1 00:00:00,200 --> 00:00:03,800 Speaker 1: Welcome to Noble Blood, a production of I Heart Radio 2 00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:07,880 Speaker 1: and Grim and Mild from Aaron Mankie Listener discretion advised. 3 00:00:16,440 --> 00:00:19,720 Speaker 1: Once upon a time, in the Kingdom of Naples, there 4 00:00:19,800 --> 00:00:23,800 Speaker 1: lived a king named Robert the Wise. Whether or not 5 00:00:24,000 --> 00:00:28,280 Speaker 1: he was particularly wise is contested, but he did know Latin, 6 00:00:28,520 --> 00:00:32,600 Speaker 1: had a large library and served as a patron for 7 00:00:32,680 --> 00:00:35,960 Speaker 1: a number of scholars, which counted for a lot in 8 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:40,960 Speaker 1: the fourteenth century. As the third son of King Charles 9 00:00:40,960 --> 00:00:44,839 Speaker 1: of Naples, Robert had not been destined for the throne, 10 00:00:45,159 --> 00:00:49,000 Speaker 1: but a strange series of events had catapulted him into power. 11 00:00:49,840 --> 00:00:55,000 Speaker 1: In twelve ninety five, when Robert was nineteen, his oldest brother, 12 00:00:55,240 --> 00:01:01,520 Speaker 1: Charles Martel, the heir apparent, died. Rightfully, Charles Martel's place 13 00:01:01,600 --> 00:01:06,160 Speaker 1: in line should have been passed to his own son, Caroberts. However, 14 00:01:06,480 --> 00:01:11,320 Speaker 1: King Charles decided that young Carobert, at only seven years old, 15 00:01:11,840 --> 00:01:15,480 Speaker 1: was too young for the job, especially the military duties, 16 00:01:15,520 --> 00:01:21,319 Speaker 1: which included things like reconquering Sicily. The king's second son, Louis, 17 00:01:21,800 --> 00:01:26,479 Speaker 1: might have been next, except Louis had become extremely religious 18 00:01:26,520 --> 00:01:30,119 Speaker 1: and wouldn't even wear fancy clothes, let alone take any 19 00:01:30,200 --> 00:01:34,160 Speaker 1: part in royal life, so King Charles settled on his 20 00:01:34,319 --> 00:01:40,039 Speaker 1: third son, Robert. The young Carobert's presence made Robert's position 21 00:01:40,200 --> 00:01:44,440 Speaker 1: as heir awkward, so King Charles decided to send the 22 00:01:44,480 --> 00:01:49,320 Speaker 1: young boy off to rule another one of his territories, Hungary. 23 00:01:49,640 --> 00:01:52,520 Speaker 1: That might seem like a promotion for the seven year old. 24 00:01:52,960 --> 00:01:55,920 Speaker 1: I know it's confusing, but at this point the Kingdom 25 00:01:55,960 --> 00:01:59,840 Speaker 1: of Naples included not just the city of Naples, but 26 00:02:00,000 --> 00:02:03,360 Speaker 1: it also much of southern Italy, as well as parts 27 00:02:03,360 --> 00:02:07,880 Speaker 1: of present day France, Albania, Greece, and Hungry. King of 28 00:02:08,120 --> 00:02:13,000 Speaker 1: just Hungry was a downgrade. So with Carobert and Hungry, 29 00:02:13,240 --> 00:02:17,600 Speaker 1: it seemed like Robert's succession was assured. It was certainly 30 00:02:17,760 --> 00:02:22,120 Speaker 1: unorthodox for a thirdborn son to become heir to the throne, 31 00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:26,000 Speaker 1: but even the Pope gave his approval to King Charles's plan, 32 00:02:26,400 --> 00:02:30,760 Speaker 1: so everything was settled. Of course, as you can guess, 33 00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:36,239 Speaker 1: everything was not really settled. And while a contested succession 34 00:02:36,520 --> 00:02:41,119 Speaker 1: isn't an unusual occurrence in the Royal Annals, what happened 35 00:02:41,160 --> 00:02:46,040 Speaker 1: in Naples nearly half a century after Robert became air 36 00:02:46,639 --> 00:02:54,239 Speaker 1: was shocking, mainly because of this episode's real protagonist Robert's granddaughter, 37 00:02:54,919 --> 00:03:02,480 Speaker 1: a glamorous, beautiful, intelligent, and relentless queen named Joanna. And 38 00:03:02,639 --> 00:03:09,160 Speaker 1: what she stood accused of murder? I'm Dani Schwartz and 39 00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:24,000 Speaker 1: this is noble blood. Joanna, future Queen of Naples, was 40 00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:27,800 Speaker 1: born in thirteen twenty six. She was the eldest daughter 41 00:03:27,919 --> 00:03:31,000 Speaker 1: of the Crown Prince, but she would barely know her parents. 42 00:03:31,320 --> 00:03:33,720 Speaker 1: Her dad died when she was two and her mom 43 00:03:33,760 --> 00:03:37,240 Speaker 1: when she was five, so Joanna and her younger sister 44 00:03:37,360 --> 00:03:42,080 Speaker 1: Maria would be raised by their grandfather, King Robert the Wise, 45 00:03:42,400 --> 00:03:46,320 Speaker 1: the third born, who rose to power, and his second wife, Sancha. 46 00:03:47,240 --> 00:03:52,280 Speaker 1: Robert and Sancha were a study in contrasts Robert delighted 47 00:03:52,320 --> 00:03:57,240 Speaker 1: in earthly pleasures. He collected books, commissioned works from musicians 48 00:03:57,240 --> 00:04:01,920 Speaker 1: and playwrights, hosted elaborate banquet, and spoiled his court with 49 00:04:02,000 --> 00:04:06,080 Speaker 1: all the luxuries money could buy. Sancha, on the other hand, 50 00:04:06,480 --> 00:04:09,960 Speaker 1: was so devout that she had actually petitioned the Pope 51 00:04:10,160 --> 00:04:13,840 Speaker 1: to let her live as a nun after her marriage 52 00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:18,040 Speaker 1: to Robert. The Pope denied her, but Sancha didn't let 53 00:04:18,080 --> 00:04:21,760 Speaker 1: that get in the way of her religious aspirations. She 54 00:04:21,880 --> 00:04:26,720 Speaker 1: lived simply and piously and refused to let Robert enter 55 00:04:26,800 --> 00:04:31,080 Speaker 1: her bed chamber. This was a problem because Robert had 56 00:04:31,200 --> 00:04:34,800 Speaker 1: only ever had two sons by his first wife. One 57 00:04:34,880 --> 00:04:38,560 Speaker 1: of the sons had died very young. His surviving son, 58 00:04:38,960 --> 00:04:44,160 Speaker 1: Joanna's father, died in thirteen twenty eight, and when that happened, 59 00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:50,240 Speaker 1: Robert had no living legitimate male heirs, but he did 60 00:04:50,320 --> 00:04:56,640 Speaker 1: have Joanna. Robert officially designated Joanna as his heir in 61 00:04:56,839 --> 00:05:00,920 Speaker 1: thirteen thirty, when she was only four years old. This 62 00:05:01,000 --> 00:05:03,919 Speaker 1: decision did not sit well with other members of the 63 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:09,120 Speaker 1: royal family, including Robert's younger brothers, Philip of Taranto and 64 00:05:09,279 --> 00:05:12,799 Speaker 1: John of Gazzo, both of whom thought they were more 65 00:05:12,839 --> 00:05:16,800 Speaker 1: deserving of the title. The decision was also questioned by 66 00:05:16,920 --> 00:05:21,000 Speaker 1: political and religious leaders throughout Europe on the basis of 67 00:05:21,080 --> 00:05:25,200 Speaker 1: Joanna's sex. Robert and Joanna were part of the Compecian 68 00:05:25,320 --> 00:05:29,520 Speaker 1: House of Anjou, a cadet branch of the Compecian dynasty 69 00:05:29,880 --> 00:05:34,040 Speaker 1: that ruled France. In France, the royal family had recently 70 00:05:34,080 --> 00:05:38,000 Speaker 1: declared that women could not succeed to the throne. You 71 00:05:38,040 --> 00:05:41,400 Speaker 1: can hear more about that in our episode The Bewitched. 72 00:05:41,400 --> 00:05:45,000 Speaker 1: Events at the tordonell All. That is to say, a 73 00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:51,840 Speaker 1: female air was certainly unusual, despite Joanna's unique status, though 74 00:05:52,200 --> 00:05:58,159 Speaker 1: her childhood was fairly typical, typical for an extraordinarily wealthy princess. 