Yolande of Aragon
Encyclopedia
Yolande of Aragon, was a throne claimant and titular queen regnant
of Aragon, titular queen consort
of Naples, Duchess of Anjou, Countess of Provence, and regent of Provence during the minority of her son. She was a daughter of John I of Aragon
and his wife Yolande of Bar (daughter of Robert I, Duke of Bar, and Marie Valois).
She was also known as Jolantha de Aragon and Violant d'Aragó. Tradition holds that she commissioned the famous Rohan Hours
.
, on 11 August 1384, the eldest daughter of King John I of Aragon by his second wife, Yolande of Bar, the granddaughter of King John II of France
. She had three brothers and two sisters, as well as five older half-siblings from her father's first marriage to Martha of Armagnac
. Yolande later played an important role in the politics of the Angevin Empire
, France
, and Aragon during the first half of the 15th century. As the surviving daughter of King John I of Aragon
, she claimed the throne of Aragon after the deaths of her elder sister Joanna, Countess of Foix
, and her uncle, King Martin I of Aragon
. However, unclear though they were, the laws of succession for Aragon and Barcelona at that time were understood to favour all male relatives over the females (this is how Yolande's uncle, Martin of Aragon came to inherit the throne of Aragon). Martin died without surviving issue in 1410, and after two years without a king, the Estates of Aragon elected Ferdinand de Antequera
as the next King of Aragon as Ferdinand I. He was the second son of Queen Eleanor of Aragon and King John I of Castile
.
The Anjou candidate for the throne of Aragon was Yolande's eldest son Louis III of Anjou, Duke of Calabria
, whose claim was forfeited in the Pact of Caspe. Yolande and her sons regarded themselves as the heirs with the stronger claim, and began to use the title of Kings of Aragon. As a result of this additional inheritance, Yolande was called the "Queen of Four Kingdoms" - the four apparently Sicily, Jerusalem, Cyprus and Aragon. Another interpretation specifies Naples separate from Sicily, plus Jerusalem and Aragon. The number could be raised to seven if the two component kingdoms of the Crown of Aragon (Majorca and Valencia) and Sardinia
were included. However, the reality was that Yolande and her family controlled territories in the said kingdoms only at short intervals, if ever. Their true realm was the Anjou fiefdoms across France: they held uncontestably the provinces of Provence and Anjou, and also at times Bar, Maine, Touraine
and Valois. Yolande's son René I of Anjou became ruler of Lorraine through his marriage to Isabella, Duchess of Lorraine
.
, Yolande chose to support the French (in particular the Armagnac
party) against the English and the Burgundians; she supported the claim of the Dauphin Charles who, relying upon Yolande's resources and help, succeeded in becoming crowned Charles VII of France
. As Charles' own mother, Isabeau of Bavaria
, worked against his claims, it has been said that Yolande was the person who protected the adolescent Charles against all sorts of plots on his life and acted as a substitute mother. She removed Charles from his parents' court and kept him in her own castles, usually those in the Loire Valley
, where Charles received Joan of Arc
. Yolande arranged the marriage of Charles to her daughter Mary of Anjou, thus becoming Charles' mother-in-law. This led to Yolande's personal, and crucial, involvement in the struggle for the survival of the House of Valois in France.
Yolande's marriage to Louis II of Anjou, at Arles
in December 1400, was arranged as a part of long-standing efforts to resolve contested claims upon the kingdom of Sicily and Naples between the houses of Anjou and Aragon. Louis spent much of his life fighting in Italy for his claim to the Kingdom of Naples. In France, Yolande was the Duchess of Anjou and the Countess of Provence. She preferred to hold court in Angers
and Saumur
. She had six children, and through her second son Réne was the grandmother of Margaret of Anjou
, the wife of King Henry VI of England
.
With the victory of the English over the French at the Battle of Agincourt
in 1415, the Duchy of Anjou was threatened. The French king, Charles VI
, was mentally ill and his realm was in a state of civil war between the Burgundians and the Orleanists (Armagnacs). The situation was made worse by an alliance among the Duke of Burgundy
, John the Fearless, the English, and the French queen, Isabeau of Bavaria, who submitted to the Duke of Burgundy's scheme to deny the crown of France to the children of Charles VI. Fearing the abusive power building behind the Duke of Burgundy, Louis II had Yolande move with her children and future son-in-law, Charles, to Provence in southern France.
