Berenguela of Castile
Encyclopedia
Berengaria (1 June 1180 – 8 November 1246) was Queen regnant
of Castile
in 1217 and Queen consort
of León
from 1197 to 1204.
and his wife, Eleanor of England, she was the great-granddaughter of another Berengaria, the wife of Alfonso VII of León
and sister of Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona
. In the maternal line she was the granddaughter of King Henry II of England
and another important woman of the age, Eleanor of Aquitaine
.
Berengaria’s first engagement was agreed in 1187 when her hand was sought by Conrad, Duke of Rothenburg
and fifth child of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa. The next year, in Seligenstadt
, Germany, the marriage contract was signed. Conrad then marched to Castile, where in Carrión
the engagement was celebrated and the young count was knighted.
The marriage was not consummated, at first due to Berengaria’s age and later because the king and queen, in 1189, had a son, Ferdinand, who was then designated heir to the throne. At this, Emperor Frederick, seeing his aspirations in Castile frustrated, lost all interest in continuing with his son’s wedding in spite of the princess’s dowry of 42,000 aureos. Conrad and Berengaria never saw each other again. Berengaria requested an annulment
of the engagement from the Pope, influenced, no doubt, by third parties such as her grandmother Eleanor of Aquitaine, who was not interested in having a Hohenstaufen
as a neighbor to her French fiefdoms. But those fears would later be neutralized when the duke was assassinated in 1196.
Two years later, Berengaria married King Alfonso IX of León
, her first cousin once removed, in Valladolid
. They had five children:
But in 1204, Pope Innocent III annulled the marriage on the grounds of consanguinity, despite the fact that Celestine III had permitted it at the time. This was the second annulment for Berengaria as well as for Alfonso, and they vehemently sought a dispensation in order to stay together. But this pope was one of the harshest on matrimonial issues and denied their request, although they succeeded in having their children considered legitimate. Her marriage dissolved, Berengaria returned to Castile and to her parents, where she dedicated herself to the care of her children.
(third and sole surviving son of the late king), who was only ten years old. Thus began a period of regency, first under the young king’s mother, lasting 24 days until her own death, and then under his sister and heir presumptive
Berengaria.
At this point internal strife began, instigated by the nobility, primarily the House of Lara
. This forced Berengaria to cede guardianship of the king and the regency of the realm to Count Álvaro Núñez de Lara in order to avoid civil conflict in Castile.
In February, 1216, an extraordinary parliamentary session was held in Valladolid, attended by such Castilian magnates as Lope Diaz de Haro, Gonzalo Rodríguez Girón, Álvaro Díaz de Cameros, Alfonso Téllez de Meneses and others, who agreed, with the support of Berengaria, to make common cause against Álvaro Núñez de Lara. At the end of May the situation in Castile had grown perilous for Berengaria, so she decided to take refuge in the castle of Autillo in Palencia, which was held by Gonzalo Rodríguez Girón (one of her allies) and sent her son Ferdinand to the court of León and his father, Alfonso IX. On 15 August 1216 an assembly of all the magnates of Castile was held to attempt to reach an accord that would prevent civil war, but disagreements led the families of Girón, Téllez de Meneses, and Haro to break definitively with Álvaro de Lara.
. His guardian, Count Álvaro Núñez de Lara, tried to hide the fact, taking the king’s body to the castle of Tariego, although it was inevitable that the news should reach Berengaria.
The new sovereign was well aware of the danger her former husband posed to her reign; being her brother's closest agnate, it was feared that he would claim the crown for himself. Therefore, she kept her brother's death and her own accession secret from Alfonso before finally abdicating in their son's favour on 31 August.
In this way she arranged the marriage of his son with princess Elisabeth of Hohenstaufen
(known as Beatriz in Castile), daughter of Duke Philip of Swabia
and granddaughter of two emperors: Frederick Barbarossa and Isaac II Angelos
of Byzantium. This union with such an important family improved the lineage of the Castilian monarchy and opened the way for Ferdinand to participate actively in European affairs. The wedding took place on 30 November 1219.
Another instance in which Berengaria’s mediation stood out developed in 1218 when the scheming Lara family, still headed by former regent Álvaro Núñez de Lara, conspired to have Alfonso IX, King of León and King Ferdinand's father, invade Castile to seize his son's throne. However, the death of Count Lara facilitated the intervention of Berengaria, who got father and son to sign the Pact of Toro on 26 August 1218, putting an end to confrontations between Castile and León.