75 00:05:58,200 --> 00:06:02,200 Speaker 1: Of course, Joanna scared rooms in the Castel Nuovo with 76 00:06:02,240 --> 00:06:07,279 Speaker 1: her younger sister Maria and their enormous retinue of household staff, 77 00:06:07,680 --> 00:06:11,880 Speaker 1: including twenty four ladies in waiting, kitchen staff, and a 78 00:06:12,040 --> 00:06:18,600 Speaker 1: valet specifically tasked with getting quince's for Joanna's favorite jam. 79 00:06:18,640 --> 00:06:23,000 Speaker 1: The girl's grandmother, Queen Sancha, made sure that they attended 80 00:06:23,040 --> 00:06:26,680 Speaker 1: Mass every morning, while King Robert exposed them to the 81 00:06:26,800 --> 00:06:31,159 Speaker 1: greatest artists and performers of the day at banquets every night. 82 00:06:31,680 --> 00:06:36,880 Speaker 1: In between, the two girls road hunted, strolled the palace gardens, 83 00:06:36,880 --> 00:06:41,440 Speaker 1: and sailed to nearby beaches for picnics. One other thing 84 00:06:41,800 --> 00:06:46,599 Speaker 1: besides her succession status, set Joanna apart from the other 85 00:06:46,720 --> 00:06:51,680 Speaker 1: young girls at the palace. She was married. On September 86 00:06:53,520 --> 00:06:57,640 Speaker 1: thirty three, when Joanna was seven years old, She had 87 00:06:57,720 --> 00:07:01,760 Speaker 1: married six year old and Drew of Hungary, her first 88 00:07:01,839 --> 00:07:07,600 Speaker 1: cousin once removed. Andrew was the son of Carobert remember him. 89 00:07:07,640 --> 00:07:10,560 Speaker 1: The young boy who King Charles had shipped off to 90 00:07:10,680 --> 00:07:15,160 Speaker 1: Hungary forty years earlier to make way for Robert's succession. 91 00:07:15,840 --> 00:07:19,520 Speaker 1: Caroberts had thrived in Hungary, winning a claim for his 92 00:07:19,640 --> 00:07:25,080 Speaker 1: military prowess and accumulating vast wealth thanks to the discovery 93 00:07:25,160 --> 00:07:29,360 Speaker 1: of gold in Slovakia in the thirteen twenties. As the 94 00:07:29,480 --> 00:07:34,760 Speaker 1: historian Nancy Goldstone notes, quote, having been deprived of his 95 00:07:34,840 --> 00:07:38,000 Speaker 1: birthright because it was feared he could not take sicily, 96 00:07:38,680 --> 00:07:44,000 Speaker 1: Carobert's controlled an area approximately three times the size of 97 00:07:44,040 --> 00:07:48,120 Speaker 1: the Kingdom of Naples by the thirteen thirties. I say 98 00:07:48,320 --> 00:07:53,200 Speaker 1: good for him. Carobert, though never forgot the injustice done 99 00:07:53,240 --> 00:07:57,120 Speaker 1: to him by the Neapolitan royal family and his desire 100 00:07:57,200 --> 00:08:03,760 Speaker 1: to regain his birthright only with time. As Hungary grew 101 00:08:03,880 --> 00:08:07,720 Speaker 1: in both size and power, people started to take more 102 00:08:07,800 --> 00:08:12,960 Speaker 1: notice of Carobert's fairly legitimate claim to the Neapolitan throne. 103 00:08:13,720 --> 00:08:17,080 Speaker 1: One of those people taking notice was Pope John the 104 00:08:17,120 --> 00:08:22,400 Speaker 1: twenty second. Although a previous Pope had supported King Charles's 105 00:08:22,440 --> 00:08:26,160 Speaker 1: succession plan to put Robert the Wise on the throne, 106 00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:33,200 Speaker 1: Pope John was not convinced. On December thirteen, thirty two 107 00:08:33,240 --> 00:08:37,920 Speaker 1: weeks after Joanna had officially been announced as King Robert's successor. 108 00:08:38,600 --> 00:08:43,800 Speaker 1: The Pope wrote to Queen Sancha suggesting a path to reconciliation. 109 00:08:44,520 --> 00:08:48,240 Speaker 1: What if, the Pope wrote, Joanna were married to one 110 00:08:48,240 --> 00:08:52,400 Speaker 1: of Carobert's sons, and then their children descended from the 111 00:08:52,440 --> 00:08:56,640 Speaker 1: Neopolitan royal family on both sides could inherit the throne. 112 00:08:57,240 --> 00:09:00,960 Speaker 1: It was a neat albeit somewhat in say to a solution. 113 00:09:02,040 --> 00:09:07,880 Speaker 1: The Neapolitans were skeptical. Robert's younger brothers, Philip and John, 114 00:09:08,280 --> 00:09:12,079 Speaker 1: wanted Joanna to marry one of their sons, and Robert 115 00:09:12,320 --> 00:09:16,600 Speaker 1: wasn't interested in diluding Joanna's power. But it's hard to 116 00:09:16,720 --> 00:09:20,160 Speaker 1: argue with a pope, and when John issued a decree 117 00:09:20,320 --> 00:09:24,240 Speaker 1: in June thirty two that Joanna and her younger sister 118 00:09:24,320 --> 00:09:27,640 Speaker 1: Maria were to marry the sons of the King of Hungary, 119 00:09:28,040 --> 00:09:32,240 Speaker 1: there was no turning back. Carobert and Robert negotiated the 120 00:09:32,360 --> 00:09:36,400 Speaker 1: terms of the marriage, but they left one important term vague, 121 00:09:36,840 --> 00:09:40,720 Speaker 1: whether or not Joanna's husband would be King of Naples 122 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:45,080 Speaker 1: in his own right or only Joanna's consort without any 123 00:09:45,200 --> 00:09:49,960 Speaker 1: real power. A year later, in September thirteen thirty three, 124 00:09:50,200 --> 00:09:54,679 Speaker 1: King Carobert arrived in Naples alongside his second son Andrew. 125 00:09:55,120 --> 00:09:58,600 Speaker 1: Although Carobert had been born and raised in Naples, he 126 00:09:58,679 --> 00:10:02,560 Speaker 1: had spent decade in Hungary, which was in those days 127 00:10:02,600 --> 00:10:09,079 Speaker 1: a sparsely populated, largely rural, and heavily forested kingdom. Naples, 128 00:10:09,240 --> 00:10:12,720 Speaker 1: on the other hand, was one of only four cities 129 00:10:12,720 --> 00:10:15,600 Speaker 1: in Europe at the time to boast more than one 130 00:10:15,679 --> 00:10:21,559 Speaker 1: hundred thousand citizens. Traders from all over the world brought spices, fabrics, 131 00:10:21,559 --> 00:10:26,080 Speaker 1: and rare materials to the Naples marketplaces. The streets buzzed 132 00:10:26,120 --> 00:10:29,840 Speaker 1: with activity. It must have been a shocking site for 133 00:10:29,920 --> 00:10:35,280 Speaker 1: all of the Hungarians, especially young Prince Andrew. After a 134 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:39,360 Speaker 1: week of festivities, Andrew and Joanna were married at the 135 00:10:39,400 --> 00:10:43,960 Speaker 1: Castel Nuovo. Since both bride and groom were no older 136 00:10:44,000 --> 00:10:47,560 Speaker 1: than seven, they would not live together for some years, 137 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:51,360 Speaker 1: but it was decided that Andrew would stay in Naples 138 00:10:51,679 --> 00:10:54,439 Speaker 1: so that he could become accustomed to his new home 139 00:10:54,559 --> 00:10:58,600 Speaker 1: and way of life. It was not an easy transition 140 00:10:58,760 --> 00:11:01,600 Speaker 1: for the young Prince and Drew. He didn't speak the 141 00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:05,840 Speaker 1: two most common languages of the court, Italian and Provincial. 