On 29 April 1417, Louis II of Anjou died of illness, leaving Yolande, at age 33, in control of the House of Anjou. She acted as regent for her son because of his youth. She also had the fate of the French royal house of Valois in her hands. Her young son-in-law, the Dauphin Charles, was exceptionally vulnerable to the designs of the English King, Henry V
, and to his older cousin, John the Fearless, the Duke of Burgundy. Charles' nearest older relatives, the Dukes of Orléans and of Bourbon, had been made prisoners at the Battle of Agincourt and were held captive by the English. With his mother, Queen Isabeau, and the Duke of Burgundy allied with the English, Charles had no resources to support him other than those of the House of Anjou and the smaller House of Armagnac.
Following the assassination of John the Fearless at Montereau
in 1419, his son Philip the Good
succeeded him as Duke of Burgundy. With Henry V of England
, he forced the Treaty of Troyes
(21 May 1420) on the mentally-ill King Charles VI. The treaty designated Henry as "Regent of France" and heir to the French throne. Following this, the Dauphin Charles was declared disinherited in 1421. When both Henry V of England and Charles VI of France died in 1422 (on 31 August and 21 October, respectively), the Dauphin Charles, at age 19, legitimately became Charles VII of France. Charles' title was challenged by the English and their Burgundian allies, who supported the candidacy of Henry VI of England
, the infant son of Henry V and Catherine of Valois
, Charles' own sister, as king of France. This set the stage for the last phase of the Hundred Years' War: the "War of Charles VII".
In this struggle, Yolande played a prominent role in surrounding the young Valois king with advisors and servants associated with the House of Anjou. She maneuvered John VI, Duke of Brittany
, into breaking an alliance with the English, and was responsible for a soldier from the Breton ducal family, Arthur de Richemont
, becoming Constable of France
in 1425. Yolande's early and strong support of Joan of Arc, when others had doubts, suggests her possible larger role in orchestrating Joan's appearance on the scene. Yolande unquestionably practiced realistic politics. Using the Constable de Richemont, Yolande was behind the forceful removal of several of Charles VII's less desirable advisors. The worst, La Trémoille
, was attacked and forced from the court in 1433. Yolande was not averse to recruiting beautiful women and coaching them to become the mistresses of influential men who would spy on them on her behalf. She had a network of such women in the courts of Lorraine, Burgundy, Brittany, and her son-in-law.
The contemporary chronicler Jean Juvenal des Ursins
(1433–44), Bishop of Beauvais, described Yolande as "the prettiest woman in the kingdom." Bourdigné, chronicler of the house of Anjou, says of her: "She who was said to be the wisest and most beautiful princess in Christendom." Later, King Louis XI of France
recalled that his grandmother had "a man's heart in a woman's body." A twentieth-century French author, Jehanne d'Orliac, wrote one of the few works specifically on Yolande, and noted that the duchess remains unappreciated for her genius and influence in the reign of Charles VII. "She is mentioned in passing because she is the pivot of all important events for forty-two years in France", while "Joan [of Arc] was in the public eye only eleven months."
Yolande retired to Angers, and then to Saumur, where she died at the Château de Tuce-de-Saumur on 14 December 1443.
, in which she is played by Geneviève Casile, the grand dame of the French theatre.
Yolande appears as a character in the 1999 film The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc
, in which she is played by actress Faye Dunaway
.
Queen regnant
A queen regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right, in contrast to a queen consort, who is the wife of a reigning king. An empress regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right over an empire....
of Aragon, titular queen consort
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 Naples, Duchess of Anjou, Countess of Provence, and regent of Provence during the minority of her son. She was a daughter of John I of Aragon
John I of Aragon
John I , called by posterity the Hunter or the Lover of Elegance , but the Abandoned in his lifetime, was the King of...
and his wife Yolande of Bar (daughter of Robert I, Duke of Bar, and Marie Valois).
