WI/AHC: D. Juana I, Queen of Aragon?

No, not Juana la Loca, daughter of Fernando II of Aragon, but the daughter of King Juan I of Aragon. OTL, when her father died without sons, the Aragonese crown passed to his brother, King Martin of Sicily. However, Martin was having some issues with the Sicilian nobility and as a result, his wife, Maria de Luna, had to secure the Aragonese realm until he could arrive.

Still OTL, Juana had no children from her marriage to Mathieu, Comte de Foix, but when her father died in '95, she'd only been married to Mathieu for two years. Plus, Mathieu died in '98, but Juana never remarried, and even in her own lifetime, in spite of being the senior Aragonese claimant, her younger half-sister, Yolanda, claimed the Aragonese crown.

Now, what if Juan had somehow passed a law that stipulated his daughters could succeed in lack of a male heir? Or Juana had been successful in claiming the crown on her father's death in 1395. How might Aragon develop otherwise? Who might she remarry if Mathieu still leaves her without children (let's assume the problem was his, not hers) so in 1398 she's a 23 year-old widow who's also a queen of Aragón, Valencia, Majorca, Sardinia and Corsica, Countess of Barcelona.
 
No, not Juana la Loca, daughter of Fernando II of Aragon, but the daughter of King Juan I of Aragon. OTL, when her father died without sons, the Aragonese crown passed to his brother, King Martin of Sicily. However, Martin was having some issues with the Sicilian nobility and as a result, his wife, Maria de Luna, had to secure the Aragonese realm until he could arrive.

Still OTL, Juana had no children from her marriage to Mathieu, Comte de Foix, but when her father died in '95, she'd only been married to Mathieu for two years. Plus, Mathieu died in '98, but Juana never remarried, and even in her own lifetime, in spite of being the senior Aragonese claimant, her younger half-sister, Yolanda, claimed the Aragonese crown.

Now, what if Juan had somehow passed a law that stipulated his daughters could succeed in lack of a male heir? Or Juana had been successful in claiming the crown on her father's death in 1395. How might Aragon develop otherwise? Who might she remarry if Mathieu still leaves her without children (let's assume the problem was his, not hers) so in 1398 she's a 23 year-old widow who's also a queen of Aragón, Valencia, Majorca, Sardinia and Corsica, Countess of Barcelona.

John Ist, both by personal inclination and by his second wife's influence, was very close to France. He even titled his sons "Dauphin of Girona" ! Furthermore, the salic system of inheritance (as illustrated by the french laws of succession) was already installed in the crown Aragon by the will of James Ist - even if the kingdom of Aragon itself had known a female transmission. Finally, the queen was still in childbearing age (she was pregnant when John Ist died), so why bother to change the rules (and convince the troublesome corts to go along) ?

For all these reasons, I found it very unlikely John Ist would ever change the rules of inheritance in favour of his first marriage's daughter. That did not stop Mathew of Foix to invade Catalonia in 1396 OTL, but he was easily repelled by Martin, as he did not have any local support. Another disadvantage for Mathew and Joana : the relatively low-level genealogical connections of the Count of Foix. A scion of a junior line of the Foix family part of the Catalan aristocracy for some generations, both his mother and his grandmother came from undistinguished families and his only cousins, the Count of Pallars and the Viscount of Cabrera, actually fought against him in 1396. This contrasts with the other players of the "game of thrones" who were linked to powerful foreign royal families.

Having said that, if Joana and Mathew, with uncanny political wisdom, managed to play the Catalan élites in their favour but Mathew died childless as OTL, the logical local candidate is James of Urgell (°1380), heir to the most senior noble of Catalonia and male scion of the house of Barcelona. It would strengthen the claim of Joana (but Martin, his son and grandson are still senior to Urgell in the genealogy of the house) and gave her a much-needed base of power. The foreign candidate is Louis of Anjou (°1377), contested King of Naples, OTL husband of Joans's half-sister. He is the adversary of the Martins in Sicily and has the support of the French.

