John II (

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

: ''Juan II'',

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid #1 ...

: ''Joan II'', Aragonese: ''Chuan II'' and eu, Joanes II; 29 June 1398 – 20 January 1479), called the Great (''el Gran'') or the Faithless (''el Sense Fe''), was

King of Aragon This is a list of the kings and queens of Aragon. The Kingdom of Aragon was created sometime between 950 and 1035 when the County of Aragon, which had been acquired by the Kingdom of Navarre in the tenth century, was separated from Navarre ...

from 1458 until his death in 1479. As the husband of Queen Blanche I of Navarre, he was

King of Navarre This is a list of the kings and queens of Pamplona, later Navarre. Pamplona was the primary name of the kingdom until its union with Aragon (1076–1134). However, the territorial designation Navarre came into use as an alternative name in the ...

from 1425 to 1479. John was also King of Sicily from 1458 to 1468.

Biography

John was born at

Medina del Campo Medina del Campo is a town and municipality of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Part of the Province of Valladolid, it is the centre of a farming area. History Medina del Campo grew in importance thanks to its fairs ...

(in the Crown of Castile), the son of King

Ferdinand I of Aragon Ferdinand I (Spanish: ''Fernando I''; 27 November 1380 – 2 April 1416 in Igualada, Òdena) named Ferdinand of Antequera and also the Just (or the Honest) was king of Aragon, Valencia, Majorca, Sardinia and (nominal) Corsica and king of Sic ...

and

Eleanor of Alburquerque Eleanor, 3rd Countess of Alburquerque (1374 – 16 December 1435) was Queen of Aragon by her marriage to Ferdinand I of Aragon. In Spanish, she is known as ''Leonor Urraca de Castilla, condesa de Alburquerque''. She was the regent of Aragon ...

. In his youth he was one of the ''infantes'' (princes) of Aragon who took part in the dissensions of Castile during the minority and reign of

John II of Castile John II of Castile ( es, link=no, Juan; 6 March 1405 – 20 July 1454) was King of Castile and León from 1406 to 1454. He succeeded his older sister, Maria of Castile, Queen of Aragon, as Prince of Asturias in 1405. Regency John was the ...

. Till middle life he was also lieutenant-general in Aragon for his brother and predecessor Alfonso V, whose reign was mainly spent in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

. In his old age he was engaged in incessant conflicts with his Aragonese and Catalan subjects, with Louis XI of France, and in preparing the way for the marriage of his son Ferdinand with Isabella I of Castile which brought about the union of the crowns of Aragon and Castile and which was to create the

Kingdom of Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. His troubles with his subjects were closely connected with tragic dissensions within his own family. John was first married to Blanche I of Navarre of the house of

Évreux Évreux () is a commune in and the capital of the department of Eure, in the French region of Normandy. Geography The city is on the Iton river. Climate History In late Antiquity, the town, attested in the fourth century CE, was named ...

. By right of Blanche he became

king of Navarre This is a list of the kings and queens of Pamplona, later Navarre. Pamplona was the primary name of the kingdom until its union with Aragon (1076–1134). However, the territorial designation Navarre came into use as an alternative name in the ...

, and on her death in 1441 he was left in possession of the kingdom for his lifetime. But one son, Charles, given the title "Prince of Viana" as heir of Navarre, had been born of the marriage. John quickly came to regard this son with jealousy. After his second marriage, to

Juana Enríquez Juana Enriquez, 5th Lady of Casarrubios del Monte (1425 – 13 February 1468) was Queen of Aragon and de facto Queen of Navarre as the wife of King John II. Juana Enríquez was the Regent of Navarre during the absence of her husband in the N ...

, it grew into absolute hatred, being encouraged by Juana. John tried to deprive his son of his constitutional right to act as lieutenant-general of Aragon during his father's absence. Charles's cause was taken up by the Aragonese, however, and the king's attempt to make his second wife lieutenant-general was set aside. There followed the long Navarrese Civil War, with alternations of success and defeat, ending only with the death of the prince of Viana, possibly by poison administered by his father in 1461. The

Catalans Catalans (Catalan, French and Occitan: ''catalans''; es, catalanes, Italian: ''catalani'', sc, cadelanos) are a Romance ethnic group native to Catalonia, who speak Catalan. The current official category of "Catalans" is that of the citize ...