She was also known as Jolantha de Aragon and Violant d'Aragó. Tradition holds that she commissioned the famous Rohan Hours
Rohan Hours
The Grandes Heures de Rohan is an illuminated manuscript book of hours, painted by the anonymous artist, the Rohan Master, between 1430 and 1435, in the Gothic style...
.
Claim to the Aragonese throne
Yolande was born in Saragosa, AragonAragon
Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza...
, on 11 August 1384, the eldest daughter of King John I of Aragon by his second wife, Yolande of Bar, the granddaughter of King John II of France
John II of France
John II , called John the Good , was the King of France from 1350 until his death. He was the second sovereign of the House of Valois and is perhaps best remembered as the king who was vanquished at the Battle of Poitiers and taken as a captive to England.The son of Philip VI and Joan the Lame,...
. She had three brothers and two sisters, as well as five older half-siblings from her father's first marriage to Martha of Armagnac
Martha of Armagnac
Martha of Armagnac was the youngest child of John I of Armagnac and his second wife Beatrice of Clermont. She was the first wife of John I of Aragon but never became Queen consort of Aragon because she was outlived by her father-in-law Peter IV of Aragon.- Early Life and Family :Martha was the...
. Yolande later played an important role in the politics of the Angevin Empire
Angevin Empire
The term Angevin Empire is a modern term describing the collection of states once ruled by the Angevin Plantagenet dynasty.The Plantagenets ruled over an area stretching from the Pyrenees to Ireland during the 12th and early 13th centuries, located north of Moorish Iberia. This "empire" extended...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, and Aragon during the first half of the 15th century. As the surviving daughter of King John I of Aragon
John I of Aragon
John I , called by posterity the Hunter or the Lover of Elegance , but the Abandoned in his lifetime, was the King of...
, she claimed the throne of Aragon after the deaths of her elder sister Joanna, Countess of Foix
Joanna of Aragon, Countess of Foix
Infanta Joanna of Aragon was the only surviving child of John I of Aragon and his first wife Martha of Armagnac. She was a member of the House of Aragon and was Countess consort of Foix by her marriage to Matthew of Foix....
, and her uncle, King Martin I of Aragon
Martin I of Aragon
Martin of Aragon , called the Elder, the Humane, the Ecclesiastic, was the King of Aragon, Valencia, Sardinia, and Corsica and Count of Barcelona from 1396 and King of Sicily from 1409...
. However, unclear though they were, the laws of succession for Aragon and Barcelona at that time were understood to favour all male relatives over the females (this is how Yolande's uncle, Martin of Aragon came to inherit the throne of Aragon). Martin died without surviving issue in 1410, and after two years without a king, the Estates of Aragon elected Ferdinand de Antequera
Ferdinand I of Aragon
Ferdinand I called of Antequera and also the Just or the Honest) was king of Aragon, Valencia, Majorca, Sardinia and Corsica and king of Sicily, duke of Athens and Neopatria, and count of Barcelona, Roussillon and Cerdanya...
as the next King of Aragon as Ferdinand I. He was the second son of Queen Eleanor of Aragon and King John I of Castile
John I of Castile
John I was the king of Crown of Castile, was the son of Henry II and of his wife Juana Manuel of Castile, daughter of Juan Manuel, Prince of Villena, head of a younger branch of the royal house of Castile...
.
The Anjou candidate for the throne of Aragon was Yolande's eldest son Louis III of Anjou, Duke of Calabria
Duke of Calabria
Duke of Calabria was the traditional title of the heir apparent of the Kingdom of Naples after the accession of Robert of Naples. It was also adopted by the heads of certain Houses that had once claimed the Kingdom of Naples in lieu of the royal title....
