Joan of Navarre (french: Jeanne, es, Juana; 1382 – July 1413) was the

heir presumptive An heir presumptive is the person entitled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir apparent or a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question. ...

to the throne of

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

in 1402–1413, and regent of Navarre in the absence of her father in 1409–1411.

Life

Joan was the eldest child of King

Charles III of Navarre Charles III (1361 – 8 September 1425), called the Noble, was King of Navarre from 1387 to his death and Count of Évreux from 1387 to 1404, when he exchanged it for the title Duke of Nemours. He spent his reign improving the infrastructure of h ...

and his wife

Eleanor Eleanor () is a feminine given name, originally from an Old French adaptation of the Old Provençal name ''Aliénor''. It is the name of a number of women of royalty and nobility in western Europe during the High Middle Ages. The name was introd ...

, daughter of King

Henry II of Castile Henry II (13 January 1334 – 29 May 1379), called Henry of Trastámara or the Fratricidal (''el Fratricida''), was the first King of Castile and León from the House of Trastámara. He became king in 1369 by defeating his half-brother Peter the ...

. Her younger sisters were Blanche, Beatrice, and

Isabella Isabella may refer to: People and fictional characters * Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Isabella (surname), including a list of people Places United States * Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpor ...

. Joan was originally betrothed in 1401 to

Martin I of Sicily Martin I of Sicily (c. 1374/1376 – 25 July 1409), called "The Younger", was King of Sicily from his marriage to Queen Maria in 1390 until his death. Martin's father was the future King Martin I of Aragon, and his grandparents were King Peter ...

, the heir to the throne of

Aragón Aragon ( , ; Spanish and an, Aragón ; ca, Aragó ) is an autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces (from north to sout ...

. He was widower of

Maria of Sicily Maria (2 July 1363 – 25 May 1401) was Queen of Sicily and Duchess of Athens and Neopatria from 1377 until her death. Accession Born in Catania, she was the daughter and heir of Frederick the Simple by his first wife Constance of Aragon. A ...

, who had not given him surviving children. Plans were however changed and Martin married Joan's sister Blanche. Joan herself married at

Olite Olite (''Erriberri'' in Basque language) is a town and municipality located in the Comarca de Tafalla comarca, Merindad de Olite merindad, in Navarre, Spain. History According to Isidore of Seville's ''Historia de regibus Gothorum, Vandaloru ...

on 12 November 1402 to John, Viscount of Castellbò, the heir to the

County of Foix The County of Foix (french: Comté de Foix, ; oc, Comtat de Fois) was an independent medieval fief in southern France, and later a province of France, whose territory corresponded roughly the eastern part of the modern ''département'' of Ariè ...

in France. The couple were married for eleven years but failed to produce any children. A month after her wedding, Joan was recognized as

to the throne of Navarre at Olite on 3 December 1402. There the

Estates of Navarre Estate or The Estate may refer to: Law * Estate (law), a term in common law for a person's property, entitlements and obligations * Estates of the realm, a broad social category in the histories of certain countries. ** The Estates, representati ...

swore an oath to Joan and John as their future sovereigns. This was after the early death of Joan's only brothers, Charles and Louis, in quick succession earlier in the year. In 1404, Joan contracted

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...

and was treated by the Jewish doctor Abraham Comineto. During her regency she had her own personal salaried doctor, Salomon Gotheynno, also a Jew.Josef Rapoport, "Los médicos judíos y su actividad en el reino de Navarra, 1349–1425", ''Príncipe de Viana'' 64, 229 (2003): 333–351. Joan governed Navarre in the name of her father while he was in Paris between 1409 and 1411. In 1412 she became

Countess of Foix Countess of Foix House of Foix, 1010-1302 House of Foix-Béarn, 1302-1412 House of Foix-Grailly, 1412-1517 House of Albret, 1517-1572 House of Bourbon, 1572-1607 {, width=95% class="wikitable" !width = "8%" , Picture !width ...

when her husband succeeded his father in the county. She died in the Principality of Béarn in July 1413, childless. Her younger sister Blanche became heir presumptive to the throne of Navarre, and succeeded their father Charles III on 8 September 1425.

References

Sources

* * , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Joan Of Navarre 1382 births 1413 deaths House of Évreux Navarrese infantas Countesses of Foix 15th-century women rulers 14th-century nobility from the Kingdom of Navarre 15th-century French women 15th-century French people 15th-century nobility from the Kingdom of Navarre Daughters of kings