142 00:11:06,360 --> 00:11:11,000 Speaker 1: He also faced ethnic prejudice. Though Andrew was literally the 143 00:11:11,120 --> 00:11:15,520 Speaker 1: great nephew of their current king. Many Neapolitans saw him 144 00:11:15,559 --> 00:11:22,040 Speaker 1: as inherently foreign. They called Andrew a barbarian. Nonetheless, like Joanna, 145 00:11:22,480 --> 00:11:26,000 Speaker 1: Andrew was raised in luxury, with a full set of 146 00:11:26,000 --> 00:11:29,760 Speaker 1: apartments in the castle and a large staff of his own. 147 00:11:30,400 --> 00:11:33,920 Speaker 1: He didn't interact with his wife much growing up, although 148 00:11:33,920 --> 00:11:39,920 Speaker 1: they occasionally played marbles together. Sweet Despite the strangeness of 149 00:11:39,920 --> 00:11:43,560 Speaker 1: the arrangement, it seems to have been a pleasant childhood 150 00:11:43,600 --> 00:11:47,720 Speaker 1: for both Joanna and Andrew, with days spent amongst splendor 151 00:11:47,920 --> 00:11:51,800 Speaker 1: and the luxury of court. But the Golden Age would 152 00:11:51,800 --> 00:11:57,400 Speaker 1: not last because in thirteen forty three, King Robert the 153 00:11:57,480 --> 00:12:03,320 Speaker 1: Wise died, which meant Joanna was queen and then all 154 00:12:03,400 --> 00:12:11,199 Speaker 1: Hell broke loose. Hell had actually started plotting its escape 155 00:12:11,320 --> 00:12:15,640 Speaker 1: a year earlier, in thirteen forty two. In July of 156 00:12:15,720 --> 00:12:20,560 Speaker 1: that year, Carobert died in Hungary, and his eldest son, Louis, 157 00:12:20,720 --> 00:12:25,800 Speaker 1: only sixteen, became king of Hungary. Per the Papal Bull 158 00:12:25,880 --> 00:12:29,120 Speaker 1: of thirteen thirty two, which had decreed the marriage of 159 00:12:29,200 --> 00:12:34,520 Speaker 1: Andrew and Joanna, Louis was supposed to marry Maria, Joanna's 160 00:12:34,559 --> 00:12:38,680 Speaker 1: younger sister, but that wedding had never taken place, and 161 00:12:38,760 --> 00:12:42,920 Speaker 1: now that Louis was king, his mother, Elizabeth of Poland, 162 00:12:43,400 --> 00:12:47,560 Speaker 1: wanted a more prestigious and strategic match for her son. 163 00:12:48,280 --> 00:12:54,680 Speaker 1: That fall, Louis wed Margaret of Bohemia. Robert was furious, 164 00:12:54,679 --> 00:12:57,679 Speaker 1: seeing the wedding as a betrayal, and he wanted to 165 00:12:57,760 --> 00:13:02,480 Speaker 1: punish the Hungarians. He rewrote his will, making it clear 166 00:13:02,679 --> 00:13:08,000 Speaker 1: that Joanna was his sole inheritor and explicitly excluding Andrew 167 00:13:08,360 --> 00:13:12,720 Speaker 1: from any formal power. To ensure that Joanna's power would 168 00:13:12,760 --> 00:13:16,120 Speaker 1: not be challenged on account of her youth, Robert declared 169 00:13:16,200 --> 00:13:20,280 Speaker 1: that a council of advisers led by Sancha would rule 170 00:13:20,400 --> 00:13:23,160 Speaker 1: for her until she reached the age of twenty five. 171 00:13:23,960 --> 00:13:28,120 Speaker 1: It was a provocative document, one that resolved the question 172 00:13:28,320 --> 00:13:33,760 Speaker 1: of Andrew's unofficial role in a way that decidedly favored Joanna. 173 00:13:34,920 --> 00:13:39,199 Speaker 1: And then, only four days after dictating his new will, 174 00:13:39,960 --> 00:13:44,400 Speaker 1: Robert died. He left Joanna with a little bit of 175 00:13:44,440 --> 00:13:47,920 Speaker 1: a mess on her hands. First, there was the matter 176 00:13:48,040 --> 00:13:52,360 Speaker 1: of her marriage. Though Joanna was by this point seventeen 177 00:13:53,120 --> 00:13:57,320 Speaker 1: older than many medieval royal brides, her marriage had yet 178 00:13:57,360 --> 00:14:02,600 Speaker 1: to be consummated due to some scholars believe Andrew's emotional 179 00:14:02,679 --> 00:14:07,480 Speaker 1: immaturity that would be the final step in formalizing her marriage, 180 00:14:07,880 --> 00:14:11,000 Speaker 1: and Robert had made it clear that the couple could 181 00:14:11,040 --> 00:14:14,920 Speaker 1: no longer wait. Just two days after the King's death, 182 00:14:15,240 --> 00:14:20,240 Speaker 1: Andrew was knighted, which signified his transition into manhood. He 183 00:14:20,400 --> 00:14:24,240 Speaker 1: was then immediately taken to Joanna's bed chamber, where they 184 00:14:24,280 --> 00:14:27,680 Speaker 1: consummated the marriage once and for all. Though this act 185 00:14:27,720 --> 00:14:30,400 Speaker 1: would solidify the marriage and the eyes of the public, 186 00:14:30,800 --> 00:14:34,880 Speaker 1: it likely didn't do much to satisfy the Hungarians once 187 00:14:34,920 --> 00:14:40,040 Speaker 1: they learned the terms of Robert's will. Besides the issue 188 00:14:40,160 --> 00:14:43,680 Speaker 1: of her husband and her soon to be very unhappy 189 00:14:43,720 --> 00:14:49,240 Speaker 1: in laws, Joanna also faced a naples in decline. Robert, 190 00:14:49,880 --> 00:14:54,560 Speaker 1: wise as he was possibly, had also accrued massive debts 191 00:14:54,640 --> 00:14:58,480 Speaker 1: while trying to retake Sicily, and the taxes that he 192 00:14:58,520 --> 00:15:03,880 Speaker 1: had levied left any citizens of all classes entire straits. 193 00:15:04,600 --> 00:15:09,160 Speaker 1: Gangs of noblemen roved the countryside, fighting one another and 194 00:15:09,240 --> 00:15:13,640 Speaker 1: sparking decades long feuds, while crime rates in the cities 195 00:15:13,840 --> 00:15:19,000 Speaker 1: were exploding. Even inside the walls of the Castel Nuovo, 196 00:15:19,160 --> 00:15:24,760 Speaker 1: trouble was brewing. Two of Joanna's aunts, Agnes of Gazzo, 197 00:15:24,960 --> 00:15:29,160 Speaker 1: and Catherine of Toronto were engaged in a power struggle, 198 00:15:29,480 --> 00:15:34,200 Speaker 1: which culminated in the scandalous Lee executed marriage of Joanna's 199 00:15:34,240 --> 00:15:39,200 Speaker 1: younger sister Maria to Agnes his son Charles, which nearly 200 00:15:39,320 --> 00:15:44,320 Speaker 1: led to outright war between the two families. Joanna barely 201 00:15:44,360 --> 00:15:48,440 Speaker 1: had a moment to breathe between the domestic and international 202 00:15:48,480 --> 00:15:51,680 Speaker 1: troubles she faced in her first year as queen. She 203 00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:56,920 Speaker 1: faced scrutiny from her subjects, from the Hungarians, and from 204 00:15:56,960 --> 00:16:00,640 Speaker 1: now Pope Clement, who, in trying to appease both the 205 00:16:00,640 --> 00:16:06,960 Speaker 1: Neapolitans and the Hungarians, succeeded only in frustrating everyone. Joanna 206 00:16:07,120 --> 00:16:11,960 Speaker 1: even faced the indignity of being temporarily replaced by a 207 00:16:12,040 --> 00:16:16,440 Speaker 1: papal legate, a representative of the Pope who assumed control 208 00:16:16,560 --> 00:16:20,680 Speaker 1: of the government for several months in thirty four, who 209 00:16:20,880 --> 00:16:26,520 Speaker 1: unsurprisingly just made everything worse. As part of her lobbying 210 00:16:26,600 --> 00:16:30,520 Speaker 1: to get Pope Clement to remove the Leggate, Joanna tried 211 00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:34,440 Speaker 1: to reconcile with her husband Andrew. By this point, the 212 00:16:34,480 --> 00:16:39,560 Speaker 1: couple were on bad terms. Andrew was openly belittled by 213 00:16:39,640 --> 00:16:43,720 Speaker 1: Joanna's courtiers, and in response he tried to assert his 214 00:16:43,840 --> 00:16:50,520 Speaker 1: power in increasingly ridiculous ways, like releasing controversial convicts from 215 00:16:50,560 --> 00:16:55,760 Speaker 1: prison and raising military forces to threaten his enemies. However, 216 00:16:55,880 --> 00:17:00,480 Speaker 1: the reconciliation seemed to work at least enough that by April, 217 00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:10,680 Speaker 1: Joanna was pregnant. Like most royal pregnancies, Joanna's had enormous 218 00:17:10,760 --> 00:17:15,920 Speaker 1: political implications. The original terms of the deal between Carobert 219 00:17:16,000 --> 00:17:20,399 Speaker 1: and Robert had stated that Joanna and Andrew's child would 220 00:17:20,400 --> 00:17:24,760 Speaker 1: inherit Naples, so hopefully the birth of such a child 221 00:17:25,080 --> 00:17:28,680 Speaker 1: would calm down the Hungarians now that their bloodline would 222 00:17:28,720 --> 00:17:33,399 Speaker 1: be firmly established in the ruling family. The pregnancy also 223 00:17:33,520 --> 00:17:37,840 Speaker 1: cemented Joanna's queenly status in the eyes of the Neapolitans, 224 00:17:37,880 --> 00:17:41,280 Speaker 1: because it proved that she could provide airs and maintain 225 00:17:41,359 --> 00:17:46,040 Speaker 1: the royal line. However, the queen's pregnancy alone could not 226 00:17:46,280 --> 00:17:51,000 Speaker 1: quell the power struggles of the court, especially after the dowager, 227 00:17:51,080 --> 00:17:57,080 Speaker 1: Queen Sancha, died in July. Sancha had led the Regency 228 00:17:57,119 --> 00:18:01,200 Speaker 1: Council that had guided Joanna through the years of her reign. 