Isabella of Navarre, Countess of Armagnac

Isabella of Navarre
Countess of Armagnac
Born	1395 Kingdom of Navarre
Died	31 August 1450
Spouse	John IV of Armagnac
Issue	Marie, Duchess of Alençon John V of Armagnac Eleanor, Princess d'Orange, Lady of Arlay and Arguel Charles, Viscount of Fézensaguet Isabella, Lady of the Four-Valleys
House	Évreux
Father	Charles III of Navarre
Mother	Eleanor of Castile

Isabella of Navarre (1395 – 31 August 1450) was the younger surviving daughter of Charles III of Navarre and his wife Eleanor of Castile. She was a member of the House of Évreux.

Early life and family

Shortly before Isabella's birth, her mother was dealing with problems in Castile, involving her brother John I of Aragon. Eleanor was forced to return to Navarre for her daughter's birth.

Isabella was the sixth of eight children. Her two younger brothers died in childhood, leaving Isabella and her five older sisters. Her sisters included: Joanna (died before inheriting the throne), Blanche (successor of their father), and Beatrice.

Marriage

Isabella was firstly betrothed to Infante John of Aragon around 1414. Her mother, Queen Eleanor bequeathed her money for the marriage. John later became King of Aragon but broke off his contract with Isabella, in hopes of marrying Joanna II of Naples.

Isabella eventually married on 10 May 1419 John IV of Armagnac. This marriage was John's second marriage, after the death of his first wife Blanche of Brittany, who had left no sons.

Isabella and John had five children:

• Marie of Armagnac (b. 1420–1473), married in 1437 John II of Alençon (b. 1409–1476), Duke of Alençon; maternal great-grandparents of King Henry IV of France.
• John V of Armagnac (b. 1420–1473), Viscount of Lomagne, then Count d' Armagnac, of Fézensac and Rodez. He married illegally to younger sister Isabella, had issue and married secondly to Joan of Foix, also with issue.
• Eleanor (b. 1423–1456), married in 1446 Louis de Chalon (b. 1389; † 1463), Prince d'Orange, Lord of Arlay and Arguel, had issue
• Charles I (b. 1425–1497), Viscount of Fézensaguet, then Count d' Armagnac, of Fézensac and Rodez
• Isabella (b. 1430–1476), Lady of the Four-Valleys, married illegally to brother John and had issue.

Isabella and her husband both died in 1450; she died in August and he died three months later in November, she was around fifty-four at the time of death.

Ancestry

Ancestors of Isabella of Navarre, Countess of Armagnac

16. Louis, Count of Évreux 8. Philip III of Navarre 17. Margaret of Artois 4. Charles II of Navarre 18. Louis X of France 9. Joan II of Navarre 19. Margaret of Burgundy 2. Charles III of Navarre 20. Philip VI of France 10. John II of France 21. Joan the Lame 5. Joanna of Valois 22. John of Bohemia 11. Bonne of Bohemia 23. Elisabeth of Bohemia 1. Isabella of Navarre 24. Ferdinand IV of Castile 12. Alfonso XI of Castile 25. Constance of Portugal 6. Henry II of Castile 26. Pedro Núñez de Guzmán 13. Eleanor of Guzman 27. Beatriz Ponce de León 3. Eleanor of Castile 28. Manuel of Castile 14. Juan Manuel, Prince of Villena 29. Beatrice of Savoy 7. Juana Manuel of Castile 30. Fernando de la Cerda 15. Blanca de La Cerda y Lara 31. Juana Núñez de Lara

Sources

• Pernoud, Régine; Clin, Marie-Véronique (1999). Joan of Arc: Her Story. Translated by Adams, Jeremy duQuesnay. St. Martin's Press.
• Woodacre, Elena (2013). The Queens Regnant of Navarre: Succession, Politics, and Partnership, 1274-1512. Palgrave Macmillan.