John II (Aragon)

Fantasy portrait of John II of Aragón from the 16th century by Rolan de Mois

John II (born June 29, 1397 or June 29, 1398 in Medina del Campo ; † January 19, 1479 in Barcelona ) was King of Aragón from 1458 to 1479 , as King John I of Sardinia , as well as by marriage from 1425 King of Navarre .

Life

John, a descendant of the House of Trastámara , was the son of Ferdinand I of Aragón and Eleonore Urraca of Castile . In 1415 he was installed by his father as the Aragonese viceroy of Sicily . He only held this office until 1416, when his father died and his successor, Johann's older brother Alfons V , deposed him.

In 1420 he married Blanka of Navarre , as her husband he became King of Navarre in 1425 - lawfully until her death in 1441, then illegally by withholding the crown of Navarre from his son Charles of Viana . In Castile he also owned several territories. John's government was harsh and arbitrary against his own subjects. In the civil war that Johann fought against his son Karl, which lasted from 1451 to 1455 , he had him imprisoned for two years and finally drove him into exile in Naples from 1455 to 1458 . In 1458 Johann's brother Alfons V died and Johann inherited him as King of Aragon and Sardinia. Even after Charles returned to Spain, Johann refused him the status of heir to the throne of Navarre and Aragón and had him locked up again in 1460. Karl died a year later, perhaps by poison. Since 1462 Johann had to fight a rebellion of the Catalans, which he could only end victoriously ten years later. He then waged war against the French King Louis XI until his death .

In 1461 he was accepted into the Order of the Golden Fleece .

Johann was followed by Ferdinand II, the Catholic , his son from his second marriage (since April 1, 1444) with Juana Enríquez (* around 1425, † February 13, 1468). Since 1469 Ferdinand was the consort of Isabella , heir to the throne of Castile, whereby Aragon was united with Castile from 1479 to 1504 in a personal union.

progeny

From his first marriage to Blanka of Navarre :

• Charles of Viana (* 1421; † 1461), Prince of Navarre
• Joan of Aragon (* 1423; † 1425)
• Blanka of Aragón (* 1424; † 1464) ∞ Henry IV of Castile
• Eleonore (* 1425; † 1479)

From his second marriage to Juana Enríquez :

• Ferdinand II. (Aragón) (10 March 1452 - 23 January 1516), King of Aragón
• Joan of Aragón (* 1454; † 1517) ∞ King Ferdinand I of Naples

From his extramarital connection with Leonor de Escobar:

• Alfonso of Aragon and Escobar (* 1415; † 1485)

literature

• Raphael de Smedt (ed.): Les chevaliers de l'ordre de la Toison d'or au XVe siècle. Notices bio-bibliographiques. (Kieler Werkstücke, D 3) 2nd, improved edition, Verlag Peter Lang, Frankfurt 2000, ISBN 3-631-36017-7 , pp. 137-139.

predecessor	Office	successor
Charles III	King of Navarre (de iure uxoris ) 1425–1479	Eleanor
Alfons V./II.	King of Aragón Count of Barcelona King of Valencia 1458–1479	Ferdinand II.
Alfons V./II.	King of Sardinia 1458–1479	Ferdinand II.
Alfons V./II.	King of Sicily 1458–1468	Ferdinand II.

Web links

Commons : Johann II.  - Collection of images, videos and audio files