Agnes of Durazzo (1345 – 15 July 1388) was the Empress consort of James of Baux, titular Latin Emperor of Constantinople. She was the last consort of the Latin Empire.
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She was the second daughter of Charles, Duke of Durazzo and Maria of Calabria. Agnes was a younger sister of Joanna, Duchess of Durazzo and an older sister of Margherita of Durazzo, Queen consort of Charles III of Naples.[1]
Their paternal grandparents were John, Duke of Durazzo and Agnes de Périgord. Their maternal grandparents were Charles, Duke of Calabria and his second wife Marie of Valois.
Marie was a daughter of Charles of Valois and his third wife Mahaut of Châtillon. Her maternal grandparents were Guy IV, Count of Saint-Pol and Marie of Brittany. The elder Marie was a daughter of John II, Duke of Brittany and Beatrice of England.
Agnes first married Cansignorio della Scala. Cansignorio was a younger brother and nominal co-ruler of Cangrande II della Scala, Lord of Verona. In 1359, Cansignorio assassinated his older brother and succeeded him. His succession claim was supported by the Carraresi family of Padua. His younger brother Paolo Alboino della Scala became his co-ruler until 1365.[2]
On 10 October 1375, Cansignorio died, presumed to have been poisoned. Their marriage was childless. Cansignorio had three known children, all illegitimate. His daughter Lucia della Scalla married first Cortesia Serego and secondly Bernardino da Polenta, of the ruling family of Ravenna. His sons Bartolomeo II della Scala and Antonio I della Scala would succeed as Lords of Verona.[2]
On 16 September 1382, Agnes married her second husband James of Baux. He was the claimant to the throne of the Latin Empire since 1374. He had control over the Principality of Taranto and the Principality of Achaea. Her brother-in-law Charles III of Naples granted her Corfu as part of her dowry.[3]
Their marriage was short-lived. On 7 July 1383, James died in Taranto. She survived him by five years but never remarried. He was succeeded as Prince of Taranto by Otto, Duke of Brunswick-Grubenhagen, widower of Joan I of Naples. He was succeeded as Prince of Achaea by Charles III of Naples. The will of James actually named Louis I, Duke of Anjou, a claimant to the throne of the Kingdom of Naples, as his successor in both the Latin Empire and Achaea.[3] However Louis and his descendants never used the title. Marie of Blois, wife of Louis I, only used the title of Queen consort of Sicily (Naples).[4]
| Titles in pretence | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Elisabeth of Slavonia |
— TITULAR — Latin Empress consort of Constantinople 1382–1383 Reason for succession failure: Conquest by Empire of Nicaea in 1261 |
Succeeded by None |