Joanna of Durazzo (1344 – 20 July 1387) was the eldest daughter and eldest surviving child of Charles, Duke of Durazzo, and his wife, Maria of Calabria. She succeeded as duchess on the death of her father in 1348 when she was only a child of four years old. Joanna was a member of the

House of Anjou-Durazzo A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air cond ...

. She reigned as Duchess of Durazzo from 1348-1368. She married twice; firstly to Louis of Navarre and then to

Robert IV of Artois, Count of Eu Robert IV of Artois (1356 – 20 July 1387), son of John of Artois, Count of Eu and Isabeau of Melun, was Count of Eu from April to July 1387. About 1376, he married Joanna of Durazzo, daughter of Charles, Duke of Durazzo. Robert IV inherit ...

Life

Joanna's father died in 1348 and Joanna succeeded him, being the eldest surviving child. However, Joanna remained 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 adm ...

rather than going to Durazzo. It was here she was betrothed to her cousin Charles Martel, son of Queen Joan. Charles Martel was heir in

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

due to a lack of male heirs. The boy was moved to

, however the engagement was broken when the young boy died around 1348 in Hungary. In 1365 aged twenty one, Joanna married her first husband Louis of Navarre, who became Duke of Durazzo in right of his wife. He was the son of

Joan II of Navarre Joan II (french: Jeanne; 28 January 1312 – 6 October 1349) was Queen of Navarre from 1328 until her death. She was the only surviving child of Louis X of France, King of France and Navarre, and Margaret of Burgundy. Joan's paternity was dubiou ...

. In 1368 Durazzo was captured by the Albanian Topia dynasty under the leadership of warlord

Karl Thopia Karl Thopia ( sq, Karl Topia) was an Albanian feudal prince and warlord who ruled Albania from the middle of the 14th century until the first Ottoman conquest of Albania. Thopia usually maintained good relations with the Roman Curia. Family ...

. Joanna and her husband immediately began planning the reconquest of not only Durazzo, but all the lands of the former Angevin Kingdom of Albania, conquered by the Bulgarian

Sratsimir dynasty The House of Sratsimir, also Sracimir (), or Sratsimirovtsi ( bg, Срацимировци) was a medieval Bulgarian dynasty that at times ruled the Tsardom of Tarnovo, the Tsardom of Vidin, the Principality of Valona and Kanina, the Despotate of ...

in 1332. They were successful in rallying the support of Louis' brother Charles II the Bad and

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infa ...

King of France in this undertaking. In 1372, Louis brought over the Navarrese Company of mercenaries, who had fought with him during the war in

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 ...

, to assist them in taking Durazzo. Their ranks swelled considerably in 1375 with new recruits directly from Navarre. Many documents survive telling us of the complex nature of the military planning and engineering which was undertaken to ensure success. This they attained, taking the city in midsummer 1376. Louis died shortly after. Louis and Joanna had no children. Joanna never fully regained full control of Durazzo and by 1385 the City was back in the hands of Karl Thopia. Around 1376 Joanna remarried to

. This marriage was also childless. Robert was not Count of Eu for long, he and Joanna were not informed of his father's death in 1387. Joanna and Robert were staying at

Castel dell'Ovo Castel dell'Ovo ("Egg Castle") is a seafront castle in Naples, located on the former island of Megaride, now a peninsula, on the Gulf of Naples in Italy. The castle's name comes from a legend about the Roman poet Virgil, who had a reputation in ...

in Naples where they were both poisoned on July 20, 1387Joanna of Durazzo
/ref> on the orders of Joanna's sister

Margaret Margaret is a female first name, derived via French () and Latin () from grc, μαργαρίτης () meaning "pearl". The Greek is borrowed from Persian. Margaret has been an English name since the 11th century, and remained popular through ...

, queen dowager and regent of Naples. Joanna is buried in

San Lorenzo (Naples) San Lorenzo is a district of Naples, Italy. It incorporates the precise geographical center of the ancient Greco-Roman city, centered on the intersection of Via San Gregorio Armeno and Via dei Tribunali. It also includes the area at the extreme ea ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joanna, Duchess Of Durazzo 1344 births 1387 deaths Dukes of Durazzo House of Anjou-Durazzo 14th-century women rulers 14th-century Italian women