Robert of Durazzo (1326 – 19 September 1356,

Poitiers Poitiers is a city on the river Clain in west-central France. It is a commune in France, commune, the capital of the Vienne (department), Vienne department and the historical center of Poitou, Poitou Province. In 2021, it had a population of 9 ...

) was the third son of John, Duke of Durazzo and Agnes de Périgord. He was the lord of Cappacio, Muro, and Montalbano in the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples (; ; ), officially 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 established by the War of the Sicilian Vespers (1282–1302). Until ...

. Captured in 1350 at the siege of

Aversa Aversa () is a city and ''comune'' in the Province of Caserta in Campania, southern Italy, about 24 km north of Naples. It is the centre of an agricultural district, the ''Agro Aversano'', producing wine and cheese (famous for the typical dome ...

, he was held prisoner by

Louis I of Hungary Louis I, also Louis the Great (; ; ) or Louis the Hungarian (; 5 March 132610 September 1382), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1342 and King of Poland from 1370. He was the first child of Charles I of Hungary and his wife, Elizabeth of ...

until 1352. After his release, he took refuge with his uncle the Cardinal de Périgord in

Avignon Avignon (, , ; or , ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region of southeastern France. Located on the left bank of the river Rhône, the Communes of France, commune had a ...

, which had just been sold to the Papacy by

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

. His uncle attempted to arrange a marriage for him with the niece of Giovanni Visconti, lord of

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, but on his journey to Milan, Robert was arrested by

James of Piedmont James (January 1315 – May 1367) was the Lord of Piedmont from 1334 to his death. He was the eldest son of Philip I of Piedmont, Philip I and Catherine de la Tour du Pin. While his father had been stripped of the Principality of Achaea in 1307 b ...

. James' wife, Sibylle des Baux, was convinced that Robert and his Durazzeschi kin had arranged the recent murder of her nephew Robert, Count of Avellino. (Robert had married, by force, Maria of Calabria; but falling into the hands of

Louis of Taranto Louis I (Italian: ''Luigi'', ''Aloisio'', or ''Ludovico'' ; 1320 – 26 May 1362), also known as Louis of Taranto, was a member of the Capetian House of Anjou who reigned as King of Naples, Count of Provence and Forcalquier, and Prince of Tar ...

, was murdered by his wife's orders in the

Castel dell'Ovo Castel dell'Ovo ("Egg Castle") is a seafront castle in Naples, located on the former island of Megaride, now a peninsula, on the Gulf of Naples in Italy. The castle's name comes from a legend about the Roman Republic, Roman poet Virgil, who had a ...

.) Robert was not released until 18 March 1355, through the efforts of his uncle and Pope Innocent VI, and was made to swear to take no revenge on his captors. He immediately broke the promise by seizing the fortress of Les Baux on 6 April 1355. This was the Provençal seat of Raymond des Baux, brother and successor of the murdered Robert. The Pope was outraged; Robert was defended by his uncle in the papal curia, but did not escape excommunication. After an unsuccessful attempt at mediation by Walter VI of Brienne and others, local levies besieged the castle, and by July, Robert was compelled to surrender it to its rightful owner. He accompanied the Cardinal to the

Battle of Poitiers The Battle of Poitiers was fought on 19September 1356 between a Kingdom of France, French army commanded by King John II of France, King JohnII and an Kingdom of England, Anglo-Gascony, Gascon force under Edward the Black Prince, Edward, the ...

. Before the battle, the Cardinal attempted to mediate between the English forces under

Edward, the Black Prince Edward of Woodstock (15 June 1330 – 8 June 1376), known as the Black Prince, was the eldest son and heir apparent of King Edward III of England. He died before his father and so his son, Richard II of England, Richard II, succession to the Br ...

and the French forces under

John II of France John II (; 26 April 1319 – 8 April 1364), called John the Good (French: ''Jean le Bon''), was King of France from 1350 until his death in 1364. When he came to power, France faced several disasters: the Black Death, which killed between a thir ...

. Robert, like many of the Cardinal's men, joined the fight on the French side, and was killed there. This violation of the neutrality which ought to adhere to a churchman and mediator so provoked Edward the Black Prince that he had Robert's body borne on a shield to the Cardinal as a mocking salute.

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Chronicles of Froissart
{{DEFAULTSORT:Durazzo, Robert of 1326 births 1356 deaths

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of ''Hrōþ, Hruod'' () "fame, glory, honour, prais ...

Military personnel killed in action