King of Naples, surnamed “The Liberal and the Victorious,” born about 1375, and in 1387, under the regency of his mother, succeeded his father Charles III.; was driven from the city in July of that year by his rival to the throne, Louis II. of Anjou, who was supported by Pope Clement; was reinstated by Otto of Brunswick a few weeks later; repulsed two invasions made by Pope Urban VI., in 1388; was crowned at Gaeta, May 29, 1390, by a legate of the new Pope, Boniface IX.; a candidate for the Hungarian throne, and crowned in 1403, but soon withdrew his claims thereto; attempted to besiege Rome in August, 1405, for which he was excommunicated and deprived of his kingdom by the Pope, June 18, 1406; again made an attack on Rome, in 1406, and finally took the city by surprise and plundered it, June 8, 1413. During his career he was also a claimant to the throne of Provence and a candidate for the imperial crown of Germany. He was probably the first of the modern Italian rulers who entertained the project of united Italy. He died in Naples on the 16th of August 1414.
