Sancia of Majorca (c. 1281 – 28 July 1345), also known as Sancha, was
Queen of Naples
The following is a list of rulers of the Kingdom of Naples, from its first separation from the Kingdom of Sicily to its merger with the same into the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
Kingdom of Naples (1282–1501)
House of Anjou
In 1382, the Kin ...
from 1309 until 1343 as the wife of
Robert the Wise
Robert of Anjou ( it, Roberto d'Angiò), known as Robert the Wise ( it, Roberto il Saggio; 1276 – 20 January 1343), was King of Naples, titular King of Jerusalem and Count of Provence and Forcalquier from 1309 to 1343, the central figure of I ...
. She served as
regent
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
of Naples during the minority of her stepgrandaughter,
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 daug ...
, from 1343 until 1344.
Life
She was the fifth child but second daughter of King
James II of Majorca
James II ( ca, Jaume) (31 May 1243 – 29 May 1311) was King of Majorca and Lord of Montpellier from 1276 until his death. He was the second son of James I of Aragon and his wife, Violant, daughter of Andrew II of Hungary. In 1279, by the Trea ...
and
Esclaramunda of Foix
Esclaramunda of Foix (1250–1315) was Queen consort of Majorca from 1276-1311.
Life
She was the daughter of Roger IV of Foix and Brunissenda of Cardona, daughter of Ramon VIII, Viscount of Cardona. Named after her great-grandmother, Esclara ...
. The exact date of her birth is unknown, although the
Chronicle of San Juan de la Peña
The ''Chronicle of San Juan de la Peña'' (or ''Crónica pinatense'') is an Aragonese chronicle written in Latin around before 1359 in the monastery of San Juan de la Peña at the behest of Peter IV of Aragon. It was the first general history ...
placed her as the second daughter of the Majorca Royal couple: ''la primera....Isabel...la otra Sancha'', and traditionally she is placed as the penultimate of the six children born from them.
In
Perpignan
Perpignan (, , ; ca, Perpinyà ; es, Perpiñán ; it, Perpignano ) is the prefecture of the Pyrénées-Orientales department in southern France, in the heart of the plain of Roussillon, at the foot of the Pyrenees a few kilometres from the ...
on 17 June 1304 Sancha was married by proxy to
Robert, Duke of Calabria and Prince of Salerno, the widower heir of the throne of Naples. The wedding in person took place three months later, on 20 September at the ''Chapelle des Hospitaliers'' at the Royal Palace of
Collioure
Collioure (; ca, Cotlliure, ) is a commune in the southern French department of Pyrénées-Orientales.
Geography
The town of Collioure is on the Côte Vermeille (Vermilion Coast), in the canton of La Côte Vermeille and in the arrondissement ...
,
Pyrénées-Orientales
Pyrénées-Orientales (; ca, Pirineus Orientals ; oc, Pirenèus Orientals ; ), also known as Northern Catalonia, is a department of the region of Occitania, Southern France, adjacent to the northern Spanish frontier and the Mediterranean Sea. ...
. The union was childless.
[''ARAGON - CATALONIA'' in: Foundation for Medieval Genealogy by Charles Crowley](_blank)
etrieved 1 January 2015
Sancha became Queen consort of Naples with the death of her father-in-law King
Charles II of Naples
Charles II, also known as Charles the Lame (french: Charles le Boiteux; it, Carlo lo Zoppo; 1254 – 5 May 1309), was King of Naples, Count of Provence and Forcalquier (1285–1309), Prince of Achaea (1285–1289), and Count of Anjou and Maine ( ...
on 5 May 1309. Two years later (2 August 1311) her husband gave her the Lordships of
Potenza
Potenza (, also , ; , Potentino dialect: ''Putenz'') is a ''comune'' in the Southern Italian region of Basilicata (former Lucania).
Capital of the Province of Potenza and the Basilicata region, the city is the highest regional capital and one ...
,
Venosa
Venosa ( Lucano: ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Potenza, in the southern Italian region of Basilicata, in the Vulture area. It is bounded by the comuni of Barile, Ginestra, Lavello, Maschito, Montemilone, Palazzo San Gervasio, ...
,
Lanciano
Lanciano (; nap, label= Abruzzese, Langiàne ) is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Chieti, part of the Abruzzo region of central Italy. It has 36,304 inhabitants as of 2011. The town is known for the first recorded Catholic Eucharistic ...
, Alessa and
Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi
Sant'Angelo dei Lombardi is a town and ''comune'' in the province of Avellino in the Campania region of southern Italy. It has been a historical spot of significance in mezzogiorno history.
Information
Geography
Just on a hilltop near the Fredano ...
.
The next year, on 24 March 1312, the testament of her mother Queen Esclaramunda (''Sclarmunda...regina Majoricæ'') secured a bequest to her (''...Sanciæ..Reginæ Siciliæ...filiæ nostræ...''). On 22 May 1319 at
Marseille
Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...
, Sancha and her husband prayed before the relics of his brother Saint
Louis of Toulouse
Saint Louis of Toulouse (9 February 1274 – 19 August 1297), also known as Louis of Anjou, was a Neapolitan prince of the Capetian House of Anjou and a Catholic bishop.