229 00:18:01,880 --> 00:18:05,959 Speaker 1: The council had already been weakened by the papal legged, 230 00:18:06,480 --> 00:18:12,000 Speaker 1: and upon Sancha's death it was dissolved completely. At nineteen, 231 00:18:12,080 --> 00:18:16,880 Speaker 1: Joanna was now the sole ruler of Naples. As her 232 00:18:16,880 --> 00:18:21,080 Speaker 1: political life got even more complicated, so too did her 233 00:18:21,119 --> 00:18:26,760 Speaker 1: personal life. Around this time, despite her quasi reconciliation with Andrew, 234 00:18:27,320 --> 00:18:31,919 Speaker 1: rumors began to swirl that Joanna was having affairs. The 235 00:18:31,960 --> 00:18:36,600 Speaker 1: allegations focused on two men, Robert de Cabani, a member 236 00:18:36,600 --> 00:18:41,040 Speaker 1: of her government and a longtime friend, and Louis of Taranto. 237 00:18:41,280 --> 00:18:45,680 Speaker 1: Her first cousin. Louis was, for lack of a better phrase, 238 00:18:46,240 --> 00:18:51,240 Speaker 1: a notorious hattie. He had silky blonde hair, a graceful 239 00:18:51,359 --> 00:18:56,199 Speaker 1: athletic build, and golden skin. He was matched in beauty 240 00:18:56,320 --> 00:19:00,280 Speaker 1: only by Joanna herself, who was cut from the same 241 00:19:00,359 --> 00:19:04,360 Speaker 1: genetic cloth and whose good looks were remarked upon by 242 00:19:04,520 --> 00:19:08,600 Speaker 1: numerous observers. The two were drawn to each other, two 243 00:19:08,880 --> 00:19:12,639 Speaker 1: golden birds of a feather, and as the distance between 244 00:19:12,720 --> 00:19:17,400 Speaker 1: Joanna and her husband Andrew once again grew after Sancha's death, 245 00:19:17,920 --> 00:19:24,520 Speaker 1: the closeness between Joanna and her cousin Louis increased. Aware 246 00:19:24,640 --> 00:19:28,600 Speaker 1: of the growing troubles in Naples, Pope Clement wrote to 247 00:19:28,680 --> 00:19:32,639 Speaker 1: Joanna that she and Andrew ought to be coronated together. 248 00:19:33,280 --> 00:19:36,679 Speaker 1: Not to give Andrew any real power, but as a 249 00:19:36,840 --> 00:19:42,440 Speaker 1: symbolic gesture of unity. Joanna was not pleased at the suggestion. 250 00:19:43,080 --> 00:19:48,000 Speaker 1: She feared that a coronation would inevitably give Andrew some 251 00:19:48,080 --> 00:19:52,320 Speaker 1: sort of power, and would also position him to seize 252 00:19:52,359 --> 00:19:57,119 Speaker 1: the throne should she die in childbirth. Throughout thirteen forty 253 00:19:57,160 --> 00:20:00,639 Speaker 1: four and thirteen forty five, she had to aided with 254 00:20:00,720 --> 00:20:05,080 Speaker 1: Pope Clement over the roles she and Andrew should play. 255 00:20:05,440 --> 00:20:08,879 Speaker 1: Though Clement had once written to Joanna that she was 256 00:20:09,320 --> 00:20:13,400 Speaker 1: the rightful inheritor of the kingdom quote just as if 257 00:20:13,440 --> 00:20:16,800 Speaker 1: she were a man end quote, he reminded her in 258 00:20:16,960 --> 00:20:21,639 Speaker 1: a later letter that quote the husband is the head 259 00:20:21,720 --> 00:20:26,080 Speaker 1: of the wife end quote, and that Andrew's involvement could 260 00:20:26,200 --> 00:20:31,200 Speaker 1: only serve both Naples and Joanna herself. As the historian 261 00:20:31,320 --> 00:20:35,960 Speaker 1: Elizabeth Castine notes, Joanna would later turn this argument on 262 00:20:36,040 --> 00:20:40,280 Speaker 1: its head, telling Pope Clement that it was she who 263 00:20:40,320 --> 00:20:45,399 Speaker 1: could promote Andrew's best interests, not the other way around, revealing, 264 00:20:45,800 --> 00:20:51,280 Speaker 1: as Castine says, quote, an interesting inversion in Joanna's understanding 265 00:20:51,560 --> 00:20:56,720 Speaker 1: of gender roles within her marriage unquote. Throughout the early 266 00:20:56,840 --> 00:21:02,240 Speaker 1: fall of Pope Clement made staunch in his position that 267 00:21:02,359 --> 00:21:07,800 Speaker 1: both Andrew and Joanna should be crowned together, but in September, 268 00:21:07,960 --> 00:21:13,800 Speaker 1: his papal legate, Andrew Americ, returned to Avignon. While in Naples, 269 00:21:13,920 --> 00:21:19,919 Speaker 1: Americ had witnessed Andrew's emotional and political immaturity, and he 270 00:21:20,000 --> 00:21:23,600 Speaker 1: made it clear to Pope Clement that putting Andrew in 271 00:21:23,720 --> 00:21:28,239 Speaker 1: power would be a disaster. So on September twenty and 272 00:21:28,280 --> 00:21:32,840 Speaker 1: twenty one, the Pope wrote letters to both Joanna and Andrew, 273 00:21:33,280 --> 00:21:37,280 Speaker 1: chastising Andrew for his bad behavior and making it clear 274 00:21:37,400 --> 00:21:41,159 Speaker 1: that Andrew would only be coronated if he swore not 275 00:21:41,320 --> 00:21:46,200 Speaker 1: to interfere in government affairs. But before those letters could 276 00:21:46,280 --> 00:21:50,520 Speaker 1: reach Naples, before those letters were even written, in fact, 277 00:21:50,920 --> 00:21:56,400 Speaker 1: a shocking event changed the royal dynamic between the couple forever. 278 00:21:58,520 --> 00:22:03,360 Speaker 1: That September, the court was at Aversa, a castle surrounded 279 00:22:03,400 --> 00:22:07,720 Speaker 1: by lush gardens and a large forest perfect for hunting. 280 00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:12,240 Speaker 1: At a Versa, Joanna and Andrew shared an apartment, but 281 00:22:12,359 --> 00:22:16,159 Speaker 1: they had separate bedrooms, and on the evening of September, 282 00:22:17,640 --> 00:22:23,440 Speaker 1: the royal couple each retired to their respective rooms. Sometime 283 00:22:23,560 --> 00:22:28,360 Speaker 1: after he got to his room, after he began to undress, 284 00:22:28,560 --> 00:22:33,840 Speaker 1: Andrew was summoned by his chamberlain, Tomaso Mambricio, who said 285 00:22:33,880 --> 00:22:37,160 Speaker 1: that there were important papers that Andrew needed to see. 286 00:22:37,720 --> 00:22:42,440 Speaker 1: Exiting his bedroom for the outer chamber, Andrew was suddenly 287 00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:48,080 Speaker 1: set upon by a group of men who viciously beat him. 288 00:22:48,119 --> 00:22:52,800 Speaker 1: Official reports of the crime reveal the brutality of the attack. 289 00:22:53,400 --> 00:22:58,119 Speaker 1: Clumps of Andrew's hair were missing, his genitals were mutilated, 290 00:22:58,359 --> 00:23:03,160 Speaker 1: and iron gauntlet gloves worn by soldiers had been pressed 291 00:23:03,359 --> 00:23:07,359 Speaker 1: so firmly over his mouth that their outlines could be 292 00:23:07,480 --> 00:23:12,119 Speaker 1: seen in bruises. The men wrapped a cord around Andrew's 293 00:23:12,160 --> 00:23:17,000 Speaker 1: neck and dangled him from the window, strangling him. As 294 00:23:17,040 --> 00:23:21,480 Speaker 1: he slowly died, his assailants saw a light coming down 295 00:23:21,480 --> 00:23:27,040 Speaker 1: the corridor. This was Isabel, Andrew's nurse from childhood, who 296 00:23:27,080 --> 00:23:31,119 Speaker 1: had come looking for him. Panicked, the men threw the 297 00:23:31,560 --> 00:23:37,120 Speaker 1: now dead Andrew into the garden and fled. Isabel, arriving 298 00:23:37,200 --> 00:23:41,080 Speaker 1: only minutes later, looked out of the window saw the 299 00:23:41,160 --> 00:23:44,280 Speaker 1: body of the young man she had known since childhood, 300 00:23:44,640 --> 00:23:51,080 Speaker 1: and she screamed. Andrew was only seventeen years old. As 301 00:23:51,160 --> 00:23:55,760 Speaker 1: news of the murder spread, people began to speculate on 302 00:23:55,960 --> 00:24:00,960 Speaker 1: who the guilty party might be Andrew's acts had left 303 00:24:01,040 --> 00:24:07,080 Speaker 1: him with no shortage of enemies, but one name stood out, Joanna. 