![Royal Coat and Shield of Majorca c](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/05/Royal_Coat_and_Shield_of_Majorca_c.1276-14th_Century.svg)
James III ( – ), known as James the Rash (or the Unfortunate), was
King of Majorca
The Kingdom of Majorca (1231–1715) was created by James I of Aragon following his conquest in 1229 and the subsequent surrender of sovereignty by the Muslim rulers of the Balearic Islands in 1231. It was ruled in conjunction with the Crown ...
from 1324 to 1344. He was the son of
Ferdinand of Majorca
Ferdinand of Majorca ( ca, Ferran de Mallorca; 1278 – 5 July 1316) was an ''infant'' of the Kingdom of Majorca; he was born at Perpignan, the third son of King James II. He was Viscount of Aumelas and Lord of Frontignan from 1311 and c ...
and
Isabella of Sabran Isabel of Sabran (1297 – 7 May 1315) was a princess of Majorca.
She was daughter of Isnard of Sabran, Lord of Ansouis, and Margaret of Villehardouin.
Isabel married Ferdinand of Majorca in 1314. She gave birth to the future James III of Majorca ...
.
Life
James was born in
Catania,
Sicily
(man) it, Siciliana (woman)
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, demographics_type1 = Ethnicity
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.
Margaret of Villehardouin Margaret of Villehardouin (Greek: Μαργαρίτα Βιλλεαρδουίνου; 1266 – February/March 1315) was the daughter of William II of Villehardouin, Prince of Achaea, and his third wife Anna Komnene Doukaina.
Biography
In ca. 1276, ...
, James's maternal grandmother, fought to reclaim the
Principality of Achaea
The Principality of Achaea () or Principality of 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 ...
from the
Angevins of the
Kingdom of Naples. Isabella died soon after the childbirth, and James was proclaimed Prince of Achaea under the guardianship of his father. Ferdinand invaded the
Morea
The Morea ( el, Μορέας or ) was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The name was used for the Byzantine province known as the Despotate of the Morea, by the Ottom ...
in an effort to bring the principality under his control, but was killed in the
Battle of Manolada
The Battle of Manolada was fought on July 5, 1316, at Manolada, on the plains of Elis in the Peloponnese. The two leaders were Louis of Burgundy and the ''infante'' Ferdinand of Majorca, both of whom claimed the Principality of Achaea in right of ...
in 1316. Despite this setback, from 1331 the feudal lords of Achaea began to recognise the rights of James, and in 1333 the recognition was total, though the Angevin heirs of
Philip I of Taranto
Philip I of Taranto (10 November 1278 – 26 December 1331), of the Angevin house, was titular Latin Emperor of Constantinople (as Philip II) by right of his wife Catherine of Valois–Courtenay, Despot of Romania, King of Albania, Prince of A ...
continued to press their claim.
Upon the death of his uncle
Sancho
The name Sancho is an Iberian name of Basque origin (Santxo, Santzo, Santso, Antzo, Sans). Sancho stems from the Latin name Sanctius.Eichler, Ernst; Hilty, Gerold; Löffler, Heinrich; Steger, Hugo; Zgusta, Ladislav: ''Namenforschung/Name Studies/ ...
in 1324, James inherited the Kingdom of Majorca. His uncle
Philip ruled the kingdom as regent until 1329. In order to establish friendly relations with the
Crown of Aragon
The Crown of Aragon ( , ) an, Corona d'Aragón ; ca, Corona d'Aragó, , , ; es, Corona de Aragón ; la, Corona Aragonum . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of ...
, he married
Constance
Constance may refer to:
Places
*Konstanz, Germany, sometimes written as Constance in English
*Constance Bay, Ottawa, Canada
* Constance, Kentucky
* Constance, Minnesota
* Constance (Portugal)
* Mount Constance, Washington State
People
* Consta ...