Both unions would bring in considerable issues, as neither of these prospective Kings of Aragon actually managed OTL to conquer said crown, either from too local focus (Urgell was despised by the Aragonese) or from too wide ambitions (Naples and Aragon and Anjou and Provence while you do not speak the language nor command loyalty beyond the money you can give).
 
John Ist, both by personal inclination and by his second wife's influence, was very close to France. He even titled his sons "Dauphin of Girona" ! Furthermore, the salic system of inheritance (as illustrated by the french laws of succession) was already installed in the crown Aragon by the will of James Ist - even if the kingdom of Aragon itself had known a female transmission. Finally, the queen was still in childbearing age (she was pregnant when John Ist died), so why bother to change the rules (and convince the troublesome corts to go along) ?

For all these reasons, I found it very unlikely John Ist would ever change the rules of inheritance in favour of his first marriage's daughter. That did not stop Mathew of Foix to invade Catalonia in 1396 OTL, but he was easily repelled by Martin, as he did not have any local support. Another disadvantage for Mathew and Joana : the relatively low-level genealogical connections of the Count of Foix. A scion of a junior line of the Foix family part of the Catalan aristocracy for some generations, both his mother and his grandmother came from undistinguished families and his only cousins, the Count of Pallars and the Viscount of Cabrera, actually fought against him in 1396. This contrasts with the other players of the "game of thrones" who were linked to powerful foreign royal families.

Having said that, if Joana and Mathew, with uncanny political wisdom, managed to play the Catalan élites in their favour but Mathew died childless as OTL, the logical local candidate is James of Urgell (°1380), heir to the most senior noble of Catalonia and male scion of the house of Barcelona. It would strengthen the claim of Joana (but Martin, his son and grandson are still senior to Urgell in the genealogy of the house) and gave her a much-needed base of power. The foreign candidate is Louis of Anjou (°1377), contested King of Naples, OTL husband of Joans's half-sister. He is the adversary of the Martins in Sicily and has the support of the French.

Both unions would bring in considerable issues, as neither of these prospective Kings of Aragon actually managed OTL to conquer said crown, either from too local focus (Urgell was despised by the Aragonese) or from too wide ambitions (Naples and Aragon and Anjou and Provence while you do not speak the language nor command loyalty beyond the money you can give).

Okay, so Juan doesn't have to change the laws, we just need to have Mathieu or an alt-husband for Juana (I agree that he seems pretty low on the totem pole for a king's eldest daughter) be slightly more successful, and perhaps possess the political wisdom you speak of. Urgell and Anjou were my first thoughts for an alternate match for her as well, but as you point out, both are problematic. What if she were to marry higher in to the Foix hierarchy - like her husband's cousin, Gaston de la Cerda, 2e conde de Medinaceli? Through his de la Cerda mother he was descended from the kings of Castile, and he left at least three kids OTL; granted patrilineally he seems to be a bit of a mule - more inclined to remember his mother the horse than his father the ass - since his dad was a bastard son of Gaston III, Comte de Foix.
 
Okay, so Juan doesn't have to change the laws, we just need to have Mathieu or an alt-husband for Juana (I agree that he seems pretty low on the totem pole for a king's eldest daughter) be slightly more successful, and perhaps possess the political wisdom you speak of. Urgell and Anjou were my first thoughts for an alternate match for her as well, but as you point out, both are problematic. What if she were to marry higher in to the Foix hierarchy - like her husband's cousin, Gaston de la Cerda, 2e conde de Medinaceli? Through his de la Cerda mother he was descended from the kings of Castile, and he left at least three kids OTL; granted patrilineally he seems to be a bit of a mule - more inclined to remember his mother the horse than his father the ass - since his dad was a bastard son of Gaston III, Comte de Foix.

