Louis II of Naples

Louis II
King of Naples
Reign	1389–1399
Coronation	1 November 1389
Predecessor	Ladislaus
Successor	Ladislaus
Duke of Anjou
Reign	20 September 1384 – 29 April 1417
Predecessor	Louis I
Successor	Louis III
Born	5 October 1377 Toulouse
Died	29 April 1417 (aged 39) Château d'Angers, Anjou
Spouse	Yolande of Aragon (m. 1400)
Issue	Louis III, Duke of Anjou René, King of Naples Charles, Count of Maine Marie, Queen of France Yolande, Duchess of Brabant   and Brittany
House	House of Valois-Anjou
Father	Louis I of Anjou
Mother	Marie of Blois

Louis II (5 October 1377 – 29 April 1417) was King of Naples from 1389 until 1399, and Duke of Anjou from 1384 until 1417. He was a member of the House of Valois-Anjou.

Biography

Born in Toulouse, Louis II was the son of Louis I of Anjou, Duke of Anjou and King of Naples,^[1] and Marie of Blois. He came into his Angevin inheritance, which included Provence, in 1384, with his rival, Charles of Durazzo, of the senior Angevin line, in possession of Naples.

Most towns in Provence revolted after the death of his father. His mother then raised an army and they traveled from town to town, to gain support. Louis was recognized as Count of Provence in 1387. He founded a university in Aix-en-Provence in 1409.

In 1386, Charles of Durazzo's son, the underage Ladislaus, was expelled from Naples soon after his father died. Louis II was crowned King of Naples by the Avignonese antipope Clement VII on 1 November 1389 and took possession of Naples the following year.^[2] He was ousted in turn by his rival in 1399.^[2]

In 1409, Louis liberated Rome from Ladislaus' occupation; in 1410, as an ally of the antipope John XXIII he attacked Ladislaus and defeated him at Roccasecca (1411).^[3] Eventually Louis lost his Neapolitan support and had to retire. His claim to Naples passed to his son, Louis III.^[3]

He married his first cousin once removed Yolande of Aragon (1384–1443) in Arles in 1400,^[2] giving him a possibility of inheriting the throne of Aragon through her right. Her father, King John I of Aragon had died in 1396, and her uncle king Martin I of Aragon died in 1410.

His son, Louis, was initially betrothed to Catherine of Burgundy, a daughter of John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy.^[4] However, after the Duke of Burgundy instigated a mob attack on the Dauphin of France, Louis and his wife joined the Armagnac Faction.^[4] The betrothal to Catherine was repudiated, which caused the enmity of the Duke of Burgundy.^[4]

He was not present at the Battle of Agincourt, because he had a bladder infection. After the battle, he fled from Paris to join his wife and children at Angers.

Louis II died at his chateau of Angers, the county town of Anjou; he is buried there.

Family

Louis and Yolande had five surviving children:

• Louis III of Anjou, titular King of Naples and Duke of Anjou.^[1]
• René of Anjou, King of Naples and Duke of Anjou.^[1]
• Charles of Anjou (1414–1472), Count of Maine.^[1]
• Marie of Anjou (1404–1463), married 1422 at Bourges, King Charles VII of France.^[1]
• Yolande of Anjou (1412, Arles – 1440), married firstly Philip I, Duke of Brabant, and secondly in 1431, Francis I, Duke of Brittany.^[1]

Notes

References

• Allmand, C. T., ed. (2000). War, Government and Power in Late Medieval France. Liverpool University Press.
• Kekewich, Margaret L. (2008). The Good King: René of Anjou and Fifteenth Century Europe. Palgrave Macmillan.