Violant of Bar

Violant of Bar (c. 1365 – 3 July 1431) was queen consort of Aragon by marriage to John I of Aragon. She served as "Queen-Lieutenant" (regent) of Aragon as proxy of her spouse from 1388 until 1395.[1]

Violant of Bar
Queen consort of Aragon, Valencia, Majorca, and Sardinia and Corsica; Countess consort of Barcelona
Tenure	1380–1395
Born	c.1365 Northern France
Died	3 July 1431 Barcelona
Spouse	John I of Aragon
Issue Detail	Yolande, Queen of Naples
House	House of Montbéliard
Father	Robert, Duke of Bar
Mother	Marie of Valois
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Life

She was the daughter of Robert I, Duke of Bar and Marie of Valois.[2] Violante was the eighth of eleven children. She was married in 1380 at the age of 15 to John, Duke of Girona,[3] the heir apparent to the throne of Aragon, thus becoming Duchess of Girona and Countess of Cervera.

Her husband became King of Aragon in 1387. He was often ill, and Violante wielded considerable administrative power on his behalf: in 1388, she was queen-lieutenant and governed Aragon as such for seven years.[1] She transformed the Aragonese court into a center of French culture. She especially cultivated the talents of Provençal troubadours (poet-musicians).

After John's death in 1395, she dedicated herself to the education of her only surviving child, Yolande. Yolande and her sons claimed the Kingdom of Aragon after John's death.

Violant died in Barcelona on 13 August 1431 at the age of sixty-six.

Issue

• James (1382–1388), Duke of Girona and Count of Cervera
• Yolande (Zaragoza 1384 - Saumur 14 November 1442),[3] married on 2 December 1400 at Louis II of Naples. She played a role in the history of France.
• Ferdinand (1389 - Monzón October 1389), Duke of Girona and Count of Cervera
• Joanna (1392 - Barcelona 4 August 1396)
• Antonia (b and d 1392)
• Peter (1394-1394), Duke of Girona and Count of Cervera

References

1. Earenfight 2010, p. 50.
2. Lanz 2002, p. 59-60.
3. McGlynn & Woodacre 2014, p. 28.

Sources

• Earenfight, Theresa (2010). The King's Other Body: Maria of Castile and the Crown of Aragon. University of Pennsylvania Press.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Lanz, Eukene Lacarra, ed. (2002). Marriage and Sexuality in Medieval and Early Modern Iberia. Routledge.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• McGlynn, Sean; Woodacre, Elena, eds. (2014). The Image and Perception of Monarchy in Medieval and Early Modern Europe. Cambridge Scholars Publishing.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)