Charles d'Artois ( it, Carlo Artus; 1300 – September 1346) was a Neapolitan nobleman and court official. Charles was born in 1300 as the illegitimate son of

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

heir apparent An heir apparent, often shortened to heir, is a person who is first in an order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person; a person who is first in the order of succession but can be displaced by the b ...

to the throne of Naples. His mother wa
Cantelma Cantelmo
lady of the bedchamber to Robert's wife,

Sancia of Majorca Sancia of Majorca (c. 1281 – 28 July 1345), also known as Sancha, was Queen of Naples from 1309 until 1343 as the wife of Robert the Wise. She served as regent of Naples during the minority of her stepgrandaughter, Joanna I of Naples, from 1343 u ...

. Robert became King of Naples in 1309, and Charles was raised at his court as a

royal bastard A royal bastard was a common term (now largely dropped from common usage) for the illegitimate child of a reigning monarch. These children were considered to be born outside of marriage - either because the monarch had an extra-marital affair, o ...

. In 1317, he became chamberlain to his father and was given rule over Pennaluce. The following year, Charles was made guardian of the Castle of Santa Maria del Monte. He was given further lands in 1322, namely the barony of

Roccaromana Roccaromana is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Caserta in the Italian region Campania, located about north of Naples and about northwest of Caserta Caserta () is the capital of the province of Caserta in the Campania region of ...

. On his deathbed in 1343, King Robert named Charles and Queen Sancia as guardians of Robert's granddaughters (Charles's nieces) Joanna and Maria. On King Robert's death, the crown passed to his granddaughter and Charles's niece, Queen Joanna I. She named her uncle Chancellor of the Realm and her personal counselor on 20 May 1345. On that occasion, he also became Count of Sant'Agata de' Goti. Charles was one of the principal plotters against his niece's husband, King Andrew. When Andrew was murdered in September 1345, Charles was sentenced to death. He fled the court along with his eldest son, Bertrand, and took refuge in his county.

Catherine II, Latin Empress Katherine, also spelled Catherine, and other variations are feminine names. They are popular in Christian countries because of their derivation from the name of one of the first Christian saints, Catherine of Alexandria. In the early Chris ...

, and her son Louis of Taranto captured Charles, who died of stress or poison in

Melfi Melfi (Neapolitan language, Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the Vulture area of the province of Potenza, in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata. Geographically, it is midway between Naples and Bari. In 2015 it had a population of 17,7 ...

on 31 August or in early September 1346. He was buried in the Church of Saint Francis in Sant'Agata de' Goti. By his wife, Marianna Scotto, Charles had four sons: Bertrand (assassin of King Andrew), Louis (Charles's successor as Count of Sant'Agata de' Goti), Carlotto and Rostaino.

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Bibliography

*{{cite book, title=Les Capétiens: 987-1328, volume=2, last=Van Kerrebrouck, first=Patrick, publisher=Franz Steiner Verlag, isbn=2950150942, year=2000 Illegitimate children of Neapolitan monarchs Capetian House of Anjou Chancellors of Naples 1300 births 1346 deaths Sons of kings