Ladislaus of Naples (, ; 15 February 1377 – 6 August 1414) was King of Naples from 1386 until his death and an unsuccessful claimant to the kingdoms of Hungary and Croatia. Ladislaus was a skilled political and military leader, protector and controller of Pope Innocent VII; however, he earned a bad reputation concerning his personal life. He profited from disorder throughout Italy to greatly expand his kingdom and his power, appropriating much of the Papal States to his own use. He was the last male of the Capetian House of Anjou.

Youth

Ladislaus was born in Naples on 15 February 1377 during the reign of his great-aunt Queen Joanna I of Naples. He was the son of Charles III of Naples and Margaret of Durazzo, both members of the Capetian House of Anjou. His parents, having lived for years at the court of their kinsman King Louis I of Hungary, named him after King Saint Ladislaus I of Hungary. In 1379, his father declared war on Joanna and proclaimed himself king with the backing of Pope Urban VI. Fearing that Joanna would take her as hostage, Margaret fled with Ladislaus to her castle in Morcone. They returned to Naples on 11 September 1381, after Charles prevailed over Joanna. On 5 November, Charles invested Ladislaus with the Duchy of Calabria, traditionally held by the heir apparent.

Ladislaus became King of Naples at the age of nine (in 1386) under his mother's regency after his father was assassinated while pursuing his claim to the throne of Hungary. At the time the kingdom saw a rebellion of the barons (fomented by Pope Urban VI), and there was a risk of a French invasion, since in 1385 the pope had assigned the throne to Louis II of Anjou, Count of Provence.

Considering himself the heir of the kings of Hungary, Ladislaus tried many times to obtain the crown of Hungary. He also proclaimed himself Duke of Slavonia, a title with no basis. He first negotiated a treaty with the Republic of Venice, ceding the island of Corfu. He thus obtained free passage in the Adriatic Sea and, with the partial support of the Pope, landed at Zada on 19 July 1403. On 5 August 1403, while in the town of Zara, Ladislaus was crowned king of Hungary and Croatia by János Kanizsai, archbishop of Esztergom, in the presence of the papal legate, Cardinal Angelo Acciaioli. Even after his coronation, the rule of Ladislaus in Croatia and Hungary never extended beyond Dalmatia. His father grew up in Hungary, governing Croatia as viceroy, and eventually became king. However, Ladislaus remained inactive and returned to Apulia; his authority in Dalmatia remained restricted to little more than the city of Zara. The following year, after the death of Pope Boniface IX, he intervened in Rome in support of the Colonna family, two days after the election of the new Pope Innocent VII. His wife, Mary of Enghien, continued the rebellion and successfully defended Taranto against a two-month long siege by Ladislaus in the spring of 1406. She did not surrender even after Ladislaus and the Pope signed a treaty of peace in July, by which Ladislaus became the protector of the Papal States. He moved to Taranto again early in 1407, this time with diplomatic intentions. Since his second wife had died in 1404, Ladislaus solved the matter of Taranto by marrying Mary of Enghien on 23 April 1407.

In 1407, trying to take advantage of the feebler personality of the new Pope Gregory XII, Ladislaus invaded the Papal States and conquered Ascoli Piceno and Fermo. In 1408, he besieged Ostia to prevent a success of the French party in the schism between the Pope Gregory XII and Antipope Benedict XIII. After a short siege, he captured the city by bribing the Papal commander, Paolo Orsini, and entered Rome on 25 April. Later, Perugia also fell into his hands.

In 1409, Ladislaus sold his rights to Dalmatia to Venice for 100,000 ducats. This was part of his attempts to gain allies in the upcoming war against the Republic of Florence, caused by his expansion in central Italy and his alliance with Paolo Guinigi, lord of Lucca, a traditional enemy of the Florentines.

The slow pace of the allied army led the Florentines and Sienese to accept peace with Ladislaus, which he bought by renouncing some of his Tuscan conquests. Louis II continued the struggle: his army, led by Muzio Attendolo, crushed the Neapolitan army at Roccasecca on 19 May 1411. He was unable to exploit this success, as he could not breach the defensive line that Ladislaus had set up at San Germano. Louis II soon returned to Rome and Provence, where he died six years later. In 1412, the situation turned more favourable to Ladislaus: his condottiere Carlo I Malatesta occupied part of the March of Ancona, and, above all, Muzio Attendolo Sforza joined Ladislaus. A peace was eventually signed on 14 June 1412, by which the Antipope paid 75,000 florins, invested Ladislaus with the Neapolitan crown, and named him as Gonfalonier of the Church. Ladislaus promised in turn to abandon the cause of Pope Gregory XII, who was ousted from Gaeta and moved to Rimini.

Last campaigns and death

thumb|262px|Equestrian statue of Ladislaus atop his tomb monument

The peace was only a means to gain time for both John XXIII, who did not want to pay the 75,000 florins, and Ladislaus, who feared intervention in Italy by Sigismund of Luxembourg.

There were no children from any of his marriages. However, Ladislaus had at least two illegitimate children:

  • Reynold of Durazzo, Titular "Prince of Capua", buried in Foggia. Married and had children of his own:
  • Francis of Durazzo. Married and had a son:
  • Reynold di Durazzo (1469 – 1 September 1494 and buried in Foggia), married to Camilla Tomacelli, without issue.
  • Catherine of Durazzo;
  • Camilla of Durazzo;
  • Hippolyta of Durazzo.
  • Mary of Durazzo, who died young.

References

  • A listing of descendants of Charles I of Sicily