Joan I of Naples

Queen Joan I (1327 – May 12, 1382) was born Joanna of Anjou. She became the Countess of Provence, Queen of Naples and titular Queen of Jerusalem (1343 – 1382).

She was the daughter of Charles, Duke of Calabria and Marie de Valois (a sister of King Philip VI of France). She was married in 1334 to the 6-year old Prince Andre of the Hungarian branch of the House of Anjou, a son of Charles I of Hungary. He was the younger brother to Louis I, King of Hungary (as King Lajos I) and Poland.

On the death in 1343 of her grandfather, Robert of Naples, his will provided that Andre should be crowned King of Naples in his own right as well as Joanna's, Robert having displaced Andre's father, Charles Robert, from the Neapolitan throne. Joanna resisted this provision of the will with the support of the Neapolitan nobility, and the resulting turmoil resulted in the intervention of Pope Clement VI, as the feudal overlord of the Kingdom. He sent Cardinal Americ of St. Martin to annul Robert's will and take temporary control of the Kingdom of Naples. The Cardinal crowned Joanna alone as Queen of Naples at Santa Chiara in Rome in August 1344. After the assassination of Andre (probably under her own orders), Joanna married three more times: 2) Louis of Taranto (1320-1362); 3) James IV, titular King of Majorca and Prince of Achaea (1336-1375) and 4) Otto, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen (1320-1398). She had no children of her own.

Joanna's reign was marked by her support to the French Popes during the Western Schism, namely Antipope Clement VII. With no successors, Joanna adopted Louis, Duke of Anjou and son of King John II of France, as her heir. This was interesting for France (who supported Clement VII), since Naples would give them a foothold in Italy useful if for the idea of resolving the schism by force. However, Charles of Durazzo was not willing to cede his rights to Naples and defeated Louis d'Anjou in battle before he was crowned by Joanna. Charles took Naples, imprisoned Joanna and eventually strangled her.

Alexandre Dumas, Pere wrote a romance, Joan of Naples, part of his eight-volume series Celebrated Crimes (1839 – 40).

External link

• A. Dumas, Joan of Naples: e-text