James II (in Catalan ''Jaume II d'Urgell'' or ''Jaume el Dissortat'' ("James the unlucky"), in Spanish ''Jaime II el desafortunado'') (1380 – 1 June 1433) was the

Count of Urgell This is a list of the counts of Urgell, a county of the Principality of Catalonia in the 10th through 13th centuries. {{circa, 798–870 Counts appointed by the Carolingians *798–820 Borrell, count of Urgell and Cerdanya *820–824 Aznar ...

(1408–1413), Viscount of

Àger Àger (; ) is a municipality in the ''comarca'' of the Noguera in Catalonia, Spain. It is situated in the north-west of the ''comarca'', and the territory of the municipality stretches between the Noguera Ribagorçana and Noguera Pallaresa rive ...

, and lord of Antillón,

Alcolea de Cinca Alcolea de Cinca is a municipality located in the province of Huesca, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2004 census ( INE), the municipality has a population of 1,245 inhabitants. See also *List of municipalities in Huesca This is a list of the ...

, and

Fraga Fraga (; ) is the major town of the ''comarca'' of Bajo Cinca () in the province of Huesca, Aragon, Spain. It is located by the river Cinca. According to the 2014 census, the municipality has a population of 14,926 inhabitants. King Alfonso I ...

. Scion of a younger branch of the

House of Barcelona The House of Barcelona was a medieval dynasty that ruled the County of Barcelona continuously from 878 and the Crown of Aragon from 1137 (as kings from 1162) until 1410. They descend from the Bellonids, the descendants of Wilfred the Hairy. Th ...

and its last male member, he was the centre of opposition to the

House of Trastámara The House of Trastámara (Spanish, Aragonese and Catalan: ) was a royal dynasty which first ruled in the Crown of Castile and then expanded to the Crown of Aragon from the Late Middle Ages to the early modern period. They were an illegitimate ...

after it succeeded to the

Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon (, ) ;, ; ; . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of Barcelona (later Principality of Catalonia) and ended as a consequence of the War of the Sp ...

in 1412. Born at

Balaguer Balaguer () is the capital of the ''comarca'' of Noguera, in the province of Lleida, Catalonia, Spain. It is located by the river Segre, a tributary to the Ebro. The municipality includes an exclave to the east. Balaguer also has a sister city ...

to Peter II of Urgell and Margaret Palaiologue of Montferrat, James inherited the county of Urgell from his father in 1408. In

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

on 29 June 1407, he had married

Isabella Isabella may refer to: People and fictional characters * Isabella (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Isabella (surname), including a list of people Places United States * Isabella, Alabama, an unincorpo ...

, daughter of

Peter IV of Aragon Peter IV (Catalan: ''Pere IV d'Aragó;'' Aragonese; ''Pero IV d'Aragón;'' 5 September 1319 – 6 January 1387), called the Ceremonious (Catalan: ''El Cerimoniós''; Aragonese: ''el Ceremonioso''), was from 1336 until his death the king of ...

, who appointed him

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a Junior officer, junior commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations, as well as fire services, emergency medical services, Security agency, security services ...

of the

Kingdom of Aragon The Kingdom of Aragon (; ; ; ) was a medieval and early modern Monarchy, kingdom on the Iberian Peninsula, corresponding to the modern-day Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, in Spain. It became a part of the larger ...

in 1408. Following the death in 1409 of Martin the Younger, heir to the Aragonese Crown, the king appointed James

governor-general Governor-general (plural governors-general), or governor general (plural governors general), is the title of an official, most prominently associated with the British Empire. In the context of the governors-general and former British colonies, ...

, an act interpreted by James as implying his heirdom. Following the death of the king in 1410, however, James was one of the six candidates who claimed the throne. Succession through the male line, as ordained in the will of

James I of Aragon James I the Conqueror ( Catalan/Valencian: ''Jaume I or Jaume el Conqueridor''; Aragonese: ''Chaime I'' ''o Conqueridor''; ; 2 February 1208 – 27 July 1276) was King of Aragon, Count of Barcelona, and Lord of Montpellier from 1213 to 1 ...

