John I of Aragon
Encyclopedia
John I called by posterity the Hunter (Juan el Cazador in Castilian, Chuan lo Cazataire in Aragonese
Aragonese language
Aragonese is a Romance language now spoken in a number of local varieties by between 10,000 and 30,000 people over the valleys of the Aragón River, Sobrarbe and Ribagorza in Aragon, Spain...

 and Joan el Caçador in Catalan
Catalan language
Catalan is a Romance language, the national and only official language of Andorra and a co-official language in the Spanish autonomous communities of Catalonia, the Balearic Islands and Valencian Community, where it is known as Valencian , as well as in the city of Alghero, on the Italian island...

) or the Lover of Elegance (el Amador de la Gentileza in Castilian and l'Amador de la Gentilesa in Catalan), but the Abandoned (el Descurat) in his lifetime, was the King of Aragon from 1387 until his death.

Biography

John was the eldest son of Peter IV
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...

 and his third wife, Eleanor
Eleanor of Sicily
Eleanor of Sicily was Queen Consort of Aragon . She was the daughter of Peter II of Sicily and Elisabeth of Carinthia. She was the third wife of Peter IV of Aragon.- Early life and family :...

, who was the daughter of Peter II of Sicily
Peter II of Sicily
Peter II was crowned King of Sicily in 1321 and gained full sovereignty when his father died in 1337....

. He was born in Perpignan
Perpignan
-Sport:Perpignan is a rugby stronghold: their rugby union side, USA Perpignan, is a regular competitor in the Heineken Cup and seven times champion of the Top 14 , while their rugby league side plays in the engage Super League under the name Catalans Dragons.-Culture:Since 2004, every year in the...

, in the province of Roussillon
Roussillon
Roussillon is one of the historical counties of the former Principality of Catalonia, corresponding roughly to the present-day southern French département of Pyrénées-Orientales...

, which at that time belonged to Aragon, and died during a hunt in forests near Foixà
Girona (province)
Girona is a province of north-eastern Spain, in the northern part of the autonomous community of Catalonia. It is bordered by the provinces of Barcelona and Lleida, and by France and the Mediterranean Sea....

 by a fall from his horse, like his namesake, cousin, and contemporary, John I of Castile
John I of Castile
John I was the king of Crown of Castile, was the son of Henry II and of his wife Juana Manuel of Castile, daughter of Juan Manuel, Prince of Villena, head of a younger branch of the royal house of Castile...

. He was a man of character, with a taste for verse.

Once on the throne, John abandoned his father's relatively Anglophile policy and made an alliance with France. He continued Aragon's support for the Pope of the Avignon line, Clement VII, in the Western Schism
Western Schism
The Western Schism or Papal Schism was a split within the Catholic Church from 1378 to 1417. Two men simultaneously claimed to be the true pope. Driven by politics rather than any theological disagreement, the schism was ended by the Council of Constance . The simultaneous claims to the papal chair...

. John also made an alliance with Castile, and confirmed in 1388 a treaty with Navarre
Navarre
Navarre , officially the Chartered Community of Navarre is an autonomous community in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Country, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and Aquitaine in France...

 fixing borders between these kingdoms.

In 1389-90, the Aragonese battled the troops of the Count of Armagnac
Count of Armagnac
The following is a list of rulers of the county of Armagnac:-House of Armagnac:*William Count of Fézensac and Armagnac ?– 960*Bernard the Suspicious, First count privative of Armagnac 960– ?*Gerald I Trancaléon ? –1020*Bernard I Tumapaler 1020–1061...

, John III, who was attempting to conquer the lands of the vassal taifa of Majorca
Taifa of Majorca
The Taifa of Majorca was a medieval Moorish taifa kingdom which existed from 1018 to 1203 in Majorca.-Mujahid dynasty:* Mujahid : 1018-1041* 'Ali Iqbal ud-Dawlah: 1041-1075-Aglabid dynasty:* Ibn Aglab al-Murtada: 1076-1093...

. The attack went from Empordà
Empordà
Empordà is a historical region of Catalonia divided since 1936 into two comarques, Alt Empordà and Baix Empordà....

 to Gerona
Girona
Girona is a city in the northeast of Catalonia, Spain at the confluence of the rivers Ter, Onyar, Galligants and Güell, with an official population of 96,236 in January 2009. It is the capital of the province of the same name and of the comarca of the Gironès...

. The invaders were defeated in 1390 by Aragonese troops commanded by the Infante Martin, the king's brother (and successor).

During 1388-90, John gradually lost all lands of the Duchies of Athens
Duchy of Athens
The Duchy of Athens was one of the Crusader States set up in Greece after the conquest of the Byzantine Empire during the Fourth Crusade, encompassing the regions of Attica and Boeotia, and surviving until its conquest by the Ottoman Empire in the 15th century....

 and Neopatras in Greece.
In 1391, John promulgated legislation on Jews in different cities of Aragon. Also in 1391, his administration faced a revolt in the vassal kingdom of Sicily
Sicily
Sicily is a region of Italy, and is the largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Along with the surrounding minor islands, it constitutes an autonomous region of Italy, the Regione Autonoma Siciliana Sicily has a rich and unique culture, especially with regard to the arts, music, literature,...

