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James II, Count of La Marche facts for kids

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James II de Bourbon-La Marche
Count of La Marche
Joan II of Naples jamesII of Bourbon.jpg
15th century stained glass depiction of Queen Joanna II of Naples and her husband, James II, Count of La Marche
Born 1370
Died 1438 (aged 67–68)
Spouse Beatrice of Navarre
Joanna II of Naples
Issue
  • Isabelle
  • Marie
  • Eleanor, Countess of Pardiac
House Bourbon
Father John I, Count of La Marche
Mother Catherine of Vendôme

James II of Bourbon-La Marche (1370 – 1438 in Besançon) was count of La Marche. He was captured at the battle of Nicopolis in 1396, later being ransomed. In 1403, James led an attack on English soil and burned Plymouth. He married Joanna of Naples in 1415, and was largely unpopular being imprisoned then forced to leave the kingdom of Naples in 1419. James relinquished his titles and became a monk in 1435. He died in 1438.

Early life

Armoiries Jacques II de la Marche
Coat of arms of James II, Count of La Marche

Born in 1370, James was the first son of John I, Count of La Marche and Catherine of Vendôme. He first bore arms in the crusade against the Ottomans which culminated in the Battle of Nicopolis, and was captured and ransomed. After returning to France, he commanded a force which invaded England in support of Owain Glyndŵr. His troops burned Plymouth in 1403, but twelve ships of his fleet were lost in a storm while returning to France in 1404.

James was an adherent of John the Fearless and foe of the Armagnac party. However, his affairs in France were interrupted by a sojourn abroad. In 1415, the barons of the Kingdom of Naples arranged his marriage to Joanna II of Naples. It was hoped James would break the power of her court favorites, Pandolfo Alopo and Muzio Sforza. He was not given the title King, but was referred to as Vicar General, Duke of Calabria, and Prince of Taranto. James had Alopo executed and imprisoned Sforza, but also kept the queen in confinement and aspired to personal rule. The indignant barons captured and imprisoned him in 1416; he was compelled to free Sforza and resign the kingship, and was ejected from the kingdom in 1419.

Returning to France, James fought against the English for Charles VII of France in 1428 and was made Governor of Languedoc.

In 1435, James resigned his titles and became a Franciscan friar, dying in 1438.

Marriage

In 1406 in Pamplona, James married Beatrix d'Évreux, daughter of Charles III of Navarre and Eleanor of Castile. The couple had three children:

  • Isabelle (1408 – after 1445), a nun at Besançon
  • Marie (1410 – after 1445), a nun at Amiens
  • Eleanor of Bourbon-La Marche (Burlada, Navarre, 1407 – after 21 August 1464), married Bernard d'Armagnac, Count of Pardiac (d. 1462)

In 1415, James married Joanna II of Naples. They had no children.

Sources

  • Setton, Kenneth M. (1976). The Papacy and the Levant, 1204–1571: The Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries. I. Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society. ISBN 0-87169-114-0.


Preceded by
John I
Count of La Marche
1393–1435
Succeeded by
Eleanor
Preceded by
John I
with Catherine of Vendôme
Count of Castres
1393–1435
With: Catherine of Vendôme 1393–1412
Preceded by
Ladislaus of Naples
Prince of Taranto
1414–1420
Succeeded by
Giovanni Antonio del Balzo Orsini
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