John II of Aragon and Navarre

John II
John as a Knight of the Golden Fleece Miniature from the southern Netherlands, 1473
King of Aragon and the other Aragonese Crown realms Aragon 1458–1479 Majorca 1458–1479 Valencia 1458–1479 County of Barcelona 1458–1479 Sicily 1458–1468 Sardinia 1458–1479
Reign	27 June 1458 – 20 January 1479
Predecessor	Alfonso V
Successor	Ferdinand II
King of Navarre
Reign	8 September 1425 – 20 January 1479
Predecessor	Blanche I
Successor	Eleanor
Co-monarch	Blanche I
Born	29 June 1398 Medina del Campo
Died	20 January 1479 (aged 81) Barcelona
Burial	Poblet Monastery
Consort	Blanche I of Navarre Juana Enríquez
Issue among others...	Charles IV of Navarre Blanche II of Navarre Eleanor I of Navarre Ferdinand II of Aragon Joanna, Queen of Naples
House	Trastámara
Father	Ferdinand I of Aragon
Mother	Eleanor of Alburquerque
Religion	Roman Catholicism

John II (Catalan: Joan II, Aragonese: Chuan II and Basque: Joanes II), called the Great (el Gran) or the Faithless (el Sense Fe)^[1] (29 June 1398 – 20 January 1479),^[2] was the King of Navarre through his wife (jure uxoris) from 1425 and the King of Aragon in his own right from 1458 until his death. He was the son of Ferdinand I^[3] and his wife Eleanor of Alburquerque.

Biography

A Sicilian–Athenian–Neopatrian carlino of John II.

John was born at Medina del Campo (in the Crown of Castile). In his youth he was one of the infantes (princes) of Aragon who took part in the dissensions of Castile during the minority and reign of John II. Till middle life he was also lieutenant-general in Aragon for his brother and predecessor Alfonso V, whose reign was mainly spent in Italy. In his old age he was engaged in incessant conflicts with his Aragonese and Catalan subjects, with Louis XI of France, and in preparing the way for the marriage of his son Ferdinand with Isabella I of Castile which brought about the union of the crowns of Aragon and Castile and which was to create the Kingdom of Spain. His troubles with his subjects were closely connected with tragic dissensions within his own family.

John was first married to Blanche I of Navarre of the house of Évreux. By right of Blanche he became king of Navarre, and on her death in 1441 he was left in possession of the kingdom for his lifetime. But one son, Charles, given the title "Prince of Viana" as heir of Navarre, had been born of the marriage. John quickly came to regard this son with jealousy. After his second marriage, to Juana Enríquez, it grew into absolute hatred, being encouraged by Juana. John tried to deprive his son of his constitutional right to act as lieutenant-general of Aragon during his father's absence. Charles's cause was taken up by the Aragonese, however, and the king's attempt to make his second wife lieutenant-general was set aside.

There followed the long Navarrese Civil War, with alternations of success and defeat, ending only with the death of the prince of Viana, perhaps by poison administered by his stepmother in 1461. The Catalans, who had adopted the cause of Charles and who had grievances of their own, called in a succession of foreign pretenders in a War against John II. His last years John spent contending with these. He was forced to pawn Roussillon, his possession on the north-east of the Pyrenees, to King Louis XI of France, who refused to part with it.

In his old age John was blinded by cataracts, but recovered his eyesight by the operation of couching conducted by his physician Abiathar Crescas, a Jew. The Catalan revolt was pacified in 1472, but John carried on a war, in which he was generally unfortunate, with his neighbor the French king till his death in 1479. He was succeeded by Ferdinand, his son by his second marriage, who was already married to Isabella I of Castile. With his death and son's accession to the throne of Aragon, the unification of Spain under one royal house began in earnest.

Marriages and issue

From his first marriage to Blanche of Navarre, John had the following children:

• Prince Charles of Viana (1421–1461)
• Infanta Juana (1423 – 22 August 1425)
• Queen Blanche II of Navarre (1424–1464)
• Queen Eleanor of Navarre

A ducat with John II's effigy

From his second marriage to Juana Enríquez, John had the following children:

• Ferdinand II of Aragon
• Joanna of Aragon (1454–1517). Married Ferdinand I of Naples.

Illegitimate children:

• Alfonso de Aragón y de Escobar, Duke of Villahermosa
• Juan de Aragón, Archbishop of Zaragoza
• Phillipe del Radona

Ancestors

Ancestors of John II of Aragon and Navarre

16. Alfonso XI of Castile (=24)               8. Henry II of Castile                       17. Eleanor of Guzmán (=25)               4. John I of Castile                             18. John Manuel of Castile, Prince of Villena (=26)               9. Joan Manuel of Castile                       19. Blanca de La Cerda y Lara (=27)               2. Ferdinand I of Aragon                                   20. Alfonso IV of Aragon               10. Peter IV of Aragon                       21. Teresa d'Entença               5. Eleanor of Aragon                             22. Peter II of Sicily               11. Eleanor of Sicily                       23. Elisabeth of Carinthia               1. John II of Aragon and Navarre                                         24. Alfonso XI of Castile (=16)               12. Alfonso XI of Castile                       25. Eleanor of Guzmán (=17)               6. Sancho Alfonso, 1st Count of Alburquerque                             26. John Manuel of Castile, Prince of Villena (=18)               13. Eleanor of Guzman                       27. Blanca de La Cerda y Lara (=19)               3. Eleanor of Alburquerque                                   28. Afonso IV of Portugal               14. Peter I of Portugal                       29. Beatrice of Castile               7. Beatrice of Portugal                             30. Pedro Fernandez de Castro               15. Inês de Castro                       31. Aldonza Lorenzo de Valladares

References

1. Ferran Soldevila, Ferrán Valls i Taberner, Antonio Badia y Torres, Francesc X. Hernandez, Rafael Tasis i Marca, Francesc Gordo-Guarinos, Eufemià Fort i Cogul, i Miquel Coll i Alentorn
2. Teófilo F. Ruiz (2007). Spain's centuries of crisis: 1300–1474; Volume 4 of A history of Spain. Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 978-1-4051-2789-9.
3. Elena Woodacre, The Queens Regnant of Navarre: Succession, Politics, and Partnership, 1274–1512, (Palgrave Macmillan, 2013), 91.

Sources

• Rivadeneyra. "Cronicas de los reyes de Castilla," Biblioteca de autores espanoles, vols. Ixvi, Ixviii. Madrid, 1845.
• Zurita, G. Anales de Aragon. Saragossa, 1610.
• Prescott W. H. History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella. 1854.
•  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "^{article name needed}". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.