Louis II of Naples

Louis II of Anjou (1377 – 29 April 1417) was the rival of Ladislaus as King of Naples. He was a member of the House of Valois-Anjou.

Biography

Born in Toulouse, Louis II was the son of Louis I of Anjou, King of Naples, and came into his Angevin inheritance, which included Provence, in 1384, with his rival Charles of Durazzo (father of Ladislaus), of the senior Angevin line, in possession of Naples.

In 1386, the underage Ladislaus was expelled soon after his father died. Louis II was crowned King of Naples by the Avignonese antipope Clement VII on 1 November 1389 and took possession of Naples the following year. He was ousted in turn by his rival in 1399.

In 1409, Louis liberated Rome from Ladislaus' occupation; in 1410, as an ally of the antipope John XXIII he attacked Ladislaus and defeated him at Roccasecca (1411). Eventually Louis lost his Neapolitan support and had to retire. His claim to Naples passed to his son, Louis III.

He married his first cousin once removed Yolande of Aragon (1384–1443) in Arles in 1400, giving him a possibility of inheriting the throne of Aragon through her right. Her father, King John I of Aragon had died in 1396, and her uncle king Martin I of Aragon died in 1410.

Louis II died at his chateau of Angers, the heart of Anjou; he is buried there.

Family

Louis and Yolande had five surviving children:

• Louis III of Anjou, titular King of Naples, Duke of Anjou, etc.
• René of Anjou, King of Naples, Duke of Anjou, etc.
• Charles of Le Maine (1414–1472), Count of Maine
• Marie of Anjou (1404 – 1463), married 1422, Bourges Charles VII of France
• Yolande (1412, Arles – 1440), married 1431, Nantes Francis I, Duke of Brittany

See also

• Monarchs of Naples and Sicily