Charles of Durazzo ( 1323 – 23 January 1348) was a Neapolitan nobleman, the eldest son of John, Duke of Durazzo and Agnes of Périgord.

Life

Charles succeeded his father as Duke of Durazzo and Count of Gravina in 1336. On 21 April 1343, he married Maria of Calabria, Countess of Alba, in Naples. She was the younger daughter of Charles, Duke of Calabria and sister of

Joanna I of Naples Joanna I, also known as Johanna I (; December 1325 – 27 July 1382), was Queen of Naples, and Countess of Provence and Forcalquier from 1343 to 1381; she was also Princess of Achaea from 1373 to 1381. Joanna was the eldest daughter of C ...

, and had been intended as a bride for

Louis I of Hungary Louis I, also Louis the Great (; ; ) or Louis the Hungarian (; 5 March 132610 September 1382), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1342 and King of Poland from 1370. He was the first child of Charles I of Hungary and his wife, Elizabeth of ...

John II of France John II (; 26 April 1319 – 8 April 1364), called John the Good (French: ''Jean le Bon''), was King of France from 1350 until his death in 1364. When he came to power, France faced several disasters: the Black Death, which killed between a thir ...

, but was abducted by Charles and his mother to make a marriage that would place Charles closer to the throne of Naples. Keeping carefully aloof from the conspiracy that murdered Joanna's husband

Andrew, Duke of Calabria Andrew, Duke of Calabria (30 October 1327 – 18 September 1345) was the first husband of Joanna I of Naples, and a son of Charles I of Hungary and brother of Louis I of Hungary. Background and engagement Andrew was the second of three surviv ...

, he led a faction opposing Joanna and

Louis of Taranto Louis I (Italian: ''Luigi'', ''Aloisio'', or ''Ludovico'' ; 1320 – 26 May 1362), also known as Louis of Taranto, was a member of the Capetian House of Anjou who reigned as King of Naples, Count of Provence and Forcalquier, and Prince of Tar ...

. He contacted the Hungarian court, seeking their support. He hoped to turn the invasion of Louis of Hungary and the flight of Joanna to his own ends: but he was seized and beheaded by the Hungarians at

Aversa Aversa () is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Caserta in Campania, southern Italy, about 24 km north of Naples. It is the centre of an agricultural district, the ''Agro Aversano'', producing wine and cheese (famous for the typical dome ...

Issue

Charles and Maria had: * Louis (December 1343 – 14 January 1344) *

Joanna Joanna is a feminine given name deriving from from . Variants in English include Joan, Joann, Joanne, and Johanna. Other forms of the name in English are Jan, Jane, Janet, Janice, Jean, and Jeanne. The earliest recorded occurrence of th ...

(1344–1387), Duchess of Durazzo; married first in 1366 Louis of Navarre, Count of Beaumont (d. 1376), married second

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 and Duke of Durazzo from 1376 to 1383. About 1376, he married Joanna of Durazzo, daughter of Cha ...

(d. 1387) * Agnes (1345–1383, Naples), married first on 6 June 1363 Cansignorio della Scala, Lord of Verona (d. 1375), married second James of Baux (d. 1383) * Clementia (1346–1363, Naples) *

Margaret Margaret is a feminine given name, which means "pearl". It is of Latin origin, via Ancient Greek and ultimately from Iranian languages, Old Iranian. It has been an English language, English name since the 11th century, and remained popular thro ...

(28 July 1347 – 6 August 1412), married in February 1368 to Charles III of Naples

References

Sources

* * * 1323 births 1348 deaths House of Anjou-Durazzo Dukes of Durazzo Counts of Gravina Albanian monarchs {{Italy-noble-stub