James II, Count of La Marche

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James de Bourbon-La Marche
Count of La Marche
King of Naples
Joan II of Naples jamesII of Bourbon.jpg
15th century stained glass depiction of Queen Joanna II of Naples and her husband, the Count of La Marche
Consort of the monarch of Naples
Tenure10 August 1415 – 2 February 1435
Born1370
Died1438 (aged 67–68)
SpouseBeatrice of Navarre
Joanna II of Naples
Issue
  • Isabelle
  • Marie
  • Eleanor, Countess of Pardiac
HouseBourbon
FatherJohn I, Count of La Marche
MotherCatherine of Vendôme

James II of Bourbon-La Marche (1370 – 1438 in Besançon) was the first son of John I, Count of La Marche[1] and Catherine of Vendôme.

Early life[]

Coat of arms of James II, Count of La Marche

James first bore arms in the crusade against the Ottomans which culminated in the Battle of Nicopolis,[2] and was captured and ransomed.[3] After returning to France, he commanded a force which invaded England in support of Owain Glyndŵr. His troops burned Plymouth in 1403,[4] but twelve ships of his fleet were lost in a storm while returning to France in 1404.

James was an adherent of John the Fearless and foe of the Armagnac party. However, his affairs in France were interrupted by a sojourn abroad. In 1415, the barons of the Kingdom of Naples arranged his marriage to Joanna II of Naples.[5] It was hoped James would break the power of her court favorites, and Muzio Sforza. He was not given the title King, but was referred to as Vicar General, Duke of Calabria, and Prince of Taranto.[5] James had Alopo executed and imprisoned Sforza, but also kept the queen in confinement and aspired to personal rule.[5] The indignant barons captured and imprisoned him in 1416; he was compelled to free Sforza and resign the kingship, and was ejected from the kingdom in 1419.[5]

Returning to France, James fought against the English for Charles VII of France in 1428 and was made Governor of Languedoc.

In 1435, James resigned his titles and became a Franciscan friar, dying in 1438.

Marriage[]

In 1406 in Pamplona, he married Beatrix d'Évreux, daughter of Charles III of Navarre and Eleanor of Castile.[6] The couple had three children:

In 1415, James married Joanna II of Naples.[7] They had no children.

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Potter 1995, p. 376.
  2. ^ Setton 1976, p. 345.
  3. ^ Runciman 1999, p. 460-461.
  4. ^ McFarlane 1964, p. 365.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c d Armstrong 1964, p. 163.
  6. ^ Woodacre 2013, p. 86.
  7. ^ Woodacre 2013, p. 91.

Sources[]

  • Armstrong, Edward (1964). "The Papacy and Naples in the Fifteenth Century". In Previte-Orton, C.W.; Brooke, Z.N. (eds.). The Cambridge Medieval History. VIII. Cambridge at the University Press.
  • McFarlane, K.B. (1964). "England: The Lancastrian Kings, 1399-1461". In Bury, John Bagnell; Previte-Orton, C.W.; Brooke, Z.N. (eds.). The Cambridge Medieval History. VIII. Cambridge University Press.
  • Potter, David (1995). Keen, Maurice (ed.). A History of France, 1460–1560: The Emergence of a Nation State. Macmillan.
  • Runciman, Steven (1999). A History of the Crusades. III: The Kingdom of Acre and the Later Crusades. Cambridge University Press.
  • Setton, Kenneth Meyer (1976). The Papacy and the Levant, 1204-1571: The Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries. I. American Philosophical Society.
  • Woodacre, Elena (2013). The Queens Regnant of Navarre: Succession, Politics, and Partnership, 1274-1512. Palgrave Macmillan.


Preceded by
John I 		Count of La Marche
1393–1435 		Succeeded by
Preceded by
John I
with Catherine of Vendôme 		Count of Castres
1393–1435
With: Catherine of Vendôme 1393–1412
Preceded by
Ladislaus of Naples 		Prince of Taranto
1414–1420 		Succeeded by
Giovanni Antonio del Balzo Orsini
Retrieved from ""