The
Compromise of Caspe made in 1412 was an act and resolution of parliamentary representatives on behalf of the Kingdoms of
AragonAragon is an autonomous community of Spain. Located in northeastern Spain, the region comprises three provinces from north to south: Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza .Aragon's northern province of Huesca borders France and is positioned in the middle of the Pyrenees...
and
ValenciaThe Christian Kingdom of Valencia , located in the Eastern shore of the Iberian Peninsula, was one of the component realms of the Crown of Aragon...
and the County of
BarcelonaBarcelona is the capital, most populous city of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain, with a population of 1,615,908 in 2008. It is the 11th-most populous municipality in the European Union and sixth-most populous urban area in the European Union after Paris,...
, to resolve the interregnum commenced by the death of King
Martin I of AragonMartin of Aragon , called the Elder, the Humane, the Ecclesiastic, was the King of Aragon, Valencia, Sardinia, and Corsica and Count of Barcelona from 1396 and King of Sicily from 1409...
in 1410 without a legitimate heir, in
CaspeCaspe is a historic town and municipality in the province of Zaragoza, in the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It is situated some 100 km to the east of the provincial capital, Zaragoza....
.
The succession laws of the Aragonese Empire at that time were rather hazy, based more on custom than any specific legislation, and even case law did not exist.
The
Compromise of Caspe made in 1412 was an act and resolution of parliamentary representatives on behalf of the Kingdoms of
AragonAragon is an autonomous community of Spain. Located in northeastern Spain, the region comprises three provinces from north to south: Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Its capital is Zaragoza .Aragon's northern province of Huesca borders France and is positioned in the middle of the Pyrenees...
and
ValenciaThe Christian Kingdom of Valencia , located in the Eastern shore of the Iberian Peninsula, was one of the component realms of the Crown of Aragon...
and the County of
BarcelonaBarcelona is the capital, most populous city of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain, with a population of 1,615,908 in 2008. It is the 11th-most populous municipality in the European Union and sixth-most populous urban area in the European Union after Paris,...
, to resolve the interregnum commenced by the death of King
Martin I of AragonMartin of Aragon , called the Elder, the Humane, the Ecclesiastic, was the King of Aragon, Valencia, Sardinia, and Corsica and Count of Barcelona from 1396 and King of Sicily from 1409...
in 1410 without a legitimate heir, in
CaspeCaspe is a historic town and municipality in the province of Zaragoza, in the autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It is situated some 100 km to the east of the provincial capital, Zaragoza....
.
The succession laws of the Aragonese Empire at that time were rather hazy, based more on custom than any specific legislation, and even case law did not exist. All successions in time of united Barcelona-Aragon had been to the eldest son, to the next younger brother, or to the only daughter. However, earlier successions indicated that agnates (males in male line) of Aragonese royal family had precedence over daughters and descendants of daughters—for example, Martin himself had succeeded over daughters of his late elder brother, King John I. However, very distant agnates had lost out to the daughter of the late king in 11th century, when
Petronila of AragonPetronila Ramírez , whose name is also spelled Petronilla or Petronella , was Queen of Aragon from 1137 until 1164. She was the daughter and successor of Ramiro II and Agnes of Aquitaine.Petronila came to the throne through special circumstances...
succeeded over claims of the then agnates (second cousins or the like), the Kings of Navarre and Castile.
J.N Hillgarth writes: "Among the descendants by the male line, the closest relation to Martín was
James II of UrgellJames II was the Count of Urgell , Viscount of Àger, and lord of Antillón, Alcolea de Cinca, and Fraga...
."
T.N.Bisson writes: "… the issue was (or became) political rather than simply legal, a utilitarian question of which candidate with some dynastic claim would make the best king".
The important candidates for succession were:
- Fadrique de Aragón y Luna (Frederick), Count of Luna, grandson of Martin I of Aragón and Queen María de Luna, bastard of their predeceased son Martin the Younger King of Sicily, though legitimized by Pope Benedict XIII.
- Jaume (James), Count of Urgel, great-grandson of Alfonso IV of Aragon
Alfonso IV, called the Kind was the King of Aragon and Count of Barcelona from 1327 to his death. He was the second son of James II and Blanche of Anjou...
in the male line and appointed as Lieutenant of the Kingdom by Martin. Closest agnate, son of Martin's first cousin.
- Alfonso, Duke of Gandia
Gandia , with population over 77,000, is a city and municipality in the Valencian Community, Eastern Spain on the Mediterranean. Gandia is located on the Costa del Azahar, 65 km south of Valencia and 96 km north of Alicante.It was an important cultural and commercial centre during the...
