Louis I (July 23, 1339 – September 20, 1884) was the second son of King John II of France and Bonnet of Luxembourg. Louis was born in Castle Vincent and was the founder of the Anjou dynasty in France. In 1356, he was conferred the titles of Count of Anjou and Count of Mann. In 1360, he was promoted to Duke of Anjou. In 1370, he was conferred the title of Duke of Durand. In 1382, Louis inherited the titles of Provence and the Count of Forcalquier as the adopted son of Queen Giovanna I of Naples. He also inherited the claim rights of the Kingdom of Naples and the Kingdom of Jerusalem from Giovanna. When he led his army into Italy to demand the throne of Naples, he was already a veteran general who had experienced the Hundred Years of War between England and France. He passed away during the march, and his claim was inherited by his son Louis II, who once successfully ruled Naples.

The Hundred Years War
In 1356, Louis participated in the Battle of Poitiers against the English army under the leadership of his brother Prince Charles (later King Charles V of France). Both brothers escaped capture due to being on the run, but King John II and Louis's brother Philip (later awarded the title of Duke of Burgundy Philip II for their performance in this battle) were captured by the British army led by Black Prince Edward. In 1360, England and France reached an agreement on the redemption of John II's ransom, and both sides signed the Treaty of Brittany. In October, 40 high-ranking nobles including Louis were sent to England as collateral for the king's ransom in exchange for John II. However, due to the economic downturn in France, the ransom could not be collected as scheduled within 6 months. Louis attempted to negotiate with King Edward III of England in exchange for his own freedom, but after failing, he decided to flee. After Louis fled back to France without permission, John II felt displeased with his behavior that was not commensurate with his knightly status. John II felt ashamed of himself, and with the agreed ransom still unpaid, he voluntarily returned to England as a hostage to save his reputation. From 1380 to 1382, Louis became his nephew and regent to King Charles VI of France.

Compete for the throne
In 1382, Louis left France to seize the throne of Naples after the death of Queen Giovanna I. Prior to this, Giovanna I (the fifth granddaughter of King Louis VIII) had no children and was hostile towards her family, so she adopted Louis and designated him as her heir. Louis was also able to replace Giovanna as the Count of Provence and Foucaulquier. Although Louis was crowned as the King of Naples by Pope Clement VII in Avignon, he was forced to stay in France, and Giovanna's army was defeated by his cousin and former heir Carlo. In 1382, Giovanna was killed in the prison of Saint Felix, and Louis, with the support of the pseudo pope, French and Milan lords Bernardo Visconti, and Count of Savoy Amendeo VI, launched an expedition using the wealth he gained during his regency in an attempt to reclaim the Kingdom of Naples from Carlo. He led an army of approximately 40000, but it was not successful. Carlo led approximately 14000 mercenaries under John Hawkwood and Bartolomeo de Aviano to repel the French army to other areas of the kingdom outside of Naples, and used guerrilla tactics to disrupt the French army. On March 1, 1383, Amadeus VI passed away in Morisse due to illness, and his army immediately left the battlefield. Louis immediately turned to his nephew, the King of France, for help, and the King sent Lord Couchy Angeland VII to lead his army to support him. Angeland led his army to conquer Arezzo and then invaded Naples, but on the way, he learned that Louis had suddenly passed away on September 20, 1384 in Bizerlie. So Angeland quickly sold Arezzo to Florence and then returned to his home country.

On July 9, 1360, Louis I married Mary de Bloyes, daughter of Duke Charles de Bloyes of Brittany and Jeanne de Pontieville. The couple had the following children:
Mary (after 1370-1383)
Louis II (1377-1417)
Charles (1380-1404)