304 00:24:10,960 --> 00:24:16,720 Speaker 1: Sensing an opportunity, Joanna's cousin, Charles of Dorazzo, decided to 305 00:24:16,760 --> 00:24:20,479 Speaker 1: do an investigation of his own. He declared that the 306 00:24:20,600 --> 00:24:24,280 Speaker 1: crime had been committed by a group of nobles, which 307 00:24:24,320 --> 00:24:28,280 Speaker 1: included a woman named Philippa of Catania, who was Joanna's 308 00:24:28,359 --> 00:24:32,080 Speaker 1: childhood nurse turned political adviser, and that she was acting 309 00:24:32,119 --> 00:24:36,040 Speaker 1: along with two of her grandchildren. Many of the accused 310 00:24:36,080 --> 00:24:39,720 Speaker 1: were subjected to torture, much of it in public, until 311 00:24:39,800 --> 00:24:45,080 Speaker 1: they confessed, after which they were imprisoned or executed. For 312 00:24:45,280 --> 00:24:49,879 Speaker 1: the most part, the investigation brought closure to the Neapolitans 313 00:24:49,920 --> 00:24:53,160 Speaker 1: who had suspected the queen because they now had new 314 00:24:53,200 --> 00:24:56,639 Speaker 1: people who pin their blame to, But others thought that 315 00:24:56,720 --> 00:25:00,960 Speaker 1: the investigation was a little dubious. Many of those who 316 00:25:00,960 --> 00:25:07,320 Speaker 1: were convicted were conveniently enough, political rivals of Charles of Durazzo. 317 00:25:08,040 --> 00:25:13,679 Speaker 1: Another suspicious piece of gossip, Tomasso Mambriccio, Andrew's chamberlain, was 318 00:25:13,760 --> 00:25:17,640 Speaker 1: implicated in the plot, and the rumor was that before 319 00:25:17,760 --> 00:25:21,600 Speaker 1: his execution, he had his tongue cut out so that 320 00:25:21,680 --> 00:25:26,080 Speaker 1: he couldn't reveal his true co conspirators. As all of 321 00:25:26,119 --> 00:25:29,920 Speaker 1: this was occurring, Joanna was holed up in a fortress, 322 00:25:29,960 --> 00:25:33,200 Speaker 1: safe from the crowd, who called her the Horror Queen. 323 00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:40,760 Speaker 1: She was also very, very pregnant. On December, she gave 324 00:25:40,840 --> 00:25:44,880 Speaker 1: birth to a healthy baby boy, who she named Charles 325 00:25:44,920 --> 00:25:50,000 Speaker 1: Martel in a clever political move to appease the Hungarians. 326 00:25:50,680 --> 00:25:55,800 Speaker 1: Charles Martel, remember, was Roberts older brother, the father of 327 00:25:55,880 --> 00:26:01,000 Speaker 1: Carobert and grandfather of Andrew, whose untimely death had sparked 328 00:26:01,040 --> 00:26:04,679 Speaker 1: the whole succession drama. In the prologue of this episode, 329 00:26:05,359 --> 00:26:09,960 Speaker 1: Joanna sent diplomat to Hungary, tasked with revealing the birth 330 00:26:10,040 --> 00:26:13,920 Speaker 1: of the baby and his symbolic name. She also sent 331 00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:17,679 Speaker 1: them with another mission. Now that she had given birth 332 00:26:17,760 --> 00:26:20,879 Speaker 1: to this child, she felt that she had fulfilled the 333 00:26:21,040 --> 00:26:24,800 Speaker 1: terms of the thirteen thirty three deal struck by Carobert 334 00:26:24,880 --> 00:26:29,720 Speaker 1: and her grandfather Robert. She had united the Neapolitan and 335 00:26:29,920 --> 00:26:33,719 Speaker 1: Hungarian lines in the form of a healthy male baby 336 00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:37,240 Speaker 1: who could inherit the kingdom. Since she had done so, 337 00:26:37,320 --> 00:26:40,480 Speaker 1: she argued she should be released from the terms of 338 00:26:40,480 --> 00:26:45,040 Speaker 1: the treaty and allowed to remarry. After all, her husband 339 00:26:45,160 --> 00:26:49,160 Speaker 1: was dead. This wasn't a frivolous request on her part. 340 00:26:49,680 --> 00:26:53,800 Speaker 1: Joanna was deeply vulnerable in this moment, and as a 341 00:26:53,920 --> 00:26:58,600 Speaker 1: young female royal, marriage was the fastest way to secure 342 00:26:58,640 --> 00:27:03,879 Speaker 1: her position. But the Hungarians were outraged. How dare this woman, 343 00:27:03,920 --> 00:27:07,679 Speaker 1: they spat wished to marry again so quickly after the 344 00:27:07,760 --> 00:27:11,280 Speaker 1: death of her husband, a death which they believed she 345 00:27:11,440 --> 00:27:15,920 Speaker 1: was probably responsible for. King Louis wrote to Pope Clement, 346 00:27:16,320 --> 00:27:20,359 Speaker 1: calling Joanna quote husband killer and widow of my brother 347 00:27:20,600 --> 00:27:24,879 Speaker 1: end quote, and suggesting that Pope Clement hand control of 348 00:27:24,960 --> 00:27:30,000 Speaker 1: Naples over to him Louis until young baby Charles Martel 349 00:27:30,119 --> 00:27:35,520 Speaker 1: came of age. Interestingly, the Hungarians had never publicly accused 350 00:27:35,640 --> 00:27:40,919 Speaker 1: Joanna of Andrew's murder until the moment she proposed to remarry. 351 00:27:42,000 --> 00:27:45,600 Speaker 1: At the same time Joanna faced this renewed assault from 352 00:27:45,640 --> 00:27:49,160 Speaker 1: the Hungarians, she was also dealing with one of her cousins, 353 00:27:49,359 --> 00:27:53,040 Speaker 1: Robert of Toronto, who declared his intention to marry her 354 00:27:53,160 --> 00:27:57,520 Speaker 1: and forcibly occupied the castle in a bizarre half coup 355 00:27:57,560 --> 00:28:03,080 Speaker 1: half marriage proposal. Rob Bert's brother, Louis of Toronto, Joanna's 356 00:28:03,119 --> 00:28:08,720 Speaker 1: alleged lover. You remember her cousin lover allegedly took up 357 00:28:08,920 --> 00:28:12,480 Speaker 1: arms against his brother. As the war of these brothers 358 00:28:12,720 --> 00:28:17,320 Speaker 1: ravaged the country, the Hungarians ramped up their threats, writing 359 00:28:17,320 --> 00:28:19,760 Speaker 1: to the Pope that they saw the delay of justice 360 00:28:19,840 --> 00:28:24,680 Speaker 1: as acceptable grounds for an invasion. Pope Clement knew that 361 00:28:24,760 --> 00:28:29,240 Speaker 1: action had to be taken publicly and dramatically to reassure 362 00:28:29,280 --> 00:28:32,520 Speaker 1: the Hungarians. He let it be known to his envoys 363 00:28:32,520 --> 00:28:36,119 Speaker 1: in Naples that justice needed to be done. The bloodier 364 00:28:36,400 --> 00:28:41,760 Speaker 1: the better, and so on December twenty nine, Philippa of Catania, 365 00:28:41,920 --> 00:28:44,880 Speaker 1: the woman who had been like a mother to Joanna, 366 00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:49,680 Speaker 1: and Philippa's granddaughter were paraded through the streets of Naples 367 00:28:49,840 --> 00:28:53,520 Speaker 1: naked and then tortured to death. It must have been 368 00:28:53,640 --> 00:28:58,000 Speaker 1: a deeply wretching day for Joanna. Worst of all, their 369 00:28:58,080 --> 00:29:02,360 Speaker 1: deaths were for nothing. They did not appease the Hungarians, 370 00:29:02,800 --> 00:29:08,280 Speaker 1: because on March twenty seven, Louis of Hungary declared war unnapled. 371 00:29:11,440 --> 00:29:15,320 Speaker 1: Joanna had prepared for this moment. She had spent much 372 00:29:15,400 --> 00:29:19,160 Speaker 1: of early thirteen forty seven working on uniting her kingdom. 