, whose claim was forfeited in the Pact of Caspe. Yolande and her sons regarded themselves as the heirs with the stronger claim, and began to use the title of Kings of Aragon. As a result of this additional inheritance, Yolande was called the "Queen of Four Kingdoms" - the four apparently Sicily, Jerusalem, Cyprus and Aragon. Another interpretation specifies Naples separate from Sicily, plus Jerusalem and Aragon. The number could be raised to seven if the two component kingdoms of the Crown of Aragon (Majorca and Valencia) and 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[],...
were included. However, the reality was that Yolande and her family controlled territories in the said kingdoms only at short intervals, if ever. Their true realm was the Anjou fiefdoms across France: they held uncontestably the provinces of Provence and Anjou, and also at times Bar, Maine, Touraine
Touraine
The Touraine is one of the traditional provinces of France. Its capital was Tours. During the political reorganization of French territory in 1790, the Touraine was divided between the departments of Indre-et-Loire, :Loir-et-Cher and Indre.-Geography:...
and Valois. Yolande's son René I of Anjou became ruler of Lorraine through his marriage to Isabella, Duchess of Lorraine
Isabella, Duchess of Lorraine
Isabella was suo jure Duchess of Lorraine, from 25 January 1431 to her death in 1453. She was the first wife of Duke Rene of Anjou, King of Naples, and the mother of his children, which included Margaret of Anjou, Queen consort of England as the wife of Henry VI.From 1435 to 1442, Isabella was...
.
France and the House of Anjou
In the emerging second phase of the Hundred Years' WarHundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War was a series of separate wars waged from 1337 to 1453 by the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet, also known as the House of Anjou, for the French throne, which had become vacant upon the extinction of the senior Capetian line of French kings...
, Yolande chose to support the French (in particular the Armagnac
Armagnac (party)
The Armagnac party was prominent in French politics and warfare during the Hundred Years' War. It was allied with the supporters of Charles, Duke of Orléans against John the Fearless after Charles' father Louis of Orléans was killed at the orders of the Duke of Burgundy in 1407...
party) against the English and the Burgundians; she supported the claim of the Dauphin Charles who, relying upon Yolande's resources and help, succeeded in becoming crowned Charles VII of France
Charles VII of France
Charles VII , called the Victorious or the Well-Served , was King of France from 1422 to his death, though he was initially opposed by Henry VI of England, whose Regent, the Duke of Bedford, ruled much of France including the capital, Paris...
. As Charles' own mother, Isabeau of Bavaria
Isabeau of Bavaria
Isabeau of Bavaria was Queen consort of France as spouse of King Charles VI of France, a member of the Valois Dynasty...
, worked against his claims, it has been said that Yolande was the person who protected the adolescent Charles against all sorts of plots on his life and acted as a substitute mother. She removed Charles from his parents' court and kept him in her own castles, usually those in the Loire Valley
Loire Valley
The Loire Valley , spanning , is located in the middle stretch of the Loire River in central France. Its area comprises approximately . It is referred to as the Cradle of the French Language, and the Garden of France due to the abundance of vineyards, fruit orchards, and artichoke, asparagus, and...
, where Charles received Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc
Saint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...
. Yolande arranged the marriage of Charles to her daughter Mary of Anjou, thus becoming Charles' mother-in-law. This led to Yolande's personal, and crucial, involvement in the struggle for the survival of the House of Valois in France.
Yolande's marriage to Louis II of Anjou, at Arles
Arles
Arles is a city and commune in the south of France, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture, in the former province of Provence....
in December 1400, was arranged as a part of long-standing efforts to resolve contested claims upon the kingdom of Sicily and Naples between the houses of Anjou and Aragon. Louis spent much of his life fighting in Italy for his claim to the Kingdom of Naples. In France, Yolande was the Duchess of Anjou and the Countess of Provence. She preferred to hold court in Angers
Angers
Angers is the main city in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France about south-west of Paris. Angers is located in the French region known by its pre-revolutionary, provincial name, Anjou, and its inhabitants are called Angevins....
and Saumur
Saumur
Saumur is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France.The historic town is located between the Loire and Thouet rivers, and is surrounded by the vineyards of Saumur itself, Chinon, Bourgueil, Coteaux du Layon, etc...
. She had six children, and through her second son Réne was the grandmother of Margaret of Anjou
Margaret of Anjou
Margaret of Anjou was the wife of King Henry VI of England. As such, she was Queen consort of England from 1445 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471; and Queen consort of France from 1445 to 1453...
