James II of Bourbon-La Marche (1370 – 1438 in

Besançon Besançon (, , , ; archaic german: Bisanz; la, Vesontio) is the prefecture of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzer ...

) was count of La Marche. He was captured at the battle of Nicopolis in 1396, later being ransomed. In 1403, James led an attack on English soil and burned

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to ...

. He married Joanna of Naples in 1415, and was largely unpopular being imprisoned then forced to leave the kingdom of Naples in 1419. James relinquished his titles and became a monk in 1435. He died in 1438.

Early life

Born in 1370, James was the first son of

John I, Count of La Marche John of Bourbon (John I/VII, Count of La Marche and of Vendôme), (1344 – 11 June 1393, Vendôme) was French '' prince du sang'' as the second son of James I, Count of La Marche and Jeanne of Châtillon. Life John was captured as a young ma ...

and Catherine of Vendôme. He first bore arms in the crusade against the Ottomans which culminated in the

Battle of Nicopolis The Battle of Nicopolis took place on 25 September 1396 and resulted in the rout of an allied crusader army of Hungarian, Croatian, Bulgarian, Wallachian, French, Burgundian, German, and assorted troops (assisted by the Venetian navy) at t ...

, and was captured and ransomed. After returning to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, he commanded a force which invaded England in support of

Owain Glyndŵr Owain ap Gruffydd (), commonly known as Owain Glyndŵr or Glyn Dŵr (, anglicised as Owen Glendower), was a Welsh leader, soldier and military commander who led a 15 year long Welsh War of Independence with the aim of ending English rule in Wa ...

. His troops burned

in 1403, but twelve ships of his fleet were lost in a storm while returning to France in 1404. James was an adherent of

John the Fearless John I (french: Jean sans Peur; nl, Jan zonder Vrees; 28 May 137110 September 1419) was a scion of the French royal family who ruled the Burgundian State from 1404 until his death in 1419. He played a key role in French national affairs durin ...

and foe of the

Armagnac Armagnac (, ) is a distinctive kind of brandy produced in the Armagnac region in Gascony, southwest France. It is distilled from wine usually made from a blend of grapes including Baco 22A, Colombard, Folle blanche and Ugni blanc, traditionally ...

party. However, his affairs in France were interrupted by a sojourn abroad. In 1415, the barons of the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...

arranged his marriage to

Joanna II of Naples Joanna II (25 June 1371 – 2 February 1435) was reigning Queen of Naples from 1414 to her death, upon which the Capetian House of Anjou became extinct. As a mere formality, she used the title of Queen of Jerusalem, Sicily, and Hungary. E ...

. It was hoped James would break the power of her court favorites, Pandolfo Alopo and

Muzio Sforza Muzio Attendolo Sforza (28 May 1369 – 4 January 1424), was an Italian ''condottiero''. Founder of the Sforza dynasty, he led a Bolognese-Florentine army at the Battle of Casalecchio. He was the father of Francesco Sforza, who ruled Milan ...

. He was not given the title King, but was referred to as Vicar General, Duke of Calabria, and Prince of Taranto. James had Alopo executed and imprisoned Sforza, but also kept the queen in confinement and aspired to personal rule. The indignant barons captured and imprisoned him in 1416; he was compelled to free Sforza and resign the kingship, and was ejected from the kingdom in 1419. Returning to France, James fought against the English for

Charles VII of France Charles VII (22 February 1403 – 22 July 1461), called the Victorious (french: le Victorieux) or the Well-Served (), was King of France from 1422 to his death in 1461. In the midst of the Hundred Years' War, Charles VII inherited the throne of F ...

in 1428 and was made

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Languedoc The Province of Languedoc (; , ; oc, Lengadòc ) is a former province of France. Most of its territory is now contained in the modern-day region of Occitanie in Southern France. Its capital city was Toulouse. It had an area of approximately ...

. In 1435, James resigned his titles and became a

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

friar, dying in 1438.

Marriage

In 1406 in

Pamplona Pamplona (; eu, Iruña or ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. It is also the third-largest city in the greater Basque cultural region. Lying at near above ...

, James married Beatrix d'Évreux, daughter of

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 ...

and

Eleanor of Castile Eleanor of Castile (1241 – 28 November 1290) was Queen of England as the first wife of Edward I, whom she married as part of a political deal to affirm English sovereignty over Gascony. The marriage was known to be particularly close, and ...

. The couple had three children: * Isabelle (1408 – after 1445), a nun at Besançon * Marie (1410 – after 1445), a nun at

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...

* Eleanor of Bourbon-La Marche ( Burlada, Navarre, 1407 – after 21 August 1464), married

Bernard d'Armagnac, Count of Pardiac Bernard d'Armagnac, Count of Pardiac (died 1462) was a younger son of Bernard VII, Count of Armagnac and Bonne of Berry. Bernard fought at the Battle of Patay in 1429. That year he married Eleanor of Bourbon-La Marche, daughter and ultimately he ...

(d. 1462) In 1415, James married

. They had no children.

References

Sources

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{{DEFAULTSORT:La Marche, James Ii, Count Of 1370 births 1438 deaths James Kings consort Bourbon, James II of

James 1 James 1 is the first chapter of the Epistle of James in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The author identifies himself as "James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ" and the epistle is traditionally attributed to James the b ...

French Franciscans Royal consorts of Naples Counts of Castres 14th-century peers of France 15th-century peers of France People of the Hundred Years' War Christians of the Battle of Nicopolis