In 1222, Berengaria intervened anew in favor of her son, achieving the ratification of the Convention of Zafra, thereby making peace with the Laras by arranging the marriage of Mafalda, daughter and heiress of the Lord of Molina, Gonzalo Pérez de Lara, to her own son and King Ferdinand’s brother, Alfonso.
In 1224 she arranged the marriage of her daughter Berengaria to John of Brienne, a maneuver which brought Ferdinand III closer to the throne of León, since John was the candidate Alfonso IX had in mind to marry his eldest daughter Sancha. By proceeding more quickly, Berengaria prevented the daughters of her former husband from marrying a man who could claim the throne of León.
But perhaps her most decisive intervention on Ferdinand’s behalf took place in 1230, when Alfonso IX died and designated as heirs to the throne his daughters Sancha and Dulce from his first marriage to Theresa of Portugal, superseding the rights of Ferdinand III. Berengaria met with the princesses’ mother and succeeded in the ratification of the Treaty of las Tercerías, by which they renounced the throne in favor of their half-brother in exchange for a substantial sum of money and other benefits. Thus were the thrones of León and Castile united in the person of Ferdinand III.
She intervened again in the second marriage of Ferdinand after the death of Elisabeth of Hohenstaufen, although they had had plenty of children, but with the aim that the king’s virtue not be diminished with illicit relations. This time, she chose a French noblewoman, Joan of Dammartin, a candidate put forth by the king’s aunt and Berengaria's sister Blanche
, widow of King Louis VIII of France
.
Berengaria behaved like an actual queen while her son Ferdinand was in the south, on his long campaigns of the Reconquista. She governed Castile and León with the skill that always characterized her, assuring him that she had his back well covered. She met with her son a final time in Pozuelo de Calatrava
in 1245, afterwards returning to Castile, where she died the next year.
She is portrayed as a virtuous woman by the chroniclers of the time. She was a protectress of monasteries and personally supervised the work on both Burgos
and Toledo Cathedrals. Moreover, she was also concerned with literature, charging Lucas de Tuy
to compose a chronicle on the Kings of Castile and León, and she herself being mentioned in the works of Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada
.
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Queen regnant
A queen regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right, in contrast to a queen consort, who is the wife of a reigning king. An empress regnant is a female monarch who reigns in her own right over an empire....
of Castile
Kingdom of Castile
Kingdom of Castile was one of the medieval kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula. It emerged as a political autonomous entity in the 9th century. It was called County of Castile and was held in vassalage from the Kingdom of León. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region...
in 1217 and Queen consort
Queen consort
A queen consort is the wife of a reigning king. A queen consort usually shares her husband's rank and holds the feminine equivalent of the king's monarchical titles. Historically, queens consort do not share the king regnant's political and military powers. Most queens in history were queens consort...
of León
Kingdom of León
The Kingdom of León was an independent kingdom situated in the northwest region of the Iberian Peninsula. It was founded in AD 910 when the Christian princes of Asturias along the northern coast of the peninsula shifted their capital from Oviedo to the city of León...
from 1197 to 1204.
Family origins
The eldest daughter of King Alfonso VIII of CastileAlfonso VIII of Castile
Alfonso VIII , called the Noble or el de las Navas, was the King of Castile from 1158 to his death and King of Toledo. He is most remembered for his part in the Reconquista and the downfall of the Almohad Caliphate...
and his wife, Eleanor of England, she was the great-granddaughter of another Berengaria, the wife of Alfonso VII of León
Alfonso VII of León
Alfonso VII , born Alfonso Raimúndez, called the Emperor , became the King of Galicia in 1111 and King of León and Castile in 1126. Alfonso first used the title Emperor of All Spain, alongside his mother Urraca, once his mother vested him with the direct rule of Toledo in 1116...
and sister of Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona
Ramon Berenguer IV, Count of Barcelona
Ramon Berenguer IV , sometimes called the Holy, was the Count of Barcelona who effected the union between the Kingdom of Aragon and the Principality of Catalonia into the Crown of Aragon....
