John I of France

John I the Posthumous
Tomb Effigy of John the Posthumous
King of France and Navarre
Reign	15 November – 20 November 1316 (5 days)
Predecessor	Louis X and I
Successor	Philip V and II
House	House of Capet
Father	Louis X of France
Mother	Clemence of Hungary
Born	15 November 1316(1316-11-15) Paris, France
Died	20 November 1316 (aged 5 days) Paris, France
Burial	Saint Denis Basilica

French Monarchy
Direct Capetians
Louis X
Joan II of Navarre
John I
John I

John I (15 November 1316 – 20 November 1316), called the Posthumous, was King of France and Navarre, and Count of Champagne, as the son and successor of Louis the Headstrong, for the five days he lived. He thus had the shortest undisputed recognized reign of any French king. (The shortest reign was Louis XIX, who reigned for 20 minutes, but his legitimacy was disputed.)

The posthumous son of Louis X and Clementia of Hungary, sister of the King Charles I of Hungary, he is the only person to be King of France since birth, and thus, the youngest King of France.

John reigned for five days under his uncle's regency, until his death on 20 November 1316. The infant King was buried in Saint Denis Basilica. He was succeeded by his uncle, Philip the Tall.

Consequences

Funerary convoy of King John I.

The premature death of John I brought the first issue of succession of the Capetian dynasty. When Louis the Headstrong, his father, died without a son to succeed him, it was the first time since Hugh Capet that the succession from father to son the kings of France was interrupted. It was then decided to wait until the Queen Clemence, who was pregnant, brought her child into the world. And for now, the king's brother, Philip, was in charge of the regency of the kingdom against his uncle Charles de Valois. The birth of a male child was expected to give France its king. The problem of succession remained when the infant that was proclaimed King of France under the name of John I, died five days after birth. It was his uncle who ascended the throne at the expense of his four-year-old half-sister, Joan, daughter of Louis X and Margaret of Burgundy.

Supposed survival

Various legends circulated about this royal child. First, it was claimed that his uncle Philip V had him poisoned. Then a strange story a few decades later came to start the rumor that the little King John was not dead. During the captivity of John II (1356-1360), a man named Giannino Baglioni claimed to be John I and thus the heir to the throne. He tried to assert his rights, but captured in Provence, he died in captivity in 1363. A recent book provides an update on this story. It is said that Cola di Rienzo was supposed to manufacture false evidence that Giannino Baglioni was John I the Posthumous, and who tried to place on the throne of France to strengthen his power in Rome. Shortly after they met in 1354, Cola di Rienzo was assassinated, and Giannino waited two years to report his claims. He went to the Hungarian court where King Louis I of Hungary, nephew of Clemence of Hungary, recognized him as the son of Louis X and Clemence. In 1360, Giannino went to Avignon, but Pope Innocent VI refused to receive him. After several attempts to gain recognition, he was arrested and imprisoned in Naples, where he died in 1363.

Ancestors

John's ancestors in three generations

John I of France	Father: Louis X of France	Paternal Grandfather: Philip IV of France	Paternal Great-grandfather: Philip III of France
			Paternal Great-grandmother: Isabella of Aragon
		Paternal Grandmother: Joan I of Navarre	Paternal Great-grandfather: Henry I of Navarre
			Paternal Great-grandmother: Blanche of Artois
	Mother: Clementia of Hungary	Maternal Grandfather: Charles Martel of Anjou	Maternal Great-grandfather: Charles II of Naples
			Maternal Great-grandmother: Maria Arpad of Hungary
		Maternal Grandmother: Klementia of Habsburg	Maternal Great-grandfather: Rudolph I of Germany
			Maternal Great-grandmother: Gertrude of Hohenburg

See also

• List of shortest reigning monarchs of all time

References

Specific references:

General references:

• Tommaso di Carpegna Falconieri, L'uomo che si credeva re di Francia. Una storia medievale, Roma-Bari 2005, ISBN 88-420-7619-8
• Tommaso di Carpegna Falconieri, The Man Who Believed He was King of France, transl. by William McCuaig, University of Chicago Press 2008, ISBN 9780226145259

John I of France House of Capet Born: 15 November 1316 Died: 20 November 1316
Regnal titles
Vacant Title last held by Louis X and I	King of France and Navarre Count of Champagne 15 November – 20 November 1316	Succeeded by Philip V and II