, the wife of King Henry VI of England
Henry VI of England
Henry VI was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. Until 1437, his realm was governed by regents. Contemporaneous accounts described him as peaceful and pious, not suited for the violent dynastic civil wars, known as the Wars...
.
With the victory of the English over the French at the Battle of Agincourt
Battle of Agincourt
The Battle of Agincourt was a major English victory against a numerically superior French army in the Hundred Years' War. The battle occurred on Friday, 25 October 1415 , near modern-day Azincourt, in northern France...
in 1415, the Duchy of Anjou was threatened. The French king, Charles VI
Charles VI of France
Charles VI , called the Beloved and the Mad , was the King of France from 1380 to 1422, as a member of the House of Valois. His bouts with madness, which seem to have begun in 1392, led to quarrels among the French royal family, which were exploited by the neighbouring powers of England and Burgundy...
, was mentally ill and his realm was in a state of civil war between the Burgundians and the Orleanists (Armagnacs). The situation was made worse by an alliance among the Duke of Burgundy
Duke of Burgundy
Duke of Burgundy was a title borne by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, a small portion of traditional lands of Burgundians west of river Saône which in 843 was allotted to Charles the Bald's kingdom of West Franks...
, John the Fearless, the English, and the French queen, Isabeau of Bavaria, who submitted to the Duke of Burgundy's scheme to deny the crown of France to the children of Charles VI. Fearing the abusive power building behind the Duke of Burgundy, Louis II had Yolande move with her children and future son-in-law, Charles, to Provence in southern France.
The Dauphin
In the years 1415 and 1417, the two oldest surviving sons of Charles VI of France died in quick succession: first Louis, then Jean. Both brothers had been in the care of the Duke of Burgundy. Yolande was the protectress of her son-in-law, Charles, who became the new Dauphin. She refused Queen Isabeau's orders to return Charles to the French Court, reportedly replying, "We have not nurtured and cherished this one for you to make him die like his brothers or to go mad like his father, or to become English like you. I keep him for my own. Come and take him away, if you dare."On 29 April 1417, Louis II of Anjou died of illness, leaving Yolande, at age 33, in control of the House of Anjou. She acted as regent for her son because of his youth. She also had the fate of the French royal house of Valois in her hands. Her young son-in-law, the Dauphin Charles, was exceptionally vulnerable to the designs of the English King, Henry V
Henry V of England
Henry V was King of England from 1413 until his death at the age of 35 in 1422. He was the second monarch belonging to the House of Lancaster....
, and to his older cousin, John the Fearless, the Duke of Burgundy. Charles' nearest older relatives, the Dukes of Orléans and of Bourbon, had been made prisoners at the Battle of Agincourt and were held captive by the English. With his mother, Queen Isabeau, and the Duke of Burgundy allied with the English, Charles had no resources to support him other than those of the House of Anjou and the smaller House of Armagnac.
Following the assassination of John the Fearless at Montereau
Montereau-Fault-Yonne
Montereau-Fault-Yonne, or simply Montereau, is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.-Name:...
in 1419, his son Philip the Good
Philip III, Duke of Burgundy
Philip the Good KG , also Philip III, Duke of Burgundy was Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death. He was a member of a cadet line of the Valois dynasty . During his reign Burgundy reached the height of its prosperity and prestige and became a leading center of the arts...
succeeded him as Duke of Burgundy. With Henry V of England
Henry V of England
Henry V was King of England from 1413 until his death at the age of 35 in 1422. He was the second monarch belonging to the House of Lancaster....
, he forced the Treaty of Troyes
Treaty of Troyes
The Treaty of Troyes was an agreement that Henry V of England and his heirs would inherit the throne of France upon the death of King Charles VI of France. It was signed in the French city of Troyes on 21 May 1420 in the aftermath of the Battle of Agincourt...
