Dukes of Anjou: Angevian branch of the house of Valois

The younger Angevin house belonged to the mighty branch of Valois. Its representatives ruled a number of lands outside of France, including in the Neapolitan state.

Dukes of Anjou: history

If you trace the line of this house, you can learn a lot of interesting things. Margaret Anjou of Sicily, who was the grandmother of King John of France , inherited from her father a number of lands in the counties of Anjou and Maine. She bequeathed them to her son Louis 1. So the dukes of Anjou found their own property.

Giovanna 1 Neapolitan had no children of her own and therefore decided to transfer her crown to Louis 1. By that, she wanted to get around Karl from Durazzo. For this, she adopted Louis and gave him the crown. Thus began the battle for the administration of the Neapolitan state between the eldest and the younger Anjou houses.

Initially, Karl of Durazzo and his son Vladislav retained control of Naples. Ludovic meanwhile annexed to his possessions Provence. Vladislav was excommunicated because of conflict with the papacy.

In 1453, Giovanna II of Naples died. Together with her death, the oldest stupid line of the Anjou House ceased to exist. Shortly before his death, Giovanna 2 succeeded in adopting Alfons Aragonsky, who was her political ally, and to give him the crown. His branch became a powerful adversary for Valois. Soon Alphonse became the ruler of Naples.

Rene Dobry was the last duke of the Anjou line. He died in 1480. After that the dukes of Anjou as a branch lost power, and all their possessions passed to the royal domain.

Louise 1 of the Savoy

The mother of the French King Francis 1 played a crucial role during his reign. Louise 1 of the Savoy belonged to such a strong branch as the dukes of Anjou. Her father was Charles 1 Bourbon, and his mother - Agnes Burgundy.

Married Louise 1 left in 11 years for the representative of the house of Valois Charles Angulemsky. Already in 20 years she remained a widow and until the end of her days did not take off black mourning attire.

Louise of Savoy was the unofficial ruler of the French state during the reign of her son. She surrounded herself with the Italians and brought the brothers Philip and René closer to themselves. At the heart of Louise's policy were family alliances. So, she organized profitable marriages between distant relatives.

In 1523, she offered her hand to Karl Bourbon, who had recently been widowed, but received a polite refusal. After this, Louise began persecution in his direction, hiding behind her rights - as the mother of the king - on the count's lands. This she provoked his treason. As a result, Carl Bourbon lost all his possessions. And in the hands of Louise Savoysky concentrated a huge domain.

According to legend, this woman died from fear of the comet.

Henry 3

The Duke of Anjou, who later became King of Poland, was born in 1551. Henry 3 was a gifted child and naturally had a good character, an astute and lively mind. But under the influence of the mother, who wanted to achieve power in every way, he received a bad upbringing. Henry 3 became a pampered, depraved, capricious and lazy young man. At the age of 16 he was placed at the head of the French army and took part in the battles of Moncontour and Jarnaka. In 1753 he commanded the siege of La Rochelle. Because of his laziness and rash orders, the army suffered a crushing defeat.

Henry 3 unsuccessfully wooed Elizabeth of England, but after refusal left for Krakow. There he did not stay long, and a year later, after learning of the death of Charles 9, who opened the way to the French throne, he left Poland. At home, he handed over the reins of the mother, and he gave himself up to sensual pleasures.

In 1575, Henry III was crowned in Reims, and the next day married to Louise Vaudemont. The king led an ill-conceived policy than he set himself against members of many social movements. On August 2, 1588, the Dominican monk Jacques Clement entered the king's quarters and dealt him a death blow with a dagger. With the death of Henry 3, the branch of Valois ceased to exist.

Francois of Anjou

The only of the four sons of Catherine de 'Medici, who never became king. Duke of Francois of Anjou was at the head of a number of groups that were hostile to the king. Participated in a conspiracy against Charles 9, but he was granted forgiveness in exchange for issuing information about his associates. Francois supported the Protestants, but later opposed them. He was proclaimed Count of Flanders, but was expelled by the Flemish themselves. He died of tuberculosis in 1584.

René Dobry (1408-1480)

The Duke of Provence, Anjou, King of Jerusalem and Sicily. Today he is better known as a talented writer, rather than as a politician. Rene Anjou was born into a family of kings and made a military career. The legend of his kindness says that when luck in political affairs turned away from him, the ruler began to seek solace in literature and art. Of course, in this there is a share of fiction. Rene Anjou remained a prominent political figure, and his creative hobbies could be regarded only as a hobby.