. In the maternal line she was the granddaughter of King Henry II of England
Henry II of England
Henry II ruled as King of England , Count of Anjou, Count of Maine, Duke of Normandy, Duke of Aquitaine, Duke of Gascony, Count of Nantes, Lord of Ireland and, at various times, controlled parts of Wales, Scotland and western France. Henry, the great-grandson of William the Conqueror, was the...
and another important woman of the age, Eleanor of Aquitaine
Eleanor of Aquitaine
Eleanor of Aquitaine was one of the wealthiest and most powerful women in Western Europe during the High Middle Ages. As well as being Duchess of Aquitaine in her own right, she was queen consort of France and of England...
.
Marriage and children
At the time of her birth, Berengaria was the only child of the king and queen, as those born earlier had not survived. Therefore she was the heir apparent to the throne of Castile, and hence a greatly desired party in all of Europe.Berengaria’s first engagement was agreed in 1187 when her hand was sought by Conrad, Duke of Rothenburg
Conrad II, Duke of Swabia
Conrad II was duke of Swabia from 1191 to his death and Duke of Rothenburg . He was the fourth son of Frederick III Barbarossa and Beatrice I, Countess of Burgundy, and brother of Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor...
and fifth child of Holy Roman Emperor Frederick I Barbarossa. The next year, in Seligenstadt
Seligenstadt
Seligenstadt is a town in the Offenbach district in the Regierungsbezirk of Darmstadt in Hesse, Germany. Seligenstadt is one of Germany’s oldest towns and was already of great importance in Carolingian times.-Location:...
, Germany, the marriage contract was signed. Conrad then marched to Castile, where in Carrión
Carrión de los Condes
Carrión de los Condes is a municipality in the province of Palencia, part of the Autonomous Community of Castile and León, Spain.It is 40 kilometers from Palencia, on the Way of Saint James.-History:...
the engagement was celebrated and the young count was knighted.
The marriage was not consummated, at first due to Berengaria’s age and later because the king and queen, in 1189, had a son, Ferdinand, who was then designated heir to the throne. At this, Emperor Frederick, seeing his aspirations in Castile frustrated, lost all interest in continuing with his son’s wedding in spite of the princess’s dowry of 42,000 aureos. Conrad and Berengaria never saw each other again. Berengaria requested an annulment
Annulment (Catholic Church)
In the Roman Catholic Church an annulment is the procedure, governed by the Church's Canon Law and the Catechism, whereby an ecclesial tribunal determines the sacrament of marriage was invalidly entered into. An annulment determines the Catholic marriage to be void at its inception...
of the engagement from the Pope, influenced, no doubt, by third parties such as her grandmother Eleanor of Aquitaine, who was not interested in having a Hohenstaufen
Hohenstaufen
The House of Hohenstaufen was a dynasty of German kings in the High Middle Ages, lasting from 1138 to 1254. Three of these kings were also crowned Holy Roman Emperor. In 1194 the Hohenstaufens also became Kings of Sicily...
as a neighbor to her French fiefdoms. But those fears would later be neutralized when the duke was assassinated in 1196.
Two years later, Berengaria married King Alfonso IX of León
Alfonso IX of Leon
Alfonso IX was king of León and Galicia from the death of his father Ferdinand II in 1188 until his own death...
, her first cousin once removed, in Valladolid
Valladolid
Valladolid is a historic city and municipality in north-central Spain, situated at the confluence of the Pisuerga and Esgueva rivers, and located within three wine-making regions: Ribera del Duero, Rueda and Cigales...
. They had five children:
- Berengaria (1198–1235), married John of Brienne, King of JerusalemJohn of BrienneJohn of Brienne was a French nobleman who became King of Jerusalem by marriage, and ruled the Latin Empire of Constantinople as regent.-Life:...
; - Constance (1200–1242), a nun in the Abbey of las Huelgas;
- Ferdinand IIIFerdinand III of CastileSaint Ferdinand III, T.O.S.F., was the King of Castile from 1217 and León from 1230. He was the son of Alfonso IX of León and Berenguela of Castile. Through his second marriage he was also Count of Aumale. He finished the work done by his maternal grandfather Alfonso VIII and consolidated the...
(1201–1252), King of Castile and León; - Eleanor (1202);
- AlfonsoAlfonso of MolinaAlfonso of León, Lord of Molina was a Prince of León and Castile, the son of King Alfonso IX of León and his second wife Queen Berengaria of Castile. He was the brother of King Ferdinand III of Castile and León, and father of Queen Maria of Molina, wife of King Sancho IV...
