Blanche of Anjou
Queen consort of Aragon
Tenure1295–1310
Coronation1296 (Zaragoza)
Born1280
Died14 October 1310(1310-10-14) (aged 29–30)
Barcelona
Burial
Santes Creus
Spouse
​
(m. 1295)​
Issue
among others		James
Alfonso IV, King of Aragon
Maria
Isabella, Queen of Germany
HouseAnjou-Sicily
FatherCharles II of Naples
MotherMary of Hungary
SignatureBlanche of Anjou's signature
Blanche and her family in Bible of Naples

Blanche of Anjou (1280 – 14 October 1310) was Queen of Aragon as the second spouse of King James II of Aragon. She was a member of the Capetian House of Anjou, she is also known as Blanche of Naples. She served as Regent or "Queen-Lieutenant" of Aragon during the absence of her spouse in 1310.[1]

Life

Blanche was the daughter of King Charles II of Naples and Mary of Hungary.[2] Among her siblings were King Robert I of Naples, Saint Louis of Toulouse, Philip I of Taranto (titular Emperor of Constantinople), Charles Martel of Anjou (titular King of Hungary), Queen Eleanor of Sicily, and Queen Maria of Majorca. She was originally betrothed in 1290 to John I, Marquess of Montferrat. Her father was helping him defend Montferrat, hoping to make John his vassal. However, the engagement was broken off and John died childless 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,[3] and the 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.[4]

On 29 October or 1 November 1295 at Vilabertran, Blanche and James were married.[3]

Blanche died on the 14 October 1310, during her regency in the absence of James. Her death was probably linked to the birth of her daughter Violante, who was born in October 1310. Blanche was buried at Santes Creus. She was survived by her husband, children and mother.

Issue

References

  1. ^ Theresa Earenfight: The King's Other Body: Maria of Castile and the Crown of Aragon, 2010
  2. ^ Bernard F. Reilly, The Medieval Spains, (Cambridge University Press, 1993), 168.
  3. ^ a b Monks and Politics in Thirteenth Century Wales and Catalonia, Karen Stober, Thirteenth Century England XIV: Proceedings of the Aberystwyth and Lampeter , ed. Janet Burton, Phillipp Schofield and Bjö Weiler, (The Boydell Press, 2013), 93-94.
  4. ^ Steven Runciman, The Sicilian Vespers: A History of the Mediterranean World in the Later Thirteenth Century, (Cambridge University Press, 2000), 270.

Sources

Blanche of Anjou Capetian House of AnjouCadet branch of the House of CapetBorn: circa 1280 Died: 14 October 1310 Royal titles Preceded byIsabella of Castile Queen consort of Sicily 1295–1296 Succeeded byEleanor of Anjou Queen consort of Aragon 1295–1310 Succeeded byMaria of Lusignan New title Queen consort of Sardinia and Corsica 1297–1310
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