John of Anjou

John was the only son of Stephen of Anjou and Margaret of Bavaria.[1][2] Stephen was the youngest son of Charles I of Hungary.[1][2] In Hungary, Stephen was regarded the heir to his childless eldest brother, Louis I of Hungary,[1] but the Polish noblemen forbade Stephen to interfere in Polish affairs when they confirmed, in 1351, Louis's right to inherit Poland from his maternal uncle, Casimir III of Poland.[3][4] John's mother was the daughter of the Holy Roman Emperor, Louis IV.[5][6] She came to Hungary in the autumn of 1350.[5]

The date and place of John's birth are unknown.[2] His father was staying in Zagreb when John was born, according to his mother's charter of grant to the Zagreb Chapter.[2] Stephen of Anjou did not visit Zagreb in 1351 and 1352.[2] John's sister, Elizabeth, was born most probably in 1353.[2] Consequently, John must have been born in late 1353 or in 1354, according to historian Éva B. Halász.[2] Stephen had already received Croatia, Dalmatia and Slavonia from Louis I.[6]

Stephen died on 9 August 1354.[7] John inherited his father's provinces under the guardianship of his mother.[6] He was regarded the heir to Louis I who also persuaded Casimir III of Poland to adopt John in 1355.[8][2] Not independently of the war with Venice, Louis I appointed a lieutenant to rule Slavonia in the spring of 1356, and a ban to administer Croatia and Dalmatia in 1357.[9] John, nevertheless, was styled duke of Slavonia, Croatia and Dalmatia in 1358.[10] He died in 1360.[10]