James II, Count of Urgell

James II the unfortunate (Catalan Jaume el Dissortat; * 1380 in Balaguer, † June 1, 1433 in Xativa ) was a Count of Urgell Barcelona out of the house and 1410 /12 the pretender to the throne of the Crown of Aragon.

Jacob was a son of Count Peter of Urgell († 1408 ) and his second wife Margaret of Montferrat. He was married since 1407 to his cousin Doña Isabel, a daughter of King Peter IV of Aragon. Their children were:

  • Isabel d' Urgell (* 1409, † 1443 ); ∞ with Pedro de Portugal, Duque de Coimbra, son of King John I of Portugal.
  • Juana d' Urgell (* 1415, † 1446 ); 1 ∞ with John I, Count of Foix; 2 ∞ with Juan Ramon Folch de Cardona, 4th Comte de Cardona.
  • Leonor d' Urgell; ∞ with Raimondo Orsini, Conte de Nola.

When in 1410 King Martin I of Aragon died without children of their own, Jacob was seen as the next of kin and thus agnatic senior member of the House of Barcelona one of the most promising candidates for the succession to the kingship. Its biggest competitor was the Castilian infante Fernando el de Antequera, who had first-degree relatives of the deceased king, a maternal cousin. While Jacob could count on the support of Catalan art, Fernando had the support of the estates of Aragon and Valencia, as well as the recognized Pope Benedict XIII. , Who was a native Aragonese. From Fernando Jacob had plotted to get the offer to buyout his candidacy, what Jacob under the influence of his mother, however, refused. In the deciding vote on June 24, 1412 in Caspe accounted for nine possible votes, only two from Catalonia to Jacob, while the other seven voted for Fernando, who was thus confirmed as Ferdinand I recognized.

Jacob was not willing to accept this choice and recruited a mercenary army, with which he wanted to fight against Ferdinand to the Crown. But after he failed in the siege of Lleida and had fled to Balaguer, he was captured here by the superior Ferdinand on 31 October 1413. His possessions were confiscated and the rest of his life he had to spend on various castles in captivity.

Peter, Duke of Coimbra County of Foix Antipope Benedict XIII
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