Louis of Évreux (also called "of Navarre"; 1341 – 1376) was the youngest son of
Philip III of Navarre
Philip III ( eu, Filipe, es, Felipe, french: Philippe; 27 March 1306 – 16 September 1343), called the Noble or the Wise, was King of Navarre from 1328 until his death. He was born a minor member of the French royal family but gained prominen ...
and
Joan II of Navarre
Joan II (french: Jeanne; 28 January 1312 – 6 October 1349) was Queen of Navarre from 1328 until her death. She was the only surviving child of Louis X of France, King of France and Navarre, and Margaret of Burgundy. Joan's paternity was dubiou ...
. He inherited the county of
Beaumont-le-Roger
Beaumont-le-Roger () is a commune in the department of Eure in Normandy region in northern France.
Geography
The commune is located in the valley of the Risle on the edge of the forest with which it shares its name. It is crossed by the Par ...
from his father (1343) and became
Duke of Durazzo in right of his second wife,
Joanna
Joanna is a feminine given name deriving from from he, יוֹחָנָה, translit=Yôḥānāh, lit=God is gracious. Variants in English include Joan, Joann, Joanne, and Johanna. Other forms of the name in English are Jan, Jane, Janet, Janice ...
, in 1366.
Louis's first marriage was to Maria de Lizarazu in 1358. He took part on behalf of his brother
Charles II of Navarre
Charles II (10 October 1332 – 1 January 1387), called Charles the Bad, was King of Navarre 1349–1387 and Count of Évreux 1343–1387.
Besides the Pyrenean Kingdom of Navarre, Charles had extensive lands in Normandy, inherited from his fathe ...
in the war against the
Dauphin Charles.
His second marriage to
Joanna, Duchess of Durazzo
Joanna of Durazzo (1344 – 20 July 1387) was the eldest daughter and eldest surviving child of Charles, Duke of Durazzo, and his wife, Maria of Calabria. She succeeded as duchess on the death of her father in 1348 when she was only a child of fo ...
, brought him the rights to Durazzo and the
Kingdom of Albania, which he strove to recover. He received assistance from both his brother and the king of France in this undertaking, for Durazzo (the remnant of the kingdom) was in the hands of
Charles Thopia. In 1372, he brought over the
Navarrese Company
The Navarrese Company ( es, Compañía navarra; eu, Nafarroako konpainia) was a company of mercenaries, mostly from Navarre and Gascony, which fought in Greece during the late 14th century and early 15th century, in the twilight of Frankish power ...
of mercenaries, who had fought with him during the war in France, to assist him in taking Durazzo. Their ranks swelled considerably in 1375 with new recruits directly from Navarre. Many documents survive telling us of the complex nature of the military planning and engineering which was undertaken to ensure success. This they attained, taking the city in midsummer 1376. Louis died shortly after.
He had an illegitimate son,
Carlos de Beaumont, who would be the founder of the House of Beaumont, which would have a main role in the
Navarrese Civil War next century.
References
Sources
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{{Authority control
1341 births
1376 deaths
Albanian monarchs
Navarrese infantes
House of Évreux
Albanian nobility
Sons of kings