John II of Aragon

John II
Sixteenth-century portrait of John II
King of Aragon
Reign 27 June 1458–20 January 1479
(&1000000000000002000000020 years, &10000000000000207000000207 days)
Predecessor Alfonso V
Successor Ferdinand II
jure uxoris, later de facto King of Navarre
Reign 8 September 1425–20 January 1479
(&1000000000000005300000053 years, &10000000000000134000000134 days)
Coronation 15/18 May 1429 (Pamplona)
Predecessor Blanche I
Successor Eleanor
Consort Blanche I of Navarre
Juana Enríquez
Issue
Charles IV of Navarre
Blanche II of Navarre
Eleanor I of Navarre
Ferdinand II of Aragon
Joanna, Queen of Naples
House House of Trastámara
Father Ferdinand I of Aragon
Mother Eleanor of Alburquerque
Born 29 June 1398
Medina del Campo
Died 20 January 1479(1479-01-20) (aged 81)
Barcelona
Burial Poblet Monastery
Religion Roman Catholicism

John II the Faithless[1], also known as the Great (29 June 1398 – 20 January 1479)[2] was the King of Aragon from 1458 until 1479, and jure uxoris King of Navarre from 1425 until his death. He was the son of Ferdinand I and his wife Eleanor of Alburquerque. John is regarded as one of the most memorable and most unscrupulous kings of the 15th century.

Contents

Biography

John was born at Medina del Campo.

In his youth he was one of the infantes (princes) of Aragon who took part in the dissensions of Castile during the minority and reign of John II. Till middle life he was also lieutenant-general in Aragon for his brother and predecessor Alfonso V, whose reign was mainly spent in Italy. In his old age he was engaged in incessant conflicts with his Aragonese and Catalan subjects, with Louis XI of France, and in preparing the way for the marriage of his son Ferdinand with Isabella I of Castile which brought about the union of the crowns of Aragon and Castile, that was to create the Kingdom of Spain. His trouble with his subjects were closely connected with the tragic dissension in his own family.

John was first married to Blanche I of Navarre of the house of Évreux. By right of Blanche he became king of Navarre, and on her death in 1441 he was left in possession of the kingdom for his lifetime. But a son, Charles, given the title "Prince of Viana" as heir of Navarre, had been born of the marriage. John quickly came to regard his son with jealousy. After his second marriage, to Juana Enríquez, this grew into absolute hatred and was encouraged by Juana. John tried to deprive his son of his constitutional right to act as lieutenant-general of Aragon during his father's absence. Charles's cause was taken up by the Aragonese, and the king's attempt to make his second wife lieutenant-general was set aside.

There followed the long Navarrese Civil War, with alternations of success and defeat, ending only with the death of the prince of Viana, perhaps by poison given him by his stepmother, in 1461. The Catalans, who had adopted the cause of Charles and who had grievances of their own, called in a succession of foreign pretenders in a War against John II. John spent his last years contending with these. He was forced to pawn Roussillon, his possession on the north-east of the Pyrenees, to King Louis XI of France, who refused to part with it.

In his old age John was blinded by cataracts, but recovered his eyesight by the operation of couching conducted by his physician Abiathar Crescas, a Jew. The Catalan revolt was pacified in 1472, but John carried on a war, in which he was generally unfortunate, with his neighbor the French king till his death in 1479. He was succeeded by Ferdinand, his son by his second marriage, who was already married to Isabella I of Castile. With his death and son's accession to the throne of Aragon, the unification of Spain under one royal house began in earnest.

Marriages and Issue

From his first marriage to Blanche of Navarre, John had the following children:

From his second marriage to Juana Enríquez, John had the following children:

Illegitimate children:

Ancestry

References

  1. ^ Ferran Soldevila, Ferrán Valls i Taberner, Antonio Badia y Torres, Francesc X. Hernandez, Rafael Tasis i Marca, Francesc Gordo-Guarinos, Eufemià Fort i Cogul, i Miquel Coll i Alentorn
  2. ^ Teófilo F. Ruiz (2007). Spain's centuries of crisis: 1300-1474; Volume 4 of A history of Spain. Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 9781405127899. http://books.google.ca/books?id=u7TTGgts6e8C&pg=PA222. 

Sources

John II of Aragon
Born: 29 June 1397 Died: 20 January 1479
Regnal titles
Preceded by
Alfonso the Magnanimous		 King of Aragon, Valencia, Majorca,
Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica;
Count of Barcelona
1458–1479		 Succeeded by
Ferdinand the Catholic
Count of Roussillon and Cerdagne
1458–1462		 Succeeded by
Louis the Prudent
Preceded by
Charles III		 King of Navarre (jure uxoris)
1425–1441
with Blanche I		 Succeeded by
Charles IV de jure
King of Navarre de facto
withholding the crown from
Charles IV and Blanche II
1441–1479		 Succeeded by
Eleanor
Spanish nobility
Vacant
Title last held by
Martin of Aragon		 Duke of Montblanc
1412–1458		 Succeeded by
Charles of Viana
Preceded by
Hugh of Cardona		 Duke of Gandia
1433–1458
Preceded by
James II of Urgell		 Lord of Balaguer
1418–1458		 Vacant
Title next held by
Ferdinand II of Aragon
House of Jiménez
House of Barcelona
House of Trastámara
Ferdinand I  · Alfonso V  · John II  · Ferdinand II  · Joanna