John, Prince of Antioch (1431–1457), was the second son of

Infante Peter, Duke of Coimbra Infante D. Pedro, Duke of Coimbra KG (; en, Peter), (9 December 1392 – 20 May 1449) was a Portuguese ''infante'' (prince) of the House of Aviz, son of King John I of Portugal and his wife Philippa of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaun ...

, and

Isabella of Urgell, Duchess of Coimbra Isabella of Urgell, Duchess of Coimbra (Spanish: ''Isabel'') (12 March 1409 – 17 September 1459) was a Catalan noblewoman of the Urgell branch of the House of Barcelona. She was the wife of Infante Peter, Duke of Coimbra. Family Isabella was bor ...

Life

He took part in the

Battle of Alfarrobeira The Battle of Alfarrobeira () took place on 20 May 1449. It was a confrontation between the forces commanded by King Afonso V of Portugal and his uncle Afonso, Duke of Braganza, against the army of the rebellious Peter, Duke of Coimbra. The p ...

, where his father's army was defeated by the Portuguese royal army. He was imprisoned and was to be executed. However, due to the intervention of his aunt Isabella, he was sent into exile in

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The ...

together with his brother James and sister Beatrice. His aunt Isabella, Duchess of Burgundy, was able to offer protection to her nephews and niece as wife of Duke

Philip the Good Philip III (french: Philippe le Bon; nl, Filips de Goede; 31 July 1396 – 15 June 1467) was Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death. He was a member of a cadet line of the Valois dynasty, to which all 15th-century kings of France belonge ...

. In 1456, John was elected a Knight of the

Order of the Golden Fleece The Distinguished Order of the Golden Fleece ( es, Insigne Orden del Toisón de Oro, german: Orden vom Goldenen Vlies) is a Catholic order of chivalry founded in Bruges by Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, in 1430, to celebrate his marriag ...

. In 1456, John married

Charlotte of Cyprus Charlotte (28 June 1444 – 16 July 1487) was the Queen of Cyprus from 1458 until 1464. She was the eldest and only surviving daughter of King John II of Cyprus and Helena Palaiologina. At the age of 14, she succeeded to the Cypriot throne upo ...

Nicosia Nicosia ( ; el, Λευκωσία, Lefkosía ; tr, Lefkoşa ; hy, Նիկոսիա, romanized: ''Nikosia''; Cypriot Arabic: Nikusiya) is the largest city, capital, and seat of government of Cyprus. It is located near the centre of the Mesaori ...

and was accorded the title

Prince of Antioch Prince of Antioch was the title given during the Middle Ages to Norman rulers of the Principality of Antioch, a region surrounding the city of Antioch, now known as Antakya in Turkey. The Princes originally came from the County of Sicily in S ...

. He was poisoned on the orders of his mother-in-law,

Helena Palaiologina Helena Palaiologina ( el, ; 3 February 1428 – 11 April 1458) was a Byzantine princess of the Palaiologos family, who became Queen of Cyprus and Armenia, titular Queen consort of Jerusalem, and Princess of Antioch through her marriage to King ...

. He was buried in Nicosia in a tomb which bears his coat of arms.

Coat of arms

Following his marriage to Charlotte, John bore a unique coat of arms, combining: (I) the

Kingdom of Jerusalem The Kingdom of Jerusalem ( la, Regnum Hierosolymitanum; fro, Roiaume de Jherusalem), officially known as the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem or the Frankish Kingdom of Palestine,Example (title of works): was a Crusader state that was establish ...

, (II) his father's Portuguese-English ascentry, (III) the Kingdom of Armenia, (IV) the

Kingdom of Cyprus The Kingdom of Cyprus (french: Royaume de Chypre, la, Regnum Cypri) was a state that existed between 1192 and 1489. It was ruled by the French House of Lusignan. It comprised not only the island of Cyprus, but it also had a foothold on the Ana ...

; on top the arms of

Lusignan The House of Lusignan ( ; ) was a royal house of French origin, which at various times ruled several principalities in Europe and the Levant, including the kingdoms of Jerusalem, Cyprus, and Armenia, from the 12th through the 15th centuries duri ...

.Ref-Louda-Europe, passage=231.

Ancestry

Notes

Sources

* Raphael de Smedt (Ed.): ''Les chevaliers de l’ordre de la Toison d’or au XVe siècle. Notices bio-bibliographiques.'' (Kieler Werkstücke, D 3) Verlag Peter Lang, Frankfurt 2000, , p. 135f.
Genealogical information on John of Coimbra, Prince of Antioch (in Portuguese)
* Nobreza de Portugal e Brasil, Vol. I, pages 270/1. Published by Zairol Lda., Lisbon, 1989. 1431 births 1457 deaths 15th-century Portuguese people Assassinated nobility Deaths by poisoning House of Aviz Jure uxoris officeholders Knights of the Golden Fleece People murdered in Cyprus People of the Kingdom of Cyprus Portuguese infantes Portuguese nobility Portuguese people murdered abroad Princes of Antioch {{Portugal-royal-stub