Louis III
- Born:
- Sept. 25, 1403, Anjou, Fr.
Louis III (born Sept. 25, 1403, Anjou, Fr.—died Nov. 15, 1434, Cosenza, Italy) was the duke of Anjou and Touraine, count of Maine and Provence, and titular king of Naples and Sicily (1417–34). Advancing Angevin claims to the throne of Naples, Louis struggled with the Aragonese claimant Alfonso V, sometimes supported, sometimes opposed by the childless Queen Joan II of Naples (ruled 1414–35).
Succeeding his father, Louis II of Anjou, as claimant to the Neapolitan throne, Louis was crowned king of Naples by Pope Martin V in September 1419. Louis gathered a considerable army, including the famed condottiere (mercenary commander) Muzio Attendola Sforza, and sailed to Naples to conquer the kingdom. Joan, however, recognized as her heir Alfonso V of Aragon (1421), who arrived to defend Naples against Louis.
Alfonso prevented Louis from taking the whole kingdom. When he also usurped some of the royal power from Joan, however, she renounced him and adopted Louis (1423), naming him governor of the duchy of Calabria. Later, in April 1433, the capricious Joan disinherited Louis, only to readopt him in June. Louis’ forces had nevertheless gained most of the kingdom and were about to drive out Alfonso when Louis died suddenly, leaving his brother René of Anjou as his successor.
