Violant of Bar

Violant of Bar (c. 1365 – 3 July 1431) was Queen of Aragon by marriage to John I of Aragon. She was active in matrimonial politics and served as regent of Aragon in the name of her spouse from 1388 until 1395. Life Violant was the daughter of Robert I, Duke of Bar and Marie of Valois. Violante was the eighth of eleven children. She was married in 1380 at the age of 15 to John, Duke of Girona, the heir apparent to the throne of Aragon, thus becoming Duchess of Girona and Countess of Cervera. Violant's husband became King of Aragon in 1387. He was often ill, and Violant wielded considerable administrative power on his behalf: in 1388, she was queen-lieutenant and governed Aragon as such for seven years. She transformed the Aragonese court into a center of French culture. She especially cultivated the talents of Provençal troubadours (poet-musicians). After John died in 1396, Violant announced that she was pregnant, but her sister-in-law, Maria de Luna, wasted no time in declaring herself queen-lieutenant while her husband was defending Sicily. Maria put Violant under constant watch to make sure that there were no subsequent pregnancies. Maria proceeded to then arrest all of Violant's closest allies, and eventually expelling her from the royal castle. Maria immediately sent out some propaganda disparaging Violant and painted herself as something of a savior of Aragon. After John's death in 1395, she dedicated herself to the education of her only surviving child, Yolande. Yolande and her sons claimed the Kingdom of Aragon after John's death.