(1203–1272), Lord of Molina and Mesa by his first marriage. He married, first, Mafalda de Lara, heiress of Molina and Mesa, second, Teresa Núñez, and third, Mayor Téllez de Meneses, Lady of Montealegre and Tiedra, by whom he was the father of María of Molina, wife of King Sancho IV of León and CastileSancho IV of CastileSancho IV the Brave was the King of Castile, León and Galicia from 1284 to his death. He was the second son of Alfonso X and Yolanda, daughter of James I of Aragon.-Biography:...
.
But in 1204, Pope Innocent III annulled the marriage on the grounds of consanguinity, despite the fact that Celestine III had permitted it at the time. This was the second annulment for Berengaria as well as for Alfonso, and they vehemently sought a dispensation in order to stay together. But this pope was one of the harshest on matrimonial issues and denied their request, although they succeeded in having their children considered legitimate. Her marriage dissolved, Berengaria returned to Castile and to her parents, where she dedicated herself to the care of her children.
Heiress presumptive
On the death of Alfonso VIII in 1214, the crown passed to his heir prince HenryHenry I of Castile
Henry I of Castile was king of Castile. He was the son of Alfonso VIII of Castile and his wife Eleanor Plantagenet, ....
(third and sole surviving son of the late king), who was only ten years old. Thus began a period of regency, first under the young king’s mother, lasting 24 days until her own death, and then under his sister and heir presumptive
Heir Presumptive
An heir presumptive or heiress presumptive is the person provisionally scheduled to inherit a throne, peerage, or other hereditary honour, but whose position can be displaced by the birth of an heir or heiress apparent or of a new heir presumptive with a better claim to the position in question...
Berengaria.
At this point internal strife began, instigated by the nobility, primarily the House of Lara
House of Lara
The House of Lara or Casa de Lara are a noble family, known from the medieval Kingdom of Castile.Two of its branches, those from the Duke of Nájera and from the Marquis of Aguilar de Campoo were considered Grandees of Spain...
. This forced Berengaria to cede guardianship of the king and the regency of the realm to Count Álvaro Núñez de Lara in order to avoid civil conflict in Castile.
In February, 1216, an extraordinary parliamentary session was held in Valladolid, attended by such Castilian magnates as Lope Diaz de Haro, Gonzalo Rodríguez Girón, Álvaro Díaz de Cameros, Alfonso Téllez de Meneses and others, who agreed, with the support of Berengaria, to make common cause against Álvaro Núñez de Lara. At the end of May the situation in Castile had grown perilous for Berengaria, so she decided to take refuge in the castle of Autillo in Palencia, which was held by Gonzalo Rodríguez Girón (one of her allies) and sent her son Ferdinand to the court of León and his father, Alfonso IX. On 15 August 1216 an assembly of all the magnates of Castile was held to attempt to reach an accord that would prevent civil war, but disagreements led the families of Girón, Téllez de Meneses, and Haro to break definitively with Álvaro de Lara.
Queen of Castile
Circumstances changed suddenly when Henry died on 6 June 1217 after receiving a head wound from a tile which came loose accidentally while he was playing with some other children at the palace of the Bishop of PalenciaPalencia
Palencia is a city south of Tierra de Campos, in north-northwest Spain, the capital of the province of Palencia in the autonomous community of Castile-Leon...
. His guardian, Count Álvaro Núñez de Lara, tried to hide the fact, taking the king’s body to the castle of Tariego, although it was inevitable that the news should reach Berengaria.
The new sovereign was well aware of the danger her former husband posed to her reign; being her brother's closest agnate, it was feared that he would claim the crown for himself. Therefore, she kept her brother's death and her own accession secret from Alfonso before finally abdicating in their son's favour on 31 August.
Royal adviser
Although she did not wish to be queen, Berengaria was always at her son’s side as an advisor, intervening in state policy, albeit in an indirect manner.In this way she arranged the marriage of his son with princess Elisabeth of Hohenstaufen
Elisabeth of Hohenstaufen
Beatrice of Swabia was Queen of Castile and Leon as the wife of King Ferdinand III...
