Angevin

Angevin is the name applied to three distinct medieval dynasties which originated as counts (from 1360, dukes) of the western French province of Anjou (of which angevin is the adjectival form), but later came to rule far greater areas including England, Hungary and Poland (see Angevin Empire).

Capet-Anjou (junior)

In the 1350s, a junior branch of the Capet-Anjou was originated when King John II of France, of Valois line of Capetians, whose grandmother had been a princess of the senior Angevin line (eldest daughter of Charles II of Naples), gave the Duchy of Anjou to his second son, Louis.

Related Topics:
John II of France - Valois - Charles II of Naples - Duchy of Anjou - Louis

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Within a couple of decades, Queen Joan I of Naples (of the senior Angevin line) realized that she would remain childless. Although there were extant heirs of the senior branch (for example, the Durazzo cadet line), she decided to adopt Louis as her final heir. Thus, in addition to the struggle of the Angevins with the Aragonese in Southern Italy, the two Angevin lines now began to contest with each other for the possession of the Kingdom of Naples. The extinction of the senior line in 1435 temporarily secured Naples for the junior, but they were driven from Naples by the Aragonese in 1442. The last duke of the junior line died in 1481, and Anjou reverted to the French crown.

Related Topics:
Joan I of Naples - 1435 - 1442 - 1481

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