In preparation for our day-trip to Avignon, we’re going back in time to the 14th century, when Avignon was THE place to be. The pope had built a palace there, and as a result the place had become a boom-town. In those days, Avignon was part of the Kingdom of Naples. Or more accurately, the “Queendom” of Naples. The queen was Queen Joanna I. And quite a queen she was!
Joanna I was the queen of Naples. If we want to be technically correct, she was Joanna, Queen of Naples, Jerusalem, and Sicily. Don’t ask about the “Jerusalem” and “Sicily” parts. It’s complicated.
Queen Joanna
Queen Joanna was famous in the 14th century, but not so much for being the Queen of Naples, Jerusalem, and Sicily. (Although that would be pretty impressive to have on your 14th-century resume). She was famous for being accused of murdering her first husband. The trial would be held in Avignon. But let’s start at the beginning…
Joanna was born in 1326. She was in line to be the eventual heir to the throne of the Kingdom of Naples. When Joanna was just a kid, she was committed in a marriage contract to marry the youngest son of the king of Hungary. Her grandfather, Robert the Wise, King of Naples, had arranged the whole thing. That’s the way they did it in those days.
The king of Hungary at the time was a guy named Carobert. He had a huge army, and he had made it known that he intended to invade and conquer the Kingdom of Naples. Robert the Wise’s idea was, rather than to fight Carobert and get creamed in the process, bring Carobert into the family.
Have I Got a Deal for You!
The proposed arrangement was that Carobert’s son would marry into the family and be in line to be king of Naples. In the meantime, maybe Robert the Wise could figure some other way out of the mess. (He was wise, after all). Carobert agreed to the deal.
Joanna was only 7 years old when the marriage contract was made. Her betrothed to be, Andrew, was just 6 years old. Contracts like these would be made when the couples were just little kids, but don’t worry — they wouldn’t actually get married until they were much older. Say, 15 or so.
Just to make sure no one forgot about their agreement, Carobert took little Andrew to live in Naples with his new family-to-be. In 1333, Carobert went back to Hungary while Andrew and a Hungarian staff stayed to live with the royal family in Naples. The imminent invasion had been avoided.
Andrew turned out to be quite the imp. And the older he got, the impier he became. Especially when he was old enough to understand the marriage contract. When Robert the Wise died, Joanna would become “Queen Joanna,” in charge of the kingdom of Naples. So far, so good.
Just One Problem…
The marriage contract stipulated that Andrew would be “king”, but in name only. He’d have no power of any kind, but his kids would be heirs to the throne. When Andrew was old enough to understand the arrangement, he really started acting up.
Carobert died while little Andrew was living in Naples. Unfortunately, Carobert’s other son, Louis, the new king of Hungary, was just as rabid to conquer Naples as his old man was. It wasn’t just Louis, either. His mom, Elizabeth, Queen of Hungary, was just as bad. Maybe that’s where Louis got it. Don’t know.
This stuff gets complicated, eh? And you wouldn’t believe how much I’m leaving out! Anyway…
With Robert the Wise gone, a teenage girl was now in charge of the Kingdom of Naples. The vultures started circling over Castel Nuovo, Queen Joanna’s and Andrew’s residence in Naples. Every cousin, uncle, and advisor was scheming to make a coup. The state of affairs at Castel Nuovo was a mess.
From Bad to Worse
Just when things seemed to be about as bad as they could be, they got worse. Some unexpected visitors showed up at the gates of Castel Nuovo – a procession of 400-or-so Hungarian knights, noblemen, and members of the court, along with a throng of their handlers, retainers, and equipment.
And guess who was at the head of the procession? Elizabeth, Queen of Hungary. Uh-oh. When your mother-in-law shows up unannounced with 400 mounted battle-ready knights, it’s never good.
Now that Robert the Wise was out of the picture, Elizabeth wanted her son, Andrew, to be installed as a real king, not king in name only. The Hungarian crew moved in and she started efforts to make it happen.
Somehow, Joanna and her backers held their ground. Elizabeth wasn’t able to pull it off, but she had prepared for that possibility. She had a “Plan B.”
Elizabeth would personally go see the pope in Avignon and have him make it happen. All the pope would have to do was to say it was so, and it was so. Elizabeth had brought a fortune in gold and silver to convince him. So off to
Avignon they went.
To be continued…
Note:
Napoli, 1476, is attributed to Francesco Rosselli – Scanned from a reproduction in an unidentified book, Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons
