà....
and Baron of Ejerica.. Ramon married firstly Blanca, daughter of Philip I of TarantoPhilip I of TarantoPhilip I of Taranto : of the Angevin house, was titular Emperor of Constantinople , despot of Epirus, King of Albania, Prince of Achaea and Taranto, and Lord of Durazzo....
, and secondly Maria, daughter of Jaime of Aragon.
- Violante (b. BarcelonaBarcelonaBarcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
, October 1310 – d. PedrolaPedrolaPedrola is a municipality located in the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2004 census , the municipality has a population of 2,906 inhabitants....
, 19 July 1353). She first married Philip, Despot of Romania, son of Philip I of TarantoPhilip I of TarantoPhilip I of Taranto : of the Angevin house, was titular Emperor of Constantinople , despot of Epirus, King of Albania, Prince of Achaea and Taranto, and Lord of Durazzo....
. Her second marriage was to Lope de Luna, Lord of Segorbe.
Blanche died on the 14 October 1310, her death was probably linked to the birth of her daughter Violante, who was born in October 1310. Blanche was buried at Santes Creus
Santes Creus
Monastery of Santa Maria de Santes Creus is a Cistercian monastery in the municipality of Aiguamúrcia, Catalonia, Spain.- History :The monastery's origins date to 1158, when the Lords of Montagut y de Albá donated the village of Santes Creus to the monks of Valdaura...
.
Ancestry
|-
|-
|-
|-