I do not think Medinaceli is a good match : socially, he is average castillan high aristocracy, genealogically, he comes from a bastard line of a non-royal family, and "royally" (claim-wise), he has nothing : the La Cerda were given a vast patrimony in exchange for surrendering their claims. Other than the Castles and the Fleurs-de-lys on his coat of arms, he has nothing to offer. At least, Matthew held a great deal of lands just north of the Aragon border. The Medinaceli estates could not be united to Aragon. With the few Castillan princes already married, I do not think a Castillan match is possible. The closest french prince is Louis d'Anjou. Maybe an Italian, but I do not see many advantages in such a move, especially considering John Ist pro-french policy.
 
Scenario:

1395

Juana I of Aragon successfully manages to gain her throne over her rival, Martin of Sicily. Childless but hopeful with her husband, Matthew, Count of Foix, the 20 year old Queen of Aragon, Valencia, Majorca, Sardinia, Corsica and Countess of Barcelona hopes for a strong future.

1398
Juana I of Aragon tragically loses her husband, leaving herself at 23 in need of a husband to help her create an heir.

1399
Desperate for a husband, Juana I of Aragon is forced to choose between two candidates. One, James II, Count of Urgell, is a cousin with a claim to her throne. The other, her nephew Ferdinand of Castile, has a much stronger claim but has an elder, married brother.

1400
Juana I of Aragon chooses to marry James II, Count of Urgell, inviting him and his mother, Margaret of Montferrat, to Zaragoza.

Basics From Here

  • The Urgell/Juana marriage produces 3 living children: Juan, Margaret and Martha.
  • After Juana's death in 1407, James II, Count of Urgell attempts to claim the throne over his children, but is prevented by the nobility. Having lost their trust and respect, the regency is headed by his mother, who has managed to gain her own power base at this time.
  • James is assassinated around 1413, and his mother is removed from her position, as the Regency of Juan II of Aragon is made under the nobility.
  • A back and forth between Margaret of Montferrat and the Aragonese nobility lasts until around 1417, when an adult Juan II of Aragon takes control and imprisons his grandmother.
  • Marrying in 1419 to Isabella of Portugal, the King of Aragon would have 4 sons and 2 daughters from the marriage, of which only the 3rd son, Peter V of Aragon, and the 2nd daughter, Constance of Aragon, survived childhood.
  • The elder of Juan II of Aragon's sister's Margaret of Aragon, was considered mentally unfit for marriage, and died in 1424 due to illness. However, the young sister Martha, in 1428, married the Duke of Burgundy and wold give birth to his only children, Marie and Catherine of Burgundy. Marie, being the eldest, would marry in 1448 Charles I, Count of Nevers, her cousin, but would be left childless upon his death 10 years later, and would go on to make a second childless match in 1470 with his brother, with whom she lived with as his mistress in the interim. Her sister, meanwhile, married in 1451, at age of 15, the Dauphin of France, who was 24 at the time and furious at their marriage. They would go on to have a single son before her death in 1455, Charles VIII of France, who would successfully claim Burgundy for the French.
Juana I of Aragon (b.1375: d.1407) m. Matthew, Count of Foix (b.1363: d.1398) (a), James II, Count of Urgell (b.1380: d.1413) (b)

1a) Juan II of Aragon (b.1401: d.1456) m. Isabella of Portugal (b.1397: d.1471) (a)

1a) Juan of Aragon (b.1425: d.1429)

2a) James of Aragon (b.1426: d.1426)

3a) Maria of Aragon (b.1428: d.1435)

4a) Peter V of Aragon (b.1431: d.1501) m. Catherine of France (b.1428: d.1446) (a), Mary Stewart (b.1428: d.1465) (b), Eleanor of Naples (b.1450: d.1493) (c), Louise de Bourbon, Duchess of Montpensier (b.1482: d.1561) (a)

1b) Margaret of Aragon (b.1449: d.1455)

2b) James of Aragon, Prince of Girona (b.1452: d.1459)

3b) Peter of Aragon, Prince of Girona (b.1457: d.1466)