373 00:29:19,600 --> 00:29:23,280 Speaker 1: She had successfully maneuvered Robert of Taranto out of the 374 00:29:23,360 --> 00:29:28,360 Speaker 1: castle and helped arrange an advantageous marriage for him often Grace, 375 00:29:28,760 --> 00:29:32,480 Speaker 1: and she had convinced Charles of Grazzo to back the 376 00:29:32,560 --> 00:29:37,800 Speaker 1: Neapolitans by arranging for a betrothal between her son, Charles Martel, 377 00:29:38,160 --> 00:29:42,400 Speaker 1: and one of Charles of Girazzo's daughters. And then, knowing 378 00:29:42,480 --> 00:29:46,360 Speaker 1: that she needed another military leader, and aware that it 379 00:29:46,440 --> 00:29:49,440 Speaker 1: no longer mattered whether or not the Hungarians or even 380 00:29:49,440 --> 00:29:54,320 Speaker 1: the Pope approved, she married Louis of Taranto, the cousin 381 00:29:54,520 --> 00:29:59,040 Speaker 1: that she had allegedly been in love with the entire time. Finally, 382 00:29:59,400 --> 00:30:03,000 Speaker 1: Joanna had brought together three of the leading military men 383 00:30:03,040 --> 00:30:06,160 Speaker 1: of her kingdom and yoked them to her cause. The 384 00:30:06,240 --> 00:30:09,640 Speaker 1: next few months were spent rallying an army and preparing 385 00:30:09,760 --> 00:30:13,440 Speaker 1: for war. The generals decided that the best place to 386 00:30:13,480 --> 00:30:17,960 Speaker 1: make a stand was in Capua, twenty miles outside of Naples, 387 00:30:18,000 --> 00:30:22,520 Speaker 1: and set out in December to establish their defenses. Joanna, 388 00:30:22,720 --> 00:30:28,160 Speaker 1: now pregnant again with Louie's child, stayed in Naples. Unfortunately, 389 00:30:28,320 --> 00:30:32,440 Speaker 1: Robert of Tarento and Charles of Gazzo had been better 390 00:30:32,640 --> 00:30:36,440 Speaker 1: enemies of the state than allies to it. As news 391 00:30:36,480 --> 00:30:41,320 Speaker 1: of multiple Hungarian victories reached the men, they decided to 392 00:30:41,440 --> 00:30:45,400 Speaker 1: turn trader and they abandoned Louis, taking many of their 393 00:30:45,440 --> 00:30:50,240 Speaker 1: troops with them. Upon hearing of her cousin's betrayal, Joanna 394 00:30:50,320 --> 00:30:53,840 Speaker 1: knew that all hope was lost. The only chance she 395 00:30:53,920 --> 00:30:57,960 Speaker 1: had of saving her life was to flee. The decision 396 00:30:58,040 --> 00:31:02,680 Speaker 1: to run to Provence, territory under her control, was an 397 00:31:02,720 --> 00:31:06,920 Speaker 1: easy one. The decision to leave behind her infant son, 398 00:31:07,200 --> 00:31:11,680 Speaker 1: Charles Martell, was not. But the boy was barely two 399 00:31:11,800 --> 00:31:14,520 Speaker 1: years old and the trip was going to be arduous. 400 00:31:14,960 --> 00:31:19,040 Speaker 1: She knew King Louis, her husband, wouldn't hurt Charles Martell, 401 00:31:19,440 --> 00:31:24,040 Speaker 1: who was his stepson and also nephew and the Hungarian's 402 00:31:24,080 --> 00:31:27,600 Speaker 1: best shot at the throne. Her mind was made up. 403 00:31:28,160 --> 00:31:32,480 Speaker 1: Joanna gathered a small group of trusted advisers, took as 404 00:31:32,600 --> 00:31:35,960 Speaker 1: much from the royal treasury as she could, and snuck 405 00:31:36,040 --> 00:31:43,360 Speaker 1: out of Naples on January, shortly after Louis of Toronto 406 00:31:43,520 --> 00:31:47,800 Speaker 1: made his own escape. Hearing of Joanna's flight, he knew 407 00:31:47,840 --> 00:31:50,480 Speaker 1: that he could not stay, and he decided to go 408 00:31:50,560 --> 00:31:56,200 Speaker 1: to Florence to request military aid. On January, King Louis 409 00:31:56,240 --> 00:32:01,840 Speaker 1: of Hungary took Naples. He took Charles Artell, the toddler prince, 410 00:32:02,000 --> 00:32:04,800 Speaker 1: into his custody and declared that he was to be 411 00:32:04,880 --> 00:32:09,120 Speaker 1: sent to Hungary for safe keeping. As Joanna had predicted, 412 00:32:09,520 --> 00:32:13,400 Speaker 1: the rough travel conditions of winter were too hard on 413 00:32:13,480 --> 00:32:18,200 Speaker 1: a young boy. He died shortly after his arrival in Hungary. 414 00:32:18,840 --> 00:32:22,240 Speaker 1: Ignorant of that, Joanna was hard at work in Provence. 415 00:32:22,600 --> 00:32:26,280 Speaker 1: She wanted to raise funds and an army to reclaim 416 00:32:26,520 --> 00:32:30,600 Speaker 1: Naples from Louis. Getting the support she needed, Joanna knew 417 00:32:31,120 --> 00:32:36,600 Speaker 1: required rehabilitating her reputation. The best and most effective way 418 00:32:36,640 --> 00:32:39,800 Speaker 1: to do this would be a judgment of innocence by 419 00:32:39,960 --> 00:32:43,400 Speaker 1: the Pope. As she lobbied the Pope for an audience, 420 00:32:43,760 --> 00:32:47,280 Speaker 1: Joanna was strengthened by the arrival of her husband. He 421 00:32:47,400 --> 00:32:50,920 Speaker 1: had been rebuffed in Florence, and so Louis of Toronto 422 00:32:51,200 --> 00:32:54,040 Speaker 1: had decided to seek aid from the Pope as well, 423 00:32:54,440 --> 00:32:59,200 Speaker 1: and so he traveled to France. For much of February. 424 00:32:59,760 --> 00:33:04,160 Speaker 1: The couple and their advisers beseeched Clement to meet with them, 425 00:33:04,200 --> 00:33:07,760 Speaker 1: but the Pope resisted. As an aside, you might be 426 00:33:07,840 --> 00:33:11,000 Speaker 1: wondering what the Pope was doing in France in Avignon 427 00:33:11,240 --> 00:33:16,080 Speaker 1: instead of Rome for much of the fourteenth century. In fact, 428 00:33:16,320 --> 00:33:19,920 Speaker 1: the popes resided in Avignon. Why they did so is 429 00:33:19,960 --> 00:33:25,320 Speaker 1: a very long, complicated tale involving politics, popes anti popes. 430 00:33:25,600 --> 00:33:29,640 Speaker 1: It's fascinating, but it isn't particularly relevant to Joanna's story 431 00:33:29,840 --> 00:33:34,680 Speaker 1: and this episode is long enough, so back to Joanna. Surprisingly, 432 00:33:34,840 --> 00:33:38,840 Speaker 1: it was the Hungarians who finally convinced Clement in Avignon 433 00:33:39,320 --> 00:33:43,920 Speaker 1: to meet with Joanna, although they didn't intend that. In 434 00:33:44,000 --> 00:33:48,200 Speaker 1: early March, Joanna's younger sister, Maria, came to France and 435 00:33:48,280 --> 00:33:52,400 Speaker 1: brought with her a shocking story. In January, Maria said 436 00:33:52,720 --> 00:33:56,480 Speaker 1: King Louis had welcomed her husband, Charles of Dirazzo, who 437 00:33:56,480 --> 00:34:00,640 Speaker 1: had recently pledged allegiance to the Hungarians, to a banquet, 438 00:34:01,120 --> 00:34:04,880 Speaker 1: but instead of being thanked for his support, Charles had 439 00:34:04,920 --> 00:34:09,280 Speaker 1: been arrested and summarily executed by King Louis of Hungary, 440 00:34:09,400 --> 00:34:13,840 Speaker 1: who accused him of being involved in Andrew's murder. Pope 441 00:34:13,880 --> 00:34:17,279 Speaker 1: Clement was appalled by this news and decided that the 442 00:34:17,360 --> 00:34:22,880 Speaker 1: Hungarian had gone too far. Soon, Joanna received a summons. 443 00:34:22,880 --> 00:34:25,480 Speaker 1: She was to appear at the papal court in Avignon 444 00:34:25,960 --> 00:34:30,240 Speaker 1: and plead her case. On the fifteenth of March thirteen 445 00:34:30,360 --> 00:34:33,960 Speaker 1: forty eight. Queen Joanna of Naples and her husband Louis 446 00:34:34,000 --> 00:34:39,520 Speaker 1: of Taranto, rode into Avignon, despite the literal war she 447 00:34:39,600 --> 00:34:43,799 Speaker 1: had just escaped. This might have been the most dangerous 448 00:34:43,840 --> 00:34:48,840 Speaker 1: moment of Joanna's life, because Avignon, like ports all across 449 00:34:49,040 --> 00:34:53,319 Speaker 1: southern Europe, was in the grips of a mysterious and 450 00:34:53,640 --> 00:34:57,919 Speaker 1: devastating illness which would soon come to be known as 451 00:34:57,960 --> 00:35:03,200 Speaker 1: the Black Death. The plague had hit Auverignon hard, and 452 00:35:03,239 --> 00:35:07,880 Speaker 1: the city would eventually lose half its population to the disease. 