Louis I of Anjou

Louis I
17th-century portrait of Louis
Count of Anjou
Reign1356–1360
SuccessorHimself as Duke of Anjou
Duke of Anjou
Reign1360–1384
SuccessorLouis II
Regent of France
Regency1380-1382
MonarchCharles VI
Born23 July 1339
Château de Vincennes, Vincennes, France
Died20 September 1384(1384-09-20) (aged 45)
Bisceglie, Italy
SpouseMarie of Blois
IssueLouis II of Anjou
Charles, Prince of Taranto
HouseValois-Anjou
FatherJohn II of France
MotherBonne of Bohemia

Louis I, Duke of Anjou (23 July 1339 – 20 September 1384) was a French prince, the second son of John II of France and Bonne of Bohemia.[1] His career was markedly unsuccessful. Born at the Château de Vincennes, Louis was the first of the Angevin branch of the Valois royal house. His father appointed him Count of Anjou and Count of Maine in 1356, and then raised him to the title Duke of Anjou in 1360 and Duke of Touraine in 1370.

He fought in the Battle of Poitiers (1356), in which his father the king was captured by the English. In 1360, he was one of a group of hostages the French surrendered to the English in exchange for the king. He escaped from England, after which his father felt bound in honour to return to English custody, where he later died.

In 1382, as the adopted son of Joanna I of Naples, he succeeded to the counties of Provence and Forcalquier. He also inherited from her a claim to the kingdoms of Naples and Jerusalem. He was already a veteran of the Hundred Years' War against the English when he led an army into Italy to claim his Neapolitan inheritance. He died on the march and his claims and titles fell to his son and namesake, Louis II, who succeeded in ruling Naples for a time.

  1. ^ Keane 2016, p. 17.