, an octogenarian, grandson of Jaime II of Aragon in the male line, died in 1412 leaving his son as the next duke of Gandia. First cousin of Martin's father. The most senior (laterally as well as in age) and high in proximity to late reigning kings of Aragon (the stem of this succession).
- Luís (Louis III of Anjou), Duke of Calabria, grandson of John I of Aragon
John I , called by posterity the Hunter or the Lover of Elegance , but the Abandoned in his lifetime, was the...
through his mother Yolande of AragonNot to be confused with Yolanda of AragonYolande of Aragon, , was a daughter of John I of Aragon and his wife Yolande of Bar...
. Cognatic great-nephew of Martin. Heir general to the line, John I having been the eldest son of Peter IV of AragonPeter IV, also known as Pedro or Pere , called the Ceremonious or El del Punyalet , was the King of Aragon, King of Sardinia and Corsica , King of Valencia , and Count of Barcelona Peter IV, also known as Pedro or Pere (Balaguer5 September 1319 – 6 January 1387), called the Ceremonious (el...
and elder brother of Martin.
- Fernando de Trastámara, el de Antequera (Ferdinand), Infante of Castile, grandson of Peter IV of Aragon
Peter IV, also known as Pedro or Pere , called the Ceremonious or El del Punyalet , was the King of Aragon, King of Sardinia and Corsica , King of Valencia , and Count of Barcelona Peter IV, also known as Pedro or Pere (Balaguer5 September 1319 – 6 January 1387), called the Ceremonious (el...
through his mother Eleanor of AragonEleanor of Aragon was a daughter of King Peter IV of Aragon and his wife Eleanor of Sicily. Her maternal grandfather was Peter II of Sicily....
, queen of Castile. Cognatic nephew of Martin.
Deliberations between the Parliaments or Diets of Aragón, Valencia and Barcelona were difficult, due to diverging interests, factions of nobility, impatience of the partisans of the Count of Urgel and the intervention of Castilian troops of Ferdinand of Trastamare.
The Parliamentarians agreed on 15 February 1412 (Concordia de Alcañiz) to appoint negotiators (neuve compromisarios) who then met in Caspe near Zaragoza, to examine the rights of the pretenders. The compromisarios were:
- Domènec Ram, bishop of Huesca
The Diocese of Huesca is located in north-eastern Spain, in the province of Huesca, part of the autonomous community of Aragón...
.
- Francesc de Aranda, ancient royal councillor as well as envoy of Antipope Benedict XIII
Benedict XIII, born Pedro Martínez de Luna, , known as el Papa Luna in Spanish, was an Spaniard from Aragon, and is officially considered by the Roman Catholic Church to be an Antipope....
of AvignonAvignon is a commune in the Vaucluse department in south-eastern France with an estimated mid-2004 population of 89,300 in the city itself and a population of 290,466 in the metropolitan area at the 1999 census.The city is well known for its Palais des Papes , where several popes...
.
- Berenguer de Bardaixí, jurist and official general of the Cortes of Aragón.
- Pere de Sagarriga i de Pau, archbishop of Tarragona
The Archdiocese of Tarragona is located in north-eastern Spain, in the province of Tarragona, part of the autonomous community of Catalonia...
.
- Bernat de Gualbes, syndicus and councillor of Barcelona
Barcelona is the capital, most populous city of the Autonomous Community of Catalonia and the second largest city in Spain, with a population of 1,615,908 in 2008. It is the 11th-most populous municipality in the European Union and sixth-most populous urban area in the European Union after Paris,...
.
- Guillem de Vallseca, officer general of the Corts
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French parlement, the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at...
Reials Catalanes.
- Bonifaci Ferrer, prior of the monastery of Portaceli.
- Vicent Ferrer
Saint Vincent Ferrer was a Valencian Dominican missionary and logician.-Early life:...
, Dominican monk, later canonized.
- Pere Bertran (substitute for Gener Rabassa), citizen of Valencia
The Christian Kingdom of Valencia , located in the Eastern shore of the Iberian Peninsula, was one of the component realms of the Crown of Aragon...
and legal expert.
They proclaimed the Castilian Infante as King
Ferdinand I of AragonFerdinand I called of Antequera and also the Just or the Honest, was king of Aragon, Valencia, Majorca, Sardinia and Corsica and king of Sicily, duke of Athens and Neopatria, and count of Barcelona, Roussillon and Cerdanya...
on 28 June 1412 by votes of three Aragonese, two Valencian and one Catalan compromisarios.
See also
La fi del comte d'UrgellLa fi del comte d'Urgell or Scriptura privada is an anonymous Catalan political tract written during the Catalonian Civil War by an enemy of king John II. Largely composed of personal stories, including that of the death of James II of Urgell, whose right to the throne is championed...
, a tractate in support of the dynastic line through James count of Urgell.