4c) Isabella of Aragon (b.1469)

5c) Juan III of Aragon (b.1472)

6c) Maria of Aragon (b.1475: d.1476)

7c) Eleanor of Aragon (b.1477)

8c) Magdalena of Aragon (b.1481: d.1492)

9c) Edward of Aragon, Count of Urgell (b.1484)

10c) Beatrice of Aragon (b.1488)

11d) James of Aragon, Duke of Montpensier (b.1498)

12s) Yolande of Aragon (b.1500)​

5a) Juan of Aragon (b.1434: d.1434)

6a) Constance of Aragon (b.1437)​

2a) Margaret of Aragon (b.1403: d.1424)

3a) Martha of Aragon (b.1406) m. Philip III, Duke of Burgundy (b.1396: 1467) (a)

1a) Marie, titular Duchess of Burgundy (b.1430: d.1495) m. Charles I, Count of Nevers (b.1414: d.1464) (a), John II, Count of Nevers (b.1415: d.1491) (b)

2a) Antoine of Burgundy (b.1433: d.1434)

3a) Catherine of Burgundy (b.1437: d.1455) m. Louis XI of France (b.1423: d.1483) (a)

1a) Charles VIII of France (b.1453)​
 
I do not think Medinaceli is a good match : socially, he is average castillan high aristocracy, genealogically, he comes from a bastard line of a non-royal family, and "royally" (claim-wise), he has nothing : the La Cerda were given a vast patrimony in exchange for surrendering their claims. Other than the Castles and the Fleurs-de-lys on his coat of arms, he has nothing to offer. At least, Matthew held a great deal of lands just north of the Aragon border. The Medinaceli estates could not be united to Aragon. With the few Castillan princes already married, I do not think a Castillan match is possible. The closest french prince is Louis d'Anjou. Maybe an Italian, but I do not see many advantages in such a move, especially considering John Ist pro-french policy.

What about Ladislas of Naples? Or is he too foreign and too distant?
 
What about Ladislas of Naples? Or is he too foreign and too distant?

Sure, he could, but that involves of reversal of alliances and hostily towards France. Plus, he is deeply involved in domestic war and unable to act against an hostile Martin from Sicily.
 
Sure, he could, but that involves of reversal of alliances and hostily towards France. Plus, he is deeply involved in domestic war and unable to act against an hostile Martin from Sicily.

I was under the impression Juan I was relatively pro-French? Or are you talking about Ladislas? If so, do you know what the main reason for his hostility to France was? And if it was butterfly-proof or not?
 
I was under the impression Juan I was relatively pro-French? Or are you talking about Ladislas? If so, do you know what the main reason for his hostility to France was? And if it was butterfly-proof or not?

Bit of misunderstanding here : John Ist was pro-french, and therefore inclined to support Louis of Anjou against Ladislas. So I do not see his daughter marrying the same Ladislas rather than Louis, especially as in 1398 Ladislas had not yet successfully claimed his throne.
 
Bit of misunderstanding here : John Ist was pro-french, and therefore inclined to support Louis of Anjou against Ladislas. So I do not see his daughter marrying the same Ladislas rather than Louis, especially as in 1398 Ladislas had not yet successfully claimed his throne.

Fair enough. But then again, neither had Louis of Anjou (in fact, he didn't even have a throne to fight for yet). And Juan's pro-French sentiments make another match that I wondered about for Juana - namely either of Pedro el Cruel's English grandsons (the duke of York or the earl of Cambridge) - seem unlikely. So it looks like barring her matching up with a surviving D. Affonso of Portugal (son of King Fernando I), she's sort of doomed to be either a Foix or Angevin bride, since there no other princes from nearby (unless Enrique III of Castile is an option) who are age-appropriate (Carlos III of Navarre's sons are only born in the late 1390s, although his brother, Pedro, Comte de Mortain (b.1466) might be a possibility?)
 
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