Agnes of Durazzo

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Grave of Agnes von Durazzo and her sister Klementia († 1363), who died young, in the Basilica of Santa Chiara in Naples

Agnes von Durazzo (Italian Agnese di Durazzo ; * 1345 ; † either February 10, 1383 or July 15, 1388 in Naples ) was a Neapolitan princess from the Durazzo branch of the House of Anjou .

She was the daughter of Charles, Duke of Durazzo , and his cousin Maria of Calabria and thus a niece of the reigning Queen Johanna . Her sisters were Johanna , Klementia and Margarethe von Durazzo . When Agnes was about three years old, her father was executed; the mother was kidnapped a little later and forcibly married .

In 1363 (or shortly before) Agnes was married to Cansignorio della Scala , Lord of Verona . The marriage was unusual because the Scaliger far-reaching loyal Ghibellines and the Neapolitan Anjou pope faithful Guelphs were. The marriage remained childless, but - despite the unscrupulous rule of her husband and the fact that he had several illegitimate children - should have been happy. Cansignorio died in 1375 after twelve years of marriage, presumably of an illness. Agnes received 56,000 ducats as a widow's estate, which her husband had deposited for her. She now returned to Naples to see her aunt, the Queen.

In 1382 Agnes' cousin and brother-in-law Karl the Little von Durazzo overthrew and murdered Queen Johanna and ascended as Charles III. even the throne, which triggered a war of succession with the younger house of Valois-Anjou . Agnes and her older sister Johanna were captured by Karl. Agnes had to renounce all inheritance and throne claims in favor of her younger sister Margarethe, the new queen, and attempts were made to force her to surrender her widow's property. She was then married to Jacques des Baux , Prince of Taranto and Achaia and Latin titular emperor . Charles III hoped in this way to secure the loyalty of Jacques des Baux and granted the island of Corfu (which was occupied by the Venetians) as a dowry . The plan failed, however: Jacques des Baux moved to the camp of Ludwig von Valois-Anjou soon after the marriage , but died the following year.

Agnes had probably passed away by this point. Like most of the members of the Anjou family, she was buried in the Poor Clares convent in Naples . She was the last person to bear the title of Empress of the Latin Empire.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ The information on the date of death vary greatly: The Foundation for Medieval Genealogy: Sicily / Naples: Counts & Kings gives July 15, 1388. This information can also be found in numerous older genealogies, such as in Kamill von Behr: Genealogy of the royal houses ruling Europe and the General Encyclopedia of Sciences and Arts .
    Detlev Schwennicke: Europäische Stammtafeln , Volume II (1984) Plate 15-16 and Volume III.1 (1984) Plate 56 , gives the date of death contrary to the fact that she died before her husband (i.e. died before July 1383).
    The Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani , Volume 36 (1988), entry DEL BALZO, Giacomo declares that she died on February 10, 1383, this information can also be found in Studi di storia dell'arte , Volume 14, 2003, p. 66. This last date is based on her will, making it the most likely.
  2. ^ AM Allen: A History of Verona (The States of Italy) , Methuen Publishing, London 1910, p. 301
  3. ^ Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani , Volume 37 (1989), entry DELLA SCALA, Cansignorio
  4. ^ Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani , Volume 36 (1988), entry DEL BALZO, Giacomo ;
    Mihail-Dimitri Sturdza: Dictionnaire historique et Généalogique des grandes familles de Grèce, d'Albanie et de Constantinople , 2nd edition, Paris 1999 (first edition 1983), p. 505
personal data
SURNAME Agnes of Durazzo
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Agnes of Anjou; Agnese di Durazzo
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Neapolitan nobles from the house of Anjou-Durazzo
DATE OF BIRTH 1345
DATE OF DEATH February 10, 1383 or July 15, 1388
Place of death Naples