, who had adopted the cause of Charles and who had grievances of their own, called in a succession of foreign pretenders in the

Catalan Civil War The Catalan Civil War, also called the Catalonian Civil War or the War against John II, was a civil war in the Principality of Catalonia, then part of the Crown of Aragon, between 1462 and 1472. The two factions, the royalists who supported John ...

. His last years John spent contending with these. He was forced to pawn Roussillon, his possession on the north-east of the Pyrenees, to King Louis XI of France, who refused to part with it. In his old age John was blinded by

cataract A cataract is a cloudy area in the lens of the eye that leads to a decrease in vision. Cataracts often develop slowly and can affect one or both eyes. Symptoms may include faded colors, blurry or double vision, halos around light, trouble ...

s, but recovered his eyesight by the operation of

couching In embroidery, couching and laid work are techniques in which yarn or other materials are laid across the surface of the ground fabric and fastened in place with small stitches of the same or a different yarn. The couching threads may be eithe ...

conducted by his physician Abiathar Crescas, a

Jew Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""T ...

. The Catalan revolt was pacified in 1472, but John carried on a war, in which he was generally unfortunate, with his neighbor the French king till his death in 1479. He was succeeded by

Ferdinand Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "protection", "peace" (PIE "to love, to make peace") or alternatively "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "co ...

, his son by his second marriage, who was already married to Isabella I of Castile. With his death and son's accession to the throne of Aragon, the unification of Spain under one royal house began in earnest.

Marriages and issue

From his first marriage to Blanche of Navarre, John had the following children: *

Charles, Prince of Viana Charles, Prince of Viana ( eu, Karlos IV.a) (29 May 1421 – 23 September 1461), sometimes called Charles IV of Navarre, was the son of King John II of Aragon and Queen Blanche I of Navarre. Background His mother was the daughter and heiress of C ...

(1421–1461) *Juana (142322 August 1425) *

Blanche II of Navarre Blanche II ( es, Blanca, eu, Zuria; 9 June 1424 – 2 December 1464), was the titular Queen of Navarre between 1461 and 1464. She was the daughter of John II of Aragon and Blanche I of Navarre. She was also Princess of Asturias by marriage t ...

(1424–1464) *

Eleanor of Navarre Eleanor of Navarre ( eu, Leonor and es, Leonor) (2 February 1426 – 12 February 1479), was a Navarrese princess and monarch. She served as the regent of Navarre from 1455 to 1479, during the absence of her father, and then briefly as the qu ...

(1426-1479) Ducado aragonés Juan II de Aragón (1453)

From his second marriage to

, John had the following children: * Ferdinand II of Aragon (1452-1516). Married Isabella I of Castile. * Joanna of Aragon (1455–1517). Married Ferdinand I of Naples. Illegitimate children: *

Alfonso de Aragón y de Escobar Alphons (Latinized ''Alphonsus'', ''Adelphonsus'', or ''Adefonsus'') is a male given name recorded from the 8th century (Alfonso I of Asturias, r. 739–757) in the Christian successor states of the Visigothic kingdom in the Iberian peninsula. ...

(1417-1495),

Duke of Villahermosa Duke of Villahermosa ( es, Duque de Villahermosa) is a hereditary title in the peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee and granted in 1476 by John II to Alfonso de Aragón, a half-brother of Ferdinand II.Hidalgos de España ( ...

* Juan de Aragón (1440–1475),

Archbishop of Zaragoza The Archdiocese of Saragossa ( la, Archidioecesis Caesaraugustana) is a Roman Catholic ecclesiastical territory located in north-eastern Spain, in the Provinces of Spain, province of Zaragoza (province), Zaragoza (Saragossa in English), part of t ...

* Felipe de Carrayos del Radona (Phillipe del Radona)

Ancestors

References

Sources

* *120 * * * * *Rivadeneyra. "Cronicas de los reyes de Castilla," ''Biblioteca de autores espanoles'', vols. Ixvi, Ixviii. Madrid, 1845. * Zurita, G. ''Anales de Aragon''. Saragossa, 1610. *Prescott W. H. ''History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella''. 1854. *

External links

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