Charles III of Navarre

Charles III
Festivities attending Charles being crowned in Pamplona, from the contemporary Grandes Chroniques de France
King of Navarre
Reign	1387 - 1425
Predecessor	Charles II
Successor	Blanche I
Born	1361 Mantes-la-Jolie
Died	8 September 1425 Palacio Real de Olite
Burial	Pamplona Cathedral
Spouse	Eleanor of Castile
Issue more...	Joanna of Navarre Blanche I of Navarre Isabella of Navarre Beatrice of Navarre
House	House of Évreux
Father	Charles II of Navarre
Mother	Joan of Valois
Religion	Roman Catholicism

Charles III (1361 – 8 September 1425), called the Noble, was King of Navarre from 1387 to his death and Count of Évreux from 1387 to 1404, when he exchanged it for the title Duke of Nemours.^[1] He spent his reign improving the infrastructure of his kingdom, restoring Navarre's pride after the dismal reign of his father, Charles the Bad, and mending strained relations with France.

Charles III was born at Mantes-la-Jolie. He married Eleanor, daughter of Henry II of Castile, in 1375, putting an end to the conflict between Castile and Navarre.^[2]

As king, his politics were peace with France, Castile, Aragon, and England, support for the Avignon Papacy, and matrimonial alliance. He collaborated with Castile in a war on the Kingdom of Granada. By the Treaty of Paris, he abandoned his claims to Champagne and Brie and made peace with France.^[1]

In 1413, he created the Cort, a sort of supreme court. He created the title Prince of Viana for the heir to the throne, entitling his grandson Charles in 1423. He was a patron of the arts and he finished construction on the great Gothic Cathedral of Pamplona. When it comes to Navarre's home policy, he decreed the watershed unification of Pamplona's boroughs in 1423, after over three centuries of division and rivalry. He also built the royal palace at Tafalla and the Palacio Real de Olite, where he died in 1425.

His sister Joanna married Henry IV of England.^[3]

Tomb of Charles III in the Cathedral of Pamplona.

Issue

Charles and Eleanor's children were:

• Joanna (1382–1413), married John I, Count of Foix, no issue
• Blanche (1385/91–1441), married John II of Aragon, became Queen of Navarre and had issue
• Isabella (1395–1435), married in 1419 to John IV of Armagnac, had issue

• Beatrice (1392–1412), married to James II, Count of La Marche, and had issue
• Maria (1388–1425), died unmarried and childless
• Margaret (1390–1403), died unmarried and childless
• Charles (1397–1402), Prince of Viana
• Louis (1402), Prince of Viana

Ancestry

Ancestors of Charles III of Navarre

16. Philip III of France               8. Louis d'Évreux                       17. Marie of Brabant               4. Philip of Évreux                             18. Henry III, Duke of Brabant               9. Margaret of Artois                       19. Adelaide of Burgundy               2. Charles II of Navarre                                   20. Philip IV of France               10. Louis X of France                       21. Joan I of Navarre               5. Joan II of Navarre                             22. Robert II, Duke of Burgundy (=26)               11. Margaret of Burgundy                       23. Agnes of France (=27)               1. Charles III of Navarre                                         24. Charles, Count of Valois               12. Philip VI of France                       25. Margaret, Countess of Anjou               6. John II of France                             26. Robert II, Duke of Burgundy (=22)               13. Joan the Lame                       27. Agnes of France (=23)               3. Joan of Valois                                   28. Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor               14. John I of Bohemia                       29. Margaret of Brabant               7. Bonne of Bohemia                             30. Wenceslaus II of Bohemia               15. Elisabeth of Bohemia (1292-1330)                       31. Judith of Habsburg

References

1. "Charles III". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. 10 November 2011. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
2. Darst, David H. (2002). "Leonor de Navarra (1350-1415), Queen of Navarre". In Pérez, Janet; Ihrie, Maureen. The Feminist Encyclopedia of Spanish Literature: A-M. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
3. Valente, Claire (2002). "Joan of Navarre (c.13750-1437)". In Fritze, Ronald H.; Robison, William Baxter. Historical Dictionary of Late Medieval England, 1272-1485. Westport: Greenwood Publishing Group. Retrieved 25 December 2014.

External links