453 00:35:08,560 --> 00:35:12,480 Speaker 1: Bodies filled the streets and the rivers, The sick and 454 00:35:12,719 --> 00:35:18,000 Speaker 1: dying moaned from their beds, and chaos reigned. Into this 455 00:35:18,120 --> 00:35:23,960 Speaker 1: hellscape came Joanna and Louis, infamous for their alleged crimes, 456 00:35:24,520 --> 00:35:30,320 Speaker 1: and resplendent. As they arrived in their royal regalia, hundreds 457 00:35:30,320 --> 00:35:34,080 Speaker 1: of townsfolk crowded the roads for a glimpse of the 458 00:35:34,160 --> 00:35:39,200 Speaker 1: glamorous couple, whose shimmering robes and golden locks must have 459 00:35:39,320 --> 00:35:45,279 Speaker 1: practically glowed in the death stricken streets. Soon Joanna and 460 00:35:45,360 --> 00:35:49,680 Speaker 1: Louis arrived at the papal Palace. Joanna was offered refreshments 461 00:35:49,760 --> 00:35:53,480 Speaker 1: and then escorted to the Great Hall At the opposite 462 00:35:53,600 --> 00:35:57,640 Speaker 1: end of the long haul sat Pope Clement, wearing a 463 00:35:57,840 --> 00:36:03,000 Speaker 1: crown and white robes, presiding over the room from his throne. 464 00:36:03,120 --> 00:36:06,479 Speaker 1: On either side of the narrow aisle that led from 465 00:36:06,520 --> 00:36:11,200 Speaker 1: the entrant to the Pope's throne stood hundreds of spectators 466 00:36:11,200 --> 00:36:16,800 Speaker 1: representing the governments of dozens of European kingdoms. As Joanna 467 00:36:16,920 --> 00:36:20,440 Speaker 1: walked down the aisle, her long mantle held up by 468 00:36:20,520 --> 00:36:25,120 Speaker 1: two aids, all eyes were following her. When she reached 469 00:36:25,160 --> 00:36:29,000 Speaker 1: the Pope, she knelt and kissed his slipper. The Pope 470 00:36:29,120 --> 00:36:32,480 Speaker 1: bade her to stand, kissed her on the mouth, and 471 00:36:32,600 --> 00:36:36,120 Speaker 1: told her to sit on the throne beside him. Then 472 00:36:36,360 --> 00:36:40,640 Speaker 1: the charges were read. As Joanna and the Pope, along 473 00:36:40,719 --> 00:36:45,239 Speaker 1: with a council of cardinals sat listening, a delegation sent 474 00:36:45,440 --> 00:36:49,720 Speaker 1: by King Louis of Hungary, presented their case against the queen. 475 00:36:50,160 --> 00:36:53,399 Speaker 1: Once they had finished, it was Joanna's turn to give 476 00:36:53,400 --> 00:36:58,480 Speaker 1: a defense. Instead of relying on spokesman, Joanna spoke on 477 00:36:58,560 --> 00:37:02,279 Speaker 1: her own behalf, using the Latin she had learned at 478 00:37:02,320 --> 00:37:06,160 Speaker 1: the knee of her famous grandfather. We have no record 479 00:37:06,200 --> 00:37:10,040 Speaker 1: of what she said. Unfortunately, Pope Clement kept the meeting 480 00:37:10,160 --> 00:37:13,279 Speaker 1: out of official church annals so that he could have 481 00:37:13,360 --> 00:37:18,000 Speaker 1: plausible deniability with the Hungarians, but whatever she said seems 482 00:37:18,040 --> 00:37:22,840 Speaker 1: to have worked. After conferring, Pope Clement and the cardinals 483 00:37:23,239 --> 00:37:28,200 Speaker 1: declared that Joanna was completely innocent of all charges against her. 484 00:37:31,080 --> 00:37:35,880 Speaker 1: Whether this decision was entirely impartial is impossible to know, 485 00:37:36,200 --> 00:37:38,800 Speaker 1: and the fact that the Pope soon broke heard a 486 00:37:38,920 --> 00:37:42,680 Speaker 1: sweetheart deal with Joanna in which she pawned him the 487 00:37:42,800 --> 00:37:47,360 Speaker 1: city of Avignon for a relatively small sum hadn't helped 488 00:37:47,360 --> 00:37:53,080 Speaker 1: the queen's cause. Modern historians remain ambivalent about Joanna's involvement 489 00:37:53,280 --> 00:37:57,240 Speaker 1: in her first husband, Andrew's death, although they do point 490 00:37:57,239 --> 00:38:00,560 Speaker 1: out that his death did more to hurt her then 491 00:38:00,680 --> 00:38:03,680 Speaker 1: help her, an outcome which would have been clear to 492 00:38:03,760 --> 00:38:07,520 Speaker 1: this queen, who, throughout the subsequent decades she held power, 493 00:38:08,040 --> 00:38:12,920 Speaker 1: proved that she was a strategic thinker. After Joanna's appearance 494 00:38:12,920 --> 00:38:16,480 Speaker 1: in Avignon, the tide began to turn in her favor. 495 00:38:16,880 --> 00:38:21,160 Speaker 1: Pope Clement denied King Louis of Hungary's request to be 496 00:38:21,280 --> 00:38:25,080 Speaker 1: crowned King of Naples, a desire which by this point 497 00:38:25,400 --> 00:38:28,560 Speaker 1: the Hungarians had begun to have second thoughts about. Anyways, 498 00:38:28,920 --> 00:38:31,799 Speaker 1: given the trouble the king was having in winning over 499 00:38:31,880 --> 00:38:36,359 Speaker 1: the Neapolitan nobility, not to mention the challenges faced by 500 00:38:36,360 --> 00:38:40,080 Speaker 1: the arrival of the plague. In late May, Louis of 501 00:38:40,200 --> 00:38:45,640 Speaker 1: Hungary left Naples. Joanna and her husband quickly began planning 502 00:38:45,640 --> 00:38:50,520 Speaker 1: for their return, funding their efforts through the aforementioned pawning 503 00:38:50,680 --> 00:38:55,480 Speaker 1: of Avignon to the papacy. In August thirteen forty eight, 504 00:38:55,880 --> 00:38:59,480 Speaker 1: Joanna and Louis arrived in Naples along with their new 505 00:38:59,520 --> 00:39:05,680 Speaker 1: born otter, and they began beating back the Hungarian forces. Unfortunately, 506 00:39:05,840 --> 00:39:10,320 Speaker 1: it would not be completely smooth sailing for the embattled queen. 507 00:39:11,120 --> 00:39:14,760 Speaker 1: As she fought off the Hungarians, she faced a new 508 00:39:14,880 --> 00:39:19,920 Speaker 1: enemy inside her home, her husband, Louis of Taranto, who, 509 00:39:20,040 --> 00:39:25,920 Speaker 1: upon their return to Naples became physically abusive, domineering, and 510 00:39:26,160 --> 00:39:30,400 Speaker 1: power hungry. He had forced Joanna to make him king. 511 00:39:30,880 --> 00:39:34,279 Speaker 1: He had taken complete control of the military, and he 512 00:39:34,400 --> 00:39:38,600 Speaker 1: kept her all but imprisoned in their home. The Hungarians 513 00:39:38,680 --> 00:39:42,799 Speaker 1: finally retreated from Naples in thirteen fifty two on the 514 00:39:42,840 --> 00:39:48,400 Speaker 1: condition that Joanna be retried for Andrew's murder. Once again. 515 00:39:48,440 --> 00:39:51,279 Speaker 1: She was acquitted, but she would not be free of 516 00:39:51,360 --> 00:39:55,960 Speaker 1: her second husband, Louis of Taranto, for another ten years. 517 00:39:56,560 --> 00:40:01,200 Speaker 1: On May thirteen sixty two, the man who had once 518 00:40:01,239 --> 00:40:07,240 Speaker 1: been Joanna's military savior and then became her abuser, died 519 00:40:07,360 --> 00:40:10,560 Speaker 1: after catching a cold in the bath. He had been 520 00:40:10,600 --> 00:40:15,480 Speaker 1: predeceased by the couple's daughters, none of whom lived to adulthood. 521 00:40:17,680 --> 00:40:21,680 Speaker 1: Seven months later, Joanna wed James, the fourth of Mayorka, 522 00:40:22,160 --> 00:40:25,960 Speaker 1: but this marriage was not a happy one either. James 523 00:40:26,080 --> 00:40:30,040 Speaker 1: had some problems. To put it lightly, he had spent 524 00:40:30,360 --> 00:40:34,920 Speaker 1: fourteen years imprisoned in an iron cage by his uncle, 525 00:40:35,360 --> 00:40:41,880 Speaker 1: and unshockingly, had never mentally recovered from the ordeal. Incidentally, 526 00:40:42,120 --> 00:40:45,400 Speaker 1: sometimes when I talk about this podcast, people ask me 527 00:40:45,440 --> 00:40:47,960 Speaker 1: if I'm ever worried that I'll run out of interesting 528 00:40:48,080 --> 00:40:53,879 Speaker 1: noble stories, and the answer honestly is no. But back 529 00:40:53,880 --> 00:40:59,120 Speaker 1: to Joanna. After her third husband, James's death in thirty 530 00:41:00,040 --> 00:41:05,680 Speaker 1: Joanna married again Otto of Brunswick. This marriage, fortunately seems 531 00:41:05,719 --> 00:41:09,359 Speaker 1: to have been a good one. After Louis of Taranto's 532 00:41:09,400 --> 00:41:13,840 Speaker 1: death back in thirteen sixty two, Joanna had become once 533 00:41:13,880 --> 00:41:17,319 Speaker 1: again the sole ruler of Naples, and it was a 534 00:41:17,360 --> 00:41:20,600 Speaker 1: position that she would hold for the rest of her life. 535 00:41:21,040 --> 00:41:24,479 Speaker 1: The Archbishop of Naples, writing to the pope shortly after 536 00:41:24,560 --> 00:41:30,120 Speaker 1: Louise's death, wrote of Joanna, quote, the Queen delights in governing. 