James III ( – ), known as James the Rash (or the Unfortunate), was King of Majorca from 1324 to 1344. He was the son of

Ferdinand of Majorca Ferdinand of Majorca ( ca, Ferran de Mallorca; 1278 – 5 July 1316) was an ''infant'' of the Kingdom of Majorca; he was born at Perpignan, the third son of King James II. He was Viscount of Aumelas and Lord of Frontignan from 1311 and c ...

and

Isabella of Sabran Isabel of Sabran (1297 – 7 May 1315) was a princess of Majorca. She was daughter of Isnard of Sabran, Lord of Ansouis, and Margaret of Villehardouin. Isabel married Ferdinand of Majorca in 1314. She gave birth to the future James III of Majorc ...

Life

James was born in

Catania Catania (, , Sicilian and ) is the second largest municipality in Sicily, after Palermo. Despite its reputation as the second city of the island, Catania is the largest Sicilian conurbation, among the largest in Italy, as evidenced also b ...

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

Margaret of Villehardouin Margaret of Villehardouin (Greek: Μαργαρίτα Βιλλεαρδουίνου; 1266 – February/March 1315) was the daughter of William II of Villehardouin, Prince of Achaea, and his third wife Anna Komnene Doukaina. Biography In ca. 1276, ...

, James's maternal grandmother, fought to reclaim the

Principality of Achaea The Principality of Achaea () or Principality of Morea was one of the three vassal states of the Latin Empire, which replaced the Byzantine Empire after the capture of Constantinople during the Fourth Crusade. It became a vassal of the Kingdom ...

from the Angevins of the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...

. Isabella died soon after the childbirth, and James was proclaimed Prince of Achaea under the guardianship of his father. Ferdinand invaded the

Morea The Morea ( el, Μορέας or ) was the name of the Peloponnese peninsula in southern Greece during the Middle Ages and the early modern period. The name was used for the Byzantine province known as the Despotate of the Morea, by the Ottom ...

in an effort to bring the principality under his control, but was killed in the

Battle of Manolada The Battle of Manolada was fought on July 5, 1316, at Manolada, on the plains of Elis in the Peloponnese. The two leaders were Louis of Burgundy and the ''infante'' Ferdinand of Majorca, both of whom claimed the Principality of Achaea in right of ...

in 1316. Despite this setback, from 1331 the feudal lords of Achaea began to recognise the rights of James, and in 1333 the recognition was total, though the Angevin heirs of

Philip I of Taranto Philip I of Taranto (10 November 1278 – 26 December 1331), of the Angevin house, was titular Latin Emperor of Constantinople (as Philip II) by right of his wife Catherine of Valois–Courtenay, Despot of Romania, King of Albania, Prince of A ...

continued to press their claim. Upon the death of his uncle Sancho in 1324, James inherited the Kingdom of Majorca. His uncle

Philip Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who populariz ...

ruled the kingdom as regent until 1329. In order to establish friendly relations with the

Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon ( , ) an, Corona d'Aragón ; ca, Corona d'Aragó, , , ; es, Corona de Aragón ; la, Corona Aragonum . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of ...

, he married Constance, daughter of Alfonso IV of Aragon. Though the kings of Majorca traditionally swore an oath of fealty to the kings of Aragon, James claimed that no king could have lordship over any other king. He patronised the

University of Montpellier The University of Montpellier (french: Université de Montpellier) is a public research university located in Montpellier, in south-east of France. Established in 1220, the University of Montpellier is one of the oldest universities in the wor ...

, which lay within his continental domains, and the legal scholars of that institution defended his rights as king. On 9 May 1337 James promulgated the ''

Leges palatinae The ''Leges palatinae'' ("Palatine Laws") were the laws governing the functioning of the royal court of the Kingdom of Majorca, promulgated by James III at Palma on 9 May 1337. The ''Leges'' were probably conceived to lend weight to James's posit ...

