Maria of Navarre

Maria of Navarre
The seal of Queen Maria
Queen consort of Aragon
Tenure	1338–1347
Born	1329
Died	29 April 1347 (aged 18)
Spouse	Peter IV of Aragon
Issue	Constance, Queen of Sicily Joanna, Countess of Ampurias
House	House of Évreux
Father	Philip III of Navarre
Mother	Joan II of Navarre
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Maria of Navarre (French: Marie d'Évreux; 1329 - 29 April 1347) was queen consort of the Crown of Aragon from 1338 until her death as the first of four wives of Peter IV of Aragon.

Childhood

Maria was the second child of Joan II of Navarre and Philip III of Navarre, born a year after their accession. Her parents, having established the House of Évreux as the new ruling dynasty in the Kingdom of Navarre, wanted to improve relations with their Iberian neighbours. In 1333 they negotiated a betrothal between Marie's elder sister, Joan, and Peter, then heir apparent to the throne of Aragon.^[1] Peter, who ascended in January 1336, expressed a preference for the second daughter, however, which forced Joan to renounce her succession rights in favour of Maria.^[2]

Queenship

The marriage contract was signed in her father's castle on Anet on 6 January 1336. It stipulated that, if her mother died leaving no sons, Maria or her children would inherit the crown of Navarre.^[3] The wedding ceremony took place near Zaragoza on 25 July 1337. Despite difficulties over the payment of her dowry, the relations of Maria's husband with her parents were excellent.^[3] As dower Maria received from Peter the towns of Jaca, Tarragona and Teruel. In 1338 the new queen made her joyous entry into Barcelona, capital of the Crown of Aragon.^[4]

Queen Maria was pious and a docile wife, probably having little in common with her husband. Their first child, Constance, was born in 1343, followed by Joanna in 1344 and Maria in 1345/6. The lack of a male heir for nine years of the marriage presented a problem. In 1347 Peter attempted to secure the succession for their eldest daughter, but was opposed by his brother James I, Count of Urgell, and the Aragonese Corts. On 23 April in Valencia Queen Maria gave birth to a son, christened Peter, but the infant died the next day. Maria died of childbirth complications on 29 April. In her will she left her rights to Navarre to her son and then to her daughters, and expressed a wish to be buried in Poblet Monastery. She was interred instead in the Monastery of Saint Vincent in Valencia. Her widower remarried within a few months.^[5]

Ancestry

Ancestors of Maria of Navarre

16. Louis IX of France               8. Philip III of France                       17. Margaret of Provence               4. Louis d'Évreux                             18. Henry III, Duke of Brabant               9. Maria of Brabant                       19. Alice of Burgundy               2. Philip III of Navarre                                   20. Robert II of Artois               10. Philip of Artois                       21. Amicie de Courtenay               5. Margaret of Artois                             22. John II, Duke of Brittany               11. Blanche of Brittany                       23. Beatrice of England               1. Maria of Navarre                                         24. Philip III of France =8               12. Philip IV of France                       25. Isabella of Aragon               6. Louis X of France                             26. Henry I of Navarre               13. Joan I of Navarre                       27. Blanche of Artois               3. Joan II of Navarre                                   28. Hugh IV, Duke of Burgundy               14. Robert II, Duke of Burgundy                       29. Yolande of Dreux               7. Margaret of Burgundy                             30. Louis IX of France =16               15. Agnes of France                       31. Margaret of Provence =17

References

1. Woodacre 2011, p. 142.
2. Surget 2008, p. 34.
3. Surget 2008, p. 35.
4. Miron 1913, p. 178.
5. Miron 1913, p. 180.

Bibliography

• Miron, E. L. (1913). The queens of Aragon: their lives and times. Brentano's.
• Surget, Marie-Laure (2008). Mariage et pouvoir : réflexion sur le rôle de l'alliance dans les relations entre les Evreux-Navarre et les Valois au XIV siècle (1325-1376). Laboratoire d'éthnographie régionale.
• Woodacre, Elena (2011). The Queen and her consort: succession, politics and partnership in the Kingdom of Navarre, 1274-1512. Bath Spa University.
• Woodacre, Elena (2013). The Queens Regnant of Navarre: Succession, Politics, and Partnership, 1274-1512. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN 978-1-137-33914-0.