Jacques de Beau

The son of the Duke of Andria, Francois I de Bo and Margarita of Tarento.

When his uncle Philip II of Tarents died childless in 1373 , Jacques, being the closest heir, adopted the titles of Emperor of Constantinople, despot of Romania and Prince of Tarents and Achaea. His father Francois de Beau took Taranto on his behalf ^[1] .

Giovanna I did not recognize Jacques' inheritance rights, declaring the possession of Philip of Tarentum escheat. In 1374, François de Beaux raised an open rebellion against Queen Giovanna; having failed, he took refuge in Avignon with his relative Pope Clement VII , and Jacques fled to Corfu and then to Achaea. Giovanna sent the balies to Achaea of ​​Francesco Sanseverino, the personal enemy of the house of de Bo, and then transferred the principality to the order of the Hospitallers for five years ^[2] .

When the Hospitallers left the Peloponnese and Charles III Durazzo rebelled against Giovanna, Jacques took advantage of the situation and hired mercenary units known as the Navarre Company . One of their commanders, Mayo de Cockerel , was assigned balli, and Pedro de San Superan and Bernat de Varavassa became captains. The barons of the Achaean principality recognized Jacques as their ruler. Mayo de Cockerel in 1380 took possession of Corfu, in 1381 Castles Postitsa and Zanklon, the latter was renamed the “Navarre Castle” ( Navarin ) ^[3] .

Jacques in 1381 landed in Italy and took possession of Taranto, after which he invaded Calabria. On May 6, 1382, a few days after the death of Giovanna, Charles III Durazzo ordered the great Justiciar to bring Jacques de Beau to him, who “rebelled against him from his very arrival, passed the kingdom at the head of a strong army and took possession of the Principality of Tarentum, forcing the inhabitants and soldiers to bring the oath of allegiance. " On May 18, he gave him a letter of protection so that he would appear in Naples and explain his behavior. The conflict was settled, and Jacques received the hand of the cousin of King Agnes Durazzo, the widow of Cancinorio della Scala , the daughter of Carl Durazzo and Maria of Calabria.

On September 11, 1382, Carl allowed Jacques and his wife to return to Taranto, and on September 18 gave forever, as a dowry to Agnes, the island of Corfu, subject to always being faithful to the king. Soon, however, the relationship deteriorated again, Jacques was accused of treason and fled to Corfu. At the beginning of 1383 he returned to Naples to negotiate with the king, but then switched to the side of Louis of Anjou .

In a will drawn up in the Tarento castle on July 15, 1383, he indicated that since he had no legitimate children, he did not give the empire, despotate and principalities to his father, but to Louis of Anjou, the duke of Calabria, his second cousin, on the mother’s side, and instructs him to educate and marry his two illegitimate daughters, Magdalene and Catherine.

• Bisson de Sainte-Marie R. Testament de Jacques de Tarente, dernier empereur de Constantinople, en faveur de Louis d'Anjou (15 juillet 1383) // Bibliothèque de l'école des chartes. 1884, Vol. 45, No. 45, pp. 189–195
• Bon A. La Morée franque. Recherches historiques, topographiques et archéologiques sur la principauté d'Achaïe. - P .: De Boccard, 1969 [1]
• Fine, John Van Antwerp (1994). The Late Medieval Balkans: A Critical Survey from the Late Twelfth Century to the Ottoman Conquest. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
• Lock, Peter (1995). The Franks in the Aegean, 1204-1500. New York
• Noblemaire G. Histoire de la maison des Baux. P., 1913

• DEL BALZO, Giacomo - Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani - Volume 36 (1988)
• GIACOMO del Balzo