2020-08-10 Mon

James II, byname James the Just, Spanish Jaime el Justo, king of Aragon from 1295 to 1327 and king of Sicily (as James I) from 1285 to 1295. His full title for the last three decades of his reign was "James, by the grace of God, king of Aragon, Valencia, Sardinia and Corsica, and count of Barcelona".

Born at Valencia, James was the second son of Peter III of Aragon and Constance of Sicily. It was probably during his reign at Sicily (1285–1291) that James composed his only surviving piece of Occitan poetry, a religious dansa dedicated to the Virgin Mary, Mayre de Deu. A contemporary, Arnau de Vilanova, wrote a verse-by-verse Latin commentary of the dansa in 1305. The metaphor James uses has been analyzed by Alfred Jeanroy, who sees similarities in the Roman de Fauvel.

Depicted here is a Diner minted at Barcelona with James II’s left-facing bust on the obverse. The reverse of a coin inscribed with a long cross with annules and three pellets in quarters.

Image Source: Wikepdia.org