Louis I of Naples

Louis I of Anjou (July 23, 1339 – September 20, 1384) was the second son of King John II of France and Bonne of Luxembourg. He was the Count of Anjou 1356–1360, Duke of Anjou 1360–1384, Count of Maine 1356–1384, Duke of Touraine 1370–1384, and titular King of Naples and Jerusalem and Count of Provence and Forcalquier 1382–1384.

Louis was born at the Château de Vincennes.

He was present at the Battle of Poitiers (1356), in the battalion commanded by his brother Charles, the Dauphin. They hardly fought and the whole group escaped in the middle of the confrontation. Although humiliating, their flight allowed them to avoid capture by the English, who won the battle decisively. King John II and Louis' younger brother Philip were not so fortunate and were captured by the English, commanded by Edward, the Black Prince. Their ransom and peace conditions between France and England were agreed in the Treaty of Brétigny, signed in 1360. Amongst the complicated items of the treaty was a clause that determined the surrender of 40 high-born hostages as guarantee for the payment of the king's ransom. Louis, already Duke of Anjou, was in this group and sailed to England in October 1360. However, France was not in good economic condition and further installments of the debt were delayed. As consequence, Louis was in English custody for much more than the expected six months. He tried to negotiate his freedom in a private negotiation with Edward III of England and, when this failed, decided to escape. On his return to France, he met his father's disapproval for his unknightly behavior. John II considered himself dishonored and this, combined with the fact that his ransom payments agreed to in the Treaty of Brétigny were in arrears, caused John to return to captivity in England to redeem his honor.

From 1380 to 1382 Louis served as regent for his nephew, King Charles VI of France, but left France in the latter year to claim the throne of Naples following the death of Queen Joanna I. She had adopted him to succeed her, as she was childless and did not wish to leave her inheritance to any of her close relatives, with whom she had quarreled. While he was able to succeed her as Count of Provence and Forcalquier after her murder in 1382 by Charles of Durazzo (her second cousin), he was unsuccessful in regaining the Kingdom of Naples from Charles.

He died at Bari in 1384.

Family and issue

In 1360, he married Marie of Blois (d. 1404), Lady of Guise. They had the following children:
# Marie (1370–aft. 1383)
# Louis II of Anjou (1377–1417)
# Charles (1380–1404, Angers), Prince of Taranto, Count of Roucy, Étampes, and Gien