Charles Martel of Anjou

Who was Charles Martel of Anjou?

Charles Martel of the Angevin dynasty, also known as Charles I Martel, was the eldest son of king Charles II of Naples and Maria of Hungary, the daughter of King Stephen V of Hungary.

The 18-year-old Charles Martel was set up by Pope Nicholas IV and the ecclesiastical party as the titular King of Hungary as successor of his maternal uncle, the childless Ladislaus IV of Hungary against whom the Pope had already earlier declared a crusade.

He never managed to govern the Kingdom of Hungary, where an agnate of the Árpád dynasty, his cousin Andrew III of Hungary ruled at that time. Charles Martel was, however, successful in asserting his claim in Kingdom of Croatia, then in personal union with Hungary.

Charles Martel died young in Naples, during the lifetime of his parents. His son, Charles, later succeeded in winning the throne of Hungary.

Charles was apparently known personally to Dante: in the Divine Comedy, the poet speaks warmly of and to Charles's spirit when they meet in the Heaven of Venus.