Maria de Luna
Encyclopedia
Maria de Luna was a queen consort
of Aragon
, as the spouse of King Martin I of Aragon
. She was known as "La Grande" (English: The Great), and is regarded as one of the most notable queens in Aragon. She was regent 1396-97.
and Lord of Segorbe
and Brianda de Got (or de Agasunt) from Provence
, who was related to Pope Clement V
.
Maria was engaged to Martin at the age of eight, and was brought up at the court of queen Eleanor. She married Martin in Barcelona
on 13 June 1372. She became queen in 1396: at the time of his accession to the throne, her spouse was on Sicily, so Maria acted as regent alongside queen dowager Violant and the count of Foix until his return in 1397.
Maria was politically active and exerted influence upon society and policy, and was considered to exceed Martin as a ruler. She supported the poor financially, handled taxes, welcomed Jewish and Muslim refugees, aspired to stop the wars between noble clans, including her own family, and wrote to Pope Benedictus XIII to suggest bans toward laws and practises she saw as injustice. She was described as wise, just, merciful, religious without being a fanatic, interested in music and literature but unimpressed by pomp and luxury.
She died of a stroke during a travel to Valencia.
Queen consort
A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...
of Aragon
Aragon
Aragon is a modern autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces : Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza...
, as the spouse of King Martin I of Aragon
Martin I of Aragon
Martin of Aragon , called the Elder, the Humane, the Ecclesiastic, was the King of Aragon, Valencia, Sardinia, and Corsica and Count of Barcelona from 1396 and King of Sicily from 1409...
. She was known as "La Grande" (English: The Great), and is regarded as one of the most notable queens in Aragon. She was regent 1396-97.
Biography
Maria was the daughter and heir of the Aragonese noble Lope, Lord and 1st Count of LunaLuna, Zaragoza
Luna is a municipality located in the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain. It is in the judicial district of Ejea de los Caballeros in the northeast of the province. It is 65 km from Zaragoza...
and Lord of Segorbe
Segorbe
Segorbe is a municipality in the mountainous coastal province of Castelló, autonomous community of Valencia, Spain. The former Palace of the Dukes of Medinaceli now houses the city's mayor...
and Brianda de Got (or de Agasunt) from Provence
Provence
Provence ; Provençal: Provença in classical norm or Prouvènço in Mistralian norm) is a region of south eastern France on the Mediterranean adjacent to Italy. It is part of the administrative région of Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur...
, who was related to Pope Clement V
Pope Clement V
Pope Clement V, born Raymond Bertrand de Got was Pope from 1305 to his death...
.
Maria was engaged to Martin at the age of eight, and was brought up at the court of queen Eleanor. She married Martin in 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...
on 13 June 1372. She became queen in 1396: at the time of his accession to the throne, her spouse was on Sicily, so Maria acted as regent alongside queen dowager Violant and the count of Foix until his return in 1397.
Maria was politically active and exerted influence upon society and policy, and was considered to exceed Martin as a ruler. She supported the poor financially, handled taxes, welcomed Jewish and Muslim refugees, aspired to stop the wars between noble clans, including her own family, and wrote to Pope Benedictus XIII to suggest bans toward laws and practises she saw as injustice. She was described as wise, just, merciful, religious without being a fanatic, interested in music and literature but unimpressed by pomp and luxury.
She died of a stroke during a travel to Valencia.
Issue
Maria and Martin had four children, three of them died in childhood:- Martin I of SicilyMartin I of SicilyMartin I of Sicily , called "The Younger", was King of Sicily from 1390 to 1409.Martin's father was the future King Martin I of Aragon, and his grandparents were King Peter IV of Aragon and Eleanor of Sicily. In 1389/1390/February, 1392 he married Maria of Sicily, born in 1362/1363...
- James (b. 1378)
- John (b. 1380)
- Margaret (b. 1384/1388)