(known as Beatriz in Castile), daughter of Duke Philip of Swabia
Philip of Swabia
Philip of Swabia was king of Germany and duke of Swabia, the rival of the emperor Otto IV.-Biography:Philip was the fifth and youngest son of Emperor Frederick I and Beatrice I, Countess of Burgundy, daughter of Renaud III, count of Burgundy, and brother of the emperor Henry VI...
and granddaughter of two emperors: Frederick Barbarossa and Isaac II Angelos
Isaac II Angelos
Isaac II Angelos was Byzantine emperor from 1185 to 1195, and again from 1203 to 1204....
of Byzantium. This union with such an important family improved the lineage of the Castilian monarchy and opened the way for Ferdinand to participate actively in European affairs. The wedding took place on 30 November 1219.
Another instance in which Berengaria’s mediation stood out developed in 1218 when the scheming Lara family, still headed by former regent Álvaro Núñez de Lara, conspired to have Alfonso IX, King of León and King Ferdinand's father, invade Castile to seize his son's throne. However, the death of Count Lara facilitated the intervention of Berengaria, who got father and son to sign the Pact of Toro on 26 August 1218, putting an end to confrontations between Castile and León.
In 1222, Berengaria intervened anew in favor of her son, achieving the ratification of the Convention of Zafra, thereby making peace with the Laras by arranging the marriage of Mafalda, daughter and heiress of the Lord of Molina, Gonzalo Pérez de Lara, to her own son and King Ferdinand’s brother, Alfonso.
In 1224 she arranged the marriage of her daughter Berengaria to John of Brienne, a maneuver which brought Ferdinand III closer to the throne of León, since John was the candidate Alfonso IX had in mind to marry his eldest daughter Sancha. By proceeding more quickly, Berengaria prevented the daughters of her former husband from marrying a man who could claim the throne of León.
But perhaps her most decisive intervention on Ferdinand’s behalf took place in 1230, when Alfonso IX died and designated as heirs to the throne his daughters Sancha and Dulce from his first marriage to Theresa of Portugal, superseding the rights of Ferdinand III. Berengaria met with the princesses’ mother and succeeded in the ratification of the Treaty of las Tercerías, by which they renounced the throne in favor of their half-brother in exchange for a substantial sum of money and other benefits. Thus were the thrones of León and Castile united in the person of Ferdinand III.
She intervened again in the second marriage of Ferdinand after the death of Elisabeth of Hohenstaufen, although they had had plenty of children, but with the aim that the king’s virtue not be diminished with illicit relations. This time, she chose a French noblewoman, Joan of Dammartin, a candidate put forth by the king’s aunt and Berengaria's sister Blanche
Blanche of Castile
Blanche of Castile , was a Queen consort of France as the wife of Louis VIII. She acted as regent twice during the reign of her son, Louis IX....
, widow of King Louis VIII of France
Louis VIII of France
Louis VIII the Lion reigned as King of France from 1223 to 1226. He was a member of the House of Capet. Louis VIII was born in Paris, France, the son of Philip II Augustus and Isabelle of Hainaut. He was also Count of Artois, inheriting the county from his mother, from 1190–1226...
.
Berengaria behaved like an actual queen while her son Ferdinand was in the south, on his long campaigns of the Reconquista. She governed Castile and León with the skill that always characterized her, assuring him that she had his back well covered. She met with her son a final time in Pozuelo de Calatrava
Pozuelo de Calatrava
Pozuelo de Calatrava is a municipality in Ciudad Real, Castile-La Mancha, Spain. It has a population of 2,602....
in 1245, afterwards returning to Castile, where she died the next year.
She is portrayed as a virtuous woman by the chroniclers of the time. She was a protectress of monasteries and personally supervised the work on both Burgos
Burgos Cathedral
The Burgos Cathedral is a Gothic-style Roman Catholic cathedral in Burgos, Spain. It is dedicated to the Virgin Mary and is famous for its vast size and unique architecture. Its construction began in 1221, and was in use nine years later, although work continued on and off for two hundred years...
and Toledo Cathedrals. Moreover, she was also concerned with literature, charging Lucas de Tuy
Lucas de Tuy
Lucas de Tuy was a Leonese cleric and intellectual, remembered best as a historian. He was Bishop of Tuy from 1239 until his death....
to compose a chronicle on the Kings of Castile and León, and she herself being mentioned in the works of Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada
Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada
Rodrigo Jiménez de Rada was a Navarrese-born Castilian Roman Catholic bishop and historian....
.
Ancestry
Further reading
Explores Berenguela's use of authority as both queen and regent, at varied times, for the Spanish thrones of Castile and Leon.|-
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