Violant of Bar

Violant of Bar
Queen consort of Aragon, Valencia, Majorca, and Sardinia and Corsica; Countess consort of Barcelona
Tenure	1380–1395
Spouse	John I of Aragon
Issue
James, Duke of Girona Yolande, Queen of Naples Ferdinand, Duke of Girona Infanta Joanna Infanta Antonia Peter, Duke of Girona
House	House of Montbelliard House of Aragon
Father	Robert I, Duke of Bar
Mother	Marie of Valois
Born	c.1365 Northern France
Died	3 July 1431 Barcelona
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Violant of Bar (Catalan: Violant de Bar, also known as Iolant), (born circa 1365, Northern France – died 3 July 1431, Barcelona) was queen of the medieval Iberian kingdom of Aragon.

Contents 1 Background 2 Queen consort 3 Queen dowager 4 Ancestry 5 References

Background

She was the daughter of Robert I, Duke of Bar and Marie of Valois. Her paternal grandparents were Henry IV of Bar and Yolanda of Flanders. Her maternal grandparents were John II of France and his first wife, Bonne of Bohemia.

Violante was the eighth of eleven children. She was married in 1380 at the age of 15 to Infante John, Duke of Girona, the heir to the throne of Aragon, thus becoming Duchess of Girona and Countess of Cervera.

Queen consort

Her husband became King John I of Aragon in 1387.^[1] He was often ill, and Violante wielded considerable administrative power on his behalf. She transformed the Aragonese court into a center of French culture. She especially cultivated the talents of Provençal troubadours (poet-musicians).^[1]

Family troubles sometimes got in the way for John and Violante. John and his brother, Martin of Aragon, had never agreed on the father marrying Sibila of Fortia, the marriage could cause dynastic problems that could imperil their rights in the line of succession.^[2]

Sibila had sons with Peter but they did not survive to adulthood. They had a surviving daughter, Isabella; John had her married off to James II of Urgell. Sibila was placed under house arrest in Barcelona, where she stayed for the rest of her days. Sibila was treated with respect, but she was kept under close surveillance.

John and Violant had six children, but only one daughter, Yolande lived to adulthood.

• Infante James of Aragon (1382–1388), Duke of Girona and Count of Cervera
• Infanta Yolande of Aragon (Zaragoza 1384 - Saumur 14 November 1442), married in 2 December 1400 at Louis II of Naples. She played a role in the history of France.
• Infante Ferdinand of Aragon (1389 - Monzón October 1389), Duke of Girona and Count of Cervera
• Infanta Joanna of Aragon (1392 - Barcelona 4 August 1396)
• Infanta Antonia of Aragon (b and d 1392)
• Infanta Peter of Aragon (1394-1394), Duke of Girona and Count of Cervera

Queen dowager

After John's death in 1395, she dedicated herself to the education of her only surviving child, a daughter also named Violante.^[1] Known as Yolande of Aragon, a woman who played a great role in the History of France, during the Hundred Years' War with England.

Violant's stepdaughter, Joanna, claimed her rights to the Kingdom of Aragon. Her husband, Matthew of Foix invaded. They were hoping to depose John's brother, Martin, but they failed and were sent back to France, where Joanna died, childless. Violant's daughter, Yolande and her sons also claimed the Kingdom of Aragon.

Violant died in Barcelona on the 13 August 1431. She was aged sixty-six.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Violant of Bar

16. Henry III, Count of Bar               8. Edward I, Count of Bar                       17. Eleanor of England               4. Henry IV, Count of Bar                             18. Robert II, Duke of Burgundy               9. Marie of Burgundy                       19. Agnes of France               2. Robert I, Duke of Bar                                   20. Arthur II, Duke of Brittany               10. Robert of Flanders, Count of Marle                       21. Yolande of Dreux, Countess of Montfort               5. Yolande of Flanders                             22. Robert III, Count of Flanders               11. Joan of Brittany                       23. Yolande, Countess of Nevers               1. iolant of Bar                                         24. Charles of Valois               12. Philip VI of France                       25. Margaret, Countess of Anjou               6. John II of France                             26. Robert II, Duke of Burgundy (=22)               13. Joan the Lame                       27. Agnes of France (=23)               3. Marie of France                                   28. Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor               14. John of Bohemia                       29. Margaret of Brabant               7. Bonne of Luxembourg and Bohemia                             30. Wenceslaus II of Bohemia               15. Elisabeth of Bohemia                       31. Judith of Habsburg

References

1. ^ ^{a b c} Brooklyn Museum
2. ^ Charles Cawley, Medieval Lands, France, Bar

Preceded by Sibila of Fortia

Queen consort of Aragon 1387–1395

Succeeded by Maria de Luna

Persondata
Name	Violante De Bar
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1365
Place of birth	Northern France
Date of death	3 July 1431
Place of death	Barcelona