- James II of Aragon
James II (
10 August 1267 in Valencia –2 November or5 November 1327 inBarcelona ), called the Just ( _an. Chaime lo Chusto, _ca. Jaume el Just, _es. Jaime el Justo) was theKing of Sicily (as James I) from 1285 to 1296 andKing of Aragon and Valencia andCount of Barcelona from 1291 to 1327. In 1297 he was granted theKingdom of Sardinia and Corsica . He used theLatin title "Iacobus Dei gracia rex Aragonum, Valencie, Sardinie, et Corsice ac comes Barchinone". He was the second son ofPeter III of Aragon and Constance of Sicily.Reign
He succeeded his father as King of Sicily in 1285. Upon the death of his brother Alfonso III in 1291, he succeeded also to the throne of the
Crown of Aragon . he spent May of that year inCatania , inspiring the local monkAtanasiu di Iaci to write the "Vinuta di re Iapicu" about his time there. By a peace treaty with Charles II of Anjou in 1296, he agreed to give up Sicily, but the Sicilians instead installed on the throne his brother Frederick. He reigned until his death in 1327.By the
Treaty of Anagni in 1295, he returned theBalearic Islands toJames II of Majorca . Aragon retained control over the continental territories of the Majorca kingdom —Montpellier andRoussillon — throughout James' reign. In 1298, by theTreaty of Argilers , James of Majorca recognised the suzerainty of James of Aragon.Writing
It was probably during his reign at Sicily (1285–1291) that James composed his only surviving piece of
Occitan poetry, a religious "dansa " dedicated to theVirgin Mary , "Mayre de Deu". [A short analysis, with useful footnotes, and eight lines quoted with Catalan translation is found inMartín de Riquer (1964), "Història de la Literatura Catalana", vol. 1 (Barcelona: Edicions Ariel), pp. 172–73.] A contemporary,Arnau de Vilanova , wrote a verse-by-verse Latin commentary of the "dansa" in 1305. Themetaphor James uses has been analysed byAlfred Jeanroy , who sees similarities in the "Roman de Fauvel ".James begins by comparing the Church to a ship in a storm, poorly guided by its pilot ("nauchier", i.e. the
Pope ):The literary quality of the verses is neither astounding nor disappointing, but the song was clearly written at a moment when James was in conflict with the Papacy, perhaps with a propagandistic end, to prove his piety and fidelity to the Church if not the Papacy. The final verses ask Mary to protect him, the king, from sin:Marriges, concubines, and children
He married four times:
— Isabella of Castile, Viscountess of
Limoges , daughter ofSancho IV of Castile and his wifeMaría de Molina . The wedding took place in the city ofSoria , in1 December ,1291 when the bride was only 8 years old. The marriage, which was never consummated, was dissolved and annulled after Sancho's death in 1295, when James chose to change his alliances and take advantage of the turmoil inside Castile.—
Blanche of Anjou , daughter of his family's rivalCharles II of Naples andMaria Arpad of Hungary . They married in the city ofVillabertran , in29 October or1 November ,1295 . She bore him several legitimate children:*James (Jaume) (b.
29 September ,1296 - d.Tarragona , July 1334). James renounced his right to the throne in 1319 to become a monk. He refused to consummate his marriage to Leonor of Castille, who later become the second wife of his brother Alfonso.*
Alfonso IV of Aragon (1299 –24 January 1336 ). He became the King of Aragon in 1327 and ruled until his death. He married twice: first to Teresa d'Entença and then to Eleanor of Castile after his first wife died.*Maria (b. 1299 - d. as a nun in Sijena, 1316). She married
Pedro of Castile , son ofSancho IV of Castile .*
Constanza of Aragon (Constança) (b. Valencia,1 April ,1300 - d. Castillo de Garcia Munoz,19 September ,1327 ). Constanza marriedJuan Manuel, Duke of Penafiel , nephew ofAlfonso X of Castile .*John (Juan) (b. 1304 - d. Pobo,
Zaragoza ,19 August 1334 ). John became the first Archbishop of Toledo andTarragona in 1318, and Patriarch ofAlexandria in 1328.*
Isabel of Aragon (b. 1305 - d.Styria ,12 July 1330 ). Elizabeth married Frederick I of Austria.*Peter (Pere) (b. 1305 - d.
Pisa ,4 November 1381 ), Count of Ribagorça and Prades. Peter married Jeanne, daughter ofGaston I of Foix .*Blanca (b. 1307 - d.
Barcelona , 1348), Prioress of Sixena.*Ramon Berenguer (b. August 1308 - d. a priest at
Barcelona , 1366), Count of Empúries and Baron ofEjerica . Ramon married firstly with Blanca, daughter ofPhilip I of Taranto , and secondly with Maria, daughter of Jaime of Aragon.*Violante (b.
Barcelona , October 1310 - d.Pedrola ,19 July 1353 ). She first married Philip, Despot of Romania, son ofPhilip I of Taranto . Her second marriage was with Lope de Luna, Lord of Segorbe.— Marie de Lusignan (1273 – September, 1322 at
Tortosa , buried atBarcelona ), daughter of the KingHugh III of Cyprus . They married by proxy inSanta Sophia ,Nicosia , in15 June 1315 , and in person in the city ofGirona , in27 November 1315 . This marriage was childless.—
Elisenda de Montcada , daughter of Pedro I de Montcada, Lord ofAltona andSoses , and wife Gisela d'Abarca. They married in the city ofTarragona , in25 December 1322 . This marriage was childless too, and, after the king's death, she entered the Monastery ofPoor Clares inPedralbes as aNun , where she died onJune 19 ,1364 .In addition to his legitimate offspring, James had three natural children born with Sicilian women:
— With Gerolda:
*Sancho (b.
Sicily , 1287 - d. young?).*Napoleón (b.
Sicily , 1288 - m. 1338), Lord ofJoyosa Guarda (Gioiosaguardia) andAcquafredda (inSardinia ); married a daughter of a Majorcan named Guillermo Robert.— With Lucrecia:
*James (Jaume) (b. Mazzara, 1291 - d. 1350), Vicario di
Cagliari (1317–1341); married firstly with Jaumetta Guerau, from Majorca, and secondly with Puccia, a Sardinian woman.References
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