(21 May 1420) on the mentally-ill King Charles VI. The treaty designated Henry as "Regent of France" and heir to the French throne. Following this, the Dauphin Charles was declared disinherited in 1421. When both Henry V of England and Charles VI of France died in 1422 (on 31 August and 21 October, respectively), the Dauphin Charles, at age 19, legitimately became Charles VII of France. Charles' title was challenged by the English and their Burgundian allies, who supported the candidacy of Henry VI of England
Henry VI of England
Henry VI was King of England from 1422 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471, and disputed King of France from 1422 to 1453. Until 1437, his realm was governed by regents. Contemporaneous accounts described him as peaceful and pious, not suited for the violent dynastic civil wars, known as the Wars...
, the infant son of Henry V and Catherine of Valois
Catherine of Valois
Catherine of France was the Queen consort of England from 1420 until 1422. She was the daughter of King Charles VI of France, wife of Henry V of Monmouth, King of England, mother of Henry VI, King of England and King of France, and through her secret marriage with Owen Tudor, the grandmother of...
, Charles' own sister, as king of France. This set the stage for the last phase of the Hundred Years' War: the "War of Charles VII".
In this struggle, Yolande played a prominent role in surrounding the young Valois king with advisors and servants associated with the House of Anjou. She maneuvered John VI, Duke of Brittany
John VI, Duke of Brittany
John VI the Wise , was duke of Brittany, count of Montfort, and titular earl of Richmond, from 1399 to his death...
, into breaking an alliance with the English, and was responsible for a soldier from the Breton ducal family, Arthur de Richemont
Arthur III, Duke of Brittany
Arthur III , known as the Justicier and as Arthur de Richemont, was Lord of Parthenay and titular Count of Richmond in England and for eleven months at the very end of his life, Duke of Brittany and Count of Montfort after inheriting those titles upon the death of his nephew.-Biography:Belonging...
, becoming Constable of France
Constable of France
The Constable of France , as the First Officer of the Crown, was one of the original five Great Officers of the Crown of France and Commander in Chief of the army. He, theoretically, as Lieutenant-general of the King, outranked all the nobles and was second-in-command only to the King...
in 1425. Yolande's early and strong support of Joan of Arc, when others had doubts, suggests her possible larger role in orchestrating Joan's appearance on the scene. Yolande unquestionably practiced realistic politics. Using the Constable de Richemont, Yolande was behind the forceful removal of several of Charles VII's less desirable advisors. The worst, La Trémoille
La Trémoille
Members of the House of La Trémoille, were part of an old French family which derives its name from a village in the department of Vienne....
, was attacked and forced from the court in 1433. Yolande was not averse to recruiting beautiful women and coaching them to become the mistresses of influential men who would spy on them on her behalf. She had a network of such women in the courts of Lorraine, Burgundy, Brittany, and her son-in-law.
The contemporary chronicler Jean Juvenal des Ursins
Jean Juvénal des Ursins
Jean Juvénal des Ursins was a French chronicler and historian. He wrote Histoire de Charles VI Roy de France, and is one of the main sources for information on the Battle of Agincourt....
(1433–44), Bishop of Beauvais, described Yolande as "the prettiest woman in the kingdom." Bourdigné, chronicler of the house of Anjou, says of her: "She who was said to be the wisest and most beautiful princess in Christendom." Later, King Louis XI of France
Louis XI of France
Louis XI , called the Prudent , was the King of France from 1461 to 1483. He was the son of Charles VII of France and Mary of Anjou, a member of the House of Valois....
recalled that his grandmother had "a man's heart in a woman's body." A twentieth-century French author, Jehanne d'Orliac, wrote one of the few works specifically on Yolande, and noted that the duchess remains unappreciated for her genius and influence in the reign of Charles VII. "She is mentioned in passing because she is the pivot of all important events for forty-two years in France", while "Joan [of Arc] was in the public eye only eleven months."
Yolande retired to Angers, and then to Saumur, where she died at the Château de Tuce-de-Saumur on 14 December 1443.
