Peter IV King Of ARAGON

Other Events and Attributes:

• Also Known As: Pedro Of Aragon

Notes:

Wikipedia Encyclopedia:
Peter IV of Aragon (September 1319 - 5 January 1387), king of Aragon (1336-1387), the Ceremonious or el del punyalet (the one of the little dagger ). He deposed James III of Majorca and rejoined the Balearic Islands and Roussillon under the crown of Aragon. He wrote the Chronicle of his name.

He found himself facing a rebellion among the nobles which would fail after he defeated the nobles in the Battle of Epila in 1348.

In 1356, he engaged with Peter I of Castile in what was called the "War of the Two Peters". It ended in 1375 with the Treaty of Almaz·n, without a winner due to the Black Death and several natural disasters.

Throughout his reign, Peter IV had frequent conflicts with the inquisitor general of Aragon, Nicolau Aymerich.

During his reign, the Generalitat was instituted in the Courts of 1358-1359.

He conquered Sicily in 1377 but the posession was given to his son Martin.

Family/Spouse: Elionor Of SICILY. Elionor was born in 1325; died in 1375. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Peter married Leonor Of PORTUGAL in 1347. Leonor (daughter of Alfonso IV Of PORTUGAL and Beatrice Of CASTILE) was born in 1328; died in 1348. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Peter married Maria Of NAVARRE in 1338. Maria (daughter of Philip III The Good King Of NAVARRE and Joan II Queen Of NAVARRE) was born in 1326; died in 1347. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Notes:

Martin I (1356 ? 31 May 1410), "the Elder", "the Humane", "the Ecclesiastic", King of Aragon (1396 - 1410), King of Sicily (1409 - 1410) was the last direct descendant in legitimate male line of Wilfred "the Hairy", Count of Barcelona, to rule Aragon. He became also the King of Sicily (as Martin II, King of Trinacria) after the death of his son, Martin I of Sicily.

Biography
Martin was born 1356, either in Gerona or in Perpignan. He was the second son of King Peter IV of Aragon and Leonora of Trinacria, princess of that cadet branch of the House of Aragon.

As a cadet prince of the Aragonese royal family, Martin was given the Duchy of Monblanch (Montblanc). In 1380 his father appointed him lord and regent of the island of Sicily, since its queen Mary of Sicily, who was Martin's cousin, was underage (Mary's father, Frederick III of Trinacria, died 1377). Martin's son Martin the Younger was then married to the young heiress. The island of Sicily (the vassal kingdom of Trinacria) was thus intended to be a fief of Martin's descendants. Martin the Younger became King Martin I of Sicily in his father's lifetime.

In 1396, Martin succeeded his elder brother John I (who died sonless) on the throne of Aragon. However, Sicilian nobles were causing unrest, and Martin was kept in Sicily until 1397, when he personally took over in Aragon. Martin's wife Maria de Luna had claimed the throne on behalf of Martin, and acted as his representative until he personally arrived. However, the delay opened the way for more problems and quarrels to surface in Aragon. His right to the throne was contested, first by Count Matthew of Foix on behalf of his wife Joanna, elder daughter of John I of Aragon. However, Martin succeeded in quashing the invasion by the troops of the count.

After the death of the childless Joanna, John's second daughter, Yolande of Aragon, married the Anjou king of Sicily (Naples) and continued the claim as did her sons.

Martin launched crusades against the Moors in North Africa in 1398 and 1399.

Aragon had been trying to subjugate Sardinia since the reign of James II, and gradually the Aragonese had conquered most of the island. However, in the 1380s, in the reign of Peter IV, the remaining independent principality Arborea became a fortress of rebellion and the Aragonese were rapidly driven back by Eleanor of Arborea, so that practically the whole of Sardinia was lost. King Martin sent his son Martin the Younger to reconquer Sardinia. Just before his death, the son won the battle of Sanluri (San Luis, San Luigi) in 1409, drove away the Genoese allies of the Sardinians and subjugated a vast number of Sardinian nobles. This soon caused the total loss of independence of Arborea.

In 1409, Martin I of Aragon also became King of Sicily (as Martin II), succeeding his son, Martin the Younger (Martin I of Sicily), widower of Mary of Sicily. Martin the father was himself son of Eleanor of Sicily (Leonora of Trinacria) and an heir to that island after Mary's family had died out.