537 00:41:30,560 --> 00:41:33,480 Speaker 1: She wants to do everything because she has waited for 538 00:41:33,560 --> 00:41:37,960 Speaker 1: so long for this moment end quote. Despite her joy, 539 00:41:38,200 --> 00:41:42,840 Speaker 1: though ruling would not be easy, Joanna was nearly always 540 00:41:42,920 --> 00:41:47,000 Speaker 1: involved in one war or another, either as the aggressor 541 00:41:47,239 --> 00:41:51,280 Speaker 1: or the defender. She had to navigate constant political turmoil 542 00:41:51,360 --> 00:41:54,759 Speaker 1: inside her own country, and she ran into the wrath 543 00:41:54,840 --> 00:41:58,160 Speaker 1: of the church when she chose to support one pope 544 00:41:58,200 --> 00:42:03,480 Speaker 1: over another in the midst of western chisholm of It 545 00:42:03,560 --> 00:42:06,480 Speaker 1: was the latter event that would lead to her downfall. 546 00:42:07,120 --> 00:42:11,840 Speaker 1: Because Joanna had no surviving children, she decided to designate 547 00:42:12,239 --> 00:42:17,480 Speaker 1: Charles of Drazzo. These names are incredibly confusing. No, not 548 00:42:17,680 --> 00:42:20,000 Speaker 1: her cousin who had once been married to her sister 549 00:42:20,080 --> 00:42:23,160 Speaker 1: and then executed by the King of Hungary for his betrayal, 550 00:42:23,480 --> 00:42:28,040 Speaker 1: but his son in law as her heir. Unfortunately, this 551 00:42:28,320 --> 00:42:33,200 Speaker 1: Charles disagreed with Joanna's choice to support Pope Clement. No, 552 00:42:33,400 --> 00:42:36,279 Speaker 1: not that Pope Clement who had judged her trial, but 553 00:42:36,360 --> 00:42:41,080 Speaker 1: a later Pope Clement over Pope Urban In the Western schism, 554 00:42:41,120 --> 00:42:46,360 Speaker 1: and he began to scheme against her. In November, this 555 00:42:46,520 --> 00:42:51,680 Speaker 1: new Charles of Drazzo invaded Naples, leading an army comprised 556 00:42:51,680 --> 00:42:57,320 Speaker 1: of Joanna's old enemies, the Hungarians. In July his forces 557 00:42:57,440 --> 00:43:01,240 Speaker 1: reached the Castel Nuovo, and after more than a month 558 00:43:01,360 --> 00:43:05,840 Speaker 1: under siege, Joanna was forced to surrender. She spent nearly 559 00:43:05,960 --> 00:43:12,840 Speaker 1: a year in captivity before dying on July two. The 560 00:43:12,960 --> 00:43:17,680 Speaker 1: queen was fifty six years old. Charles claimed she died 561 00:43:17,719 --> 00:43:22,000 Speaker 1: of natural causes, but nearly every other source says that 562 00:43:22,080 --> 00:43:26,840 Speaker 1: she was murdered, strangled by a chord, or smothered by pillows. 563 00:43:28,200 --> 00:43:32,080 Speaker 1: It was a violent end to a difficult life, a 564 00:43:32,160 --> 00:43:37,160 Speaker 1: life marked by tragedy, warfare, and betrayal, but above all 565 00:43:37,600 --> 00:43:42,879 Speaker 1: by resiliency that hasn't stopped observers passed and present from 566 00:43:42,920 --> 00:43:47,280 Speaker 1: calling Joanna a murderer and adulteress, a pawn and a sinner. 567 00:43:47,719 --> 00:43:50,480 Speaker 1: But I'll leave you with this description of her from 568 00:43:50,480 --> 00:43:54,520 Speaker 1: the famous writer Giovanni Boccaccio, who wrote of Joanna in 569 00:43:54,560 --> 00:43:57,600 Speaker 1: the year of Louis of Toronto's death, the year that 570 00:43:57,719 --> 00:44:02,080 Speaker 1: she reclaimed her full power. Quote, if we examine her 571 00:44:02,160 --> 00:44:06,880 Speaker 1: domain closely, our amazement will equal its fame, for it 572 00:44:07,000 --> 00:44:10,240 Speaker 1: is a mighty realm of the sort not usually ruled 573 00:44:10,239 --> 00:44:14,160 Speaker 1: by women. Yet far more admirable is the fact that 574 00:44:14,239 --> 00:44:18,520 Speaker 1: Joanna's spirit is equal to its governance. So well has 575 00:44:18,560 --> 00:44:30,719 Speaker 1: she preserved the luminous character of her ancestors. That's the 576 00:44:30,800 --> 00:44:33,840 Speaker 1: story of Joanna of Naples. But keep listening after a 577 00:44:33,880 --> 00:44:37,719 Speaker 1: brief sponsor break to hear a little bit more about her. 578 00:44:47,680 --> 00:44:51,680 Speaker 1: Where and how one is buried often has great significance, 579 00:44:51,880 --> 00:44:56,840 Speaker 1: especially for royals. Joanna's parents were buried in Santa Ciara, 580 00:44:57,000 --> 00:45:00,239 Speaker 1: a magnificent church that had taken Robert the wa Eyes 581 00:45:00,680 --> 00:45:05,759 Speaker 1: nearly twenty years to complete. When Robert himself died, Joanna 582 00:45:05,840 --> 00:45:10,240 Speaker 1: had commissioned Florentine sculptors to build a three story tomb 583 00:45:10,280 --> 00:45:14,200 Speaker 1: for him in Santa Ciara, complete with a sculpted representation 584 00:45:14,440 --> 00:45:18,000 Speaker 1: of their entire family. Joanna also made sure that her 585 00:45:18,000 --> 00:45:22,799 Speaker 1: first husband, Andrew, was given a dignified resting place. He 586 00:45:23,000 --> 00:45:26,120 Speaker 1: was buried in the Grand Cathedral of Naples in the 587 00:45:26,200 --> 00:45:29,520 Speaker 1: Chapel of St. Louis, where many members of the royal 588 00:45:29,600 --> 00:45:34,719 Speaker 1: family were interred, including his paternal grandfather Charles Martel, the 589 00:45:34,760 --> 00:45:39,280 Speaker 1: First but Joanna herself, despite her achievements and her fame, 590 00:45:40,080 --> 00:45:44,160 Speaker 1: was not so lucky. After her murder, her body was 591 00:45:44,280 --> 00:45:49,000 Speaker 1: displayed in Santa Ciara, where onlookers barely recognized their queen, 592 00:45:49,480 --> 00:45:53,600 Speaker 1: so changed was her appearance after her year in captivity. 593 00:45:54,120 --> 00:45:57,759 Speaker 1: And then it came time to bury her. Because of 594 00:45:57,800 --> 00:46:01,760 Speaker 1: her choice to support Pope Clement in the Western Schism, 595 00:46:01,760 --> 00:46:06,440 Speaker 1: the other Pope Urban had excommunicated Joanna, which meant that 596 00:46:06,480 --> 00:46:10,520 Speaker 1: she couldn't be buried in consecrated ground, and she had 597 00:46:10,560 --> 00:46:14,800 Speaker 1: died as a hostile prisoner of the new ruler of Naples, 598 00:46:15,040 --> 00:46:19,080 Speaker 1: who didn't feel particularly inclined to give the dead queen 599 00:46:19,160 --> 00:46:24,480 Speaker 1: the same royal treatment that she had given her own family. Eventually, 600 00:46:24,600 --> 00:46:29,799 Speaker 1: a solution was found. The remains of Joanna, former Queen 601 00:46:29,840 --> 00:46:34,920 Speaker 1: of Naples, one of the most powerful, recognizable, infamous figures 602 00:46:34,920 --> 00:46:39,600 Speaker 1: of medieval history, were tossed in a well often used 603 00:46:39,640 --> 00:46:43,200 Speaker 1: for the bones of the unknown dead, just behind the 604 00:46:43,280 --> 00:46:47,799 Speaker 1: church of Santa Ciara, where her bones still likely lie 605 00:46:48,520 --> 00:47:06,760 Speaker 1: unmarked today. Noble Blood is a production of I Heart 606 00:47:06,840 --> 00:47:10,520 Speaker 1: Radio and Grimm and Mild from Aaron Mankey. Noble Blood 607 00:47:10,640 --> 00:47:14,759 Speaker 1: is hosted by me Danish Wortz, Additional writing and researching 608 00:47:14,800 --> 00:47:19,200 Speaker 1: done by Hannah Johnston, hannah's Wick, Miura Hayward, Courtney Sunder, 609 00:47:19,280 --> 00:47:23,320 Speaker 1: and Laurie Goodman. The show is produced by rema Il Kali, 610 00:47:23,640 --> 00:47:28,520 Speaker 1: with supervising producer Josh Thayne and executive producers Aaron Mankey, 611 00:47:28,760 --> 00:47:33,240 Speaker 1: Alex Williams, and Matt Frederick. For more podcasts from iHeart Radio, 612 00:47:33,600 --> 00:47:37,160 Speaker 1: visit the I heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever 613 00:47:37,200 --> 00:47:38,600 Speaker 1: you listen to your favorite shows.