Joanna of Aragon (October 1375 – September 1407), also known as Joana de Foix, was the only surviving child of

John I of Aragon John I (27 December 1350 – 19 May 1396), called by posterity the Hunter or the Lover of Elegance, or the Abandoned in his lifetime, was the King of Aragon from 1387 until his death. Biography John was the eldest son of Peter IV and his third ...

and his first wife

Martha of Armagnac Martha of Armagnac (after 18 February 1347 – 23 October 1378) was the youngest child of John I, Count of Armagnac, and his second wife Beatrice of Clermont. She was the first wife of John I of Aragon but never became Queen of Aragon because she ...

. She was a member 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 was Countess of

Foix Foix ( , ; ; ) is a commune, the former capital of the County of Foix. It is the capital of the department of Ariège as it is the seat of the prefecture of that department. Foix is located in the Occitanie region of southwestern France ...

by her marriage to

Matthew of Foix Matthew ( 1363 – 1398) was a count of Foix and viscount of Béarn. He was son of Roger-Bernard V of Foix, Viscount of Castelbon, Roger-Bernard V of Foix viscount of Castelbon and Géraude de Navailles. In 1391 he succeeded Gaston Phoebus, his f ...

. Joanna was born at

Daroca Daroca is a city and municipality in the province of Zaragoza, Aragon, Spain, situated to the south of the city of Zaragoza. It is the center of a judicial district. It is located in the basin of Calatayud, in the valley of the Jiloca river. N ...

, the second of five children born into her father's first marriage. With his second wife,

Violant of Bar Violant of Bar (c. 1365 – 3 July 1431) was Queen of Aragon by marriage to King John I of Aragon. She was active in matrimonial politics and served as regent of Aragon in the name of her spouse from 1388 until 1395. Life Violant was the daughte ...

, John had only one daughter who lived to adulthood, Yolande. In

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, on 4 June 1392, Joanna married

, son of Roger Bernard II, Viscount of Castelbon. He was her fourth cousin, both being descendants of

Peter III of Aragon Peter III of Aragon (In Aragonese, ''Pero''; in Catalan, ''Pere''; in Italian, ''Pietro''; November 1285) was King of Aragon, King of Valencia (as ), and Count of Barcelona (as ) from 1276 to his death. At the invitation of some rebels, he con ...

. They were married for fifteen years but in this time they had no children. In 1396 King John died. He was succeeded by his brother, Joanna's uncle

Martin Martin may refer to: Places Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Europe * Martin, Croatia, a village * Martin, Slovakia, a city * Martín del Río, Aragón, Spain * M ...

. However, Sicilian nobles were causing unrest and Martin was kept in Sicily. In the meanwhile, Martin's wife

Maria de Luna Maria de Luna (c. 1358 – 1406) was queen consort of Aragon, as the spouse of King Martin I of Aragon, from his ascension in 1396 to her death in 1406. In the early years of Martin's reign, she served as regent of Aragon while her husband ten ...

claimed the throne on his behalf and acted as his representative until he arrived in 1397. Still, the delay opened the way for more problems and quarrels to surface in Aragon. His right to the throne was contested by Matthew and Joanna, whose invasion Martin succeeded in quashing. Joanna's younger half-sister Yolande claimed the throne with the support of her mother, despite Joanna still being alive. They also failed but Yolande married

Louis II of Naples Louis II (5 October 1377 – 29 April 1417) was Duke of Anjou and Count of Provence from 1384 to 1417; he claimed the Kingdom of Naples, but only ruled parts of the kingdom from 1390 to 1399. His father, Louis I of Anjouthe founder of the House ...

and had children who all challenged Martin's rights to the throne. Joanna, who failed to become Queen of

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

, died childless 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 September 1407. After Martin's death Yolande tried again to claim Aragon but failed.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Joanna Of Aragon, Countess Of Foix 1375 births 1407 deaths People from the Province of Zaragoza House of Aragon Countesses of Foix Aragonese infantas 14th-century Aragonese nobility 15th-century Aragonese nobility 14th-century Spanish women 15th-century Spanish women People of Byzantine descent Daughters of kings Daughters of counts