, where the population had proclaimed Louis of Durazzo
Louis of Durazzo
Louis of Durazzo was Count of Gravina and Morrone. He was the son of John of Gravina and Agnes of Périgord.In 1337, he was named Vicar- and Captain-General of the Kingdom of Albania. During the ascension of the Durazzeschi at the court of Naples during the reign of Joan I, he was one of the royal...

 as king.

John was a protector of culture of Barcelona. He established in 1393 the Consistory of Barcelona (jocs florals), imitating the same office in Toulouse.

Aragon had been attempting to subjugate Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...

 since the reign of James II
James II of Aragon
James II , called the Just was the King of Sicily from 1285 to 1296 and King of Aragon and Valencia and Count of Barcelona from 1291 to 1327. In 1297 he was granted the Kingdom of Sardinia and Corsica...

, and gradually the Aragonese had conquered most of the island. However, in the 1380s, the remaining independent principality Arborea
Arborea
Arborea is a town and comune in the province of Oristano, Sardinia, Italy, whose economy is largely based on agriculture, with production of vegetables and fruit.- History :...

 became a fortress of rebellion and the Aragonese were rapidly driven back by Eleanor de Bas-Serra
Eleanor of Arborea
Eleanor ; 1347 – 1404) was the giudicessa of Arborea from 1383 to her death. She was one of the last — and most powerful and significant — Sardinian judges; as well as the island's most renowned heroine....

. The Aragonese continued in John's reign to attempt to suppress rebels in Sardinia and regain lost territories. However, during John's reign, practically the whole of Sardinia was lost.

John's reign was characterized by disastrous financial administration.

He died without sons, and was succeeded by his younger brother Martin. Two daughters, however, survived to adulthood.

Family and children

From his first marriage in 24 June 1373 to Martha of Armagnac
Martha of Armagnac
Martha of Armagnac was the youngest child of John I of Armagnac and his second wife Beatrice of Clermont. She was the first wife of John I of Aragon but never became Queen consort of Aragon because she was outlived by her father-in-law Peter IV of Aragon.- Early Life and Family :Martha was the...

 (18 February 1347 - 23 October 1378), daughter of Count Jean I of Armagnac:
  • Infante James of Aragon (b. Valencia 24 June 1374 - d. Valencia 1374)
  • Infanta Joanna of Aragon
    Joanna of Aragon, Countess of Foix
    Infanta Joanna of Aragon was the only surviving child of John I of Aragon and his first wife Martha of Armagnac. She was a member of the House of Aragon and was Countess consort of Foix by her marriage to Matthew of Foix....

     (b. Daroca
    Daroca
    Daroca is a city and municipality in the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, situated to the south of the city of Zaragoza. It is the center of a judicial district....

     October 1375 - d. Valencia September 1407), who married in 4 June 1392 at Barcelona
    Barcelona
    Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...

     to Mathieu, Count of Foix. Together they claimed the throne of Aragon after her father's death. Matthew of Foix invaded Aragonese territories, but was driven back by the new King Martin. Joanna died soon after, childless.
  • Infante John of Aragon (b. and d. Barcelona July 1376)
  • Infante Alfonso of Aragon (b. and d. 1377)
  • Infanta Eleanor of Aragon (b. and d. 1378)


From his second marriage in 2 February 1380 to Yolande of Bar (c. 1365 - 3 July 1431), daughter of Robert I, Duke of Bar and Marie of Valois:
  • Infante James of Aragon (1382–1388), Duke of Girona and Count of Cervera
  • Infanta Yolande of Aragon
    Yolande of Aragon
    Yolande of Aragon, , was a throne claimant and titular queen regnant of Aragon, titular queen consort of Naples, Duchess of Anjou, Countess of Provence, and regent of Provence during the minority of her son...

     (Zaragoza
    Zaragoza
    Zaragoza , also called Saragossa in English, is the capital city of the Zaragoza Province and of the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain...

     1384 - Saumur
    Saumur
    Saumur is a commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France.The historic town is located between the Loire and Thouet rivers, and is surrounded by the vineyards of Saumur itself, Chinon, Bourgueil, Coteaux du Layon, etc...

     14 November 1442), married in 2 December 1400 at Louis II of Naples
    Louis II of Naples
    Louis II of Anjou was the rival of Ladislaus as King of Naples. He was a member of the House of Valois-Anjou.-Biography:...

    . She played a role in the history of France
    France
    The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

    .
  • Infante Ferdinand of Aragon (1389 - Monzón
    Monzón
    Monzón is a small town in the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It has a population of 17,050. It is located in the northeast and adjoins the rivers Cinca and Sosa.-Historical overview:...

     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)
  • Infante Peter of Aragon (1394-1394), Duke of Girona and Count of Cervera

Ancestors

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