Marriage and issue
She was betrothed in 1390 to Louis, the heir of Anjou (who had one year earlier succeeded in conquering Naples and become King Ludovico II of Naples), and married him on 2 December 1400 at Montpellier. Their children were:- Louis III of Anjou (1403–1434), duke of Anjou, Titular King of Naples. He was adopted by Queen Joanna II of Naples. Married Margaret of Savoy. Died childless;
- Marie of AnjouMarie of AnjouMarie of Anjou was the Queen consort of King Charles VII of France from 1422 to 1461. Her mother, Yolande of Aragon, played a leading role in the last phase of the Hundred Years' War.-Family:...
(14 October 1404-1442 or 1463). Married in 1422 King Charles VII of FranceCharles VII of FranceCharles VII , called the Victorious or the Well-Served , was King of France from 1422 to his death, though he was initially opposed by Henry VI of England, whose Regent, the Duke of Bedford, ruled much of France including the capital, Paris...
. Had issue including King Louis XI of FranceLouis XI of FranceLouis XI , called the Prudent , was the King of France from 1461 to 1483. He was the son of Charles VII of France and Mary of Anjou, a member of the House of Valois....
; - Unnamed daughter (1406-). Married the Count of GenevaGenevaGeneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
; - René I of NaplesRené I of NaplesRené of Anjou , also known as René I of Naples and Good King René , was Duke of Anjou, Count of Provence , Count of Piedmont, Duke of Bar , Duke of Lorraine , King of Naples , titular King of Jerusalem...
(1408 or 19 January 1409 -1480) - Duke of Anjou, Duke of Bar, Duke Consort of Lorraine, Titular King of Sicily and Naples. Married Duchess Isabella of Lorraine. They were the parents of Margaret of AnjouMargaret of AnjouMargaret of Anjou was the wife of King Henry VI of England. As such, she was Queen consort of England from 1445 to 1461 and again from 1470 to 1471; and Queen consort of France from 1445 to 1453...
, Queen-Consort of England. - Yolande of Anjou (1412–1440). Married in 1431 Francis I, Duke of BrittanyFrancis I, Duke of BrittanyFrancis I , was duke of Brittany, count of Montfort and titular earl of Richmond, from 1442 to his death. He was son of Duke John VI and Joan of France.He first married, at Nantes in 1431, Yolande of Anjou Francis I (in Breton Fransez I, in French François I) (Vannes/Gwened, May 14, 1414 –...
. She died childless. Duke Francis married secondly Isabella of ScotlandIsabella of ScotlandNot to be confused with Isabella of Scotland, Countess of NorfolkIsabella Stewart was a Scottish princess and by marriage the Duchess of Brittany...
by whom he had two daughters. - Charles of Le MaineCharles of Le MaineCharles du Maine was the third son of Louis II of Anjou and Yolande of Aragon.In 1434, he married Cobella Ruffo Charles du Maine (Château de Montils-lez-Tours, 1414 – 1472, Neufvy-en-Touraine) was the third son of Louis II of Anjou and Yolande of Aragon.In 1434, he married Cobella Ruffo...
(1414–1472), Count of Maine (who never was duke of Anjou, but his namesake son was). Married firstly Cobella Ruffo and secondly Isabelle de St.Pol, Countess of Guise. Had issue by both marriages.
Chronology
- 1384 Yolande born at ZaragozaZaragozaZaragoza , also called Saragossa in English, is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain...
, Aragon, on 11 August. - 1400 Yolande married Louis II of Anjou, at ArlesArlesArles is a city and commune in the south of France, in the Bouches-du-Rhône department, of which it is a subprefecture, in the former province of Provence....
, France on 2 December. - 1410 Death of King Martin of Aragon.
- 1412 Yolande's son, Louis, was not recognized as King of Aragon; instead their kinsman, Ferdinand I, was crowned king.
- 1413 Louis II d'Anjou aligned with the Orleanist [later known as 'Armagnac'] faction in opposition to Burgundian faction.
- 1413 Yolande took Charles, her prospective son-in-law, to her Court in Angers.
- 1417 Yolande was widowed 29 April.
- 1419 On 29 June, Yolande gained an audience with Charles VI and prevailed upon him to sign the decree making his son 'Lieutenant-General of the Kingdom' and gave the reason that Charles was the 'son of the king', and the monarch's acknowledgment of him as his son and rightful heir. The act removed Isabeau from any claim to be Regent. Yolande retired to Provence.