Overall, the Kingdom of Aragon enjoyed external peace during Martin's reign and he worked to quell internal strife caused by nobles, factions and bandits. He supported the Avignon line of Popes and an Aragonese, Pope Benedict XIII, held the seat throughout Martin's reign. Martin's military intervention rescued the imprisoned Benedict in 1403 from the clutches of his rivals and the Pope settled in Valencia's countryside.

After the death of his legitimate children, King Martin appointed Jaume II of Urgell, the closest legitimate agnate of the Royal House of Aragon (his first cousin's son), as Governor General of all the kingdoms of Aragon, which position belonged traditionally to the heir presumptive.

When Martin died in Barcelona in 1410, his legitimate descendants (born of marriage with queen Maria) were already dead. Martin's second marriage with Margarita of Aragon-Prades did not produce any children.

Only a bastard grandson, Fadrique, count of Luna, continued the line of Martin. (Fadrique was the bastard son of Martin the Younger.) The king, despite his desire and some efforts, was not able to obtain sufficient confirmation to his bastard grandson as his successor.

Thus, Martin's death led to a two-year interregnum, which was ended by the Pact of Caspe, in which Ferdinand I of Aragon, infante of Castile's House of Trast·mara, younger son of a sister of Martin's, was chosen as the next king from among at least five contenders

Family/Spouse: Maria DE LUNA. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Other Events and Attributes:

• Also Known As: Juan I Of Aragon

Notes:

John I (December 27, 1350 ? May 19, 1396), King of Aragon 1387-96, called Juan el Cazador in Spanish (the Hunter, in English, or el Descurat in Catalan) or el Amador de la gentileza (the Lover of Elegance, in English, or l'Amador de la Gentilesa in Catalan), John the Hunter, was the eldest son of Peter IV and his third wife Eleanor of Sicily, who was the daughter of King Pietro II of Sicily. He was born in Perpignan, in the province of Roussillon which at that time belonged to Aragon, and died during a hunt in forests near Foix‡ by a fall from his horse, like his namesake, cousin and contemporary of Castile. He was a man of insignificant character, with a taste for artificial verse.

Events of his reign
Once on the throne, John abandoned his father's relatively Anglophile policy and made an alliance with France. He continued Aragon's support for the Pope of the Avignon line, Clement VII, in the Western Schism. John also made an alliance with Castile, and confirmed in 1388 a treaty with Navarre fixing borders between these kingdoms.

In 1389-90, the Aragonese battled the troops of the Count of Armagnac, who was attempting to conquer the lands of the vassal kingdom of Majorca. The attack went from Embord· to Gerona. The invaders were defeated in 1390 by Aragonese troops commanded by the Infante don Martin, the king's brother (and successor).

During 1388-90, John gradually lost all lands of the Duchies of Athens and Neopatras in Greece.

In 1391, John promulgated legislation on Jews in different cities of Aragon. Also in 1391, his administration faced a revolt in the vassal kingdom of Sicily, where the population had proclaimed Louis of Durazzo as king.

John was a protector of culture of Barcelona. He established in 1393 the Consistor of Barcelona (jocs florals), imitating the same office in Toulouse.

Aragon had been attempting to subjugate Sardinia since the reign of James II, and gradually the Aragonese had conquered most of the island. However, in the 1380s, the remaining independent principality Arborea became a fortress of rebellion and the Aragonese were rapidly driven back by Eleanor Visconti Doria. The Aragonese continued in John's reign to attempt to suppress rebels in Sardinia and regain lost territories. However, during John's reign, practically the whole of Sardinia was lost.

John's reign was characterized by disastrous financial administration.

He died without sons, and was succeeded by his younger brother Martin. Two daughters, however, survived to adulthood.

Family/Spouse: Martha Of ARMAGNAC. Martha was born in 1347; died in 1378. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

John married Yolande Of BAR in 1384. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Juan I King Of CASTILE. Juan (son of Henry II Of CASTILE and Juana Manuel Of CASTILE) was born on 24 Aug 1358; died on 09 Oct 1390. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]

Family/Spouse: Frederick III Of SICILY. [Group Sheet] [Family Chart]