James III of Majorca
Encyclopedia
James III called the Rash or the Unfortunate, son of Ferdinand of Majorca
Ferdinand of Majorca
Ferdinand of Majorca , Infante of Majorca, was the third son of James II of Majorca, Viscount of Aumelas and Lord of Frontignan....

 and Isabelle de Sabran, heiress of Principality of Achaea
Principality of Achaea
The Principality of Achaea or of the Morea was one of the three vassal states of the Latin Empire which replaced the Byzantine Empire after the capture of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. It became a vassal of the Kingdom of Thessalonica, along with the Duchy of Athens, until Thessalonica...

, was the King of Majorca from 1324 to 1344. He was the last independent king of Majorca of the House of Barcelona
House of Barcelona
The House of Barcelona was a medieval dynasty that ruled the County of Barcelona continuously from 878 and the Crown of Aragon from 1137 . From the male part they descend from the Bellonids, the descendants of Wifred the Hairy...

.

James was born at Catania
Catania
Catania is an Italian city on the east coast of Sicily facing the Ionian Sea, between Messina and Syracuse. It is the capital of the homonymous province, and with 298,957 inhabitants it is the second-largest city in Sicily and the tenth in Italy.Catania is known to have a seismic history and...

. At the death of his mother in 1315, he was proclaimed Prince of Achaia under the guardianship of his father, who brought the unruly principality under control, but was killed in 1316. From 1331 the feudal lords of Achaia began to recognise the rights of James, and in 1333 the recognition was total, though the heirs of Philip I of Taranto
Philip I of Taranto
Philip I of Taranto : of the Angevin house, was titular Emperor of Constantinople , despot of Epirus, King of Albania, Prince of Achaea and Taranto, and Lord of Durazzo....

 continued to press their claim.

Upon the death of his uncle Sancho in 1324, James took over Majorca, being the grandson of James II
James II of Majorca
James II was King of Majorca and Lord of Montpellier from 1276 until his death. He was the second son of James I of Aragon and his wife Violant, daughter of Andrew II of Hungary...

. In order to establish friendly relations with the Crown of Aragon
Crown of Aragon
The Crown of Aragon Corona d'Aragón Corona d'Aragó Corona Aragonum controlling a large portion of the present-day eastern Spain and southeastern France, as well as some of the major islands and mainland possessions stretching across the Mediterranean as far as Greece...

, he married Constance
Constance of Aragon, Queen of Majorca
Constance of Aragon was the eldest daughter of Alfonso IV of Aragon and his first wife Teresa d'Entença. She was born into the House of Aragon...

, daughter of Alfonso IV of Aragon
Alfonso IV of Aragon
Alfonso IV, called the Kind was the King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona from 1327 to his death. He was the second son of James II and Blanche of Anjou...

. Though the kings of Majorca traditionally swore an oath of fealty to the kings of Aragon, James claimed that no king could have lordship over any other king. He patronised the University of Montpellier
University of Montpellier
The University of Montpellier was a French university in Montpellier in the Languedoc-Roussillon région of the south of France. Its present-day successor universities are the University of Montpellier 1, Montpellier 2 University and Paul Valéry University, Montpellier III.-History:The university...

, which lay within his continental domains, and the legal scholars of that institution defended his rights as king.

On 9 May 1337 James promulgated the Leges palatinae
Leges palatinae
The Leges palatinae were the laws governing the functioning of the royal court of the Kingdom of Majorca, promulgated by James III at Palma on 9 May 1337. The Leges were probably conceived to lend weight to James's position as an independent king...

, an elaborate code for his court and the first of its kind. For it he commissioned a fine illuminated manuscript
Illuminated manuscript
An illuminated manuscript is a manuscript in which the text is supplemented by the addition of decoration, such as decorated initials, borders and miniature illustrations...

 in an Italian style, which he himself preserved when he lost his throne. He brought it to the Papal curia, then sold it to Philip VI of France
Philip VI of France
Philip VI , known as the Fortunate and of Valois, was the King of France from 1328 to his death. He was also Count of Anjou, Maine, and Valois from 1325 to 1328...

. It was to have an important influence on Aragonese and possibly even Burgundian
Duchy of Burgundy
The Duchy of Burgundy , was heir to an ancient and prestigious reputation and a large division of the lands of the Second Kingdom of Burgundy and in its own right was one of the geographically larger ducal territories in the emergence of Early Modern Europe from Medieval Europe.Even in that...

 court functions.

In 1342 James refused to render the oath of fealty to his cousin Peter IV of Aragon
Peter IV of Aragon
Peter IV, , called el Cerimoniós or el del punyalet , was the King of Aragon, King of Sardinia and Corsica , King of Valencia , and Count of Barcelona Peter IV, (Balaguer, September 5, 1319 – Barcelona, January 6, 1387), called el Cerimoniós ("the Ceremonious") or el del punyalet ("the one...

. He was supported, however, by the doctors of the University of Montpellier and by an Aragonese troubadour
Troubadour
A troubadour was a composer and performer of Old Occitan lyric poetry during the High Middle Ages . Since the word "troubadour" is etymologically masculine, a female troubadour is usually called a trobairitz....

, Thomàs Périz de Fozes
Thomàs Périz de Fozes
Thomàs Périz de Fozes was an Aragonese troubadour of the knightly class, who has left two poems in the Occitan language. His mother tongue was evidently Aragonese...

, who wrote a poem in his defence. In a short war (1343–44) he was driven out of Majorca by Peter, who reannexed the Balearic Islands
Balearic Islands
The Balearic Islands are an archipelago of Spain in the western Mediterranean Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula.The four largest islands are: Majorca, Minorca, Ibiza and Formentera. The archipelago forms an autonomous community and a province of Spain with Palma as the capital...

 to the Crown. He died at the Battle of Llucmajor
Battle of Llucmajor
The Battle of Llucmajor occurred in 1349 when Peter IV of Aragon's forces defeated and killed his cousin James III of Majorca in the town of Llucmajor on the Balearic Islands, resulting in the end of the independent Kingdom of Majorca.-References:...

 on 25 October 1349 while trying to retake the island.

He re-married in 1347 to Violante of Vilaragut
Violante of Vilaragut
Violante of Vilaragut was a daughter of Berengeur de Vilaragut and his second wife Saura of Majorca, who was an illegitimate daughter of James II of Majorca. Violante was Titular queen consort of Majorca by her marriage to her cousin James III of Majorca.-Life:The marriage contract was signed on...

, who bore him one short-lived daughter.

His heir was his son, James IV
James IV of Majorca
James IV of Majorca was King of Majorca from 1349 until his death.James was the son of James III of Majorca and Constance of Aragon...

, who ruled in Achaia and was a claimant to Majorca. James IV died childless and James III's daughter, Isabel
Isabel of Majorca
Isabella of Majorca was the last titular Queen of Majorca and Countess of Roussillon and Cerdanya from 1375 to her death.-Family:...

, inherited the family's claims.
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