, would have given him the crown, but through the

Compromise of Caspe The 1412 Compromise of Caspe (''Compromiso de Caspe'' in Spanish, ''Compromís de Casp'' in Catalan) was an act and resolution of parliamentary representatives of the constituent realms of the Crown of Aragon (the Kingdom of Aragon, Kingdom of V ...

Ferdinand of Antequera 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 Sicil ...

was elected instead. Influenced by his mother, Margaret of Montferrat, and by

Antón de Luna Antonio de Luna y de Xérica (deceased in Mequinenza, Aragón, in 1419) was an Aragonese nobleman, Lord of Almonacid, Loarre, Morés, Pola and Rueda. He was leader of the supporters of James II of Urgell in the Kingdom of Aragon after the de ...

, James II of Urgell refused to recognise Ferdinand as king and took up arms against him. Defeated at

Castelflorite Castelflorite is a municipality located in the province of Huesca, Aragon, Spain. According to the 2004 census ( INE), the municipality has a population of 128 inhabitants. See also * List of municipalities in Huesca This is a list of the mun ...

and Montearagón, James took refuge in the castle of Balaguer which was under siege by the royal troops. He surrendered on 31 October 1413 and was imprisoned in

Teruel Teruel () is a city in Aragon, located in eastern Spain, and is also the capital of Teruel (province), Teruel Province. It had a population of 35,900 as of 2022, making it the least populated provincial capital in Spain. It is noted for its har ...

and then

Xàtiva Xàtiva (; ) is a town in eastern Spain, in the province of Valencia, on the right (western) bank of the river Albaida and at the junction of the Valencia, Spain, Valencia–Murcia and Valencia Albacete railways. It is located 25 km ...

where he died twenty years later.

Marriage and issue

James and

had: *

(1409–1459), married

Peter, Duke of Coimbra Dom Peter, Duke of Coimbra, KG ( ; 9 December 1392 – 20 May 1449) was a Portuguese ''infante'' (prince) of the House of Aviz, son of King Dom John I of Portugal and his wife, Philippa of Lancaster, daughter of John of Gaunt. In Portugal, h ...

, in 1428; * Eleanor (1414–1438), married Raimon Orsini in 1436; * Joanna (1415–1455), married

John I, Count of Foix John I, Count of Foix also known as Jean de Foix-Grailly (1382 – 4 May 1436) was Count of Foix from 1428 until his death in 1436. He succeeded his mother Isabella, Countess of Foix. His father was Archambaud de Grailly. Life Early life ...

in 1435 and, then, remarried

John Ramon III, Count of Cardona John Ramon III Folch de Cardona i de Prades, (9 January 1418 – 18 July 1486), was a Catalan nobleman. John Ramon's titles included Count of Prades (5th), Count of Cardona, Viscount of Vilamur, Baron of Entença, Admiral of Aragon, Captain gener ...

in 1445; had three children, including

Juan Ramón Folch IV de Cardona Joan Ramon Folc IV de Cardona or Juan Ramón Folch IV de Cardona, (1446 - Arbeca, 29 January 1513), was a Catalan nobleman. He was the 5th Count of Cardona (1486-1491) and then the 1st Duke of Cardona (1491-1513), the 6th Count of Prades, the 6th ...

, the first

Duke of Cardona Duke of Cardona () is a hereditary title in the Peerage of Spain, accompanied by the dignity of Grandee. The title was granted in 1491 by Ferdinand II to Juan Ramón Folch de Cardona, 5th Count of Cardona, as an elevation to dukedom. It was ...

; * Philip, who died around 1422 while still young; * Catherine, who also died young, not long after Philip (c. 1424).

References

Sources

* * * {{Authority control 1380 births 1433 deaths Counts of Urgell Aragonese infantes 15th-century Catalan people 15th-century Spanish nobility