, daughter of
Alfonso IV of Aragon. Though the kings of Majorca traditionally swore an
oath of fealty
An oath of fealty, from the Latin ''fidelitas'' (faithfulness), is a pledge of allegiance of one person to another.
Definition
In medieval Europe, the swearing of fealty took the form of an oath made by a vassal, or subordinate, to his lord. "Fea ...
to the kings of Aragon, James claimed that no king could have lordship over any other king. He patronised the
University of Montpellier
The University of Montpellier (french: Université de Montpellier) is a public research university located in Montpellier, in south-east of France. Established in 1220, the University of Montpellier is one of the oldest universities in the wor ...
, 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
The ''Leges palatinae'' ("Palatine Laws") 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 posi ...
'', an elaborate code for his court and the first of its kind.
[Malcolm Vale (2004), ''The Princely Court: Medieval Courts and Culture in North-West Europe, 1270–1380'', (Oxford: Oxford University Press, ), 202–3.] For it he commissioned a fine
illuminated manuscript in an Italian style, which he himself preserved when he lost his throne. He brought it to the
Roman curia, then sold it to
Philip VI of France.
In 1342 James refused to render the oath of fealty to his cousin
Peter IV of Aragon. He was supported, however, by the doctors of the University of Montpellier and by Aragonese troubadour,
Thomàs Périz de Fozes, who wrote a poem in his defence. In a short war he was driven out of Majorca by Peter, who reannexed the
Balearic Islands to the Crown of Aragon. James died at the
Battle of Llucmajor on 25 October 1349 while trying to retake the island.
Children
James and his first wife,
Constance of Aragon
Constance of Aragon (1179 – 23 June 1222) was an Aragonese infanta who was by marriage firstly Queen of Hungary, and secondly Queen of Germany and Sicily and Holy Roman Empress. She was regent of Sicily from 1212 to 1220.
She was the second c ...
, had two children:
*
James IV of Majorca
James IV of Majorca, also known as Jaume IV (c. 1336 – 20 January 1375) unsuccessfully claimed the thrones of the Kingdom of Majorca and the Principality of Achaea from 1349 until his death. He was also the king consort of Naples, but was excl ...
(–). Married
Joanna I of Naples
Joanna I, also known as Johanna I ( it, Giovanna I; December 1325 – 27 July 1382), was Queen of Naples, and Countess of Provence and Forcalquier from 1343 to 1382; she was also Princess of Achaea from 1373 to 1381.
Joanna was the eldest ...
.
*
Isabella of Majorca
Isabella of Majorca (Catalan: ''Elisabet'') (1337–1406) was the last titular Queen of Majorca and Countess of Roussillon and Cerdanya from 1375 to her death.
Family
She was the daughter of James III and his first wife, Constance of Aragon ...
(–). Married
John II of Montferrat
John II Palaeologus (5 February 1321 – 19 March 1372) was the Margrave of Montferrat from 1338.
Career
John was the son of Theodore I of Montferrat, with whom he was associated in the government from 1336. He had great fortune in extending ...
.
James and his second wife,
Violante of Vilaragut, had one child:
*
Esclaramunda of Majorca (unknown). Died shortly after her birth.
Ancestry
References
Bibliography
*
David Abulafia (1994), ''A Mediterranean Emporium: The Catalan Kingdom of Majorca'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
.
*Thomas N. Bisson (2000), ''The Medieval Crown of Aragon: A Short History'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press).
*G. Kerscher
The first European ceremonial manuscript—Leges Palatinae—and its relevance for the Mediterranean area University of Trier.
*Marta Vanlandingham (2002), ''Transforming the State: King, Court and Political Culture in the Realms of Aragon (1213–1387)'', (BRILL,
).
{{DEFAULTSORT:James 03 Of Majorca
Monarchs of Majorca
Counts of Roussillon
Counts of Cerdanya
Lords of Montpellier
Princes of Achaea
Aragonese infantes
1315 births
1349 deaths
House of Barcelona
House of Aragon
14th-century people from the Kingdom of Aragon