- 1423 Yolande returned from Provence. She initiated the first of a few short-lived treaties with Brittany.
- 1424-1427 Yolande presided over the Estates-General. Yolande again obtained a treaty with the Duke of Brittany and enlisted the Duke's brother, Arthur de Richemont to support the Valois cause.
- 1427 The English Regent in France, John, Duke of Bedford, moved to take the Duchy of Anjou for himself. Yolande responded with a series of Valois Court appointments and marriage agreements among various noble houses that frustrated English and Burgundian initiatives, and sustained the threatened Valois crown until more dramatic reversal could be established. Discord between la Trémoille, a key advisor to Charles VII, and the Constable Richemont led to Richemont beng banished from the Valois Court.
- 1429 Yolande was placed in charge of one of the examinations of Joan of Arc, whom the Duchess strongly supported. Yolande arranged for financing 'Jeanne d'Arc's army' that went to relieve Orléans.
- 1431 Yolande resided at Saumur, where Charles VII met with his Assembly. Yolande's youngest daughter, Yolande, married the Hereditary Prince of Brittany. Yolande's son RenéRené I of NaplesRené of Anjou , also known as René I of Naples and Good King René , was Duke of Anjou, Count of Provence , Count of Piedmont, Duke of Bar , Duke of Lorraine , King of Naples , titular King of Jerusalem...
inherited the Duchy of Lorraine, but was made prisoner at the Battle of Bulgnéville on June 30, 1431. - 1433 Richemont [who had returned to the court in 1432] overthrew La Trémoïlle. Yolande's youngest son, CharlesCharles of Le MaineCharles du Maine was the third son of Louis II of Anjou and Yolande of Aragon.In 1434, he married Cobella Ruffo Charles du Maine (Château de Montils-lez-Tours, 1414 – 1472, Neufvy-en-Touraine) was the third son of Louis II of Anjou and Yolande of Aragon.In 1434, he married Cobella Ruffo...
, Comte de Le Maine, assumed the position as chief advisor to Charles VII. - 1434 Yolande's son, Louis III d'Anjou, died, and René became Duc d'Anjou, as well as Heir to the titular claim to Sicily. [Queen Joanna II of Naples and Sicily had made Louis III her co-regent and heir and, after Louis' death, she named René as his brother's heir.]
- 1437 René was released from a Burgundian prison for a substantial ransom. He went to Italy in 1438 and engaged in a war against Alfonso V of AragonAlfonso V of AragonAlfonso the Magnanimous KG was the King of Aragon , Valencia , Majorca, Sardinia and Corsica , and Sicily and Count of Barcelona from 1416 and King of Naples from 1442 until his death...
for the disputed title to the Kingdom of Naples. René was forced to abandon Naples in the summer of 1442. Soon afterward, Yolande died.
Fictional portrayals
Queen Yolande appears as a character in the Catherine (1986 TV series)Catherine (1986 TV series)
Catherine - a French TV series produced for Antenne 2 channel in 1986. It was based on the series of "Catherine" novels written by Juliette Benzoni. The series was directed by Marion Sarraut, who had already successfully brought on TV another of Madame Benzoni's work - Marianne...
, in which she is played by Geneviève Casile, the grand dame of the French theatre.
Yolande appears as a character in the 1999 film The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc
The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc
The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc is a French/American historical drama film directed by Luc Besson. The screenplay was written by Besson and Andrew Birkin, and the original music score was composed by Éric Serra....
, in which she is played by actress Faye Dunaway
Faye Dunaway
Faye Dunaway is an American actress.Dunaway won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in Network after receiving previous nominations for the critically acclaimed films Bonnie and Clyde and Chinatown...
.
Ancestry
Sources
- Jehanne d'Orliac, Yolande d'Anjou, la reine des quatre royaumes (Paris, Plon, 1933)
- Philippe Erlanger, Charles VII et son mystère (Paris, Gallimard 1945, Perrin 1973, 1981)
- Philippe Erlanger, 9 femmes qui ont fait la France, Historia (Septembre 1971, pp. 40–53)