'', an elaborate code for his court and the first of its kind.Malcolm Vale (2004), ''The Princely Court: Medieval Courts and Culture in North-West Europe, 1270–1380'', (Oxford: Oxford University Press, ), 202–3. For it he commissioned a fine

illuminated manuscript An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is often supplemented with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Often used in the Roman Catholic Church for prayers, liturgical services and psalms, th ...

in an Italian style, which he himself preserved when he lost his throne. He brought it to the Roman curia, then sold it to

Philip VI of France Philip VI (french: Philippe; 1293 – 22 August 1350), called the Fortunate (french: le Fortuné, link=no) or the Catholic (french: le Catholique, link=no) and of Valois, was the first king of France from the House of Valois, reigning from 13 ...

. In 1342 James refused to render the oath of fealty to his cousin

Peter IV of Aragon Peter IV, ; an, Pero, ; es, Pedro, . In Catalan, he may also be nicknamed ''el del punyalet'': "he of the little dagger". (Catalan: ''Pere IV''; 5 September 1319 – 6 January 1387), called the Ceremonious (Catalan: ''el Cerimoniós''), w ...

. He was supported, however, by the doctors of the University of Montpellier and by Aragonese troubadour, Thomàs Périz de Fozes, who wrote a poem in his defence. In a short war he was driven out of Majorca by Peter, who reannexed the

Balearic Islands The Balearic Islands ( es, Islas Baleares ; or ca, Illes Balears ) are an archipelago in the Balearic Sea, near the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. The archipelago is an autonomous community and a province of Spain; its capital is ...

to the Crown of Aragon. James died at the

Battle of Llucmajor The Battle of Llucmajor ( ca, Batalla de Llucmajor; ) occurred in 1349 when Peter IV of Aragon's forces defeated and killed his cousin James III of Majorca in the town of Llucmajor on the Balearic Islands, resulting in the end of the independent ...

on 25 October 1349 while trying to retake the island.

Children

James and his first wife, Constance of Aragon, had two children: *

James IV of Majorca James IV of Majorca, also known as Jaume IV (c. 1336 – 20 January 1375) unsuccessfully claimed the thrones of the Kingdom of Majorca and the Principality of Achaea from 1349 until his death. He was also the king consort of Naples, but was excl ...

(–). Married

Joanna I of Naples Joanna I, also known as Johanna I ( it, Giovanna I; December 1325 – 27 July 1382), was Queen of Naples, and Countess of Provence and Forcalquier from 1343 to 1382; she was also Princess of Achaea from 1373 to 1381. Joanna was the eldest ...

. *

Isabella of Majorca Isabella of Majorca ( Catalan: ''Elisabet'') (1337–1406) was the last titular Queen of Majorca and Countess of Roussillon and Cerdanya from 1375 to her death. Family She was the daughter of James III and his first wife, Constance of Aragon. ...

(–). Married John II of Montferrat. James and his second wife,

Violante of Vilaragut Violante of Vilaragut (1320 or 1325 – before 1372) was a daughter of Berengeur de Vilaragut and his second wife Saura, who was an illegitimate daughter of James II of Majorca. Violante was titular queen of Majorca by her marriage to her cousin ...

, had one child: * Esclaramunda of Majorca (unknown). Died shortly after her birth.

Ancestry

References

Bibliography

David Abulafia David Abulafia (born 12 December 1949) is an English historian with a particular interest in Italy, Spain and the rest of the Mediterranean during the Middle Ages and Renaissance. He spent most of his career at the University of Cambridge, ris ...

(1994), ''A Mediterranean Emporium: The Catalan Kingdom of Majorca'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, . *Thomas N. Bisson (2000), ''The Medieval Crown of Aragon: A Short History'' (Oxford: Clarendon Press). *G. Kerscher
The first European ceremonial manuscript—Leges Palatinae—and its relevance for the Mediterranean area
University of Trier. *Marta Vanlandingham (2002), ''Transforming the State: King, Court and Political Culture in the Realms of Aragon (1213–1387)'', (BRILL, ). {{DEFAULTSORT:James 03 Of Majorca Monarchs of Majorca Counts of Roussillon Counts of Cerdanya Lords of Montpellier Princes of Achaea Aragonese infantes 1315 births 1349 deaths House of Barcelona House of Aragon 14th-century people from the Kingdom of Aragon