Life
Louis was born in Brignoles, Provence (or in Italy, at Nocera, where ...
.
At her court in Naples, Sancha welcomed her brother
Philip
Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularize ...
, who was recently joined the
Franciscan
The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...
s. He wanted to practice strictly the Rules of Saint Francis of Assisi, and gathered around him a group that became known as "''the brothers of poor life''", a branch of
Fraticelli or ''zelanti''. This group was therefore a great influence over the King and Queen of Naples and over
Delphine of Glandèves, Sancha's confident. Philip of Majorca asked his sister and his brother-in-law to intercede with the
Avignon Papacy
The Avignon Papacy was the period from 1309 to 1376 during which seven successive popes resided in Avignon – at the time within the Kingdom of Burgundy-Arles, Kingdom of Arles, part of the Holy Roman Empire; now part of France – rather than i ...
to obtain the privileges necessary for the transformation of the
Santa Chiara monastery in a place where would welcome "''the brothers of poor life''". However,
Pope Benedict XII
Pope Benedict XII ( la, Benedictus XII, french: Benoît XII; 1285 – 25 April 1342), born Jacques Fournier, was head of the Catholic Church from 30 December 1334 to his death in April 1342. He was the third Avignon pope. Benedict was a careful p ...
ended their hopes with three
bulls dated on 24 June 1336, 20 February 1337 and 7 August 1340.
After the death of Philip of Majorca in 1342, Sancha and her husband remained under the influence of "''the brothers of poor life''". Their chaplains, Andrea de Galiano and Pietro de Cadeneto were also followers of
Michael of Cesena
Michael of Cesena (''Michele di Cesena'' or ''Michele Fuschi'') ( 1270 – 29 November 1342) was an Italian Franciscan, Minister General of that order, and theologian. His advocacy of evangelical poverty brought him into conflict with Pope ...
. The rulers had hosted at
Castel Nuovo
Castel Nuovo (; "New Castle"), often called Maschio Angioino (; "Angevin Keep"), is a medieval castle located in front of Piazza Municipio and the city hall ( Palazzo San Giacomo) in central Naples, Campania, Italy. Its scenic location and impo ...
two spiritual bishops, John Bertholeo, who had just been relieved of his office of Calvi, and William of Scala, who became confessor to the Queen; however, the worst of all was certain Fra Roberto, a personal friend of Angelo Clareto, the leader of the Fraticelli.
On numerous occasions, Sancha petitioned the Pope for the dissolution of her marriage, as she desired to become a nun. King Robert died on 20 January 1343, and Sancha became Queen Mother, Regent of the Kingdom and ''tutrix'' of her husband's granddaughter and successor,
Joanna I.
In his will dated four days before, on 16 January, Robert created a Council of Regency who would rule until Joanna's majority, who was fixed at the age of twenty-five. The Council was composed by Sancha, the Vice-Chancellor
Philippe de Cabassoles, Bishop of Cavaillon, Fillipo di Sanginetto, Great Seneschal of Provence, and Admiral Giffredo di Marzano. When
Petrarch
Francesco Petrarca (; 20 July 1304 – 18/19 July 1374), commonly anglicized as Petrarch (), was a scholar and poet of early Renaissance Italy, and one of the earliest humanists.
Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited w ...
arrived in Naples in September 1343 as an ambassador of
Pope Clement VI
Pope Clement VI ( la, Clemens VI; 1291 – 6 December 1352), born Pierre Roger, was head of the Catholic Church from 7 May 1342 to his death in December 1352. He was the fourth Avignon pope. Clement reigned during the first visitation of the Bla ...
, he discovered a Kingdom similar to "''a ship that was directly to a sinking''". He particularly put into question the work of Fra Roberto, whose real name was Roberto de Mileto. This little fat man, dressed in rags, still leaning on a cane and wearing a hat or head covering, it seemed like the height of abjection and is described as "''a horrible animal with three legs''".
Sancha supported her step-granddaughter in the first year of her reign against other factions. However, the ineffectiveness of the Council of Regency forced the Pope, in his capacity as Overlord, to impose his direct rule by sending a Legate, Cardinal Aimery de Châtelus.
[Émile-G. Léonard: ''Histoire de Jeanne Ire, reine de Naples, comtesse de Provence (1343-1382) : La jeunesse de la reine Jeanne,'' t. I, Paris et Monaco, Auguste Picard, coll. «Mémoires et documents historiques », 1932, 730 p., p. 343.]
In the first anniversary of her husband's death (20 January 1344), and under the influence of her chaplains and confessors, Sancha formally renounced to the Regency and became a nun at the convent of Santa Maria della Croce in
Naples
Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
, which was known as the place of the buried-alive (''sepolte vive''). She died there eighteen months later (28 July 1345), aged about 64. Initially was buried at Santa Maria della Croce, but later her remains where translated to
Santa Chiara Basilica.
Notes
References
*
*
*
External links
*
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sancha Of Majorca
1281 births
1345 deaths
Royal consorts of Naples
Countesses of Provence
People from Mallorca
House of Aragon
Duchesses of Calabria
Aragonese infantas
Princes of Majorca
14th-century women rulers
14th-century Italian women
14th-century Neapolitan people
Court of Joanna I of Naples
Daughters of kings