James II, Count of La Marche
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.
James de Bourbon-La Marche | |
|---|---|
| Count of La Marche | |
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| Coat of arms |  |
| Born | 1370 |
| Died | 1438 (aged 67–68) |
| Noble family | Bourbon |
| Spouse(s) | Beatrice of Navarre Joanna II of Naples |
| Issue
Isabelle of Bourbon-La Marche Marie of Bourbon-La Marche Eleanor, Countess of Pardiac | |
| Father | John I, Count of La Marche |
| Mother | Catherine of Vendôme |
Early life
He first bore arms in the crusade against the Ottomans which culminated in the Battle of Nicopolis.[2] After returning to France, he commanded a force which invaded England in support of Owain Glyndŵr. His troops burned Plymouth in 1403,[3] but twelve ships of his fleet were lost in a storm while returning to France in 1404.
He 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, hoping he would break the power of her court favorites, Pandolfo Alopo and Muzio Sforza, to their advantage. He had Alopo executed and imprisoned Sforza, but he also kept the queen in confinement and aspired to personal rule. 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. However their marriage does not seem to have been annulled and neither Joanna nor James would ever marry again.
Returning to France, he fought against the English for Charles VII of France in 1428 and was made Governor of Languedoc.
In 1435, he 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.[4] The couple had three children:
- Isabelle (1408 – after 1445), a nun at Besançon
- Marie (1410 – after 1445), a nun at Amiens
- Eleanor of Bourbon-La Marche (Burlada, Navarre, 1407 – after 21 August 1464), married Bernard d'Armagnac, Count of Pardiac (d. 1462)[1]
In 1415, James married Joanna II of Naples.[5] They had no children.
References
- Potter 1995, p. 376.
- Setton 1976, p. 345.
- McFarlane 1964, p. 365.
- Woodacre 2013, p. 86.
- Woodacre 2013, p. 91.
Sources
- 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. Vol. 8. Cambridge University Press.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Potter, David (1995). Keen, Maurice (ed.). A History of France, 1460–1560: The Emergence of a Nation State. Macmillan.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Setton, Kenneth Meyer (1976). The Papacy and the Levant, 1204-1571: The Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries. Vol. I. American Philosophical Society.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
- Woodacre, Elena (2013). The Queens Regnant of Navarre: Succession, Politics, and Partnership, 1274-1512. Palgrave Macmillan.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
| Preceded by John I |
Count of La Marche 1393–1435 |
Succeeded by Eleanor |
| 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 |
Authority control  |
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